Spring shenanigans, frugal mischief, Maypole antics, garden faffing, bargain binges, picnic pandemonium, Spaniel loving and Bank Holiday mayhem 😁

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome everyone, new and old to our lovely supportive frugal thread .

Morning.

@Lockin26- I am so very sorry to hear the news about your DM. Whatever you are feeling right now is exactly how you should feel and totally okay. You are allowed to feel angry about your DB. That’s okay. Sit with whatever emotion you feel you need to to but know that the last 4 years do not define your whole relationship with your lovely mum, and you will see that in time. ❤️

Apologies, I’ve had a busy last week but should be back and able to keep up.

No huge spends to note. My father’s estate has been settled now and I have been able to give the DC a small sum each on top of the money he left them (neither amounts are life changing, but it all helps). I will also buy a new phone, which I am becoming more and more in need of buying but I am okay with that as this last new phone is 6 years old and starting to fail. The rest will probably go towards a new kitchen, definitely not something we could now fund without.

£20 socks for DH Amazon.
£120 Ocado (includes food to make a huge chilli and drinks for socialising tomorrow night).

So glad the estate is complete for you @needastrongone. Well done. Ooohhh new kitchen and phone. I love this. (I also need both so got excited for you!)
£66 in Lidl today. A small shop as have so many leftovers in the freezer. I've continued to be sneaky and divide the food up into portions and freeze before OH sees and eats it. It really does help.
Oh. Window cleaner is here. Just windows today as he seems to have forgotten that I asked for gutters and extension to be done every other. Which is fine. They are filthy but I put the money towards credit card instead.
Still unwell so cancelled swimming and gymnastics today. A garden day in which I shall drink tea.

Enjoy your sunshine day everyone.

Pay Day! Have done the shuffle of moving money around and been shopping - Lidl £61.37 Home Bargains £49.19 and will need to buy Petrol too.
I am annoyed with myself I saw Petrol 3p a litre cheaper when out for tea with some old colleagues last night and didn't bother filling up and needed to!! It is definitely more expensive closer to home! 😡

I didn’t realise you were poorly @Frugal25. Hope you feel better soon. It’s a super day to sit in a sunny sheltered spot and enjoy the sunshine. Cool wind still here, but it’s definitely improving.

Window cleaner did the gutters and extension! I'll move money from pots to fund.
Urgh @needastrongone it's been a week and I can't breathe properly. I actually cried this morning as I feel so unwell. But that made my breathing worse so I stopped!
Im sure it will go away soon. Beginning to wonder if it's COVID as my lungs are so bad with it.
Love pay day @Rainbow1901!!!

Have you tested @Frugal25 for COVID? It seems to be around at the moment - my neighbours cleaner has it and is feeling pretty rough. Hope you feel better soon 🌻

Locked in ❤️

Spent £1.65 on some milk today. Yesterday was a washout as I ended up in the bar at work and have not been brave enough to look at the bill yet.

Sorry you’re still unwell @Frugal25. Are you feeling any better today?

How are you doing @Lockin26? Don’t be hard on yourself and take each day as it comes.

Enjoy France @MyAgileHedgehog.

Not sure how it’s only Thursday. My long weekend can’t come soon enough. Work isn’t great but then I feel anxious about complaining as judging by the way things are going they’ll have to start sacking people soon and as much as I don’t like my job I’d rather have it than be unemployed. Might go to the office tomorrow for the distraction.

Evening everyone 🤗
Washed all the bedding and got it dried on the line yay! 😁
Aldi £40 including, cards, flowers and chocs for 2 x birthdays . Took them to the 2 birthday ppl , my Mum's elderly friends.
Mum ok thankfully 😊.
Beautiful day here, hope everyone has this weather ☀️
Hope you are feeling better soon @Frugal25 bless you sweetheart 💐
Guttering can wait till next time ,
A CC win 😁👏
Well done sticking to your diet @drspouseglad you are really feeling the benefit of it 🤗 £5.60 is really expensive but as long as you enjoyed it 😋.
It's so frustrating, everything is so expensive @DeepFriedCreamEgg🙄.
Good luck with the no spends it's not working here either 🤗
@needastrongonel am so pleased for you re your DDad's estate being settled.
That's brilliant news🤗
@Rainbow1901its so annoying l know. There's an app you can use that tells you the cheapest fuel for miles .
It's called petrol price .
@RumBananaSundae l know it's not ideal in your workplce for you but like you say it's better than being made redundant. However it doesn't help when you are treated badly and have a bad day bless you 🤗
Race across the World tonight 😁👏❤️

Lockin - I’m sorry for your loss. I hope the next days and weeks go by peacefully and everyone pulls together.

Two further large clothes purchases but probably lots will go back.
Haven't been out today (WFH and it's DH turn to take the DCs to Scouts) but DH got some bits we needed from M&S. He retired a couple of years ago and I joke he's like his dad was, shopping every day from M&S.

Need - congratulations on getting your dad’s estate sorted. A friend of mine is still struggling with one outstanding item on her father’s estate and he died in 2020!

Frugal - yikes on virus. CAN you get tested? À GP appointment ?

£24 on top up dog food and ice-cream for me and DS. I should not feed our sweet tooth but I console myself that I am buying stuff with no UPFs.

Oh! £140 on tickets for Mass at the Donmar. Next month’s outing so next month’s budget. DH has been organising all the theatre tickets for ages, so my turn to jump in. Have put it on the credit card that will cover all holiday and fun stuff and be paid off when the tax rebate comes through.

Lockin, I am so sorry to hear about your mum, what a shock that must have been. Look after yourself.

I lost a long post at the weekend and was in too much of a huff to try again. I can’t remember what I said, something about finding Yorkshire tea too strong <ducks>. And having a lovely day and evening with friends on Saturday but it being v expensive all in! And indoors so I missed the lovely weather. Shame it’s not looking as lovely for the BH weekend.

Anyway, I am not going to write much in one go because it’s too annoying to lose it. So I shall be back later. But suffice to say I shall be very glad to fill up my YNAB pots tonight for a nice fresh month tomorrow, as this is the tightest month I’ve had since I started using it at New Year. Lots of factors, including overspending on food last week (I bought treats for babysitters and also birthday naice wines for friends, and cooked for a bake sale) and kids needing various clothes and shoes, and the big day out, and paying for a trip with friends at the beginning of June. It’s not a problem directly, I am just trying to hit a savings target every month and it’s hard!

back soon and will try to do better!

Sorry to hear you news @Lockin26 sending lots of love to you all.x.

@DirtyGertiefromno30 I have that app - I'd have to drive 3miles to get the 3p saving per gallon - so defeats the object. It'll teach me to top up when I see it cheaper especially if I'm out of my local area. So it cost me £57.88 today. Been a spendy day today with shopping too.

Thank you for all the lovely messages. I'm struggling with replying to people, even work emails. But thank you. Might feel a little better once the funeral date is set.

Today was Greggs £3.60.

@Frugal25 get well soon. Awful feeling, I had a virus that made me cry a couple of winters ago. I did get well, takes time though and hard with a little DD too.

This was a rather unwelcome read this morning! Food prices 😬

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwp50v4ye7o

Morning.

The fertiliser situation doesn’t surprise me. Was in business long enough to have a reasonable understanding of the supply chain. You don’t notice anything at first, and think you’re not affected, but that’s because most big decisions re stock and spending happen months in advance and the first financial downturn or crisis teaches you that fact. It’ll take a while for things to filter through, on top of the more immediate impact we are already seeing. It’s just crap all round.

No rush to feel anything other than what you are feeling right now @Lockin26x

How you feeling today @Frugal25 ?

Thanks, @BigSkies2022 - I think we’ve been lucky he was so organised and also seemed to have most of his assets in relatively straight forward places. And, no house to sell crucially as my DM is very much still alive! Congrats re the tax rebate - I feel that the monies from DF ‘s estate have sort of more emotional freedom to them, so I can understand the feelings re Italy. I worked near Venice for a year when in my 20’s so can give no constructive advice but still have a deep love of the country.

DH has just woken up so I’ll rush off now but I’ve bought my phone, cooked chilli’s for tonight and am hoping to get some tidying done in the garden over the weekend, plus a drink (for DH) in the sunshine at cricket tomorrow.

Good evening everyone 😊
@Rainbow1901
Oh God that's no good then , we go about a lot for Mum so we can drop in on the cheapest prices easier.
You have been very organised this morning @needastrongone well done 👍.
If it wasn't the fertilizer it would be something else @ArmDimples or so it seems to me. Tell me about losing long posts. l tend to do much shorter ones now so it's not so much time wasted if it is lost 🙄
Everything is all over the place 🙄
@Lockin26you do whatever you need to do to be able to cope sweetheart 💐
We are all thinking of you and your beloved family ❤️
@drspousethat's brilliant your Dh is retired he must be so happy good for him ! 👏
@BigSkies2022that play at the Donmar theatre looks excellent, l had a look at the tickets on sale and they are very near sold out !
@Frugal25hope you are feeling better today sweetheart 💐
Been to see Mum who was fine there thankfully. Then up town top ranking looking for a blackout blind .
Found one in John Lewis so getting it delivered to Waitrose click and collect.

Bought 2 one for each Front bedroom JL have 20% off blinds ATM so the 2 were only £55 delivered to Waitrose
No other spends today 😊
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend everyone 😊

Evening all, wasnt it a beautiful day?
My temperature has finally gone, the aches have gone. I'm not blocked up anymore, just a cough every time I breathe. Which is bearable.
I don't have any tests for COVID but I'm told it has gone round the office. So great.... Sigh. I've not had it before i don't think, and it's awful.
Just finished watering the garden. OH is asleep in the chair. DD curled up next to me watching Wallace and gromit. Tummya full of homemade pizza. My happy place. And tomorrow, we tell DD about the kittens and we are off to choose them!!! I haven't told her yet as it would be mayhem. But I'm excited about tomorrow.

Enjoy your chilli @needastrongone

So jealous of your DH @BigSkies2022

There is no rush at all @Lockin26. We are here when you need us. Sending love xxxx

So sorry. There I am rabbiting away. Forgot to say NSD for me.

Bit of a big spend day - coffee and cake £7, lunch as it's our anniversary £41, takeaway pizza not sure how much the DCs cost but mine and DH was £12, we clearly go to the pizzeria way too much as our loyalty points got us a free £8 garlic bread.
Then I put down a deposit £300 on a holiday house for next Feb half term which is a big birthday (may have to call in favours for the annual leave though). But best news of the day was I got a discount code for 20% off so it should have been £400!

Happy anniversary @drspouse!! Oohhh forward holiday planning, I adore this.
Nothing wrong with having too much pizza and loyalty....

£21 for me today on being in the draw to win £700k from classic FM. I got a discount on it, should have been £30.
I'm convinced that Alexander Armstrong will definitely call me this time.

Went to see the kittens. DD absolutely thrilled with the surprise. We chose two. Although the lady originally said we had first pickings we are now being told to wait until Monday when she will confirm if we can have our choice as someone else has first dibs. I'm playing nice, it is a rescue centre after all, but I'm a little annoyed.
But we have chosen two boys. Well, they chose us. One is a bit of a pickle and loves feet. The other is slightly more shy and happy to take back stage. We are going back on Monday to take my mum to see them.

Been a lovely day here and it's just started to rain, I have all the windows open and the smell coming in from it is just gorgeous. Fresh and cool. Hope everyone is ok xxx

Oh lovely news @Frugal25 about the kittens!
Not quite such a spendy day today. Second clothes parcel I've only kept 1 t-shirt. Looking for longer length tops, this one is from Bam clothing.
Bought a snack at music for DS £2, few bits at Aldi £15.75, then have been pampering £22 leg wax and am about to get gel toenails which is usually about £25-30 plus had a coffee as the nail lady could only fit me in later than I'd hoped. Rudely left DH to take the kids to the dry ski slope and start the tea.
I really like my nail lady, she has a table in a hair salon rather than in a big nail salon where I never know if they actually pay the staff and it's never the same ones. We have a small Chinese community here and her husband is a chef on the site where I work (though I'm not sure where exactly as there are a few possibilities) and she has a daughter in primary school, who has an online Chinese lesson every week which sounds hard work! She knows my kids are a bit older and I value education so she asks my advice.
I'm just waiting for my appointment and she's telling the lady before me about an Instagram post about someone doing their dog's nails.