NST April - SPRING INTO ACTION

Bobarella

Look at that signature Calling!!!!

greent

Calling14 wrote: »

Week 4 challenge -Being Frugal - preaching to the converted here.:)

This weeks challenge
Do at least 3 frugal things a day - feel free to share any ideas eg free days out, drying washing outside, anything extreme to make us laugh.

Aim to devour 3 frogs this week- things you have put off doing for ages)

Thanks, Calling


I know it starts tomorrow, but my frugal things today -
washing clothes with HM laundry gloop - made with free hotel soap bars
drying said clothes outside
using lots of leftovers up to make various meals for dinner tonight


My frogs will be:
-sorting out 3 x renewal passport applications
- checking for cheaper car insurance quotes
- charity paperwork
- festival emails
(I know that's 4 but they're my most desperate/ important ones!)


Today and yesterday have been SFDs. Tomorrow may/ may not be - I have to do some shopping for someone else, so may pick up some bits for us (eg milk)


x

Calling14

Bobarella wrote: »

Look at that signature Calling!!!!

Exciting another £60 and I will paid off 10k:j

Spent too much in Aldee this afternoon maybe up my total budget now.
Nice walk with a friend and good chat. Makes you realise how lucky you are when you see what others have to deal with.

Sat down with Gin and tonic, too comfy now, need to go and walk friends dog.

shyspender

Hiya Turtles,

I'm still cheerleading, all be it very quietly.

Some of you may have seen this, and I'm pretty sure she won't mind me copying it here, here is a post from our former leader:

Hello Ninja Turtles - how is this month panning out for you! Nearly done so chin-up! I'm one full pay packet into my new job - planning, piloting and number crunching is underway...
Just a quick tea break share... Cause my broke !!! is pleased as punch with a free donut! 😊😊😊
"Know your rights even down to the smallest penny..."
This mentality is what enabled me to grapple back pennies owed by companies I'd left who owed me £10 here, an unbanked cheque from BT for £9.43 there and bank charges (not PPI) that were a one off returned to me as a goodwill gesture its because I simply ASKED FOR IT... Even years later!
The donut example...?
Yesterday I bought a donut for The Boy - mainly because Id finished his chocolate without telling him (haha) and got home realising they'd given me the wrong one.
I complained (nicely) and was duly offered a free one to pick up in store! Whoop! One way to make a grown man happy...
$3.60 is not much is it. But $7.20 is a return tram journey. I am in the midst of re-establishing my MSE roots and need to be so very careful... Why should my pennies pay for someone else's mistakes. (I'm gonna stop eating what's not mine by the way to avoid having to spend in future...☺...)
BUT it ALL adds up!!!
My job right now is helping people with complaints mainly around misplaced money. YIKES!! It's worth checking what you might be owed or what cancellations haven't been lodged by unscrupulous blas! companies and being bold about it.. It's amazing what people are owed because they don't go through their expenditure with a fine tooth comb... Or keep a track of pennies..!
So tell me....What are you owed?...

mothernerd

Spendy day as I have bought myself a new quilt and four new pillows (long term need on the list for buying once debt freedom was achieved) + 2 large cushion inners, all in anticipation of DS3's friends arriving to celebrate his birthday. I have been putting the old pillows (re-made up to 3 times until what is left is a hard grey lump) into the bin over the past few weeks when I have had space). I am having the new ones and friends can have mine (bought last time we had a few people staying).

Things to be grateful for/ made me happy
new quilt - no more freezing bits when I turn over in the night (been managing with a single since last big friends round swap around)
new pillows
lovely sunshine - will have to start hay fever pills and lashings of sun lotion soon
small dog trying to take DS3 on
yummy food
local history day with my new (very unlikely) friend

Will tackle the frogs this week - think mine are breeding atm

Pollygarter

Hello all, I don't have any extreme frugalities to report but have been plugging away at work to clear decks before a weeks leave which didn't allow for much spending. Did a ten hour day which was more than enough for me.

I also paid off a debt which leaves just one card now to clear and my debt is in the 5ks. This is really pleasing. I've decided to sell my current car also. I've always disliked it, and it's not worth a great deal but I've been offered a family handmedown for £1k and it's always been looked after and probably has a good two or three years in it. So I may be able to take a chunk more off the debt once I sell. I also put a small sum into my maybe savings pot. I've set up two savings pots. One where it goes in and hopefully stays in...and one which is my emergency type pot. The plan is that this builds up and then I scoop into the long term pot as it gets higher. So far that hasn't happened as I keep having domestic disasters but I still think the principle is worth working at. I'm a spendthrift and am wanting to set up some healthier savings habits which I hope to embed whilst I'm knocking off the debt so that as the debt payments dry up cos I've paid them off, I don't then take all that surplus income and spend it on knickers, shoes and holidays. Instead, I push the extra no longer needed for debt two ways into long term saving and into projects and home maintenance.

On we go!

Bobarella

Polly all sounds very sensible as a plan. The fact you are already mortgage free is amazing anyway, you can totally pay off those last few ££s.

Frugal things I do/am doing

1. Making all my own baby food. The cost of the pouches is so high considering the grams of food contained. It really is a very easy job to puree up food for a baby and this is saving me/our household around £5 a week now. Or not costing us £5 a week maybe a better way of putting it.

2. Accepting all offers of hand on items for the baby.
When I went through some of the items I'd paid for, when my son was born 7 years ago I now feel ill. £20 converse crib shoes anyone? No me neither. Since having DD we have been given bag fulls of girls clothes from a friend with 2 girls of 7 and 4 who no longer wants the items. I do get the odd pang when seeing cute clothes in Next and so on but I save for my daughter every month instead. She doesn't know what she's wearing anyway. Probably have saved £200 already in the last 6 months on not buying.

3. Cutting our own hair. My husband started off doing his own with clippers. Then he did our son's. I am always short on time anyway and have long hair I just shove in a bun/top knot anyway so letting my husband cut my hair felt an ok decision for me. Saving time and money. In the couple of years since I last went to a salon I must have saved around £300 as the average cut and blow dry is now £40 in a normal salon and a lot more in the big name ones like Toni and Guy.

thriftylass

Wow, loads of debt busting and frugality going on :j.

Bob kids' hand me downs are great. DS now 5, has lived most of his life in hand me downs from his cousins. Apart from vests etc and the odd pair of shoes he's been clothed for free so far. With DD we are not so lucky but she's been dressed in her brothers clothes for a while, or mostly clothes bought with vouchers or in Tesco. You're right they don't mind....YET :rotfl: make the most of it.

I also cut my DS hair, after 5 years of practice getting quite good at it and he's got a proper short sides and back kinda style :cool:.

Really productive night again last night. We're on a roll. Dh painted another wall of the shed. Got a big cupboard decluttered and the shelves sorted by themes: games, lego, craft, painting and drawing etc. Also got some more crocheting done.

Dealing with my first frog today. Took my leather boots to work and will see what the cobbler says.

Ended one of my ebay listings, it was getting too weird :eek:. Was fun at the start and a little dare but that was enough :cool:


Healthy lunch and run today.

EDIT: just back from the cobbler, gosh that was like a time warp. Not been in one since I was a child, the smell etc. Anyway, he was really surprised I let my boots getting repaired, maybe my perceived age and hooded cardi threw him. He said it would be expensive. It will be £24 for a stitch repair and a complete re-sole. Those boots are £110 new (got them in sale years ago) and even on ebay they are 70 so I went for it, could never replace them for under £30.

Calling14

Good Morning everyone.

Happy to report paid 60 pounds off my cc today now cleared 10K and one pound hehe:dance:

Thanks to all of you keeping me focused.:grouphug:

Starting the weekend in a very good mood. Seeing grandson later, haven't seen him for over a week, phoned me up crying last night as he missed me. Happy to have snuggles with him later.:)

Will report back with today's frugal goings on later.:rotfl:

thriftylass

Calling14 wrote: »

Happy to report paid 60 pounds off my cc today now cleared 10K and one pound hehe:dance:

Well done, what a milestone :beer: