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.

Good afternoon everyone 😁
Had a great time in Asda Opticians today. 2 prs of anti scratch , anti reflective, sun tint , improved Varificals for £90.
Now the ones in Specsavers are £160 for 2 prs , no anti scratch, no anti reflection, no sun tint or upgraded varifocal lens included . So we shall see.
Bought Dd2 30th birthday presents from Amazon saved a bit because it was Prime £135 penny day for me but had to be done. At least l saved a fortune on the glasses please God 🙏 😁

Hi All,

I've caught up with the thread now. I was away for work and it was intense so still catching up on life admin. Did my expenses for work and it will cover the credit card bill so thats a win. Not everything is allowable for expenses so i'm glad to break even on the credit card though some spending was on my debit card.

Also sorted out the returns from my clothing purchases and i have nearly €300 to get back as i'm keeping very little of what i bought.

Since i've been back there have been no NSDs so far as i had to do groceries and also got small change the Cul camp gear.

Today i have spent €141 on gifts for DH, these are from a separate fund. €25 on tshirts and stationery supplies for school next year. I don't have a huge amount more to get for small child except for navy leggings and maybe a new school bag.

@psuedocream3 Can you explain more how you use trello? i do want to get into some better habits and have some acountability but can't see how it would work.

Welcome back @pistachiosanscream
I also want photos of shoes!!
Love the frugal.cooking @Seaside3

Frugal here too today. Have been through wardrobe and have a few more bits for vinted so will put them on tomorrow. Freezer tea tonight. Soup. No cooking, just reheating. Lovely.
Did buy a drawer organiser after I'd tidied up wardrobe. On vinted so £6.98

I didn't get the deodorant tin out of the bin, realised I can use the refill without the tin so saved getting dirty!

Inspired by the meal ideas - have got all the veg out of the fridge to roast and flavour and stir into lentils/giant couscous for dinner tonight.

Have spent £35 in the last few days in a combination of Sainsbury's and butcher. But did have a splurge in the local empanada bakery (£33) on lots of empanadas (strangely!) to feed a friend at dinner here on Saturday. DH also bought wine and posh ice-cream, and a good time was had by all.

Otherwise have been managing NSDs on my own account, and have deferred renewing my PPT until next month so that I can free up the £20 to cover tube fares this month. Am heading into Marylebone tomorrow to shop for a dress for DS' graduation at the end of the month (guilt free spend pot) Might be tempted by shoes as well (if I find some, will have to be funded by PayPal). DH has offered lunch in the posh salad bar near his work place.

Still waiting for social services panel to conclude their ruminations on DDad's care. Have just paid for another week in respite care home. We keep getting promised a decision - and then they need one more thing to be submitted, and then that has to go to another agency. It is beyond shit, but IIWII as the young say.

Looking for day care for Ddog for duration of graduation ceremony. We've never used day care or boarding, so a bit weird for all of us.

I knew that today would not be a NSD today - £30 Hairdressers, 💇 £12.98 on Sun cream for next holiday (as was cheaper than seen elsewhere!) £75 on two birthday presents due in a couple of weeks time - this is budgeted for - but I managed to get 10% off one of them for downloading an app recommended by the store staff member. Bought a new pair of jeans to replace a pair that were binned cos too many holes for decency!! 😳 but paid for this with a birthday gift voucher and still have some left to spend at a later date. 😊Called in at local health centre for free batteries for HA. Also returned a pair of trousers to Tesco so had a £10 refund for that. So a busy but fruitful day!!

Met a friend for coffee today but she bought it so my turn next time. Then spent £52 in B&Q on fence paint, wood filler and a little seed tray with cover as my lettuce seeds are doing nothing outside.

Have sold a few things on Vinted/eBay in the last couple of days so there’s about £35 owed to me.

Ok - so it’s been a high spend day for me - but nothing unexpected.

£65 for haircut.

£57 on 6 school shirts for dd. They come in packs of 2 and I wanted enough so that I didn’t have to be washing them constantly mid week. 4 would probably be enough though so I might take one pack back.

£15 on uniform from the second hand shop. Would have cost me £95 new so a significant save. It’s all in really good nick too.

£300 from my holiday fund on flights for a city break we are taking during the Christmas holidays. I’ve booked the hotel but not paid it yet so will do that next.

I've had quite simple few days. Sunday was £7 to the bakery for fresh croissants and £34 to h&m for new shorts, swimsuit and few plain school t-shirts for dc. Our school allows plain tees which is a huge save. Overall they are quite relaxed. I was pretty shocked to see that all bar 2 pairs of shorts were too small - we used them on a holiday trip in May!

Then £3.50 coffee on Monday seeing a friend, and £10.50 for lunch. I really wanted donburi. Tuesday was nsd which was great.

Seeing a friend for dinner today but generally I feel that food and seeing people are worth spending on, and the restaurant looks good. I tend to want to eat in places which offers foods I can't easily cook myself

Not doing very well on NSDs here. Had a few things we needed, nothing huge and I'm having my hair done later in the week, dentist, meeting a friend for a couple of beers. It all adds up.
Next week should be less spendy.

NSD for me today but am thinking about getting a spin dryer in the Prime sale .
Hope everyone is ok and has this beautiful weather 😊

I am hot and knackered, but about to force out some weights and stretches before dinner. Motivated by my latest favourite YouTuber DanielJrStretch.

Found a nice dress in Me&Em (£275, guilt-free pot) but failed to find shoes. Sezane, Russell&Bromley, Zara, Pretty Ballerina, M&S - none delivered. They're out there somewhere, I have a couple of weeks. Walked over 10k steps though. DH bought us lunch (£9 a piece) in Farmer J on Marylebone High Street. Best. Salads. Ever. If they produce a cook book, I will buy it.

£20 in Sainsbury's - DS home, and requirement for iced tea, elderflower cordial, more of everything, suddenly soars.

Top news today though, is that the bastard social care panel finally decreed that DDad can have funding for long-term residential care AND we are going to be refunded for the cost of the additional week we've had to buy in the respite care home, to tide us over while the bastard panel havered over their decision. LA funding starts tomorrow, but Ddad has to remain where he is while the next step happens. We now have to wait for the placement person to identify suitable residential care homes with vacancies that can accept DDad at whatever rate the LA manages to negotiate. Turns out the prices that the homes advertise, AND the budget that the LA publishes, are just starting points for a negotiation.

Every day's a school day here. Have a good evening y'all.

I have one Mary but don’t use it a lot, will probably start using it again if winter is bad & clothes being dried in airing cupboard with dehumidifier or in the dryer( need to buy a replacement one)

Thats great news about the care @BigSkies2022

I'd love to hear more about trello too @psuedocream3

I could have had a NSD but I blew it by buying an ice cream for dd (and then a 4pint of milk as it was all the shop had left). Total spend £7.

Felt sad at lunch brought a new dress came home and looked like a yellow pig so that'll be going back.
I'll claim that as a NSD 😆

I once bought a sparkly cardigan after a rather too liquid lunch that made me look like a six year old at peak sequin fetish phase. I feel you, Chipshop.

am getting lots of helpful suggestions for comfortable flats on an S&B thread, but also realise that saving for bunion surgery to fix increasingly unlovely and painful foot might be the real fix needed!

That’s good news @BigSkies2022 about your dads care and the refund too.

today was a NSD. Quite shockingly really as I didn’t try to not spend but a friend called to mine for lunch, mainly to save my time but it also saved my wallet!

also had a good food save. Used some leftover roast chicken I’d frozen previously to make buffalo shredded chicken to add to salads for lunch.

I’ve enough for tomorrow too

So glad you have got funding for your DDad @BigSkies2022huge relief for you all ☺️.
@Happierwithouthim l am getting one for the same reason , my tumble dryer is on all Winter and with four adults it's expensive to run fingers crossed it helps cut costs 😊
I bet you looked gorgeous in it @ChipshopPickledEgg

Hey everyone - room for someone else? 😁

I need some motivation for some no spend days as lots coming up in the next few months.

@MaryGreenhill
i just asked on a budgeting Facebook group and a poster said using a heat pump dryer
once a week would save me €5-10, compared to the vented, that’s about 20 years to pay back price difference.
I think I should just go vented. Very few brands left though as shops just selling off stock
indesit candy hoover and Montpellier

Oh well done @BigSkies2022 !! Huge relief.

Always room for one more @StartingOverInMy40s , welcome.

I love the yellow dress and the sparkly cardigan... Although I too have bought things and when they are on said to myself "are you kidding???"

Was meant to be a NSD. In a funny mood today. A bit off, more of a "fk it" mood. Spent £7.10 on a lunch in pret when I already had lunch with me. Just didn't want what I had made. And even as I walked into the shop I said "you know you will have to declare it on Mumsnet and you can't afford the calories just before your holiday" but did it anyway.
Then. Popped into m&s and got nice bread for OH, raspberries for DD and a meal for mum who isn't having a great time at the mo. £11.25. wasn't needed. Did it anyway.
I hope this mood passes by the morning or I'll have spent all our budgets by Friday.

I did however find £20 in my purse so I'll put that towards Lidl shop tomorrow which I'm hoping is small anyway as I'm using up freezer now I've stocked it up!

Great news on care home fees & refund
hope the mood passes frugal
we have a heat pump tumble and it’s fine. But don’t know about the t maths
always room for more frugaleers

so spend £37 home bargains but did get 8 desert bowls, £10 boyes on summer duvet for ds and body lotion
got Sainsbury’s tomorrow currently £65 but haven’t meal planned

£260 on hotel accommodation for DS graduation. Provided for out of travel pot. Need to find and book care for Ddog and a lunch venue. Jay Rayner (also Leeds graduate!) has some recommendations, so I will start there.

penultimate PT session today. Have enjoyed it , lost 3kilos so far, built some better habits and learned some useful exercises. There’s a good thread going on using ChatGPT/Gemini for meal planning in accordance with diet guidelines, so I am going to experiment with that. Will be sticking with logging food on MFP as well.

also on the agenda: washing, ironing, helping DS sort, declutter and find homes, where possible, for possessions. Visiting Ddad with DS. Grocery shop. Shoe hunting.

thanks for the good wishes on care situation. We’re not completely sorted, but a big fat hairy hurdle has been cleared, no doubt! Starting to feel that yes, in a few weeks time I can probably start to plan my own projects again!

Well done on the weight loss and discipline @BigSkies2022 I need to stick to using MFP too. I start and stop.

£71 in Lidl today. How?? I had such a small list as using up freezer this week. And even when I got there I didn't buy all on the list as I discovered I didn't actually need it. Three small bags and it's the same price as a big shop?? I have checked receipt and I got all the Deals I wanted and the freebies. Hmm.
£6 on play group for DD.
Found out it's a friend's birthday today (she keeps it private) but found a nice unopened box of chocolates in the cupboard so will give that to her and save me the pennies and the temptation all at the same time.

Realised I hadn’t updated for a couple of days. Tuesday was a NSD, posted a few bits I’d sold on Vinted so more money heading my way there (still lots of clothes to list but have tried to concentrate on big stuff first).
Yesterday I did a Sainsbury’s shop but I had a £9 off £60 spend so I had my calculator with me going round 🤣

A friend came for dinner last night which was lovely. Planning a NSD today and need to call Vanguard about my pension transfer which drags on and on.

edited to add that I ordered a couple of household/garden items (garden hooks and a shower head) and a mascara from Prime day yesterday.

Spent 40p on a ciabatta for lunch today.

Yesterday was a nsd for me, husband bought us take away to eat by the sea.

Tuesday i ended up helping my mother at an event. Spent £5.60 on a g and t, but she gave me a bottle of wine and left overs for lunches.

Tonight we had chilli, chucked the beans in from the lunch from Tuesday, so plenty of left overs. Lots of rice for the freezer too, will become fried rice with the left over roast chicken i think.

Tomorrow I'm thinking chili chicken with new potato wedges and some veg for tea. Salad for lunch.

I've made it through the week with £20 left. No big bills going out of next weeks pay, so hopefully I will get to the end of next week in a slightly stronger position.

On holiday count down now, can not wait to spend much needed couple/family time.