NST Super September Scrimping challenge

Calling14

Thanks Thrifty for cheering me up sorry to have caused so much controversy. Happy to sit out rest of the month on the naughty step with my throw and twig lights - at least it will be cozy. Have to agree feel so much happier at home with few items added.

Howling at cow idea and determined new ms bf eating it. Made me laugh and think I needed it, had a sleepless night worrying about money.

Going to work on budgets later as need to find money for disc brakes next month.

Grateful for
Today will be a SFD.
Lunch made - red pepper and lentil soup.

Have a lovely day turtles x

ChasingSunshine

This is my last check in for the month as head off for my cousins wedding tomorrow at some middle of the night time and don't know what the wifi will be like. Looking forward to some sunshine and lots of lovely Italian food. :j:j So far am under budget for the month but didn't have much for savings. Didn't manage as many NSD as had hoped, often due to my sweet tooth or just not being as organised as I would like. Work in progress but like a turtle slow and steady will win the race (eventually) :money:

Was really stressed over money in the last few days as made a muddle of my budget and wasn't sure I would have enough available cash to cover all the moving costs to the new place. But was paid yesterday and its a little extra from some overtime plus my brother is bringing €s he owes me at the weekend. If I am strict should all be fine now and can convert that cash into £ if needed. Just hate that I might be caught short if I have underestimated how much some of the fees etc will be. See October will need to very frugal so thank you Mothernerd for organising it.

f0xh0les

Interrupted sleep last - DS4 was whimpering, had a bit of a temperature, so gave him paracetamol and he went back to sleep. Was still up 2 x with him though. Then DS2 kept getting up every 15 minutes from 4.30am. He is 13 today. I kept shouting 'go back to bed' and 'not yet '. Gave up at 6.25 So tired.

DS4 is off school as he can't eat. More paracetamol. Took DS3 in and spoke to the office about #4. He was the 3rd this morning to ring in sick from his class. DS3 was horrid as #4 was staying home so he deliberately dragged his heels and made DS1 and 2 late and have to sprint out of the car and into their school.

I hope they don't get an after school detention. They may *just* have scraped in by the skin of their teeth. I am livid with him. Probably jealousy about birthday gifts too, but they have to learn!! he is nearly 10.

So DS4 is home and has helped with the hoovering, and tidied his bedroom and put his laundry away. Tried to tempt him with half a kiwi and a few bits of pineapple, but he says it tastes funny.
Tea however is fine. Will try him with a piece of toast at lunchtime.

Grateful that I am now allowed to miss harvest festival at school. They do this odd thing, where you donate food for the harvest festival, but have to send your kids in with money as well, and then the kids buy the donated food, and then the school donates the money to the chosen charity (usually the foodbank). So you pay out for the items, send them in, spend more money on buying stuff back, usually for less than it cost you to buy it. I would rather just give them the money!

So,enforced NSD as I can't go out! #16 I think. All presents bought yesterday - some YS too! The Ladybird book of the Zombie Apocalypse being my favourite bargain at 60% off. What more could a 13yr old boy want? A returned 3DS XL? yeah, one of those too. Bargain.

Me time - none with Mr Small about. Just call me Florence

Will make chocolate mudslide birthday cake with fizzy Colin the Caterpillars for DS2. Not going out for a meal without DS4 so will put it off until the weekend, which is after Friday payday, so DH might pick up the tab on that one.

Right, off to mop the fevered brow, and continue the house cleaning.

Lauralozzle

Today has been a very spendy day, but I knew it would be as I've paid off both the photographer and cake lady for the wedding.

To be honest, I'm happy that I've paid off most wedding supplies now - just need a few more bits and then that will be it! Photographer was paid this morning - £790 and cake lady this afternoon which was £265. My card has taken a battering over the last two days! I am expecting some wedding related bits through the post in the next few days, throwing confetti, table confetti and some name tags I can use for seating plan. I could do with sorting out the seating plan now properly so I know where everyone will be sitting. I am also expecting a fully itemised quote from the venue now that all the food choices from the guests are in and venue are aware. It'll be nice knowing extactly how much is outstanding. I know that it must be paid two weeks before the wedding.

I think I'll be happier once everything is paid for. It'll let my mind rest as everything is feeling a little more hectic at the moment! I got some candles for table decorations today from IKEA but they are too big so we will go back tomorrow and exchange them for smaller ones. It should be cheaper though, so that will be some money saved.

Most big things are paid for now - only things left are a couple more table things, suits, flowers, gifts, hair and makeup and remaining venue payment. Most of these are payments to be made two weeks before the wedding or on the day (hair and makeup).

Kerry_Woman

Day 27
Managed another SFD 17/18
Walked 20 minutes and brought in lunch to work.
Read my book on bus/at lunchtime and chilled out in the staff room before work.
Using food etc already in.
Grateful for:
Getting through the day in work - had found today difficult.
Good bus links getting home.
Getting in at a reasonable time tonight.
Having mashed potatoes with my dinner tonight - comfort food.
Picking another book to read for tomorrow, just in case I finish reading my current book.

DawnW

Day 27 - where has the month gone :eek:
SFD today :T Made a loaf in the BM with ingredients I already have, rather than buying bread
No heating, might still put the airing cupbord radiator on though...
Not much exercise, unless you count helping to wrestle an old mattress downstairs and into a suitable shape to fit into the car :rotfl:
Using up - soup from freezer for lunch, dinner from freezer and garden

greent

SFDs - still 12/18

Extra monies/ debt repayment - £5 to BTL mtge from c.ac round-ups and £10 to kitchen fund from fleabay sale (2 other items sold, but they were DS3's toys, so he has the money)

Food - running total £387.39/ £450. - spent £35.49 in Tesco today - all bar around £5 was on YS - got some good bargains on rump steak, f1nest chorizo, packs of duck, f1nest lardons, chicken breasts and veggies :T:T

Eating up/ using up stuff - Not so good today. In a funk atm, time of year (knowing days are just going to get shorter and colder) doesn't help and everything is feeling a struggle with regards to juggling 3 different schools/ school runs/ timetables/ ac=fter school activities and diy/ getting people in to sort stuff and... and.... and... Very much frst world problems, I admit :o Anyway, as I was in a funk and in a rush timewise (afternoon performance of DS2 in next town - left home 1pm to go and see it - got back 6.35pm - and I have to go back and collect him from afternoon performance at 9.30pm) I treated myself to a Tesc0 meal deal and had yummy pasta and chicken & bacon salad. Kept the snack for DS2 and the drink for DS1. Total cost £3 - which I have included in food spends above.

Lunches taken - 3 x packed lunches for boys Naughty lunch for me....:o:o

Social life - None.

Exercise - New week 0/3.

Beauty - £4.73/ £10

Time for self - Nope. But this week was never going to be good....

Heating off - yep. Even got washing line dried this morning. It's now p-ing it down, but my washing is dry (and all ironed :j)

Gratitudes:
* DS2's face when he saw me in the audience
* enjoying the performance far more than I expected to!
* meeting some other Y7 parents to talk to afterwards
* being easily satisfied by a £3 meal deal (of which I only consumed the 1 item) - not too bad for mindless spending to cheer me up compared to what I have done in the past!
* DS1 babysitting DS3 whilst I was out earlier - and also whilst I'm out later!
* my mum collecting DS3 from school
* other mum's letting me know details from the meeting about DS3's residential that I missed this afternoon

Off to prep lunches for tomorrow before whisking DS3 off to bed
x

greent

f0xh0les wrote: »

Grateful that I am now allowed to miss harvest festival at school. They do this odd thing, where you donate food for the harvest festival, but have to send your kids in with money as well, and then the kids buy the donated food, and then the school donates the money to the chosen charity (usually the foodbank). So you pay out for the items, send them in, spend more money on buying stuff back, usually for less than it cost you to buy it. I would rather just give them the money!

Our primary used to do this - the stipulation being that donations had to be fresh fruit and veggies - except you'd pay more for the stuff which the kids bought (on an auction basis) - my daughter once paid £1 for a bruised apple one year - and another year £1 for a small, limp bunch of celery (and we were going on holiday to Portugal that night, so it wasn't wanted in any way, shape or form!) (plus celery is minging!)

Thankfully now they ask for donations of food/ toiletries for the local foodbank instead - much better. I've got my stash for next week ready - it includes 10 tins of shaving foam and 12 C0lgate toothbrushes (all courtesy of Emirates airlines!), a bag full of random ration pack meals/ accompaniments from DS2's camp/ exped and a couple of tins of fruit from my pantry (one of which may have come back from DD's uni halls!) I shall top it up with biscuits and tinned rice pudding - I'm a big believer in putting 'treat' things in foodbank collections - they get swamped with baked beans and pasta (around 25% of our local foodbank's food store at one time was just baked beans!!!) - and let's face it, a bag of food items can be cheered up immensely by having a bourbon to go with your cuppa/ feed to the kids after school And tinned rice pudding can be eaten cold and still tastes nice - a quick and easy, filling pud for which gas/ elec isn't totally necessary
x

Sun_Addict

A very spendy day for me as bought the euros for our trip to Lanzarote next week. All planned for though. Had to buy milk, bread and bananas too.

Exercise 20,174 steps walking to and from work plus lunchtime walk.

Was hoping for another SFD tomorrow but need a balloon pump for work MacMillan coffee morning.

misstara

A NSD so 9/18, will hopefully at least manage to get into double figures this month

Me time - OH has been in bed all night with a migraine so watched a girly film, also phoned my sister and had a good natter.

Payday tomorrow for me, looking forward to making a payment towards the debt