Pumpkins, Pies… and Prudence! Autumn Frugal Saving Shenanigans here 🍂🌰All Welcome 🌰🍁

[MaryGreenhill]

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 we are all friends 😊

@psuedocream3sending you all the luck in the world sweetheart so sorry to hear your news bless you all 🍀🤞🤗

@psuedocream3 so sorry about your DH. Hope something comes along quickly.

I’ve just read the 6 murders of Daphne St Clair for book club and I really enjoyed it!! DW and I are listening to ‘strange sally diamond’ on our road trip. So good.

Spends today £24 in Lidl on milk etc
£33 M&S £30 of which were 3 of the tins of Munch for Christmas presents 😁
They like the peanut and jelly ones and they always go quickly so l had to get them now for peace of mind 😁

@psuedocream3 I hope everything goes OK. We were in that position at Christmas and it is just awful to be constantly worrying about getting that income back.

Ended up low on time today so had to go to our closest sainsburys rather than tesco, spent £50 which I didn't think was too bad! Starting on less for the food budget for Oct but overall it's fine. I desperately need to re organise our kitchen, we had a heat pump fitted in summer so we don't have a boiler anymore, dh has got all the bits to change the boiler cupboard to shelving so I'm going to clear out all the food and organise my very disorganised kitchen using that extra cupboard! So all the food will be coming out of the cupboards at the weekend and we will eat what we have next week!

I'm starting to browse Christmas presents so need to get organised for that spending.

Is anyone using the sprive app? I just completely forgot to use it in sainsburys so lost out on that cash back that goes straight to the mortgage

I'm in the 'head in the sand' camp on Christmas. DH and I talked wistfully about going away this year, but I would likely be the one organising it, and having just got back from one trip, and another on the horizon, the prospect of planning and paying for a third trip away and hauling Ddog along, and negotiating DS' wishes about Christmas, isn't appealing. I think I just want to avoid family - specifically parental - stuff, rather than actually be elsewhere. Maybe I'll just scale back on the catering and the decorations this year, and keep gifts to the monetary sort.

Eating up the fridge and pantry before restocking tomorrow, so have made a big vegetable and lentil soup, and tonight will be omelettes and an assorted veg and salad poke bowl for two, DS being out. Just milk and bread bought today.

£23 on an extended warranty for a Hotpoint fridge, and I can book a 'valet service worth £20', plus claim £5 off my next Curry's purchase. Since I am likely to be spending north of £12k on renovations soon, this seems derisory, but I suppose every little helps.

Ddog has lost 1.1kg and several centimetres from around neck, chest and waist. Nurse said he 'looks less like a table now' i.e. got a bit of a waist back. Goal to lose another kilo over the next 4-6 weeks. Poor fatty, he does love his grub. And our grub too.

Omg well done re Dogs weight loss @BigSkies2022 👏
I think I those plans for Christmas sound good to me . Better to be realistic and plan for a Christmas you can actually achieve despite wanting to go away . I hear you 🤗

I absolutely refuse to acknowledge Christmas is going to be a thing. 😆
Everything is so expensive these days and even £15 on a gift for somebody buys nothing these days and those £15s add up!

I haven’t posted since last Thursday (where has the time gone!) but I’ve been reading along.

@PearlsPearl hope you’re having a lovely holiday. Also big congrats on your decision to open a dog business!! You’d have loads of business round here as we really struggled getting my sons dog’s daycare in place.

@BigSkies2022 you were very productive on your return from hols!! On the AI front I’ve been using it a lot lately but I’m sure I could write better prompts! And well done to your DS on his actions to get a job. Very impressive.

@Rainbow1901 ouch on the diagnostics bill.

@HP87 welcome - there’s a lovely bunch of people in this corner of MN.

@Frugal25 yay to finding a photo printer!! I’m impressed you got on with printing straight away. I’d have written it on a to do list and got round to it months from now.

oh @Mochi1fudge that’s a lot to have going on at the moment. Sending

@psuedocream3 Welcome back - so sorry to hear your DHs news. Good luck with the job hunting.

I hope that’s covered everyone’s big news, sorry if I’ve missed anyone out!

I’ve had a busy few days, went grocery shopping at the weekend and spent about £30 and now have £20 to last me to the end of the month so I’ve been freezer diving!! I’ve caught up on balancing my budget, paid outstanding bills and need to pull my belt in until my upcoming cruise (yes, another one - to jointly celebrate 60th birthdays with a friend!). I’ve had a fair amount of sales on Vinted and have more stuff to list. Have also dipped into Vinted and bought some gym t shirts and winter thin jumpers. Have also ordered some fabulous wide leg cord trousers from next that are so comfy!!

And yes, I need to get on the Christmas bandwagon…..

We stopped doing Christmas gifts for adults years ago, and increasingly chilldren (13 being the youngest, 24 the eldest) get money. But I have found myself weakening in recent years and compiling 'Christmas boxes' of socks, chocolates, books, posh shower gel/shampoo/skincare, nail varnish, cosy blankets, slippers, etc and the expenditure and planning piles up. I'm kind of torn, because if we are home (and we will be) I want to mark the day and season somehow. But I don't want to feel massive pressure in an already spenny year! I will have to strike some compromise, but soon, and make it stick, and not crumble!

I dipped my toe in AI today - read up on writing prompts for Claude on a Substack post, and then developed a 6 month syllabus for a French speaking course on the subjects that interest me and with resources bookmarked and practice techniques all laid out, what apps to use for recording... Love it! I can go back and refine it as I go along and test it out. Can totally get why people are into it. Must be the speediest conversion ever.

Got a free flu jab with work today. And toddled about at lunch enjoying the sunshine.
Did spend on vinted, got 6 Christmas gifts but this is using the balance I'd got from selling bits.
I do need to book a hall up for DD birthday party. £25 deposit tonight too.

OH unwell so another meal not eaten up. I've managed to cook about 6 dishes tonight and freeze so nothing is wasted. Next week's meal plan will be this week's at this rate!

£130 MOT and £140 full service. Last loan payment went out on my car this month so that's it paid off now, the loan was over 2.5 years. Car is doing well so fingers crossed a wise and frugal purchase to see me to retirement when I will buy a completely inappropriate sports car if I can!

£5.50 bus and Metro fares. Did gym class tonight so that was free (apart from membership).

Early night for me, needed.

Thanks @chimichangaz and everyone else. That frugal cooking is inspiring 😍
Love the idea of slime advent calendars. Need to have a look around for DS and DD. Last year DS got chocolate (he is 19) but DD the M&S one.

@ChipshopPickledEgg I agree £15 gets hardly anything these days! I'm chair of my kids school PTA and finding decent quality cheap stuff to make a profit is getting harder and harder.

I had a massage today and it was going to be my last one for a while with our new finances plan but somehow I accidentally booked another one in 😂. I have one every six weeks since I hurt my shoulder/arm in June, It works out to be £25 a month though so I need to weigh up carrying on or stopping for a bit. Although she did suggest I go to a chiropractor and I've just looked at one my friend goes to £70 for an hour 😫.

@chimichangaz I love cruises! I haven't taken the kids on one but I hope to with these changes now to be able to afford these things in the future without worry.

@BigSkies2022 I fell into the trap of toy advent calendars when dd was little. Now I have thee kids 😕. I have managed this year's though, 3 for £25! Stitch bracelet one (£5) for dd, an animal building block one (£10) for ds1 and paw patrol one (£10) for ds2. So I'm very happy with that. We also do Christmas eve boxes but I love those, the toy advent calendars not so much, just more crap. I'm happy with this year's one though, ds2 bits will just get added to the paw patrol toys and ds1 he will enjoy building the animals each day. Dd will love her bracelet.

Ended up going to the playgroup near school because it's easy and cheap it's ok, but we're not loving it, I will try and make better use of my national trust membership.

But past 3 days I've spent £55 unnecessary, like snacks and drinks out, a MacDonalds lunch, a few bits from a charity shop, I will get a grip on that. I have the too good to go app, which I could use, or, as I want to loose weight, bring food with me I want to eat always.

We love the toy advert calendars. We reuse them though. My DD has had 2 Lego ones. My DD is only 2 but got a Thomas trains one and he didn't forgot them, kept asking for them back out. The works had a wooden train, fill it yourself advent calendar, can put odd toys in there.

@psuedocream3 sorry to hear about your DH. I hope he finds something soon.
DD had a Lego advent calendar when she was younger-Lego was a favourite so it was well used.
Our car insurance renewal is due next month, £520. It's cheaper than last year but I'll have a look around. The cheap ones always have a huge excess then you Google the company to find terrible reviews. We're currently with Direct Line who have been great when we've claimed but will see what other prices are like.

@HP87 I had a bad shoulder for about a year, had x rays and and MRI scan, plus a steroid injection eventually. Having paid £45 a session at a private physio a few times the doctor referred me to the GP physio who gave me a set of exercises to do that were much more beneficial than the sessions I paid for!

Morning all, day 4 of our road trip and we’ve gone over our £100 daily budget every day so far. Being a tourist route everywhere we have eaten, even little cafes are crazily expensive. I know those living on the NC500 need to make a living but 8 wasn’t expecting it.

Welcome back @Mochi1fudge and i'm sorry to hear you have had such a tough time. Hugs.

@psuedocream3 thats awful news about your DH and i hope he gets back on his feet with work soon. Well done you on being organised for the birthdays though.

@Happierwithouthim id be devastated to miss the breakfast but maybe you can do it next week.

@PearlsPearl congrats on the new business. One door closes and another one opens. Dogs are so much a part of the family these days that good dog minders will be in demand.

@Alwayslearning25 legoland toddler pass sounds like a no brainer, just plan it well so you can avoid main mealtimes and bring your own snacks. As a toddler i think paying for music class will be a waste when you have a free option. We never brought our small child to soft play as a toddler, not for any philosopical reasons but just didnt happen. we've now gone on a few parties and loves it but i can see she hasn't missed out on not going to them as a smaller child as now she's actually more able for them. Don't discount just going to the park etc. I often found that the picture perfect activity wasn't worth the price tag and she usually preferred the low stakes cheaper things to do. We went to a farm over the summer and they only played in the playground, hated the animals.

Saturday was a NSD. Sunday i spent €5.69 on a dress on vinted and yesterday i spent €11.50 on petrol and skittles to replace the ones i robbed off small child.

Joint account is empty and i don't get paid until Thursday. It was an expensive month as we had a lot of kids activities and expenses. But at least i will be back to full pay again this month.

Also sorted through the wardrobe and picked more items to list on vinted. hope to get them all up today and then put them away until they sell or i decide to donate them.

Ouch! £44.99 Petrol and £74 in Iceland and that was with OAP discount! When did everything get so expensive? Oddly enough the petrol didn't feel expensive to say that it was hovering over the empty line - but is needed for long journey coming up this weekend.

Posted my Vinted! Although a spendy day so will have to find more things to sell...
£55 on osteopath. I thought it would be £35 so need to tweak budget now. Although don't need to see him again so that's good.
£25 on deposit for hall for DD birthday.
£10.65 to book a swimming session for DD Thursday
£9 for yoga to keep me sane.

Keep asking if she wants to go to the park. Keep being told no. She is happy playing indoors.
I may find a gymnastics class or ballet class for her though as we do have afternoons with no plans and although it's lovely, I'm guessing months and months of it wont be good for her.

Hi Everyone,

I used to post here a few years back under a different user name, but am more of a silent reader now. One of the nicest things about these threads I feel, is that although they are for budgeting etc, there is no judgement, everyone has different circumstances or reasons for trying to save money, and it could be to plan and pay for the trip of a lifetime or in order to afford uni accommodation fee's, or even just to be more conscious of how money is spent, and I really appreciate that, along with all of the advice that is given.

We are on a bit of a tight budget right now as DH has taken a significant pay cut, luckily we have two incomes and our outgoings are fairly small, we do have a DC away at uni, and one at home but still studying, I've made a plan and written down all of our expenditures and will track spending from now on. Today I have spent £70 on a hair appointment, was tempted by a McDonalds for lunch but drove by and saved the money and the calories.

I hope it's ok to mention Christmas as I see a few posts in this thread talking about it. I wanted to mention the below post from Big Skies -

"We stopped doing Christmas gifts for adults years ago, and increasingly children (13 being the youngest, 24 the eldest) get money. But I have found myself weakening in recent years and compiling 'Christmas boxes' of socks, chocolates, books, posh shower gel/shampoo/skincare, nail varnish, cosy blankets, slippers, etc and the expenditure and planning piles up. I'm kind of torn, because if we are home (and we will be) I want to mark the day and season somehow."

This is such a good idea, my children are all adults now and as much as I'm loathe to waste money on frivolous things, I really love the browsing, buying, wrapping and giving of Christmas gifts, so a box full of little luxuries would be well received by them and thoughtfully chosen by me - which would hopefully quell the urge to buy things they may not want/need or use. I generally start early too, so that I'm not in a last minute rush to get everything together, I don't have too many people to buy for, 4 adult children plus partners and my mum who doesn't celebrate Christmas beyond the odd mince pie and a DH who is more interested in a good Christmas dinner than gifts!

Afternoon everyone 🤗🌞
Popped to TKMaxx and picked up a couple of bits for little Christmas presents. £6.50.
Welcome back @Johaanah
🤗
@Frugal25 l am loving Vinted bought another dress for my Mum for £4.88 the quality of the stuff l have bought are brilliant! Lovely sellers too ☺️
It seems to be a great marketplace 🤗

Id completely forgotten about tkmaxx. I have one near work, I may pop there during lunch.... Thank you for the reminder @MaryGreenhill !!
I love vinted, I haven't had a bad experience yet tbh!

Nor me @Frugal25 l have bought 5 things now and it's been exceptional 😁

£30 in Aldi, £28 in Sainsbury's. DH out for a work event tonight so DS and I sharing a bavette steak with lots of veg. He's been to the gym, I'm going to do a home workout before dinner.

Sat down with DS to go through a mini-version of the budgeting/cash flow spreadsheet I use for my budgeting to help him track and manage his income and expenditure. I have picked up a bunch of train fares for him (getting to work gigs, joining us on holiday in Devon) and between his earnings (and the crates/slabs of free beer he often comes home with), his allowance and sensible budgeting he should be able to keep himself ticking over with a modest social life that largely revolves around the gym, a bit of social sport, hanging out with mates at home to watch a football/boxing match on Sky (plus the free beer) and the occasional date night/treat with GF. We've put in lines for 'Learning and development' - courses to upskill as needed, careers coaching, driving lessons, subscriptions - to help in the employment search, (which we'll help fund) and I've also insisted on one for 'hobbies/joy', which is somewhat missing in his life at present. Also insisted that he resume his payments to his stocks and shares ISA and to building up an emergency fund - £10 per month to each. He won't really miss it, and it means he's being strategic and thinking longer-term, which is an important behavioural trait and habit.

Depending on how the job search goes, he might qualify for some universal credit, but his gig work, which fluctuates might make that tricky and more trouble than it's worth.

It is not always easy or pleasant living with a grumpy and unfulfilled boomerang adult child; but I am determined to keep chipping away with practical support, and he is becoming less defensive and closed off. I really needed practical help and advice at his stage, and I didn't get it, or know how to go about finding it, and I'm buggered if I'm going to let him flounder unnecessarily just because he thinks he should already know it all and have it sorted!