Frugal Summer shenanigans, sunburnt silliness, ice cream indulgence, paddling pool chaos, picnic pandemonium, bank holiday bonkersness, sunshine mischief and all the rest of it.

[DirtyGertiefromno30]

Welcome to our lovely, friendly,frugal thread everyone 🤗

Glad you had such a lovely day with your friend yesterday @RumBananaSundae. Try and hold onto that today with all the legal crap you’ve got to deal with 🙄. That letter from their solicitor would have annoyed me too. Tossers! 🙄 As if you actually want to be going to court. And sorry work is getting even more skanky, hope you can find something else soon. You really could do with a break from all this shit 💐
My Dd2 works for the Civil Service , she is applying for new jobs . She has asked everyone she is friendly with on her team to give her tips to fill out the application. They have all had job applications thrown out in the sift because of stupid things like not enough in their CV , even though they work for the CS already 🙄.
Also they told her not to put too much information on the application form 😱.
You honestly can't blinking win !

Evening everyone 🤗
Been to see Mum , she was lovely there thankfully 😁. Spent £15 in Morrisons on curries for DH and GF bits for me 🙄🤣. £10 in Home Bargains for 2 x Tresseme shampoos and Graham's pineapple cottage cheese X 3 , it's the nicest one l have ever tasted 😋.
Hope everyone is ok and having a lovely evening ☺️

Good going @Ovoemconserva and an accidental fall into Starbucks happens to a few of us!

@RumBananaSundae pleased you had a lovely day with your friend. Boo to stressful legal stuff and the skanky work situ! I'm still keeping everything crossed for the right job 🙏

@DirtyGertiefromno30 Nana Hedgehog and the Lindt bars - what's not to love!

£89.95 Costco. Body Pump was cancelled due to summer leave so I took DD with me - a few unauthorised items fell in the trolley! I also bought the largest tin of Riccos nacho cheese sauce ever - friend from work was raving about it and now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it 😂
£5.88 Coop as we forgot fruit!

Has nana pumpkin become nana hedgehog or do we have another Nana?

@Frugal25
Totally this - I had stuff I actually need to nip out and fetch but that can be an activity another day when she's less willing to do lazy time.

If they are plotting together can mini frugal encourage mini egg to stop in her own bed tomorrow please.

I'll have a word with mini frugal right this second @Ovoemconserva!!! We need them to plot good things!!!
Love a bit of lindt chocolate nana hedgehog has good taste @DirtyGertiefromno30
@RumBananaSundae coz obviously you absolutely adore court.... Stupid other side. Keep going darling you're doing amazing. Yoga is actually ok. She takes us outside onto the field and slows the pace down. She is away next week and another lady will take the class whi doesn't like being outside and I don't like her class tho so may skip.
Adore nacho cheese @Lockin26id have that on everything. But please don't take diet tips from me.
Have put peach and halloumi salad on the meal.plan for this week!

£93 in Lidl this week. £2 on parking for a park and playground and £7 on an ice-cream and smoothie whilst there. Took a picnic for lunch though.
Ran out of recycling bin bags this morning. Asked mum to bring some tomorrow when I see her and when I got back from the park the bin men had left some for me. Winning at life. I wish we still had the wheelie bins like in my old area. So much better for the planet.
May go to another park later to wear missy out. That should be free as I won't take her on the bus in this weather as they have no air con, i shall drive and use the free car park. Missy may want to go on the bouncy castle but that will be £3.

I dropped my jewellery off to be mended last week and not heard back yet. Shall give him another week and then call him.
Also. I've noticed that I always set a budget for holiday. Tap tap tap whilst away. Come back, add it up and it's gone over by £2000000000000. Thinking maybe to take cash with me. And then I can see what I'm spending. if I go over then that's a thought through decision.

Right. Must get up off this sofa and get ready for another park. I could very happily sit .....

Haha sounds like a proper Costco trip @Lockin26😂.
Shame about Body Pump, but I bet DD was happy to come along to Costco with you. 😁. That giant tin of nacho cheese sauce did make me laugh 🤣 .
Thank you re my Mum and the Lindt she loved it!

Hahaha has Nana Pumpkin become Nana Hedgehog 🦔 or have we got another Nana popping up? Or have l just got in a muddle because DH was feeding the hedgeies 😂 anything is possible l am at that funny age @Ovoemconserva lol 😂.
Sounds like a good excuse to leave the jobs for another day and enjoy some lazy time. Fingers crossed Mini Frugal can have a word with Mini Egg and get her staying in her own bed tomorrow 🤞🤗 😁❤️

No spend day for me today. Though I got cash out.

Thank you @DirtyGertiefromno30. Two more rejections today one was a really wide shot the other not so much so but not good for my poor head. Pineapple cottage cheese? I love it. Could do with some now. Glad your mum is ok.

Thank you @Lockin26. I read your Costco as Costa and thought wow that coffee must have been ginormous.

Maybe I should give yoga a try @Frugal25. I’ve never done it. Have fun at the park.

Am thinking about making some Angel Delight but not sure I can be bothered to wash the whisk up.

Evening everyone 😊
That peach and halloumi salad sounds lovely😋 @Frugal25 don't blame you putting it on your list 🤗.
Well done on the Lidl shop too, and taking a picnic was a great idea . l love the recycling bag win! 😂 It’s the little things. I miss wheelie bins too, so much easier than these stupid red & purple bags 🙄.
Hope Missy enjoys the park and doesn’t talk you into the £3 bouncy castle but l have my doubts they are so adorable it's difficult to deny them ❤️.
The holiday spending is so on point ! Cash sounds like a good idea though, you can see exactly what you’re spending then 👏. I don’t blame you one bit for wanting to stay on the sofa !

A NSD counts , even if you did get some cash out @RumBananaSundae 😊. I am really sorry about the job rejections . I know each one knocks your confidence, especially when one felt like you had a decent chance. I really hope the right opportunity comes along soon don't let these make you doubt yourself. Like l said to you, my Dd2 is applying like mad for another job , she has had ppl look over her application,she has changed it several times just to get through the sift 🙄. Seems like even if you are the best candidate for the job there is no guarantee of having an interview even . It all seems nuts to me tbh 🙄.
All l can say is don't take it personally and to keep going. Wishing you the very best of luck because tbh with you it's all in the luck of the draw from what l can see 😱. Pineapple with cottage cheese is so good! I love it 😁 😋.
If you've got the Angel Delight in, I'd say go for it. The whisk will still need washing tomorrow, but at least you'll have had something nice to enjoy tonight! 😂
Thanks for asking about Mum. She's doing okay at the moment, and I'm really grateful for that. Sending you a big hug sweetheart 🤗 ❤️

Spends today £35 Aldi ,bought 2 x Padel racquets in Aldi for my Dds they were down to £14.99 each from £22.99 great bargain l thought 😁
Hope everyone is ok and having a good evening 😊.

Make the angel delight!!!!! @RumBananaSundae
Try yoga Hun. It sorts my head out tbh. I'd be completely insane without it. It may help you too? Sorry about the rejections. As dirty said, don't take it personally. You're amazing and we all know it. Sending love and hugs Xxxx oh. How was your birthday?? 🎂

£6 bouncy castle. She went in twice. And £3 ice cream as she actually didn't eat the one I bought this morning.

Had such a brilliant time though.

I didn't mean you were insane btw. Just that yoga helps with work stress etc. Xxxx

I'm reliably informed she is absolutely dead on her feet and requires a day in tomorrow.
I have summer flu and am currently in the chinese takeaway £23 but meh!
Service was expensive today and they randomly found some red work costing £600 which wasn't even an advisory last week so I'm taking it to a third party tomorrow for inspection. Yay. Sitting in the dealership I saw and heard them hard on the after sales drive so I am suspecting it may or may not have had something to do with end of the month targets. Cynical of me but it was just too coincidental.à

@Frugal25
The things we spend money on for an easy life. Totally with you on that one!

I think Nana Hedgehog 🦔 could be my fault @DirtyGertiefromno30 😂 and I hope Nana Pumpkin is doing well 🩷 every time you mention her it makes me smile, she sounds amazing.

I miss my DM today she was so calm and easy going. My DB was so overbearing and possessive with her I backed off and now we can't get him out of the house which is ready to sell. Add two retired bossy Dsis onto that. Everything is a competition with the oldest. The middle one keeps questioning how I'm spending my time, erm FT job, two DC and a DH who is out from 8am - 10pm 5 days per week. Paris can't come soon enough (not till November) and we're going to look at a camper van tomorrow that you can hire for half term! Sod them.

@Frugal25 I generally keep a notepad on holiday and tot up every evening. I don't fret if it's high spend, just makes me feel more comfortable about what the bill will be when we get home, as I have a travel credit card with no commission. think I like your tap tap tap method better though - I did that in Blackpool at the weekend 😂

@RumBananaSundae another vote for the angel delight - I had butterscotch with cream and crumbled flake this week. 😋 Sorry to hear about the job applications - genuinely I will do a little happy dance on the thread for you when the right one comes along.

@Ovoemconserva hope that mini egg listened to mini frugal and stayed in bed. DD was still doing that in Year 6, now she is a sassy 15 year old who knows better than me on every subject! Oooh enjoy the Chinese - I'm sat outside DDs weekly activity and just realised I'm starving!

£24.95 Amazon some sort of herbal cream for DHs knee.

That's been it today as long day at work.
Also won the Postcode Lottery, alas only £5 voucher but it's lunch for tomorrow as I think I'm going into the office.

Awww nana is a big enough character in here to be both nana pumpkin and nana hedgehog.

Ohhh maybe Mr Gwen could be Grandad Hedgehog 😲
How would he feel about that 😆

I knew you wouldn't be able to resist that adorable little face @Frugal25 ❤️🤗

We are all on the same page here @Frugal25 ❤️. l felt like l didn't want @RumBananaSundae to feel l was being patronising over the CS job applications. Truth is we are all a lovely lot here ❤️ big hugs everyone 😊

Oh bless her @Ovoemconserva your DD definitely sounds like she needs a day at home tomorrow. ❤️
Summer flu on top of everything else omg l hope you feel better soon. 🤗
The takeaway was so well deserved. As for the car, my Dd2 car was in for a service today and they phoned telling me the car needed a new tyre and the brake fluid changing , the car was Mot'd last week no advisories 😱. I told them l would think about it (Dd2 was in work so we dealt with it for her ). I'd be very suspicious too. Funny how a £600 job suddenly appears when it wasn't even mentioned before. Hopefully the third party inspection puts your mind at rest and it's nothing like they're saying. Fingers crossed for you🤞

Aw l am so sorry @Lockin26 bless you sweetheart ❤️. You've got such a lot on your plate. It must be so frustrating with everyone having a go about your DM's house . Especially when you're already trying to juggle work, the DC and your DH being out all day. No wonder you're counting down to Paris .
Fingers crossed the camper van is a good one tomorrow 🤞🤗.

🤣🤣🤣

Did you get the hard sell too?

Well it's part payday today - so all the transactions to put money where it's needed for regular payments have left the accounts looking rather depleted 🙁while we wait for other 28 day cycle payments to come in over the next couple of weeks. We are hoping to clear another couple of debts this month and we are still adding to savings. 🤑
I know Martin Lewis would say better to clear debts rather have savings but we like to have a safety net and rob the savings while we work on various house update projects. DH and I are both mindful of the fact that we want our house to be comfortable and safe while we are living in it and to not let it fall into rack and ruin which we have seen happen with friends/past associates.
The GCs first week of the holidays was fairly painless money wise - obviously more food is/was needed but so far possible planned trips are still in abeyance but ready to fall back on when the boredom factor strikes! Don't think GS is too keen on doing writing and lettering even with the fun books bought for this purpose - but we don't want him to totally forget everything he's learnt in his reception year at school. We have them for a couple of days next week before they go away for a few days to visit other GPs but I'm hoping to put some extra hours in at my little job for a bit of extra money.
Need to find another paddling pool as the current one sprung a leak. DD gave us this one as she shopped and bought at the end of last summer when the shops were getting rid of summer stock for a quid!! But even she has gone through a couple where the GCs are enjoying themselves in the garden.