It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

annieb64

We keep a bucket in the shower as our bathroom is on the second floor so the water takes a few minutes to warm up. We also have  two pint plastic milk bottles which we use to collect water from the wash basin tap. I've noticed that four pints of cold water come out of the tap before it warms up.

JinJinBlue

I don't live very far from Chester,  so a walk around the city walls  is good. Also a walk down by the river is worth doing  for bird spotters and watching the boats.

Look out for church  coffee  mornings too. The church that I  attend has one and anybody is welcome. It's warm,  friendly and  has coffee /tea and cakes at a fraction of the price of local cafés.

We have a Sally Am charity shop not far away and they also have a cafe. Some local colleges  have free classes so it might be worth  looking into that. 

Garden centres are good to visit too especially when they have their  Christmas  decs up. Last year,  in one we had singing  abominable  snowmen that sounded remarkably like  Bing Crosby. 🤣☕

London_1

Some good hints here chums for place to go to keep active in the winter. I get my two free coffees per month from Dobbies that I pay £10.00 a year for ,also get good discounts on gardening,and childrens books etc there.My eldest DD also has a Dobbies card but she only uses it towards Christmas so I get her two coffees per month free as well they also send you a voucher on your birthday for two hot drinks and squashy cake or scones as a treat so well woth the £10.00.I have a loyalty card for Beefeater chain which sends you a free mains dinner voucher on your birthday and also a loyalty card  for another pub chain that does the same .

I'm a happy grandma today as my youngest grandson Mikey got three 'B's in his A levels and has got a confirmed place at his Uni of choice in Essex. Bearing in mind the troubles his year has had with covid and lockdowns I'm really pleased for him I think he was aa bit shocked as he had done at least half of his studies online at home inhis bedroom Good luck to all the youngsters who took their exams this year 

I am drawing in my horns now, and looking at as many economies as I can, fingers crossed we will all manage to get through this bad patch and come out the other side even stronger.

I bought the Lidl's air fryer at the weekend as I had been sent a refund on my October break. I was supposed to be going to Wales for five days, but the company has now changed the destination to Ilfracombe in Devon. As I had paid for the holiday back in May, apparently they owed me a refund, So I decided to splash out on the Lidls airfryer at £29.99. Just the right size for me as its not too big. and I still have £20. surplus which will go into my holiday cuppa's fund
Every little helps   

JackieO xx

Skibunny40

Thanks for the tip about Dobbies, JackieO.
I never realised about the 2 free coffees but that's well worth it so I've just signed up.
Although in a sign of the times, it's £12 a year now, but still excellent value as I go there quite a lot on the run up to Christmas, and I made sure to give my birthday month as November!

sammy_kaye18

I dont know if we have a Dobbies near us but with the amount husband travels I am making sure he has signed up to greggs rewards etc as he usually stops in to get coffee and breakfast there when hes travelling. 

I am just getting ready to go out with the kids to do some blackberry picking to see if we can get a good haul to make some jam with to put into our stock cupboard :-) 

Shirl62

sammy_kaye18 said:

I dont know if we have a Dobbies near us but with the amount husband travels I am making sure he has signed up to greggs rewards etc as he usually stops in to get coffee and breakfast there when hes travelling. 

I am just getting ready to go out with the kids to do some blackberry picking to see if we can get a good haul to make some jam with to put into our stock cupboard :-) 

Hi 👋🏻 - mainly a lurker on here but have read your posts over the years.   Not sure if you know but if mobile is through O2 on their rewards app there is free coffee and breakfast bap at Greggs each week.  

DuranGirl

Question for the group: I'm going full-tilt on online surveys now and the pennies seem to mount up over time. Most of them pay into PayPal and I've been using them to buy presents and tiny treats for me (eg the odd second hand book). What do people think would make better use of that cash over the coming months - carry on as usual, add to my emergency fund or slap it on mortgage OPs?

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options, even for such small amounts.

boultdj

I've been adding mine to emergency fund from the paypal ones, the others I've took the amazon vouchers for as you can get bulk food, fresh food, morrisons from them, so for me, that work's, but you might be better with the mortgage over payment's with how interest rates are going up, or a 50/50 split between them.

Siebrie

@DuranGirl I would keep it for extras and treats. You said it's pennies, so they won't really add to your normal budget, and may be just the thing to cheer you up while the real budget gets spent on necessities.

dp1

Lurking to ask which online surveys are the best to try?
I've thought about it before but don't really know how they work
Thanks x