2021 Frugal Living Challenge

flossyblog

Hi frugal friends
Total expenditure for May came in at €1122.19.  Groceries  €224.19 and bills €898. 
Had to buy new travelcard as old one expired in February, only noticed when I went to check I had enough credit for travel to get vacinated.  total cost €17.50, however there was €15 credit on my last card which was reimbursed after filling in request form. 
 mr flossys tax bill came through so it was a spendy month, June will also be high as 3 lots of insurances to pay and also my tax bill.

flossyblog

Did a quick tot up of all months to date and am very pleased with €4,067 so far for 5 months.  Total spent on groceries to date €1154 which averages out at €230.80 per month.  
We have no car so that's a huge saving, no plants bought this year as there are more than enough but would like to get some Dianthus, Pink kisses, which smell divine , although I'm not quite sure where I would put them.

willow_loulou

So as it warms up I’m thinking about winter, wood chopping (ds job) and I need to get 1 new oil rad. Just a low wattage one - just in case anyone spots a deal I thought I’d mention it! I’m also finally going round some charity shops next week! So hopeful of net curtains, that would be perfect. 

I’ve sold some bits so that’s 1.5 bags of gravel paid for! Very exciting! Food budget is set and I’ve pre done 2 Ocado orders so hopefully the month will be the £98 I’ve ordered plus milk and fruit. Fingers crossed, if I manage that I can over pay my loan again. It’s all good! 

QueenJess

I think it's going to be one of those months.  DS has lost a sun hat and so I need to buy a new one (been scouring 2nd hand ones online, but can't find what I was looking for), he has got his letter about school uniform (starting in September) and his shoes are literally wearing through (not quite a hole yet).  At least his feet seem to grow really slowly, so he really does wear his shoes out.  I will stretch them until we buy shoes for school.

We only have to buy school jumpers at least and the rest is generic.  Been scouring second hand options etc and think I have a plan, with most coming second hand and some new where it isn't worth it as it is pretty cheap.  I guess I also need to get some name labels too.  It's going to be fun... I'm sure there's other stuff too that I won't have thought about!  Already deliberating on how we are actually going to juggle school once I go back to work, but it's giving me a headache!  Do I go part time for school days, properly part time with flexible hours or something else?  Do we need any days where DS should be in an after school club?  What will we do in holidays? Do I go back to work for 1 year (required as I signed up to that) and stay/go part time or do I leave or take a career break?  Too much to think about!

fionaandphil

@QueenJess I remember it well, my DS has started secondary school this year and we had to order all his things online without the benefit of being able to try them for size.  For sun hats, have you tried a local charity shop?  They sometimes have them in the bargain corner for 50p or £1.

In terms of school uniform, my advice would be not to buy too much.  We had two pairs of trousers, two sweatshirts which got changed over part way through the week and then 6 polo shirts so he had one for each day and one extra for when the washing wasn't done on time.  You will also need to find out about PE kit for school which tends to stay there and things like school bags which they can be quite specific about.  I waited until Sainsbobs had their 25% off sales and then picked up school uniform then.
  
We ordered labels online and had sewn in ones (don't order too many I have hundreds!), but I've also ordered some stick on ones which go on clothes and things like lunch boxes and water bottles, they are a bit more expensive but last all through the school year.  The company I use are on some cashback sites and they sometimes have 20% off if you are ordering outside the main period, dm me if you want their name.  Good luck - lots of fun ahead!

QueenJess

Thanks @fionaandphil.  It definitely feels like this is the start of a slippery slope of expense!  My nearest charity shops are in town (20 min drive and expensive parking) away and that just isn't happening with a newborn.  I organise myself and get things ordered usually between 1am and 5am when I am begrudgingly awake cuddling a reflux baby!  I am also very picky with hats and anything relating to the sun as I am basically the whitest person you have ever seen and I only come in bright white or bright red    Will suck up the expense this time as at least I know he will get good use out of it.  Will be able to stack two cashback offers against it at least...

Ah yes - I had concluded I should get the sew in labels for clothes and counted how many I thought I needed.  Will measure DS later as he is not a "regular" size (whatever that is!).  He has short legs and very skinny, so am looking at adjustable waist trousers.  Found some online second hand though, which I am watching.  Also considering canvassing the street (there are only 7 houses in my road) as there are at least 5 children who go to the same school and may have some second hand clothes to come my way.. Just don't want to leave it all too late and find there is nothing left anywhere!

PE kit I approve of as it is just jogging bottoms/shorts, t-shirt and plimsoles/trainers and they can all be any colour.  So will be easy to source wherever really and probably second hand.  Not sure what else he will need as they will have free school meals and I believe they provide stationery.  Will probably find out in the various meetings we have coming up at the school.

fionaandphil

@QueenJess yes school should provide you with a list this month and let you know what you will need.  It may be worth asking the street about what they needed, it might prompt somebody to ask if you would like their stuff that's too small.  Some schools also offer second hand for a nominal price to raise funds for school.  Our school didn't do that but I've always passed on the trousers and jumpers to friends and then sent the remainder to the charity shop.  Last year the local food bank put out an appeal for clothes too.  Remember with the sew in labels that you can cut them out again when you are finished with them, and if you have more than one child, possibly just put their surname and then you can use with both children?

QueenJess

fionaandphil said:

@QueenJess yes school should provide you with a list this month and let you know what you will need.  It may be worth asking the street about what they needed, it might prompt somebody to ask if you would like their stuff that's too small.  Some schools also offer second hand for a nominal price to raise funds for school.  Our school didn't do that but I've always passed on the trousers and jumpers to friends and then sent the remainder to the charity shop.  Last year the local food bank put out an appeal for clothes too.  Remember with the sew in labels that you can cut them out again when you are finished with them, and if you have more than one child, possibly just put their surname and then you can use with both children?

Luckily the school have already said that at all meetings we are booked in for and a stay and play event in July, there are second hand clothes available. Will definitely ask the neighbours too though.. I knew there was a good reason we were friendly with them 😄

The surname only is a stroke of genius! I have a very unusual surname, so that will work perfectly! Is there a specific place you suggest for name tags? I stupidly assumed one sew in name tag is pretty much like any other?

fionaandphil

@QueenJess our sew on ones came from Wovenlab*lsuk.com we ordered 144 at the time and I think probably still have at least 90 unused   The stick on ones are from mynamet*gs and because you can't cut them off I have ordered from them every few years for lunch boxes, shoes etc  I don't know how either of these compare in terms of price but at the time they were good and both have great customer service.  I have just remembered we had some iron on labels too at one point but these were very hit and miss so I wouldn't recommend them.

annieb64

Check out the supermarkets  for sunhats-got DGS a couple from A**a. He's  a nightmare for losing things.