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

€30 deposit on €160 Steam Summer Camp for ds, met with moans & groans when I told him, it's right up his street he'll love it, he'd just prefer to laze at home on ps4 all summer long.

First big shop (4 bags, car needed) in weeks today. Aldi, £86. Included a couple of bunches of Sweet Williams for £1.69 a piece, which have filled 4 vases. Dinner tonight likely salad niçoise.

High £200's on a refurbished iPhone 13 from BackMarket - DH paid, which was nice, as he is more flush than I am currently. I have been using his old iPhone 7 for about the last 4 years, and it's finally stopped charging. I hate replacing phones, it just seems to say everything that is wrong about consumerism. But I do like finance apps and podcasts and email on the go and all that.

Couldn't get out £10 so £5 to work kitty. Will also need to chip in £5 to work collection.

Nearly a sale but was trying to help buyer and now they haven't put together the bundle. Fingers crossed 🤞

£13 on a white stuff dress from Ebay, I now really must acknowledge I have enough clothes for Summer, and probably for the next 3 Summers to come.

I also have my eye on a jumper for next winter. Its good value, mostly wool and goes with a lot of my winter clothes, but do I really need another jumper? Curse the Ebay outlet shops.

Also £4 on a Sugar Hill top via the Cancer Research Charity Shop.

Not too bad a total for the quality of the clothing, and I do get the same dopamine hit from a charity shop top as buying a new car. Probably more due to the satisfaction of finding a bargain as well as getting a new thing.

Frugal fail made a special trip up town to do click and collect.
I make a point of not making a special trip for either rubbish or click and collect.

I was in town for parkrun & passing through again going to get my hair done but mostly fridge stuff so I couldn't leave it in the car.

Returns €27 bought two sizes of bras for size plus €28.95 Zara returns were processed today too

Parking 70c
Paper €2.90
Car wash €12
Hair €70
Lunch? Treating my aunt in law

They didn't have a salad I ordered but doubled my pineapple rings & pomegranate seeds without charging me

I looked into paying off the mortgage for my peace of mind. 2 flaws in my plan:

• DH has death in service benefits that include paying off the mortgage
• 75% of our funds are split across ISAs in our individual names so DH would have to consent to releasing his.

The remaining 25% is in the offset mortgage joint savings account.

I need to explore the options further. Not least because I'm simultaneously juggling the concern about whether the next government would introduce a windfall tax on savings and ISAs.

Car insurance quote was actually £560 😱 I rang them and got it down to £450 which is still ludicrous imo (bearing in mind it's a cheap, small car and I've never had an accident in 25 years!!) Oh well I have my car savings account which covered it.

Spent £85 this morning on getting all the upstairs and stairs carpets cleaned. It's the first time they've been professionally cleaned in the 8 years I've lived here and they look like new now!

Also spent £56 on my Pilates class.

Had a lot of bdays so far in June, think I've spent around £45 on various peoples bday presents.

I'm hoping that's the last of the big spends now, need to do a food shop but otherwise should be a quiet wend.

£85 for all your carpets is pretty good girlie. A pain about the car insurance though at least you got it a bit cheaper.

happier if you usually combine trips that’s pretty good. I feel like I’m here there and everywhere in the car…though less so now two of the kids drive.
hack hmm that’s a tricky one re the death in service benefits. I’d hesitate too.
nellie great bargains!
big that’s great for the phone, I’d not heard of that company.

Off to DS2’s football presentation later then have been invited to an old friend’s 50th. I’d really like to go but am a bit nervous about turning up on my own…I will know people when I get there and should be fine but it’s a social circle I’ve been out of for a while. I am telling myself now I am 50+ this sort of social anxiety is silly!

£88 on Lidl shop when I meant to spend £50 😬 but to be honest the price of stuff! DD is also back this coming week from uni which I’d forgotten to factor in. GCSES and A levels nearly over in this house thank god

€28.95 lunch

Marthasmum social anxiety is very real, and I bet it'll be like ye met yesterday.
I did my first parkrun this morning & didn't speak to anyone, a couple I know cheered me on & I smiled at them but that was all!
My exh's gf after me was on camera duty, I'm not looking forward to seeing that photo! They're split now too

Forgot €46 on fuel card that'll be end of month before it comes out of my account

I suggested paying balance due on myself & bfs hol and he said I look after that, I said I've not contributed anything and he said so, seems I'm being treated to it.

@2024Hackathon I know that financial advisors always say that the mortgage is an investment type of debt and not a bad debt. but I have to say the day we paid ours off I felt a huge sense of relief. I remember thinking, well I won't be homeless now. I wasn't even conscious of worrying that I might become homeless, so I completely understand your perspective.

happier thank you. Your new partner sounds like a nice guy!

He's nice for all kinds of reasons he's kind & thoughtful & considerate. My late boyfriend was all of those things except for thoughtful and could have a very sharp tongue both generous but bf understands a bit better than it's important to me to pay my way

My late boyfriend was more spend spend spend and the lord will send. My bf understands I'm raising two dc and paying a mortgage and often says you've a lot more demands on your money and time than I have.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies feel your pain re insurance. Mine has gone up by 40 percent. My salary certainly hasn’t

My house insurance went up by 30% this year cost of rebuilding has gone up is eve explanation for that, what's the explanation for car insurance?

Two weekends ago my gas was wavering & I shook the tank & carried on, today it ran out by after I had cooked fluffy pancakes for us & some regular crepes for ds and his lunchtime pasta was almost cooked finished it off in a Pyrex dish in the airfryer!
Dinner was fine because it was meatballs but what to put with it? Made BBCgoodfoods oven baked risotto, brilliant!
I'm going to go to shop I used to buy gas from when I was in my marital home tomorrow eve to buy gas & going to take in a coastal run while I'm there.

@Happierwithouthim similar for car insurance. Cost of mechanics/repairs has gone up and secondhand car values increased a lot as well.

Lovely, busy weekend. Family trip and went to a summer fete. ☀️ weather just about held out

Not sure any specific frugajobs today except continuing to eat from the freezer and cupboards.

Cc1 -1160 (min payment dd taken)

Spends
£30 fete
£25 picnic supplies and gift for family
£5 tshirt for dd1 (used up last £2.66 of gift voucher)

I hadn't thought about that re cost of second hand cars.

I’ve fallen off the thread again…

But re second hand cars. I had to take my car to the garage last week to get a fault checked out, happened to mention that I might be replacing it at some point soon. The guy was super, super keen to tell me to bring it back to them to sell it if i decide to. My car is old and was very dirty at that time. I think I’ll be getting a few quotes before I off load it as it’s also low mileage (for its age). I’ve also now cleaned my dirty car as it may be more valuable than I thought 😂

Fallen off the thread
spendy few weeks with half term and birthday

will try and keep up

€36 on gas & pack of Fanta mentos which gave me heartburn
It's ten months since I replaced gas, combination of airfryer & eating at bf's too

Dd birthdays coming up so spending has started! Shopping this weekend too for various bits and bobs

Frugajobs: found discount code for 20% off dd2 main birthday present, will handmake some decorations for both parties, have written list of everything needed and am writing down spends so that I can budget in advance next year - I have a general birthday pot but that's just for presents rather than the parties which cost quite a bit too!, also am saving money by buying a supermarket cake and then have bought personalised decorations to put on saving around £90 on a bespoke cake.