Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

Elisheba

Thanks, Missymoo  .  I think the thing I struggle with regarding food shops is special offers.  I have to really think through - do I need this ice cream?  Yes its half price, but that's still £2 I wouldn't have spent in the original plan...  Also I really need to do some more baking so I have sweet treat ins to snack on.  I'm totally out right now, and when I peckish and craving something sweet is when resistance is lowest and I'm likely to run out to the shops for some chocolate or something.

Elisheba

So I cut my own hair last night  .  This is not as crazy as it sounds, well I don't think so...  I have been cutting my own fringe all my life, and last year when my hair was long I watched some Youtube videos and started trimming it myself. 

Then it was driving me up the wall with how damaged it was from dye and the summer sun, so I cut it really short in Autumn.  That might have been a bit mad in retrospect.  It was part following Youtuve instruction and part me making things up as I went along.  It worked out alright though and I even got a few compliments.

It really needed trimming again last night so I got the scissors out .  I really wanted the hair dye out though so I might have been a bit drastic in my trimming, and now its what I think is known as shingled  .  Since my hair is wavy to curly it can hide a multitude of sins which I think it probably the only reason I get away with chopping it myself!

Happy_Monday

Ohhhh I’ve got really curly hair too, not sure I’m brave enough to cut it myself though!  I’m booked in to have mine cut in a couple of weeks x

Elisheba

If it's just a trim it's really easy Happy Monday.  Anything else is more complicated 🤔. Mine is growing on me, it's maybe just a tad short for my liking but it'll grow back! 

Elisheba

So today was pretty money saving. Train to work which was budgeted for, and I put the receipt on Zipzero to get the 12p towards a bill. Made an awesome packed lunch of wraps and fried up leftover halloumi, potatoes, peppers, onions, and then used nacho toppings which were also leftover in the wraps as well. So yummy! 

Went to S@insburies at lunch and using the Checkout Smart app again, I treated myself to a little bottle of a Starbucks double expresso which was lush. 100% cashback and an aluminium bottle so no plastic and I can reuse it. I also got 3 cans of fizzy raspberry flavoured water which I figured would be useful for days out, also not plastic and recyclable. 80p off each of them, but they were reduced to 75p so I actually made 15p! Well, I would have but its 5% fee under £20, so it's really only 15p towards that 5%. Anyway only a few pence for some treats, no plastic involved and they will be used which is the main thing.

I was out for a bagel with a boy this evening. He paid for a drink afterwards but not dinner, but I didn't expect him to. He's probably more feminist than I am 🤔. I find my feminist principles somewhat deserting me at the chance of a free dinner 🤣. Anyway that was £7.75 for dinner and hot chocolate, but a free beer afterwards 😁. Not bad for a lovely, and somewhat unexpected (we only planned it this morning) evening out. It'll come out my pocket money budget which won't be a problem. 

No idea what I'm doing this weekend. I'll need to think about it and make up a plan because I get more done that way and I'm happier in myself. I am out on Saturday night. I'm dreading it a bit in case I spend the whole night craving cigarettes, and not drinking to stop my buying any, and consequently being a bit bored. Not the most fun in the world, and the alternative is buying and smoking cigs, drinking a fair but and spending shed loads of money, which I definitely don't want to do. I guess I'll see how it goes. Socialising, eh? Who'd have it! 

Elisheba

Well, it has turned into a NSD! I decided in the end to cancel going out tonight. I never really wanted to and I'm too snuggly at home. So that's at least a tenner saved 😁.

I've spent the day writing, and messing about setting up a blog, so I feel that it has been productive and fun and that I've used my time constructively. Tomorrow I need to do some house chores, and I need a shampoo bar so I'll pop to Holland and B@rrett for that. Hopefully they will have one reasonably priced. At some point I will make my own, but I'm not there yet.

I'm also thinking of having a clear out. Although I am far from a minimalist all my reading on simple living has made me think. Do I really need those weird handbags that were gifts that I've never used? Or the shoes that aren't comfortable? All of that sort of thing. I'll have a stab at clearing out anyway and see how it makes me feel. I suspect mainly tired, as I'll need take it all to a charity shop! 

Elisheba

Afternoon, my money saving friends 🤗. 

I rushed out to Quakers this morning having only given myself time to munch an apple, so the tea and biscuits at the end were very welcome! I was very good and refused the coffee shop visit afterwards, so no money wasted there. Since I had a good chat with folk over the tea and biscuits I don't feel I've missed out socially. 

Afterwards I went to H&B to get a shampoo bar but they were charging about £13! No way, Jose! Even L*sh only charge about £8. So it looks like I am washing my hair with plain soap till I can acquire one sub £5. I meant to check S@insburies when I was in the city on Friday but I forgot - the interweb says they sell one for £3.

Then I popped to @ldi. I wasn't very happy to find they didn't have frozen carrots or dried mixed fruit. I got some cheese, went to Icel@nd for the carrots, and remembered I have a bag of dried whole fruit that I can try chopping up for baking with. 

So altogether £2.79 spent, which isn't bad considering I was absolutely starving the whole time and resisted all junk. I'm likely to come in on budget (£40)for my grocery and toiletry shop for the month depending on how much the shampoo bar costs so that's exciting! 

For Lent this year I've decided to make sure I get my 5 - 10 fruit and veg a day, get my 10000 steps a day, and that I do the dishes everyday. Its not exactly a period of abstinence, but it will be challenging. I'm hopeful that when I'm trudging round in the pouring rain and doing the horrid dishes I can think spiritual and uplifting thoughts and enjoy each process a bit more. 

Today I think I'm going to have a nap, then do the horrid dishes and some batch cooking for the week - veggie cottage pie, and mac cheese with butternut squash I think. This evening I've still got mending to do, or I might just read. 

astrocytic_kitten

I’ve been making a big point of doing my dishes daily for the past few months, and I’ve found that when it’s a non-negotiable part of my evening it’s actually less stressful - it’s part of my winding down and going to bed routine, it’s never all that bad because I do them every single day, and I can even find it soothing to clean them. Plus waking up every morning to clean kitchen and clean dishes is great. I hope something similar happens for you!

DawnW

Shampoo bars - I get mine online from a company called CB Cosmetics. I see that they have recently changed their range, and they are slightly more expensive than they were, at £5.99. I can't really comment on this new range (though I will give them a try) but the ones they stocked previously lasted for ages! They charge for delivery, so I mitigate this by ordering a couple at a time. This company had a little shop in our town for a short while a couple of years ago, so I found them through that, and continued to buy online after they closed the shop. They are pleasant people to deal with, no messing about.

penny_less

Waitrose do a lovely shampoo bar by an ethical company called Beco- it makes my hair feel great, and only costs £4