Amigos actively attempting austere actions August 24>

[Happierwithouthim]

Link to last thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/5007277-familiar-friends-in-frugalityfeb-24?latest=1

All welcome, the vibe is frugal life to make the things that matter possible, which is different for everyone, some of us have overcome debt, separations etc. All are friendly and we're sometimes chatty, sometimes quiet.

Don't lurk, join in

Hack maybe an oven glove would be a cheaper option than a fancy oven

It's my forearms that I burn. I've tried welding guards but they have a trade-off in dexterity and I tend to need to move quite quickly to keep the high oven temperature for bread so that I get the 'oven spring'.

It's an enjoyable fantasy that I'll ever be able to justify purchasing an oven like the Neff model with the slide-away door but I like thinking about it.

DH gets paid on Friday but the hotel stays etc. to make his procedure easier, and the additional expenses, means we've saved less this month. As he needs more treatment, we're going to repeat the expenses next month. We'll have to see how everything turns out.

Back from holidays. Was relaxed with spending and had a bit left which is going into savings.
cazillion wash loads started, waiting for shopping

I love when that happens life feel like you're winning at budgeting then don't you?

Spends yesterday
€4 on a burger
€69.61 in mr price which included some back to school stuff, strong bin bags 2)8,) I feel is a needle in a haystack item these days & a Joseph Joseph water bottle for work, it has a clicker in the lid to bring you to 2400ml a day.

Thanks @Happierwithouthim I found when I worked somewhere similar that having a few backups stored in a locker/desk was handy for when I forgot my lunch - instant noodles, crackers, peanut butter etc.

Haven't heard of European heritage days @RumBananaSundae. Sounds like it's worth going.

@2024Hackathon if you're burning your arms, maybe in the future you can prioritise your dream oven. Hope dh treatment goes well.

@lifelongfrugaleer sounds fab 👌 👏

defo winning at holidays 😂

£94 Sainsbury’s
will collect dog in a bit and pay kennels.

Got my last ever child benefit payment Ystd 😱 crazy! Also got my council tax bill which has shot up now dd has left education 😕

I've said to dd I'll not charge her rent but I do expect her to save plenty of money which tbf she's doing.

The rest of this month will be tight though thanks to my oven blowing up.

Ystd spent £20 in the co op on a few top up bits, noticed you can save a fair bit with the co op card now. Got day off today and am planning a dog walk and that's about it.

Big moment girlie. You have an adult now 🥳 well done you did it

£175 kennel, £30 petrol

£13 on two TGTG bags.

Had a rubbish evening yesterday and spent last night and this morning winding myself up about it all. Offsetting it slightly with the pint of milk I had from the fridge in the office.

Tesco £74 and I’m sure I bought about 3 things. Ok slight exaggeration but it was only 2 bags

Got there just as the yellow sticker lady was there with her bleeper. Can’t remember all of the bargains but these are some of them:

2 x cheese pizzas with cheese filled crusts: £1.29 each
2 x individual chicken pies: 49p each
2 x fillets of salmon: £1.49 each

Moved CC balance over to Santander card and it’s got no fees for transferring the balance.

We’ve paid around £27k off our debt in the last year (about £23k was using some of my redundancy pay) We’ve still got about £18k to go but DH is due £50k in the next 12 months so we should be debt free fairly soon. We’ll still be carrying on with our frugal ways though.

Well done @GiveMeSomeWaterItsHot good timing, and some really useful bargains! I haven't had much luck with YS lately, its usually things we don't eat, or I miss it completely.

€5.86 Lidl today, just things we needed
€18.36 Aldi yesterday, a hungry shop other than handcream & cat food I bought lots of snacky stuff

That’s good yellow stickering Give. It’s been a while since I’ve managed to find anything good.

Spent £5 in Asda today - it was a gift card so I’m not counting it as a live spend.

Will slob on the sofa this evening. Might have some of yesterday’s TGTG bag that I was saving for tomorrow. No progress on the hotel search.

My mortgage switch & topup went through today, I was quietly nervous about this because my new job has a smaller salary & I'd probably need to be in it a while before applying.

Rum do you find TGTG bags good or full of empty carbs?

Relieved for you re: mortgage, Happier.

Well done on debt repayments, Give.

Phew happier

Had a spendy few days recently attending DH's DS funeral. So petrol, hotel room, food while out and so on. So savings covered that.
Need to shop later - but currently waiting for a second quote for replacement blinds - we need to keep the house reasonably fresh and updated. So have decided to earmark something to do each month while still paying down debts. Have also booked big family holiday for October 2025 so now have to save for that too. It's celebrating three landmark family birthdays so something to look forward to. 😎

This has been an expensive time for you, Rainbow.

It's very sensible to have a budget that allows you to maintain your living environment to a good standard because it has such an impact.

3 landmark birthdays? A big holiday is a lovely way to celebrate them.

Sympathies to your DH rainbow it'll be nice to do something to the house while paying down debt, you'll be making progress on both things.

I'm out for lunch today, I'm in the office by myself and have been told it's an option to take a longer lunch break occasionally so I'm doing that today

Chose the wrap special on the menu so €9

€155.83 on monthly medications
€18 groceries

£500 new car deposit. Monthly payments will drop £70 a month through

£21 Iceland, £16 kfc, £37 Sainsbury’s

Good news on the mortgage going through Happier. Yes on the TGTG. Very carb heavy. You do take a chance. Today’s had four pastries. I don’t like pastries so won’t eat any of it. Once I got a bag (£2.59) that had 16 full sized sausage rolls, four boxes (boxes) of doughnuts, a salad and some sandwiches, I didn’t make a dent in it. I haven’t tried any from the supermarkets or restaurants.

Spending today was £3.50 on a TGTG and £1.45 on milk (gift card). I wanted to buy hand wash but I couldn’t find the one I always buy so came back empty handed.

Ooh what are you getting life?