Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy

dawnybabes

My WI have a book club but they only pick books off the library book club list (they lend them out in a batch to different book clubs so no one has to buy any) 

Spendywendywoo

@Suffolk_lass, thank you I will look for those books on the app. 

@dawnybabes, that sounds a smart way! Means everyone is able to enjoy the book 

Spendywendywoo

Well, yesterday was another productive day. DS played and won his game of football, it was a lovely game though silent weekend is always hard for us parents (enforced by the FA to encourage the children to communicate and have their voices heard). 

Then I managed to get the ironing pile down to pretty much zero (just formal wear such as dresses and shirts left but I rewash and iron these on the odd occasion we need them). 

I then changed the bedding, which will be washed today, then I relaxed until I made dinner. There was a lot of football on yesterday so we watched some of that and also watched a film with DS. 

Yesterday was a minimal spend day and I will update the budget later. 

We’re all going away for a night next weekend so I need to plan and prep for that and I also have a list of jobs I want to do before then. 

I don’t think I’ll be in the office this week, perhaps Thursday if any, so I’m going to make the most of having no commute this week. I’m also going to do strength and stretches this week as the walk on Saturday left my foot in agony, so I’m going to focus on these activities in the hope of it helping. I think losing some weight would help too (I’m about 2.5 stone overweight). 

I’ve a day of back to back meetings ahead so time to relax and read first with a coffee ☕️ 

Have a good day all, 
Wendy

Spendywendywoo

What a lovely, relaxed morning...

I read my book for 40 minutes, then I showered and got changed.  As I was getting ready I listened to my audiobook for 20 minutes. I had breakfast, tracked in My Fitness Pal (MFP) and set about starting on my 2 litres of water. I also got Wordle in 3 tries today

I've had a slow start reviewing meetings for the week, my action log etc. 

I feel when I read (as opposed to looking at social media first thing, or at all...) my mind is fresh and more clear. I have also spent a little time really thinking about what I want to achieve over the next few months, especially now that finances are looking better than they ever have.  Whilst I won't be taking my foot off the gas with our finances, I have seen what having a plan and tracking is having so.... I have set a plan out for weight loss, which I hope will help me feel better in myself, will aid my achilles recovery and will allow me to feel comfortable on holiday. 

I have 28 lbs to lose. So I've set up a SMART action plan and a reward structure;

What: Lose 28 lbs in weight by the end of August 2025
How: Meal planning, exercising daily, logging food daily and staying within a calorie deficit, drinking a minimum of 2 litres of water a day, 4 hot drinks per day (assumed 2 coffees, 2 teas) and staying accountable by including progress on this log alongside my financial updates. 
Reward: 
7lbs loss: £100 towards new clothes - I'm in desperate need for new clothes but have been promising myself new ones as 'soon as I've lost some weight...'
14lbs loss: £200 for clothes - if the timescales I have set for each goal are achieved then this will fall to our May holiday, if not then at least I will be able to buy new clothes for summer
21lbs loss: Spa overnight break with DH
28lbs loss: Break away with DH 

For all the rewards, I already have some money saved, or I am saving and will have adequate time before the goal is hit. 

Posting this on here is making it more real that change is going to happen... please hold me accountable x

Suffolk_lass

NHS at this link suggests  two litres a day (6-8 cups/glasses) includes hot drinks like tea and coffee. Are you on a special over-hydration diet for some reason? If you are drinking more like four litres a day, every day, you may be over hydrating. The NHS suggests the following; drinking too much water, especially rapidly, can dilute the sodium levels in your blood, leading to a condition called hyponatremia.

Obviously this is just sharing official general advice, not me diagnosing or advising you on a medical matter

Spendywendywoo

@Suffolk_lass, thanks for stopping by Yes, unfortunately due to my chronic condition I have to drink upwards of 2l a day or I suffer from terrible headaches and issues. I haven't been hitting anywhere near 2l a day so have been struggling lately, I do think it's been partly the reason I've felt unwell recently too. It's interesting that the link states this as I was always told previously that caffeinated drinks, whilst containing water, act in an opposing way - advice is changing so often though, isn't it. 

I also have to keep sodium and cholesterol levels low too but both are higher than they should be at the moment so certainly time for change

Sun_Addict

I love how you’re tackling the changes like a project with rewards thrown in. It’s the old adage - a goal is just a dream without a plan. Good luck 🙂

badmemory

wordle show off - congrats on that by the way.  I only managed 5 today but in my defence got 3 yesterday.  A lot seems to depend on how your mind works.  Especially when I am doing quordle I seem to always pick the wrong fifth letter.  Not getting it until the 5th missed letter is just really above & beyond

Spendywendywoo

@Sun_Addict, thank you ☺️ 

@badmemory, oooh what’s quordle?? I had a good streak going and then ladle on Saturday flummoxed me and I struck out all my turns. I use the same word to start with…. I did actually get the word in one, once 😂 not sure if I was more disappointed that I didn’t get another go that day (it was early days of using Wordle) or knowing that the word wouldn’t be used again for a long while lol 

Spendywendywoo

Small finance update… I got a click and collect order at the weekend and there was a product that was damaged (I only realised once I’d got home) so I asked for a refund straight away via WhatsApp as I had to bin most of it, they happily did so (£1.45). Then last night I had some meat that was gone off…again refunded no questions asked, and a £3 goodwill gesture for the inconvenience! I would usually be put off going back to store to get a refund (I’ve only recently started doing click and collect so I can monitor how much I’m spending and analyse before the items are picked) but I’m prod to say that’s almost £10 in my pocket that I would have been worse off before 😀