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 😊

Sorry @JustStopItNora . I budgeted for £600 for everyone and wrapping and postage but already going over that. I always do. I need to get much better. My friend spends £10 on everyone. Even her mum. Whereas I'm spending £100 on some (not all). I think I need to really have a think before I spend anymore.

£3.50 on some stocking fillers then sold £3 on vinted so that's nearly paid it off.

Spent the day in the park picking up leaves to take home and make pictures out of them. Had such a lovely time. Also got virgin to drop my contract from £67 a month for only 50mbps to £44 a month for 500mbps. Yippee.

Oh I should add that I went through my cards and think I found enough Christmas cards for this year so I don't need to buy any. Although they are all very random and from different sets from years gone by. Still pleased.

Hope you don’t mind me joining.

I’ve very recently had a big drop in income, about £600 a month. I’ve done a quick add up of debt and need to clear credit card debt of 5k and a mortgage of 9k and I’ve set myself a goal of being totally debt free in 18 months . So trying to be a bit frugal and cutting costs where I can.

I’m very glad it’s the start of Soup season. Bacon and lentil, leek and potato, scouse etc. I can’t wait and it helps to keep costs down. I’ve told my family the heating doesn’t go on until October 1st at the very earliest. They all have oodies and electric blankets etc.

I’ve made a good start on Xmas shopping for my daughter and this year I’m really dialling it back. No presents for adults unless I make them ( I’m very crafty). Hoping to get a toniebox for each of my grandkids in the Black Friday sales.

Frugal25 I searched my card box to find a card suitable for my mother whose birthday is tomorrow and found one for Granny with a £ price tag I was last in the UK in July 22!
Had to buy one for boyfriend though.

I went to dunnes and did a careful shop to use my €5 off €25 voucher which expires tomorrow.

GreenGodiva that’s a big goal in 18 months with a significant drop in income, but make a plan and you’ll achieve it.
I did put heating on for 20 mins on Thurs but I’m frugal with heating in general. It’s on a smart plug and can be controlled from my phone. I judge by the day whether I’ll use it or not. All welcome here where can yput make cutbacks?

Life annoying
em good stuff

lunch with dd €23
dunnes €25.90

Welcome @GreenGodiva🤗
Aldi £46
Argos £25 for 2 PS5 games for Christmas presents
They have a great offer on some of them ATM

2 for £25
For September.

I'm. Glad to see there are other early starters for Christmas. The problem I have is I start early and then n as Christmas gets closer I see more and more I think thd kids would like.

Holding off on Christmas at the moment though because I just can't seem to stop do ending right now 😢.
Trying to do well but I spent over €100 on an online clothes order yesterday (my justification is that it should get the whole family through winter now) 60 on garden bulbs today (some were a gift for a close friend, then I wanted free postage 🙈) another 40 on food today. I'm just struggling not to spend.

Tomorrow should be better. Should be €8 on swimming and getting 20 cash out for 2 weeks worth of boot amp training.

Omg l forgot to pay the TV License , over a week out of date . Just done it now but what a cheek £174.50 🙄
Hey ho got to be done .

Fell off the thread oof..
Lidl £23.12 for top up
Card Factory £6.05

Got a 60th birthday coming up, need to buy voucher for that. Other than that trying to rein it in for two weeks.

Christmas - don't feel like I've started at all. I have a Christmas book in which I have the last 8 years of 'lists', I make notes for the following year of what needs doing. Getting that out of the cupboard is usually my first step. I did buy a few presents on holiday last month - some ceramics and soaps so that's a start!

Oh just realised the MOT is due and I can't get it booked into my usual garage in time! Will phone them on Monday but their online booking system is full. Not like me at all - don't feel like I'm back to normal after the summer yet!

Aiming for a low-spend day today. We may go to a local attraction, but that is only $4 a ticket. Dinner will be broccoli and cauliflower cheese and roasted vegetables. I have frozen broccoli and cauliflower already, milk and cheese, peas etc so just need to buy potatos and butternut squash. I am trying to reduce my food spend by cutting down on meat for a bit as well - which we eat too much of (with the exception of vegetarian DH!!).

I do need to think about breakfasts though for the next few days. DS1 is on medication that kills his appetite and he is such a small eater anyway. Last week I essentially gave him dinner before school which worked quite well. He's crazy for jacket potatoes with cheese and sour cream so he might get that tomorrow with a small side salad.

£70 on pre planned hairdressers and eyebrow wax yesterday much needed.
£10 on a gift
£5 on some snacks for hairdressers to break my fast.
£2 on deodorant.
Ate left overs for dinner last night which made me very happy 😆.
Been up since 5am enduring my daughter ramming her play hairbrush in my head playing hairdressers which is marginally better than the curlers.

I also need to really think. I am in a nice little friendship group of about 9 women- yet there is a tradition that we all buy each other Christmas and birthday presents - usually at the £20 mark. It's very strongly pushed by one of us who really loves buying people gifts. But I find it a strain and another of us is on UC and finds it a strain as well. I also hate it as I don't much like receiving tat as our house is cluttered anyway - and also it adds up hideously. Things like candles and all that. No-one needs another candle in their life I am sure of it- and I like candles!.

That's more or less why I started a separate 'present' account so I felt like the money was already allocated. I try and put £50 a month in, but I have such a tenuously balanced account anyway that I usually dip into it. Currently I have £200 in it. I've been wondering for years how to broach the issue. We did a Secret Santa once which would be better as only one gift to buy, but that was not successful at all really. But I might suggest that again. I've been open with my friends that we are financially stretched a bit lately- they wanted to do a day trip to London which I said I simply could not stretch to.

I would re suggest the secret Santa. Or could you go for a festive walk / meet-up & spend a smaller present amount on that?

I think I will try again re Secret Santa. It's the only thing that makes sense really. It all gets a bit spendy.

@Frugal25 well done on the Virgin contract. I need to do the same as my BT/EE contract is up for renewal soon.

@JustStopItNora I think you just need to be honest with your friends - I had similar with a small group of friends and we now do a Christmas meal out together instead.

Afternoon out with a friend yesterday so that was about £45 (all public transport so that kept the cost down).

Need to do some grocery shopping today but have done some batch cooking and have lots of cupboard stuff so I’ve set myself a tight budget for the rest of the month.

Oh we do the meal out as well. I wish we could just do that!

Thankfully the group are very careful to exclude those who are not drinking alcohol from the alcohol bill. None of this 'Let's split it' rubbish when someone is driving and been on tepid tap water. That's saved my budget bacon on more than one occasion!

I hear you @JustStopItNora . I am the same with my budget and often dip into savings that are allocated for other things. But well done us for trying to be organised eh.

Def get your contracts sorted @chimichangaz such a relief and saving too.

Should be a NSD here. Going to go through DD toys and chuck. She has so many they have taken over half the lounge and her bedroom cupboards are full. Need to cull before she gets even more for Christmas.... Argh ...

Good afternoon everyone 🤗
Raining here ☔😁
I have had a peruse on Vinted and put my toe in the water and bought a dress F&F and twinset cardy and short sleeved jumper M&S for my Mum off there . Only £10 in all and look to be in very good condition. A great bargain if they are but for £10 l am willing to give it a punt .
Bought a lovely denim dress from M&S £40 & 2 x beauty boxes from there as well for £60 , both Christmas presents will put pics/links on now .
Hope everyone is ok 🤗

Here's the beauty box https://www.marksandspencer.com/the-mother-s-day-box-2025/p/hbp60741586?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

Hers the dress l couldn't resist it ❤️
www.marksandspencer.com/pure-cotton-denim-midi-waisted-dress/p/clp60747726?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

Fingers crossed but l thought they looked in excellent condition in the pics and perfect for Autumn/Winter 😁

Good luck with Vinted @MaryGreenhill - and love that M&S dress ❤️

Just popping in to be a bit smug and I know you’ll all appreciate my frugalness! I’ve taken advantage of the octopus free energy today 12-2 and roasted three lots of veg - one I had for lunch with halloumi on top and toasted sourdough (garlic butter) and hummus (absolutely delish and using stuff up/out of the freezer). One of the other roasted veg was sprinkled with chilli flakes and will be side dishes this week. The other (carrots, red onion, sweet potato and a sad looking normal potato) was sprinkled with cumin and coriander and then boiled with stock and lentils for soup for lunches this week.

Now off to Morrisons and hoping I catch some yellow sticker bargains!!

Aw thank you @chimichangaz 🤗 well done in your brilliant frugality today. You put me to shame 👏

I’ve managed to keep things low today.

I had arranged to return some items to Amazon and accidentally pressed the “credit to amazon account” so I had £20 credit. Thanks to autocorrect I stumbled across some slime advent calendars and I purchased 4 for £38 for my beige and grandsons. That’s a suck tradition and in the past it’s been Lego, pop vinyl or hot wheels calendars but I can’t justify it, so that’s a big saving! Not sure the parents will be too happy but hey ho 😂.

other than that I spent £4.99 on a bargain half price pack of dish washer tablets for my new dishwasher that comes tomorrow.

made curry from frozen whoopsie pork and all the veg in the fridge. Was delicious.

Oh the beauty box and dress are gorgeous @MaryGreenhill . And I often find that vinted is just really cheap but for really lovely things so fingers crossed yours is the same
Oh well done @chimichangaz I love catching the free elec when I can. And your food sounds delicious!!
Oooohhh slime calenders!! They sound good fun!!

I managed to fill 2 very large bin bags full of toys from DD collection. Everything is now organised and she has actually played with toys rather than asking for the TV. Which is a first. Maybe as she can actually see what she has to play with.
Will leave it a few days to ensure nothing is absolutely missed but next weekend I'll pop it all on vinted (that will probably take me the whole weekend!)

Was stressing about lunches tomorrow but OH found some pittas in the freezer and I found some eggs so I've boiled them to make egg mayo pitas for lunch boxes. Actually looking forward to it!