Decreasing spending - increasing happiness

Enjoying_life_more

Had a very productive and enjoyable money saving kind of day today which consisted of:-

preparing blanching and freezing loads of veg - ive mixed some bags ready to use in stews / casseroles and then left some on their own for roast dinners - also chipped, blanched and froze home made chips in individual portions.

made a healthy.. ish (if there is such a thing) trifle using store cupboard tins of fruit, custard made with sweetener, sugar free jelly. There's enough to placate my sweet tooth for the next 3 or 4 days.

made some orange biscuits (also using sweetener) a simple recipe and lovely too - these are for work lunches.

Bought some more bargain MnS xmas pressies - in total I have now bought 270 pounds worth of pressies for 110 pound. I am really pleased about these buys and this money will come out of my yearly budget first instalment on pay day in Jan.

Had a lovely walk this morning - bit frosty under foot but I soon warmed up. Walked for about 1 hr 20 mins

Caught up with family / friends on the phone which was lovely.

Enjoying_life_more

Good couple of days at work. No spends - took breakfast and lunches to work and just packed up for tomorrow.

Another couple of weeks to pay day but I have enough money if I don't go mad/ or go out the next couple of weekends.

Enjoyed lots of exercise the last 2 days - gym and walking. Also enjoyed a walk round the shops ( browsing only )at lunch times.

The_Green_Lady

I'm new here too, probably in a similar predicament re time to retirement etc. It was nice being 20 with that being so far off you never had to live for tomorrow! Well here it is hey! Keep up the good work, I shall be here with you x

Enjoying_life_more

The_Green_Lady wrote: »

I'm new here too, probably in a similar predicament re time to retirement etc. It was nice being 20 with that being so far off you never had to live for tomorrow! Well here it is hey! Keep up the good work, I shall be here with you x

Hi Green Lady

Welcome aboard ! Yes the Buy Now Pay Later journey which started over 30 years ago (cringe) is now coming to the final furlong

I've subscribed to your Diary - good luck - enjoy Paris and try not to give it too many of your much needed pennies:beer:

Enjoying_life_more

ah well the weekend is here - finished the working week with very little spending - looking forward to a spend free weekend apart from bread/ milk and pay day is not too far off the horizon. Looking forward to paying my morg and debts and seeing the balances go down.

I've enjoyed a nice evening seeing family - not done as much walking the last few days as I would have liked due to the weather - hoping for some longer walks this weekend.

EssexHebridean

It's looking like a good walking weekend isn't it! We're off to do a chunk of Thames Path tomorrow so looking forward to that. We DID manage to grab a walk last Sunday too - not a long one but 3 - 4 miles.

It's a nice feeling seeing the balances drop isn't it - I clearly remember the first bank statement we got where we'd not been in the OD at all for several months so there was no minus figures and NO interest charged - a lovely warm buzz!

Enjoying_life_more

EssexHebridean wrote: »

It's looking like a good walking weekend isn't it! We're off to do a chunk of Thames Path tomorrow so looking forward to that. We DID manage to grab a walk last Sunday too - not a long one but 3 - 4 miles.

It's a nice feeling seeing the balances drop isn't it - I clearly remember the first bank statement we got where we'd not been in the OD at all for several months so there was no minus figures and NO interest charged - a lovely warm buzz!

Hi Essex,

Beautiful day for walking today - I've done about 5 to 6 miles today and enjoyed every minute of it. I'm shattered tonight.

Yes it is a nice feeling seeing the balances go down :j

Enjoying_life_more

Just bagged some more Christmas presents on line as one of the major retailers is offering an extra 10 percent off sale plus free delivery - I've actually got most of my gifts for next Christmas now. I now want to find some christmas gift bags in the sale as it takes too long wrapping everything but it depends on how much I can get the gift bags for?

Just preparing sunday lunch for family dinner - the meat is out of the freezer - a reduced turkey breast joint bought for 2.50

Hopefully get a nice walk in after lunch and then maybe tackle a DIY job I've been putting off for too long !

killerpeaty

You're so organised, I have done nothing and had no thoughts about next christmas... mostly because I'm a bum but you have put most of us to shame!

Good luck with the DIY!

Enjoying_life_more

killerpeaty wrote: »

You're so organised, I have done nothing and had no thoughts about next christmas... mostly because I'm a bum but you have put most of us to shame!

Good luck with the DIY!

Hi Killer

thank you for your kind words and I would love to sit here all smug and think yes i'm great aren't I but i'm of more mature years and really should know better than to be in the debt I'm in. i'm probably still paying for Christmases from the nineties !! It's only years of experience /mistakes and stress that has got me to think in advance about money.

You are not a bum at all and you are doing well like all of us on here - just to be here on this site is a great move!!