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.

I totally agree with you @BigSkies2022 it isn't fair and in my Mum's home the vast majority of the residents have handed over their property to their children years before they needed to go into care, so they LA is paying for them . My Mum refused to do that. l suppose never thinking that she would get to this point in life so it is what it is unfortunately .
I am in the process of handing money over to my Dds to make sure that never happens to us , tbh with you .
Perhaps some will think l am wrong to do that but having had it happen to me like you l want to make sure my girls are ok .

Father's day was nice but mildly expensive. I took dc to a cafe in the morning while dh slept in (literally all he wanted for Father's day!) and that was £12.40. Then we went out in the afternoon and 2 pints at the local pub was £11.60, and dinner out for 3, no drinks there, was £55. Then we got ice creams in the walk home - £10.50. Everything was delicious so from that angle, definitely worth it!

Morning.

I've been meaning to post all week, for the last week. I don't know where the time has gone.

I've signed up for the Rebel Finance latest course. I came across their Facebook group just before it was spoken about on here. Getting the chance to watch is harder than I anticipated.

I agree re social care. Fully. It's such a Big Thing for the Govt (of any colour) to tackle they do what they always do and kick it down the road. I can't see how it can be ignored for much longer though, with an aging (not well) population and falling birth rate.

I'm hoping to keep up from now.

Menu plan.
I've roasted a huge chicken, so hoping chicken curry, broth and lunches from this.

That's as far as I've got re planning, I'm sort of hoping this chicken is the size of a buffalo or something clearly!

I've made about £80 on Vinted in the last month, but running out of items to sell. Bought a couple of T Shirts for myself but will transfer the money into my account. Maybe.

Spending wise, I might need to shift a bit of cash from my 'general spending' pot (which has plenty in) to ' food to get through to next Wednesday. Although DD is currently away, and it's surprising just not catering for one extra mouth has kept the fridge fuller than usual.

DD's birthday is next week, but we've cut the frivolous spends out as a family so she's getting tickets for a festival she wants to go to, some day to day toiletries and some hot chocolate!

❤️ for Ddog @lifelongfrugaleer

Three more NSDs and then s Morisdons shop of £35 today. I have a budget for food shopping in my Monzo pots so technically NSD as the money already had a job 🤣

Today i spent €7 on lunch with colleagues and then €124 on school uniform. The school uniform is from a small supplier and has to be ordered way in advance.

This will then have to supplemented with plain white tshirts long and short sleeved, and navy leggings, light ones and heavy ones. i'd say about another €150ish worth of stuff i'll need to buy. i alway want 2 weeks of uniform as my small child is hard on clothes. However their autumn - spring wardrobe is minimal as a result. Its only the summer that she needs a good amount of clothes for so it does balance out.

£24 Tesco
£28.50 on charity shops stuff
I had great charity shop bargains today ☺️

Yes I thought that was interesting to calculate the DB equivalent total pot @BigSkies2022. If I work till my early 60s I should have about £500 in my DB scheme and £250+ in my sipp pot so not too bad. I do need to check out those figures as well as my options though. I will make sure I've done that by the end of the month.

I hope Ddog is doing better today @lifelongfrugaleer

I've spent £11 at Tesco today on dishwasher tablets, orange squash and a pack of Jelly Tots.

I’ve finished watching week 2 of rebel finance and my net worth is much as I thought it was (except I previously calculated my house as an asset….). I’ve had a rethink and I’ve decided I will watch the sessions a day later on YouTube as I can speed it up slightly (not that I’m super impatient or anything….). I’m still trying to sort out my nightmare pension transfer with a not very helpful financial advisor so my finances are top of mind at the moment (especially as I’m not currently earning!)

@MaryGreenhill tell us what you got from the charity shop!! I absolutely love a charity shop bargain!

Yesterday I spent £5.70 at the supermarket topping up for lunch and today - ta dah! - has finally been a NSD!! I almost cracked and set up an Amazon subscription for my hair colour but I’m going to wait a few days!

I bought 2 bnwt nighties from Marks for my Mum to wear during this hot weather .
They were £2 each .
I bought Mum two tops from EWM and Marks they were £2.50 each .
Dd1 had a Dr who doll the Jodie Whittaker one for £2 and 23 books for £9.50 .
Pics below of Mum's stuff 😁

Yay for your NSD @chimichangaz :-)

I’ve not worked out my current net worth. I don’t have much in assets atm - most of it is cash based saving/ property

Great bargains there @MaryGreenhill especially the bnwt items. I rarely have that much luck but books are a bargain £1 each at the shops I go to…..my TBR pile is growing……

@SockHop it’s quite interesting to calculate and then apply their logic about having more in your freedom fund than in cash savings. I thought I was quite finance savvy but I’m going to change how I do a few things going forward. I think I need to move some money from premium bonds and just keep an emergency fund in there - I still want some as there’s always the hope of winning big!!

On another note my front room has been a dumping ground for about 18 months now and I can never will the energy to tackle it. So I’ve decided to do 10 minutes a day - just done my first 10 mins and I’m amazed at what I’ve achieved!! I’ve even sorted out a bag of stuff (from the huge pile) to go on Vinted this week 😇

Yep. Agree.

at the start of the school year dd had 2 pe kits and three school cardigans.

we’re down to one pe jacket and one cardigan.

her summer dresses are becoming a bit too short. Her shoes are wrecked. One of her pe T-shirts is covered in paint which will not come out.

ds is the same. Two of 3 jumpers survived. He’s got no pe trousers left (because he kneeslides….!) and his white school polo shirts are wrecked.

pretty sure it was well over £300 for the two of them in September.

Thank you @chimichangaz the charity shops we go to are 2 or 3 for a £1 . They are the Cancer charity , TyHafan and St David's . Some ask a lot for their stock, others have sale rails as well. It's like everything though, it's all according to what is there at the time you go 😁

Ooh need have you got a good quick recipe for chicken curry? I also have a big roast chicken and we could all use a change from the plain chicken (spoiled much!)

£25 marks and Spencer’s food hall
£23 on 4 large Duralex glasses, including delivery as DS complains our glasses are too small.

bloody dishwasher has gone again! Slightly different problem from April fault so unlikely to be fixed under guarantee. The universe is telling me we need that new kitchen! So have chased fitter for estimates…

NSD here. Builders are in so house is upside down :)
Tomorrow I may take myself out whilst builders are here and DD is at school but I know I'll hit the charity shops ... Hmmm
Oh, I've always calculated my net worth by including the house. I'll have to take a look and see where I stand rebel finance way!
Love the bargains @MaryGreenhill !

Great bargains Mary

I’m going to look at rebel finance sounds interesting

boo to dish washer fault big

hope the building work isn’t too messy sock

£16 Superdrug yesterday
ddog is better but not 100% back to vets this morning
local vet though not 40min away

my In laws drive me crazy with money. Theirs will go in care fees as they refused to do anything when they could

Feeling really stressed out as we’re coming into the expensive part of the year, winter was easier for me to be frugal.

Got a holiday, two weddings (down in England), spa overnight stay for anniversary, plus the dog care for all the above at £55 a night. Made a list of all the extra expenses for this next few months and gonna have to use my overdraft which I really didn’t want to do.

@PearlsPearl I hear you. I've used overdraft this month and eaten up a little savings too as this part of the years is the second worst for me. Christmas being the first worst.

Done homework for week one rebel finance. Whoop.

A spendy day as builder here so took myself out but I did get four birthday gifts in charity shops so that's ok and has taken the sting out of full priced gifts I would have bought.
£20.50 in total.
£3.50 on a sarnie. Didn't need it so that was a waste. Just a treat as I'm never out on my own and I fancied it. I think (apart from going to work)today is the first time I've had time to self in 3.5 years. I feel like I could take on the world now!
£9 on yoga session tonight. Haven't been for two weeks as watching pennies but it's important to go for me.

This Saturday night I was due to go out for a friend's birthday and she couldn't afford it so we are off to her house with nibbles so I've saved about £30 there which pays back today as a whole!
Also have loads of leftover veggies from the week so today I'll be making a big stew and freezing it for next week which will bring down next week's shopping bill.
Feeling rather savvy and amazing this morning. Hope everyone is ok.
So glad your lovely dog is on the mend. Hopefully 100% soon.

@PearlsPearl i feel you. i dropped off these threads last summer as i was in a similar position and once i opened my wallet it was like i couldn't stop spending.

This year i am much better and using these threads to stay accountable. Im trying not to lose the run of myself. Just because i'm spending more, does not mean i can buy anything i want. I had an awful mindset of if i've dug a small hole i might as well keep digging and make it a bigger hole. This year i am really working on keeping it to a small hole.

Do i really need all these purchases, new clothes, etc. While some are needed lots for me were just because i was panicing and buying things to make myself feel better.

Can you also make a list of things you are not spending on. When on holidays are there things you would normally buy at home or work that you won't buy now. Are there some things you can do a little cheaper to help bridge that gap?

Afternoon everyone 😊
Thank you @Frugal25 & @lifelongfrugaleer re my bargains 😁
So glad your DDog is improving bless you 😊
NSD for me today thankfully.
Hope everyone has this beautiful weather too ❤️

Afternoon.

I love the joy a few moments of solitude gives @Frugal25, glad you enjoyed your time.

Sorry it's an expensive time of year @PearlsPearl, it really does add to the stress.

@BigSkies2022 this is my go to quick chicken curry recipe. I sometimes play around with the spices and often add mushrooms or aubergine but it's great just as it is. The 30 minute Mowgli recipe book is a good one for midweek recipes. I'm making tuna and apple pasta bake tonight - there's added capers and turmeric and you stir in melted cheese, so it sort of elevates a very basic standard dish to something still pretty 'midweek', but a bit different.

www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/nishas-easy-chicken-dhansak-a-guaranteed-crowd-pleaser

Spends today and yesterday
£13 oat milk, it was £8.50 last time I bought it, the prices on Amazon fluctuate so much!,

Forgot to add the £3.50 parking in previous post.
Whilst I'm here again:
£10 cath kidston tea light holders
£5 heated huggable toy
£2.50 scented wooden hanging thing for clothes
£2.50 table game
The gifts I bought earlier today :)

Also got rid of two subscriptions. Then I'm left with the window cleaner and grass treatment man. I can't do these myself so will keep :)

£44 vets but doggo on the mend

pearls it is expensive isn’t it. You can still be in control and do a manger overspend. Are you getting the best deal for all those things. Can you do things cheaper it when travelling pack a picnic rather than expensive services?
you got this