A Year of Living Frugabulously

Mags_cat

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Crumbs, you're exceedingly erudite Mags_cat :T what a lovely word, will have to try that one on Grumpy when we're playing WWF. I love your signature :rotfl:

Ithankew But I'm not...it's just one of those words I was taught that just sort of stuck. Luckily I did not discover it by means of my opponent springing it on me in a game of Scrabble/WWF!

RosaBernicia

Lula, have you signed up for the self-shop thing at Waitrose? I forget what they call it but basically you register a card and collect your own zapper - means you can pack as you go and also keep track of the total.

Rosa xx

Lula-Hula

Hello again,

Rosa - I haven't signed up for the zapper thingy; when it was first brought out I tried to, but at that time it was only available to people who had John Lewis accounts ... is it now available to the proletariat, or do I need to sign up for a JL cc ?

Sunday was a successful shopping trip; one x pair of cosy pyjamas for DD at just £2 in the primarni sale, & another pair of just £6 in new look sale - luvvly jubbly.

I used my £5 off a mascara voucher in Boots & also got the points from myonline Christmas self-gifting spree. I now have over £50 worth of points on the card & have plenty more points to gain in the next few weeks, so I'll top up my skincare stash to make the most of it

We were both bored after a couple of hours & keen for our roast dinner so came home, happy with our simple purchases .

I've clearly been working with boys for too long; been watching the footie :eek: Actually, that's not strictly true, I was watching Thierry Henry, who just happened to be playing football . Poor Laidback Dude is going to be in tears tonight

Work still a strange place, everyone a bit tense but I maintain my usual cheery outlook. It's always tough working while DD off school, but I had no home-job work yesterday so we went to the cinema yesterday afternoon.

We saw Woman in Black which was pretty good; plenty of jumpy moments for sure & not sure why but the tickets were only £12.50 & parking was £3.30, but we took our own snacks & drinks so £15.80 was the total cost; the cheapest cinema trip yet :j.

Work-job tomorrow & then off on Friday. No plans yet, other than a bit of lie-in; we're both feeling a bit run down, headachey & tired.

Savings updates soon ...

G'night
xx

taxi73

everything sounding fab except headachy..hope you feel better soon

RosaBernicia

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Rosa - I haven't signed up for the zapper thingy; when it was first brought out I tried to, but at that time it was only available to people who had John Lewis accounts ... is it now available to the proletariat, or do I need to sign up for a JL cc ?

It's available to mortals now too (they turned me down for a Waitrose CC :eek::mad::p so have had to wait for my contribution)

Rosa xx

Lula-Hula

Thanks for that info Rosa :A, I may well investigate, although ... probably not for a while as I really do need to get my grocery budget ingrained before going back to using a CC.

Today being a prime example; I had a text from lovely childminder asking if she could keep DD til 3.30 as they were all having such a great time. Realising this was a prime opportunity to get my grocery shopping done in peace & also not having to go there tomorrow, I agreed & headed off to Sainsbugs straight after work.

I already had my veg in the trolley & was about to head to the bakery aisle whilst totting up my spends in my head when I remembered that it didn't actually matter how much I'd spent as I'd forgotten to go to the cashpoint first :doh: & had no means of paying other than than debit or credit card.

I see no point in using my debit card over my CC as I don't get any cashback for it & I can still go way over my budget so .... I actually left my trolley with the security guard ( didn't want my unattended ready-washed stir fry veggies & poppy shopping bags to get blown apart by bomb disposal squad) & went to the cashpoint to withdraw the remaining £60 cash for the rest of the month & then resumed my shopping .

Very proud of myself there, could so easily have just used the CC.

Including a wodge of printer paper & yet another half price scented candle I spent a total of £38.60. I had money left over from last week so still have £25.10 to last until the 28th. Only now is this new way of life going to be both challenging & fun .

The Funds have been topped up & the balances are :

Xmas fund = £70
Gift fund = £70
Childcare fund = £140
Fund fund = £41

I also received 4 x £2 coins in change today so the £2 Fabby New Boots fund is now at a hearty £84 .

I've earned another £5 in survey payment so the Amazon account has a tasty £30 credit .

Quidco has paid out £8.21 so the Holiday fund has been boosted to £548.76 & I think another CB payment is due soon.

It's all looking quite good for now, although the current account is pretty much Running on Empty as ever :rotfl:.

I'm expecting to hear the results of my HB claim next week so at least I'll be able to work out a definitive budget for the next couple of months. No idea how work will pan out, but am planning to ride out the short time working for as long as the company can manage it before the next step of redundancies occurs.

The home is pretty messy & needs a damn good clean & I expect mischievous elves has filled up the laundry bin again, so those chores will need tackling at some point over the next 3 days.

Diet & exercise all a bit rubbish as new hours at work has thrown my eating routine off & with this week being half term too, I don't know what's going on. Fresh start planned for next Monday .

Bye for now
xx

Cheery_Daff

Very impressed at you trotting off to the cash machine! :T :T Well done!

Lula-Hula

Thanks Cheery,

it was, I believe, a seminal moment :rotfl:I stood still for about a minute, debating with myself as to what I should do, felt a bit of a t!t asking security guard to watch my trolley, but "nothing changes, if nothing changes"

On that note, I've got myself & the home into what can only be called a 'bi'ova 2 n 8' :

- I'm a mess; not washed my hair for 3 days :eek: diet has done a runner with my exercise mojo & been sneakily replaced with carb-fest & lethargy.

I'm putting this down to a combination of weather, work & money drama & it being half term (working mother guilt).



- The home is a mess; not washed the floors for about 3 weeks :eek:, dust bunnies are breeding, last week's ironing still not completed, the beds need stripping, little piles of items to be reunited with their proper homes are appearing everywhere & the bathroom is in need of re-sparkling.

The weather is mild but gloomy today & DD is shattered ( still asleep), tomorrow morning I'm waiting in for the arrival of something that DD1 has requested be delivered here as her shifts do not allow for 9-5 delivery times.

That gives me a good few hours to get this place in order, do some meal planning, cooking, laundry, ironing, paperwork etc & then on Sunday we can have a day out somewhere .


I need me a list

Lula-Hula

In No Particular Order :


[STRIKE]- Strip beds & remake with fresh sheets[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Laundry[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Ironing[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Make butternut & leek & potato soups[/STRIKE] DONE + decluttered fruit bowl into a banana cake

[STRIKE] - Tidy everywhere[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Reunite all lost items with their homes[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Vacuum everywhere[/STRIKE] DONE

- Wash all floors ...

[STRIKE] - De-dust everywhere [/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Wash / wipe all surfaces & mirrors[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Deep clean bathroom[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Go through wardrobes & allocate unwanted stuff to either sell or charitize[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Re-colour hair[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE] - Sort through bookcases, again.[/STRIKE] DONE

[STRIKE]- Pay £40 worth of £2 coins into the bank[/STRIKE] DONE

- Buy cat food ...

Cherryjack

oh lula, this is just the kick that i need!! must do paperwork today...
good luck xx