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.

Welcome always. Post how your like. There is also a wealth of knowledge and experience.

re prescriptions sun glasses over sun glasses are A game changer for me. £20 off Amazon. Order try & you can always return. I got my last batch on Temu for £5 each as have multiple pairs

type “over glasses sunglasses women “ into the search bar

i hate over priced sandwiches. I had to eat at King’s Cross the other day ££££

Oh this is interesting, I have always wanted to get glasses online (firmoo has some cute ones for example) but never wanted to risk it, purely because I must have a weird shaped head as every time I collect some from Specsavers they have to bend them more to stop them falling off my face. How would we do that at home?

Thanks for everyone sending good vibes about my job. It really is miserable and I am now job hunting again.

Today is definitely going to be spendy and I am dreading it. I used to LOVE a spendy day, I'd be buzzing before shopping. Now it's the opposite. Ikea for some shelves, and Costco for all of the laundry things and Monsters for DS. Just need to resist everything else which is hard for me. We're having lunch at Costco but it's silly cheap. Think £1.50 for a hot dog and drink?!

Have a nice Sunday everyone. Pouring with rain here in my corner of Scotland. My plants will all appreciate it anyway.

Yes I need a few LSD weeks too @Vinorosso74 and snap about the credit card. Long slog though isn't it?!
£58 here today on shopping being delivered. Just enough to see me through til Thursday as I'd run everything low before holiday.

Managed to sell £14 on vinted which I'll post today.

Sorry about your job @PearlsPearl , we spend so much time at work it really is important to enjoy/be able to bear it whilst we are there. very hard though. I seem to swing between being grateful for having work to pay the bills and then feeling like I've sold my soul.

@PearlsPearl my Dsis's DP (the king of frugal) told me there's a way to get free sample sizes sent out but I've never mastered that. The ones I ordered from another online website (I only started to wear glasses last year for reading) have become loose but that's likely as I put them on my head! I may have to invest in a chain for these ones. At the moment they haven't even confirmed the order and we fly on the 15th so I may also look at the Amazon thing thanks for that tip @lifelongfrugaleer

Been out for a 4k run (I say run more of a slow jog) and hoping for another marketplace customer this morning (selling items for DH and DSIL from PIL house which is in probate).

Today will be a LSD unless DD asks to go out, which I don't mind as I'm on leave from work for a few days and it's her summer break 😊

@frugal25 agree, it is a long slog getting the credit card down. I did do a balance transfer of some onto another card which is interest free until March. I'm aiming to be clear by the end of the year 🤞

Hellloo all! We are back from Leeds graduation and it was a perfect day! DS looked glorious in his gown (and new suit and watch 😉), ceremony was lovely, Pimms and Proud Face photos afterwards, then zoomed off to collect Ddog from daycare and for celebration lunch at Bavette. Jay Rayner's recommendation came through for us - now in our top five of restaurant experiences. Ilkley afterwards so DS could change out of his suit before heading off to Manchester and for a second hotel night for us.

I really like Ilkley - definitely going back. We went to a book fair, had a glass of rose and a sharing plate at Friends of Ham, walked up to the edge of the moor, walked the river, bought a cake at Betty's and some wine at a really good independent merchant which DH swooped upon delightedly, having remembered its existence from a previous visit. Everyone seemed in holiday mood, all friendly and chatty. Can it always be like this???

Anyway, on spends, I am of course, down to my last £80 across my current account, my guilt-free spends and my travel pot after all our joyous indulgence. All planned for, so fine. Pay day on 1st August, so will be able to start topping up again, but also have boring significant expenses (renovation, insurance renewal) coming up, which will make big ol' inroads into my emergency/resilience pot. Also, we set off to France at the end of the month - most of the accommodation is paid for, but the extra nights in a chambres d'hôte on the road either end still to be paid.

The long and the short of it: I will be spending my arse off, but carefully. Lots of NSDs to offset the planned spends, and much wincing at the end of September/early October while I wait for my pension and lump sum payments to kick in.

pearls - sorry to hear that your job is not what you hoped. But you have done brilliantly to get back into the workplace after a significant break, and are in a much stronger position to get another role. Hopefully the search will help you detach from the daily irritations of the current role - have you tried recruitment consultants? Networking events? these are often good ways to practice your interview responses and get your motor running.

Ah pleased the graduation went well. Definitely money well spent

Brilliant the graduation went well such a lovely occasion @BigSkies2022🤗
I take my glasses off to you @Frugal25 😁 l could not work the site out for love nor money 🤣
Great job @Vinorosso74 🤗
Oh those glasses sound excellent @lifelongfrugaleer
I must have a look thank you ☺️
@PearlsPearl Costco is so cheap for their cafe , l usually have a jkt pot and cheese and it's lovely . So much strong cheese 😋, a big potato and yes the hot dogs are £1.50 😁
Well done on the run @Mochi1fudge☺️my Dd2 did couch to 5k and she hasn't looked back, she loves running now , it's like a personal challenge to see if she can beat her last time 😁
Takeaway tonight which will be about £40 but otherwise a NSD
Looking forward to the Belgian Grand Prix and England Lionesses v Spain later .
Have a lovely day everyone 🤗

Morning all - I've not updated since Thursday but have been keeping up to date with all of your news. Sending love to you @SockHop - you're doing amazingly well.

In the last few days I haven't actually spent that much - about £15 on shopping bits and pieces to last me this week (except I will need to get milk before Friday). Dropped stuff off at charity shops and managed not to buy anything. Sold another couple of bits on Vinted - need to upload more. Had coffee with a friend on Saturday. Have done a big deep clean of my family room - also spent time tidying up the garden yesterday and now ache in places I didn't even realise I had! Planning a NSD today and tomorrow as I am painting a couple of fence panels and sorting out finances/admin. I desperately need to catch up on Rebel Finance!

Starting to think about a part time job from autumn to top up my finances - also considering whether I could freelance a bit, which seems a bit scary as I've always had 'regular' jobs, but I think that could give me the flexibility I need.

Morning.

Back, and hopefully a more settled schedule now! Been a stressful few days but did manage a lovely day out on Friday with friends.

Will keep up from now on.

Money seems to have flowed out of the account in the last few weeks. Not so much day to day expenses as we are well within budget for this, more money from the savings - deposit for a car (I've had a company car the last 20 years), roof repair, balance of holiday, self assessment tax due etc. Nothing unexpected but unsettling seeing the savings reduce!

Anyway - onwards!

We had my DB and family over for supper yesterday so there's some leftover cooked vegetables to make into Bubble and Squeak and some veggie tagine left too. Menu plan therefore

Bubble and squeak.
Leftover veggie tagine.
Carrot and coriander soup (probably bulked up with white beans), crusty bread.
Salmon and roast vegetables.
Chicken dhansak.
Something with mince (whether that's lasagna, chilli, cottage pie or bolognaise will be depending on mood and what's in the fridge!).

And hopefully, a week of calm. No weekend plans already scheduled!

Another one selling a few Vinted bits @chimichangaz. It's only a few quid and I wouldn't bother if I couldn't post from the local shop but it all adds up.

It really does add up @needastrongoneagain
I’ve got £100+ in my account now - like you, I don’t bother if it’s v low value and I set the postage options that suit me.

Similar amount and attitude here @chimichangaz re Vinted. My sales have funded some nice bits and pieces being bought from the balance, mainly Hush clothes but some lovely items for a few quid each really!

Off for our night at a Scottish castle and spa tonight for our 10 year anniversary! I am very excited and in such a lovely happy mood. I am very lucky to have such a lovely wife. I have been in a grump the last few days but then got my period early, which explained it 😄

£100 for the afternoon tea tomorrow. Which I have mixed feelings about, since I can barely eat now I'm on the weight loss jabs so it feels like a waste of money since I can probably eat 1/7th of it! Will hopefully bring it back in a box for DS anyway. And I will enjoy DW enjoying it.

@BigSkies2022 so glad graduation was a success!

You have as spurred me to list some bits on vinted. I was just going to chazzer but will give them a week

@BigSkies2022 the graduation sounds like it was a resounding success!

Enjoy the Scottish Castle spa @PearlsPearl

I must get some more things on Marketplace from PILs attic and have some of DSs clothes for Vinted. All profits going towards a family meal in October for a couple of 60th celebrations.

Yesterday I used the Karcher to pressure wash the patio and decking, ready for some wood paint on the rails and steps. I am slowly getting projects done!

Today has been £8 bakery for DD (I suppose a cheap treat considering it's school hols). Dropped some Gap linen trousers off to be taken in so that's £15.99 on pick up. I bought them off Vinted with my profits.

Been to see My Mum who was fine . Beautiful day here .
Been out for lunch with my friend £18 thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Haven't bought anything else today .
Hope everyone is doing well 😊

Went into town with kids, bought some essential stationery, just £2.50 and got some books out the library. Normally I'd go to the café, but didn't today, brought some fruit snacks with me for kids. Then went home for lunch, back out to the playground with a snack packed again. There was an ice-cream van...I wasn't going to but DD saw a friend there and she was getting ice-cream. Fortunately, I asked about mini milks for my littlest, they didn't have, instead she offered a smaller ice cream cone (looked like a normal ice-cream to me), 2 for £3.50 instead of the £5 each advertised on the van. So generally a low spend day, with lots of opportunity for frivolous spending. Going on holiday this week so going to not worry much about spending then.

Yesterday spent nothing.

Had the day off today so spent the day with my daughter.
Literally spent 39 pence 😆
Nipped in Asda to pick a parcel up and there was some 39 pence footballs so we got one and went to the park with it she had the time of her life running round after it 😆
Something I did today as a bit of an experiment I took her an ice cream in my travel cup and it stopped frozen!

NSD here today whoooo.

Ooohhhh good tip on the ice cream @ChipshopPickledEgg
Enjoy the castle @PearlsPearl and I hope you manage some of the delicious food too.
Menu plan sounds amazing @needastrongoneagain , may have to nab a few of those.

Morning.

Love the 39p ball @ChipshopPickledEgg - just shows you don't need to spend £££ to have fun with the DC.

Cheers @Frugal25 - I should make Bubble and Squeak more - I usually end up giving the left over veg to the dogs!

Good frugal ways there food and snacks @Alwayslearning25

Yesterday I spent £3.50 on some local eggs, but then took them off the online delivery (will buy local from now on). There's a small delivery of £60 coming today, but £22 of this is a bottle of Jack Daniel's for a gift.

That should be it today, I'll use small change to buy some crusty bread.

Carrot, coriander and white bean soup for dinner, with said crusty bread.

Have a great day all.

Love the 39 p footy. That’s the best type of day out and yeah on the ice pops staying frozen

nsd yesterday £4 vinted sale
££££ today as Ikea

Chips hop wins frugality stakes with 39pence ball!

NSDs here for my personal accounts. £79 on Ddog’s haircut from joint account for household expenses.He also needs to lose weight and we are failing to limit his food. So I will be consulting the weight loss nurse at his vet practice.

DH got a tax bill - £900!- for his private health insurance taken out via work last year. Apparently taxable as a benefit in kind and never used by him. So he has cancelled the policy. Hope we don’t live to regret this, but we’ve managed thus far with NHS only (aside from dental work), so…

pay day on Friday. I have booked a haircut, £64. Also need to buy shampoo, vit c serum, moisturiser, Migraleeve, renew Pre-payment certificate for HRT, new lip pencil. That will probably take most of my cash that isn’t already spoken for with holiday spending. August is going to be very Olds- focused, so won’t have much time to spend money!