January Jingles, Valentine Capers, Frugal Fun Shenanigans & Looking Forward to Spring!

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome to the New thread everyone 😊
Here's to everyone of us and hoping 2026 brings us all health happiness and frugal finances 🤗

Good luck- and a great medical team - @lifelongfrugaleer. May 2026 bring good health.

Another farm day. It's an inset day for my eldest son I was going to buy her a ticket but there's a January Mondays deal, where it's half price tickets or an additional free with a membership. So that's lucky. I've packed a lunch and a flask of coffee so it should be a nsd.

Thinking of you today life, we will look forward to catching up with you once you are able ❤️

DD2 has unenthusiastically gone back to school today, DD1 doesn’t go back until tomorrow so is still sleeping.

Already spent £2 on three tins of soup. It is so cold! Returned from the school run and even though the heating had been on earlier, my house was only 15 degrees 🥶

Started looking at jobs. But think it’ll need a few days before jobs are being posted after the holidays. I have got one job possibility where they said to contact after Christmas which I will do tomorrow and another which I will send my CV to. This morning I’m definitely feeling like I need the purpose of a job!

I am throwing in the towel and declaring a no spend day.

Back at work today and tried for a NSD. brought in my lunch but it had gone soggy by lunchtime for some strange reason. Tried to eat it and then decided to go to pret and got a £3.55 sarnie.
The company that come and treat my lawn were due today but have cancelled due to the frost so hopefully they won't be back until after pay day.

Have drawn up a big spreadsheet detailing down to the last penny my attack on the credit card. It's started to keep me up at night worrying so a more detailed plan has been made. Feel better now

Been for a long walk with friend at lunchtime and shall do a quick weight workout whilst dinner cooks later

@Holidaysandchocolate
Gosh that's cold isn't it. Hope it's warmed up now :)

Ok, renewed house insurance via Money saving expert and thence to Money supermarket. Managed to slice £29 off the renewal quote from our current insurers while reducing the excesses payable and increasing the amounts covered. Insurance premiums have come down generally over 2025, and even sticking with our existing provider would have been about £125 lower than this time last year. But nice to get the extra saving and it comes with some kind of voucher for £15 from MSM.

Spent £21 on a pillow case in the La Redoute sale. My excuse being a) it was the missing item from an order I placed last year, where I got the number of pillow cases wrong, so I’m just putting it to rights and b) in the sale, innit? And I might never get the chance again to have matching pillow cases if they don’t restock.

Otherwise, NSD : made a big soup for lunch with fridge veg, lentils and cannellini beans, using up the ham stock in the freezer from Christmas ham. Creamy mushroom spaghetti for me and DH tonight, leftover boeuf and mash for DS. I realise I have enough duck and goose fat remaining from Christmas confit duck to do more. So, to cheers from DH, DS and DDog, I will get four more duck legs and go again!

DH has bought train tickets, lots of train tickets! Almost £500 on trains for the next couple of months. So a very spendy day.

other than that, dh took some bits back to M&S so a refund there and I’ve just bought Ds some joggers from vinted using my balance. So that feels good.

I had hydro today, which I’ve already paid for thankfully!

Today I spent €56 on my nails. Then €27 in smiggle on little sets to give as birthday presents for small child. Then €20 on a month long callisthenics plan. It’s 15 minutes a day and I need a structure I can do easily to get a habit going.

i nearly bought new pasta bowls at €32 and also bath bombs at €5 but stopped myself. The bowls were cheap but not actually at a huge reduction and definitely not a need.

day off today and many loads of laundry were done. Dinner is leftovers.

If DH agrees I’m going to move all of the shelf stable treats out of the kitchen. There’s too much lying around. Tomorrow I plan to weigh myself. DH has agreed to buy me the rain sisters coat if I lose a stone so that’s the goal I’d like to hit for Easter.
.

NSD today as I have been waiting in for Mr Fed Ex.

I hadn’t seen the buy nothing thread @BigSkies2022. I bought so much last year (and the year before) that I didn’t wear and ended up throwing out. It really was a dreadful waste of money. I’m aiming to not repeat this year. Utterly agree on the pillowcase.

Thank you @chimichangaz. I will look her up.

Thinking of you @lifelongfrugaleer. X

Thank you for the Vinted tips. Planning on looking at it over the weekend. Feeling even colder today I’m guessing as it’s because I’ve not been out since the gym. Have had supper and will vegetate for the evening watching webcams of a rather whiter than usual Paris and who knows what on television.

Spent £20 on a nail appointment today, but got £75 back from a Halfords refund 😊. Tomorrow will be spendy as it's a shop for DD to go to uni with, and she has also announced that a new frying pan is required! Will miss her desperately even though my Costa and pub spending goes up when she's here!!!!

Bitterly bitterly cold today, the temperature on DH's car was -12 this morning when he went to work, and it's only "warmed up" to -4 ❄❄, we have the coldest end terrace known to man so the heating's been on a lot with multiple layers and hwb refills..........

Thoughts are with lifelongfrugaleer today

NSD for me ,been busy , Gynae hospital appointment for me , everything ok , another check up in 6 months . I have Vulval Lichen Sclerosis which can turn cancerous so have had to go every 3 months to check for vulval cancer but she was very happy with me and has changed my appointment to 6 monthly thank God 😁
Then up to see Mum, who refused to get out of bed for the staff so l got her up and out of that bed . l was not going to let her lie in that bed and get worse physically from staying in bed . No way . Anyway Mum must have realised l meant business because up she got for me with no trouble 😁.
She was as good as gold for me afterwards bless her .
Then home and put all the Christmas decorations and tree down and then cleaned up after them and did loads of washing and drying . I just need to make the effort and put it away that is always the bugbear putting the damn stuff away 😁
I so hope @lifelongfrugaleer is absolutely fine and can't wait to see her back here . Wishing her the very best of luck and sending lots of love and hugs ❤️

Successful nsd (DD spent pocket money in the gift shop) but loads of school age children on an inset day had taken advantage of the great deal so the soft play was packed, we still spent most in there as it was freezing out. Now I feel like I need to lie down in a dark room for 48 hours.

@DirtyGertiefromno30 your mum is exactly 70 years older than ds2 ☺️☺️ funny to think that when she was celebrating 70 years he was just starting his first day ❤️ she does sound like a right character and I’m pleased that she’s doing well after difficult times.

NSD for me today, my first proper day back to work as most people were still on annual leave Friday so there wasn’t really much going on.

I’m currently waiting for the dishwasher to finish, have chucked some cookies in the oven for ds2 and dd2 to take to work and school tomorrow, have had a Vinted sale today so dropped that off at Inpost on our evening dog walk. I listed tons of clothes on vinted and have quite a bit more to do, sold two items yesterday so doing OK, I don’t actually care how much I get for them I just want it all gone.

Hoping for a third NSD tomorrow, have Pilates early in the morning which is already paid for, then a bog standard work day so shouldn’t be too difficult.

No snow here, just icy paths and roads, it’s very cold but not as cold as some of have been experiencing, I hope you’ve managed to stay warm with copious amounts of tea and coffee, sometimes it’s the only way to get through these bitterly cold days ☺️.

That is good news @DirtyGertiefromno30 at least one of the worries lessened for you! To move to six months monitoring is really positive. Lol at your DM, it may have been the cold (my DM didn't want to wake up this morning) but glad she listened to you as better to be up.

Today has been
£9.82 Boots that included lunch and some gel nail remover kit for me and DD. It would have been £7 each to get them removed at the salon so sort of a win!
£5 spare phone charger
£61.32 DS birthday. A personalized towel for the gym, some new darts and some cherry bakewell jaffa cakes. Doubled up on the jaffa cakes and towel for DD as I always do an 'unbirthday present' for the other one. He has asked for creatine powder as a muscle supplement and other than that I'll top up with some money as he's just had Christmas.

Thank you re my DMum @Johaanah she's a character alright 😁. Well done ! You have done loads today 🤗.
Yes ,thank you @Lockin26 l am very relieved re myself and my DMum just got to keep on keeping on . Aw bless your DMum l don't blame her either 🤗 Happy birthday to your DS
We used to do exactly the same as you ,give a little
something to the other DD on birthdays.

LSD here. Spent just over £9 on some juice and fruit for dd. semi necessary rather than essential.
Currently sat in bed as my room (in the loft) is the warmest pace in the house. Dd has the electric blanket on her bed so she’s snug too. We live in a late Victorian terrace with original windows and they are worse than useless in this weather. I’m getting them replaced next month which will hopefully make a big difference. Having the heating on feels like sending money straight out the window at the moment.

LSD for me as only spent £19 on the weekly shop - using up freezer and cupboards. Bought some bargain sausages which won’t help my weight loss goals. That’ll teach me to shop when hungry.

Not feeling great today but I did train at the gym. Then took the decorations down, had a bath and a generous dinner of beef casserole and been sat on sofa all night. Just off to bed.

Five days into the New year and have achieved one LSD day and three NSD so all good so far. The other day was a frivolous spend day buying my Meal Deal for work and a paper.
Have done an audit of both freezers - so need to meal plan. Had leftover beef slices in gravy again, with mash, cauliflower cheese,(all frozen from Christmas Day) sprouts (for DH) and Yorkshire puddings for tea. Have finally cut into the Christmas cake with a brew for pudding.
Also started making a trifle with Amaretto which never happened over Christmas so just need to top with cream tomorrow. I have enough jelly and trifle sponges to go again another 2 or 3 times but will need more cream for that when we reach that point.
Still lots of Christmas stuff leftover - been having cheese and biscuits for lunches. Lots of beer, wine, chocolate (which I don't eat) and sweets left - but they will go when GCs come round and we start with BBQs in the summer. Probably did buy too much for Christmas (as usual) but it has the added benefits of (hopefully) avoiding the shops in January. But when it comes to Christmas I'd rather be able to cater for drop ins and extra people than scratch around trying to find something in a panic. But will definitely not buy candy canes for the tree again - no-one particularly likes them - but will buy more fresh nuts - now GCs have discovered the fun in cracking them - they have been enjoying a reasonably healthy snack for once. 😉

nsd as was working from home and haven’t left the house as we have snow. Need milk tomorrow so have asked dh to pick it up on his way home he works nights as unlike me who will end up spending £40 on bits he will just get the milk

05/01 NSD Change of plans, our visit to relatives was rescheduled so another day home and away from temptation. I also managed to catch a subscription before it renewed so I've saved £70ish that I absolutely didn't plan on spending!

YTD: NSD 4, LSD 1, Spendy 0

Nsd yesterday. Also freezing

No snow here but absolutely freezing 🥶 minus 6 overnight and minus 1 now . We are going to the McArther Glen shopping centre and to Costco really just to cheer us up tbh . My sister is seeing Mum today.
I spent £60 this morning on M&S on sale beauty gifts. Marvellous bargains but whether they will fulfill them is another thing.
Will post my spends if any when we come back home .
Have a lovely day everyone 😊

NSD yesterday - didn’t leave the house except for nursery drop off and went for a run at lunchtime, which really perked up my mood, had leftover curry for lunch.
Bought some theatre tickets for the spring this morning so a bit spendy today but pleased to have something to look forward to. Need to buy some deodorant refills but trying to avoid adding random extra beauty products to shopping basket.

Morning.

Running always perks up the mood! I was out at 7am - in shorts, I am that weirdo that wears shorts all year round. Rest of my body was cosy though.

Always good to cancel a subscription that you don’t need.

@Rainbow1901 we are similar here, in that we get quite of lot of extras in, so that I’ve got things to hand if folk call round. Not quite so much this year but definitely more than we might have. It definitely reduces the budget requirements in January and beyond (for some of the booze etc).

Spends - nothing yesterday.

£18 Amazon on a blood pressure monitor. I got mine measured at the doctors yesterday and it was high, but I’d just had a Mirena taken out and was quite stressed - the last one I had taken out needed a general as it was so stuck so I’d gotten a little worked up about it in truth. Plus the pharmacist didn’t even let me settle - anyway, I’ll monitor for a few days at home.

£56 supplements of many sorts - creatine, magnesium and omegas. I have a new health pot to monitor these spends.

I have heard from life and I am sure she won’t mind me passing on that the op has been done and she’s in HDU.

Go life