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 🤗

Sorry I went AWOL! Had a couple of rough weeks where DHs job looked shaky on the very month we've started adding into a financial plan for retirement and on the last lap in our working lives. All is fine and back on track. I've spent much less than normal this month!

Work has also been absolutely manic. DB still living in DMs house which is in probate. We've set a deadline for him to leave, tough love needed there and he's still dragging his feet!

@RumBananaSundae I'm sorry to hear things are not settled work wise yet. You've done amazing to keep chipping away at this. I'd do both - get the review of the job applications out of the way asap and then still do something nice for your birthday if you can. Sometimes doing something nice in the middle of an absolutely pants time can surprisingly take your mind off things. I hope so anyway 🙏

@Cuwins I love Minions having taken DC when Despicable Me first came out. Went with a friend a few years ago and she was mystified! Hope you enjoy with DD @Frugal25 I've asked DD (15) to see Toy Story 5 and she doesn't want to. Boo. I would go on my own - but not during the school hols with all the kids 😂

Loving the chat about using up cupboards @Ovoemconserva and others. I need to have a route around.

@DirtyGertiefromno30 pleased to hear that Nana P is doing well 🩷

Sorry to hear about the car battery @Cuwins

Sorry to hear about the crusty croissant @Frugal25

That's great savings @FrugalinBrighton enjoy the cake with friend.

I'm also finished for 6 weeks - still at work but shorter weeks due to planned leave and I'm not moving around different locations with my desk contents in a back pack. Love my job but nice to have downtime.

DH just texted to say he needs some emergency dental work. I was happy to tell him we have a Monzo pot for that. Thanks to this thread. There's only £40 in it but it all helps!

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

And spends...
£2.50 bus fare. Missed bus this morning. DH gave me a lift so saved £2.50 🤭
£3 Poundland at the bus station for snacks
£5.67 Lidl lunch and another snack.

Glad you’re back @Lockin26 lovely to see you sweetheart 😊. Sounds like you’ve had a really stressful couple of weeks with everything going on, especially with the uncertainty around DH’s job and the DB brother situation 🙄. So glad your Dh's job is ok 🤗 .Well done on spending less this month too especially when you have been so busy. It’s fab that you’ve been building these pots of money for when you need them. It's a great help when things happen like your DH needs dental treatment, l don't envy him bless him 😱.
Enjoy the quieter weeks ahead and get some proper rest, you have had a hell of a time of it bless you 💐

£24 in the Hobbycraft sale on Xmas presents for DD. Then £19 on brunch in cafe with DD. Now we are off to a summer fair at my aunts care home- I have brought £8 in change for DD to spend. So not a cheap day

Have fun at the fair! @Cuwins I love a fair.

Well done on the pots @Lockin26! That's the ultimate dream!

So sorry @RumBananaSundae about the rejection. I was talking to my friend this week and she mentioned her very skilled DH is having a lot too as the cvs are put through AI which picks out the ones suitable by finding the right words used.... All seems very unfair. Have you run your CV through an AI checker if there is one?
Ooohhh I love a birthday. You should celebrate Hun. Even if it's a small celebration. I'm very happy to meet you for a glass somewhere if you wanted.

Hoping for a NSD. I've been to see mums new house she is buying. It's beautiful. And the current owner is holding a party for mum to get to know the neighbours as they are a little community which is wonderful.
Now off to Sussex to see OH children from previous as they have been travelling the world for 7 months so now they are back we are taking them out to lunch. DD is a bit nervous as she doesn't see them much which is awful as they are siblings. Hopefully will go ok.
Have fun ladies xxx

Well a few days before payday but I am busy next week so closing my monthly finances out this weekend.
I've had a really good month all in all I've been making an effort to cook at time allbeit not from scratch etc because I'm going to be honest I just don't have time.
On paper it could have been a really expensive month but I've kept in the black and managed to end it in plus figures when my forecasted spends next week are taken into account.

Also my plan to spend a little time researching free/low spend local activities for the summer holidays too. My problem I often have is a "what the feck am I meant to do today" and so I end up basically setting fire to money on a paid activity.

Lots of love and well wishes to all x

Afternoon everyone 😊
Spendy day for me £40 Tesco £20 home bargains and bargain of the day a £10 toaster on sale from Asda , have to have a separate gluten free toaster to the family 🙄
Hope you had a great time at the craft fair @Cuwins 😁👏 well done on the Hobbycraft sale for your DD too 👏😁.
Aww that sounds like a really lovely day @Frugal25 😊. Your Mum’s new house sounds gorgeous and how kind of the owner to have a little party so she can meet the neighbours. What a lovely welcome for her.
Hope you manage your NSD 🤞 and you enjoyed the lunch in Sussex. I can see why your DD feels nervous, but it’ll be really nice for them to spend time together and for you all to reconnect bless them ❤️
Amazing that you’ve managed to stay in the black and finish up in plus figures @Ovoemconserva well done! Love the idea of looking for free or low cost things to do in the holidays, as I know exactly what you mean about that what feeling and suddenly money disappears in no time . Just flies out the door 🙄

Thanks hope it pays off 😆
Im really good at seeing things out and about thinking oh that's a good idea we could do that etc but when it comes down to it I'll completely have forgotten and we will both get bored and stroppy 😆

Haha @Ovoemconserva😁 well at the very least you can enjoy a lovely Summer holidays with her and by the time it's school again you will both be glad because of the boredom and stroppyness 😂

Spending was £5 in Waitrose on two bottles of cidre.

Thank you @DirtyGertiefromno30. That was very good of you to say. Five of the six were with the same employer. I know there’s a specific way to write their applications but I’m not sure what that is and I don’t know anyone that works there to ask.

Nice to see you @Lockin26. Sorry things have been stressful and glad they’re back on track for you.

Hope your day was OK @Frugal25. Travelling for seven months sounds amazing. I’ve read that about applications being sifted through AI first. Some adverts say they don’t do it so I’m not sure the ones that don’t say they don’t do.

Found a £1 coupon in my bag for Asda and remembered the lady giving it to me I think I’ll save it for a rainy day. Tried to buy the bee bowls today but the checkout button was greyed out so no bowls for me.

£5 for a couple of bottles of cidre sounds like a nice little treat @RumBananaSundae 😊 😋 🍺.
Fancy Five out of the six jobs with the same employer, that must count for something being off kilter in the applications , got to be a glitch that you can work around , l bet it's a really stupid reason too 🙄 . Annoying and It's so frustrating when you know there's a certain way they want applications done but you've no one to ask. Keep going keep trying , you will get there❤️
Good save with the £1 Asda coupon! Such a shame about the bee bowls though. Hopefully you'll be able to get them soon 🐝😁.

Hope your lunch went well @Frugal25 , lots to hear about after 7 months.

Hope you can get the bee bowls soon @RumBananaSundae

@Ovoemconserva on the school holidays I used to make a packed lunch at the same time as breakfast. Then if we did go out, we'd have lunch ready to go so at least that was free and I'd get them ice cream or some sweets as a treat. If we had a day in the house then at least lunch was done. It is a long six weeks though... Tomorrow I'm taking DD and her friend out with my friend after lunch - we'll walk and then cake in a beach front cafe. Even that will be around £20 though.

@Cuwins good frugal win on the Hobbycraft sale. You'll thank yourself by December for that!

@DirtyGertiefromno30 hope you had a nice day and that Nana P is doing well.

£51 Asda - used work app to get £2 off..suppose it all adds up.
£15 Asda for plants. Came from Monzo account.
£40 piercing studio. DD gets a couple of piercings every school holidays so she can swap them for clear studs for school in September.
£7.26 cleaning fluid for piercings

That's a good idea @Lockin26
im also planning on getting some breckfast bags ready to go too. Sometimes a fruit pouch a cereal bar/pot of cereal is absolutely adequate.

I remember your top tip from last year I think it was @Lockin26abd it Def works I follow it religiously now!

Lunch went well. All the girls got on after months apart so phew to that one.
Back home today and spent £1.75 doing an online ADHD test for me. I'm wondering whether all these years of struggling with basic things is for a reason. Although I hate labels and have spent years saying that people have them as an easy way out... I may be changing my tune.

Keep going @RumBananaSundae it may take time but the time will pass anyway.
So glad your mum is ok @DirtyGertiefromno30.

OH has taken DD to the park and I've got some rare time on my own so I'm prepping the dinner now so all I have to do is serve later. Potato salad made from homegrown pots, corn on cob, hummus, nice cheese and bread. Easy and tasty. Oh and I found 2 random eggs so I've hard boiled to slice and have with it.

Hope everyone is ok today.

Amazing how much fun can he had with a empty fruit cider box. Think I might have to increase my consumption... In the interests of childhood activities. Obviously.

Just found this in the Tesco magazine.

£1.95 on cherries in Aldi.

The cidre is for Tuesday @DirtyGertiefromno30. I’m spreading the spending so it doesn’t seem so expensive. Only one place seems to be hiring though with the change in prime minister maybe I should wait and see.

Glad you had a nice lunch @Frugal25. Your dinner sounds lovely. And yes. We should go for a glass (or 10) of something. Hope things are ok with the ADHD test. I think diagnosis as an adult isn’t uncommon.

Have a bit of Sunday angst. I am sitting on my hands from buying the bee bowls. And butter dish. And I’d get a free candle. And two bee coasters. Am watching TGTG as I’d like to get a cake. A £45 cake from Paul was £14.99 today. I’m thinking that won’t happen two days in a row.

It was me as it's the only tip I have @Frugal25 apart from survive them and you'll look back on the 6 weeks with fondness. My house was always upside down and all the local kids would be in and out!

I must Google the bee bowls @RumBananaSundae

That's a good deal for London @DirtyGertiefromno30

Keep going with the cider boxes @Ovoemconserva for child friendly activities of course!

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

I feel a nap coming on. 20k steps today. I ran a couple of miles this morning and then a walk to the beach with my friend and DD. DDs friend was in bed so didn't come so lots of teenage angst to deal with first.

£22 coffee and cake

Also £70 tickets for Blackpool next weekend. Sealife and Pleasure Beach. The Pleasure Beach we can send the DC in on their own now or it would have been £105! Will try to do LSD over the next week, will take a miracle to report a NSD 😂

Food shop day here so £100 spend.

You've certainly earned that nap after 20k steps, a run, a beach walk and all the teenage drama @Lockin26! 😊
It sounds like you've been really good with your spends as well👍. Every little discount helps, and the piercings are a nice school holiday tradition for you both. Blackpool next weekend sounds like brilliant fun, hope you have a great time 😁. Thank you again re my Mum. It means a lot 🤗.

I'm so glad lunch went well and everyone got on @Frugal25🤗 . Your dinner sounds lovely, especially the homegrown potatoes. I hope the ADHD test gives you some answers sweetheart. Thank you so much for asking about Mum, that was really kind of you. She's had another good day today 🤗. Hope you have a lovely evening.

😂 lt's always the box they end up loving more than what's inside it @Ovoemconserva! Sounds like your research into fruit cider is going to have to continue all in the name of keeping the little ones happy course! 🍻📦!

😂 I love the cidre budgeting strategy @RumBananaSundae😁.
Well done for resisting the Bee bowls and butter dish too. They're obviously trying to tempt you with the free candle and coasters! 😂
I'll keep everything crossed that a lovely TGTG pops up for you. That Paul cake was such a brilliant bargain, so you never know, lightning might strike twice. Sounds hopeful re the jobs and the shake up in Parliament, everything crossed for you sweetheart 🤞🤗.

If only we didn't have to eat we would be millionaires @Cuwins😁

Evening everyone 🤗
Had a good day, Mum was fine there thankfully 🙏.
Came home and have done practically nothing , watched the Sheep Detectives and absolutely loved it, we, Dds and l cried a lot it was very sweet ❤️.
Spent £42 on the Tu sale , some nice stuff on there . Ordered 2 dresses , 2 tops and a pr of trousers . Fingers crossed 🤞 😁
Watching the world cup now , have a lovely evening everyone 🤗