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

Hello all - joining in with goal of clearing as much as possible of 15K debt this year - 3K on a 0% card the rest to a family member. I’ve done really well since 2019 in clearing a shit ton of debt due to house renovations spiralling, but am chomping at the bit to spend!!!

I do waste money on rubbish: drinks, aspirational clothes. So am intending to wear down my wardrobe, read the books I haven’t read etc etc. of which there are plenty and cut down on fast food.

Plan for February

• No everyday walks to the shop for fresh air (and treats). Will make sure to get my steps in other ways 😂
• Big food shop tomorrow at Costco and a supermarket to supplement. Will do a batch cook for freezer
• My banking app always has an option to top up savings account - everyday I have a NSD I will transfer some money into Savings account
• I have gift vouchers left from Christmas so will use them when I need a treat in Feb

Just need to remember that chipping away at the total is a slog but very necessary ! FF25

Well we gained a neighbour's chair and a cardboard box but didn't loose anything important we live at the top of a hill so we also gained loads of other leaves etc.
Such fun!
Brought a cardigan today £16 and did some food shopping £50

Aw thank you so much @life , @needastrongoneagain and @ememem84 so kind of you 🤗
Glad it went as well as could be expected Em . Take it easy now sweetheart 💐

Bit of a spendy day today. £12.94 on Amazon - half of which was for a gift. £19.83 on eating out after a cold water night swim in a local
lake. I am such a massive fan of outdoor swimming - it’s the only thing that calms my mind. After a couple of days of overwhelm and anxiety it has done me the world of good. Don’t stay in long at this time of year though 🤣🥶

We had no power from 3am to 7pm.
My neighbours are on a different line so ds spent a bit of the day out there, I went to work about 11am & dd did her schoolwork

€50 dentist ds
€2.75 centra ds Betty Crocker mix which he baked at the neighbours with his friends
€5 parking

Would you concrete section of back yard or keep money to have a holiday & maybe change an internal door instead & have some savings . I got one lovely new door and thinking maybe a second one would be nice.

Welcome frugalfeb25 great achievable plans there

BetsyBanana I both admire and think you and other winter sea swimmers are mad in equal measures. I adore swimming in the sea but not enough to go in when it's cold

I need to get steps in too with the change in my personal life in last six weeks exercise has taken a back seat. I've two half marathons booked July & Sept so I think maybe I'll just use garmin couch 2 half marathon training plan & get back into it that way

I love a sea swim. But not until April at least. If I can I’ll swim April through to October. But brrrrrrrrrr

one if our local beaches here has a sauna pod set up. DH has used it a few times. Very quick sea swim and then sauna. Glorious.

Spendy couple of days, payday yesterday so all money moved round, big shop done £180 but included booze and hopefully only fresh stuff every week now. Very windy here yesterday but ok now just back to being cold again 😢.

Night out last night which cost €40. I was paid yesterday and funded all my revolut pockets and savings. It does give me a great kick to see them increasing. Though some are simply sinking funds. I’ve also added a new Christmas pocket to save €75 a month in. I’d been saving for it in a general gifts fund but it wasn’t cutting it. This will pay for nights out and the other expenses that occur due to more socialising etc.

@Happierwithouthim what’s the purpose of the concrete? I think the best way to approach this decision is ti list how each choice will improve your life and also list the negative effects of not doing them. I’ve never regretted spending money on my garden but it’s sometimes being torture getting work actually done

I've a gravel yard & the weeds are horrendous. This area is in front of my bedroom and between kitchen extension and hedge. Initially I thought maybe for ds to cycle but he's well able to cycle on gravel & road now

Is it a space that could be usable with some outdoor furniture and plant pots etc? Does it get the sun, for the five minutes it turns up in Ireland.

I get you on the weeds. We’ve a gravel part of our drive and it’s a pain to maintain. However We have gravelled parts of our garden for raised beds and found that a double layer of weed membrane keeps a good lot of the weeds away.

Could you scrape the gravel back and lay new membranes?

£3.50 cat park at park run where ds volunteers. Will print bar code for next week for free parking

Why does my child keep growing?! £12 on another pair of trainers for her.
£4 on the dogs tooth brush treats.
£5 on a couple of bits of food treats to take to a relatives who is under the weather.
Always something that needs buying!

That's a great idea @life , saves a lot of money for the effort @Happier
My friend does cold water swimming in Blaenavon , the Keepers Pond . She loves it and there are a huge group of mainly ladies doing it 😊
That sauna after the sea swim sounds fantastic @Em 😊.
Spends today, new Carbon dioxide monitor Toolstation £18
Aldi £29 including a new window vacuum for Dh's birthday £15 last one there phew!
Hope everyone is ok following the storm 🙏

Brr that’s all I have to say on wild swimming unless it’s a warm country

£104 Asda but this includes a new stock pot , £16 Sainsbury’s but done for mil.
some twat has cloned my nectar card so waiting for a new one and points to be paid back

Been into town with the kids and DH. So stressful. DH just wanted some new running gear

the dc are nightmares to shop with.

i took them to the toy shop to spend their Christmas money. The one time I let them essentially have free rein in the shop they cling to me and refuse to look at anything!

also pissed off that I had to buy new pyjamas. With buttons. For post surgery. I hate button pjs. But needs must.

I've a compact house but a big yard. A friend told me a couple of weeks ago the trick is to strim the weeds and then spray them because it'll go into the roots then.

I think doing membrane would involve getting another contractor in

€27.90 Burger King because we're on the road with activities from
1-7 today it was rubbish

My mission after builder finishes up is to get our floors cleared so that robotic hoover and mop can be used to full effect.
Repurposed three ikea units which formed a pantry in old kitchen. One is a bathroom unit in my en-suite and the other two are in dds room housing pop figures

Near death and disease and damage have hit us one after the other. Have 2 family members in hospital for different ailments - one is now hopefully on stronger footing and a more positive prognosis (although limited life span left) and the other is still in icu with the odds against them - all options come with significant risk.
We have also been hit with nasty viruses and a lucky escape from chickenpox.

And then damage from storm darragh which we are still trying to resolve.

Anyway I'd been wanting to post and wanted to cover off everything but found it more and more difficult as time passed. However it's progress not perfection so apologies to any news missed.
Welcome new joiners 👋

Money news has been up and down. Will report the frugawins 🥳
Cc2 is paid off! Can't remember the figures but I think it was roughly 4.5-5k.
Also managed to get the DDs Christmas presents mainly off vinted either new or nearly new and came well within budget which allowed us to splurge on a day out to a theme park.

Sounds like a tough time chillies. Welcome back

Saturdays feel expensive.

£20 Lego succulent gift
£8 national trust hot chocolate and a biscuit
£110 Aldi (which is only weekend meals and lunches, but I live on protein milk shakes and mousses and it adds up. Hopefully cheaper than my old meal deal habit).
£9 on my safe drink from Amazon.

I keep falling off the thread, but still reading when I can.

Good news on the end of chemo em, and great you now have your holiday to look forward to. You are doing brilliant!

I hope the results come back soon mary 🤞

life I can’t remember where I read it, probably on here, but apparently nectar is an easy target for having your card cloned and the money taken. The app in particular is easy prey allegedly.

We still seem to be spending too much. Amazon is always our downfall, but as I use it to buy stuff for Dmum too for delivery to her house, it’s just to convenient and she “reminds” me constantly if I don’t get things quickly.

Although I was annoyed with Amazon last week. Bought a new product, inside was a packaging slip dated early December. They had blatantly repackaged it. So I complained and got 10% back. But so cheeky!

Take care everyone, windy here again today.

Could you take a drink and biscuit with you to the national trust? Fur

i hear you time on Amazon for parents. I get nagged too.

Something horsey to pay today but not sure how much

great news em on the pre op

Chile wishing both family members well & hope they get excellent care.
Had experience with icu care during Christmas and couldn't speak highly enough of the staff there.

I caved in and bought something for £50 at Ikea yesterday- a pinboard thing for my craft room- absolutely a want not need. I shouldn't have even gone, it was inevitable I'd buy it once there. Disappointed in myself!

But otherwise doing really well. I am really really aware of how impulsive I am now that I've started writing a list of everything I want to buy but have resisted.

Can you take it back nessa. Ikea have a year refund policy?