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

Makingabobor2

Love your desk & chair. Those type desks are so much nicer then modern ones. Nice cosy corner

AnotherNewDay

Elisheba said:

My little writing corner, with the free bureau and chair 😊

Looks great! And I love your curtains and nets

Cheery_Daff

Love your cosy writing corner! 

I meant to pop in earlier to mention about HRT, you might have heard me talking about it elsewhere. I'm not-quite-45 and have been on it for about 18 months-2 years I think. I was having various symptoms, the most distressing being brain fog which was making me just stare at work emails, not knowing what to do with them. I feel SO much better on HRT (not saying I never have a bad/dozy day, but they're just of the 'normal' variety).

I've got a mirena coil (I'd had copper ones for about 15 years anyway, so not much different for me) and after some experimenting with patches, have settled on gel, which is great, because the doc is happy with me experimenting with my dose a bit. I currently mostly do 4 pumps of the gel a day (2 arms, 2 legs), but twice a week I do 3 - because 4 every day just feels too much, but 3 every day isn't quite enough. I also have estrogen pessaries twice a week (which I do on the days I only do 3 pumps of the gel - not necessary but helps me remember!)

Overall feeling much better than I did, and the my most annoying symptoms are under control  

Sorry to hear about your distressing health news. Hope that can motivate you though. I struggle so much with eating well, despite my dad being diagnosed fairly recently with type 2 diabetes and having a toe amputation 

Glad you had a lovely day out

Elisheba

Morning, frugal friends,

I have been a bit lazy on the frugal front of late.  I stopped tracking my spending a couple of weeks ago, so I am back to posting here more regularly to keep myself accountable.  The first thing I will need to do is write write down all my spending in Notion to see where I am at and how bad the damage is. Lots of little things here and there all add up, and tend to be what causes me the most problems when it comes to frugality.   

My one big purchase arrived yesterday.  I don't know if I mentioned it - a fancy blender and food processor I ordered in a sale a few weeks ago and which only just arrived.  I decided life was too short to deal with the mess created by grating cauliflower by hand  .  I tried it this morning for a smoothie and very nice it was too.  

Other than that life continues apace.  I am slowly getting the hang of low carb and low cal living as a vegetarian. I find its easiest to get in a weekday menu routine so breakfast tends to be skyr yogurt with frozen berries and a mix of nuts and seeds (or a smoothie equivalent now) and a bit of stevia to sweeten.  Lunch can be soup and cheese, or a salad and cheese platter, or even  a fry up with eggs, veggie sausages and mushrooms.  Dinner I am being a bit more inventive with - I have a kale, spinach, tomato and tofu madras curry on the go at the moment, which should last 2 or 3 more nights, especially if a I rice a cauliflower with my new food processor to go with it.  Occasional treats of 85% cocoa chocolate bars.  I did try a sugar free chocolate mug cake recipes last night as I'd had an office day and was exhausted and wanted some comfort food, but it was a bit too strong on the chocolate for me - room for a bit of tweaking though.  

I think I am feeling better in myself, which could be the new diet or the HRT - who knows!  I have lost over a stone now, so the self organised weightloss plan is working at least.  Quite a few more stones to go though before I can relax the calorie counting and just focus on low carb eating.  What I will say though is that I am trying to do this in a frugal way.  Sure there is a bit on an initial investment - in things like the food processor, new flours and sweeteners and other ingredients, but if you add up how much diet classes cost I think this ends up a lot cheaper.  I am using a calorie and carb counting app which I have for free right now, and I might actually pay for after as the paid for bits are very useful, but it still is a lot cheaper than diet classes. So frugal health for the win!

After this week I have 3 weeks off which I am very much looking forward to!  No big plans - need to do some house things, and will be going up to Scotland for a week, but other than that I need to sit down properly and have a think.  I've just asked my brother if he fancies visiting for a bit, so that will be nice if it happens.

Right, off to do some work now.  I have a couple of boiled eggs and 2 quorn sausages I made for office day yesterday but didn't eat, so they will do for a cold lunch. Have a great day, everyone!

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, sounds like your combination of new diet and HRT is doing you the world of good! 😊😊 and how lovely to have 3 weeks off - I have 17 days starting today and am feeling very full of the possibilities (ie writing a massive to do list 😂)

Moorviews

You are doing so well with your diet and weight loss! It sounds like you have found what works for you. My friends who have HRT seem to look and feel great. I was never offered it despite having a hard time through the menopause. I can only hope that I don’t have problems in the future as a result. 

The food processor and blender really help with vegetarian food preparation. It is so much easier to make things like burgers and rissoles and chop vegetables for batch cooking. I don’t use mine for little bits of everyday prep because I don’t like washing it up, however, I will do a whole load of things in one big session with it. 

Enjoy your time off 😊

Elisheba

Evening, frugal folks,

I am spending the last week of my three weeks of annual leave up in Scotland visiting family. Last week my brother came down to visit me and we did lots of touristy things - not cheap but we mainly ate packed lunches so that helped. I tell you what, this new low carb, low calorie diet is very good for saving money eating out as a lot of places (especially tourist cafes) have nothing I can eat 🤣. I have no choice but to pack a lunch!

Speaking of the diet, it is going well. As of last Saturday I had lost 10kg, which is just over a stone and a half for those more impericaly minded. This week, while on holiday at Mum's, I'm not counting calories or carbs although still sticking to low carb options. We will see what the scales say when I get home 🤪. Had a lovely BBQ at my sister's tonight but probably ate far too much cheese!

Money spending this last month was not good at all. Frittering money away on little things, deciding I just must have this or that, impulse spending. I don't know where it came from as I had been really pretty good for a few months before that. Still, tomorrow is a new pay month so a fresh start. I did treat myself to an absolutely lovely hand knitted blue and green jumper on Vinted today - but that's the last of it! If I stick to my diet it's not like any clothes I buy are going to fit me for long anyway, so it's just silly of me.

Out for lunch tomorrow with family. We are going to a lovely cafe we know up in the hills, which should be really nice especially with the good weather forecast. 

Before I left Wales I found some honeysuckle and jasmine plants for £1.99 each in Aldi, and I really fancied a honeysuckle hedge. So I bought 15 of them, dug up and moved some bearded irises that I don't really like, and got the honeysuckle and jasmine all planted out along a wire fence at my front. I don't know if I'll end up being in the house long enough to see them grow big, but hopefully I'll see them come to something. I'm just a bit worried about them having enough water with the hot weather and me being away. Still, nothing I can do about it so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

I'm pretty tired now after a longish walk this morning alone the Antonine Wall, a visit to one of my brothers yhsi afternoon and the BBQ this evening, so I'll be heading to bed soon. Silly dog is taking advantage of being able to access me in the mornings (my Mum's place is a flat, and he sleeps in my room with me unlike at home where is downstairs and there is a stairgate) and has woken me at 6am every morning since I got here 🙄.

I hope you are all well and surviving the someway unseasonable April sunshine 😁

Elisheba

Good evening, Wednesday wonderfuls,

Another lovely day today in Scotland. The weather was lovely, although I was glad my car has air con!

A slow start to the morning, then off on a walk with silly dog to a local park and estate. I'll post a picture after I have posted this post. Then off out in the hills with my Mum and sister for lunch at a gorgeous little cafe we know. Lunch was tomato soup, and a ploughmans with extra cheese eans no meat or bread. Then home to Mum's where I had a little 85% cocoa chocolate bar as a treat, and have been drinking tea, sorting photos and reading a library book for most of the evening.

Mum treated us to lunch so no spending there.  I did buy a present and card for my friend who is looking after my cat while I am away while I was at the cafe, so that's a £26 odd spend. A bit pricey, but she is awkward to buy for as doesn't like sweets, and she very much does deserve a gift as she is going around to my house to feed black cat twice a day, bless her. Got her a fancy liquid soap and a very cute ceramic egg cup in a chicken shape.

I also discovered when I got to Scotland that I hadn't packed enough of a particular medication I take, and it's one you can't stop cold turkey or it'll make you ill, so I had to fill out a temporary residence form at my Mum's doctors to get a prescription for 4 pills 🤣. Anyway when I picked them up at the chemist I saw clove oil for £2.60, which I have been meaning to buy as one of my teeth which is more filling than tooth tends to ache occasionally.

So that's all my spending for today, and it's all logged on Notion where I keep track of such things.

I was catching up on some diaries and things on the forum this morning, and it inspired me to start getting a bit more organised again. So I have updated several of my lists, one with things I need to do when I get home, one with annoying jobs that need doing, and one with hobby and craft ideas for when I'm feeling bored and need some inspiration. I also started updating my meal planning list with things I can eat now, but it's still very much a work in progress.

Think I'll go a long walk I've not done before with silly dog tomorrow, but other than that no particular plans. I would like to catch up with one of my friends but she is having a terrible time just now with parental illness so not sure if that will happen. Think it will be a bit cooler here tomorrow, which will be good if I want to do some walking.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the weather 🌞.

Elisheba

A pic I took when I was out walking silly dog earlier today.

Moorviews

That looks to be a beautiful place for a walk! It sounds like you are both having a lovely holiday and it is giving you a little refresh, time to think and to plan. A kind friend to look after your cat is indeed a blessing worthy of appreciation.