Significant Summer Saving, significantly less spending, super (non) splurging. Frugal folk continue being frugal here. All welcome.

[needastrongoneagain]

Making a new thread!

Please check in regular posters and welcome new people.

This is a super friendly thread to contribute to. We are all wanting to be as efficient as possible re spending but all have different budgets and priorities. No judgement here.

NSD (no spend day) for me.

@WhitegreeNcandle i found this hard when we had the recent good weather. i do find it handy to have my fridge stocked with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, cut peppers that can be served with hummus etc. Also chopped up watermelon as they are so big they are better value than strawberries.

I also found it easier to do a batch cook of a few things that we could reheat or eat cold throughout the week. So i made some hearty salads like a Potato, chorizo and paprika salad. Quinoa salad, Pasta salad, cous cous etc. These go well with quiche, deli chicken or a roast chicken and anything that can be bbq'd. Lots of wraps and quesadillas too.

@northender sorry to hear about the parent situation and hope you enjoy France despite the responsibility.

I'm with the 'get back on track crew'. Was an expensive weekend and more to come this summer. Just bought a linen jumpsuit in the sale at Seasalt, saw it while I was away at the weekend and then my friend sent me the link. Been after one for a few years, will be perfect for our Italian holiday and it was in the sale but really? Anyway I'll reign it in and put spends on later

Meal plan for the week done:
Picky bits such as hummus and carrot sticks with cheese
Homemade pizza with blue cheese and olives
Root vegetable gratin with green salad and crusty bread
Spinach cheese sauce with tagliatelle
Bean cheese and tomato quiche with salad
Celery soup
Greek summer vegetable stew

Pearl-Do you have a spreadsheet to plan purchases over the year? So if you need, say, new plates/a chair/curtains/whatever you earmark it for a specific month and allocate the expenditure. I find that really helps curb the impulsive spending, and overspending, without opening the door to that other source of‘deprivation stress’ where the unconscious belief that you’re not going to be able to have the things you need gets in the driver’s seat!

the fitness podcaster I mentioned before says a lot about the’fuck it’ mentality associated with overeating/punitive dieting cycles that has useful parallels with spending, I think.

yet more food shopping to be done today as the 750 grams of chicken breast all went in one sitting last night. Keeping to this high protein, carbs and calorie restricted meal plan is expensive!

Was heading for a nsd until Disney+ subs came up. I pay for it for my GCs. Should be it for today, though.
£27 in Tesco yesterday, that plus the fruit and veg box should see me through until the end of next week.

North ❤️

Afternoon everyone 😁
@Frugal25 aw yes thank you my Mum loved the dress 😁
Great job finding the body lotion 😁
Aw bless you @PearlsPearl
If you need them then you need them , just enjoy them 😁
@North it's very difficult dealing with our elderly parents , hope things work out well.
NSD for me yay!

£63.90 Seasalt. The most I've spent on one item of clothing for a while. May return unless I think I'll get a lot of wear from it.

No other spends at least 😊

@Mochi1fudge you alerted me to the sea salt sale so one dress from ther €51. I’d been looking at it for a while. Then €101 in white stuff sale. All coming from my personal spending pot but I do need to reel in the clothes spending now.

also €2.53 on some summer cookie cutters.

At last, a nsd for me today.

Spent the day cooking and cleaning. I boiled eggs and roasted nectarines for salads. I made halved roasted peppers tomatoes and beans for dinner tomorrow. I'll serve them warmed with some cheese, oven fries and salad. I also roasted carrots with onions and spices, then chucked them in a pan with the rest of the beans and stock to make soup.
Then for dinner I made sweetcorn and chicken chowder for tea.
Sounds like lots, but it was mainly a 'shove in the oven and leave' scenario.

Work tomorrow, so nectarine, mint and feta salad. Hoping for another nsd, fingers crossed.

I had a good start on this thread and then... nothing.
Tbf, I was away on work most of last week and pretty much everything is expense-able, so although I spent a bit, I need to sort the receipts and claim back for it.

Things I can't claim back on:
£12.99 and £7.99 on presents for dc (mum guilt for having been away most of the week)
£5 gelato (not exactly subsistence is it)
£3.50 and £9.50 beers out (ditto)

But I also flipped out slightly and spent £412 on a handbag🙈 a nice (actually nice) bag has been on my list for over two years now and I suddenly thought, what am I waiting for? So I bought it.

Weekend wasn't terrible - £16 on a kids theatre tickets, £4.30 on coffee and babychino, £4.50 for lunch for me as I annoyingly forgot mine home although I did remember DCs.

Nothing on Sunday, tube fares on Monday and today £4 on a pack of iced coffee

Should add though that I don't count normal grocery costs because we have a separate monthly grocery pot from which dh buys all our food from (and to which we contribute to equally). If it runs out, we just make do for the rest of the month but we keep low stock in the house as we have limited storage space

Where are the cookie cutters from @pistachiosanscream - that was a good price.

A LSD for me today but they were unnecessary spends eg starbucks coffee at work instead of using the canteen. I'll try to be more organised tomorrow.

NSD for me today 😊
Busy day sorting out the house and garden - just sitting down with some crushed meringue, berries and yogurt to watch TV.

@BigSkies2022 I don't have a spreadsheet like that but I'm going to add to my current one something along those lines which I agree should help me with the feeling deprived thing.

Now I'm on the weight loss injections I'm hoping it will help with my impulsive spending too! Something about the reward centre not being as overactive?

I'm back from a lovely holiday and now caught up with everyone's posts. It sounds like you have all been busy and somewhat productive over the past ten days or so. So well done everyone.
Been doing a check of holiday expenses and have noticed two transactions on a credit card which means a phone call tomorrow to raise a dispute but other than that we were pretty much in budget with holiday spends.
We do have another family holiday planned for October which needs paying off sometime in August but have been paying that off in instalments so need to crack on with that one.
Need to shop tomorrow as we were eating from the freezer before we went on holiday and actually turned off the freezer in the shed and moved everything indoors. Will need to fire that back up and then do an audit of what we have and then menu plan and shop so we can eat. My lovely neighbour got some milk, bread and crumpets in so we won't starve in the immediate interim.
Bills have been going out while we were away so no major shocks there and somehow we seem to be sliding towards another month end and will need to update the spreadsheet this week. Where does the time go?

Going to need to see this handbag!!

It's this and I love it. I got 15% off with a referral code

https://www.strathberry.com/products/mosaic-bag-soft-croc-embossed-leather-black

Tesco 79 yesterday. That’s it

Tesco 79 yesterday. That’s it

Nice bag

Morning!
I've had a busy weekend away at Center Parcs followed by a full on few days at work with a transition meeting for dd in the evening on Monday and outdoor theatre at the local park last night.
Pretty much everything was paid for in advance so its actually been fairly low spend. We brought our own food to CP (I did a £45 shop on Thursday). We were really delayed on getting there and I ended up having to cancel and rebook an activity which cost me £20 - fairly annoying, especially as I think we could have got away with just blagging it, but not the end of the world either! The only other spends were £13 on a round of drinks for the kids and £12 on a stack of pancakes that dd and I shared. £45 total so not too awful as there were opportunities to part with money all over the place. Also I'd given myself a limit of £75 to stick to on extras so we were well under that!
Monday was a NSD.
Yesterday I had a food order arrive that cost £41. It will be the last food shop till after payday next Monday. I did have to nip to the shops on the way to the park to watch the theatre. I'd ordered some drinks and picnic bits for my friend and I, but had totally not thought about the fact that the beers would be warm and not have time to chill. So an extra £8 on cold beers...

Today is potentially a bit spendy. I've had £90 coming out of my account for dog food - but that will last Ddog till late August. I am also trying to buy tickets for a one of DD's favourite singers. Presale today and I think it will be hard to get hold of them but would be amazing if I could. It would be her birthday present if I do get them. I haven't even seen the prices yet. If Ii do get them the cost will come out of a few different longer term pots - as well as reduced spending next month.

Payday is on Monday. I've about £90 left allocated for the month which is fine and I should be left with spare at the end. Tomorrow will hopefully be a NSD and the weekend should be cheap too. However on Friday night Dd and I are going to a concert at Hyde Park so I might come unstuck there. It was a Christmas present. We are going with 2 of her friends and another parent. I don't think either of the other girls will be buying merchandise so it'll be easier saying no to dd - I guess the main cost will be expensive food and drinks. They don't allow you to take anything in with you although I'll be trying to sneak in some snacks regardless and we will all eat beforehand too. I think there might be a fairground ride there too which I am happy to treat them too if other costs are lower and if it's not too crazy expensive!

Oh I forgot that Ddog will be going to the dog sitter on Friday night so that's another £35. I've paid for it out of the dog pot, but I'll probably repay that with anything left over in monthly spends at the end of the month.

Checking in!

payday on Friday. Can’t wait.

i Made £130 on Sunday doing a car boot at the dcs school.

yeaterday I spent £62 in game on Nintendo switch controllers. Ds broke one of mine ages ago….

and £9 at chip kiosk on chips for dinner for me and the dc. One of dds friends had a party on the beach. Pizza was provided. As was cake.

the tide came right up against the wall we were sat on. All the dc were jumping off the slipway into the waves. So lovely. Me and a couple of other mums decided it was time for a swim so in we went. I didn’t have my swimmers with me but was wearing shorty type pants and a sports bra. So in I went. So refreshing after a hot day at work. Necessary.

Used some of my boots points yesterday too and bought dsis some baby clothes. She’s having a girl! So excited!

im off work today. Going on a school trip with dds class to the castle. Can’t wait. Should be lots of fun.

£59 on Ddog food order.
£55 on shoes to go with graduation dress. Have decided I don’t need a jacket with it, have a shirt that will work as a cover if need be. Probably don’t need the shoes tbh but I can return if they’re not bringing much to the party.
yet more spends in Sainsbury’s yesterday- £25. And more will be needed today . I can’t stick to the meal plan and provide enough for everyone to eat without these regular visits and top ups at the moment.
visiting 2 more care homes today and chasing social services again. Gonna have to push it further up the tree to CEO’s office because the locality team is beyond shit.