Ill-Fitting Part Two

My general disposition and outlook.

My new trainers, that is, so I need to exchange them. Annoying++.

I bit the bullet and ordered another pair of reading glasses. I've dropped these and smacked them against multiple objects at work and any day now they'll be broken beyond recognition, and without a spare pair I'm sadly rather blind.

Pay day arrived - all my credit cards are zeroed again - and a big chunk of cash has been whacked down onto my car loan. It should be gone before the end of the year. My credit rating has jumped up, and I also got approved for a higher limit on one of my cards. Feels great :) And it should all mean I can borrow to buy a reasonably-priced property with money to spare.

Coins left over - I spent them at the supermarket (somewhere I now rarely go, because why would I, when I'm bringing food home so often?)

Spendy McSpenderson has bought a wooden bracelet online, probably the thing I need least in the world! I also bought some amazing candles which smell like Christmas. Because they were on special, and yes, I know that is a poor excuse.

Ill-Fitting

Seat covers do not fit. Fortunately they are still in the returns period. I guess Pugsley is only having the new shoes and not the new underwear. On the plus side that's £27 back in my pocket.

Speaking of Pugsley, I have been thinking of buying a bigger car. I have no rational reason for playing the "I want" game. My "I want" list could easily get so huge that it would take my entire life to buy it all. I really need to focus on what I should be aiming for. I mentioned my dream car to a friend, and she immediately said, "Yes, but be realistic." It was exactly what I needed to hear from someone who has the same tight budget as I have! Mind you, she then told me that he wants to upgrade her own rather nice car, so it clearly doesn't apply to her :D

My Experian account is now telling me that I should keep my credit card balances at £0. Facepalm.

I've been a bit up and down mood-wise of late and it's occurred to me that it's my lack of a current "project". While I was a gym-goer that was great for my mood - and now that my only real goals involve patience and standing still until things improve, I'm antsy. I think that's why I keep pondering walking the Camino de Santiago (a pilgramage across Spain that takes a month to walk). Goodness knows that a month off work is not practical anytime soon!

My tips are still building up in the form of coins that need to be spent. They're now officially my petrol money on top of my electricity money.

Punishment

As punishment for online shopping, the clothes do not fit. One dress can be wrangled to fit. The second dress (which is now sold out on their site) I love so much that I've resolved to diet until it doesn't cling to me for dear life. And the third dress, which is too small across the bust, looks hideous on me in general and is simply going back. On the teenaged stick model it was quirky, but when modelled by a larger woman in her 40s it's just sad and old-fashioned. It is being returned along with the trousers which are far too shiny, too long, too low-cut and too skin-tight to be worn to work.

Good tips today and work is going well.

I bought myself some incense which smells a-ma-zing. I also finally ordered a spare pair of glasses - I've bumped my head into things several times at work and also dropped them, and it's only a matter of time before I destroy them and can't see a thing. I also got myself into gear and ordered my new trainers.

Brought home free lasagne and chocolate pudding!

Plod, plod?

Boooo. But not this kind of boo.

Annoyed at how slow my credit rating is moving. Experian has even given me a handy helper thingy telling me pearls of wisdom like that I should keep my credit card balances under £10. This has to rate as perhaps the most idiotic idea I have ever seen. Almost nobody who actually uses their card actually does that. That Expedia think people should be judged poorly for the fact it's in use (and not at 0) just defies belief. The thing is, these companies take a snapshot of your credit card at any random day of the month. The only way for them to see a zero is to pay off the credit card before you even get billed. Or more accurately you spend money then immediately go and transfer the funds over onto the card.

Making the card pointless.

I'm also annoyed at the long delay in updating my score. I paid them all to 0 and have since used the cards for bills (as normal) which will be cleared as soon as they are due (also normal) and now I've discovered that Expedia still thinks that's not good enough and that "great news", my score will improve over the next three months if I keep them under £10. Booooo.

This week I bought/received: stainless steel double shot measure jigger, 99p from eBay. I have excused this as "homework" so that I can mix new drinks at home. Tape measure 99p because I can't buy clothes online if I can't measure myself first (it was two for 99p, so the other one is in my "selling box"). Also awesome magic hair bun creator thingy which was also 99p but will work much better when my hair's a big longer. And four pains au chocolat for 35p which I most assuredly did not need since I can eat cake at work.

I have resolved to stop saying yes to every single meal offered to me at work, but I fear I may be too late, as a carvery lunch was presented to me yesterday without me even asking... they already know I'm going to want it!

My bread rolls got binned however, because I wasn't fast enough to squirrel them away. Sad face. The downside to having kitchen staff who like a tidy work environment!

I Miss Hospitality.

There's another flat I'm looking at right now and I can't help myself. I started thinking about hosting again. It even happens to be a flat that's currently on the AirBnB site. Want.

I think my self-confidence has taken a hit this week. I'm suddenly convinced that nobody will even give me a mortgage. Or that the caravan will never sell. (I did relist it today and got a handful of enquiries almost immediately. We will see.)

Some weeks I struggle to come up with anything to blog about - because when you don't go out much and you don't buy much, it all becomes a bit routine! :D

I bought nothing like this.

I did have a Spendy McSpenderson moment today where I went shopping online for dresses, something I've been thinking about for a while, mainly because I don't really have any casual dresses if I want to be a level above "ragamuffin" without looking overdressed. The shopping was good and bad. I did get a new pair of trousers which I need for work and they were only £3.00. I did also find a lovely dress for £7.00. Unfortunately I didn't stop at one dress and we won't discuss what the total came out as except to wonder aloud... what was I thinking with such a dry bank account right now? As in, it's still 13 days to payday and I'm barely into the three figures.

I had another good week for tips and I don't need any more electricity for the moment, so the question is where to put this cash? I barely go to the supermarket anymore and depositing cash is not really a thing because let's face it, nobody likes going near an actual bank branch. I have resolved to try harder to spend it on, um, fruit, milk and biscuits.

I will shortly need to buy shoes as I've almost walked through the bottom of my trainers. I have decided to get the same exact ones, but unfortunately I can't read the size, meaning a very annoying phyiscal trip into the store to try them on instead of ordering them online. Dull!

The Holy Grail

You know, despite the fact that this blog is about frugality (and thus, indirectly, it's about money), I do think that the most important thing in this life is to learn to be content within yourself. I think I can say that.

Even though I missed two great properties this week, I am ok.
Even though there's almost nothing in the bank, I have enough.
Despite my lack of overflowing funds, life is good.

A friend gave me a gift card he can't use this week. In return I bought us two raffle tickets each in aid of Musgrove Hospital. I am really not a gambler, but it was for charity and I thought, well it's a small gesture to say thank you. He was convinced he'd win the golf lessons and I thought he might win the ladies' toiletries pack. I just wanted the pink gin. So I've been telling everyone at work that they're not allowed to win the pink gin, and guess what? We both won... me the bottle of pink gin, him a bottle of scotch whiskey. We have declared it the best gift card swap ever.

I have had a few unexpected tips from work, too, and I decided that having cash sit around is a waste, so my tips are now my power money and the electricity key is all topped up nicely. I haven't had to buy groceries apart from milk in quite a while... I do love free food, it rocks. Sunday sees me bringing home the leftover bread rolls and all I really seem to need at home are some pot noodles and fruit. Working almost every day does have its perks! And the number of hours I'm getting has exceeded all my expectations.

I know it will drop off later in the year, but that's ok. For now, it's ok just to be ok :)

Zeroed

All of my credit cards, that is :) Feels good.

Bank account is now looking less than comfortable (and it's another four weeks until pay day) but the car is full of fuel and my July tips are there just in case.

Feeling antsy, two great properties have come up and the caravan still hasn't sold. Grrr. I may have to look at other ways to advertise it. I have had a couple of people interested though, so we'll see. In the mean time I think I will start viewing properties.

Free cake from work :)

My rota is jam-packed next week, I will be exhausted but the pay packet will be awesome.