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 🤗 .
☃️🤶🎅🦌🎄🎁

Oops I have this saved in draft from yesterday...
Morrisons £7.30 lunch, £22.55 toiletries
Starbucks £12.30 drink for DD after her orthodontist said how well she is doing with braces. However not sure why I spent £6 on two tiny cake pops, they are a bit addictive...

Also today:
£18.80 argos for a ninja outdoor buld cover. I have a £17.99 Amazon refund due for an oven cover that didn't fit.
Parking at work which is annoying but necessary..
DSC were coming tonight. They've cancelled and we don't mind as seeing them next weekend as well. Friends are out tonight and I'd declined the invite as thought DSC were coming. Anyway I'm still not going out and still staying in with DH to save some cash!

That is quite a jump in fuel bill. Hope you can find a better deal 🤞

Spending today has been £4ish in sainsbury. I didn’t need most of it so really should be more disciplined when I go out (I hear you @chimichangaz).

I’m glad you mentioned Black Friday @Holidaysandchocolate. I was thinking about it last night.

A frugal result on your night out yesterday @Frugal25. I hope you had a good evening.

Welcome @sharkstale. I cross my fingers and hope this thread does the same for me.

Blimey @MaryGreenhill. £10 on an advent calendar. These days being Mrs Scrooge can’t be too much of a bad thing.

Do it @PearlTeapot. Loyalty doesn’t pay. Hope you find something better.

I saved myself some money today. Went to Waitrose for the Ottolenghi offer and it had finished so didn’t buy anything. Still trying to sort things out with the contractor. I’m not sure that anyone could run a business that badly so I’m sure they’re messing me about.

That's a big jump in your Payments @PearlTeapot.
Is that estimated though ?
In the past my supplier has upped our direct debit but it's been obvious before long by that it was fat too high and it's been adjusted accordingly .
Is this you Pearlspearl?
Have you done a name change?

I know @RumBananaSundae
I don't normally pay that much but my Dd2 wanted it 🙄
It was £15 in Waitrose 😱

What are leftover chip shop chips?!

Don’t exist in my house….. 🤣🤣

Sorry, let's just go back... What are left over chips?

DH paid the window cleaner but I've paid him back 15 quid! Bought a paper for work!
DD has mooted the idea of Secret Santa for the family this year which everyone is in agreement with - so I now know who I'm buying for and the budget. The GCs will get their gifts as usual within their usual budget. Still need to do Christmas stockings but I always do those anyway. Have already started picking up bits and pieces for those - found some really good ideas on Temu and Amazon Haul.
Having got rid of our too tall real christmas tree outside have now ordered a LED tree type decoration for the front of the house. Might add a reindeer or snowman to it!! The original tree stump has been re-purposed for the birds!! But otherwise it's all been paid from xmas savings. Be interesting to see DH shop for his Secret Santa - he doesn't do shopping!! 😒

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The chipper we go to does massive portions for me. That’s the only reason.

I had my leftovers last night with a tin of mush peas and they were le yum

Morning everyone, a good week here. Ended up going out on Sunday afternoon with the kids and had lunch out, it was about £70 overall, but we'd hardly been out over half term due to all the decorating so it was worth it. Everything needed for the rooms to function have been done so now that goes on hold while we sort out the decorator.
Ive been busy, I finally got to £70 on the games cash back so I got that out. I tried out custard, I was a bit wary as most of them are gambling but I've definitely come out on top. I won my stake back and more on the majority of the slot games, plus the cashback through custard, I'm up to £100 cashback now. Overall I am £140 up. But I'm stopping now as there isn't much on there and it's a lot of head space to keep track of it all. Also sold some bits on vinted, needed to get some bits but I still cashed out at £45 profit.
Those have been split between decorator pot, loft mortgage overpay and dh holiday, cars and emergency credit card.
I've managed to stop using a credit card for groceries and now have that in a monzo pot which makes using sprive for cash back easier and easier to track.
Our spending pot is looking good at the moment, we are having a hotel stay near the in laws when the kids have an inset day later in the month but everything for that will go on dh credit card - ice skating, light trail, hotel, food. So it means the rest of the month should be ok! Dd needs a couple of zip up hoodies but not urgent so will get down to some shops when we can.
I've got some ideas for kids Christmas presents so hoping for some good black Friday deals 🤞. The Christmas pot is almost where it needs to be, just Nov child benefit payment and my Dec monthly to go in (dh gets paid on the 25th so it will all be in there before black Friday 🙌🏻).

Good morning everyone ☀️
Beautiful day here sunny and blue skies 😁.
I think you are wise to get out of the custard thing @HP87
Get out while you are ahead lovely . It's not many who win .
@lifelongfrugaleer l wish your chippy was ours they are really small portions here 😁
Planning on a NSD here fingers crossed.
Have a lovely day everyone ☺️

Yes I name changed (I did mention it on the last thread!) just to keep my posts slightly separated while I’m in hospital.

It says it was because our fixed price 12 month term was ending. I spent ages googling yesterday and took the leap and switched to EON. They estimate £275 which is obviously still £75 higher a month but less than what BG wanted.

I hate it when things like this go up. I know it's cost of living but it's just 75 extra we need to 'find' now.

Thank you for the new thread. Bit hectic at the moment as have work from all my possible places including cat sitting for my favourite cat I look after (I know I shouldn't have favourites). It is good financially but it gets a bit much. This week is the busiest.
Had lunch out with friends during the week and it's been a few quid here and there on various things.
I have bought a few Christmas gifts where there's been a discount, mainly beauty items, so have saved some money.
I've also used some points for money off in Sainsburys (£30) and have £20 for Morrisons too. I got two items in Boots the other day using my points.
I'm working long hours all this week so won't spend much.

Hi sweetheart l am sorry l missed you saying about the name change in the other thread . Hope you are doing really well are you out of hospital yet ?
Yes the utilitiy bills are soaring unfortunately, not a lot we can do about it . Take care ❤️

Sounds like you are doing very well in the work and shopping front @Vinorosso74well Done!

Thank you, still in hospital, week 4 but hoping maybe 2 more weeks then home.

Oh wonderful news l am so pleased for you and your family, it will soon be here 😊

Thank you so much for this, i have salmon fillets in the freezer and im definitely going to give it a go next week, DD2 is pescatarian so its a little bit of a struggle to find a meal that we can all eat and this sounds delicious. I also like the use of any kind of veg - that’s my kind of recipe ☺️

We are having fish and chips tonight for the first time in a very long time. I agree with everybody else, it’s expensive. Please may I join? I’m absolutely mad about Christmas and always spend a fortune, but I’m definitely trying to dial it back a bit this year. Next week will be expensive because I’m working away all week and we don’t get a lot in expenses, so I’ll have to use some of my own money. Annoying when I’ve got a house full of food.
I took £500 out of my vinted account for Christmas but haven’t touched it yet and I’ve got £200 to cash out of prolific. Made lots of pickles etc to put into hampers.

Ooh, I’ve just sold some bits on vinted and I was going to take the cash straight out, I might leave it to build for Christmas next year!

We are having kebabs for dinner, frozen from last night we had kebabs! I over ordered and so we froze it, I’ll get dh to steam it later.

Welcome @Thanksforyourlackofthought we are hoping to keep the thread going all year through .
You sound very savvy , well done on restraining yourself from spending your Vinted money 👏
Enjoy your Fish n chips tonight 😊😋
Lovely enjoy your Kebabs @FurForksSakeand well done on the Vinted sales 👏🤗

Welcome @sharkstale and @Thanksforyourlackofthought !
I'm the same with takeaways now. Used to be a weekly thing, now it's a birthday treat.
I've just started my DD at gymnastics and it's right smack bang over dinner time. So I cooked dinner before we left and then reheated it when we got back. A bit chavvy maybe but saved some money and hassle.
Although chip shop chips.... NOM! And agreed. Although my portions are massive from my chip shop, what are left overs?! Although I didn't know you could freeze them. Def doing this next time.

£42 on Christmas gifts in the lovely shop that I now go to at Christmas time. It's too lovely (and pricey) to shop there all year. And £2 on a toy for DD from the charity shop next door for being a good girl.

Not long to go @PearlTeapot . Count down begins.

Made mint jelly this morning. The mint was going a bit and needed using about three days ago but it seems to be ok in the jelly.. will save one jar for Christmas and the other two will be for hampers.

50 posts since I logged in yesterday. You lot have been busy!!

We’ve lucky moved past the activities over tea time. Now everything starts at 6/6.30 and we can squeeze in before or 5.30 and we eat after.

in the days we were out over the mealtime I would sometimes do picnics in the car, soup in the carpark or a big snack before we went and toast when we got back.

Ocado are coming shortly, £105 which feels a bit expensive but isn’t awful.

Hello @Thanksforyourlackofthought and welcome. £500 in Vinted, that's brilliant!

Today I've spent
£21.98 on Vinted. A present for DHs 60th. He's never forgiven me for sending a pair of denim dungarees to the charity shop (seriously I didn't think he liked them) so this is a replacement! It was over 10 years ago and he mentioned his dungarees again this week 😂
£9.28 local post office. Went to send an eBay parcel and ended up getting stocking fillers.
£51.98 Lidl which felt steep but included 3 x advent calendars plus some more stocking fillers.
£12 Shein for some jeans. Got hair dye on my absolute favourite faded stretchy flares and Next don't seem to be selling them at the moment. DD found these for me so will have to hope they fit!

More that I'd hoped to spend so will get creative in the kitchen tomorrow to see if I can stretch current stock until Wednesday for under £10. We had pizzas out of the Ninja Outdoor Oven today and there's dough leftover...

I'm the same with takeaways, sadly rare these days. DC always want something different, DS is allergic to sesame so Chinese is out. Last Indian was £83! Was much easier when it was just me and DH.

Saw some wooden toys in Lidl earlier and made me think of this thread - my DC are teens now but I loved those for Christmas when they were little 🎁 🌲