February faffing, wig mischieving, pancake stuffing, bargain gymnastics and looking forward to Spring Shenanigans ❤️

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome to our new thread everyone 🤗. All are welcome to our supportive, kind , frugal thread .

Morning.

DH hates not being able to drive too, @lifelongfrugaleer - it’s not the big trips is it, it’s the ability to pop to Tesco to grab a few bits, or pick up a DC from somewhere and relying on other folk. ❤️

Excited too re the Kitty situation @Frugal25, it’s such a nice thing for a DC to grow up with a pet.

I did have a more relaxed day, thank you. Still managed to get plenty done though - but all at a leisurely pace.

Today I’ve done a speed session early doors (some actual real ‘old me’ fitness starting to return) then called for milk, which is all we need for a few days. Grabbed yellow sticker fresh figs and passion fruit (nice treats and adds to the 30 a week) so spend £6 in total. That’ll be it for the day, unless I have to park (I’ve a few forms to drop off re DF’s estate if I get chance).

Chicken broth for supper - we are a bit curried out using leftovers so that’ll be a nice change.

Well done on the exercise @needastrongone wish I could take a leaf out of your book!

DW and I had a big chat and we've decided yesterday to restart with a cleaner. I feel very guilty since I'm not working but I honestly hate it, we have a large house with 4 bathrooms and 2 dogs so keeping on top of it all is getting to me. We are going to sacrifice our weekly meal out, which I will miss, but it'll be worth it, and we'll have to tighten our belts overall as it's a big expense. I spent some time researching cleaners and spoke to one last night who's coming next Wednesday. It'll be 3 hours every fortnight which is what we always used to have and it'll make a huge difference to how I can keep on top of everything.

Very indulgent but we have thought it through. I am so relieved! Some things are worth spending on in my opinion and this is one of them for me. I feel like all I've done in the 2 months I've been out of hospital is clean and yet the house never seems clean. With the wet weather the floors are always dirty thanks to the dogs and I do one bathroom every weekday so it just feels like I'm constantly scrubbing loos.

Muddling, I feel the same. We are not saving enough so should let the cleaner go (we have 4 hrs pw, London rates, it is expensive). But we both work and my kids are really messy - think toddler sticky hands everywhere. DH not much better. And even when I am not working I am trapped in the kitchen by needing to watch my asd DS’s every move, so I can’t even go and clean a bathroom on a weekend unless DH can take over sentry duty!

We didn’t have a cleaner for a few years during and after Covid and it was like a weight on me. I would clean one bit of the house but the rest was never clean at the same time, it really got me down. I totally get why the peace of mind is worth so much.

Speaking of having to supervise DS (who has been an absolute horror the last week) I have interviewed a very lovely girl today who works in a special school and is looking for extra work over holidays and weekends. I think we are going to have to bite the bullet and pay someone to look after DS in our home while we WFH for some days in the school holidays, because we just can’t be in the same room as him with eyes on him all day. It will cost £160+ per day but I don’t think we have a choice, we can’t leave him alone in a different room.

We have to work out how we are going to pay for it now… something will have to give. Maybe the cleaner 😭😭😭

I feel you on the cleaning Muddling. I don’t employ a cleaner, and I don’t see us doing it yet, but I keep an open mind. Increasingly, I am inclined to spend money on jobs that I would DIY hitherto. I am still building up my resources after heavy expenditure last year and it will take me a while to get a genuinely spare £2k together. But once I do, I will be hiring professionals to redo our windows! Buggered if I am spending days up ladders and stripping old paintwork back!

Congrats on the returning form, need.

£32 in Lidl this morning (return to non-holiday spending!) Turkey mince patties and roast squash and peppers tonight.

Book group this afternoon, followed by two buses in weather for which I was dressed too warmly to collect very heavy ice/ cream maker. Defeated by heat, wrong shoes and heavy bag, I got an Uber home. £10.

tomorrow I plan to tackle my tax return, get my head around MTD, deal with Renters’ Right Act paperwork and organise the big spring watering and mulching of the garden. I definitely would not want any larger a patch of ground to take care of.

I need a haircut and so does DDog, so that’s about £140 between us.

I definitely am of the opinion you don't have to not spend to be frugal and careful of money we also employ a cleaner £18 an hour two hours a fortnight and will be increasing at some point the frugal aspect is realising that this is the luxury and you don't need this luxury plus a another I gave up an activity to afford my cleaner in the early days and didn't miss it.

I bought myself a top to take on holiday today. I had been thinking about it for a while and thought I’d take a look but then I liked it so I bought it. I had been looking at a jacket from the same shop but they didn’t have it so I did save something.

The halva did turn out well thank you @Frugal25. I shall make it again. Especially as I have 300g of sugar left.

The site is still playing up for me @ArmDimples. I’m on safari too.

Ended up at the office today. It made a nice change to have company but I didn’t enjoy the commute. Thought I’d take the bus as I wasn’t in a hurry but it took itself out of service and I ended up walking to a train station and paying a bus and a train fare.

Has anyone heard anything about the app from the EU that allows people to register before travelling?

Evening everyone 🤗
What a beautiful day. I have spent ages with Mum today and we have had a lovely time bless her heart ❤️
Popped to town and the market and the library bought a few bits of this and that , Tesco £5, Waitrose £4 and £12 in Morrisons. In Waitrose l bought 2 bottles of reed diffuser refills 250mls each , A Rose one and a White Tea & Bergamot one reduced from £15 to £2 .
They are gorgeous l would recommend anyone having a good look in their reduced section . Hope everyone is ok 🤗. I will have a good read of everything everyone has posted .

Not heard anything about the EU app but it sounds very interesting especially if it saves money @RumBananaSundae.
Your top sounds lovely l am glad you decided to buy it ☺️. Shame about the bus and train into work, what a nuisance 🙄.
Thank you re My Mum we had another good visit today thankfully 🤗
AHH the joys and worries of being a Mum to 20year olds l hear you @Lockin26💐
Hope you are feeling less tired today and caught up on your sleep 💤 😴.
TV sounds fabulous for your Ds @MuddlingLong and l think the cleaner will transform all your lives bless you sweetheart ❤️
What book are you reading in your group @BigSkies2022please and more to the point is it any good? 😁
I need a good book for when l am just waiting for Mum to wake up at the home tbh . Sometimes l am there a good hour before she wakes and even then she goes back to sleep bless her.
Aw bless you @ArmDimplesit all sounds so hard for you all l am sorry , l can only imagine the stress and anxiety you are feeling bless you all ❤️.
Glad you managed a relaxed day yesterday @needastrongone l can only imagine the loss of being g able to drive for your DH it's such a hit to his and your independence 🤗
@lifelongfrugaleer same for you too sweetheart l get the loss of being able to drive, it's just a big imposition in your life to not be able to carry on as per usual . Hopefully it won't be for long will it ? I do hope not . That was excellent of you to cook for your in laws too well done. Hope you had a lovely day in the garden it's been such a gorgeous day.
@ChipshopPickledEgg l totally agree with you re the cleaner it's a necessity not a luxury for some people.

We have just been reading Cranford which is … not gripping, tbf, so I would hesitate to recommend it although it has many merits. Last month I read Brideshead Revisited which I really enjoyed (against my expectations) . And if you want something funny, I recommend Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

My book club book is currently The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden. I’m half way through and really enjoying it so far!

www.amazon.co.uk/Safekeep-Booker-Prize-Shortlisted-2024/dp/0241999774

My cleaner is a gem and I do everything I can to keep her.
ooff arm that’s a lot a day. But needs must I suppose
£980 decorator. Bathroom finished, stairs painted. Carpet next week
£181 bike brakes for ds. He’s offered to pay me back but it’s a drop compared to dd horse fees

great news on the running need

it’s a year from last seizure gertie and they must be under control. I had another on Sunday so next April min & they are not controlled. Sigh

lots of gardening here dm is bringing compost & bark tomorrow so I’ve been weeding ready for the membrane.

Morning everyone,

£2 parking at the big park/playground yesterday
£5 getting an ice cream and cuppa whilst waiting for DD friend at playground
£10 yoga session.

Today should be a NSD. Swimming this morning but already paid for and then a garden afternoon I think.
Got a bit burnt yesterday so going to take it easy today.
Also got a headache from hell (hormones and pills don't work) so def a chilled afternoon for me.

I don't have a cleaner at the mo but I have in the past when heavily pregnant and when working full time and studying for degree. At the mo I'm ok doing it myself as I follow the tomm method but I do agree there are times when someone taking the admin out of your life frees you up and def helps. I wouldn't rule it out for me in the future.

Glad everyone is ok.

Is it too much sun as well frugal. Will hydrating help the headache. ?

Afternoon.

@RumBananaSundae not heard of the app, but on a recent trip to Portugal the new biometric system wasn’t that bad and we weren’t delayed very long.

Our cleaners have been with me for 12 years at least, likely 13!! I love them, I adore them and they are friends and wonderful. They do 4 hours (obviously 2 hours as there’s 2 of them) and it’s £20 an hour. So £80 a week. It’s an expense I budget for and don’t begrudge, we rarely go out and don’t spend a fortune on clothes etc (unless it’s running related…). It’s all about choices with the money we have I guess isn’t it?

Spends
£6 yesterday on postage of DF’s final documents. All done now, just waiting for the estate monies to come in and I can settle expenses and distribute the excess.
£17 this morning on some reduced salmon, dill and Belgium chocolate milk from M&S after my weekly long run. Did just under 2 hours in the sunshine (13.4 miles to be precise) and the milk went down like nectar!!

Salmon with lemon and dill risotto for tea. Hoping to get to the garden centre with DH later, and take Ddog for another lovely walk in the sunshine, who defies his age (nearly 13) and disappears frequently chasing sniffs and rabbits and eating horse poo and rolling in even grimmer stuff and all good dog happy stuff.

Ah lovely doggie

stay cool in the heat everyone

Well, I guess that's my Easter username left for another year!

I was wondering if it was the sunshine too @lifelongfrugaleer. Just my period started yesterday too so put it down to that as I normally get blinding headaches with that. But tbh, probably a bit of both.

Managed to cut the grass and edge the paving stones so that the green bin can go tomorrow. Currently sat in the shade looking at cats on rehoming sites.

Ooohhh what a cute doggie!!!! What is his name??

lovely spaniel! A flat-head, (working type) as we call them. Ours is a show type (dome head). He’s behaving very strangely at night- panting, whining, running around, clingy and weird. If he keeps it up, we’ll consult the vet.

£49 in Sainsbury’s
£10 extending the loan on the ice cream maker .
booked haircut for me £66 and one for Ddog £79 but those will be payable next week.
£35 on an Amazon basket but not paid for yet- hair conditioner and replacing a stick blender. Should also order some bags of compost for mulching,

Have submitted my tax return, all good so far. Organising the paperwork for the licensing is more painful. Why do I need a floor plan? is this going to cost £££s? I don’t have the software to create one or the skills to use it!

He’s called Hector. Yes, a working type. Also a selectively deaf, roll in shit, eat grim items, steal socks type one…

Hope yours settles Big. Would it be the heat perhaps? Very prompt re the tax return, kudos to you there.

Well done on getting those garden jobs done frugal.

Shall we try and guess what the username was chip?!

£40 Garden centre. Bird feed and seeds/bulbs - mainly things to keep DH busy and pottering in truth, cheaper and easier than going out sometimes.

Afternoon everyone 🤗
Had a quiet morning, then lunch with my friend l haven't seen her for 3 months because she was ill, my Mum was poorly, then her Mum was poorly. Anyway we had a can of pop , jkt potato and cheese and salad and ice cream . It was a beautiful day there sunny and blue skies and warm for once 😊
That was £25 for the two of us including tip which was good l thought. I paid , we take it in turns .
Then Aldis for a few bits £11☺️
Hope everyone is ok 🤗
Off to see what everyone has been doing 😁

Oh thank you @BigSkies2022 😁
l have read Cranford and seen the series which l much preferred to the book tbh. I could do with a bit of fun thank you l will look out for Heartburn 😊. I hope your Spaniel is ok bless him ,
Wonder if he can hear something going on outside ? That ice cream maker sounds brilliant 🤗
@MuddlingLongl have never heard of that author or book glad you are enjoying it so much 😁.
Oh @lifelongfrugaleerl am so sorry it's such a pain for you so near and yet so far it's simply so unfair bless you 💐
You are cracking on with the house and garden , very well done am really pleased for you Life👏😊
Not heard of the tomm method @Frugal25 l must investigate that , my house needs a damn good clean and l am a lazy good for nothing 🤣
I have no excuse, no work and no little ones tsk 😁.
Hope your headache is better sweetheart 💐

Your cleaners sound lovely @needastrongone
13.4 miles in the sun , well done! Salmon, Dill, chocolate milk post run sounds perfect, and Risotto yummy 😋
Your Ddog is gorgeous , nearly 13 and still loving life bless him 😁 , we had
Ours till she was nearly 17 ,she was a wonderful girl, they are such beautiful dogs Spaniels ❤️.
Sorry you didn't get the chance to use you Easter name @ChipshopPickledEgg 😁.
Will be needing a new thread soon , anyone want to do the new one ? I don't mind doing it but l don't want to presume 😊

Oh gurtie it's for you! Maybe nana pumpkin inspired?
And don't worry, it will sit in reserve 😆

Nearly forgot filled up with petrol in Sainsbury's £64 , 151.9 a litre cheapest we could find .

Aw thank you @ChipshopPickledEgg 🤗 l will set to and sort one out soon .
That's so sweet of you to say about Nanna Pumpkin , l hope you don't mind but l won't say about her just in case anything happens ❤️