So it Begins - The Accountability

Catscoffeecake

I believe its so when people search the company names etc your posts don't potentially come up in the search history.

Catscoffeecake

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82037941#Comment_82037941

you could get one for your fridge (magnetic) and put on it what you have brought and date it goes out of date (also day of week helps me) so that you can look at that when trying to decide what to eat/cook and also helps you think about whether something needs to go in freezer for example if you aren't going to use it.

haha yes sadly I brought some coffee and cake today to "reward" myself despite not really having funds in my budget for it. so now I have to juggle some pots around to cover it. so frustrating

sams247

@InDebtEnby Thank you - I have tried making lists in the past, but ignored it so much I gave up. But I will try again. I sorted out one freezer and found three mystery packages, I have NO idea what they are…… I am defrosting one for tea so I hope it nice. And savoury.

@MillQueen £200 is probably a good month……. and it may not have. included snacks…… or eating out. But thank you. I like the idea of a reward challenge…..

@ArtyJ931 yes….. I think I'll stick to real names as I think I'll forget.

I did not sleep well last night!

Debt
Not too much happening on that front today, but it is definitely going to be a no spend day, as everything I have to do today does not include going anywhere near a shop. And on the subject of going to a shop, I went to the library yesterday and just happened to find myself in Aldi afterwards. I knew I was headed for Aldi when I went the wrong way home. And I sort of negotiated with myself, I had £5.60 and change in my bag so I said to myself that's all I was allowed to spend and no more. So I got some mini hashbrowns, a bowl of mini salad, tomato and cheese lattice bakes (pack of two) and a pack of twirl chocolate. And I had change. I cannot congratulate myself as I did not need any of that.

I have been scouring this site for more ideas and motivation.  I have signed up to Shopmium and Too Good To Go. I used to use Too Good To Go but found it disappointing. I would really like to hear how other people get on with it. I am already on Olio but rarely manage to get anything on there as I do not eat bread and that seems to be an abundance.  

I have a subscription to Audible and I think I can give that up.

Food 
For those not in the diet world, one I have been in and out of for at least a decade, allow me to introduce you to the concept that if a food item does not touch a plate it clearly has zero calories. This discovery came about when a friend of mine declared that a custard doughnut he was consuming had not in any way touched his plate and therefore had no calories whatsoever. In this way I managed to have a zero calorie dessert of two shortbread biscuits and a twirl last night.

Today breakfast was porridge with maple syrup, banana, blueberries, and cashew nuts. Lunch will be one of the tomato and cheese lettuce bakes with the salad. Tea is a mystery until the strange object is defrosted from the freezer and I discovered what it actually is. I hope to be eating it with hashbrowns, we shall see.

My moment of disappointment - waking at 3am and then staying awake for an hour for seemingly no reason at all.

sams247

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82038798#Comment_82038798

What I would ask myself is - was it worth it? And my answer is generally yes 😁. I feel, and it may be my downfall, that if we do not reward ourselves or enjoy ourselves then what are we doing all this for? If you said you'd blown a wad having a meal in a michelin restaurant and a limousine home well…… but it was cake. Life is for cake. And Twirl.

Catscoffeecake

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82039119#Comment_82039119

yes as long as not doing it all the time and can fit it in my budget though!

sams247

I awoke very early this morning to the wonderful sound of men digging up the path in front of my home. As the path was perfectly fine yesterday I can only assume they are either a) repairing it for no reason whatsoever or be) putting in a drop curb. Actually, having said that, it already has a drop curb. It's now a mystery

Debt
I've been working my way through some of the challenges to see which ones I could join. And I've had to be really honest with myself as some I've joined before, enthusiastically, only to give up after a week or so. There's no reason for my giving up beyond the fact I've done so -  that's my ADHD for you. So I've decided to only join the ones I truly, truly feel I will continue with.

I've also been researching different websites giving ideas for frugal living. I have discovered some good ideas but mostly what I have discovered is you can open 12 of these things only to find the information is seemingly copied and pasted from each one to another.

I've read about the idea where you write the numbers one to 100 or whatever, and you pick out an envelope each day and then you save or pay a bill with the amount of money that is said on the envelope. I decided I will do this idea, but I will adapt it. For a start, I'm going to do repeated numbers and none higher than 5. And then I'm also going to have a note inside the envelope as to what to do with that amount. So some of the numbers will be repeated many times. Inside the card is going to read Spend, Save, Pay off debt, Have fun. The Spend - I will add this to my grocery amount, Save and Pay off debt are obvious, Have fun means I have to buy something purely that raises joy. I plan to make equal amounts of the cards and I plan to have at least 40 envelopes. In order to stay within my budgeting criteria no amount will be more than £5. And, again to stay within my budgeting criteria, I am only going to open the envelopes on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It's a weird and complex system that my brain came up with and I'm happy to comply with its suggestion

Food
Yesterday I gathered all the pieces of money I had in various places, and it added up to just under £5. I made the choice to use this in a local coffee shop and enjoyed a scone with jam and cream with a cup of hot chocolate. I had to pay an extra £1.50 on top of my sourced money, but I have to say it was well worth it. I took along a book and spent a very happy 95 minutes just chillin.

I have no guilt. 

I had to go and buy some toilet roll but made myself use a very small local shop. The price of the toilet roll was a little bit higher but I knew that I wouldn't buy anything else in the shop therefore sticking to my no more food buying until payday rule.

Breakfast today was a use-it-up kind of breakfast, I mixed the last of the baked beans with some sweetcorn from the freezer, I threw in some peppers also from the freezer, and I added the last vegetarian sausage from the freezer, chopped it up and mixed it all, cooked it then I crumbled over the last of the feta and hey presto a weird but really nice breakfast. Lunch will be the leftovers from last night's mystery tea, which turned out to be teriyaki "chicken "with butternut squash. There's not a lot left so I decided to make that lunch. Tea will be pesto gnocchi with the last of the little bowl of salad.

Moment of puzzlement:
I wish I knew names of birds, as this morning I was watching the tiniest little bird I think I've ever seen dart back and forwards into the bushes and then bravely facing the last of the Ravens to grab some seeds. I wish I knew what it was.

vampirotoothus

Hi, re your moment of puzzlement. The Merlin app is great for identifying birds, especially by sound. :) V x

sams247

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82040651#Comment_82040651

Thank you. It didnt make any sound I could hear but thats probably because the ravens, crows and magpies make enough noise to drown a cement mixer on full steam!

Edit - it seems to be a wren

Afdaff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82040891#Comment_82040891

I was going to suggest a wren from your description. Goldcrests are also tiny but less likely to be skulking about the bushes in the way you described.

Afdaff

Also, welcome to the diaries!