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

Cheery_Daff

Sorry you're not feeling motivated 😕 Hope your energy returns soon! X

kiloranbay

Sending warm thoughts to you @Elisheba. Great work on your self care special measures. I'm finding the Quaker-y saying "look for the light" very helpful these (literally) gloomy days - but some days neither sunlight or motivation is to be come by and I have to accept hunkering down.  

I've been reading back a bit (and have searched the dreaded Amazon) but can't find where you got your heated hoodie - I'd like to ask for one for Christmas! Is it a brand name or home made?

I also need new dry boots or shoes that are smart enough for work and can support my feet through miles of walking. I was hoping to find a bargain before my current ones wore down so much, but I haven't, and now it's the wrong season for buying good footwear cheaply! So you may have given CT a third sale with your mention, they should offer you commission as well  

I did a no-buy year in 2019 which included no toilet paper, but I lived in Syria for a bit when I was younger and so was accustomed to no loo roll life and didn't go the rags route. I saved up the few rolls I had left from 2018 for guests and quite a few brought their own - quite unbidden, a friend turned up with her own roll this summer because my reputation had stuck! Loo roll is now a business expense for me (my sofabed is on booking.com) so I had just had a beautiful limited edition "Earth" Who Gives a Crap delivery and had 72 individually wrapped rolls taking over the house. 

Funnily enough I got toothpaste from Freecycle that year, and some from a friend who had bought an emergency tube of a non-favoured brand, so Trash Nothing may be worth a look/ask for that! If I go off flouride toothpaste my teeth get sensitive otherwise I'd make do with bicarb. 

Elisheba

Thanks @Cheery_Daff.  Me too!

In terms of heated hoodies @kiloranbay I just put 'heated hoodie' into the Amazon search bar.  Quite a few come up and some are very expensive.  The one I got was only £30 plus a power pack and is fleecy https://smile.amazon.co.uk/OHS-Electric-Oversized-Wearable-Sweatshirt/dp/B09M75J8T7/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2TR272SYZXHBH&keywords=heated%2Bhoodie&qid=1667988736&sprefix=heated%2Bhoodie%2Caps%2C379&sr=8-5&th=1

I'm laughing at people bringing their own toilet rolls!  

Toothpaste is one of the very few things I still buy branded and in plastic.  I did try plastic free but my teeth are sensitive, and I also ended up getting the 2nd filling of my life.  Not sure if I can blame the 2nd filling on plastic free toothpaste but I don't want to risk another, so I'll stick with 'normal' toothpaste.  

Elisheba

Afternoon all,

Well, I'm managing the basics but still feel really drained.  I've been following a fairly strict timetable and going to bed at 10pm and getting up at 7am, but I think I need more sleep so going to try bed at 9pm with a little light reading before sleep.  Sounds crazy for a grown adult to need 10 hours a night but I've always needed a lot of sleep, and being sleepy can also be a side effect of one of my meds so I'm going to see how that goes.

Moneywise, I spent £4.45 today posting a niece's birthday present - hopefully it will arrive on time.  Other than that life is a spending free zone right now  .  

I have discovered there is a community pantry near me.  I'm wondering whether I should go along and see what its like? I feel rather guilty though as I'm financially okay and I'm sure there are a lot of people who need it more than me.  Then on the other hand I'm thinking that this is free food that will go to waste if people don't pick it up, its not like I need a referral to go, and I'm working so hard right now to make myself financially resilient (because I'm very much not currently) and I should take advantage of opportunities to do that better.

Although I normally enjoy frugality and the challenge of it, when I'm feeling quite low and negative like I have been lately, there is a voice in my head saying 'This is your life, why are you stopping yourself from having nice things?  You only live once.  Why worry about pennies?'.  I have to be quite firm with myself - whether I only live once or not I don't have oodles of money to spend on things, and it wouldn't be good for the planet even if I did.  Not to mention I have a safe home, and a steady income, fairly good health, free health care, political freedom, access to clean water and all the food I need.  If I compare myself to most of the world I am living in the lap of luxury.  I'm not sure why brains when they are low are always inclined to make us dissatisfied with what we have.

Saying all that though, there is a balance between being frugal and being cheap.  It's getting to the time of year that it will be nice to light the fire.  I'm thinking I might starting doing that on weekends when I am home and have no plans to go out.  Its more expensive than GCH, but I think a lot better for my soul. It is good to have nice things, just in moderation.  

I was wondering on my dog walk today whether I should give dressmaking another go? There is a haberdashery at the end of my road and I already have a sewing machine, so it wouldn't need to a big outlay to give it another try.  Whether I could manage it with my daft dog, I don't know, and I don't suppose it would be any cheaper than buying clothes, but I would feel better that it was more ethical I think.  

I hope everyone has a lovely rest of the day.

Makingabobor2

Don't know how old you are @Elisheba, but I am finding I need a lot more sleep as I get older. I used to be able to go to bwd about 11 and still get up at 6 no problem. Since I stopped working I am not getting up till 7 and we go to bed about 10 normally as DH has to get up early. I am still tired in the mornings and really feel like I could do with an extra hour or 2, but then I think I am wasting the day, but sleep is very important for our health. Think this time of year doesn't help either with the dark mornings. I got one of those alarms that simulates sunrise, but its not a great one, so thinking I really need to get a better one.  We probably all suffer with SAD syndrome but don't always realise it. 

I know what you mean about that little voice. Its all about striking the happy balance isn't it? Nobody knows what's round the corner or how long any of us have left. When we started on our DMP, we didn't go anywhere or do anything, then I started thinking we needed to save for cheap breaks away as we have to live, not just exist. So we get the balance right with a cheapie caravan but take all our own food and don't spend anything much while we are away.  So yes, light your fire once in a while, snuggle up with a bar of chocolate and watch a Christmas movie or something.   Life is for living, and as Buddha said....."There is no path to happiness. Happiness is the path".  Take care.

Elisheba

Early 40's @Makingabobor2 so I can't really blame it on age. 

I've always been the same - ideally I need a lot of sleep.  That's not to say I didn't pull all nighters as a student or stay up to watch a general election in the past.  I can stay up, it just makes the next day rather unpalatable, and if I do it too often it messes up my mental health.  Its really annoying sometimes - I'd love to stay up to watch, I dunno... Questiontime or something like that once in a while, but its not to be.  I asked the Doctor about it once and he mumbled something about everyone having different sleep patterns to make sure there was always someone awake to be on guard in prehistoric times, and referred to a book I already had on Kindle but hadn't (and still haven't) gotten around to reading.  So a bit annoying but normal enough.

Jellytotts

Peri menopause threw my sleep pattern out of alignment and feel could always do with an extra hour or 2.  I started getting symptoms around 42/43. I’m often awake a few times a night with DH as he needs help getting in and out of bed and sometimes find I need a 20min power nap around 3pm.  

Elisheba

Yes @Jellytotts I could definitely be starting perimenopause. Not sure if that affecting my sleep, but I think it could be affecting my moods. I've made a Docs appointment (although as it's non urgent it's 3 weeks away 🙄) to see of I can get my levels tested, and speak to him about what to do about hormonal changes making depression and anxiety worse. 

Elisheba

Morning all,

I'm feeling so much better today. That little bit extra sleep has made a difference, but as I mentioned in the post above I think there might also be a hormonal issue. If the problem was purely depression and anxiety then it's a much slower process to feeling better. I don't just wake up one day feeling okay (although I'm certainly not knocking it!).

I'm still not feeling massively motivated, so I'm going to reward myself for doing little things today. One task done will mean 5 minutes on phone, or a hot chocolate or a biscuit 😂. If fact I'm only I'm only able to type this because I'm trying to combine some PDFs and it's taking a while.

Housewise, I have dishes to do, downstairs to hoover and the bathroom to clean. I've also go a hot and an eco wash I need to do. I'll try to get those done today. I'm in the office tomorrow so nothing will get done then.

I'm glad I'm feeling a bit better and can appreciate the little things again. Cuddles with my daft dog, how much I like the dark greens and oranges of Autumn against a grey sky.

Moneywise, I need to pay upfront for a social activity for a few friends. Should be able to do do that with Amex if they take it, but money from friends will go to my bank account so that'll be good for my overdraft. Other than that it's just about frugality.

I made a pot of tea and decanted it into my Stanley flask earlier. I've got my heated hoodie on (although I've not had to switch it on as it's warm enough). Not sure what I'll have for lunch and dinner, but I have half a tin of beans left so might involve that.

If I'm feeling up to it over the weekend I have a cupboard I want clearout and lots of bags to drop off at a charity shop. Also my Xmas stuff is on that cupboard so I'll need to go through it and see how many Xmas cards I have, and if there is anything obvious I need decco wise. I'll need to put a day in my diary for decorating. With my daft dog it's not an easy job. 

Hope everyone enjoys their Thursday 😁. One day to go until we have a little break. 

SuzeQStan

@elisheba  said  how much I like the dark greens and oranges of Autumn against a grey sky.

Oh for sure - favourite outdoor season and very poetic Elisheba!!

If I'm feeling up to it over the weekend I have a cupboard I want clearout and lots of bags to drop off at a charity shop

Always find it so enjoyable to drop off bags at the CS - frees up so much space.  I cleared out an entire wardrobe in the spare bedroom recently and it all went to the CS. Only odd thing is seeing all my old stuff for sale when I go in to drop more stuff off!  I actually picked something up forgetting I’d dropped it off there and had to laugh at myself trying to buy my own donation 🤣

Glad you are feeling better Elisheba