Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts

Saturday, 14 May 2011


This week has just been a non stop rollercoaster ride of fun.

The massive revelation last weekend that due to some poor planning and self control on my part, I have no freaking money. This has seen me taking food to work each day, instead of being a lazy idiot and buying stuff in the restaurant there. I say restaurant based not on how many stars it has, but the fact that it's a place where people go to get food and sit down and eat it. Here I am, on a Saturday morning sitting at the iMac with a cup of coffee and some marmite toast. Only problem being that I've actually ran out of Marmite, and that I've also ran out of spread.... so really I have dried toasted wholemeal bread with the dregs of the Marmite spread onto it. Hmmm. yum. I think if I ate a box it would taste better.

confusingly named 'shrapnel Jar'
That definitely means that it's time to get off my backside and get some food. Ah. One small little problem. Finance Error. Grrr. I guess I'm off to see if the shrapnel jar has enough for me to be able to buy a week's shopping out of it. Shrapnel Jar is in reality neither a jar, nor does it contain shrapnel.

Don't worry folks, the important thing is that I've got enough kitten food in to last the week. The kittens will most definitely not go hungry.

I'll be getting off this chair in a moment and taking myself and my 'shrapnel Jar' off to the nearest store that has one of those coin converter things that allow you to tip in wads of coinage such as contained in the above 'jar' and change it up into real money (well a voucher) that you can use to spend in the store.

Only thing is that the nearest two places that provide that facility aren't exactly nearby. One is the Tesco store in Havant (near where I work) the other is the Asda store in Fratton (further into Portsmouth). Really does require me getting up off my arse doesn't it ?

Saturday, 18 September 2010

The sky is clear, the sun is missing. I've broken up with my kebab shop.

Definitely got that autumnal feel today. Such a lovely word, Autumnal. It's just the way it rolls off the tongue.

Saturday's really do feel strange without a list of chores to do. Oh well. I'm sure I can get over it.

Have managed to lose a fair bit of weight lately. I'm now down to 14 and a half stone, which I think still classifies me as obese according to that chart thingy the doctor has. When I came back from holiday, despite all the outdoorsy activity, the walking, kayaking etc, etc, etc I'd still managed to nearly reach the 15 stone mark.

I've hovered around the 14 & 3/4 - 15 stone mark (see-saw-ing back and forth, as you do) for quite some time, so was pleasantly surprised when the scales told me the new result. When I say they told me, they didn't actually speak. I don't have those sort of posh scales that people who are smug about their weight and want anyone in earshot to hear what their weight is. 

I've actually managed to keep the 14 1/2 figure for the week. No fluctuation. So what is the weightloss programme that I've been following ? Atkins ? Weightwatchers ? Have I been counting the calories ? Do I have a chart of book that makes me feel awful for so much as looking at a snickers bar ?

No.

I have the fantastic new 'I don't have any money to buy shit food anymore' diet. Quite simply, because I am watching every penny, (the pounds look after themselves apparently) I'm not wasting funds on buying take-away foods. I don't just mean Chinese or Fish and Chips, or McDonald's. I mean the food from the restaurant at work. They do have a cheap option dinner, which is £2. But £2 a day is much more than I can afford to spend. Certainly not the £3-£4 (or more) meals. Once a week I may get either the cheapy meal, or treat myself to the more expensive one, but by and large, I am taking in something to eat. That's right people, I'm packing lunch. Oh yeah.

Instead of buying food and then throwing half it away a week later when it's given up on looking anywhere near tempting, I am now thinking about buying things that will get me through the week.

Snack foods ? Snack foods around here these days are raw carrots or a bowl of Weetos. I do still indulge in the odd chocolate bar. But certainly not one every day. I've made more of an effort to eat breakfast before I go to work. I used to justify to myself that if I didn't have breakfast, and didn't really have lunch it would be okay for me to have a bacon roll mid morning at work. Bacon is my enemy. Bad bad bacon.

I'm also, freakishly getting excited (I don't know if that's really the word to use, but we'll go for it, until another, more suitable, comes along) at the idea of not spending money.

Last night on the train home, I really wanted a kebab. Not an elephant leg kebab. One of the ones made from chunks of real meat, and salad and stuff. Stuff that staple foodstuff. By the time I'd pulled into Cosham station, I'd reasoned with myself that I had some burgers in the fridge, and some chips in the freezer so I could have burgers and cheesy chips, (I added petit pois cos I felt there was way too much protein going on there). Saved myself the £6 odd cost of the kebab. Sorry Marmaris, Cosham. What you do is lovely. But I can't see you any more. We're going to have to break up....

Anyway, bugger off, I've got 'New Moon' to finish reading.