What's Better Than a Post-Christmas Sale?

I stayed home on Boxing Day and watched with amusement as my social media blew up with Spendy Spenderella stories. One person proudly showed off a collection of carrier bags which each displayed a different brand name. (She is also prone to posting glam shots of the new designer handbag she has collected this week.)

Sure, if that's what makes you happy, it is your money, but personally, I think I'd feel good for a few hours and then go back to normal - what about you? Maybe get excited for another two minutes when you take it out of the cupboard for a night out. That's about it. Meanwhile the money's gone.

It does make me wonder whether people think about the whys of buying designer products. Are they to make people admire you? Ok, so that makes us feel good. We like it when people "approve" of our lives. Or when they compliment us on our taste. We feel proud. We feel flattered. But dig a bit deeper and ask yourself if you want to be complimented on your ability to spend money. Trust me I could be an expert at that if I put my all into it, I could throw wads of cash like nobody's business, but does that make me... erm... clever? Worthy of praise? Can you imagine someone actually saying, "Gosh, Susan, you're so good at spending, I wish I could spend as well as you can, I try but somehow the money just won't leave my hands! I am ever so jealous that you can line someone else's pockets better than I can."

Anyway so as I was saying, I stayed home on Boxing Day and steered clear of the sales. Some people noted that most stores were very quiet at the sales (and of course that I should go shopping). I guess if you have a plan for what you're going to buy, the sales can be useful. I did actually pop in to a couple of shops on Saturday - and it was not planned in advance, which was Bad, but I did know exactly what I wanted when I went in, which was Good, and I did stick to it, which was Excellent. So I have come home with 5 pounds gone, but I have extra decorations for my tree for next year and no other junk.

There is still Christmas chocolate in my house. And Christmas cake.

The Frugal Guide to a Decadent Solo Christmas

It's probably not a totally frugal day if you follow all these things, but what's the point of being frugal all year if you never get to enjoy it? Also, feeling gloomy often peaks at this time of year, and I am a great fan of living my best life, so, here goes. (Besides, since frugality is a habit for you and I, even the decadent days will be good value.)

Preparation in the days before:
1. Get the grocery shopping out of the way. Preferably do it early in the morning when the shop first opens so you don't have to deal with the hordes of people who all believe it should be done one hour before closing on Christmas Eve. Or be like me and do it at 3.30pm on Sunday and marvel all over again at all the idiots shopping late on a Sunday afternoon (me included).

2. Buy yourself something nice for Christmas lunch. Screw tradition, just get something you enjoy eating. This opens up a host of opportunities in single servings - if you want to eat a roast beef hot pot ready meal for one, do it. Nobody else will be leering at your lunch so get whatever you want. This also frees you from the pressure to buy a turkey, when even the smallest joints are eye-wateringly expensive. I bought a tiny ham, just because I can. And potatoes, which I rarely cook. And brussels sprouts, which to my Aussie self don't even seem Christmassy but hey once a year why not.

3. Get a dessert. It's 2018 and if you go to a large supermarket, you will find they are available in budget ranges, in dozens of flavours, and in serving sizes for one (or one for today and one for leftovers). I bought a budget trifle which I will no doubt struggle to finish before it's out of date. And ice cream, and chocolate, which I will not struggle to finish, but which are important.

4. Get snacks. Then get even more snacks. At this point remember that you'll eat too much and won't want nearly as much as you can greedily drool over. Opt to buy less, or at least make it healthy, like some nicer fruit than you'd normally splash out for, or a Christmas cake that will keep for quite a while. Also cheese and crackers. And a spare Christmas cake.

Pretty.

5. If you're having a quiet tipple then skip tradition again and just buy what you will enjoy. You can break rules and drink white wine with a steak if that's what you want to do! You're the boss for the day. Fancy fruit juice, or soft drink, is also acceptable if you're not drinking. It is a good excuse to chill the bottle of Prosecco I got from work. However it might be a bit meh to drink that alone, so I bet that the vodka and fruit juice that I've already got ends up favourite.

6. Give something for the food banks. Yes we're skint, but someone else is worse off, so drop in a handful of items from your cupboard that you'll never eat - and if those don't exist, the items that food banks always need are tinned ham/fish or hygiene items. Tinned cherries and exotic food are never going to be king at my place so perhaps someone else can use them.

7. Go home and thoroughly clean and tidy your home. Get a load of laundry done. Do the washing up. Put up the tree even though you thought you couldn't be bothered.

On the day:

1. Sleep in - it's free, it's decadent, and you don't have to answer to anyone today!

2. Get out of bed and enjoy your gift to yourself - a lovely tidy home and the freedom to do whatever you please for a whole day. Switch on your Christmas tree lights and think about how pretty it is. Relax over coffee and check in on social media, realise that a lot of your friends are having similarly uneventful days merely because (surprise!) a lot of them are single, working, not from a Christian background, or just not crazy about Christmas. Feel good about being a bit normal after all. Different strokes.

3. Eat something cheap for breakfast, it'll make you feel at peace with your luxury lunch. On Christmas day, chocolate is allowed at any time, including with your breakfast. Dress up in something that makes you feel good. Or stay in your pyjamas all day, if you want, just because you can.

4. Send nice texts to anyone who deserves a text. Call or text anyone who you know might be struggling today.

5. Watch the Queen's speech, because it's tradition, or something. You may accompany this with a drink if you wish.

6. Think about making your lunch. Do this anytime you please, since it's your day, and if you want to eat Doritos while scrolling through Facebook first, you're allowed.

7. Put the radio on, on a station with real humans talking and playing Christmas music. Yeah, you're at home solo but some people have to WORK! Be glad all over again about having a day off.

8. Burn a scented candle. Rub your itchy eyes. Be determined not to be allergic. Burn some incense. Pop an allergy pill. Deny, deny, deny.

9. Watch something of your choosing. If you want to watch Home Alone, do it. If you prefer Nightmare Before Christmas, then not only do I think it's a solid choice but you instantly gain Cool Points. If you, like me, love a good mindless documentary, then Channel 4 has a three-part one all about the Pound Stretcher stores which kills several hours and is vaguely interesting.

I did not follow my own advice and struggled to finish it.

10. At some point, actually make your meal. Make it less huge than you first want to so that you can fit dessert, fruit, cheese and crackers, chocolate and ice cream. Eat all of these things if you want to. Take a pic of your lunch. Meditate on whether you bother to Instagram it.

11. Consider donning the Christmas earrings (or an errant piece of tinsel) for a Christmas Snapchat photo.

12. Food coma time. Nap optional.

13. Play computer games. Chocolate.

14. Stay up late.

15. Eat leftovers.

16. Compose blog post.




Plate contents: Tesco orange-topped ham joint (cold), budget Christmas spuds and sprouts, small steamed onion (all cooked in microwave, in microwave soup cups), budget range coleslaw and spiced red pickled cabbage, budget range gravy (tip: make this up with a sliver of a stock cube for extra flavour). Approximate cost £1.30. Budget-priced? Yes. Missing out? Heck no!

Knock Me Over With A Feather

Poor cleaners. I picked up every last piece of confetti.

My previous landlord has left a note in the deposit account that it will be refunded in full! Happy Birthday to me! It's all going on debts, but it's still nice.

Speaking of birthday, my workmates glitterbombed my desk and bought me a balloon on Friday (the balloon is floating out of shot). They also bought me a cake, which was lovely. I brought the leftovers home of course!

Work has also been deluged in chocolates and alcohol given as gifts to us by clients... they were divvied up and handed out, so I scored a large tin of chocolates, a large box of shortbread, and two bottles of Prosecco. Very happy with my unexpected Christmas gift, free food is great.

Slight guilt at the moment for skipping drinks with ex workmates, the thought of having to walk half an hour in the rain to the pub on Black Eye weekend - every tradesman in the town is out for end of year drinks, and if there's ever a night not to be walking on your own, well.

I am not spending up big on Christmas lunch, but I spotted a tiny ham in the supermarket for £4 and LIDL have mini roasting potatoes for 19p so I will make an actual baked dinner for the day with gravy. I will also buy a cheap ready made trifle, because making my own would just end up with too much to eat.

Running out of data for the month and accidentally discovered that I can up my plan by 25Gb extra every month at a cheaper price than adding 5Gb when I run out... sooo... upgrade done. I mean come on, I MUST at least watch Nightmare Before Christmas on Christmas Day. I wasn't going to bother with my tree but since I have five days at home, that might be a project.

A few friends have sent kind messages, cards and gifts, or spent time with me, and it was just what I have needed. Thank you. I try to imagine how this time of year must be for lonely people. Only one person was concerned to ask if I would be alone for the day even though practically everyone I know is aware I live alone. Please, chat with your single friends, casually ask about their plans for Christmas, and invite them along for dinner. Or a weekend drink. Or for coffee. Or whatever. It's not about pity, and some of us are ok with spending Christmas alone. Some are not, and one extra chair is no big deal at the table, but it might be a really big deal for someone who would otherwise be lonely.

Merry Christmas all. x

Losing Google+

So you might have heard the rumour... Google+ for Humans will be no more come the new year. I think only a handful of my 20,000 followers even read my blog, but even so, if you are interested to keep reading I have put the email subscription widget in over on the right (or the RSS feed, for those still using RSS).

Anyhoo, what's new in general? I have been adulting and boy is it hard. Working, eating, sleeping, how come it takes up most of my life? Right now I am concentrating on getting on my feet, Step 2 will be repaying my debts, and then Step 3 will be the whole "plan not to work my whole life" project.

My car was due for its MOT. I took it in and told the mechanic: it needs the horn replacing, the part is on the front seat, and also the exhaust is rattly so please have a look. He did the MOT before replacing the horn and the exhaust bracket - meaning I now have a FAIL with a "Dangerous" and a "Do Not Drive" both showing in my online MOT history, followed by the PASS on the same day. No argument that these things were dangerous, but when I TELL you about them up front why do a stupid MOT test before fixing the things I told you about... I may wait a couple of months then do an anonymous one star review.

So Christmas preparations are in full swing all around me and I am struggling not to be a Judgey Jenny every single day. All I hear is what people have bought "just because". I almost thought it was me being jealous, but actually I'm thinking: this is a path to Never Having Savings. I am slightly concerned I will just become a Hermit Grinch who lives on beans and rice and claims vegetables are an indulgence! :)

I even struggle with the "buy lunch every day" concept. My ex-workmates all seemed to do it. Bringing lunch from home made me unusual (and the butt of jokes). I am just a bit confused, all of them had rubbish pay and lamented a lack of money, but still? If you bring your own food and accept that it's your lunch for today, you get used to not eating a hamburger... you really do get used to it. And I don't miss out because I can go home to a delicious evening meal that doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. Let me tell you, a chargrilled spicy chicken steak sandwich with roasted red peppers from a jar, some mange tout, grape tomatoes and a cold strawberry milk, all prepared in less than ten minutes, is delicious and comes in under £2.

My new obsession is reading the Money Diaries on Refinery29. Take one 20-30 ish person on an average income and see how they spend their money over the course of a week. (I don't bother reading the rich people because I'll just get annoyed.) The average earners all seem to follow a similar pattern, buying lunch, buying coffee, buying a super cute new item of clothing, going out to dinner, pub for drinks, seeing a movie with friends. I didn't want to believe it's normal for people to live an extravagant lifestyle but if this site is a fair representation of the UK in general, then it is. And I'm 99% sure they would all say they are not big spenders. But when you manage to blow several hundred quid on food and drink and going out in just seven days, wow.

My plan to sell all my surplus stuffs didn't go ahead and I arrived too late for the car boot sale. I donated most of it to the charity shop and am still pleased at having less stuff. Still a win.

Enacting Gratefulness

I have felt a bit meh and a bit flat this week, sort of wondering deep questions like "What is my life?" - obviously not helpful in any way whatsoever, but bound to happen when you are not quite sure what your goals are. Broadly, I want to watch my spending and try to save half my income over the next 12 months. But beyond that, I think my objectives are a bit too fuzzy for proper planning, things like imagining being rich, imagining being retired, imagining being a kingpin landlord.

Last night I sorted a dozen boxes' worth officially Going. Carboot cancelled due to the weather, but even though it's not gone I do feel more at peace today in my tiny space. It's tiny and it's constant compromise, but it's inexpensive, I don't need to share it and it keeps me off the streets, and these are things to be grateful for.

My previous flat has mould on one wall. I suspect this means they want to retain my deposit, so I'm more than a little annoyed. It's a waiting game.

My car, Pugsley, is a bit growly. I suspect it is exhaust-related. I am currently assuming it's not a major repair. Since I don't drive him much anymore I'm hoping repairs are few and far between.

Work does actually seem pleased with me, but they've given feedback that they want me to relax and be myself and smile more? I had to reassure them that my resting face is just how I look and I'm not perpetually annoyed at the world!

Two Weeks of Discipline: sandwiches every day at work. No takeaway meals. One big shop per week instead of constant visits (less junk purchased... so the weekly food shop is around £15).

Purchase: Secret Santa gift for a workmate, £10, wherein I battled and finally found a non-tacky garden ornament under the price limit.

Purchase: a stupid sojourn into a new pound shop, £20 gone in a snap, but did incorporate a stand/shelf for my microwave which has created precious storage space. (Context: my kitchen is the tiniest kitchenette you can imagine.)

Ugh: I will run out of data this month necessitating an expensive top up. I am trying to use work's wifi to catch up on things.

Dinner: a piece of quiche, a handful of mushrooms, and yummy rice salad (rice, tin of mixed bean salad, half a jar of pickled red cabbage).