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

[BigSkies2022]

New thread

Has two NSD and will try for another tomorrow. I have sold an item on eBay for £7 and I need to return some shoes as little one won't even go near them so that's another £45 back. Needed this month, like another said, the first couple of months were easy to not spend, current month feels harder.
Also had eye on a dress but resisting for now.

Having a panic as I've just had my last payslip before retiring, it seems very final!
I've moved as much as possible into a savings account to use until my work pension kicks in. Which could be several weeks. It feels like a 'hunger gap', which is mad, I know 🤪 So it'll be as many LSD and NSD as possible until I've settled into the new normal.

Was feeling chipper about the balance in my current account to last until 1 April and payday, but I see that DS' travel insurance, which I took out for him last year, is due to renew. Not sure that this is the right product again so will ask him to email the company and cancel it, in order to rethink. But he has notifications silenced, gah!

I was expecting DS home this weekend, but he's not coming back until the 7th. DH leaves for a week's work trip on the 30th, so I have a week with just me and Ddog.

Right, I have my list for today and it includes making a start on dusting and decluttering the main bookshelves while I listen to the Spring Statement. Also ordering sofas for DParents. (And I may have ordered that dress I had my eye on, it may be arriving today, and I may or may not be sending it back because they are releasing another one, same style, in what will probably be a better colour for me later in the year...).

NSD for me again today yay!
@BigSkies2022
Well done on ordering the sofas for your Parents ☺️

@Songlines try not to stress over your last payslip, l know it's anxiety making but honestly pretty soon you will be having an amazing time .
Congratulations on your retirement 😁 🎉

great to have the sofas ordered @BigSkies2022

Spendy enough day here. €33 on a new kettle. the old one hasnt exactly broken yet but its making an unholy noise when boiling. Its not a whistling kettle but insists on whistling. i do not like whistling kettles and i use my kettle a lot. old kettle will now become back up kettle.

€23 on a vinted dress, new with tags so i;m delighted. hoping this satisfies my spending urges now.

€83 on groceries using my last 100 off 50 voucher. i didnt grocery shop last week which accounts for the larger spend.

Took myself out for coffee at lunch time was either that or I throttled somebody decided I don't look good in prison issued garms. £4
Milk on the way home £3.5
Husband trying to persuade me to order a takeaway for tea, I won't though I think I might have porridge! Got a bit of a thing for that at the moment

Popped into B&M for coffee pods as work has a Tassimo machine, £9 for 2 packs. Not bad as 8 in a pack. And then accidentally bought a candle and some snacks, so £20 in total/

£50 flowers for my nan for Mother's Day.

£45 for cupcakes as a thank you to my friend who has hosted DC at her work this week for Work Experience.

Spendy day :(

Got my first payslip for Monday though- feels SO good to be earning money after so many years out of the workplace.

@Songlines happy retirement!

I love porridge @ChipshopPickledEgg 😋😁

NSD for me today (1st of the week…) - resisted buying a snack when I collected my prescription from the chemist that’s next door to the convenience store…..

@Songlinesi feel you - I’ve just had my last but one payday before my ‘retirement’. Trying really hard not to book another cruise!!

Thank you all for your good wishes! Final day tomorrow, retirement do taking up most of Friday. Then I'm going to sleep for a week 🤣🤣

@Songlines congratulations 🎉 enjoy your last few days!
@PenniesButton good news on the payslip!.

£17 coffee and sandwich with DH at lunchtime
£72 Lidl - won't need much for a week now.
£7 Poundland. Had gone to Boots at first for toiletries but couldn't find what I needed to saved some cash at Poundland.

Congratulations songlines on making it to your last day 👏

Yesterday was
Planned spend:
€150 childminder
€10 slimming world

Unplanned spend:
Sandwich at lunch time. I usually bring lunch to work but ran out. Shocked that is was €6.50 for a takeaway deli sandwich so won't be doing that again! (It was delicious though!)
Couple of bits in aldi - chicken as I fancied a chicken pasta for dinner, toilet roll because it seems to disappear in this house, and DC got a €1 treat each.

Hoping for a NSD today. Working from home so it should be easier.

Dh retired a couple of years ago and it’s not as scary in practice as you think. Though it’s odd at first.

nsd last couple of days other that budgeted food shop

Primark £13 on a very pretty dress for my DD2 .
£26 Lidl on a few bits and £13 Boots for some Anusol for DH poor thing 😱

Love porridge @ChipshopPickledEgg !
Enjoy your last day @Songlines , so very envious!!!
Hope you're ok @ememem84 . Thinking of you.
Spendy day here. Did manage to not spend since Saturday though, despite being tempted on vinted (never used it before .... Gosh.... It's addictive)
£94 in lidl, down from £106 using my 10% off and deals. That's everything for the week and Easter too put away in freezer ready.
£6 for playgroup
Out with a friend tonight. We always go to a pub as we just want to gossip rather than look at the decor in a nice restaurant but this is the first time I've been out with her since I've been watching the pennies and I know it will add up with taxis etc.

@ememem84 I hoipe the treatments go as well as they can for you 💐

@MaryGreenhill That dress is lovely and perfect for the warmer weather on it's way. I need to dig out the summer wer for the kids.

Last weeks only spend was the emergency dental cost. This week £24.99 tretinoin subscription came out and £41.75 yesterday on collagen peptides, a fabric shaver for bobbles and pills, present for DDs friends party and some nootronic drinks to replace alcohol.

Income is reduced this week due to less work and still have Mother's Day spends to go. I'm over budget but not terribly, not a great month for dentist bill, but at least prom dress has been pushed back until next months spend otherwise it would be a disaster.

Money tensity aside, I've enjoyed debobbling my cashmere jumpers today, felt my age getting joy out of something so simple, wondering how I ever lived without one, and speculating what other marvellous contraptions I've missed out on all these years.

@psuedocream3
Oh thank you re the dress 😊. It's very light cotton and ideal for the boiling hot weather .
Well done on dribbling your jumpers 😁

Tesco shop £116 .
That should see us ok for food for a few days .
Dried clothes on the line again thankfully.
Petrol 132.9 a litre in Tesco
Hope everyone is ok ☺️

Overspent on the current account this week. I have a slush fund for random costs like parking, bus fare, medical treatments, dinner money etc but this has been hammered this month. Roll on pay day next week!

Today has been £13.94 Home Bargains. Out tonight with friends but we will catch the early bird special for £12.95 plus a soft drink 😇

pretty dress @MaryGreenhill, now we just need the weather.

I also get great satisfaction out of debobbing @psuedocream3

LSD yesterday of €10 for spare chargers for the apple watch.

So far a NSD today. Had a frugal lunch using up bits of leftovers in the fridge. Feel very smug about that.

AHH thank you @pistachiosanscream well done on the frugal lunch 😁

I had a frugal lunch also but it turned out to be quite nice - spinach and ricotta pasta. We then had freezer dinner as have nothing left in the fridge.

Spent €20 on airport car park for 38 hours. Very steep I thought.

Bought DS a revolut card which was free but had to pay €8 for delivery.

Should also add, we were very low on coal so DC went out and gathered branches that fell in the last storm. It means the small bit of coal that was left will last all night.

My frugal lunch was very delicious too! Not stuff I’d normally put together but really hit the spot