2018 Frugal Living Challenge

DawnW

FrankieM wrote: »

DawnW Thank you for that information...I thought it'd like freezing lettuce, though I do buy frozen spinach so goodness knows where I got that thought from!

I freeze lettuce too - only for use in soup though!

FrankieM

Lettuce soup DawnW ? Another thing to try at some point!

Mooloo Could you do a monthly or fortnightly online shop that gets delivered? I used to find that very helpful when I ran out of days in the week. It's still my preferred choice tbf..

Morning

Off to work, via the garage to drop the car off for it's MOT. Fingers crossed. I still have a bit of a chesty cough, made worse when I talk so that's going to make answering phones interesting.

DS came back last night so that'll help keep me on the straight and narrow. I've made a frittata for lunch (with spinach) and it's sausages and roasted veg for tea.

I had a Just Eat 15% off voucher sent to my email yesterday. I've not spent it, but funnily enough, not deleted it either

GlendaSugarbean

Can you organise an online grocery delivery? It's the only way I can keep the food spending under some form of control (I work f/t and don't drive so a big supermarket shop is hard to fit in).

GlendaSugarbean

Great minds Frankie!

Right, goals for the 2nd 6 months of the year. I'm going to aim to spend £600/month on all 'extra' spending, so for me that's food, personal spending, clothes and haircuts etc etc. I might need to revise that as I'm not sure what Eldest's school lunches will come in at once he has moved schools.

My current budget for all that stuff is closer to £900 (no wonder I keep running out of money!) so it will be a stretch. I'm also budgeting extra for birthdays, holidays and Christmas at approx £100/month. So let's see how we get on

Savvy_sewing

Went through my DD's and my income etc yesterday and I am way way over budget, and that's without the holidays, clothes, gifts and Christmas. My income from work is less than I used to pay myself as I have been trying to clear the overdraft at my shop, I am going to have to really find another way of earning more. The food has doubled to an adverage over the last two months to £70 a week!! I can't keep that up!
Currently I have been eating out more too!
I used to get deliveries but stopped as my cupboards were full of stuff that I don't use, still are. Stopped Muscle Foods as I was putting on a lot of weight, so my freezer is about empty now. Also stopped Approved Foods because I was buying bargains that just filled the cupboards and I have had to rethink because Dgd and I don't eat the same things anymore.
Currently I am on a diet that's all fruit and veg so more than a couple of days and it's past it's best.
But I definitely have to do something.
The savings are depleted and the credit cards are still high a year on from Biggest wedding. She had said they could afford to pay back at £1,000 a month, but actually it's less then £300 I am getting from her.
I am not going to be debt free by June 2019 anymore.

On the plus side, I am aware of it all again now, so I will tackle it as best I can. £ by £

Moll

Hello everyone , bet you thought id emigrated . Weve had a lot going on here,,and not good , My DD is pregnant with her 2nd child , When she went for her first scan , she was told that everything was wrong , ( The babies measurements, her blood etc etc,,,,,,and they even suggested the baby could have something called Edwards Syndrome , We'd never heard of it , look it up, it horrendous , lots of deformaties and the baby dies ! you can imagine how we felt, they did say thier was a test that could be done to be sure , but with it was the danger of miscarriage !! , soooo we payed for her to go private and have more extensive ( Non invasive)tests done , so we'd know whats what , and these tests came back good ?????? All said the baby was low risk for having anything wrong with it ??????? How could 2 tests be so different . Anyway she went to the hospital for a normal routine 20 weeks scan recently , and all is still good , although she does have to go back for another in two weeks , but only because they couldnt get a good enough look at the lower part of the baby , but no concerns !!!!!!! I wanted to put in a complaint for all the upset and distress , but DD said as long as the baby was ok she was fine with it , !! While all this was going on , we got a call to say my sister in law had died suddenly , she'd just turned 60 . it was one thing after another. but we are sooo relieved the baby is ok , its due nov 7th , they dont want to know the sex, they want a surprise. so . i havent been on the computer much lately ,,,,,,,,,,,,but im back , Still frugalling away as much as ever, Ill read back and catch up on what everyones been doing , Hope you are all coping with the hot weather

GlendaSugarbean

Moll sometimes the nuchal scan at 12 weeks can throw up some queries that can only be resolved with more tests - my understanding is that it only gives you the likelihood of problems, not a diagnosis. Friends have gone through the worry + amino/more testing + results, all with good outcomes. Such a worry for you all but I'm pleased you have had good news.

FrankieM

Mooloo I think being aware is a good start. You can't do anything about it if you're hiding from it. I eat alot of fresh veg and salad at the moment and it seems to last a week, though some is better than others. I've found taking things out of the shops packing and putting freezer bags helps a little?

NSD yesterday. Car passed it's MOT but it's got a very expensive £500 advisory for a shock absorber...I currently pay £21 a month for the service plan. It covers the service and MOT and and bulbs etc. Nothing big and I'm starting to wonder whether I really need to go to the VW garage and if there's a local garage that might be more economical...

I'm going to start leaving my purse at home again from today because that really helped with the NSD previously.

Tuna/onion/sweetcorn & mayo with salad for lunch and curry for tea

Frugaldom

Moll, your daughter (and everyone else associated) must have gone through hell and back with that situation but well done to all for pursuing the secondary tests. My DD paid privately for follow up scans and I was horrifiedto see they discounted prices every now and again, which she knew about, but still seems unfair having to pay to go private.

Mooloo - awareness and then preparedness - you'll get back on track and you never know what might happen; things have a strange way of working themselves out at times.

Moll

Thankyou everyone , hopefully we can have a good run now for a bit ,
Dont know if anyone will remember , but i was saving for the holiday ,and needed £930 . and i was determined to save this from the shopping money , and selling stuff .....well ive reached the £800 mark , just goes to show how little and often mounts up eventually , We go to Cornwall on July 22nd , so im plugging away to get the last bit ,,,,,,,,,we'll see ill try my best, so close Lol

Frankie M , wish you lived near me , My DH is a car mechanic , and works for himself , everyone brings thier cars to him , as he does the repairs at a fraction of the garage costs, He's supposed to be retired ............ but he doesnt like to see his friends ripped off with the local garages, They charge rediculous prices , mostly for labour not the actual car part. Do you know anyone local that could do it instead of the garage , A shock absorber isnt a big job , Hope you can get sorted , ( give a shout out on Facebook for anyone who knows a reliable mechanic )

Mooloo ( I should have been able to continue the journey but I am too soft with my adult children and I spend when depressed )

I think we are all like this . Im always bailing my grown up kids out , They think we have never ending purse strings cos "We dont need as much as them " sound familiar Lol . Still i suppose we wouldnt want them to struggle , I always buy a sack of potatoes (theres just the two of us at home untill we get invaded with family that need feeding ) ( If you have a Farm Foods a sack of potatoes is less than £3) and weve always got eggs in , That way i can rustle up a meal of "Something " with whatever i can find when i cant be bothered to cook when im feeling down , ( Or too hot lately ) Jacket spuds. chips, mashed potatoe , bubble and squeak , and Anything else i can find to put with it ,,,,,, Omelletes and whatever needs using up , the key is to have "Something" , "Anything" to go to when you are feeling hungry , and treat yourself to something nice , be it to eat , or just a small pamper FOR YOU , You are VERY important to all of us , Lets get you feeling a bit brighter xxxx sending a hug