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 😊

Spendy day on holiday £60 train tickets and cake. £40 in Tesco on top up and £2 on milk at the dairy.

Should be a cheaper one tomorrow.

It's a really nasty cough I have to say. DD still has hers too. And lots of her friends have it so think it's a "gift" from pre school. Yay.

Oh you're so lucky. It's a beautiful part of the world. Beautiful scenery.

Found another tray. I should just buy it huh!!

Today was about £15 in total at Waitrose and Sainsbury. That included two greeting cards. Met a friend for coffee and spent £20. That was on our drinks and she covered the food.

I was indeed thinking cheese on my waffles @MaryGreenhill. I have some Roquefort in the freezer. Not sure what it will be like once it has defrosted. Or what I’ll do with the rest of the waffles. You have inspired me with your pie photograph. Hope your Costco trip was fun.

Sorry you and your daughter are still under the weather @Frugal25. Hope you’re on the mend soon.

Had a lovely card from a friend this afternoon and that cheered me up as did meeting my friend. Not sure how it’s only Tuesday. It feels like tomorrow should be the weekend.

It's always the same though @Frugal25when the little ones go to Nursery and school the bugs they pick up are unbelievable 💐
I am lucky where l live it's in Monmouthshire and we have a lovely view of the mountains but my home town is Crickhowell which is absolutely beautiful 🤗
Bless you Rum l am so glad you are feeling better by your friend sending you a card . It's lovely when our friends show they care about us .
Roquefort on those waffles sounds delicious 😋

We don’t have the heating on timer yet but we have put it on for an hour or so over the last few days. We’ve been very cosy with the stove and I wear fleece pyjamas.

@FurForksSake the Christmas meat is worth splurging on.

that waffle topped pie looks very interesting. @PearlsPearl I look forward either interest to hearing how your DS likes it when you get home to cook it.

Sunday and Monday were NSDs. Today was €22 in Lidl and then €2.49 on vinted.

yesteday we went to my sisters and she gave me a dress I’ve wanted for ages that doesn’t suit her and a walking pad for my office. Hoping to be able to use it when I’m in meetings that I don’t need to talk much in.

no menu plan made this week as I want to eat the party leftovers, but I finished off the cheese plate this veiny so will now need to decide on dinners for the week.

No spend day today. Whoop whoop!
I am honestly so excited too I am getting to work rediculously early tomorrow which means I get to finish rediculously early (if I don't get sucked in!) and I have every intention of coming home and tidying my daughter's play room to an inch of its life. In reality I'll probably end up with my kindle in Starbucks. But good intentions, right?!

@pistachiosanscream I love my walking pad, I put an episode of Gilmore Girls on and go for it. Hope it helps you!

@ChipshopPickledEgg both the sorting and the Starbucks are good for your mental health so a win either way, enjoy ☺️

Had to request a few things from DW last night. Nail file, nail protector/polish as I bit my biab nails off last night 🙈 never done that before but they were driving me bananas. And obviously no way of getting them removed.

Afternoon.

I’m loving the waffle topping, the grated cheese on top is a supreme idea!

Thanks @BigSkies2022 re Steph Rose. That’s sounds more me. I get bored with standard mobility work, start thinking about the supermarket delivery or emptying the dishwasher etc, and I rather think I’m supposed to stay in the moment.

I agree re nail clippers @PearlsPearl- you need a decent pair. Even a really good quality pair are not thousands of pounds and definitely worth the extra.

Great news on the dress @pistachiosanscream

Where you live sounds lovely @MaryGreenhill, we have so many beautiful places in the UK, we hardly need to go abroad if the weather behaves.

Sorry to hear about all those folk who are under the weather.

Spending has been minimal the last couple of days
£25 on a bulk buy of poo bags (glamorous…..).
£30 supplement subscription.

I’ve also had a very positive catch up with my running coach. He’s stuck me on the treadmill and taken all the lactate measurements and necessary fitness numbers and I’m not anywhere near as unfit as the last 3 years training might have indicated. The running numbers have suffered somewhat at the top end - but nothing structured training won’t fix.

The big bonus was the massive improvement in muscle mass (up 1%) and big reduction in body fat, which had decreased by 4% since I was last tested. Ladies - pick up those kettlebells and eat your protein! 🤣

Good morning everyone 🌞
It's sunny here after rain all night and all morning 😊
0ut goes the washing in the vain hope it will dry 🤣
I am so pleased everyone seems to like the idea of the waffles on top of the cottage pie 😁
@needastrongoneagain l totally agree we are so lucky here in the UK
Apart from the weather there is everything we could ever wish to see here 😁.
That's amazing re your running coach and your results . I am upping my protein and l have told my Dd2 to get a kettlebell pronto thank you 😁
Hope you are ok @PearlsPearl that walking pad sounds excellent l must have a look at them for me 😊
Well done on the NSD @ChipshopPickledEgg hope you did whatever you wanted to do be that Starbucks or tidying 😁
That sounds so cosy with you @pistachiosanscream ❤️
Love it well done in the NSD/LSD too 😁
Been to see Mum who was excellent there considering she had a flu jab yesterday. Some of the other residents were really under the weather after it bless them .
Popped to Waitrose to pick up the cheese we have from there and Dd2's prescription.
So spends today was only £10.
We always buy their essentials cheddar cheese £5 it's strong level 6 and it's delicious. We don't buy anything else.

Here it is in case anyone wants to try it 😊

We are away still, free entry into a Scottish heritage place as we have English heritage membership.
lunch out (we were going to do it at some point) £46
cookies £15
sweetie cups £8
birthday presents for SIL x2 £45

a spendy day! But, we won’t eat out again now and I’ve not done any online shopping so that’s good!

Hope you are having a wonderful time @FurForksSake . Sounds amazing

We are so lucky to live here in the UK. Beautiful spots to visit and live.

I do love a strong cheese. I may give this a go @MaryGreenhill

Eating out of the freezer for the next week as I'm out a lot and when I'm not OH is. Ships in the night. But plenty in there to feed us and I'll do a lidl shop tomorrow to top up. I always think a top up shop will be cheap but it's about the same as normal! Plus I'm going to start Christmas cooking and freezing so hopefully they have bits I need.

Forgot to post my spendings. Lol 🤣 🤣

£27 on DD art work that you can turn into presents for Christmas. Got keyrings and fridge magnets.

Lovely day for you all @FurForksSakeso glad you are enjoying yourselves 😊
@Frugal25we love a strong cheese and always used to buy Cathedral city extra mature or M&S strength 7. I read about this cheese in a magazine and bought some and we loved it .
I noticed when l went to Waitrose the shelves were almost bare, which l always think speaks for itself 😁
What are you going to cook for Christmas? I am definitely going to make cheese straws, cheese scones and mince pies 😋

There’s a lovely thread in Christmas about favourite recipes and I’ve got some lovely ideas from that.

Im definitely going to do some cheese straws.

when we get back I’ll be making my red cabbage, Jamie get ahead gravy and prepping my sprouts, potatoes and carrots from the freezer. I’ll probably still be on crutches come Christmas so having a shelf of Christmas food will really help.

we usually go to my sister on Christmas Eve and I make a starter, I’m thinking of a homemade cream of tomato and a homemade spiced parsnip and apple soup. I can then freeze those ahead and pick up some delicious bread and butter if I’m not up to making it.

I usually make some fudge using the recipe on the carnation website, great gift and I have some marzipan moulds I bought in Ikea years ago and they make Christmas tree, bell and snowman shapes.

Omg @FurForksSake all of that sounds absolutely brilliant. You just can't beat home cooking it's so much nicer than bought stuff . Hopefully you will be wellon your way to recovery by Christmas 💐🤞

Just catching up with the thread before tonight's Traitors!

@PearlsPearl hope you're doing ok.

@Frugal25 I am also dithering on Vinted and losing stuff as I'm not quick enough! I've got my eye on a dress for my birthday meal in December but it's pink and I don't normally wear that colour - although ChatGPT says it will look wonderful.

@MaryGreenhill where you live sounds fab. And I'm glad your mum is ok after her flu jab - I've got mine next Tuesday.

@needastrongoneagain that's great news from your running coach - I love kettlebells and have some at home. I asked my PT to put together a home routine for me that includes them.

@FurForksSake hope you're having a great holiday.

NSD for me today. Been catching up with my finances - I've decided to do a weekly budget for November so have planned it all out. It might make me feel like less of a payday millionaire and blow it all as soon as it lands in my account!

My PT session went well yesterday and I'm going on my own in the morning - just hope I can remember how to do them all!

@chimichangaz aw thank you re where l live it is lovely here but l am sure everyone here lives in equally or even more beautiful places 🤗
Yes ,thankfully my Mum is fine she was excellent there today 😁
So glad your PT session went well great job, you got it! 👍

Afternoon everyone 😊
Spendy day today unfortunately.
Home bargains £68
Card factory £16
Farm foods £54
Lidl £28
Aldi £8
I did get a few Christmas presents for a few ppl out of that so it's not all bad 😁

£89 to get into the wildlife park. £1.80 on milkshake. £2 on bread.

DH is very stressed about money and how much food we’ve got left to take home or dispose of on Saturday. I honestly think most will get eaten or used up and what isn’t is stuff we regularly eat at home. I’m on Mounjaro and forget how little I eat. But also wanted to make sure we didn’t have to be in shops regularly. Which we’ve achieved. I don’t think we’ve spent terribly over the week, but it could have been better on the initial food shop.

It really doesn’t sound like you’ve done badly at all tbh with you @FurForksSake. £89 for a wildlife park is steep but those kinds of outings are part of making memories, and you’ve clearly been thoughtful with food and spending overall. You planned ahead, avoided constant trips to the shops, and most of what’s left will be used up , that’s sensible. It’s easy to look back and think the first shop could’ve been leaner, but you’ve managed things well, especially with how little you’re eating on Mounjaro. You’ve kept things under control more than you probably realise. I think in your defense your DH is not thinking about the bigger picture . You avoided having to pay tourist groceries prices for a start sweetheart. I think you have done brilliantly 💐

Yesterday was a total of about £20 in Boots and Marks and Spencer. Today was £21 in the health food shop and £10 in Waitrose. And an unexpected £100 on one of the utilities. I bought some chia seeds in the health food shop a 1kg bag was £1 more than a 500g bag. I didn’t realise how big it was until I got back. Think it might take a while to get through. I also bought some dried pears. I’m nit a fan.

Finishing off the cheese plate is a very noble thing to do @pistachiosanscream. I would have done the same.

Hope you’re enjoying your break @FurForksSake.

Glad the PT went well @chimichangaz

Am quite tired today. Tomorrow should be quiet so I’m hoping to take it easy. It feels like it should be the weekend already.

• £6 in dunk doughnut for a doughnut for my daughter and a coffee for husband.
• £7 was WH Smith for some bits I 'needed' during an hospital appointment
• £3 Sainsbury's

Don't think there was anything else :-)

Thanks for the kind and positive words! I’ve just been through the online grocery order and stripped it right back.

we’ve got one more day here before driving home on Saturday, we are going to have a quiet day and hopefully pop to the swimming pool in Inverness tomorrow late afternoon.

im wondering if I need to use Monzo more and pots to track my spending. It feels like money just runs through my hands.

I’m loving all the Christmas ideas. I usually make a few preserves for Christmas but I’ve nothing done yet so must get cracking on these or I’ll have nothing done.

its been a really busy couple of months and I’ve felt like I’m chasing my tail both in work and personal lives. Very much hoping things calm down soon.

yesterday was a NSD and then today I spent €13.59 in McDonalds with the small child and €29 in Penneys. Tomorrow is her actual birthday and then Saturday her class party. Next year I’m seriously simplifying things as it’s nearly been a birthday month!

@FurForksSake its hard when you have lots leftover but as long as you use it it’s not wasted and overall saved money by having options.

ive some unopened tubs of Pringles and sweets that’s I’m going to hide away from DH as he’s a hoover for this kind of thing. I’ll keep them for Christmas instead.