Ready for the next stage!

riotlady

Skint_yet_Again said:

Oooh what tattoo are you having ? 🦋 🌹 😈 ??? Well done on the phone savings. Once you’ve done the big cut backs it gets harder to save so even £2 a month adds up. 

It's the scythe from Buffy with "are you ready to be strong?" scrolling across the top. I'm totally in love with it, only problem is every time I get a tattoo I immediately want more! xD 

riotlady

Went out for lunch today with my two best friends, only came to £8 thanks to EOTHO. One of them also gave me some jars she nabbed from her work's recycling bin for my wedding decorations, so that was handy! I'm starting to build up quite a little collection on our windowsill, hoping to bulk buy some dried flowers to put in them. 
I've managed a few more surveys, mostly just very quick cheap ones on prolific but a few for a couple of pounds on populus. Long way until I can withdraw those though! 
I'm feeling quite optimistic about everything! Tomorrow I need to pick up some salad to go with our jacket potatoes for tea, but otherwise should be a v. low spend day. 

savingwannabe

Hello riotlady, welcome back. Fab news about your car and the lessons! Im cutting back on food shopping too and planning not to throw things away. Ant powder is an essential spend so I wouldn't count that as a break in your No Spend Status. I doing something similar but will allow myself a small treat once a month if I can. Covid is helping as I am not really going out for meals and no one questions my no's to invites now due to my vulnerable status. lol. 

riotlady

Lovely weekend so far, with not too much spending! Lazed around on Friday and made cupcakes with my daughter in the afternoon (had all the ingredients in already, so free activity!). Today we went for a trek around the local woods and park. Mini riot got a bit overtired and overhungry by the end of the day, so we stopped and got her and my partner a mcdonalds on the way home (£10). But since I was looking after my wallet and my waistline, I didn't have any and made myself some boiled egg and soldiers when I got in. Feeling a bit smug about that! 
Tomorrow we're off to a BBQ at my friend's house, we haven't all seen each other since about February, so I'm really excited. Need to do a top-up shop in the morning and we're all putting money in for the bbq meat, but shouldn't be too much. 

savingwannabe said:

Hello riotlady, welcome back. Fab news about your car and the lessons! Im cutting back on food shopping too and planning not to throw things away. Ant powder is an essential spend so I wouldn't count that as a break in your No Spend Status. I doing something similar but will allow myself a small treat once a month if I can. Covid is helping as I am not really going out for meals and no one questions my no's to invites now due to my vulnerable status. lol. 

 Thank you! Ahh, see I've been counting no spends as no money spent at all, bar bills coming out. 

Skint_yet_Again

I haven’t been to mcd since lockdown. They used to have a survey at the top of the receipt that you could fill in online. It gives you a code to write on the receipt. You then hand in the receipt to get a Big Mac & fries for £1.99. Worth checking the receipt if you still have it to see if they are still doing it. (I tend to stuff all my receipts in the bottom of my handbag & have a clear out every few weeks 😆)

Hope you had a lovely bbq & the weather didn’t put you off. 

riotlady

Bbq was great, was so lovely to see everyone!
No spending today, just working at home on transcribing interviews from my research project. Bit stressed about getting it all done on time but honestly I've never done an assignment and NOT been stressed and it's all worked out ok so far! xD 
I've got £110 left to see me through the month for groceries which should be manageable. I've got food in for the next few days and then our veg box gets delivered on Wednesday, so will probably pop along to Aldi to get some bits to supplement that. 
We're also doing much better on takeaways and food out than last month! 

savingwannabe

Hurrah for good bbq, for writing up the interviews - hard work - that is a great budget to survive on till payday. Things are looking v good riot lady.

riotlady

Haven't posted for a bit as I haven't really been well the past couple of weeks. Going for a blood test on Saturday as suspect I might be anaemic again. The downside is that the fatigue is crushing and I've pretty much been laying down all day every day- I've fallen behind on housework and uni work and have not been parenting to my best efforts, either. The small upside is that I'm super nauseous and have lost my appetite, so haven't spent much on food and still have £44 left in our grocery budget! 

Cashed out £14 from prolific today so I think I'll put that in the LISA when it comes through. I'm up to £17 on populus but can't cash that out until it gets to £50. 

atrixa

That's rubbish, I hope your blood test comes back with an answer. Do you take a supplement? I know some people don't absorb iron all that well.
I love your idea for a tattoo, by the way! I've been umming and ahhing over the tattoo I want to get sometime in the next few years, but I've got too many ideas...

riotlady

atrixa said:

That's rubbish, I hope your blood test comes back with an answer. Do you take a supplement? I know some people don't absorb iron all that well.
I love your idea for a tattoo, by the way! I've been umming and ahhing over the tattoo I want to get sometime in the next few years, but I've got too many ideas...

Thanks! I have the same problem with too many ideas haha, think at some point you jus have to pick one and take the plunge!

Yeah, I take a multivitamin and have been eating meat for the past few years (was a vegetarian and occasional vegan for the decade prior to that) so I don’t know why it would be low but I’ve been anaemic a few times before so maybe I am one of those people that doesn’t absorb it very well. Hoping it’s something with a relatively easy fix, anyway!