The Electricity Consumption Rabbit Hole

So after much a'Googlin' I think that it's still cheaper to wash nappies than to use disposables 🤞 but not in the way I've been doing it (full rinse followed by hot wash). Several people say a warm wash is fine so I'm going to try a single rinse then just warm washing on the longest cycle.

My son J is coming to visit and meet his little sister this week 💕 and I can't wait!

Shopping sensibly has really gone out the window. While I don't go crazy in the shops, I usually forget essentials and then it's a week before I can organise myself to shop again. Related: I found an old tin of condensed milk (possibly free from my old house 3 years ago) and although it's out of date, in my coffee it's just fine. #frugal

So today's mission was to do a weekly shop. I actually remembered everything. But did Little X enjoy the experience? Hell no. She screamed. There's nothing fun about attempting to pack groceries while also trying to calm a baby down. 0/10 would not recommend.

I also had return two Amazon items -  child slept through this 👏 however she yelled while paying for fuel - the stupid pay at pump wasn't working so I had to drag her inside. 👎

Spendy McSpenderson:  The shop had a pack of toffee tarts reduced. So I had to. No regrets because they are incredible. 

Faulty Clocks

All of them. They simply must be faulty because everything takes so much longer than I expect. Today after the group, I calculated there were 1-2 hours left before Little X would demand feeding. Half way around the supermarket she started to cry, and quickly became inconsolable, which is rather inconvenient when you have a trolley of shopping 🛒 AND your kitchen is depleted almost to the bone so you can't actually not shop. When I got home I realised it was much later than I'd realised. She had a point in yelling at me. 

So anyway as hinted I used up a lot of food this week. Emptied both freezers and a fair few packets and tins. I even drank black coffee for two days when the milk ran out. ☕ It's probably the first time I have actually lived the way my income should dictate. 🤣 It helped that the temperature out there is hovering around freezing ❄ and it's just generally inconvenient to shop with a baby to begin with.

Today I managed a few yellow stickers. Seven (7) reduced cheese pizzas 🍕 which were only 69p each. Three lasagne portions - I consider lasagne a treat these days given the cost so I haven't had any for ages. And I also bought reduced cinnamon buns. This supermarket is new to me, spacious, cheap and clean, so I may have to make it a habit. Spendy also put cheap chocolate, coke and muffins into the trolley. It's important to taste test them, obviously. 

Currently playing a mindless game for cash. I have joined a bunch of Facebook groups for people who do "stuff at home for cash" and there are a few promising-looking programmes I may try out.

Volunteer Squad

Today I took Little X to my new group, the one I am volunteering at. For a couple of months they will be giving me some training - this is definitely not what I expected, since I thought I'd just be hanging around and being moral support to other parents. But it seems this bunch like to really invest time in their volunteers and I'm all for learning new skills ☺

I really need to spend some admin time on my laptop. It needs a days' worth of clearing and reinstalling Windows which is a crap job in any language, so I continue to procrastinate. 🕒

I found a few new groups on Facebook where I might possibly get a few referrals to the good survey sites. Ideas, ideas... 💡 

Need to sort out some gift cards. I have a hefty one for a discount supermarket 🛒 and also found a forgotten one I can use, if I can figure out how. 

Tonight I managed to cook dinner for once, I poured chicken in white sauce over some veg and potatoes. It was amazing, proper comfort food, so I will have to make it again. Four stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

Zoom Zoom

That's how the hours, days and weeks go by lately. Little X has kept me busy (sat on my backside) while we fight with reflux, but we're getting there. We have started going to playgroup and I have even applied to volunteer, so I hope I'm accepted.

This week I swung by the baby bank, since somebody is challenging the washer's ability to keep up. I have a pile of clothes to sort through and a few more blankets.

Today's essentials shop was almost £30, a frustrating amount for not much food, to be frank. But this is reality. I didn't go to Food Club this week, going there is a hassle now and I either buy too much of what I don't need or come home loaded with cakes. 🎂 Hmmm, maybe I should go next week 😂 or more appropriately, I should organise my meals and actually use what Food Club sells. Ham and cheese sandwiches 🥪 really shouldn't be a staple food 😋 

HMRC have made me feel crappy in having to ask repeatedly to repay them slower. In the end I sort of won, the repayment isn't comfortable but it's not worth grovelling to get any lower. Irritating, but oh well.

My new glasses have arrived. To my surprise they are metal 😲 and really lightweight 🙁 but I think they'll be fine.  I need to adjust the arms to make them tighter on my head, but the script is perfect and I can look over the top again for distance. 👏

2 days to get a £5 PayPal redemption and cover my loan repayment... So I'm camping on Prolific of course. 😁 And 25 days left until I can get my Help to Save money out. 🎉 I will take great pleasure in knocking Poison-Ivy credit card down to zero. 💪 Watch this space. 👉

PS Doing these posts on mobile, while slow and annoying, gives me access to so many more annoying emojis! 😏