Page 18 | Is your March miserly or munificent? Join the frugaleers sharing news and tips.

SockHop · 19/04/2025 09:31

Thanks @Imperfectpolly
I’ll definitely continue tracking. My spends have been a bit all over the place these last few months. I think I have all my direct debits coming out soon after pay day - but in the past there’s always been something (at least 1!) that surprises me at the end of the month.
Although that reminds me that I don’t yet have a direct debit set up for some of the utilities that I’ve switched over to my name. I need to get onto that asap!

I’ve just set up a presents/celebrations space on my bank account. Thanks.

I think some of my others might be too vague so will look at them again.

PeenaM · 19/04/2025 10:28

Yes I had seen this, for example this year it cheaper from about the 20th august!

PeenaM · 19/04/2025 10:30

Imperfectpolly · 19/04/2025 08:34

Yesterday ended up being a spendy day.

€45 for DS eye test.
€13 in a clothes shop for a reduced cardi and reduced top.
€100 in tesco on a top, trousers, iron and a few groceries, birthday present for a friend. The top and trousers were worn last night and will re use tomorrow for our easter lunch and one of our upcoming communions.

We haven't been to eurocamp in France but agree they look fab. We went to one in Italy last year. In my opinion, go slightly off peak so mid June as it will be quieter and would suit most sen kids better. Also have a look at the distance to nearest supermarket etc. We hired a car and then on a rainy day at the camp site, we drove to Venice where the sun was shining. We booked in advance and flights AND eurocamp came to €1000 for the 4 of us for the whole week!

Airbnb are great too, but if you want pools, entertainment etc, eurocamp would be better.

I work in a school so I’m stuck to school
holidays unfortunately!
Always used to take the kids out for a week in June prior to working in a school.

PeenaM · 19/04/2025 10:31

SockHop · 19/04/2025 08:35

Hi. Can I join you please?
I’ve always been a bit rubbish with money. I waste lots of money on unnecessary and knee jerk purchases.
My current situation is that my husband unfortunately died very suddenly and unexpectedly 2 months ago so I am now responsible for all outgoings. I am trying to find that sweet spot of being able to pay all the bills and costs (probably an extra £700+ a month on what I was paying before) and create some savings (both long term and short but also keep some bits of joy in our life.
I have an 11 year old dd who I want to be able to treat still as well as keep up her hobbies etc. I’m happy if she’s happy so I can generally go without stuff. I’m also aware that she might well need some counselling soon and although some is available through charities there is a chance I’ll need to pay for some too. She’s also starting secondary school in September so I’ve a whole new uniform to purchase.

I think my main savings will come from stopping buying all the random crap I don’t need and also through budgeting and planning our food shops properly. We had a cleaner who I have now stopped - although she has said she is happy to come one day a month only so maybe I might have the occasional visit. I’ve already cancelled direct debits and subscriptions I wasn’t really using. I’ll look at making savings from changing our household and dog insurance policies as these are both at the expensive end of the scale.

I’ve opened a Starling bank account and I’ve created spaces to divide my money into although I’m not convinced I’ve got everything covered or I’ve been realistic about some of our outgoings. Any tips about what pots/spaces have worked for you would be very useful.

My dd and I have been staying at my mums since DH died so we are not yet in the swing of normal life and expenditure. Mum has very kindly been paying for a lot of the food shops. I’ve had lots of expensive one off costs and bills (the funeral, applying for probate etc) on top of my own utility bills at home. I think I’ve paid everything now though so I will be able to get a better picture of how realistic my new financial situation is from next pay day. I’ll need to do mainly no or low spend days up to pay day first though!

I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and gaining tips and inspiration from those of you who’ve been doing this a while. I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions in the coming days and weeks.

Sorry for your loss Sockhop x

lifelongfrugaleer · 19/04/2025 12:36

Sorry for your loss sock and welcome. Have you done the mse benefit checker and made sure you are getting everything you are entitled to. Also single person council tax etc
school uniform. Asda, marks & Sainsbury’s are fine. Marks blazers if school sell a badge you can sew on
they have offers in June time usually as well

lifelongfrugaleer · 19/04/2025 12:39

Also schools have to have an affordability option. Speak to the school & see if they have any nearly new
unifom especially PE kit that’s worn less. We have a uniform shop at ours. Particularly the kilts seem to last forever

also your dd may be eligible for FSM now. Check with school which means there may be access to support for costs.

Bestbefore2030 · 19/04/2025 12:46

Delurking to give a tip for those that are thinking of doing euro camps. When you see something you want to book, check the prices of booking through the German, French, Italian euro camp sites as the same holiday can be cheaper for some reason. Looked at euro camps but never been to a euro camp myself.

Sorry for your loss @SockHop. Just in case you don't know, have you checked if you're entitled to BSP, Bereavement Support Payment.

Back to my lurking corner.

Bestbefore2030 · 19/04/2025 12:56

Sorry, I should have said German, French, Italian websites for euro camps.

PenniesButton · 19/04/2025 12:58

Welcome @SockHop and I'm sorry for your loss.

Another spendy day ahead as we're about to head into Edinburgh for lunch and shopping. We're going to Dishoom which I LOVE but £££ but worth it to have a lovely family meal (grandparents and great grandma meeting us there). DS will want to go to his favourite alternative shop, and DW can't resist the Lego shop. Plus will be paying for the dog sitters to pop in for a walk later too.

Trying to remember life is for living, and we work hard to afford fun days and treats too. Makes all of the good money days and decisions worth it.

MaryGreenhill · 19/04/2025 15:39

NSD for me yay! ☺️
Happy Easter everyone 😁
🐰🐥🐤🐣🐇🥚🧺

lifelongfrugaleer · 19/04/2025 17:00

Is widows benefit still a thing?

Bestbefore2030 · 19/04/2025 18:19

@lifelongfrugaleer, yes still a thing. My friend received it when she lost her husband. In some cases £3500 and monthly payments of £350 for 18 months if you have children under 20. Reduced amount if no dependents.

Learn more

The "PSB death payment" likely refers to the Bereavement Support Payment (BSP), a financial benefit available in the UK to individuals who have lost their spouse, civil partner, or in some cases, their cohabiting partner. It replaces the former bereavement benefits and provides a lump sum payment followed by monthly installments

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SockHop · 19/04/2025 20:17

Thabk you everyone.

Thanks @Bestbefore2030. I’ve already applied for the bereavement support payment, but it’s not something I’d heard of until a fortnight ago so I appreciate you mentioning it. I should hopefully get the full amount.

some great suggestions @lifelongfrugaleer. Thank you. I’ll contact the new school to ask about 2nd hand uniform. Luckily it’s fairly relaxed - no expensive blazers or regulation skirts etc so it won’t cost as much as some school uniforms do, but I’ll still need to make savings where I can. I’ll look into FSM too.

I had a LSD today. Just bus fare and an icecream for dd. We met up with some old friends but I took snacks and coffee with us. Hoping to have a NSD tomorrow although I might have to buy dog food.

Mochi1fudge · 19/04/2025 20:25

Welcome @SockHop and sorry for your families loss.

I'm not the best (which is why I account for myself here). For me I found identifying what wasn't on my monthly spreadsheet helped.

I have a 'sundries' pot where I added up the yearly average cost of random things like DD lunch money, dentists, haircuts, bread and milk type of shops, parking plus DD weekly activity. Every month I move £200 into an account which means I have somewhere to take it from as I spend and can keep a check on it running down before payday and cut it down to essentials only.

Do the same for weekly costs - so this is for weekly fuel and for a weekly cash withdrawal which goes into a tin to pay for people like the window cleaner who only takes cash.

Today not bad bearing in mind we are away for Easter
£10.20 parking while out on a boat trip (ouch but I didn't want to risk a ticket)
£7.50 ice creams. Took a packed lunch on the boat.

£22.77 KFC for three of us. The planned pizza night didn't happen as the caravan oven only had one shelf! Will take pizzas home and eat on Monday. Yes it's that tight next week 😂

lifelongfrugaleer · 20/04/2025 07:38

Ah thanks best. I’m clearly a lot out of touch with the new name
glad you’ve applied sock

Happierwithouthim · 20/04/2025 09:12

1/3 off the toothpaste because the box was damaged, half price potatoes not sure why & had €30 in money off vouchers from my cousin so all this came to €119.12

lots of items for dds birthday in there and meat for coming week. I’m having 7 adults & 6 children for dinner one evening during the week going to make Jools Oliver’s Beef stew love that.

Is your March miserly or munificent? Join the frugaleers sharing news and tips.

chimichangaz · 20/04/2025 09:22

So sorry for your loss @SockHop - you’ll get lots of good frugal advice on this thread.

@psuedocream3 I love Whistlefish - having a stock of cards has got me out of some sticky situations before!!

Spendy weekend for me as I’m out with friends for the whole weekend so travel, food and entertainment costs have already racked up over £200 - but it’s worth it as it’s a great experience.

needastrongoneagain · 20/04/2025 13:39

Afternoon.

Checking back in as I need to be accountable now. I need to jig the figures fully, but my mental health cup has pretty much run over and I need to step away from the business for my own sanity and wellness. Given everything that has happened over the last 3 years, I've a good idea where we are at financially, and what we need, but I'll double down on that in the next few days,

@SockHop I'm so sorry for your loss. It is absolutely not the same, but my own DH had a stroke out of the blue 3 years ago and is now very disabled. The initial shock and trauma are huge. I'm not sure we as a family have processed this fully, as life hasn't really allowed us to. I can perhaps understand a little about what you might be facing emotionally and practically.

Anyway - starting well with a NSD.

needastrongoneagain · 20/04/2025 16:12

£14 renewing my overdue driving licence, which had expired.

General meal plan

eating at relatives tonight.
chilli
salmon and Mediterranean vegetables.
dhal
veggie curry
roasted red pepper veggie pasta
cod (picked up some reduced yesterday), probably with lemon risotto.

PeenaM · 20/04/2025 17:17

Happy Easter Sunday everyone!

Yesterday …
We popped to b&q to get some more plants, came to £43.40 but had some money left on a voucher so spent £24.48.
Had to get a few bits from sainsburys came to £18.20

Today I ordered dd a body protector for horse riding, including postage it came to £25.80!

Back to work Tuesday so hoping not to spend much these next few weeks 🤞🏻

SockHop · 20/04/2025 17:48

Thanks @needastrongoneagain. I’ve definitely not got to the processing things point yet. I’m doing ok at dealing with the here and now (because you have to!) but I still haven’t really taken in what’s happened. I’m in my early 40s so this isn’t what I expected to be doing at this point of my life. I’m sorry to hear about your husband too. It must be very tricky.

Ive not been spend free today. I had to order a new part for my toaster which is broken. I did try to take the part out of another old toaster, but it was an older model and didn’t fit mine annoyingly. Anyway the part cost £20 which is cheaper than a new toaster would have cost me. And I felt very frugal taking toasters apart to check!

lifelongfrugaleer · 20/04/2025 18:34

That’s cheap for a riding body protector. Are you sure it meets current regs. My DD was a couple
of hundred £££ fitted.

ChipshopPickledEgg · 20/04/2025 19:23

Well happy Easter one and all x
Managed a no spend day 😆

Imperfectpolly · 20/04/2025 20:06

Almost had a NSD today before ordering a book for DS. Spotted a good deal on a 'growing up' book for boys so took the opportunity and bought it while the offer is on.

Frugal25 · 20/04/2025 20:28

Welcome @SockHop , I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm sure this thread will help you be more savvy with money, plus everyone is so lovely.

A NSD for me today which was needed as yesterday and the day before were spendy. Well, not big spendy compared to what I used to be like, but big compared to new me. £7 for posting some parcels. £6 on eggs and rice as I forgot to get them in Lidl. £5 on photos for DD homework. £35 on gifts.
I've had to tweak budget to fit as none were accounted for so had to find the money from other areas. Luckily all done and should be ok as long as I stick to budget from now on.

Good tips on eurocamp thank you all :)

Happy Easter!!