Mince Pies, Mulled Wine, frugal festive frolics. Yuletide budgeting banter & Merry Saving Shenanigans for all 🎁🎄🦌🎅🤶☃️

[MaryGreenhill]

Welcome to the Christmas Frugal thread . We are a super friendly group here & everyone is welcome 🤗 .
☃️🤶🎅🦌🎄🎁

Early start (left house at 7) to drive DS to work in the deep countreee. Beautiful sunrise and we got a nice walk in after dropping him off. £10 on coffee and a shared toastie - I don’t regret this one. Now back home ready for a nice nap. I’m glad I bought the pasta yesterday since that’s today’s dinner sorted, and easy to sort DS for food whatever time he shows up.

I think I’ve finished Christmas present shopping.

DNephew’s gf has got her visa and a job and is moving to the uk so I’ve bought her a Christmas present this year.

Santa gifts purchased as ds1 has selected gifts for dh and ds2. Ds2 has gone with dh to the Chinese supermarket to buy fun this for ds1, he’s loaded (he’s 10) and so has purchased those himself, I’ve just had the hyper jar notification! So he just needs to choose a present for dh and something for me.

I’ve been out dropping off returns while DH is about to drive me.
annoyingly I picked up dds new laptop but they couldn’t find the related parcel but have now. Will get DH to take me back later as can’t drive ATm

frugal my lovely I don’t want to scare you but please get those headaches checked. It could be as simple as you need to sleep with a window open but it could be something more sinister. Trust me I know

fingers crossed for a transfer need

Yesterday was £30 on a gift card for flakey, £7 on two pastries and £80 on lunch. Today has been about £35 on random things: new socks, milk, something to go with dinner and Nicolas Sarkozy‘s book. Wanted to get some candles for next week but completely forgot so will do that tomorrow.

Something I bought in Aldi today had gone up 10p since Monday @MaryGreenhill. It had been £1.99 so 10p was noticeable.

Win on the account interest @BigSkies2022.

Great on return with the eBay sales @Holidaysandchocolate.

Sorry to hear about the situation with your father @needastrongoneagain. Push as much as you need a squeaky wheel gets the oil as they say. I’m sure services rely on people picking up things they should be doing.

Hope you’re having a great weekend with your daughter @Johaanah.

Moving @ChipshopPickledEgg. That’s big. As for junk you might just get to the stage of thinking I can’t be dealing with this and throw it out. I’ve been doing a bit of clearing and there were boxes that hadn’t been opened since I moved in. Though as much as I clear everything else seems to expand as I don’t seem to be getting any more space.

Good on the cupboard use @FurForksSake. I’m going to make extra effort to do the same for the rest of the year.

Work party was surprisingly enjoyable on Thursday and I didn’t spend anything. Yesterday I met up with flakey. We had a lunch, did some exhibitions, had tea and then went to a talk. It was a rather relaxing and pleasant day.

Today I’ve been doing some more putting things away for the carpet. I’ve not heard from the shop yet so I do hope they actually turn up. Still waiting on the item I ordered from John Lewis to be returned/sent back for the refund. It should have gone on Wednesday but is still listed as ready to collect.

Off to a friend this evening to make jam. Would rather be watching Smallville but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it once I get there.

@FurForksSake
£9.90 back for the bags is brilliant, and £100 for a shop with steak tonight and Oakham chicken tomorrow is great. Light trail with snacks and a steak baguette plan is genius, much better than overpriced burgers.
Well done avoiding McDonald’s, cupboard dinners win! Christmas shopping nearly done, including your nephew’s girlfriend what a huge move for her. Ds2 spending his own money and the hyper jar alert made me lol.
Hope the light trail is lovely and the steak tonight hits the spot 😋😁

''whale oil beef hooked"

@lifelongfrugaleerHope you are ok sweetheart take care 💐

@BigSkies2022Sounds like a lovely morning! Gorgeous sunrise, a nice walk, and a little treat,definitely worth the £10.

Sounds like a busy couple of days for you @RumBananaSundae! You’ve been ticking a lot off, lunches, exhibitions, clearing, and even jam making. Love that you’re keeping on top of things with the returns and cupboard organisation too. Fingers crossed the carpet people turn up soon and the John Lewis item gets sorted quickly. Enjoy your jam session tonight, even if Smallville is calling your name! And yes l can see week on week prices rising steadily .
There seems no end to it 🙄

@needastrongoneagain ill keep my fingers crossed for you that you’re preferred nursing home works out with the minimum of hassle.

@ChipshopPickledEgg 2026 will be eventful. I too would dread to think of having to sell a house, I think I’d end up just chucking stuff away.

@FurForksSake great work on avoiding the takeaways. Those busy nights are always the danger ones. Hope you enjoyed the light trail.

@RumBananaSundae you have been busy, I hope your jam making goes ell. What flavours did you do?

@MaryGreenhill im sure your kids really appreciate the cash. There does come a time when you have enough stuff and are really particular about what you want to buy.

last night DH and I went out together for our Christmas night out, dinner and lots of drinks, about €280! And we’d no babysitter costs or taxi costs as parents minded small child and collected us from town.

I did see a girl wearing a rainsisters coat and he said he’d buy me one. This was after quite a few drinks but I live in hope.

today I spent €7.5 on vinted getting a dress and a top for small child.

@pistachiosanscreamSounds like a wonderful night out! So lucky you got a full Christmas evening without worrying about babysitters or taxis definitely worth the splurge. Fingers crossed DH remembers that Rainsisters coat promise 😄. And €7.50 for a dress and top on Vinted? Total win! Thank you re giving my Dd's money for Christmas.
I agree with you there is no point buying them things for the sake of it 😁

Joined Costco yesterday £84. Spent £27 plus two hotdogs £3. We spend £70 per week on fuel for work so plan to fill up there. Also Amazon £8.99 and some medicated skin cream for DS £18.

Today was Christmas day out but mostly paid for. £7.90 cinema drinks, £30 Costa. Friend treated us to lunch in a place by the river which was gorgeous.

Enjoy the light trail @FurForksSake good deal on the bags.

Thats not bad for a big shop @MaryGreenhill

Nice the fleecy jumper came down in price @needastrongoneagain

Good luck in 2026 with selling your house @ChipshopPickledEgg

Stranger Things does get quite dark at times @BigSkies2022 I am now waiting for Boxing Day and NYD when the final episodes are released

The wind is howling here tonight. I can see my Christmas lights swaying from the gutter and I daresay my mini Christmas tree is blown over. Hope everyone is okay in the storm..

Chip shop - a big year ahead then? You sound like it’s taken you by surprise somewhat and not a great one? Is it really set in stone? Anyway, it’s exciting and the streamlining of possessions will be very satisfying.

in that vein I threw out two big old heavy and rather shapeless coats yesterday. This frees up much needed space in the coat cupboard for DS’ stuff.

Another lovely sunrise this morning. I will work in the garden today. I have got some fairy lights up but am envious of my neighbours with their exterior plug sockets and excellent outdoor displays of fairy lights. Maybe next year!

I too am jealous of outdoor plugs and lights @BigSkies2022 I'm hopeful that next year my electrician DB can install a plug for me (he does all my electrics) but for now I have beautiful indoor window lights.
Yesterday I spent £5 on command hooks for said window lights to go up.
A gorgeous day today. Hoping to wrap final gifts, go for a crisp winter walk somewhere and paint final (fingers crossed) coat in utility room.

Hi everyone, it's been a while. Still doing well here, just busy! Bit overboard with DDs Xmas presents (last year of toys) so I've spent a bit more than I wanted to but all still OK. We've planned our finances for next year. We are going to start pots for holidays and cars repairs/MOT etc. Stop using the credit cards and clear them. Will be no holidays or weekends away next year as we want to be able to book something for 2027 without putting it on a credit card! A very frugal 2026 but we need to get ahead, make the pots to stop using the credit cards and clear the cards at the same time. We've made a good start at the end of 2026 but we can do better.
When we have the cards we use them too easily, we've tried to stop using them but with both sneak stuff onto them and it all adds up!
We have a decent budget each month so we're going to get better at planning what's needed that month so no surprises come up at the end of the month. We're both going to take responsibility rather than just me!

When we had our loft conversion last year DH paid the sparky to put in two outdoor plugs and it has made a massive difference to the time he spends outdoors putting the lights out! Much quicker job and no more cables through the windows!

Hi all. I'd like to move some savings into stocks and shares, but I'm a bit unsure how to go about it. I'd like to start with £1,300 bond which is due to mature. It's savings that I don't want to spend in the next few years. I have more savings in the bank too. Those who do stocks and shares, would you advise seeing a financial advisor first, which platforms would be good, or is there a good article/website. I read a money supermarket so far.

Large purchases for next year id like. Rewiring the house allthough DH thinks it's fine.... A new boiler/heat pump, allthough most likely a combi boiler...and either a new washing machine and tumble dryer or a washer dryer. I don't know what is best. Anything bigger than our old washing machine we allredy have would need to go in the garage.

Always - Andrew Craig on Plain English Finance is very helpful on investing for beginners, and whether a beginner or not, the advice is the same: start early, no matter how small an amount, invest regularly, ignore the news, keep going for decades, buy the world via low cost exchange traded funds(ETFs) that track major indices like the S&P 500 or the FTSE 100/250/350.

If you are in the Uk, use your ISA allowance to put your investments into a stocks and shares ISA as all growth is tax free. The Wealthify platform is simple and you can invest small amounts monthly. Vanguard requires £100 per month or one-off payments of a minimum of £500 and offers target date funds which will automatically move you from equities into lower risk and volatility holdings in bonds as you approach your retirement or target date. People also talk well of AJ Bell and Hargreaves Landsdown. There are also changes afoot to permit more people to gain access to low cost financial advice- check out the FCA website.

Comrades!

I haven't posted for ages (since before my birthday on 6th) as life has taken over. Thank you all for my birthday wishes - I had a fabulous few days with friends and family and have been spoiled.

I tried to keep up with reading the thread but then there were 48 unread posts when I logged on just now - there's been a lot going on for you all, hugs to those who need it 💐

I can't believe how un-ready for Christmas I am, even though I haven't been at work! Kudos to all of you who are in control, and solidarity to those like me!

I'm just sitting here trying to get my life in order (basically sorting out paperwork and planning the next few days) and I wanted to recommend a podcast to you all. It was recommended on Mumsnet - maybe even this thread - and although it's not necessarily about being frugal I know you will appreciate the content - it's the Calm Christmas podcast. It's released weekly (I've caught up on a few episodes) and is presented by author Beth Kempton. She has such a soothing voice, and the content is so helpful - I've loved listening to it. And bonus - the e-book is on offer on Kindle for 99p until 23 December (the audiobook is also discounted on Audible). She also has free resources on her website https://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/ related to Christmas. I have signed up for her free Winter Writing Sanctuary at the end of December (online of course). Hope this is helpful to someone 😊

@chimichangaz she’s utterly magical, I could listen to her forever. It’s definitely part of my Christmas fit as long as she makes it. I forgot she said the book is discounted, great reminder!

Costco can definitely work in your favour especially if you’re using it for fuel every week @Mochi1fudge. That alone would make the membership worthwhile. £27 plus the essential hotdogs is a very restrained first shop indeed 🤗
l was pleased with the cost for a big shop. l did well but l had coupons and a lot of the things l bought were on Clubcard offers 😊

NSD for me today yay!
Definitely outside sockets @BigSkies2022 😊
Sounds like a lovely day for you @Frugal25 🤗
Hope you finished the Painting.
Great financial plans @HP87 brilliant stuff well done 👍
@Alwayslearning25 l haven't got a clue about investing in sticks and shares but @BigSkies2022 has given you some excellent advice from what l can see . Good luck 🤞
@chimichangaz good to see you here sweetheart, so glad you had a lovely birthday l am sure you will get it all done by Christmas and if you don't then as long as the DC , if you have them , are sorted out, don't stress . It will all come out in the wash 🤗
Thank you for the pod recommendations. l will definitely have a listen to her, she sounds amazing ,thank you for the heads up 😊
@FurForksSakethank you for the heads up re the discounted book to accompany the podcasts. l am going to look at that too 🤗
We could all do with a calmer pace to chill out .

i suppose my point was that there is a lot of sensible free advice on general principles for investing about- Damo on Making Money podcast is another, Claer Barrett for the FT is good too. You don’t need to use a financial advisor if what you want to do is get going in investing, and managed funds are unlikely to do better than passive index trackers. There are good financial products and platforms around now now that enable people to invest and hold their money in equities and bonds and get opportunities to grow their money through exposure to successful companies and sectors rather than having inflation erode the value of cash savings. I am certainly going to rebuild my cash savings next year, but I will be doing this alongside adding to my stocks and shares ISAs each month.

@BigSkies2022 l think what you said makes a lot of sense thank you for explaining it to us all , it's very good of you 💐

Thanks @BigSkies2022 will take a proper look at your suggestions when I have tim. My parents in law were telling DH to to listen to something about stocks and shares. Possibly due to the change coming is as you've mentioned. And there all about long term, so more worthwhile for us being younger.