Our attempt at being MF!!

edinburgher

Our groceries are out of control. Big shop + 3-4 top up shops. I spent £440 in February!

CathT

I've only transferred in to PB but it has been straightforward enough. Just trying to make our money work for us as much as possible but it's not easy. A win would be nice though.

Do you know why they are higher Ed? I'm convinced I miscalculated in January as we didn't seem to eat anything different to February but had a big difference in amount spent.

Today has been mixed, Ds poorly with a high temp which once down and under control troll lulled him into a false sense of feeling well. Started to feel poorly once the temp went back up but nicely controlled with ibuprofen. We are armed with a survival kit of thermometer, medicine and water for overnight. He's flat out so hoping he can sleep through it. 

The wind is pretty bad here tonight and we've had more rain so perhaps another cancelled football match tomorrow. Surely Spring weather must be just around the corner now?

Finally got around to starting a new book as I tend to struggle after finishing one and have a lull in reading. Managed a few chapters earlier so hopefully have 20 minutes of reading and then a good nights sleep! 

PurpleFairy26

greent said:

PurpleFairy26 said:

Can I ask about putting money in and out of PB. Is it straightforward? - we have some in there just a small amount but often have 'savings I that won't be spent until later in the year and it would be good for it to possibly do something thanks to the rubbish savings rate, so PB would be an option. 

We've used it before to put money in for tax bills (a particularly horrendous one one year of about 15K extra to what had already been paid....  ) - easy nowadays to transfer in - can do it by debit card. Transfers out also painless and direct to your nominated bank account within 2-3 days. Prizes can also be paid direct to you bank account or reinvested

Thanks so much, much appreciated. 

CathT

We actually have sunshine so I'm making the most of the breeze/sun combination and have changed all the beds ready to attempt to line dry the washing. Let's hope this is the end of the relentless storms and Spring is in the air. The garden is a mess and I'm keen to get out there and sort it. Can no longer have plants in pots due to a puppy of the digging nature so need to get creative to make it look pretty. We are hoping to get new fencing along one boundary so am thinking of some planters that will hang on the fence.

Overpaid £3 yesterday as used some t3sco vouchers instead of cash, We only managed £25.70 of 'free money' overpayments in Feb but it's certainly better than nothing and food spends were £100 lower than January! Someone is coming to collect an item later so hopefully that will be £5 for the OP pot to start us off for March. March is going to be another tight month but I do love a frugal challenge!

edinburgher

I heard on BBC News this morning that we've just experienced the wettest February on record (I can believe that)!

Kids can be so fickle with illnesses. DD is the same - always seems fine and then she has a wobble/temperature spike round about dinner time. It's now so routine that we don't panic, but it's obviously distressing for her.

Re. groceries, our eating habits are changing slightly. On the one hand, I'm trying to use a few more vegan ingredients in our cooking etc. and some of the switches are dear. For example, oat milk (apparently the most sustainable alternative to coo juice) can cost double the price. DD still on the coo juice. In addition to that, have been trying to do our bit for the environment by switching in a few organic ingredients (same problem). In addition to those points, our food storage isn't great and we usually have to top up shop. When we change the kitchen, I'll find room for a larder (larger) fridge and possibly a chest freezer. 1/2 of our top up shops could be avoided if we had spare bread, milk and cheese stashed somewhere.

Just to top off the devastation, we did a coffee order last month (£50 on beans) and a wholefoods order (£35, different beans)!

debtfreeoneday

That's exactly what I think re larger fridge / freezer! 
Hope DS is better, mine is still very up and down.  coming up to 72 hours of high / low temps!

CathT

You can tell just by looking at little ones when their temp has gone back up can't you. Hope your little one better soon debtfree, my Ds is temp free but still has a cough. Was unimpressed at going to school today especially as I have a day off! 

Top up shops are to be avoided unless you are really restrained! I've been to the r@nge for dog food this morning and had to walk straight to the pet section and avoid anything else. Sometimes I'll go to HB as the bread is 2 for £1.50 which is hardly worth it by the time I've spent £20 on candles and cleaning stuff! Did pick up some yellow sticker coriander, peppers and grapes today, all of which we will use. 

A savings account has matured today with almost £25 interest so I've topped it up slightly and transferred it all to PB. We have around £5k now so a win would be nice. Also had £75 in a bills account which has built up since cancelling a direct debit. Was tempted to overpay it but have transferred to current account as things are tight this month (self inflicted). 

£5 mortgage overpayment yesterday as sold an item on fb, hopefully a few NSD's ahead although I will need petrol. 

It did look like Spring was returning here so I line dried some washing, thankfully Dh has brought it in due to a random hail shower! 

March spends
Supermarket £19.38
Fuel 

CathT

It feels like this week is whizzing by already - I blame having an extra day off! Trying to use up food we have to avoid spends which means I'm eating some interesting carb heavy mixes. Am hoping as there weather warms up I'll be more inclined to eat salad! 

Dh has moved some furniture around today freeing up a tv stand that is destined for the skip. I was hoping to send it to charity shop but forgot it was broken at the back and held together with tape - definitely a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'.

ds still isn't right, coughing, grumpy and not eating quite as much as usual so hoping he's back to feeling 100% soon. 

Small food shop today which was a result of our meal planning and a conscious £6 spent. Continuing to snooze on the cc but will need to clear holiday balance sometime this month after bill is generated. Money sat in PB which sadly didn't give us a win this month so not having any beginners luck there!

March spends

Supermarket £25.38
Fuel £30

debtfreeoneday

DS still not right but definitely on the way back up!  He's demolished a bottle of calpol during the last 6 days!
Had to lol at spending £1.50 on bread and then blowing it on candles!  
I'm off to check PB now, I didn't even realise you could check on line!  Doh!  We just moved to having the winnings paid rather than a cheque so I'll miss the excitement of the cheque dropping on the doormat now!

CathT

These bugs are lingering aren't they, hopefully he's over the worst for you now. 

Today's spends were £30 on fuel. Dh has made a Thai curry to use up mushrooms and peppers that wouldn't have been used for much else. 

I have got the premium bonds app, not that it has revealed anything exciting and now it's just countdown to the next draw. 44p payable on tcb so will request and overpay that now.

March spends 

supermarket £25.38
fuel £60