Head out of the sand. Saving for a shiny future

MovingForwards

What size engine do you have?

Make big pots of soup, chilli, spag bol etc and freeze the portions.

Check your freezer and cupboards, prepare a shopping list and stick to it.

ForestBluebells

It’s just a Honda jazz, 1.4 I believe or might be half way between 1.3/1.4

ill do a big tally soon I’ve been so busy doing my mystery shopping I have not had a chance yet should finish the shopping tomorrow then I must do my freelance job too I have no spare days I can take off it this week so probably be able to make a list on Thursday 🤞

ForestBluebells

Signed up to the new octopus trial where they give you goals to reduce your energy usage during a 2 hour window when energy is dirtiest and if you hit the goal your usage is free for those 2 hours. Probably won’t save much but I figured it’s fun and worth a try. Not sure what I can do to reduce my usage though other than ensuring everything is turned off at the plug. 

MovingForwards

What are the hours as we may be able to come up with suggestions!

ForestBluebells

I don’t know the hours yet they said they will contact me the day before the test period so I’ll let you know when I get my first test. 

I went for a 10k run today and my hip was hurting by 2k 😔 not quite as badly as last week but not good either. 

I’m going to try a different belt next week and if it still hurts I’ll have to go find a physio I guess. 

My old dog went on a walk finally with a friend he loved this week but the following day they came back and he was afraid of outside again. Unfortunately he had a fright in my garden today too (just a rumbling car engine) but enough to spook him and he frantically tried to get back inside. I tried to pick up his anxiety prescription (actually it’s one I got for my other dog but the vet said I could use that (without recommending I do as it’s a different dog) but it’s apparently out of date so I’ll need to pay for a new prescription. I guess at this point there’s no alternative than trying medication 

returned 2 mystery shopping items and went to aldee for some basics, cereal, bread, milk, baking paper, carrots, broccoli, crisps, a yoghurt, a mini cheesecake treat , eggs and a bottle of gin I wanted to try. I couldn’t carry any more so left. Got gousto coming next week. 

I then popped to Asdar to attempt to get the dog prescription as it’s a human medication and while there picked up some coffee whitener, chocolate spread, crispy onions (didn’t need those but wanted some for curries), and a bottle of tonic. 

My neighbours are being pretty noisy today which isn’t helping my elderly dogs noise phobia issues 😔 

I baked some cookie mix I got mystery shopping and that’s yummy. I have loads left that I’ll freeze. 

MovingForwards

Can you have some gentle sounds on at home, see if having it in the background helps settle your dog.

Rest your hip, cool / warm whatever works for you and have a chat with a pharmacist. My physio / chiro sends free weekly emails / blogs with hints and tips, and has a video library clients can access. It would be good if yours does as they are beneficial and keep costs down.

ForestBluebells

Dog is getting worse so I’ve asked the vet for extra anxiety medication for him. It’s hard seeing him so scared all the time. I might need to teach him to toilet inside somehow if this continues as he’s getting scared of even going in my garden. 

Had to spend £45 to replace the battery on my phone as it was only lasting an hour even when not in use making it a bit useless. It’s working so much better now though. 

Missed a key ingredient bag from my gousto box so had to go buy some Thai curry paste and ended up buying some Korean paste too which I had no need for 🙊 will have to plan a meal with that next month. 

I’m already at £144.70 food spend this month and a gousto box next week too so I will go over budget but if I don’t buy any other food I wont be too far off 

Got £50 from populous so put £10 aside for tax and £40 in my pension. 

Didn’t sleep very well last night so hopefully will have a better night tonight 

Skint_yet_Again

So sorry to hear about your poor dog. Would it be worth trying a body wrap? I don’t think I would be encouraging him to “go”indoors. Has your vet suggested anything? 

Mystery shopping sounds exciting 

Hope you got a better nights sleep 

ForestBluebells

I tried anxiety wraps for him in the past for fear of noise and fear aggression and it didn’t help then but not tried for this issue . I got his medicine today and they made me pay £41 when I dropped the prescription in then an extra £16 when I collected it as they said it costs more! Then my vets charged me £22 for the written prescription but it only cost £10 last time, not sure if I should ask them why it has doubled. My friend had the same prescription for her dog and it cost her £9 so not sure why this pharmacy charged so much
tried to take him out today and had the same panic response 😔

I finally got my power back this evening, that was tough in the cold and dark alone. I threw out all the contents of my fridge today as it was warm but my freezer seemed to have stayed cold thankfully. I had to go buy some easy to keep/heat food in case my power didn’t return so that’s an extra £15 over budget on food. I’m £50 over now 😭 I’ll need to go buy fridge basics again now too!

got the invoice from my accountant too which was double what I was expecting. 

Went for a lovely 10k and my hip felt a lot better which was good, forgot my watch though and my phone said I did less than 5k 😂 

MovingForwards

As them or change to the other vet.

Slowly replenish the fridge basics to avoid a financial hit in one go. Reassess whether you do need everything. If it ever happens again, some stuff can get frozen.

Accountancy fees are deductable, which is a good thing. Are you able to learn and do them yourself to keep costs down.

5k is still good, ease back into it and keep an eye on your hip. Don't push too hard with an injury.