Head out of the sand. Saving for a shiny future

savingwannabe

I understand and sympathise Forrest as kind people are shopping for me, you stay positive FBB this covid doodah will be over soon and we can all get back to normal. I'm trying to do one task in the garden everyday to make sure i go out.  I bet your garden looks better mine has so many weeds, I've killed the lawn and the tomatoes! lol.  

ForestBluebells

Haha my grass has given up the ghost and my dogs just love rolling around in the dead grass then trekking that through my home 😂🙈. I’m very happy with the plants though I just need some more to fill the border. My mum bought me some lawn soil so I’ll try reseeding it again soon.

I would never have thought of using gravy and curry mix. I have mild curry powder but it was disgusting on its own. Maybe I need a different type of powder. 

I’m trying to decide if I should pop to the farm shop and get some fresh veggies and maybe some bacon as a treat. I’ve heard they are operating a great social distancing routine there. Although saying that I’ve had a bit of car trouble and I drove to go for a run with my dog and on the way back my car exhaust fell off 🙈

I used a spare dog lead to tie it up off the ground so I could get home but probably shouldn’t drive now until it’s fixed. It’s a 45 minute walk to the farm shop according to google maps. 2.2miles.  Crazy when it’s only a 5 minute drive! It’s my closest shop though as all the supermarkets are a 15 minute drive and I’ve been too scared to go to those. I had a bit of a meltdown driving to my run location as I saw an elderly lady walking her dog with a face covering and it broke my heart. Then I had a bit of a meltdown about having to buy petrol as I was worried about going in the shop but I wore a glove to do the petrol and paid contactless for the petrol then disposed of the glove in a bin and sanitized my hands. Wasn’t as scary as I thought. I also got cash so I can use the farm shop honest room when they are closed so I don’t need to visit when anyone is around and you can take what you need and just leave the cash. It’s a small selection of items in the honesty room but feels safe as you are the only one in there. 

So I had a bit of an eventful day so far.  I got a cottage pie out the freezer for dinner and I’ll probably skip lunch as I don’t have anything suitable and ran out of milk so I can’t even have cereal 🙈

ForestBluebells

Oh and I somehow managed to go to the most expensive petrol pump in the area and it cost me more than usual to fill up my car despite supposingly record low prices 🙄 I didn’t have much choice though as I was running low and what with a damaged car I didn’t want to go driving around. Got a gousto box coming Tuesday next week so at least I’ll have some tasty meals to look forward to. 

I sold some things online which I put straight in my pension, still waiting on one payment. I’ll have a rummage and see what else I can sell. 

MovingForwards

I'm sorry to hear about your exhaust, these things never happen at a good time. If it's held up with the spare lead, not making a loud noise then it's a bracket that has broken off. If it was me I would be checking the lead is secure before going out / returning and using the car, plus carrying a spare back up to tie it up again.

Congratulations on the pension payments, maybe do 1/3 savings and 2/3 pension, that way both are benefiting from the extra money. You know the future is being taken care of together with the shorter future plans.

Curry powder on its own isn't good, only drop it in some form of base eg tin of tomato, beans or veg oxos.

I nearly broke down while queuing to be served, seeing what changes had been put in to stay open, I wanted to run and not be in this alternative world and wanted my old one back. I've adapted to it now and accept things look different, people are using some form of shield etc.
But my favourite place to pop to is the butcher across the road. One in, one out. Having a chat with him, picking out some lovely meat and savouring how delicious it is (sorry vegetarians!), compared to what the supermarket sells. He has turned his butcher almost like an old fashioned shop and has key items in for people to pick up at the same time.
I would be going to the farm shop for the whole experience, what they sell and you will feel a lot better going to them than some small / big supermarket. 

You are not alone with how you are feeling.

ForestBluebells

Yeah although the exhaust broke it’s still generally a reliable car and I’m hoping to get a few more years out of it as that would be most economical and I can save up for a newer (to me) one. Not sure how loud it was to be honest. It’s completely severed in the middle 🙈 I’ve ordered all the replacement parts and my friends going to fit it for me. Hopefully tide it over for a while. My car seems to like breaking exhausts. This is the 3rd time I’ve had to repair it. 

MovingForwards

Exhausts are a common item to break. They take a load of carp from the roads, are continually exposed to the wet, snow, road salt etc.

When they snap, or fall off, you hear them. If your car didn't sound any different to normal, it's just the bracket that snapped.

There's usually 3 or 4+ brackets holding up the entire weight of the complete exhaust from the manifold (bit that runs off the engine) to the back box (the last section at the back of your car), if one snaps that part of the exhaust drops but is held on to the car due to the rest of the exhaust, brackets and clamps (clamps secure each bit of the exhaust to the bit next to it).

Your friend will fix it and this will become one of them funny stories to tell in the future 😁

savingwannabe

Hurrah for your sales. It's nice you have a farm shop close by. I don't drive and am so envious of those that do. I hope the exhaust is cheap to fix and that you are ok. I went to the hospital and then popped into the nearby town and it was quiet emotional to see how things have changed. I did 20 mins food shopping and came straight home in a taxi and so far I am fine. I think it is going to take a while to process for those of us who haven't been out but we can do this. Stay strong and have a great weekend. 

MovingForwards

@ForestBluebells I hope everything is going ok and you have got caught up with enjoying the weather and wonderful walks!

ForestBluebells

Ok I just wrote this twice and lost what I wrote twice so long story short....

-car fixed = happy
-car has new problem but non essential so probably leave it 
-best month yet on food spend only spending £77!! 

-need to plan next weeks food as My fridge is empty.. 
-have online delivery booked for Thursday but currently way too much in there so need to either cancel the delivery or remove a lot of items
-had a great savings month working hard to earn extra money outside of my full time job and have earn an extra £966 this month and with a few more days to go I know I’ll earn more! Very happy with that. I’ll do a full tally on Tuesday. 

-had a terrible few weeks with neighbours damaging my property again from a leak and not really sure what I need to do to move forward and fix it. I shut down completely and can’t process anything when stressed or face decisions and it doesn’t help me move things forward. It can be as stupid As choosing a Christmas tree, you won’t believe how many Shutdown meltdowns I had on that point or how stressful I found even that basic task and in the end my mum just bought one for me and left it on my doorstep. When shop assistants come and try to help that just makes things worse and I have to get out of there pronto. That’s how useless I am! So how am I supposed to manage these repairs myself!?
-still wanting to sort my front garden but again crippled by indecision which means I never get anything done 🤦‍♀️ With the neighbours constantly walking over my lawn today I do want to sort it though as it’s just rude but I suspect I’ll be unable to decide indefinitely and not do it. 

-not happy it’s Monday tomorrow with nothing to look forward to to get me through the week. 

MovingForwards

Stop! Breathe.
Wait to see what happens with the leak and how the ceiling dries out. Take it one day at a time. You are not useless!
With your garden, do a drawing to show what it's like, say where it gets sun / light and tell us what colours you would like, we can name a few plants, say where they can be placed and then you can pick from them, dig the hole and stick them in. 

Why do you need to cancel or remove a lot of things, just because it's a big order?

You are trying to take too much on at once, running before you walk, for now you need to learn to crawl.

Well done on the money side, that's a huge positive, as is getting your car back on the road.