I was discussing Miss Frugal the other day with someone much wiser than me last week and they said something to me that I thought was very true and something I hadn’t really thought about before:

Part of growing up is learning that some of the decisions you make will be wrong.

I filed that little . . . → Read More: Learning about Consequences….]]>

I was discussing Miss Frugal the other day with someone much wiser than me last week and they said something to me that I thought was very true and something I hadn’t really thought about before:

Part of growing up is learning that some of the decisions you make will be wrong.

I filed that little quote in the ‘useful parenting advice’ section of my brain until we had a situation yesterday where it was appropriate….

Those of you who’ve been around for a while will know that Miss Frugal can’t eat any form of processed meat as it causes quite bad abdominal migraines at worst and at best, short dizzy spells which is the pre-migraine aura – both things I wasn’t familiar with until she’d had all sorts of tests including an MRI to rule out the other more serious possible illnesses that these things can signify.

We were told by the specialist to look out for certain types of food that could trigger her attacks and after a bit of experimenting we decided the most likely suspect was processed meat (common apparently) so now we’ve been a good few months without her eating it.   She’s only been ill once in that time and that was my fault as I mixed up their packed lunches and she ended up with a sausage roll!

It might not sound like a big thing but it really is, especially to a ten year old.

She’s always eaten quite well but like most children, she was always partial to the odd ‘junk food’ meal, especially when she has friends for tea or when she goes to other peoples houses for tea.  Now she can’t eat anything lots of things that she used to enjoy and this frustrates her a little bit sometimes.

One thing she misses particularly is McDonalds which she used to enjoy and the last few weeks she’s asked me quite a few times if she could have one.   I’ve been explaining to her that it’s not worth the tummy ache that she would more than likely get if she had one and she’s replied back to that every time telling me that it would be worth it.

So, when she asked again last night I decided to let her make the decision herself.  I said to her that she could risk the tummy ache by having a McChicken Sandwich or we could make her some thing nice that we knew wouldn’t make her poorly.

Guess what she chose?

And guess who was poorly with tummy ache later on and ended up snuggled in with me with a hot water bottle?

But I didn’t say I told you so (even though I was dying to) and we had a talk about it when she was feeling better and I think it’s safe to say that she won’t be asking for any off limits food in the forseeable future!

Stealth money saving is what I call the little things that I do to save money that my family don’t know about.

For example, Mr Frugal would never, ever eat Quorn.  For no particular reason – just because he doesn’t like the thought of it.

But…. he actually eats Quorn mince at least once a week . . . → Read More: Eight stealth money saving tips….]]>  

Stealth money saving is what I call the little things that I do to save money that my family don’t know about.

For example, Mr Frugal would never, ever eat Quorn.  For no particular reason – just because he doesn’t like the thought of it.

But…. he actually eats Quorn mince at least once a week as I add some to anything that I use minced beef in to pad it out a little bit because Quorn mince is cheaper than minced beef and you really can’t tell that you’re eating it when you add it to something like I do.

So I’ve been thinking about what other secret money saving I do and I’ve come up with this little lot:

• I always squish toilet rolls a little bit so they don’t spin as easily when you go to pull some off.  I started doing this when Master Frugal was little as he used to pull loads off at once and I’ve done it automatically ever since.  

• Mr Frugal likes to use branded washing powder (even though I’m sure that Value would be just as good) so to counteract the extra we pay for the washing powder, I use about a third less than the instructions say.

• My family are cereal snobs and *think* they only eat Kelloggs Coco Pops or Frosties.  What they actually eat is own brand cereal but I take the inside bag from the own brand box and transfer it to the Kelloggs cereal box on the shelf when they’re not looking.  

• Tea bags are another thing that I buy own brand and pretend are branded.  This one was unintentional as I started buying own brand ages ago but as I always put them straight into the tea jar, Mr Frugal never realised that they weren’t the same ones that he’s always had.  It was only after a few months that I realised he didn’t know the difference so I’ve never bothered putting him straight.

• Grated carrot is a great way of hiding vegetables in food for children so whenever I make my ‘plain’ tomato sauce which we freeze and use for pasta sauces etc, I always add in some grated carrot.

• When the kids think I’m being a super cool mum making them smoothies, it’s actually because the fruit I’m using is on it’s last legs and is just about to go bad.

• I regularly buy things on sale throughout the year that I plan to give as presents to the kids for birthdays or Christmas.  I only buy things that I know they’ll like but they don’t know that they’ll like them until I point it out in the Argos catalogue or tell them how fun it looks if we see it in a shop.  Nine times out of ten, they’ll end up adding it to their wish list and think I’m a great mum for getting them what they’ve asked for.

Do you do anything sneaky to save money?

It’s been a while since I’ve joined in with Magpie Monday but it’s car boot sale season again and I got some great bargains yesterday so I thought I’d share them with you.

The first of the bargains were for Miss Frugal who’s fast becoming a little lady.  She has very strong ideas on what she will . . . → Read More: Magpie Monday – It’s been a while….]]>

It’s been a while since I’ve joined in with Magpie Monday but it’s car boot sale season again and I got some great bargains yesterday so I thought I’d share them with you.

The first of the bargains were for Miss Frugal who’s fast becoming a little lady.  She has very strong ideas on what she will and won’t wear most of the ‘won’t wear’ category consists of things that everyone else likes to wear – jeans, t-shirts and just about anything else that you’ll find her classmates wearing! She’s quite girly and loves dresses and car boot sales are a great way to get her new clothes for next to nothing.

Yesterday we found these two lovely dresses….

The white one is from the Kylie range of dresses and the pink one is a Next Signature dress that looks so much nicer than the photo shows.  Both were brilliant bargains at less than £2 each and I know she’ll get lots of wear out of them both.  We also got lots of tops from one stall for 30p each but I couldn’t get her to try them all on for me tonight.

We also bought something that we’ve all been after for a while – a plasma ball….

A great bargain at £2 and it’s a good quality one still in it’s original box so we’re pleased with our little bargain.

The last thing I wanted to show you was a new addition to our board game cupboard….

Deal or No Deal for just 50p!  Board games are so ridiculously expensive these days and we’re always on the look out for new ones to play on family game nights (although one of us always gets a little bit too competitive – looking at you husband) so car boot sales are great for picking up new games to play.

So, here’s my bargains.  If you want to nosey at some other bargains, pop over to Me and My Shadow and have a look at Magpie Monday.

You just want to lock the door, close the curtains and pretend that you’re the only person in the world.

I sometimes feel like this.  Not often but it happens.

Because sometimes I miss my mum so much and it makes me sad that she’s not here to see the things that I can . . . → Read More: Sometimes it’s hard to smile….]]> Sometimes it’s hard to smile.

You just want to lock the door, close the curtains and pretend that you’re the only person in the world.

I sometimes feel like this.  Not often but it happens.

Because sometimes I miss my mum so much and it makes me sad that she’s not here to see the things that I can see.

She’d love to see how much Miss Frugal loves clothes and make up because she used to be exactly the same and she’d be so pleased to see that Master Frugal loves to read as she used to always have a book close by.  If she was here, she’d be playing dressing up and putting make up on with Miss Frugal and she’d be listening to Master Frugal read as often as she could.

But she can’t because she’s not here and that’s what makes it hard for me to smile sometimes.

When we first got the kart, I was so excited to it that . . . → Read More: The Ginger Ninja Stig….]]> A little while ago, Argos sent me a go kart for Master Frugal to review but between the weather, a car crash and my Dad being in hospital, it’s only been this weekend that we’ve actually got to have a proper play on it!

When we first got the kart, I was so excited to it that I couldn’t wait for Mr Frugal to come home from work so I unpacked it, laid everything out on the living room floor and began.  How hard could it be, right?

But if I’m honest, it was a lot harder to build than I thought and it took me two hours to do and even then I still had quite a few pieces left over….

When he got in from work Mr Frugal looked at the leftover bits, had a quick look at the go kart and told me that the it wouldn’t fall apart just because I left out a few pieces so we let Master Frugal loose on it.  Except after about ten minutes on it, the heavens opened and it’s been one thing after another ever since which has meant it’s been sat in the garage until this weekend when we’ve finally had the chance to get it out for him to play on.

As you’d expect he absolutely loves it and he’s been pedaling up and down the street on it all weekend – he’s even discovered how to do handbrakes turns and skids.  I’m sure he thinks he’s going to be the next Top Gear presenter.  He may have even called himself the Ginger Ninja Stig at one point today!

If you ask him what he likes about the go kart he’ll tell you that he loves the off road chunky tyres and the  stickers that came with it that say ‘Bad Boy’ on them.

As a parent though I want more than tyres and stickers.  I want to know that it’s safe and sturdy, which it certainly seems to be  and if I’d paid for this, I’d want to know that I would be getting value for money.  The adjustable seat means that this will be suitable for him for a good few years so I’m happy that he’ll get a good few years use out of it.

It seems really easy to pedal and steer although the pedaling part isn’t always necessary as he gets his friends to push him in exchange for a go.  Today he’s been up and down the street countless times and he’s had so much fun – anything that encourages children to play outside is good in my eyes and this has certainly done that.

Disclosure: Argos kindly sent us the go kart to review.

I think I’m probably one of the last people to discover Pinterest.  I should rephrase that actually because I knew that Pinterest existed and I even set up an account for myself but it’s only been in the last month or so that I’ve discovered just how useful and fun it actually is.

For those of you . . . → Read More: #PinItForward – Why I love Pinterest….]]>

I think I’m probably one of the last people to discover Pinterest.  I should rephrase that actually because I knew that Pinterest existed and I even set up an account for myself but it’s only been in the last month or so that I’ve discovered just how useful and fun it actually is.

For those of you who don’t know,Pinterest is kind of like an online scrap book or mood board.  You can set up different boards and you then ‘pin’ images that you find around the internet to those boards.  I have about twenty boards covering everything from moneysaving, crafts, food, cakes and inspiration for what I want to do around the house.  You can also repin other peoples pins on to your own boards.

I’m not sure if I explained that very well but you’ll soon get the hand of it if you pop over and have a play.

My favourite board is my ‘All things thrifty, frugal and moneysaving’ board which is where I share lots of my own posts as well as lots of posts and pins from other bloggers about saving money in one way or another.  It’s a great round up of moneysaving ideas from around the internet.

And if you do sign up and want someone else new to follow, Katy from Modern Mummy will be posting all about her Weddings board tomorrow so pop over and have a read about why she loves Pinterest too.

You can sign up here if you want to try it for yourself.

Retailers are getting wise to the fact that we, as their customers, like to be rewarded for our loyalty and more and more of them are starting their own loyalty schemes.  At one point my purse was so full of these loyalty cards that I ended up having a bit of a sort out . . . → Read More: Making the most of store loyalty cards….]]>

Retailers are getting wise to the fact that we, as their customers, like to be rewarded for our loyalty and more and more of them are starting their own loyalty schemes.  At one point my purse was so full of these loyalty cards that I ended up having a bit of a sort out and the least used ones were stashed in a drawer in the kitchen but I’ve decided I’m going to dig them out and maybe have a little purse in my bag for them so I get as many rewards as possible.

So what rewards can I get with the cards I have….

Tesco Clubcard
I’m pretty sure most of you know the benefits of a Tesco club card. Basically, you get 1 point per £1 spend in store and on any Tesco Direct purchases as well as 1 point for every £2 spent on fuel – there’s lots of other ways to earn points too which you can find out about on the Tesco site.

Every 3 months, your points will be added up and you’ll be sent vouchers (1p per point) which you can then redeem in store or on the Tesco direct website for their face value or every now and again Tesco does a Summer Clubcard exchange where you can swap you vouchers for double their value for certain in-store departments.  You can also redeem them for up to four times their value with one of the companies featured in the Tesco Rewards program – there’s currently loads of theme parks and attractions featured so you should be able to find something to keep the family occupied over the Summer.

Boots Advantage Card
This is another popular loyalty card and one that I use all of the time. You earn 4 advantage points on just about anything you buy at Boots – instore and online.  Each point is worth 1p and you can redeem against the majority of products at any time as long as you have enough points on your card to pay for the item in full.  There are Advantage points dotted around most Boots stores where you can find our how many points you have as well as print out loads of special offers for things like extra points for certain products or spends over a set amount.  You also get the odd voucher for something free in store.

Don’t forget you can use your Boots Advantage card online when you shop with lots of other retailers if you go through their Treat Street site.

Ikea Family card
The Ikea family card is another good one, you get lots of benefits with this one and there’s no points collecting or redeeming to worry about.  You get special product offers and discounts off certain products, discounts off the Ikea restaurants, free product insurance to protect your purchases against damage on the way home and the occasional sale sneak peak.

The Superdrug Beauty Card
I love this one although that’s mainly because one side of it is a mirror which is great for a quick panda eye mascara check.  You get 1 point for every £1 you spend and 100 points is £1 to spend in store.  You can use the points on this card as part payment for something so you don’t even have to wait until you have enough points to pay for something in full.

Nectar card
The Nectar card is one that I don’t really use at the moment so I’m not an expert on this one but but it looks like I should be judging by the amount of companies who you can earn points with.  Looking at the site 500 points is worth £2.50 although I’m not sure how easy it would be to reach that threshold.

Costa Coffee
I hate coffee but I do love a sneaky Chai Latte when I’m shopping on my own. You collect 5 points for every £ you spend and 100 points is worth £1. You get a bonus of 100 points for signing up to their newsletter too.

The Subway Subcard
We don’t go to Subway very often but when we do, we use our Subcard to get 1 point for every 10p spent.  You can then redeem your points against the food – 2oo points for a snack, 500 points for a 6 inch sub and 1000 points for a 12 inch sub.

Have I missed any?

OK, so it wasn’t quite a near death experience but it was close….

I was driving to work today, singing away to Miss Frugal’s One Direction album (just because I know all the words does not mean that I’m a fan right?) when I saw a large . . . → Read More: My Near Death Experience….]]>

My shiny new lucky to be in one piece car….

OK, so it wasn’t quite a near death experience but it was close….

I was driving to work today, singing away to Miss Frugal’s One Direction album (just because I know all the words does not mean that I’m a fan right?) when I saw a large wheelbarrow lift up slightly from the truck directly in front of me.

I slowed down straight away but another gust of wind lifted the wheelbarrow up and blew it right out of the truck and straight towards me.  I know this sounds a bit over-dramatic but it really seemed to be coming at me in slow motion like something out of the Wizard of Oz in the tornado scene.

I obviously hit the breaks hard but as it headed towards me I genuinely thought it was going to smash the windscreen and hit me. At the last second though, the wind just seemed to drop it and it hit the road, bounced up a bit and skidded along a few feet.  By that time my car was at a complete stop and the wheelbarrow ended up about a foot from the front of my car.

How it never hit me, I have no idea and on a busy dual carriageway in rush hour, it’s just as much a miracle that nothing hit me from behind!

I didn’t dare get out of the car to move it as cars were flying by me at this point as I was at a complete stop on the carriageway and I had no idea what to do.  I was shaking so much that I couldn’t even think properly so I called 999 and started to cry down the phone at the poor woman who answered the phone.

I actually think it was worse than when I got hit by a truck a few months ago because the driver said he couldn’t see me in his blind spot! I’ve only just got my new car from that one and I still have legal people trying to get me to claim for non existent whiplash from that.

I hope that’s all my driving bad luck out of the way now – one more thing and I’m getting the train to work!