Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy

Spendywendywoo

Today has been a no spend day, as planned. Busy day in terms of work but still managed;

• 20 minute lunchtime walk
• put the bins out
• homemade dinner from stores (burger, chips, corn on the cob)
• decluttered and cleaned my work desk
  • multiple documents were shredded
• decluttered and cleaned the understairs cupboard
  • in the donate pile; two school jumpers, a set of kitchen table mats, last year's school shoes that no longer fit, a booster seat that DH has grown out of
  • in the rubbish pile; a zipped jacket that was far passed its best,
  • in the recycle pile; a mound of DH's school work from this year (I've saved any personal and special pieces for his memory box)

Top wins for today:

• Did a walk at lunch even though I didn't feel like it, and it was raining
• Walked passed the chippy whilst on my walk, even though it smelt amazing!
• As much as I was tempted to move a meeting today, I didn't, which means I have a full meeting free day tomorrow to get some actual work done

I feel that I am steadily getting back on track with all the things I want to make a priority.

Plan for tomorrow; slow but steady day working through my to do list, not pressuring myself to 'get loads done' as I feel that that has the opposite effect. Dinner will be from the freezer (something that doesn't need defrosting like a ready meal or fish and chips). Planning a no spend day. Walk at lunch. Finish work on time, and log off completely.

I currently have a headache (probably self induced as I haven't drank much water today) but the night is still early so I'm going to have a nice refreshing shower and an early night.

Almost weekend!

Wendy x

Spendywendywoo

WFH day today, set out on a structured path this morning - just having a little break and then back to it. Love a no meeting day.

I opened the understairs to get my jacket this morning and it looks so clean and organised, I also went into the inside freezer to get the ice pack (for DS lunchbox today) and that is looking less cluttered too - there's a lot of research around tidy house, tidy mind but I didn't realise just how much of an effect it would have so soon after starting this project. I'm excited to see what the house will look like once we've completed (it does look incredibly tidy from a standard view but open a drawer or cupboard…and that's where the problem lies.

Breakfast was granola, banana and milk. I've used all the granola up now but do have cereals, oatmeal and one sachet of porridge left to use so will sort through that today if I can so I know what's still edible and not out of date…

Plan:

• Lunch time walk
• Keep to time blocks as much as possible to get through what I need
• Finish on time and log off from work completely
• Dinner from stores; likely fish and chips from the freezer with mushy peas
• Calm and steady weekend so starting with a chilled night watching a couple of our shows that we need to catch up on. I think it will be Clarkson's farm and / or The Chase race around the world

Time for a cuppa and a 2 minute breathing exercise before I reconvene my work

Have a great day, all

Spendywendywoo

Quick update catch up on this lovely chilled Sunday morning…

Friday went as planned, the only change was we had different freezer items so the fish and chips still remain. I even made my own flatbreads for Fridays dinner using flour and some Greek yoghurt I had in.

Yesterday was fruit loaf for breakfast that I had in the freezer then it was a busy day, took my son and his friend to a different park for a few hours. I took water and snacks so just two ice creams were bought (£4.60). Then DH and I tackled the back garden, sorted the grass, cut back the neighbours trees, picked up lots of leaves, cleaned the patio… it’s looking fabulous this morning in the sun. I also gave the hoover a spring clean as it hadn’t been working fully recently so managed to unplug the little pipe so hoping it will work properly when I tackle the floors this week.

We had leftover katsu curry from the freezer with rice and a couple of spring rolls each and finished the evening with another episode of Clarksons Farm. We were all shattered so early night for all and a little lie in for me and DS this morning.

Just having a nice relaxing coffee and a sit down with doggo before we seize the day. Today’s plan is;

• Dog walk
• Front lawn tidy whilst the sun is out
• May tackle a cupboard or two in the kitchen (still need to work through the cereals ready for the morning)
• Sunday roast for dinner using a couple of joints I had frozen a month or two back as I got them on yellow sticker, veg from the freezer and I’m hoping to make a dint in the 40+ Yorkshire puddings I have in there too (oops)
• Then a relax and another couple of our fave episodes before another crazy busy week

Hope everyone is having a great weekend x

Spendywendywoo

Busy couple of days in the office, it's quieter as less people are working with the holidays but the workload is still high.

Nipped to purchase DS uniform aftr work, £114 so far but need to pick up more pants, which I'll have to order online, and some new trainers but I think these will need to be astro type. He's reusing his school bag from last year and he refuses to wear a jacket so I will be well within my budget of £180.

I bought some bits to complement dinner for the next few nights but used a £10 giftcard I had been given a little while back, so shopping came to £5.20.

I've prepared the budget for August payday later this week and will make a conscious effort to update it at least every 2 days so I can keep up to date and track no spend days too.

All in all a good week so far, but certainly ready for my bed… is 8pm too early to go to sleep?!

Spendywendywoo

oooo…also just realised that I never updated my signature with the MFD date as we've reduced it recently by 9 years!! 2045 now, though still aiming for 2035 ;)

Spendywendywoo

Busy morning, just taking a quick 10 minute break to check in.

• Purchased the rest of DH uniform, which I've ordered via click and collect, it should arrive within the next 3-5 days and pick up is just in the next village
• Got all my things to do (personal) down on a piece of paper last night. It was a long list but I was able to prioritise and put a day against some items (urgent or need to be actioned on a particular day). The items without a day will be picked up when I can
• My M365 subscription is due early September so I am going to work on moving my budgets onto google sheets. I don't particularly use any of the other M365 apps on my personal laptop so I can't warrant £90 just for my budget - it kind of defeats the object

Today's meal plans;

• Shreddies, milk and banana
• Chicken and feta potato salad
• Chicken fajitas with one wrap
• Treat will be a small biscuit bar (89 cals)

I've put 2lbs on in the last couple of weeks, I haven't been eating the healthiest as we have been eating out of the freezer and I've been snacking. WFH and sitting all down doesn't help either so trying to be more mindful.

Right, back to it… :)

Spendywendywoo

I've made a decision to start getting serious about losing the weight.. I have so much to lose by not taking action, I'm already starting to feel the ill-effects of eating rubbish, drinking alcohol (though this has reduced massively this year compared to previous years) and not being consistent with my exercise. So….

I'm on my second mission but this time it is to lose the pounds, not gain them. I'm not going to focus on the weight loss though, I'm going to start with a 75 day reset where I will try and instil good routines and focus on the following;

1.5l water a day

30 minutes of walking a day minimum

No social media doomscrolling

10 minute strength daily

1800 calories daily

10 minute declutter

No alcohol

I know that the list is quite a lot so I'm aiming to do them all but never miss a focus twice in a row. I'm hoping these habits will help me to find a better routine in time.

I've marked a post it for each day 1,2,3,4 etc and also marked the date on it, I will highlight how many of the 7 habits I managed to do on any particular day so I can see where I'm up to. I have post its for my current weight all the way down to my goal weight (marked in lbs, as this is what my scales measure in and also stones and lbs), I will weigh daily and then take an average every Wednesday, if I've lost weight then I can cross out the weight I am no longer at.

I really hope I can apply as much focus to this as I did my debt management last year. I will report on here daily alongside my finance updates for accountability.

Eeek…no more start overs, this is the start of a very positive and healthy journey :)