January Frugaleers thread brings no judgment just friendly banter & advice for like minded folk

[Happierwithouthim]

A place where all are welcome regardless of income, level of debt or reason for being in debt or debt free.

We're friendly, full of good advice and open to new ideas where to shave off expense and how to live your best life on the income you have.

Over the years we've celebrated debt payoffs, babies, leaving jobs, getting different jobs, bonuses, and we've been there for each other through difficult times.

New posters welcome always & I hope posters who have fallen off thread will rejoin too

Such good news Em so pleased for you that you have a holiday booked bless you sweetheart 💐

I have 2 friend's birthday tomorrow and Saturday. My Mum's birthday on the 3nd Feb so l must get sorting out the presents and cards .
Have bought smellies for the all in the Boots half price sale should l will wrap them up .
I spent £50 a couple of weeks back so l will get my act together and sort them out now 😁
Hope everyone is ok 😊

£40 on a quick top-up ahead of the bigger shop tomorrow. Included salmon fillets, four free-range chicken breasts - DH's meal plan - and rinse aid (why is it so expensive? Would white vinegar do the job just as well or would that trash the dishwasher?)

Evening

Best news and best £8.40 spent Em ❤️

Whoever recommended Whistlefish, thank you. Lovely cards.

We are so within our food budget this month that I went to M&S on the way home from work and got some things I've really refrained from buying but wee treats for us all. Fresh raspberries (for DD and me - we used frozen berries mainly due to cost, but it'll be lovely to have fresh with our overnight oats). DS loves fresh bread, so some good sourdough for our chicken broth tonight. DH enjoys a G&T of a weekend so a small bottle of gin. Fresh grapes and luxury Hot Cross Buns (DH, breakfast). £36. Did I need? No. Could I have gotten cheaper? Yes. But it's nice to get to nearly payday, having really reined things in, and enjoy loosening the purse strings for a few nice bits,

Great news em so pleased to hear that stage is over and that you have a holiday planned 🏖️

NSD. First for a long time!

Ahhh Em we've never spoken but so many congratulations!
Having a rough week food wise this week just eaten potato stars and chicken nuggets to avoid having to go in the supermarket or order a takeaway 😆
Not doing as good as last week really but still an improvement. Still working on work lunches and alo not nipping out on my work lunch time in the car saves money too that became a bit of an habit last year a drive to a supermarket.

That's great news Em!

Last weeks spends, £106 on presents for DH. Ocado order £57, I used a £25 off code.This week no spends so far, although my tret prescription is due for £24.99 Friday. No planned spends this week but I do need to buy some vitamins which can wait until next week as I'll have a voucher to use then.

One of my goals for this year is to make a capsule wardrobe, I have spent lots of time finding the perfect items and making a list. I'm hoping if I have spare cash at the end of the month I can gradually buy the bits I need to complete it.

I have a pair of boots that need to be taken for reheeling and a general, make them look new again, I will see if it's in budget t the end of the month.

spendy day.

placed order for new sanitary ware for bathroom £3k (eeep) and paid for tiles (£400 b&q with 20% off).

our bath leaked about 3m ago and we decided we needed to get stuff done with it. A bathroom refurb was not on the cards this year. But needs must. We’ve managed to get things lined up so the majority of the work will take place while we’re away. The team working on it are all family friends/friends of dhs (but in professional capacities not mates rates) and they understand the time frames. By the time my surgery comes round we will have a new bathroom. Phew.

returned 2 bikini tops today so that’s £67 back. Dsis gave me two bikinis she bought in the summer never wore and now don’t fit her. So that’s a win for me.

she also gave me all of her cats food and litter. Sadly her cat had to be pts last week. She was old. 22 I think. And very poorly. She will be missed.

my cat - affectionately known here as catface is winning at life now. So many food choices. .

@psuedocream3 I'd love a capsule wardrobe - if it's not outting fancy sharing?

Parked on roadside so free
€10 car wash - I'd planned to do this on Sat but I didn't get up on time so that got delayed

€50 boots order and €3.50 for bread.
red weather warning for Friday so must prepare for a power cut. Must make a pot of soup that can be heated on the camping stove and buy some large bottles of water.

pistachios I must check I've got foods that can be heated on the hob. I think I do.

Stay safe Irish frugaleers x

I’ve now scraped together enough money to pay the missed bill from last year phew! I’ve also taken on a little bit of freelance work this week which will be another £60 when I’m finished. I am trying to find the sweet spot between earning/making enough money to pay all the bills and not getting ill.

Still feeling quite panicky and overwhelmed about debt mountain (most of which accumulated when I had to leave my full time job) but am trying hard to take it one step at a time.

Treats from M&S sound lovely needastrongoneagain - so important to have things that bring us joy while we are cutting back elsewhere!

Congratulations on finishing your treatment em - treats are definitely in order!!

Stay safe in Ireland. Will be thinking of you all tomorrow

I'm going to use my storm time to do my tax return approx €400 due back to me and my car insurance quotes ahead of renewal

Joining as we are massively trying to cut back this year. We earn decent amounts but did a full
house Reno/extension last year which pretty much wiped us out. Plus we are rubbish at spending on rubbish!

I reduced our spending money (covers food, petrol, toiletries, kids stuff etc) by a quarter last month and only went £40 over which was really pleased with as we’d had 2 lots of swimming subs to pay and an unexpected new battery for car.

trying to do same this month. Have spent more this week than we probably would on “wants” but that’s cos I had some stuff done under a GA and wanted some nice treats for recovery. But will (should) be able to rein it in now.

We are also in the CI so food (and everything actually) is bloody expensive here!!!

Welcome Christmasgonk

Welcome Chrismasgonk. We've done a shed load of stuff in the house in the last 3 years so I feel the pain, well done on reducing the overheads so much.

Nice one on the tax return refund Happier. I got my car washed too as it was filthy with all the grit from the roads, I used various coins I found around the house and in my purse.

Well done Betsy on getting the money together re the bill and freelance work. Keep the balance right! Try to stay in the moment. One day at a time.

NSD.

Happy New Year decaff!

£30 on the things I forgot to buy in the food shop, and cold medicine and some treats for DH who is feeling unwell. I am hoping its just a cold, and not the flu, he has a weakened heart, and scarred lungs, so a dose of flu could turn nasty.

Tbh he isn't one to make a fuss, he is more the silly sod that carries on regardless and makes things worse. So him sitting on the sofa not doing anything is a bit of a worrry.

£76 Aldi's which included a pink metal trolley for £12.99. They are a lot more in IKEA .

Good to hear your Catface is doing well @ememem84 .
Sorry you hear about your Dsis cat ,
bless her.

Best wishes for a swift recovery to DH, nellie. Glad to hear there is one man in the mumsnetverse who doesn't don the Dressing Gown of Doom once ill!

£25 today on more food shopping. Swerved the big shop in favour of cleaning at home, a workout, and a nice bath. One for me, one for Ddog (who smells much nicer now)!

A second coat has been purchased - and will be returned, as also too big. This one was MaxMara, pure wool, and £490 rather than the £179 from Zara. So I am both sorry-and-not-sorry that it's not suitable for me. Looks like I'm going to have to go into an actual shop and try shit on. DS tells me there's a good outlet near London Bridge currently doing Burberry trenches for £400-£600...

I asked builder to price concreting my yard but even though he hasn't come back to me yet I think I'm going to leave it for now.

Barriers are removed in carpark maybe for maintenance or storm, I was caught for time so was going to suck it up for this eve so win win.

€8.01 remote control Amazon