Chanie fabulously looks after her pennies...

kitten thanksgiving??? You are a hard taskmaster!!!!

You shouldn't be asking me for decorating tips. I'm not naturally into interior design and it rarely occurs to me to look at soft furnishings. I like simple, clean lines without lots of clutter.

When we bought our house, my Mum told me to focus on getting 1 room done properly. We managed to get our living room and bedroom done - having the walls skimmed, so they were smooth and new carpets. This has meant that decorating has been easy, as the walls are in good condition. My mum would tell you to focus on getting the children's room(s) sorted so they can settle. I did also find that costs spiralled. For example, when we got our kitchen fitted, we were told the electrics in there were dangerous, so we had to get that sorted.

Last week, I spent £30 on food shopping. I'd bought some basics, but we didn't get the opportunity to get anything else in, but we survived!!! I'm going to write a list before we go shopping this weekend to see if we can spend less.

kitten I don't blame you for wanting to do your bathroom. It's such a personal space and I only feel comfortable in mine now that we've done it up. We replaced the sink and toilet but not the bath. We were going to replace the bath as it looked grotty, but when I looked closer at it one day, I realised that it was the taps, waste and plughole that were grotty and since we've replaced those, it looks new.

My Mum asked me about our Xmas plans today and Mr C said he would like to have Xmas at home this year. The children don't eat much, so it won't be expensive, but I'm going to write a list of what we need so that I can start stocking up from now, particularly when offers are on.

Kitten868 wrote: »

Well done chanie. My mum always gets everyone to list 3 things you have to have or it's not Xmas. Because it just got too much. Mine are just Brazil's, nuts and those biscuits in Santa shapes with chocolate on. Most of us overlap so it works x

That's a good idea, kitten. My mum and aunt, who tend to host Xmas have both cut back as they said they were spending a fortune and food was getting wasted. They cut back a few years ago and no one really noticed.

I've started to write my Xmas food list. I'm going cost it all up as I buy items so I can see how much it comes to, plus I'll see what bargains I can get between now and Xmas. Today, I bought some carrots in Lidl for 29p and I'll prepare and freeze them for Xmas. Carrots are normally 49p so I've saved 20p.

Merry Xmas everyone. I haven't been on for a while, but I'm doing okay.


I decided to try and save £500 on my purchases this year. My total savings were £598.47 (this figure doesn't include cashback of nearly £70). I've set myself a challenge to save £800 on purchases in 2017 and the focus is going to be on spending less in general. With that in mind, I'm going to start a new diary.


Merry Xmas everyone.