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 🤗 .
☃️🤶🎅🦌🎄🎁

Yes thanks @BigSkies2022 that is useful. My goal is end of March to increase my AVCs and set up an investment that DH can access before I retire.

Spendy morning with Lidl £56, Morrisons £14, Coop £21 and B&M £25. Baking for work buffet this afternoon.

Now at the point of no further presents or food needed until later in the week so will aim for NSD or LSD until then. On that declaration, I will stand up in a bit and put beef chilli and black beans in the slow cooker. The weekends go far too fast!

I agree I was restrained in Costco @MaryGreenhill the lady in front of me had her granddaughter and daughter with her and whacked up a good sized bill. She said to them 'I knew that would happen!'. I loved getting the food samples and looking at all the gyoza and crispy prawns. I'll be making the most of it!

@Mochi1fudge we absolutely love Costco it's like day out for us, how sad are we 😂
Agree with you we love the food testing and the cafe food. Their baked potato and hot dogs are delicious 😋

I have left over potatoes, parsnips, sprouts, cabbage and a few sprouts. I’m going attempt bubble and squeak tomorrow with fried eggs. Dh is dreading it! I think if I chop in all a bit and then give it a good mash it will be quite nice? I might not put the sprouts in.

Oh no put it all in @FurForksSake it will be absolutely delicious 😋
Cook it till you get the lovely crispy bits yummy 🤤

Bought a new doormat and vacuum cleaner today. Made the mistake of looking at the breakdown on the bill for the vacuum cleaner - £70.66 in tax. Arghhhhhh. Am looking forward to the doormat arriving. I ordered a personalised one with a photograph on. Hoping the carpet fitters actually turn up now I’ve bought a vacuum cleaner and a doormat. Still nothing from the shop.

Sounds like a lovely night out @pistachiosanscream. I googled rainsisters coats. They are rather wonderful. It was damson jam and lime marmalade. I smell like a lime.

Glad you had a fabulous birthday @chimichangaz.

That does sound nice @FurForksSake. I’d throw the sprouts in.

The refund arrived and I used it towards the vacuum. Can’t believe how fast this weekend has gone. Back to work tomorrow. It seems even less of a fun prospect than usual.

That door mat sounds lovely @RumBananaSundae
Fingers crossed for the carpet fitters 🤞🤗

Ooohhh love a new doormat. Fingers crossed for the carpet fitters.
Adore bubble and squeak. What time are you cooking, I'll pop round and claim a seat to help eat it.
I took an waiting for 2026. I need to build pots and get rid of credit card. I had stopped using it but it's been out again for Christmas and I've racked up the debt again that id got rid of. I need a reset but that won't come til Jan. But I'm there with you. Pots and no credit cards.
NSD today. We went for a lovely walk and I finished my painting.
Hoping that I'm paid sooner than normal this month. I normally am for December. It's needed. I'm hoping that apart from travel I can do more NSDs.
Although out twice this week for Christmas doos. Sigh

Pots needed for me too @Frugal25 for the last few years I've just lumped everything together into savings and it's felt a little disorganised. Jan to March need to be very restrained to set these up.

Anyway best get up for work - aiming for LSD (maybe even NSD!)

I’m looking at a s&s isa for us and dd great Info. Thanks

I think the bit of the budget that is working is the s&s isa push, dh is researching and planning and is going to start maxing out that instead of whatever he’s currently doing. I think most of our savings just sits in our mortgage offset.

I've never been to Costco, a few colleagues have recommended it

Spent a bit today £3.69 Lidl, £3.60 Waitrose and £7.60 Marks and Spencer.

Hoping I’ll feel a little more relaxed after tomorrow. Have had an email from the carpet shop and I am booked in for tomorrow. £6.50 of the Marks and Spencer spend was a box of biscuits for the carpet fitters.

@BigSkies2022 not hugely surprised to be honest it's always been something DH has spoken about and I've slowly got on board with and I'm not born in our area either so no real ties here but it's always been idle chit chat.

Truthfully I'm so awful with change id have never done anything if it was left to my own devices at times!

Got to be honest ladies I was gifted some Bailey's from a client today and I am a little on the tipsy side 😆

Been lovely chatting to you all this year - I hope for love and happiness for you all for next year in whatever shape that comes in.

@ChipshopPickledEgg moving home is (IMO) always a daunting task - I swore I’d never move again after my last one five years ago but I’m thinking of looking for somewhere smaller next year.
I think you’re doing brilliantly for someone who’s not keen on change - well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Enjoy the Bailey’s!!

enjoy the new doormat @RumBananaSundae and using he vacuum on he new hopefully newly installed carpet.

we don't have a costco here in Ireland @Mochi1fudge and i am very glad. i would absolutely lose the run of myself in one!

@ChipshopPickledEgg enjoy the baileys.

Yesterday was our santa visit. We go back to the same place every year and have breakfast with santa with other family members. always happy. paid €15 for a printed photo.

Today was just €27 on chritsmas cards. i thought i still had some handmade ones my mum gave me from last year but i must have ysed them up. The local shops had none and the bookshop admitted theirs hadn't been delivered. So i ordered them online from a local bookstore.

DH offered to buy the rainsisters coat today. Its €€€€ so i asked him to wait until the new year and to get it for me as a reward for losing weight. It makes no sense to buy a coat that only fits for a short period when its so expensive and it will be a nice motivator for me.

Ooohhhh glad the hubby remembered about the coat!
Baileys, try it on top of a warm mince pie. Enjoy! And it's been the most wonderful year talking to you ladies and getting to know you.

Moving is so stressful, well done for being so calm about it

Meant to be a NSD apart from travel to work. But I needed two stamps for cards, I was meant to see people this weekend but they cancelled so have to post cards now.
That was £4 something.
£22 something on omega 3 and vit d pills from h&b but that's on a card with money already loaded on it from wages and I get cash back.
Then £9.20 on a taxi as no buses to get home.

Should be a NSD tomorrow unless I buy a tonic water at the pub after yoga.

Yesterday was a LSD with £8.29 at the coop. Have two items to return today so hopefully £48 back by the weekend.

@ChipshopPickledEgg hope you enjoyed the Baileys. This is a lovely thread 😍 I regret not moving when we had two windows of opportunity in the last 20 years (three if you include going to university in my home town 30 years ago, rather than moving away) so the leap of faith is something I wished I'd taken.

@Frugal25 good idea for the mince pies and Baileys. I have both stashed in the top cupboard, DH and I both off this weekend so it's on the to do list! Or I could add some Baileys to cream and whip it up 😋

Aiming for another LSD

Good Morning guys!

I had a busy weekend and came back to 40 posts! I’ve tried to catch up on them all.

Thanks for the calm Christmas podcast recommendation, I’ve started on season 5 and it’s fab, I wish I’d found it sooner.

@chimichangaz hope you had a great birthday!

@ChipshopPickledEgg - the thought of moving house can be quite overwhelming, but moving to a new area and a fresh start can be great, you could totally reinvent yourself.

I hope everyone dealing with difficult times is doing ok, try and take a little time for yourself here and there ❤️

Yesterday was a NSD, Saturday wasn’t too bad considering I was out with dd, we spent £16 on coffee and pastries, £33 on lunch, and then £21 on other bits and bobs whist out in the city. Could have spent more but was mindful, I need to do this more often.

@MaryGreenhill good shout giving your daughters cash, This time of year - well usually after Christmas, I get totally fed up with the amount of stuff we have, I’ve tried so hard this year to only buy things that have been requested or things I know the person uses regularly , like make up or shampoo, nice chocolates etc For this reason I’ve fallen off of the Christmas bargains thread as I don’t want to buy anymore, when I think of all the money I’ve wasted over the years on things that haven’t been used/needed or wanted it’s absurd.

I hope everyone has a good day - not long now until the big day is here and we can all get back to saving rather than spending ☺️☺️

Good morning everyone 🤗
@Johaanah aw tell me about it , all the nice stuff that goes to the tip or charity or given to others. So much money wasted it's criminal. Thank you🤗 l have been giving them money for a few years now it's much better for them and using tbh . I do get them a few presents to open but l get them off their Amazon wish list which they add things to all year round. I don't necessarily buy them from Amazon either .
l buy the cheapest l can get tbh l compare prices like we all do l am sure .
The bargain thread is an excellent resource because the ppl on there are so kind and look for things that others can't find. The only thing l find is that the unbelievable offers like the Christmas jumpers for £1 for example never come to fruition because the orders aren't honoured. I never buy anything like that , they are just a waste of time imho. However l did buy Sol de Janeiro from Boots for my Dds as there was an excellent offer that stacked on there 🤗

Hello all. A day of consolidation ahead: food shopping (immediate and for Christmas- but most of what I need to buy is fresh stuff now); more decorations and lights to go up; helping DS sort some financial admin; cooking the duck legs; planning some outings to do with fam over the holiday. I want to go back to Denis Severs house and I have never visited the synagogue near there or the Bishopsgate Institute. I’ve booked a Jane Austen event for me and DH in one of the Southwark libraries for Friday- free, so frugal.

Lsd yesterday- took DMum to her hospital appointment and we bought some salad lunch in M&S and shared it back at hers. She’s in good spirits and her flat looks great with her nice sofas and cushions and fairy lights!

£29 refund from Wayfair for light bulbs that never arrived. I had to buy some anyway so not a saving but at least I remembered to follow up!

£48 spends on Amazon: sunscreen, Bioderm oil, salted Macadamia nuts for DH (trad gift at Christmas).

Pillion is a good movie, but be warned: it is the story of how a lonely suburban lad falls in love with a biker , an old-style leather daddy dominant, and integrates his submissive sexual instincts into his identity. It’s very explicit! I didn’t expect to be watching an extended sub-dom scene featuring multiple partners seated between DH and DS. As DS said, ‘I had no idea there were so many gay S&M bikers in Bromley.’

You are so busy @BigSkies2022🤗
I had to laugh at your Ds saying that , it's so funny 🤣
Not a film for me, like you but whatever floats your boat 🚢 🤣

Morning.

Still struggling with the situation with DF, but hey ho - I am sure it’ll sort itself out eventually. It’s just tiring and his partner doesn’t really take in anything I try to tell her, so you end up with 12 phone calls for the same thing - and she then goes and phones the same people to ask the same questions I’ve already asked and tells me they’ve told her something different…. Sigh…. I’m really not sleeping…

That said, most of my Christmas presents are wrapped, all bar some fresh flowers are bought and I just need to collect the food orders next week.

In terms of finances, I’ve rejigged ours. I’ve included every possible annual expense and come up with a monthly figure. Previously, some things would come from a generic savings pot but I haven’t really needed to track that so much in the past but I’d now like to get a clear idea of spending overall and in which category and stay within that. It will mean some pots will just accumulate in truth until needed, but at least I’ll know.

Nevertheless, on the Christmas front - most presents are wrapped and all are bought, bar some fresh flowers.

Spending is inevitable until Christmas!

Morning @needastrongoneagain1
That DF situation sounds really draining , the constant repeat calls and crossed messages from his DP would wear anyone down. No wonder you’re not sleeping.
You’ve still got loads done though, presents wrapped, food planned, only fresh flowers left , that’s very impressive given everything else on your plate bless you.
The way you’ve reworked the finances sounds really sensible too. Having all the annual costs mapped monthly gives clarity, even if some pots just sit there until needed.
Well done 👍

oh @BigSkies2022 im getting second hand uncomfortable feelings. i always hated watching anything explicit with my parents!

i have to say @Johaanah and @MaryGreenhill that i do hope that 2026 will be a year of caring more for my stuff rather than buying more stuff. i'm also planning to keep selling on vinted as i prefer selling even at a very low price than sending it to god knows where.

@needastrongoneagain that sounds really hard. however you are doing so well on your christmas and new year organisation! I still only have small chils gifts wrapped, i think iwill aim to have mine done before the weekend.

DH told me last night that it seems his parents currently are coming for christmas dinner. no problem as regards food but our table currently will be a squeeze so hoping to do a plywood table extension to ensure we all fit. its something ive wanted to do for ages so fingers crossed we get it.

Today so far i've spent€8 on breakfast and coffee at work and it was all lovely and worth every penney. Next year i am hoping to use my in office days to do the 5:2 diet so these lovely things cannot be eaten then.