Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home

MillQueen

@Lolina, I agree, the price of that is really unreasonable. When I bought the one I just finished, maybe 2 years ago, it was about £25 and even that was exceessive. I am finding I am getting through them quite quickly when I just focus on a couple and use them every day. The Georgia one is so old they stopped making it, but I hadn't even opened it, so I've been using it loads past few months and it's about half gone. It makes me look like a corpse though. My skin looks flawless, just in the way of the recently deceased.

@in_need_of_direction, that's a good idea about donating them, I'll have a look and see if there any that are unopened. I am sure someone would be made up to have some nice stuff, as they are generally good brands, as my makeup obsession always tended to be for high end products. It's best not to talk about eye products, as I have enough eyeliner for a decade and that's less donate-able. I've been using ones I like for daily wear and others when I'm not bothered (wearing random blue liner around the house). Really how much brown, black and grey eyeliner does one person need, but I have all manner of pencils, cream palettes and gel pots, whereas over time I now prefer to stick to a small number of daily items.

I'm also a fan of makeup that looks like I'm not wearing any, so I'll have to get to a place where I have a routine that's simple and minimal, with maximum 10 products (foundation, concealer, eye primer, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, brow palette, blush, highlighter, lipstick). To be fair, that sounds really high maintenance when I write it down, but I think people would be afraid if I stopped wearing it now 😂.

I am on my course today and I have treated myself to a hot chocolate in the cafe. I could have brought one, but there's only 6 or so half days I get to spend out of work and I am making the most of it. I feel really cosmopolitan and studious with my costa cup and my laptop, taking copious notes 📖❤️

MillQueen

They have let me come home to work after the half day of training (lucky with my bad hair conditioner, ugly coloured eyeliner and my corpse blush), so I picked up my parcel on the way home and looked in the supermarket to check out the yellow sticker shelf. I got some huge Lebanese flat breads (55p), soft pitta pockets (64p), fancy hummous (97p), potato cakes (54p) chocolate cake bites (£1.64). Not that great, but I will put the pittas and potato cakes in the freezer and I have already got a tin of lentil soup and some freezer veg that will be nice with the flat breads over the next couple of days. The hummous will also be perfect for with those. The main thing is to keep putting off a big shop until I am running out of toilet rolls and cleaning items. I got more weetabix as well, as I am really into the routine of that for breakfast now - I got the shop's own brand at they were only about 6p per weetabix. I have them with water if there's no milk 🤣

It's time to get my head down and catch up on work for a few hours now, as inevitably everything will have gone on fire because I took my eyes away for half a day, but then I'll do something with fajita spice and veg for the flatbreads and make some extra for lunch for tomorrow. I am finding this therapuetic!

MillQueen

Well, if you remember last week I was having a tantrum and cancelled my netflix account as they had put the price up by a massive percentage increase. I just renewed my broadband contract and managed to add netflix on for only an extra £1 a month from what I pay now, so that ended up being for the best 😁

foxgloves

Back when we were first debt-busting after decades of overspending, I can remember I was working through a lot of make-up items which it turned out I didn't much like or had been in one of the 'free gift' boxes from the staff-in-white-coats cosmetic counters & very much not my colour. I decided I had spent money on them one way or another, so could jolly well use them up & not waste them (sort of in penance, I suppose, as well as trying not to spend money because we were paying down our debt). Well, 3 days in a row, I arrived at work & before I even got as far as my office, a colleague would say 'hi' & then ask me if I was ok. 'Yes, thanks' I said each time, only for them to say I looked tired or didn't look my usual chipper self…….and you know what it was? A lipstick from my use-up box! It was a good brand neutral colour…..as in barely-there neutral which obviously with my black eyeliner must have made me look really drained & washed-out. After the 3rd person commented with genuine concern that I was looking poorly, I have to admit I binned that lippy! The next day I was back to a nice bold lip & the polite enquiries as to my health stopped forthwith!

MillQueen

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82161648#Comment_82161648

Yes, that's where I am at now, with the vow to use them up since I spent money on them and don't want to spend more. I do think a neutral can look washed out; that's probably what's happening with my blush too. Every time I see someone, in person or online, they say some variation of "OMG you look KNACKERED!" or they ask "aw are you ok?" in sympathic tones, "you look really exhausted", gently as though I'm on my last legs before the hospital ward. It's true, I am exhausted, but no more so than the usual level of it.

I have persevered for now and started layering a brighter blush on over the top of the paler one and making a point of telling people how fine I am and how energetic I feel (lies). "I am enjoying how much work I'm doing and I really love working this hard". "I feel great this week". Like the last rally of a terminal patient.

MillQueen

Something else I've been thinking about is how to be intentional about actually using all of the rooms in my house. I saw a video of someone talking about how they love their small money-saving home and use of all the rooms. I'm terrible for sitting in the same room all the time, although when I first moved in I did make a point of sleeping in most of the bedrooms just to try them all out. I have been the same whatever house I have, e.g. I have rarely used the dining room in whatever home I've had. Even the one room I mostly sit in now, I tend to use the same corner. I'm going to make a point of going in different rooms 😂

ArtyJ931

I am imagining you living in a mansion 😂

Dakota_Rose

I heard on the radio one morning this week that you should try something new at home for a different experience -e.g resist your usual sofa space to sit somewhere else. To be fair it’s pretty rock n roll when you’re a creature of habit 😂.

MillQueen

@ArtyJ931, it's just a big period stonebuilt end terrace that would suit a large family or the sort that normally gets snapped up as an HMO as there are loads of bedrooms over multiple floors. Though it does feel palatial compared to places I've lived before. I fell in love with the high ceilings and chandeliers. Admittedly it's less exciting now to be hoovering all the stairs. The rooms in the loft I never really go in, as the stairs are wobbly and there's a door to the eaves that mysteriously opens and it freaks me out.

@Dakota_Rose, I tend to sit on the old charity shop sofa, as I am too scared to sit on the new one. I've only sat on it a couple of times since I bought it 🤣. At some point when I can afford to replace the charity shop sofa with a new one as well, who knows where I'll sit, as I won't want to spoil that one either. I might try to sit in the kitchen more, as I got a lovely big farmhouse table that I sanded and lime waxed and then collected mismatched vintage chairs. I will make a point to sit in another room when I get home.

ArtyJ931

I’m in a big Victorian mid terrace. Well not big - just 3 bed but it has a separate hallway and front room so round these ends that’s a big terrace 😂