Things I Forgot to Mention, Again

Yes I passed my driving test first go. It would have been rather pathetic if I hadn't. I got a £180 refund from the driving school for unused lessons.

I got approved for a new credit card at a much higher limit, and at a lower interest rate. I'm still not sure how I was ever approved considering how hard it was to get anything before. But I have also cancelled my previous card. Yes it seems dumb to be applying for more credit, but I'm not spending any money - it's about improving my credit rating. One day in the distant future there will be a mortgage, but heck not while my credit rating is so meh (and I'll note, I don't owe money on any bills or loans, they just won't like me much until I have lived here a lot longer).

I've stopped hosting guests with AirBnB. This one is a long story but it has definitely occurred to me that I was knocking back employment that would clash with hosting commitments. I've made a new resolution to re-energise myself in job-hunting mode and make that a bigger priority. (Side note, it's weird being home alone while knowing nobody's in the other room.)

Holding myself to account now. Nothing else to see here...

1. My steel-capped boots have seen better days and I've been eyeing off the new styles you can buy these days that look like casual shoes. Some of my workmates have had these and I was drooling. Looked at my bank balance... looked at my steelies again and decided they can last another month or three. I bought new insoles for them instead (50p from the pound shop).

2. Turns out that the correct trousers for my new part-time job are in fact the work-trouser kind I already own, yay. Grabbed those trousers, gasped in horror at how tight they were. Stifled the urge to either buy some new ones or wear my nice new "interview" trousers while cleaning. Resorted to some less comfy ones in the interim.

3. Resolved to go on a diet immediately. This requires more vegetables in my life. Thought about what was in my fridge already... thought about my bank balance some more... skipped the shop, resolved just to stop eating so much junk and stick to eating actual meals. Came home and cooked things I already have, that is, an egg, oven chips and sweetcorn, and then ate a pear.

4. Looked for a car. Found a good prospect. Got an insurance quote. Gasped in horror. Went back and revised my car preferences and looked for different models, ages, mileage and conditions. Found a better prospect. Got an insurance quote. More horror-filled gasps. Tried a few random models. Realised my insurance cost is not going anywhere south no matter what I drive. Decided to delay car ownership.

5. Got an interview invite from prospective employer. Check location. Plan to catch bus. Check walking distance; change plans to a leisurely 45 minute walk to my interview.

Custodial Assurance Facilitator

That's me. I have a new job. Most people would call it "cleaner", of course, but hey, I'm nothing if not creative, I mean, strange. It's only part-time but it's flexible, so I can work it around my hosting, and can even still work it if I manage to bag a full-time job.

What's new in frugal things though? Well, I pondered something I've thought about doing for months, and that is to buy myself some new sneakers, aka joggers aka trainers. I kind of hate the ones that I own. But somehow I managed to resist and bargained with myself that I can buy them in a weeks' time. I also wondered what to wear to my new job, as I know the shirt is supplied but there was no mention of trousers, and I've decided to wear a pair that I already own and if they ask me to buy a different colour, I'll deal with that later.

I finally signed up for a Boots card. I don't know why I'd put it off for so long (maybe I assumed it was a pain to sign up, but it was easy) and I scored me a nice 24p of points on my first purchase alone.

Poundland, where I buy my milk, laundry detergent and croissants, had reduced cereal for 75p. It's honey wheat puff cereal, not sure whether it's my thing but that price made it on par with the price of corn flakes (the cheapest cereal ever) so I bought two boxes just to give myself some variety. Its best-before date is June, but I think you can guess just what I think of best-before dates on cereal. It'll still be fine for months. They also gave me a £2 off voucher for my next visit, only I'll need to spend £12 to use it. I'm racking my brain trying to figure out how I'll make up that £12 without buying things I don't need! Think I might need to stock up on laundry detergent and possibly shower gel.

I'd been offering my paying guests orange juice squash with their breakfast, and realised it was running low. So I went to the supermarket that I knew sold it, only to find that particular branch doesn't stock it anymore, and only sells the sugar-free. A quick check of my phone to see where to buy it, and to my horror even if I went on a trek to get it, it's been hit with the sugar tax and is now well over £2 per bottle. I personally can't stand the sugar-free version. I know that sucralose is a thousand times better than aspartame (blechhh!) but it still annoys me. What I did see was that a different variety is only 45p. Well guess what my guests get now... blackcurrant. A flavour I'll personally never drink, but one that is a lot kinder to my pocket.

I'm washing linens so often that it occurred to me I could save money if I were able to wait a day and do two sets at once. Only trouble is, that means using one of my personal duvet sets for guests, which I kinda try not to do. I'm weighing up whether to buy another set. I might need to do some maths on how long it would take to pay for itself. Decisions...

A dose of the "unfair"s

I am struggling at the moment just a tiny little bit, with a small dose of the "unfair". Like, it's so unfair that I can't have x, y and z, when everyone else can.

It's not even luxury items that I want, to be honest, and I don't want things for the sake of looking good or keeping up with the Joneses. I think I'm wishing I could be more lazy (ironic, since this week I have been bored absolutely silly, and sick to death of the sight of even computer games). My confidence is taking a slight battering by not being at work, ie, it sort of feels that I'm not achieving much. I at least took myself off to the museum yesterday to get out of the house, so, half marks to me. Bought a pair of suitable work shoes from a charity shop, they were new so I was pleased there. Less great was that I bought a pair of sandals just because I liked them, but swings and roundabouts so they say.

We truly don't often appreciate what we have. So today I'm taking stock of the things I have and attempting to remind myself just how fortunate I am. I was tempted to eat junk for lunch, but I really should eat the fish that's supposed to be good for me... so I got out a piece of salmon and put it into the oven to bake. I made myself eat cereal for breakfast instead of bread, which I tend to eat non-stop out of laziness. The sheer number of people in this world who haven't even got bread to eat... the number of people in this country alone who can't afford any meat at all, let alone have a choice between salmon and chicken! - what a shameful thing for me to complain about!

What I need is a really big dose of therapy, and by therapy I mean a good, stern self-talking-to. I'm also going to take advantage of the Not Rain (sunshine is free) and go for a walk to buy some fruit (good for me).