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 😊

Thanks @FurForksSake I mean that's not included the accommodation and petrol.

Spending today has been £2 on a jar of schug to go with supper tomorrow.

I did go to Waitrose today @MaryGreenhill to pick up some Ottolenghi bits but couldn’t remember what I have already so I didn’t get anything.

Oh @northender. Hope you’re OK. Germany and a 21st birthday celebration sound grand.

Good luck @FurForksSake with your shopping boundaries. I think I’ll try and join you and do the same for Amazon. Hope the hydrotherapy goes well tomorrow.

Not sure where this weekend has gone. Tidied up some paperwork and that is about it. The travel guides didn’t get opened and I spent too much time fretting about work. Have added some lavender hand soap to my Paris shopping list. Am crossing my fingers that I can go. Though it seems to be turning into shopping trip.

I’m really bad with Amazon, it’s my biggest outgoing. I feel like I can justify it as we “need it” but it’s just impulse spending.

Well, back to school tomorrow!
Half term not too bad really definitely expenses that wouldn't happen during the week normally!
There was some unavoidable expenses during the end of the week which I can't really declare as very outting.
All within budget though.
Weekend away next weekend at a friends down south so no accommodation costs just travel/misc.

Good morning everyone 🤗
Rained all night here and it's given rain all day ,so it's a cleaning day today unfortunately .
NSD for me yesterday 🤗
@RumBananaSundae l haven't been to Waitrose either but l will go today and have a look at the Ottolenghi range . I have a lovely friend whose birthday it is on Saturday and l am going to get her some of the range and put it in a jute bag for her . I know she will love it 😁 so thank you for the heads up 🤗
I am so sorry you can't get your work off your mind , bless you sweetheart . l hope this alters very soon for you . Fingers crossed for your Paris trip too 🤗
Glad your half term wasn't too spendy @ChipshopPickledEgg , your weekend away sounds brilliant 🤗.
@FurForksSakel cancelled my subscription to Prime , it has really stopped me spending on Amazon .l didn't watch Prime though, so if you watch Prime it's probably not doable .
Good luck with the spending limit this month too.
Have a good session at Hydrotherapy today 🤗
@Alwayslearning25 you did great re the half term spending well done. It's so difficult to keep the costs down ATM everything is so expensive.
@Mochi1fudge
The rain let up yesterday thank you it was a gorgeous day 🤗
l had a look at the Macmillan advent calendar and it's a good deal . I might get it for my friend who has breast cancer bless her . So thank you for the heads up 🤗
Welcome back @Holidaysandchocolate 🤗
Good to see you back but l wish it wasn't because of altered circs for you, bless you.
Hope you are feeling much better @PearlsPearl it's a shame you have to use Deliveroo but needs must sweetheart. Hope you can go home soon 💐
@ememem84 glad you had a wonderful half term and well done to your DH catering for so many 👏👏😁
@pistachiosanscream AHH that's lovely your DD had such a lovely birthday bless her .
Hope the Hot Press is repaired for you very quickly and doesn't cost a fortune 🤗
@northender oh bless you l am so sorry things are tough with your parents. It's a very difficult time l know 💐
Have a wonderful time in Germany with your DC 🤗
@lifelongfrugaleer our elderly parents are a worry for us , there is always something 💐.
Hope everyone has a good day and the DC returning to school goes swimmingly 😁

Morning all!
I didn't comment yesterday as it was my birthday and I was knee deep in family lunches etc.
I spent £1 on a lolly for DD that I knew she would hate. We don't like sweets in my household. And yes. It went in the bin after two licks.
And then £9 on a coverless duvet for her off vinted as she has decided that they are better than blankets so I need more of them!

I'm sorry some of you are back due to circumstances changing. That's always hard and frustrating.
Sorry some parents are going through tough situations too as it does cause a ripple effect.

Sending off a vinted parcel today at lunch. And I sorted out my wardrobe and decided that my Karen Millen and Jaeger dresses can go. They are from when I dressed formally to work and I no longer do so. They will go on vinted later along with the clutch purses I also no longer need.

Oh that's a brilliant idea!! A lollipop you know she would hate! Far too many sweets etc are creeping in here truthfully so might be something to look into. Here babe a Brussel sprout Lollipop enjoy.

Also birthday wishes to you :-)

Aw happy belated birthday to you for yesterday @Frugal25 🤗👏💐❤️🎂🎁🎊🎉.
Very clever to get the nasty lolly 🤣.
Well done on the Vinted !
We love our coverless duvets here too they are just so easy 😁
Good morning @ChipshopPickledEgg hope back to school is going great 😊

Urgh, morning all. I have dropped off in the midst of busyness with renovations, family, and Dh’s birthday weekend. It’s been spenny, lots of work and over indulgent and I am feeling the effects this morning. Looking forward to restoring balance and healthy frugality as of today (although the expenditure on renovations and getting the flat back out on the market will continue for a few weeks yet- unavoidable).

I have been given some very nice bath products- Aesop and Neom - by various fam for my birthday and I plan some indulgent and restorative sessions with those. I look forward to emerging thoroughly exfoliated, moisturised and fragrant. My new bag will get an outing on Saturday when we’ve been invited to a friend’s dinner in Soho. It’s going to be more people than I usually talk to at once, so slightly challenging for me, but we’ll get through it!

Still catching up on thread, but need , congratulations on your fitness feedback from your trainer, that’s excellent.

I’m afraid we’ve had the heating on since returning from Devon- this is an old house with single pane windows and needs heating. I will be watching the credit balance vanish…

Morning.

I feel like I’ve lost track of the thread and I think I only posted on Friday.

Thanks, @BigSkies2022- appreciate the kind words re fitness; I’ve lost a lot of ‘me’ in the last 3 years - running gives me a sense of self and purpose, and even more so now. I am ashamed to admit that I have only just realised just how nice the Neom candles are - and might not have appreciated a generous gift recently quite as much as I might have! Good luck re the dinner, hope the bag is suitably admired.

Great idea re the lollipop! And belated Happy Birthday @Frugal25

You are super organised @FurForksSakere Christmas!

Welcome back @northender - it sounds really very tough indeed re your parents. Enjoy Germany. One. More. Year……

Spends
£££ on a couple of pairs of trainers.
£25 Amazon on pistachio nuts and Ribena 😁
£38 health supplement which I think I’m going to cancel.
£2.50 Boots on two packs of Deliciously Ella chocolate covered almonds. I could probably bulk buy, but then I’d bulk eat these particular delights. They are great post long run.

Right - off to chuck some veg in the oven to roasted and generally be more useful than I have been so far this morning.

afternoon!

I popped into Aldi for a couple of bits and now have the fruit soaking for mil’s Christmas cake. I also bought the advent calendar and some reduced mini pizzas ds2 takes in his lunch box once a week. Spent £35 and I need to pay the milk bill which is £5.

im going to list some bits on vinted tomorrow, better to get something for them than nothing.

im going to to work out my Clubcard vouchers and try and use those for stocking fillers. I’ve also got a few nectar and boots points I might try and use.

Hi Everyone,

I haven't been online over the weekend and I've come back to find 58 new posts!! I'll need to catch up :)

Payday was Friday and as usual I've not been keeping check on my spending over the weekend, I'm generally very good with this but on Payday weekend I subconsciously take my eye off the ball and it all goes downhill. I need to shake this off and become more intentional with my spending I know. I live semi rurally and during the week only ever pop into the small supermarket to pick up bread, milk or fruit if we run out, when I go into the nearest big town I'm always drawn in by the shops I don't see that often, also if I don't have DH with me I definitely spend more.

Dh and I went into London yesterday evening and had a really nice Thai meal, I enjoyed everything we ordered so that was nice!

The good news is that I have almost completed my Christmas shopping, mostly thanks to the Christmas bargains thread and posts on here, I'm pleased because it means that I can relax during December and won't be stressing about gifts - I'll just need to wrap them.

Today will be a NSD, I'm making Lasagna for dinner with garlic bread so looking forward to that. The weather here is dry today but somewhat gloomy, I've done loads of washing and hung it on the airer as I'm trying not to use the tumble dryer unless it's for towels.

I definitely find taking my husband shopping it costs more particularly the supermarket that man is like a child.... Ooooh... Snacks.
@BigSkies2022 I'm a definite bag lady... Image please!

Darn it, just had a bill for a medical thing from august, thought I had managed to get the insurance to accept it. Never mind, £242 is a lot less than it could have been

Happy birthday frugal

Back from my holiday and have caught up reading 106+ posts! You have all been so busy while I was away. The dreaded Christmas word has invaded here as well as the shops but I'll let you off because I love Christmas!! Have been catching up with the usual month end stuff and money is now where it should be for outgoing payments. DH had his letter about his Winter Fuel Allowance so will transfer that to Octopus when it arrives.
Initial food shopping costs were 73.00 in Lidl but that did include flowers and chocs to thank my neighbour for looking after the cat and an advent calendar for GS. Home Bargains was 12.05 for more soap pods/fabric conditioner/dehumidifiers and plug in refill. In M&S spent 2.75 on reduced Halloween bits for DD to put away for next year. 1.50 on parking for a wasted trip for Ear wax removal appointment.
Before I went off on holiday I had seen my GP for an ear infection as we had air flights coming up. He gave me some antibiotic spray for my ear and said the other was full of wax and I had a viral infection as glands were swollen and my throat was showing inflammation. Not sure what the GP actually saw because both ears were completely free of wax. So didn't have to pay for the ear wax removal - bonus!! Maybe all that swimming and sunbathing did the trick but the infected ear is still uncomfy so will restart the antibiotic spray for a few days. But it was a novelty to see my ear innards after 60+ years of wearing Hearing Aids!!
We also came back with some Euros so am happy with that - will keep for the next holiday or pass it onto the GCs as they are off to Disney Paris next year.
Still need to defrost the freezer and audit both freezers for menu planning - realised when I got back shopping that we still need coffee and eggs and DH said his sugar free creamer is very low so will order that tonight from Amazon.

£26 Lidl
£3.60 coop

Got my lunch on Boots points
Got a couple of bids on eBay items.
Plumber has done a boiler swap today over 2k, our boiler is 20 years old and very temperamental so this is future proofing spending!

Took my Christmas list book down to make a start on lists (done some shopping but v little for DC so far). These are running lists from 2017 with lists, notes and reminders. Funny to read my debrief every year. E.g.
"Look for M&S Yule Logs from November"
"Remind Dsis kindly that DM may be better off staying at home" 😂

Love your notes @Mochi1fudge made me giggle
Sorry about your ear @Rainbow1901 , hope.it clears up soon

@ChipshopPickledEgg I find my OH is the same. Adds at least £40 to it!!

@FurForksSake ouch. Although not as bad as it could be.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes.

£5.80 on lunch at work.
£10.65 on swimming session this week
£7 on a trial session for gymnastics for DD

Vinted is asking for my NI as I've sold 30 items. Have any of you had this too? Guessing the lovely government want some Tax as I've cleared my wardrobe out!

It's all over the vinted Facebook groups Frugal.

Spending today has been £4.20 on two greetings cards and 55p on some yogurt. And £2.16 just now on my stress stroll on two yellow stickered heads of broccoli and two punnets of grapes in Sainsbury.

Thank you @MaryGreenhill. The Ottolenghi in a jute bag sounds like a rather fantastic present.

Happy birthday for yesterday @Frugal25. I hope you had a nice day. Goodo on the Vinted sorting. I really need to take a look at it.

Enjoy your indulgences @BigSkies2022. Glad you decided to get the bag. Hope you enjoy the dinner on Saturday.

Goodness @needastrongoneagain I echo your running comment. Not being able to do much since my accident has really knocked me. I bought a bulk bag of chocolate covered raisins and bulk ate them. Not sure why I buy them as I don’t actually like them.

Relaxing during December @Johaanah sounds like a good position to be in.

Hope your ear starts to feel better soon @Rainbow1901.

Heard back from the solicitor today. Am even more anxious about it now and irritated by the solicitor wanting me to make decisions but giving me no guidance/advice at all. I had little confidence in them given the dreadful experience I had previously and this is making me want to bury my head in the sand. Will have a fab day tomorrow dealing with that and therapy.

@Frugal25yes they want to make sure you aren't a trader .
They have checked my Daughter's and you have no worries at all .

Chipshop-it’s the DeMellier midi Hudson in burgundy small-grain. I also like their New York- I’m not keen on big bags. I plan to borrow DH’s very pretty Japanese watch if he’s not wearing it for the same occasion.

Ooh that's some arm candy indeed!

Afternoon! Been off to the hospital for pre-op, dh took some Amazon returns back. I think it’s a no spend day. Christmas gravy is on the hob, stew is in the oven. I think I’ll do the cake tomorrow, the fruit can sit another day.