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.

LSD yesterday. I caved and jumped on the Homemade chocolate hobnobs bandwagon. I had most of the ingredients, just needed to buy wholemeal flour and milk chocolate.

Got paid on weds so I sorted out my savings pots yesterday, it feels so good seeing the pots build up.

£1.20 for paper for Mum , then took her to the cafe for a coffee so that was £10.10 for us both and a piece of jammy toast for Mum 😋
Beautiful day here hope everyone has a lovely day.

£22 in Marks and Spencers on stupidly expensive stuff in plastic. DH and DS driving to Leeds tonight to empty his student house of all his stuff, staying overnight and back tomorrow. I thought if I bought them food from M&S, they would at least have one half-way healthy meal on the road, before they descend into a burger-fest tomorrow.

£50 to gardeners to trim gigantic hulking camellias and ceanosus and clear the prunings. Took them 20 minutes to do what would have taken me 3 sweating, cursing hours.

£14 on lovely bottle of Muscadet (the producer is near Nantes, north, and the nearest I am going to get to the Loire Atlantique for a while! - hope your trip was lovely) which is sitting in the fridge waiting for this evening, when the house is quiet, all the chores done and I have 24 hours to myself. I don't have the car, so cannot be first responder to any emergencies for that period.

£228 credit - I'm returning all three items that I bought earlier in the week and that have been sitting on Paypal. They're nice enough, but I don't love them, so they get no house room here. So I have a zero balance on my Paypal credit.

Might watch some Glasto tonight - DSIL is there, so I will text and ask what she recommends!

Right, a few more calls to make, laundry to sort, then I'm done for the day!

Afternoon.

Goodness, I think it's less than a week since I posted and I've missed loads. I've read every night.

Thank you for the natural cleaning product mixes. I've screen shot. Does any essential oil work, depending on preference re aroma?

Thank you for the good wishes re DD's birthday. Pretty low key in terms of celebration and presents. We got her tickets for a festival and a few small bits.

I'm so sorry for the emotional load re elderly parents for so many of us at the minute.

Spending - we went over budget on food last month and I'm going to do better this month. I had money left in other areas so nothing to be worried about but there's still room for improvement.

Menu plan
Orzo with spiced tomato sauce and feta.
Dhal
Pea and ham soup
Cinnamon and cherry tomato koshari
Chilli and veggie chilli (family over Sunday for DD's birthday)
Aubergine basil, chicken and tamarind curry
Corn and cauliflower chowder
Gobi Manchurian

The vast majority of the above are Anna Jones recipes and sound fancier than they are. Meat added on occasion to appease DH.

Todays spends
£9 bulk buy washing tablets
£25 NYT subscription, which I don't mind as I love the games and it can pass the time if I'm in the house a lot more there days due to DH.

Weekend spends will be around a tenner on a few Mexican related snacks for Sunday. And we are having a takeout tonight so will pay for that (DD birthday request).

Then it's hunker down for the month.

Your mum looks very glam as usual @MaryGreenhill ❤️

@needastrongoneagain I tend to use (on their own, not combined) lemon, orange, tea tree, lavender or eucalyptus. All have good anti microbial and antiseptic qualities - depends what smell you prefer!

Ah your mum looks beautiful @MaryGreenhill , is that the new dress?
LSD today. I bought DD a new swimsuit on vinted but used my balance so nothing out of my bank account.
Hoping weekend is a free one with parks and pottering about.

Lovely meal plan @needastrongoneagain
Well done ✅ n sending the things back don't give them house room .AHH thank you re my Mum 😁
Ah thank you @Frugal25😊
This wasn't the new one but it was another £3 bargain 😁
Have a wonderful weekend everyone 😊

I've been reading but not posting.

Friday
£35 meal out
£5.77 parking
£23 amazon
Got a free lunch at a work event at least.

Today
£25 for brunch with DD and Dsis
£70.98 Lidl - saved £9.68 on Lidl Coupon Plus.
£40 funfair for DD

Menu plan roughly is:
Tonight food vans as part of funfair. Tuna and sweetcorn paninis left for DH and DS who are both at work. .
Saturday: lamb kebabs, flatbread, salad and dips
Sunday: left over beef chilli and black beans.
Monday: BBQ pork shoulder sides to be decided.
T/W/Th use up freezer: IKEA meatballs, chicken burgers, beef burgers.

This morning we got Turkish Eggs for brunch so I'm thinking of trying that one night.

@BigSkies2022 likewise I am sending the Seasalt jumpsuit back. The body part is far too long not flattering. £59.95 coming back to me

Your mum looks the type of lady I'd love a cup of tea with she looks like she would have a story for everything and the most perfect non-judgemental mum advice.

Nsd today but tomorrow petrol as going to see my mum in her care home. Solidarity with those navigating elderly parents

Oh thank you @ChipshopPickledEgg you are right what My Mum doesn't know isn't worth knowing. She used to work as a team leader in Tesco and she had all the youngsters under her wing there and they all ask after her when l see them in town 😁

@Imperfectpolly they were from Temu.

its been a spendy couple of days. Yesterday I spent €60 on filters for the dehumidifier. €50 on a new booster seat, €33 in Tesco, €30 for a gift and €7 in Penneys.

today was also expensive. €64 in Lidl, €68 at the beauticians, €134 on dresses in mountain warehouse, €60 in dunnes and €68 in boots. Half the mountain warehouse items will be returned and also most of what I bought in the whitestuff sale so things will even out. I’m away tomorrow for work for a week hence the flurry of spending.

Morning.

Blimey I'm knackered. We had friends round last night for DD's birthday. It wasn't a particularly late night but a full stomach, a couple of glasses of wine, and no wind down time are not things I can not cope with these days!

£73 on the takeout for all of us. They pay when it's at theirs. It works out even.

£15 first Christmas presents! That's what becomes of reading the Christmas threads at 2.30am when you can't sleep. A Crayola set (practical) and a TY toy (probably more enjoyable at aged 5) for our niece. I do have a 'pot' for Christmas presents though.

Thank you @chimichangaz re the essential oils - I bet eucalyptus smells lovely and fresh!

Today I need a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes and that's it. I'd started buying the Mutti ones again last year as their price dropped to just about affordable and I was earning. Neither is the case now so it's cheap ones again!

We may go visit DF in his care home later too. If that's the case, I'll buy flowers for his partner too. It was her birthday yesterday. We don't usually bother with adult presents but it'll be a nice gesture I'm thinking.

Right off to drag myself round a run...!

Morning everyone. I get paid on Monday, and I’ve got £104 left in my back account right now, though £11.45 of that is for my prescription pre-payment certificate direct debit, plus I need to buy a birthday card.

I sold two items on Vinted last weekend and now have £4 in my Vinted balance, which is better than nowt, as they say round here!

I’ll update on Monday with my summary of spend for the month.

Morning.
Im having a bit of a lazy start to the day after a late night at a concert at Hyde park with dd. Was good fun though.
I spent £7 on bottled water for dd and her friends (to comply with their regulations) before we went in, £16 on food, and £10 on an uber. So £34 in total. Not too bad really.

Today I need to buy a few bits for a costume for Dds Yr 6 production. Will start off in charity shops though and hopefully keep it under £10.

Tomorrow I’ll need to get an Uber to DDs sports club, but we will get the bus back.

It’s pay day on Monday. I’ve about £60 left so totally doable.

This week has been up and down in terms of spending. Some no spend then others more so.
Got a cheap weekend ahead. I have some makeup bits and toiletries I need to buy in the next week along with DP's birthday but do have some money in.
I need to meal plan for the week so will go through the freezer and cupboards to see what we have.
A friend seemed shocked I wasn't going to buy any holiday clothes. I have summer clothes which fit and I like so no need. I have definitely changed my mindset as I would always buy some before going away. Only suncream this year!

Oh and I got my house insurance quote for the next year yesterday. Payments have gone up by £15 per month. I contacted them and they’ve reduced it but still more expensive than before. I am going to have a shop around for a better quote today.

NSD so far but £50 on. Chinese takeaway tonight 😁
A treat to watch Glastonbury with 😁😋

@MaryGreenhill enjoy the Chinese tonight
@needastrongoneagain same here with a night out or in - was out for food on Thursday night, had the car and I spent all day yesterday telling anyone who would listen that I was tired.
@SockHop my house insurance is due - watch this space! Hope you got yours down.

Today has been unspendy for a Saturday as I've mainly been loafing around catching up on jobs at home. After last weekend away then a busy week I need it!
£6.80 Morrisons.

Ahh thank you @Mochi1fudge , good luck with the insurance quote 🤞

Salmon cream cheese bagels for tea here was meant for Breckfast today but we didn't I oddly feel like it's a free meal 😆

£15 on an activity for DD
£15 groceries and nappies

Yesterday I spent £5.40 on ice creams for me and dc; they got an achievement award at school so it was a bit of an impromptu celebration

Today I've spent loads; £32 for an activity for dc in July; £75 for National Theatre tickets for me. We also went to a local fair and got some food, drinks, cakes etc for all and spent £16 plus £5 for a t-dhirt for dc. And coffees and babychino on route which was £8.40 I think.

I'm eyeing up summer dresses. I have been decluttering my clothes over the last few years and I have just two dresses left after this weekends purge. I'd like something light to waft around at home, and something equally light but bit more structured for work days. I'm terrible at making decisions though unless I see the clothes, so most likely will just keep wearing shorts till te end of time.

@Pigtailsandall oh what theatre ticket was it pray tell. l know l am nosy 🤗
Those bagels sound really yummy @ChipshopPickledEgg 😋

I got 2 tickets actually, a cheapie £20 one for Inter Alia when I go alone, and a more expensive one for End, with a friend