Champagne Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget - 2021

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment yesterday was buying myself a pair of Slazenger black leather trainers online for only £22.99 including delivery charges. 

My Champagne moment today was buying myself 3 of the books that I really coveted in 2021 for myself from eBay for a lot less than the recommended retail price.   

My best moment of 2021 was finding out that none of my family had become really unwell after they got Covid-19, so they are all recovered or recovering, so are all of my neighbour and friend's family. So thankful to hear all the good news 

Throughout 2021 I managed to make savings on my purchases of £7691.99

I also won £350 of  Tesco Text to Win competition prizes ( £100 Gift card and £250 cash)

I collected 8,346 Nectar points on my eBay purchases in 2021 worth £41.73

I collected enough Tesco Clubcard points throughout 2021 to earn me £74 of Clubcard vouchers. 

phoebe1989seb

Gosh, that's an amazing amount of savings etc, Sugarbaby!!! 😄

And such good news concerning your family's health too 😃

helensbiggestfan

Just typed a post and lost it.  🤬.  

Sorry too tired to try again.  Tummy upset today and feeling a bit grim,  will be back tomorrow.  

I need a nap. 😉

MrsPorridge

Hope you feel better soon.

I've started typing out any long posts in word and then just cutting and pasting into Moneysaving.

sugarbaby125

Thank you Phoebe 

That is a great tip Mrs Porridge

I managed to earn £124.74 with Quidco Cashback throughout 2021 

helensbiggestfan

Good Mornjng my lovely friends. 

Well after a bad day yesterday, a bit under the weather and feeling rather sorry for myself I'm bouncing back today. 

I was determined to make a fresh start this year and had hoped to begin my new journey a couple of days ago but let's just say the start date was delayed to unforeseen circumstances, draw a line and start from today.  😁

I have lots of ideas for this year but basically I have decided I want to completely revamp my life.  I have finally accepted my solo status.  I have now been widowed for 7.1/2 years and its time to build myself a new life. 

I have decided that I am going to sell up and downsize this year,  I have no idea what kind of property or even its location.  I just know I want to live in a different way or at least give it a try.  I will probably rent for a while.  

I also need to tackle my health and fitness, start socialising more, start travelling again. Much as I have enjoyed living here I do feel the house has become a stumbling block, it's a bit big and I'm starting to struggle with the garden so it's time to downsize into something smaller and easier to manage.  And tbh I'm starting to resent the time, effort and money It takes.  

Anyway that's the plan. new healthy body, new house, new lifestyle. 

Today I'm going food shopping, so will stock up on healthy stuff and then tomorrow will take down the Christmas decs.  And then it's all systems go.  

phoebe1989seb

Well, 2022 has got off to a flying start both here and for our family 😄

Despite taking less time off than planned, DH succeeded in getting the stud walls framed and plasterboarded in the guest room 😇 Plastering next, then once that's dry I'll be able to get my fab Abigail Edwards wallpaper hung 😍

The new contemporary wool kilim (marked down to £130 from £435!) looks lovely in the main bedroom, really lifting the space...although the fact that it's a bright, sunny day certainly helps!

DH has secured another big building job that - once he's completed his current paid projects - will take him well into the year. It's a far cry from where we were three years ago - no income, no vehicle (after a disastrous purchase and terrible service from a local garage) and a wreck of a property to restore 🙄☹️

Things are going well for DS too - he so deserves it after the year he's had! The new kitchen he's been building from scratch over the hols is taking shape. It will revolutionise the way they use their home, because the one they inherited when they purchased their Brighton probate house in 2019 was customised for a wheelchair bound elderly lady so everything was at a lower level with pull-out surfaces etc -  not at all suitable for a young family with a toddler 🙁

Despite being an academic type, like his dad he's also extremely good with his hands (unlike many of his school/uni friends!) and is making a marvellous job using many items they've been gifted or obtained for peanuts on eBay and gumtree, such as the brand new oak worktops from a satisfied client! Very MSE 😁

We've also been making plans for the future and have concluded that 2022 will be the year we decide whether to 'love it or list it' as Kirsty and Phil would say!

It will be four years next month since we purchased the old mill (the longest we've lived anywhere since selling the big old family home in 2007) and - whilst the changes we have made are nothing short of miraculous, imho, it still needs to come a long way before it resembles a place I'd want to stay long term.

With that in mind, we plan to complete the work required to enlarge and improve the space this year (extension, ground floor cloakroom, converting the attached outbuilding into a habitable room). If all that doesn't change the way I feel, then we'll look at marketing it for sale in spring 2023....

Before we can start any of that we need to complete the snug transformation - so first up will be replacing the previous owner's hideous, shoddily built frontage with a wall of glass 😉

It's going to be a lot of hard work (DIY as always), but we're both really looking forward to some more challenges, lol!!!

sugarbaby125

Phoebe life has really started well for you and your family in 2022. I hope you have more Ups than downs throughout 2022 

sugarbaby125

My Champagne moment on 3rd January was going to Karaoke at my usual pub. It was a great night filled with singing and dancing. I only sang 4 songs because there were so many other good singers there and a couple of great singers.  I did sing a new song: 3 Little Birds by Bob Marley. I did okay, but I can only really learn the song by repeatedly singing it at Karaoke. 

As a couple of really good friends were also at this Karaoke, I got a lift home in their car. 

helensbiggestfan

Some big challenges there Phoebe but I think challenges are good for us.  They stop us from stagnating, keep us vibrant and alive.  

I have to confess I have struggled to get off the starting block this year - a bit more tortoise than hare but like the tortoise I will plod along until I reach my goals. 

For all sorts of reasons last year was not exactly my best year - those champagne moments were somewhat elusive at times and somewhere along the way I lost my mojo. 😂.  Hopefully this year will see me find it again and I can rediscover the old optimistic, vibrant me.  

Each year I chose a word or phrase which becomes my mantra, something motivational to spur me on.  This year I have chosen "radical transformation". I want and need to make some sweeping changes and transform myself and the way I live.  

I have a mountain to climb but with patience and perseverance  I will get there.  

January will be devoted to getting my body into better shape, sleep, exercise, healthy eating, try and increase my energy levels ready for the big push to get the house market ready.  Put all the bad stuff of last year behind me and look forward with hope and optimism to better times ahead, so I can start having more fun and more champagne moments.  

Onwards and upwards......