Paid off the £31,000! BUT - still scrimping!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well done on taking your lunch to work and using your own coffee pods. I'm sure that will add up to significant savings over time :T.

I hope tomorrow is less hectic for you at work.

Seasidegal58

Hi Milann - Pret doesn't have a coffee loyalty scheme but they give you the occasional free coffee if you're a regular - and my friend and I are! I do have a loyalty card for both Cafe Nero and Costa Coffee but don't use these much as there's no branches too near to where I work.

As you say it's more like a treat if you ration them and drink them with a friend.

Seasidegal58

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

Well done on taking your lunch to work and using your own coffee pods. I'm sure that will add up to significant savings over time :T.

I hope tomorrow is less hectic for you at work.

Thanks Hairy - I bought Taylor's coffee pods as they were on offer and I use their ground coffee at home.

Seasidegal58

Today was a busy one again in work! Another deadline for tomorrow morning! I thought I'd type my diary before I leave work as it's always quicker.

As it's a 5:2 diet day today, I had two hard-boiled eggs and an apple for lunch. Tonight when I get in it's a Baxter's Scotch Broth with ryvitas – I've ended up with several cans of soups from my last attempt at the 5:2 so it'll be satisfying to see the hoard go down!

Scrimpy Week 2 – January

I very pleased that I've ended the week with £27.91 left from the Ad Hoc Spends to wing over to the Ad Hoc Savings! I spent nothing from this pot today!:j
However, I did spend from some of my other pots at lunchtime:

• Make-up – I needed a new foundation and decided to a try-out downsizing from Clinique. I've heard good things of the Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte as I've got a combination skin. The girl in Boots colour tested me so I've come away with what I hope will be a foundation that stays on and gives me some coverage. It was £15 so cheaper than my usual Clinique which is £20+!
• Toiletries – this was the monthly Boots stock up – cotton wool pads (3 for 2 offer), Listerine (on offer – I got two 250ml bottles instead of the one 500ml), two pack of Simple face wipes (on offer) – all things I needed and it came to £12.76 – and apparently I saved £8.39!
  

• Birthday Cards and Xmas Gift Bag – I needed two cards for the end of the month - £3 in Clinton's out of the Gift Budget. I also bought a Christmas gift bag that was half-price (£1.50) and which I thought would be ideal for DD's OH next Christmas! I did stock up with all my Christmas cards and gift bags for next Xmas in the Clinton's sale when I was in work the Friday after Christmas, but I missed this one so it came out of the Christmas budget.
  

• Odeon Tickets – two tickets bought via my 2 for 1 Times offer - £11.25 from the Entertainment budget. My friend and are seeing "The Favourite" on Sunday – she'll will drive and get the coffees as usual!
  

Paypal emailed me to say my PA funds had come through so I'll be winging this over to the Ad Hoc Savings - £9.97 after they had taken their cut!

I've also emailed my rail company to request they send me the £7.31 that has accrued through the Delay and Repay scheme. They usually take a few weeks to send the cheques though.

Off to catch my train now!

System

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

Thank you both!:)

I have a couple of ideas for holidays Cumbria - neither particularly cheap! One option is a cruise of the Norwegian Coast culminating at the far north to see the Northern Lights. The other is in the U.K. and is a tour around England of the historical sites associated with the six wives of Henry VIII. I'll have a think about both - I'd like to see how Brexit pans out a bit first and if overseas travel is affected.

What interesting adventures they sound ! I look forward to seeing where you go. I am not going overseas this year I want to try the uk. I am planning a road trip I think along the south coast .

Loving your scrimpy updates .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

Thank you both!:)

I have a couple of ideas for holidays Cumbria - neither particularly cheap! One option is a cruise of the Norwegian Coast culminating at the far north to see the Northern Lights. The other is in the U.K. and is a tour around England of the historical sites associated with the six wives of Henry VIII. I'll have a think about both - I'd like to see how Brexit pans out a bit first and if overseas travel is affected.

I agree with Cumbria that both holidays sound great .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

Today was a busy one again in work! Another deadline for tomorrow morning! I thought I'd type my diary before I leave work as it's always quicker.

As it's a 5:2 diet day today, I had two hard-boiled eggs and an apple for lunch. Tonight when I get in it's a Baxter's Scotch Broth with ryvitas – I've ended up with several cans of soups from my last attempt at the 5:2 so it'll be satisfying to see the hoard go down!

Scrimpy Week 2 – January

I very pleased that I've ended the week with £27.91 left from the Ad Hoc Spends to wing over to the Ad Hoc Savings! I spent nothing from this pot today!:j
However, I did spend from some of my other pots at lunchtime:

• Make-up – I needed a new foundation and decided to a try-out downsizing from Clinique. I've heard good things of the Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte as I've got a combination skin. The girl in Boots colour tested me so I've come away with what I hope will be a foundation that stays on and gives me some coverage. It was £15 so cheaper than my usual Clinique which is £20+!
• Toiletries – this was the monthly Boots stock up – cotton wool pads (3 for 2 offer), Listerine (on offer – I got two 250ml bottles instead of the one 500ml), two pack of Simple face wipes (on offer) – all things I needed and it came to £12.76 – and apparently I saved £8.39!
  

• Birthday Cards and Xmas Gift Bag – I needed two cards for the end of the month - £3 in Clinton's out of the Gift Budget. I also bought a Christmas gift bag that was half-price (£1.50) and which I thought would be ideal for DD's OH next Christmas! I did stock up with all my Christmas cards and gift bags for next Xmas in the Clinton's sale when I was in work the Friday after Christmas, but I missed this one so it came out of the Christmas budget.
  

• Odeon Tickets – two tickets bought via my 2 for 1 Times offer - £11.25 from the Entertainment budget. My friend and are seeing "The Favourite" on Sunday – she'll will drive and get the coffees as usual!
  

Paypal emailed me to say my PA funds had come through so I'll be winging this over to the Ad Hoc Savings - £9.97 after they had taken their cut!

I've also emailed my rail company to request they send me the £7.31 that has accrued through the Delay and Repay scheme. They usually take a few weeks to send the cheques though.

Off to catch my train now!

With regard to toiletries Mr T do a five in one mouthwash that appears very similar to Listerine and is half the price. Also I use Mr T sensitive face wipes which only cost £1 a pack. These may not suit you if you have very delicate skin, but just a thought.

I hope you like the No 7 foundation.

Seasidegal58

Cumbria_lass wrote: »

What interesting adventures they sound ! I look forward to seeing where you go. I am not going overseas this year I want to try the uk. I am planning a road trip I think along the south coast .

Loving your scrimpy updates .

Hi Cumbria - your UK south coast trip sounds just the ticket. This is when I wish I could drive - I miss out on quite a lot of actually seeing our own countryside and the lovely NT sites. That's why I quite like the idea of the historical trip - I won't have to worry about travelling to places that are quite hard to reach via public transport. But it is costly so have to see how the money goes!

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

With regard to toiletries Mr T do a five in one mouthwash that appears very similar to Listerine and is half the price. Also I use Mr T sensitive face wipes which only cost £1 a pack. These may not suit you if you have very delicate skin, but just a thought.

I hope you like the No 7 foundation.

Thanks Hairy - I'll buy some of those wipes next time I do my big Mr T shop. I usually get everything in Boots as the points are good, but £1 a packet is really excellent value! And at that price it won't matter much if they don't suit my skin!:T

I haven't used the foundation yet - still digging out the dregs of the Clinique bottle!

Seasidegal58

SCRIMPY WEEK 3 - JANUARY

Budgeted spends today were from the Food/Household pot. £12 for four packs of Pledge fluffy duster refills - which should last for some time. Also I've had to reorder more porridge packets - I like the Flahavan's porridge - £7.99 for a big box. Both buys from Amazon. So this made a bit of a hole in the pot but I haven't that much else to buy food wise etc this week. And no spends today Ad Hoc!

I got the PA and top Cashback monies in the bank today so over these went to Savings.

Budgeted spends this week include my hair appointment tomorrow and nails next week.

Diet going ok - after there was some tasty talk the other week of chorizo and bean stew on redo's diary I got round to making some tonight. Have enough left for another meal. It was yum!:D

HairyHandofDartmoor

I bought some face wipes in Mr T today and realised that they are actually 60p a packet. The packet is a green colour and says Kind&Pure for sensitive skin. They may be worth a try anyway.