Frugal thread?

[FurForksSake]

Hello, I used to read and sometimes join in with the frugal threads, but looks like the last one filled in August. Has it moved elsewhere?

I really need some support with trying to be frugal for the rest of the year and tracking no spend days and low spend days.

If there isn’t one I’ll ask HQ to change the title of this to become the Autumn Frugal thread if no one minds?

So today I’ve ended up spending

£27 on washing pods (will last 3-4 months)
£5 school lunch for ds1
£5 for school pantomime for ds2
£7 for Monzo perks (I’ll cancel in 3 months)
£15 milk bill (two weeks)

so £59 on a day I didn’t feel I spent anything.

The washing pods are Ariel from Amazon and will last a good long time. School lunches aren’t common, ds1 has had an op and can’t manage to make and carry lunches this week.

Milk bill is going down as we’ve realised no one is drinking juice and we are getting too much bread.

monzo perks I’ll try and use the free Greggs…

You're not doing very well at being frugal

Washing pods are a very expensive way of buying laundry detergent. Look at the cost per wash compared with normal liquid or powder.

£5 for one lunch will be 2 or 3 times the cost of equivalent food taken from home.

A 'milk bill' suggests you're getting it delivered, which is all very worthy but will be far more expensive than buying it from the supermarket or local Co-op.

£5 for school panto isn't bad, I suppose it's a fundraising event so nice to contribute if you can afford it.

Make sure you use the Monzo perks and cancel if it's not worth it. If it includes the 'look what you've spent all your money on' information, you can use it to help with your attempts at frugality.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/5401553-pumpkins-pies-and-prudence-autumn-frugal-saving-shenanigans-here-all-welcome?latest=1

Here's the latest thread

Milk bill? You use a milkman? That’s expensive. And washing powder far more cost effective than those pods.

You’re using all the expensive versions. You don’t need milk delivered, Ariel pods are way more expensive then liquid own brand, do you need Monzo flex?

The Greggs isn’t free if you’re paying for a membership to get it.

agree with the other posts, you’re doing everything in a very expensive way! Although at least that should be easy to cut down on.

I’ll try and justify myself, but probably can’t.

As I said, son is just having school lunches as he can’t manage to make and carry lunch due to surgery. Typically he has one school lunch a week and my primary age none.

Milkman we’ve had for a long time, we live somewhere without a local shop and I always found I was picking something else up if I went in. This way I get a couple of pints a week and rarely go in the shop.

washing pods - dh does the laundry and we’ve used a lot of the own brands and just don’t on with them. This will last us three months, I usually get them on subscribe and save or when they go half price in the supermarket.

im waiting for surgery so im not easily able to go into shops or do anything like that.

monzo perks I’ll cancel after the minimum 3 months, we got a rail card worth £35 and dh will save 1/3 on some of his journeys and make back over £21. The Greggs will be his lunch once a week.

cant do anything about the cost of the pantomime.

So, yes, I could have saved on some of those, but it’s not as simple as it seems.

I don't want you to feel 'got at' but equally you asked for help so here it is. Buy more milk when at the shops and freeze it so that you can cancel the milkman

You won't save any money if DH isn't on board. Formulations change. Pods are easy but if you can half your costs by measuring out powder/ liquid maybe you should reconsider that

Monzo perks sound good. Just make sure you've put a reminder on the calendar to cancel in good time.

£5 for panto is a bargain!

Shirley Conrad wrote books, post divorce, about economising and it might be worth seeing if you can get a copy or read online. I found one of them helpful but I can’t remember if it was Superwoman or Life’s Too Short to Stuff A Mushroom. I think the latter.

Rethink what you’re eating and make subtle small changes, gradually so the family adjusts without noticing. Jocasta Innes write The Pauper’s Cookbook which is really old fashioned food that is tasty, cheap and filling. Hide it and use it.

I think it was Shirley Conrad who observed that it’s easier to adjust if you just cut out one expensive thing than if you go round nibbling bits of every bit of expenditure.

My experience is that it’s easier if you set a budget, stick to it, buy what’s cheap and adapt to using that.

Why do I feel so guilty at the idea of cancelling the milkman? We’ve gone down to bear minimum, so will consider cancelling completely in the new year.

I’ve got three months of pods now, but will trial the Aldi liquid and powder once they’ve gone to see how he gets on.

Food wise we don’t do awfully.

Tomorrow we are having leg or lamb, it was on offer. On Monday it will be lamp wraps and salad. Tuesday lamb curry with whatever is left of the lamb. If not I’ve got some sweet potatoes and lentils to bulk out a curry.

Wednesday is our jacket potato night, I make a vat of chilli in the pressure cooker every 8-9 weeks and bulk it out with huge amounts if veg and pulses.
Thursday is pasta, sauce and garlic bread. Kids are fussy so tend to have plain pasta with some cheese and cucumber.
Friday tends to be something easy like breaded fish, chicken nuggets or sausages.
Saturday tends to be our treat night, steak, pie, lasagna, slow cooked pork belly or a monthly take away.

My biggest issue is Amazon and impulse spending. I’ve lost nearly six stone and I’ve had to replace all of my wardrobe, some things a couple of times. I’ve bought some bits off vinted but I find it takes me ages.

Equally I’ve got lots of bits I need to list, but my energy levels are not there for that.

today our food shop comes so I’ve sorted the fridge, 1/5 pot of cream that didn’t get finished, some yoghurt and half a cucumber. So not awful. I had six peppers and I’ve chopped them up for the freezer.

Thanks for the book recommendation, I’ll look out that author.

I need to be frugal. I won't have a job in a few months time ( fixed term contract ending). Yesterday I paid over £7 for a bottle of maple syrup on a whim because we fancies some pancakes ! It has to stop !

@Harriet9955 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/cost_of_living/5401553-pumpkins-pies-and-prudence-autumn-frugal-saving-shenanigans-here-all-welcome this bunch are absolutely lovely and really supportive. Definitely worth going over.

To the people suggesting that getting your milk delivered is an extravagance. I disagree. I now get mine delivered and it’s saved a fortune on impulse buys that you do when ‘just popping in for a pint of milk’.

Im perfectly capable of walking into the Co-op, buying 4 pints of semi skimmed and nothing else. It's not difficult.

Plus even if you do buy other things, doesn't that reduce your future shopping bill as you can buy less next time?

Did you miss this ‘im waiting for surgery so im not easily able to go into shops or do anything like that.’

I agree with milk delivery . We live very rural with no shop the cost to go and buy milk in the car outweighs the price of milk. We are £5 per week for milk I think that’s ok

It was Shirley Conran who wrote 'Down with Superwoman'
On the inside page it said 'because life is too short to stuff a mushroom'

I particularly remember the section on 'The jaded cook' where she wrote of Eleanor Roosevelt having a 2 week food rota for years, kept it secret and nobody noticed.
Meal planning to avoid overspending was a theme as was batch cooking and using up leftovers

Re washing powder: many years ago there was a poster on MN who was an industrial chemist. She said that powder was the cheapest to buy but the most expensive to produce. Importantly, it has some bleach in it so is antifungal unlike liquids and so there no fungal build up in the washing machine (slimy exterior drum). Also, it is easier to rinse off clothes completely compared to washing liquids and so less difficult to tumble dry. I had been having a smelly washer but swapped to powder and zero problems since.

That’s very interesting regarding powder. I’ve noticed some yucky of drum and thought it was the low temp. I’ll buy a small box once we are out of tabs to try.