Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

Fidelia

Looks like we all agree, HH.  Money spent on your trainers was absolutely necessary.  I hope one of the ordered pairs is exactly what you hope for.  There's nothing like happy feet.  My toes blister very easily even in well worn-in shoes.  I hate my feet, not a pretty sight at the best of times!  If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of walking, well not necessarily all that much actually, I pre-empt the blisters by padding my toes in advance with special adhesive tape.  It was recommended to my late Mum and I still buy it for myself. I tried those foam tubes that you can buy to cut to size but didn't get on too well with them.  I'm always looking for the perfect, hopefully cheap, solution as DH and I are keen walkers so it's an ongoing problem for me.

Your flowers look gorgeous.  Lucky you, living in a climate where outdoor cyclamen can flourish.  I love the vibrant pink of them. You look as if you have lots of nice pots, HH.  Have you been accumulating them over many years?.

milann

Flowers are looking beautiful. Have a good week in work.....think I may be a tad jealous 😂

Seasidegal58

Another here in agreement about decent supportive footwear. Since lockdown I've virtually been wearing my walking trainers all the time and my feet feel so much better for it. I've also bought a pair to wear indoors instead of my bootie slippers or sporting bare feet.  This has been such a good idea (pinched from flylady) as my feet are well supported and are protected much better (i.e like when I dropped a heavy saucepan on them the other day!🤬). 

I love your flowers - so cheery and a reminder that spring is on its way. I also borrowed the idea of your bug house and sent one to DD. She loved it and is going to buy some more!

Have a good day!

beanielou

The trainers are worth their weight in gold & therefore are priceless.
I spend a lot on my shoes & I wish I dident have too but I do & that's it.
My feet are worth it

redofromstart

Just called in to catch up.  Hoping that your Mums snowdrops took for you?  I thought of you when I looked at my spring bulbs and hoped the pots bring some comfort.

HairyHandofDartmoor

BalanceBy50 said:

Great to read what you are doing with your salary 😁  x

Thanks BB50

Onebrokelady said:

Flowers are looking lovely Hairy. I have one clump of crocuses that have flowered that survived being eaten by the badgers/ squirrels 😀

Thanks OBl

elizabethhull said:

I bet it felt really good to squirrel away money, especially your SEF !!

The flowers are lovely. We have my father's snowdrops, dug up when I was clearing out the house & brought home for our front garden, where they flower splendidly each year.

Oh and I agree with everyone else about your sensible decision to get supportive shoes. If your feet hurt you'll be scuppered !

Thanks Elizabeth

doingitanyway said:

Sorry you will have to wait to be vaccinated.
I hope you have had a coffee in your garden this weekend. (it's the small things that help)

Thanks DIA

foxgloves said:

Hi HHoD, I do agree that you need to be comfortably shod for a job which requires a lot of standing & walking around. I bought myself a couple of pairs of Vi*nics last year - one a pair of mary-jane style trainers & also some sandals. They were more expensive than I would have ideally liked to pay, but I tend to pronate one of my ankles over a little & after a while of walking in flat shoes, even comfortable ones, I can get such an ache in my achilles tendon. So spending a little bit more to get a shaped footbed was worth it for me. I have discovered that they also sell shaped insoles, so I am wondering about buying a pair of those for my other shoes, as it is probably a cheaper way of being able to walk in everything comfortably. I do think that if our feet ache & hurt, we are kind of aware of it like an annoying niggle all day.
I enjoyed looking at your Spring flowers. I keep thinking I must investigate putting up photos on my diary, but I never seem to get around to it. It's nice to look at cheery images at the moment, I think.
F x

Thanks Foxgloves

badmemory said:

Here's another who agrees about the trainers.  If they stop your legs hurting & even maybe doing some damage, then they are cheap at whatever the price.  Whatever your age, health & mobility are or should be priorities

Thanks Badmemory

HairyHandofDartmoor

Fidelia said:

Looks like we all agree, HH.  Money spent on your trainers was absolutely necessary.  I hope one of the ordered pairs is exactly what you hope for.  There's nothing like happy feet.  My toes blister very easily even in well worn-in shoes.  I hate my feet, not a pretty sight at the best of times!  If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of walking, well not necessarily all that much actually, I pre-empt the blisters by padding my toes in advance with special adhesive tape.  It was recommended to my late Mum and I still buy it for myself. I tried those foam tubes that you can buy to cut to size but didn't get on too well with them.  I'm always looking for the perfect, hopefully cheap, solution as DH and I are keen walkers so it's an ongoing problem for me.

Your flowers look gorgeous.  Lucky you, living in a climate where outdoor cyclamen can flourish.  I love the vibrant pink of them. You look as if you have lots of nice pots, HH.  Have you been accumulating them over many years?.

Thanks Fidelia

milann said:

Flowers are looking beautiful. Have a good week in work.....think I may be a tad jealous 😂

Thanks Milann . Sometimes it's the best job in the world and some days it feels like the worst!

beanielou said:

The trainers are worth their weight in gold & therefore are priceless.
I spend a lot on my shoes & I wish I dident have too but I do & that's it.
My feet are worth it

Thanks Beanie

redofromstart said:

Just called in to catch up.  Hoping that your Mums snowdrops took for you?  I thought of you when I looked at my spring bulbs and hoped the pots bring some comfort.

Thanks Redo . My mum's snowdrops have survived although they only had two flowers. My flowers and plants do bring me peace.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I've had a gruelling couple of days at school preparing for the rest of the children to come back. Friday was particularly tiring as I was carrying large PE mats and heavy boxes of wooden toys around and was on my feet literally ALL day 😣.

I was kept awake for an hour last night despite (taking co-codemol and ibuprofen) as my feet and ankles felt very sore despite the new trainers 😣, but they are very comfortable and I'm sure my feet would have felt worse if I'd worn my loafers. I'm very pleased with the new leather trainers as being plain black they look smart, but are much more supportive than my loafers 🙂. I need to send back the wide fitting ones as the normal fit are perfect for me in this style.

Once the children are back at school next week we can try to get into a routine with them and I hope this is the end of school closures and all the chopping and changing that creates so much work for school staff. I'm going to be very busy I'm sure and some challenging children are returning in one of my classes, but at least I won't get time to get bored.

Today I'm too tired to do much but I've put two washes on and emptied all the bins in the house. Apart from that I'm going to relax and rest my feet. I've put the washing in the garden to dry as it was sunny earlier and should be dry according to the forcast.

Yesterday the mortgage money went out so I was able to colour in another brick on my mortgage repayment chart 🎉. It's now only six years and six months until it's paid off 🎉. Moneywise I'm looking forward to payday even though it's about three weeks away 😂. I don't know how much we'll be able to save but I'm determined to put £200 in my SEF no matter what. 

We've decided against booking a holiday cottage this summer as the prices are shooting up and everywhere will be very crowded. Instead we'll save the money for booking one in 2022 when it will hopefully be cheaper and we will all be vaccinated and less scared of crowds. Instead we're going to do day trips. We're lucky to live in beautiful Devon and this summer I want to go to some places in our own county that we've never been before. There are lots of beaches and other places we've never been to as we tend to stick to our own favourites, so I want to branch out and be a bit more adventurous this summer. 

DS1 has had a text from his doctor offering him a vaccine, so DH helped him book one for the week after next which was the first available date. We were really surprised at first but now I think it must be because he had an aspergers diagnosis a year or so ago and so he must be ticking the learning difficulties box. I'm very pleased for him as he's been very anxous about leaving the house 😁, but I never thought my son would get a vaccine before I do. I'm hoping to get one in March anyway based on my advanced age.

My garden hasn't advanced much and my new daffodils and tulips still aren't flowering but I hope they will soon. I have lots of garden plans for the easter holidays though in four weeks time (not that I'm counting).

I don't have much to report anyway and this feels like a very boring update, but I've been nowhere and done nothing apart from go to school. I hope all my forum friends are having a good Saturday 🙂.

jwil

Hope you have a relaxing weekend

Sun_Addict

Those PE mats weigh a ton, no wonder you’re worn out. Probably for the best not to book a holiday cottage. From speaking to people at work most accommodation in the UK is either fully booked or extremely expensive. As you say you’re lucky to live in Devon and there are lots of beautiful places to visit. We used to holiday there every year when the children were small, we visited lots of lovely places.You’ll be able to have some fabulous days out and return to the comfort of your own bed at night.