Living in Austerity

vasseur

I've always worried about how much our heating bill would be if I was at home all day, then I think it would probably balance out with the petrol I spend getting to work so it's swings and roundabouts. Personally I would just have the heating on and to hell with the cost - I would worry about it later. I can't be doing with getting cold....

Mags30

MSE would disapprove of money spent on parking. I've spent €6 on parking so far this week. There is somewhere I can park for free when I go into the city centre but it's a 15-20 minute walk. The rain has ben pouring down this week and it's freezing cold so walking isn't a realistic option. Sometimes being MSE just isn't practical

Musician friend who I've not seen since before Christmas said I've lost weight. I find this particularly amusing considering my food bill for January :rotfl:

Toxic friend applied to volunteer in a charity shop for one 4 hour shift a week. She didn't get it and then announced that she's actually happy she didn't get it because her feet would be tired from standing and doing loads of iorning :mad: (obviously she doesn't do her own iorning at home, her Dad does all the iorning for some reason unknown to me)

Crazy clothes challenge isn't going too great either. I took 3 vintage dresses for alterations in the hope that I might be able to wear them. The total bill for this is €50 (€30, €20 and €12-there's a 3 for 2 offer for February so the €12 job is free) This is expensive and I don't even know if I'll be happy with the results....obviously I'm very hopeful but it's quite a lot to spend on alterations. I could buy quite a few brand new clothes from bargain rails for €50.....If they turn out as I hope I'll be delighted but I could be wasting money here...will update when I get them back.

Mags30

I've just used the £20 Kurt Geiger gift card from Elle magazine combined with the 25% discount code to order a purse and a bracelet.

Purse £20 + Bracelet £5 (reduced from £25:))=£25
-£5 (25% off) = £20
-£20 (KG gift card)= £0

+£4.95 postage (no way round this so I paid it) so approx €7 total cost to me = Primark prices for designer gear :T

http://www.kurtgeiger.com/women/accessories/jewellery/marcie-square-bracelet-silver-imitation-rhodium-plated-kg-kurt-geiger-accessory.html

http://www.kurtgeiger.com/women/accessories/purses/laser-cut-hrt-zip-pouch-black-synthetic-kg-kurt-geiger-accessory.html

taxi73

very bargainous

Mags30

Got my £40 from onepoll today :T Payment was really fast this time.

Mags30

They've already tightened up the T+C's because the 25% off code wouldn't work with an Elle gift card. Then the Elle gift card wouldn't work at all with only sale items in the basket (unfortunate because it's sale jewellery I want to buy) but here's what worked.

Snake embossed card holder full price £12 (perfect for coffee shop loyalty cards)
Zack necklace £3 RRP £30 :T
Channi bracelet £6 RRP £20

Total = £21
-£20 gift card = £1
+ £4.95 postage = £5.95 so approx €8 for items with an RRP of £62 :T

So I'm hoping to have 5 Kurt Geiger items RRP £107 for approx €15 :eek:Sounds a bit too good to be true to be honest. I wouldn't be all that surprised if my orders get cancelled....:( but if they don't Valentines gift to me, from me :heartsmil

In case my Irish pals are reading I'm using ParcelMotel for the delivery of these items. UK/NI postage = £4.95, postage to Ireland = £15.

I've not used Parcel Motel yet so my 2 free uses will cover this order :T It actually costs €3.50 per use but I think that's reasonable to get the cheaper/often free UK/NI postage so I will top up and use my Parcel Motel account again.

Yes I know they are way overpriced to begin with so not exactly a bargain as would be understood on the MSE old-style board.

Shoe_Gal

Fab sounding treats! :j Might not be 'old style' but definately my style!

Mags30

Both Kurt Geiger orders arrived this week :T The purse and loyalty card holder are fabulous as is the necklace. The bracelets I don't like as much, mostly because they have those awkward clasps that need someone else to help you get them on and off. They are also much less chunky than they looked in the pictures so I recommend Kurt Geiger but not for bracelets

Mags30

I applied for the GP gym referral scheme a while ago and had a registration appointment this week (Tues-12-Feb) Unfortunately it didn't go so well

The reason for referral put on my form was anxiety/depression. 100% true and I thought exercise might help. Actually I didn't even give it that much consideration, I just filled in the form same as I do for everything and anything that appears vaguely interesting to me.

Now the reason for My lung function and strength tests were really bad. The gym instructor made me re-do them quite a few times as she wasn't convinced they were correct the first time (I'm not overweight and a non-smoker/drinker, etc) Then she took my blood pressure and it was so low she looked as if she wanted to call me an ambulance

In a way I'm happy with this report because it explains why I've been feeling so unwell all the time. I tend to assume it's anxiety/depression type symptoms that have made me feel so bad all winter but maybe it's not :huh:

She said I can't do any of the spinning/kettlebells/other classes for now/at all (I'm not sure which it was) BUT (yes you can laugh) I can go to the walking class or pilates.......for the over 55's :rotfl: (I'm 34 and if she knew how much I've spent on anti-ageing lotion and potions over the years......the indignity of it all:o)

Obviously I wasn't feeling too good about myself on the way home but I'm sort of beyond caring at this stage so I am going back for my 1st gym appointment next Tuesday. She'll have made out my programme by then which I'm fully expecting to involve walking slowly on the treadmill for 5 minutes at a time :rotfl:

If it wasn't for the GP referral thing she would never have taken my blood pressure and I could have booked all the classes I liked. It's definitely true that some days I have zero energy/feel weak/too unwell to do anything so obviously I wouldn't have even attempted to exercise those days BUT other days I do have the energy and feel normal enough so it's difficult to know.

The GP advice for my problems is always anti-depressants/rest. I've taken a few different anti-depressants but I honestly feel the same when I take them as when I don't so I stopped and am 99% sure I won't take them again. Hence the reason I was signing myself up for the gym referral as I do believe in the self-help route.

There's a money problem with this too. I paid €30 for that appointment and it's €6 every time I go for the next 12 weeks. Were I to go 3 times a week the cost doesn't bear thinking about. I'd be happy enough to pay if I was feeling better/enjoying it but I can't pay to go for short walks on a treadmill especially when the evening walk I sometimes do is 5k. I'm well able to walk and I can do that for free.

I still have the unused 2 week gym pass that I mentioned in a previous post + that's for a different gym so that might get used later. We'll see, I'll report back

FlacosFloozie

If your lung function tests were bad go back to your GP hun. I had a while feeling really tired/down/stressed. I kept putting it down to work pressure but eventually saw my gp and turned out to have asthma. I felt so much better once I started my inhaler and was able to go to the gym and enjoy it.
If your bp was low as well you need checked- depression can have physical causes too. Have your thyroid levels been checked? Make sure your doc checks you out thoroughly. Also even gentle exercise can benefit depression so that 5 min on the treadmill may still help. Hope you feel better soon xx