Loving this song....

I love the film PS I Love you & love this song. The film is so happy/sad . Wanted to share ! xx

30 ways to save a pound....

Thank you to http://onelifeand3kids.blogspot.co.uk/ .  I have done this as this lovely lady on this blog mentioned it on a blog post. Take a look at   http://www.moneysupermarket.com/30-ways-to-save-1-pound/.  It is quite hard actually putting it down! 

1. Instead of catching a bus home, walk home & save at least £2.00 if not more.
2. Use orange Wednesdays for the cinema (buy one get one free) & save one full price!
3. Shop for clothes at car boot sales
4. Use your local free cycle group
5. Check local colleges & hair dressers to see if they need a hair model, these can be free or considerably cheaper than paying full price as done by trainees
6. Check out your local health clubs for free trial days
7. Some beauty places also operate with a system if you introduce 3 new friends you will get a free treatment i.e. manicure.
8. When purchasing make up buy stuff on the 3 for 2 offers
9. Don't buy into big brand names try one down ; why pay for a brand name?
10. Take a pack lunch out with you when your going to work or on a day out instead of eating out
11. Book days out in advance as you can save money for prior booking
12. Buy a sports bottle & fill it with water instead of buying a bottle of water/drinks each day
13. Instead of paying to park close to your local city centre, park on the outskirts & walk the little distance
14. Join the library to have access to free books & internet
15. Do your weekly food shop late at night when food items are most likely to be reduced - they are a fraction of their price!
16. Evaluate your spending every so often to work out which things are essential & non essential
17. Keep a spending diary to make you more aware of your expenditure
18. Take advantage of when local eateries do special deals for an example dominoes on Tuesday have a policy where it is buy one pizza get one free. Do your research!
19. Travel off peak instead of during peak hours to save yourself considerable amounts of money
20. Withdraw money from actual bank atms to avoid unwanted surplus charges for an example my local convenience shop charges £2.00 to withdraw money!
21. Bulk buy things as this can be considerably cheaper than buying them individually (only if you need them!)
22. Have a loyalty card for when you buy petrol & look around at different outlets for cheapest price
23. Clip coupons & print coupons from the internet
24. Go to a clothes swish (like a swap shop) you could arrange a night in with your girls & have one..
25. Only put the heating on when absolutely necessary, make use of blankets & wooly socks
26. Having showers uses a lot less water than baths so instead of having a bath daily reduce it to a shower? Save money on your water bill! Also if its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down (that's the toilet!)
27. Plan your meals in advance & batch cook, get a big chalk board & write it all on there
28. When eating out have table water instead of drinks or lime & soda as usually around 30p
29. Sell unwanted things on ebay such as outgrown kids clothes
30. Use money saving expert & money supermarket

This week I have placed a few things on ebay . I am shocked with how much postage has jumped up.  I have made some postage errors & ended up being out of pocket.  Before we move we are using the time to really prepare & streamline all our things.  Its a good time really take a look at things. This week I have

• Sold a pair of roller blades on ebay for £22.
• Sold my vintage scales for £20.00 ( the postage for these were £16.00 , I did the postage at £15.00 so only £1.00 down.)
• Sold a t - shirt for £4.99 (cost me £1.00 at car boot sale)
• Sold a replica vw campervan for £12.70 ( I estimated postage at £5.00 it was £8.00 yikes ggrr)
• Sold a small sofa for £80.00
• Sold a black top for £3.99

As I sold quite a few things I topped the emergency fund up by £100.00 .Making it to a nice round number of  £2000. 
I am not sure how long it will stay at that as things pop up but it feels nice for today!.  I still have a few bigger things I would like to sell like a cupboard & some chairs.  Things are being put into a pile for a car boot sale as I go along.  I have given a friend a tent & sleeping bag.  I am sorry to say I need a comfy sleep ! Cant cope with camping ( I am a wimp!).  I do need to track our finances better . I start doing it then forget to keep it up.
How do you keep track of your spending, computer or diary? or other way?
x

Been busy!

Well where shall I start!.  We had been talking a while me & Mr No Spend about selling our home. Well to cut a long story short we sold our bungalow which is in a quiet residential area , good local schools etc. Popular with families & elderly. It is We had an open hour ( 2 hours!). Thirty Six viewers in that space of time & 2 offers.  One for the full asking price to!. We accepted the full asking price from a nice older couple.  Anyway we had a talk about what we wanted to do ( it is still early days & as anyone knows chains break , fingers crossed).  Our main things are

•  Mortgage freedom - The thought of having no mortgage is a strong pull.  If we sell for the asking price we will be able to have no mortgage & have some money to pay car loan off (£5000) & have some money in the bank as an emergency fund
• Location - Currently where we live is close to DS school. It is very very quiet up my road!. I am not complaining.  In the daytime if you are in you would have 4 - 5 miles to see some civilization.  Of course there are more local shops & cafes (2) .  I find living further out it is harder for me to get motivated as its a bit like living in a sleepy village!  I yearn for more hustle & bustle. 
• Simple living  - Our needs have changed.  We are different to how we were when we were starting out .  We are not as spendy & not trying to accumulate stuff! The opposite less is more

We have found a lovely flat across the road from the seafront (the picture above is the view!). The floor space is bigger than our bungalow!.  It has concrete floors that was a must for us as we could not be doing with creaking floors.  It is on the top floor there is only ground, first & second.  The thing I love is it has a balcony where I can fit a table & chairs. I can see the beach huts & the sea rolling in. cannot wait to do some storm watching ( sun first please !). the next best thing is its twenty minutes away from my mum & dads house.  At the moment I am a good 1 - 2 hours away from them by bus.  Mum & dad are in there seventies now & I would like to be closer incase needs arise. The only draw back is it is further from sons school but we have that all worked out.  I will lose garage rental income & will not be doing my ironing service (Yay!!!) .  I have been doing ironing as my main source of income for over a year & it has made my arm ache so happy to stop doing it.  I will find work out in the new area & concentrate on ebay.
Looking forward to sea air & getting out and about & new beginnings.  Hopefully the sea will make me walk more & be good for those endorphins( there is no lift at this flat so hopefully be fitter !! .  I wish I would not get too excited . I am scared to! Anyone would think I was moving continents! the way I go on. I am leaving my good sweet neighbours that I love dearly. I will see them still but they have been the best. xx

Summer Clothes & mix & match outfit!!

 

I woke up to an overcast grey morning .  Days like this we all yearn for sunshine!.  I pulled my summer clothes out. I like the brightness the polka dot ,the floral, the tangerine & nautical stripes & not forgetting the bright yellowness!. I cannot wait to wear my skirts & feel the summer breeze & sun on my skin. I think I will hang the summer bits in my wardrobe now just to remind me, like a gentle reminder to let me know!

My jazzy gold pumps &  stripy socks

I wore this print skirt with my leggings underneath! & a cream lacy style top with a peter pan collar.  I said to my husband " does this look ok?" he chuckled & said " well its bright".  I went out today in a mix & match bright outfit. I chucked to myself to, as I know its a bit mix & match!.  I did it in the name of brightening up a grey day!.  Do you have a favourite colour that instantly cheers you up?. I love tangerine orange, red, white & apple green & not forgetting stripes & polka dots......!

Mr no spend is off half this week. He want to relax more than anything.  We went swimming yesterday I did 47 lengths (its only a small pool!). I also went swimming on Monday. I love swimming . I do the breast stroke & doggy paddle. It has helped my bad back no ends. Anyone who suffers with reoccurring back ache should start swimming.It really has done the trick & that's why I keep it up.

xx

 

Walking

Today I woke up a bit to early.I seem to always wake far to early 4.30 usually!.  I was feeling a bit glum at one point in the morning . So I forced myself  to go for a walk. I did not want to!. Anyway near to where I live I took the dog walking trail. I skidded twice through the sloppy mud(did not land on my bottom though, very nearly though!) 

 

 

I walked and walked.I managed to be gone for an hour .  Sometimes the things we know we should do that would help us are the very things that are hard to get started or even do.  I should embrace the fact that I am able to just get up & go for a walk.  Mental health can have such a hold over people & things that are nothing to think about for some people are huge things for

others.  I try not to think to far ahead & take little steps.

 

   

 

Lunch today was rocket salad,cucumber,cherry tomatoes, falafels a dollup of houmous & sprinkled with sunflower seeds. It tasted good & I like that it was good clean whole food.  Other things I am doing at the moment are cutting down on drinking tea/coffee as think it probably does not help anxiety . I have done this before & find my dark circles are not so prominent when I cut down to 2 a day (as opposed 6 - 8). I would love to lose 16 lbs in weight to take me to my healthy body mass index to. In time for summer time to! I am still carrying round that stoneI tried to lose last year!

 

Do you have any ideas for healthy daytime lunches? I am trying to steer clear of sandwitches as I fed up with bread

xx

I will be attempting to keep a food diary blog (link below!)

 http://2013kickmybuttintotouch.blogspot.co.uk/

Happy Bunny

I am going to make you a "Happy Bunny!". I was reading that nice mans website you know the one who is an expert with money! guessed yet!  . Apparantly if you go to the body shop & pick an item (sale stuff not included) You get £3.00 off & it does not mention a minimum spend, it was an offer to do with a newspaper & you do not need the paper voucher. Just say "Happy Bunny".  I did ask first that they were doing it!. Just incase I hopped up to the counter like a complete idiot & they did not know what I was on about!

The soap was £2.00 coconut (yummy!) and a nice lip balm £2.00 .   Grand total £1.00.   Also on the bottom of the receipt you get £10.00 0ff a £25.00  spend in Bodyshop, will probably pass that on. As I do not go in Body Shop very often to justify a big spend.  It only works instore.  Promise me you will hop to it!! 

I then went in to Boots as I was running out of my Toner.I had been using a Boots Botanicals toner which was in a spray bottle. I did not like spraying it on my face.I just  could not help quenching my eyes tightly shut & screwing my face up. Like someone was spraying a hose at me!.  I bought a Boots Traditional rosewater & glycerin for £2.32 & used  my advantage card points

I then popped to sainsburys as it was the closest one. Spent £10.32 on this stuff. A pot of Edamame bean & butter bean salad to not pictured as I quaffed it as soon as I got in as was so hungry. I did chop up some tiny little cubes of cheese and sprinkled on top. I was a discrace yesterday on the chocolate front!. So being good today for it!. I also bought 2 coconut showergels.I think they were 2 for £1.20 or  2 for £1.50. I have a thing for shower gel. I use a cinamon one , a vanilla one & love anything gingery or lime flavoured!.  I had run out of coconut shower gel. It goes perfectly with that soap.
Today I went on a open morning with a view to do a few hours volunteer work. The volunteer work willlead to accredited training which you undertake first.  Of course eventually I would like a real paid position, but hey experience needs to be gained first.It is a community role & would involve helping members of the community access services, & give advice as well as goal setting (think it would help me to!!) The kind lady reimbursed my bus ticket of £4.40 as well.With volunteer roles expenses like that can be paid for.  As you know I do ironing from home & it has & still does suit me but I would like to go fourth on to something that is more with people. I love to help people & feel I can as I know how low & alone I felt .I So want to give something back.  I always think if I won the lottery I would help so many people & it would be great as I would volunteer all the time & give my time freely as my time would not need to have a monetary value on it with regards to bills & stuff. I think Mr No Spend is a sweetie but he does despair of me ! as in his eyes he thinks just bread & butter earnings should be coming in. I bring in with the ironing jobs.  But want something more forfilling eventually.
Gosh I have gone on. Dont see me for months then I dont shut up!!! xxxxxx