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.

£6 ice cream treats after nursery
£5.80 boots - San Pro and the like
£2.5 some sweets

I appear to have an hole in my bank account this month which definitely needs rectifying next month

Other than breakfast on the plane, which came out of the holiday pot, this has been a nsd. Not only that but I managed to eat out of the freezer this evening and scrabble together food to take away tomorrow for a Solstice celebration. Previously I would have done the 'I'll pick up something on the way', instead I defrosted a quiche and made a mixed bean salad with stuff I had in the cupboard/fridge. It would have been easy to say 'I've been paid today so I deserve it' but I didn't 😁

Pay day yay day here.
Topped up the savings and started off the new pots.
Paid £10.40 on eco cleaning products although I make most of them myself now. But this was on the budget.
£7 something on beers as a thank you gift to the builder who fixed my bathroom this week.
Happy Friday all

&600 on building materials. Getting a dangerous step replaces before getting £7k worth of doors replaced.

Not much money left for this final week of the month! And today will be spendy, as DW needs a pedicure for her holiday next week, we both need our eyebrows done, and we're off to Ikea for a new shoe cabinet and a shelf. I need to resist the charity shops I'll wander around while she gets her feet done!

I got fleeced yesterday - by my DC.
DH was going on a stag so I told DC we would get a takeaway for dinner. They thought it would be nice to eat out so we foolishly did at a cost of €65. This was for me, 11yo and 6yo!

Food shop came in under budget this morning. We're going to a sports event later today so will probably have to fork out for car park fees and chip van. We're going to bring snacks and drinks with us.

Tesco £89
Aldi£30
That should be enough till Weds /Thursday hopefully.
Nothing else ATM .
Been raining here but stopped now and it's sunny and boiling hot and humid . Hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday 😊

Yesterday was a LSD. Just €11 on command hooks for the utility. All in the utility has cost me €110 in materials but it is now a much nicer and way more functional space. Lots of upcycling items already on hand and I did the decorating myself so I count this as a huge win. Also meant I was too busy to spend money on other things.

Spendier day today. €24 at local farm shop on burgers, ice cream, yoghurt, a cookie, ciinnamon roll and eggs.

then €46 on lunch for Father’s Day followed by €12 on Amazon for a new water bottle as mine is leaking.

£25 on tretinoin prescription. Missed a month as had excess, but now down to zero, so reinstated the subscription.

£4 left in personal account, but still have £250 in guilt free spending pot, so I can swipe from there to cover the remaining part of the month, while still leaving a nice amount to take DS shopping for a birthday present.

paid off all my PayPal balances this month, so feel justified in ordering a dress and a pair of trousers from Massimo Dutti £170 for the two. If they’re keepers, I will clear the balance over the next 2-3months with 0%.

£14 on some more slimline coat hangers- now that DS is back our existing supply is vanishing. £40 left in joint account for food shopping, plus the £200 buffer. Half of which I have earmarked for the dishwasher repair. Fed up of smeary glasses and cutlery, Alice without one, even a crap one like ours!

would like to muster the energy to tidy the garden but it’s too hot!

Evening.

@Frugal25, what cleaning products do you make please? Is it easy?

Utility sounds great @pistachiosanscream.

It's been a LSD, £2.35 for half a lager at the local sports club. I had a pint of water as I was driving and thirsty!

Yesterday was £35 on birthday presents for DD, but that was from my Vinted Balance transferred over.

Tomorrow will be a NSD.

Need to menu plan for the week. DD is currently adding toppings to the pizza bases I got from in the supermarket delivery, which is cheaper than a take out.

This weather is making running a bit grim, so I'll be out early tomorrow morning to get my miles done!

£18 school shoes woohoo found a bargain. Refuse to spend a lot they will be scratched up by end of first week.
£12 coffee shop
£2.5 socks from accessories, husband had an appointment to attend to next door and she was being restless so took her in there I got about 15 minutes out of picking mummy a new pair of socks woohoo.
Another approx £10 on odds and ends.
£17 in Tesco on milk/tea for tomorrow
£7 chippy.

Least the school uniform shop is pretty much finished now I think. Until I go and find out I have brought the wrong stuff 😆

So yesterday wasn’t as spendy as anticipated as we decided to stay in instead of a night out. Bought dinner, snacks and drinks from Sainsburys for £25 each, and I spent £14 on a pair of summer trousers. Have seen a dress I like but I’m waiting until they have a 25% off deal.

Not spent any money today although I might place an amazon order for a drain unblocker and some bicarb (what an exciting life I lead 😆).

I also spent over an hour in an online chat about my Now cinema membership. I’d decided after week 1 of rebel finance to cancel this subscription but I was puzzled as it said my contract was until January 26 and I knew I’d only signed up for six months this January. Long story short, turns out they opted me into a new six month membership without my consent!! After a bit of a fight I managed to get a months refund and they cancelled the membership. I’m fuming and have written in a complaint as I’m sure what they’ve done is if not illegal, at the very least sharp practice!!

Some good news on the pension front at last as some of my funds have arrived at Vanguard.

Planning a small shop tomorrow but I only have £40 left in my budget to last me until the end of the month so I think some freezer and cupboard creativity is needed.

Hello everyone !

Money used to be comfortable - we've never been rich but could buy groceries without looking at the price, etc. Which is why I went for a third child, but reality and economy have since caught up with me and I find myself having to be careful.

I'm still working on balancing our budget and have cut back significantly on non-essentials. I'm trying to see it in a positive light - less plastic junk for the kids, more space, more appreciation for what we do buy. And it's a challenge - try to find cheap activities for the kids (unfortunately since moving last year we live in a very capitalist country where nothing is free and everything is expensive).

So any suggestions to help keep costs down ?

What I already do :

• Don't go out much (once a month at most, usually for occasions like birthdays, work event, etc)
• Cook almost everything from scratch (I enjoy cooking and dislike fast food anyway). I know I could cut back more (I still buy stuff like avocado which is stupidly expensive ! But such a treat).
• Try to bring lunch from home rather than buy at work
• Main activities with the kids is biking and going to the park. Wish we could go to the swimming pool but access is needlessly complicated and expensive
• Groceries are heavily influenced by whatever's on sale that day
• I buy second hand when I can but no charity shop nearby and we live in an expensive district because of kids' school.
• I don't take much holiday - had one week this year and traded a bunch of days for money.
• Try to buy cheap packs of clothes when needed but even so clothing 5 people is expensive 🥲
• Which reminds me I need to buy my son a new slate for school...

Any other advice ? I've already spent more than allocated for this month and there's a whole week left !

Lovely evening at a local castle for soltace. £14 in, £12 pizza and £7 drinks. But DH and I rarely have nights together like this. £20 takeaways for DS he didn’t spent that but I won’t see the change , £10 taxi for dd as she missed the bus to meet her friends

£80 Sainsbury today. Need to go to Asda and get some stuff they sell for better price

welcome maxi
have you reviewed all your bills and getting the best rates of that’s possible or cancelled things you can’t use?
I hear you on food being a thing to keep as we spend £££ on it.
how old are DC?

the at homes rather than takeaways sounds lovely. And we too are heading to the last week before payday. (30th)

pleased it’s not as hot today

Welcome maxi, sounds like you're already doing so well. I love cooking from scratch too.
@needastrongoneagain I have got:
Wood polish which is olive oil and apple cider vinegar with essential oils.
A cream cleaner like CIF/jif which is castille soap and bi carb mixed up with some essential oils.
Window cleaner which is white vinegar and distilled water.
And lime scale remover which is boiled water with citric acid mixed to dissolve and then when cool put into a spray bottle.
I can dig out quantities if you like? I can't remember who it was now but back in the thread someone else made their own too, was it you?

A spendy day yesterday. Luckily not going out again and have no plans other than a coffee next weekend so hopefully nothing off budget going forward.
£14.99 on wine for the house. OH normally buys the alcohol so that was a shock to my card.
£34.00 on Amazon buying some more fugal nail treatment, had a horrid toe for years and seen professionals but can't shake it.
£2 for a birthday card.
£8 something on postage to send two birthday gifts.
I think that was it...
Although I did ask my hairdresser to fit me in but she does it at her house and it's £20

Hi @Maxorias - you’re already doing a lot but I would recommend tracking everything you spend (apart from direct debits and bill payments although definitely worth looking at subscriptions and ditching any that you can). I’d also recommend having some NSDs (No Spend Days) - try and start with one/two a week and see how it goes. If you’re competitive you might like the challenge!!

@Frugal25 I mentioned earlier I make some of my own cleaners - might be me you’re thinking of? I use Nancy Birtwhistle recipes or sometimes Melissa Maker - she has a cleaning channel on YouTube I used to be obsessed with!! I’ll see if I can find the name of it. edited to add - Clean My Space.

I also do some homemade beauty stuff like jojoba oil for my nails and mixing up a facial oil. I was given a book years ago that has been brilliant - 1001 natural remedies by Laurel Vukovic.

Very LSD yesterday; £4.95 on nibbles to take to an overnight camp with friends, £6 for the campsite. 24 hr reset with friends = priceless
Just ordered a local fruit and veg box to be delivered on Tuesday £29.95. Should see me through the next 10/14 days and keep me out of the supermarket

Oh that sounds lovely @lifelongfrugaleer 😊
Well done great tips @Frugal25
@needastrongoneagain
Happy birthday to your DD 🥳 🎉
NSD for me today thankfully 😊

Happy birthday need DD

Happy birthday @needastrongoneagain to your DD!

Ah yes it was yourself @chimichangaz ! Thank you, I'll give this a look, sounds really good. And I love Nancy too!
I had a book on making your own beauty products but when I tried them it was complicated and didn't work on my face/hair type but yours sounds better with the oil. I'll have a look at this too! Thank you

£21 in Tesco on new knickers and vests for DD. Got a £91 refund for tiles that the builder didn't use last week.

£90 dentist, maybe around £20 on Amazon birthday gifts for DC.

DH has washed and vacuumed both our cars, very pleased as its saved some money.

Set up my Trello app to get me organised, used ChatGPT to help me set it all up properly so not only am I fully organised now, but financially it's helped focusing where spends need to go and when, and I've set up progress checking to keep me accountable. Also have a rewards section, for when I do my two week check ins if I'm accountable I can purchase them. Only small rewards like a plant, or a book, but it'll help me stay engaged.

Meal planning for the week done, no spends expected for tthe rest of the month.

I fell into a familiar trap, I’ve to go to a hot city for work next week so bought 3 dresses from whitestuff sale.p €140. I just don’t have a lot of work clothes for hot weather.

€15 GAA club fundraiser, €10 on raffle tickets and €5 on cakes.

Lidl groceries only cost €36.61 as I finally returned a years worth of bottles and cans which gave me €36.20 off the total. Remembered again why I don’t shop with DH. Definitely raised the bill by about €25. This was meant to be a small top up shop.

Welcome @Maxorias where do you shop? I mainly frequent Lidl and use the Lidl Plus app where there's often free fruit - I get things like berries, avocado, pomegranate for free. There's also other incentives and money off vouchers.

Been away with my friend for a weekend. Good for the soul but not the bank balance. All together £173 - that was fuel, day bus pass, entrance to Chatsworth, Chinese takeaway, three meals etc.

Head down now until the summer hols.

@Mochi1fudge thanks ! I don't live in the UK and we live in an expensive district for commuting reasons. The nearest shop is the local version of walmart so that's where we go for bits and pieces. There's a slightly bigger one a bit further and then there's a jumbo - expensive ! But they have lots of stuff we can't find elsewhere. I try to avoid going there !

I also stopped buying beef and now when I get meat I buy mostly pork and poultry - cheaper and delicious ! Also a lot more pasta than before.

Nsd yesterday. Ds had a play date, then we had a family party, but no spends needed for either.