Changing our lives....

Sessie

Urgh.... dilemma... have GENUINELY left my lunch in hubby's van (by accident) so... choice is : have NOTHING to eat until I get home from work tonight or... fail "no vending machine spends in 2012" challenge!!

... gaaah, suppose I can make another bowl of porridge (have that at work for breakfast) then I get SOMETHING to eat but don't fail the challenge!! 2 bowls of porridge in a row. Yum... not!

Have had a few NSDs lately but will need to spend later today to get bits and bobs to get us to the weekend and a cake (from small Sainsbury's, not main supermarket) as it is my sister's birthday today and her other half's on Saturday but they are both coming round tomorrow.

Have brought quite a few of my "read" books to work today and put them in the box so a bit of decluttering done!

Got all the ironing done for this week too.

Tomorrow children at school all day so plan is: sweep and wash kitchen floor, clean bathroom/shower room, hoover through, long bath and finish off incredibly interesting (factual) book on 9/11.

Need to (still!)

Read gas/elec meters and give readings in
Finalise insurance claim form for fences
after that can sort skip.

x

Sessie

More stockpiling done! Went back to that Family Bargains shop yesterday and bought :

Big MacLeans toothpaste, 99p
2 x kids toothbrushes, 99p for both (they needed new ones)
1 x adult toothbrush, 99 p (ditto for me)
Mouthwash 99p (Listerine, not some random stuff)
Hot Lemon sachets 99p
Strepsils 99p
Vicks 99p
2 x 2 sachets of drain cleaner (for kitchen sink) £1.98
2 x bottles of Calpol £1.98 (not brand Calpol, but exact equivalent)

from Wilkinson's

4 bottles of shampoo/conditioner @ 2 for £1.50 - £3.00
4 x 1.5 Lenor (with Febreze) @ £2.00 each - £8.00
4 x tins of Ambrosia rice pudding and devon custard @ 2 for £99p - £1.98

Wrapping paper £3
4 rolls of sellotape £1.50

I truly and honestly think I won't need to buy any more personal hygiene/cleaning/washing products this year (although I went into my local Co-op garage and they have the 1.5 litres of Comfort (all different smells) at £1.87 each!! So I'll probably go and snaffle a few of those tomorrow, it's not like it won't get used!).

Yesterday I also hoovered through the house, cleaned both bathrooms, put two loads of washing through and dried it, tidied and cleaned kitchen and tops. Didn't get the floor done as my back was screaming by then!

Today I had a mammoth job tidying the kitchen from the meal we had last night, pans, bowls, plates, cutlery, it was like Armageddon in there!

Also found out how to make bread and butter pudding (had it lots as a child, didn't know exactly how to make it) so can now use up the last few slices of each loaf that tend to get given to the birds for a pudding for the children for a day or two each week! :money:

Have been at work since noon and am here til 8pm. Going insane as there's SO little to do, I hate it when it's quiet, makes the time go so slowly! Still, can scan the boards on and off so all is not lost!

x

Sessie

Reasonably good day today:

Took children to school this morning (1 mile walk each way)
Came back and ordered some flowers to be sent to a family friend whose husband has just passed away. Will get contributions from the other people who sent it along with me (as I paid by debit card) and put those straight in savings jar.

Have cooked bolognese and grated some swede and carrot in and chopped tiny bits of courgette and yellow/orange pepper in to have with mash tonight (and probably made enough for another meal for the four of us). Chopped the rest of the veg and frozen it to save wasting it as it won't last much longer in the fridge.

Have also arranged for children to have their next jabs next Tuesday (I'll be at work so mum will have to take them, hurrah!).

Also left a message for Council to come back to me as there is a "buses only" bollard near the school but today I saw a taxi go through it. I occasionally have to get a taxi home from work if Mr Sessie can't pick me up (bus stops quite a way from home and can't walk that far with my back problem). If taxis can go through the bollard now then that will save on the few times I need to get one.

Also arranged for a window cleaner to come and give me a price for inside and out bi-monthly. He's coming at 10 on Thursday morning. It's another job I can't do because of my back (and because Sessie doesn't "do" ladders!) but I always hate cleaning the house to spick and span-ness only to have smeary windows which, with two three year olds, is going to happen.

Have found quite a lot of shrapnel around the house lately so that's all gone in the jar and will be putting another note or two in in the next day or so. We've been very frugal of late so we won't notice if I draw something out and stick it in the jar and it will all add up to a nice "Opening Ceremony" figure at the end of November!!

Going to have a 30 min nap before heading off to pick up the children from school.

I know my days aren't that exciting or full lately but I've just come off one anti-depressant and gone onto another so am pretty low at the moment. I consider anything I've got done lately as a bonus.

x

Sessie

Goodness I need to get out more!

Have just discovered there's a new, big Lidl really near to me - now in negotiations with sister to see if we can go tomorrow night for a look round. Normally she comes with her other half and he plays computer games with Mr Sessie and we read mags and chat - each couple cooks alternately.

This week I'm dragging her to a supermarket!!!

On the flip side, I was talking to a colleage at work today who is ALWAYS complaining how skint she is and how she can't afford to even eat...who tells me, "I ALWAYS buy cheese ready grated...." - "er, that's WAY more expensive" replied I.

" Ah, but if I buy a big block I don't use it all in time and it goes off" she said.

"How about cutting a big block into smaller blocks when you first buy it and freezing the others until you need them?" I asked,
"I do the same with veg if it's on offer and I know I'll use it in due course, chop it up and freeze smaller bags of it for future meals".

"Oh I can't be bothered with all that faff...!!" is the dismissive reply.

I mean.....!! There are some people you just can't help!!

x

amber03

good to hear from you sessie, been feeling abit low at the moment myself hope it picks up now january is out of the way.

Don't some people annoy you with the ways they waste money , moan about it and expect everybody else to make it better, i love listening to and reading ways of saving money. never been to Lidl lets know how you get on.x

Sessie

Amber, sorry you're feeling low too - hopefully you have people you can talk to to help you through things and it will soon pass for you.

Had A GREAT successful "whoopsie" shop at T3sco last night as follows:

3 dented tins of peaches in juice - were 45p reduced to 22p.
4 loo rolls (T3sco luxury) - were £1.99 reduced to £0.50 as one was slightly squashed. Seriously, the littlest squash. And what exactly happens to loo roll when you use it??
Tin of T3sco custard reduced from £0.18 to £0.09 (should really have got more but I like to leave stuff for other people, more on this later!)
Tin of cheese ravioli reduced from £0.51 to £0.25
2 tins of pineapple chunks reduced from £0.54 to £0.27
Tin of Heinz spaghetti reduced from £0.60 to £0.15
Tin of mandarin segments reduced from £0.27 to £0.14
Tin of beans reduced from £0.34 to £0.17
Tin of Batchelors mushy peas *eeew! but Mr S loves them* reduced from £0.45 to £0.11p
Tin of rice pudding reduced from £0.99 to £0.50
Jar (about a jam jar size, the sticker is covering the amount!) of tomato puree (we use TONS of it) reduced from £0.70 to £0.35
Red berries/special k ecereal 375g reduced from £1.49p to £0.75
Weetabix - were £2.48 reduced to £0.57!!! just because a corner of the box was torn!!
Pack (475g) of Kelloggs Crunchy Nut cornflakes reduced from £2.00 to £1.00
18 pack of Walker's assorted meat crisps reduced from £2.16 to £0.54 because ONE packet was missing!!
6 pack of Walker's French Fries reduced from £1.40 to £0.35 again because ONE packet was missing!
Nakd apple pie bars (they are YUMMY) reduced from £2.29 (but overpriced!) to £0.57 because the pack was torn.
2 x 4 pack of lemon muffins reduced from £1.49 to £0.30
3 x cartons of fresh orange reduced from £0.49 to £0.11

All of the above "missing one" etc... I have checked and are right.

Finally, I was with my sis near the bread reductions and the assistant was still there marking down. I am attempting to induct my sister in the MSE way of living so she was scooping stuff up and I said, "no, leave something of everything for others... as you'd expect them to do for you" and the assistant perked up and said,"..another Martin Lewis fan eh?". I smiled and said yes.

She took the packs of 6 finger rolls which she had already reduced from £0.65 to £0.33 and reduced them all AGAIN to £0.13!! Six rolls for £0.13!! I took 3 packs but there were loads left. "That man (Martin)" she said, "deserves a bl**dy knighthood!". Couldn't agree more!

So that's weeks and weeks of breakfasts, lots of packups for me and the children, lots of puddings after meals and quick meals on no cook-days for next to nothing! :money:

So, now to find somewhere to PUT all this stuff and I'm going to have the rest of the day reading until it's time to pick up the little 'uns. Still getting used to the effects of the new pills so taking it a bit easier at the mo.

Have had a good few NSDs lately (yesterday almost counts as one!!) and have almost filled my first savings jar.

Window cleaner came today and quoted me £12 for inside and out which, for a 3 bedroomed house, is pretty good. It's a "not strictly necessary" expense I agree but my back problems mean if I don't use someone, they won't get done at all. Mr S works far too many unpredictable hours for him to do them too. He is starting on Feb 16th and will come around 10 am (reminder for me, I'm sure you don't need quite THAT much information on my life! :rotfl:).

x

Sessie

Listed a whole load of old CDs and a few books on zapper.com yesterday, they offered me about £23 for them all. Have "procured" a box to send them off in from work so will try to get those off soon (thing is, you have to be in ALL day on the day the courier comes to get them, so will prob be at least Monday if not Thursday of next week!). They may well deduct a quid or so as a couple of the cases have small cracks in them but hey, £20 for something that's just been sitting in the house for years? :T

Have two child-free nights upcoming so lots of surfing around to be done methinks - a few new bulk-buy sites to look at and compare prices (for frozen meat etc..) and a Groupon offer voucher to print out for a hair restyle and treatment etc.. for £16.00 at Edward Charles salons (there is one in York) instead of about £45.00!

Also need to ....brrr.... go out the back of the house when I get home tonight and sort all the recycling as we missed it last time (fortnightly collection) and it's this Friday. MUST get it all out this week as we are in danger of being taken over by plastic bottles and cans! I am at work all day tomorrow and out on Thursday most of the day from early on. The collection comes early on a Friday morning so MUST do it tonight!

That's about it for now, back soon!

x

Sessie

And then suddenly it was nearly the end of October!!

See what happens when you figure you've got this frugal thing sussed and stop coming to the boards so much. Before you know it you've slipped back into old habits and are pretty much back where you started.

Whilst we're still not in TROUBLE as such, we are living month-to-month with NO savings for any emergencies, we've started buying brands that are at eye-level rather than looking for the own-brand stuff that we KNOW is nearly always (nearly!) just as good, buying stuff we don't need because it looks good and throwing a LOT of stuff away from the fridge that's gone off because we haven't used it in time. Also, the house has slipped back into a bit of a "everything stuffed everywhere" nightmare and is driving me insane.

The twins are now just over four and at "big school" and I work three days a week 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. What with that and having to do baths and reading/homework (I know! They're FOUR!) and make packed lunches and check schoolbags and fill in forms, my working days are pretty full until gone 8 pm every night. I have Mondays and Thursdays off and I need to get myself in gear and get back to weekly meal plans, online deliveries (to avoid impulse buys/overspending) and batch cooking. I'm quite sad in that I really enjoy making up a whole load of food whilst listening to Radio 2 so that should be quite an easy habit to fall back into.

Have also been trawling the Old Style Board (my fave board on this site) for lots of tips and making notes all over the place.

Immediate plans are to have a really frugal few months (coming up to Christmas, wow I really plan these things out well don't I?) as we not only have to rein in our spending big time, we have to find money for Xmas presents. Problem is, we are so backs-to-the-wall this week that I can't even go and do a basic shop so am going to have to "make do and mend" from what we have in already. However, have pre-warned my sister I want us to start up those late-night yellow sticker raids on the supermarkets from next week.

Also have - WRITTEN - plans to declutter various areas of the house. This is one of the main things I need to do as it's getting me down not ever having anywhere to put anything.

Anyhow, that'll do for now. There's a lot more to say (and do) but today's plan was simply to come back, admit I fell off the wagon and make the promise to sort myself out. Job done.

You'll be seeing more of me round these parts MSE-ers ..

pennywisepoundstupid

Hi Sessie, good to see you back.

I know what you mean about taking your eye off the ball and its start to roll away out of control.

Good luck i'm sure you will get back into the swing off things.

PWPS.x

Sessie

Made a little progress today but have just had a call from the school to say that both children have just exploded all over (at the lower end.... shall we say) the place so can I go and get them. Just waiting for mum to come and pick me up to go and get them. They were a little poorly yesterday but seemed OK this morning, guess not though! So, not much else will get done this afternoon!

However, had just swallowed a frog and paid an outstanding bill for £180 for a Consultant appt I had early in the year that I've been putting off.

Also, have emptied out and cleaned out the fridge and microwave, put some drain cleaner down the kitchen drain and tidied the kitchen.

I also made a sausage casserole and some pasta this morning but I think I'll be giving them toast today rather than anything rich so that meal will keep over until tomorrow or Wednesday. I'd rather they were well enough to eat it though, my MSE-ness doesn't stretch to wishing my children were ILL to make meals last longer! :eek: