Familiar Friends in Frugality(Feb 24>)

[Happierwithouthim]

Frugal Friends Facing Forward with Fortitude http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/costoff_living/4957140-frugal-friends-facing-forward-with-fortitude

New thread

Mummy down!!!

am at dr. Have a raging sore throat and ear ache. The sort of sore throat that hurts to even breathe. Feeling very sorry for myself. 😭😩

Hope you have some help em and gws

You realise that means you'll need that coat for another two months now @Pigtailsandall 🤣

Good news re getting DH to the discussion table re finances @2024Hackathon

That's a lovely gesture re the car @northender.

Peeing down here @Chile1978 🤣. But it was lovely yesterday and we got into the garden for a general tidy and to plant a couple of baskets with spring pansies.

Lost a bit of tracking the thread in the run up to my mums 90th, which went swimmingly well. I think it probably cost us about £300 though in truth, when accounting for absolutely every expense (present, decorations, food, having extra booze in 'just in case' like gin and cider). Maybe that's a bit over actual spend but it pushed the budget a bit this month.

Just sitting at therapy though and have done the numbers and were are comfortable for April, after one or two expenses like the above I hadn't planned correctly for (my fault) this month. Must do better but the busier I am the less I find time to plan.

Similar feelings re Vinted et al @BigSkies2022, I'd probably bother with bigger ticket items but lack motivation and time for small stuff. We've a village facebook group giving stuff away free which at least means things go to local good use/another home. By the way Mob Kitchen is a great website for recipes with a nod to health but not overly so. I know you like cooking.

Menu plan
Salmon and spring greens orzo/rice with feta.
Copious leftovers for lunches.
Sweet potato and chick pea curry (didn't make last week, another meal stretched).
Easter Day hosting so chicken or lamb.
Smoked mackerel, mint, greens and cucumber chopped salad.
Chipotle pasta
Lesan El Asfour (Egyptian beef and orzo)

Well done on the discussion 2024Hack.

Oh no em. Sorry you’re unwell. Sending you heaps of get well soon wishes (and other nice things).

Glad your mum’s birthday went well need.

Spending today has been £7.28 on vegetables and chocolate milk. I was hoping for a cupboard and freezer week but failed on day one. Will try and stick to cupboards and the freezer as much as I can until I go to France. I bought a power bank in the Amazon spring event (£22.68) I wanted the blue one but bought the black one as it was cheaper.

Spend most of this morning doing one thing on my admin list. It’s a no go but I guess that does go towards making a decision knowing I can’t do it. Think I’ll go to my hobby club this evening. I’ve not been in about 10 months and the person who runs it did something nice for me and asked me if I was going so I think I should go (though I feel like lying on the sofa and watching YouTube).

Tonsilitis. £40 at dr and antibiotics.

Hope they work soon em

pleased the 90th went well. Money will spent imo. I hear you on too busy to plan.

i hope we have seen the back of the bad weather pigs

Huge sympathy em tonsillitis is the absolute pits

In airport on way to France to see my sister. Will be tricky as on a diet at the moment but hopefully I can make it work!

I have a budget of money made by selling things over past few months, my sis doesn’t drink so it’s usually mainly meals and exhibition tickets etc. and we both love a good coffee!

Gen sounds lovely
Em agree tonsillitis is yuck, hopefully antibiotics kick in quickly.

I had all the symptoms of a cold coming on yesterday evening, ringing in my ears, fatigue, sore throat etc, watched some tv and fell asleep on couch & moved to bed at 11pm, slept sound and I'm back to normal today

Bikini wax & Brow shape & tint €30

Any posters use menstrual cup/disc? I've gotten my periods back with help of endocrinologist after 11 years, got copper coil in at start of the month, I've to wait a few months before using one but I'd like to, any advice? I was going to buy one after having ds and then my periods stopped so I didn't need one.

Also doing an extension, probably need some extra funds for it, am switching mortgage at the moment, should I add it in there or get a separate loan for it?

Can remember if I posted big spend at weekend or not
€1640 on mattress for dd, new bed & mattress for ds and carpet for his room. When we did up the other rooms last Oct he didn't want any change, and while buying mattress, he suddenly went 360 and agreed to everything, only thing left to get now is paint, we did buy magnolia for it previously but if he wants a colour now that'll be fine too.
€16.50 on rubbish disposal, it's six weeks since I was there so that's good value
€75 homesavers, luckily I don't visit there too often
€22 dunnes used a €5 off €25 voucher got dd's and dn's Easter Eggs

Dinner was courtesy of a Christmas voucher and then spent about €25 on drinks, bf had topped up voucher at dinner.

I would say look at the interest rates and see which is less. Likely mortgage but you never know. Then throw as much money at it as you can

@Happierwithouthim the general wisdom is to not have unsecured debt into secured debt, however it's always individual. Like life posted, check interest rates, and also terms and repayment amounts. See which option suits you best.
No menstrual cup for me I can't get on with them, but sister uses hers religiously and finds it preferable to tampons, towels, and period pants. You might have to try a few brands as they can be shaped and made slightly differently.

Bon voyage 🇫🇷 @Gensola

Gws @ememem84

Nice the person Checked in on you @RumBananaSundae . Sometimes the thought of getting up and out is worse than the actual doing!

@needastrongoneagain sick of the weather this year! 🌧 our garden is rather unruly and needs maintenance to stop it turning into wildnerness!

@northender somehow the years never seem to get cheaper....

@Pigtailsandall is it as a dining set? There are some sales on at the moment with some of the big garden furniture suppliers

@2024Hackathon well done 👏 hope that has eased your mind somewhat.

@Rainbow1901 I'm too lazy to hang outside unless it's guaranteed sun and I won't have to bring it in! With chores I'm always about the quickest way, not the cheapest!

@ShortFatShambolicHouseElf I'm going to butcher this saying, but guilt only puts you through the event twice. It's been and gone, and you most likely did the best you could. You're starting again this year 💪

Mortgage rate is half what the home improvement loan rate is. If I take out loan I'll be paying that alongside mortgage, if I add to mortgage it's one payment. I don't qualify for green loans due to the BER rating of my house.

I like the idea that the cup is reusable, and also less mess. There are theories that it reduces cramping & length of period but I struggle to see why this might be so.

Now reporting in for duty with spends

£20 fresh fruit and salad for family dinner
(All went down very well although couldn't get the bbq hot, so it was a bit delayed!)
£2050 decking for the garden 0% cc to be paid off over the next 12 months (on sale). Still chasing quotes for the patio.
£98 ticket 🎟 🎶 for the summer
£33 (+3 tip) DDs haircuts
£10 work kitty
£530 home insurance

Ins
£45 pruning saw refund
£3.50 as a voucher for returning unwanted item

@Happierwithouthim I like period pants- I feel like they can hold more. I hate emptying the cup in public loos
@Chile1978 a set, but even just a table would be OK. I have decent-enough chairs ut the table is too small. Looking at acacia, I think, as teak is too pricey.

Going shopping for a few things now but with a carefully-crafted shopping list

Rarely visit public toilets & can think of the few that I do, the sink is in the cubicle.

Purchased Dr Mary O'Kane's book Anxious Children in an Anxious World: Facing Fears & Finding Brave. I went to a talk by her prior to covid thinking I'd one anxious child and had a lightbulb moment there and realised I'd two the anxiety just manifests differently in them. €18.49 on pre-order.

Going to IKEA on Thurs, this is about 4 hours drive for us, doing kitchen planning consultation for extension of kitchen and utility while I'm there.

Pay day tomorrow, CB went in today.

The wend was low spend ish I did spend £60 in Morrisons mostly on Easter Eggs 🙈 but other food bits as well.

Today £10 to the dog walker.
£20 prescriptions.

Book sounds interesting @Happierwithouthim. Good luck at IKEA.

Cheers re DM's birthday. We've not always had the easiest of relationships but we are really close now.

Spends
£6 Amazon on matches. We didn't have any to light the cake on Saturday and it had never dawned on me we didn't have any!!
£45 subscription to a niche interest of mine about protein!

Food spends will be much lower this month but I'm now doing Easter Sunday here so will get a leg of lamb.

Gardener has been too and it does look lovely. It is all DH's work and it pains me to pay someone but the garden is huge and I can't bear it to go to rack and ruin and all the hours lost, I've no time sort it now. Bill yet to be sent but I budget for it anyway.

Bugger to those bacteria em. Hope the antibiotics kick in soon.

Have a fab time Gen.

Very true Chile. Ended up having a lovely evening and am looking forward to next month’s meeting.

Having similar conversations with myself Happier re the possibility of staying put and the work this place would need. Am interested to hear peoples’ perspectives on this. Enjoy IKEA.

Spending has been £30.80 on a hobby related ticket and £1.93 in Aldi on chocolate milk and onions. Office tomorrow and Thursday so crossing my fingers for low spending. Will try to keep out the shops.

£30 Nando’s as both dc got excellent reports.
£30 Aldi on not a lot

Druggie drugs have kicked in. Phew. I’m feeling a hundred times better than I did Sunday night and yesterday. Still not better. But better than I was. Phew.

had to go get my nails done this morning. Appointment booked for months. And it’s dsis wedding this weekend. Woooooo. So that’s what they are for. Yay.

in other news. The dc moved up levels in swimming classes. Yay!

@Happierwithouthim ooh I can't go to ikea anymore. I come back with way too much stuff. They are so good at selling you stuff you didn't know you wanted!

I didn't get everything I wanted while out, but importantly, go a present for my niece (£22.20) and a 4-oack of kombucha (unplanned, £5)

We also paid a handyman £170 for lots of small jobs we were too lazy/bored/unskilled to do ourselves. Not very frugal...

I’m having a low-no spend April. I’m also cross that I’m not in the office this week. Because I neeeeeeed to know what my payrise is going to be. But signed off. So won’t find out. Unless someone emails me tomorrow. Aaaaaaah.

Pigtails
We are going because ds said it's been a long time since we were there.
I can't bring much home with me so that'll limit spends & anything else can be ordered online.

€11.25 on takeaway, there's a new Indian so I was going to try that but they were closed & it was too late to do dinner so myself & ds shared a chicken kebab meal. Can of Fanta gone in fridge for another time!

€6.20 on rashers for dd to make carbonara & 3 tins of dogfood, I normally make it myself but I forgot to get mince.

got my news today. unbelievably a 16% payrise. and promotion. and noice chunk bonus

hoorah.

fully aware i am fortunate and this isn't a brag. but i've worked bloody hard for this.

and can't tell anyone else at the moment (other than DH) because it dsis wedding and i know if i tell parents they will make a huge deal out of it. and i dont want to take the shine of off dsis.

Congratulations!

That's very thoughtful in re: your sister.

Recover swiftly and if the wedding is soon, I hope you're feeling up to enjoying every moment of it.