Money Monday: 4 Weeks for the Price of 1

Monday 19/07/21

£10.34 – Ice cream cone, ice lollies, microwave plate cover, brown sugar, two caramel aero bars, deodorant X2, blueberries
£12.74 – Fruit, veg, breaded chicken and red pepper hummus
£38 – Petrol

Today I worked 9-5 then headed to Asda and Aldi after work. I also had to stop for fuel. Today’s podcast of choice was Armchair Expert by Dax Shepherd specifically the episode with Kelly Osborne. I had dinner then did some college work before going to bed with a hot chocolate and plans to relax. I ended up blog planning instead because the time has come once again where I realised I’ve missed blogging and that I have things to share.

Tuesday 20/07/21

£7.70 – A lemon, vanilla essence, a card and a box of chocolates

Today I worked 8:15-17:15 before having dinner with my mum afterwards. I nipped into Tesco on the way home as I forgot a few ingredients for my fruit salad yesterday. I also grabbed a card and chocolates for my colleague who has a birthday this week. When I get home I make the fruit salad which takes far longer than expected so I jump into bed straight after. I had a nosey at a wild swimming retreat, checked social media and then browsed Amazon for some upcoming birthdays. I also had a look at a desk as I will be working from home super soon. My day was full of podcasts as I was on the go a lot – the choices were Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd but the Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis episode this time, Telling Everybody Everything by Katherine Ryan the Freedom Day UK episode and finally Life’s a Beach with Alan Carr specifically the episode with Amanda Holden.

Wednesday 21/07/21

Today I worked 8:20-17:20 and headed straight home listening to the Secret’s Out podcast by Alfie Deyes the episode with Giovanna and Tom Fletcher. I had dinner while watching two episodes of Motherland (it was meant to be one episode but I really struggle to stop at one!) then headed to the beach. It was a beach I have never been to before and by the time I drove the 40 minutes there it was getting dark so I couldn’t stay long. I regretted the 40 minute each way drive a little as fuel prices have gone up a lot but I’m determined to go more places on my own and also to see new places and this trip ticked both those boxes. I also felt really relaxed after sitting by the sea for 20 minutes and that I had achieved something today. On the way there I listened to the Lie Detector podcast by Emily Attack specifically The Bigamist episode. The book has previously been on my reading list but after listening to the podcast episode I’m unsure if I need to read it. On the way home I started listening to the Pieces of Britney podcast by BBC2 which kickstarted a Britney obsession which you will see in the money logs in the days to come…

Thursday 22/07/21

£1.60 – Milk and reduced tiffin from the Spar

Today was a 9-5 work day and I listened to Pieces of Britney on the way to and from work. I had dinner and finished Motherland (three episodes) which was an easy watch as always. I tidied a little then chilled in bed and watched Out of Her Mind Sara Pascoe and ate a full bar of caramel Areo in the process. A wonderfully relaxing weeknight.

Friday 23/07/21

Got up at 6:30am which is unusual for me so I shoved the dishwasher and kettle on, scrolled on socials for too long then made a coffee and watched what I thought was the final episode of Sara Pascoe Out of Her Mind. I then shoved YouTube on while getting dressed and then headed off to work 9-5. Listened to pieces of Britney on the way. Colleague bought me a bacon roll which was a nice TGIF. I was also given a cake.

“I was inspired to preform a one person karaoke tribute to my empty flat”

Saturday 23/07/21

I had such high hopes today but the day practically disappeared thanks to my short lived Britney Spears obsession. Having listened to the Pieces of Britney Podcast all week I was inspired to preform a one person karaoke tribute to my empty flat and rounded it off by watching some interviews. I also watched an episode or two of Kevin and Britney Chaotic.

Sunday 25/07/21

£130 – 12 months car tax
£37 – Fuel (used £5 points)
£3 – Cake from a local cafe in order to use the loo

I had been wanting to take a solo trip to Kenmore for a few weeks but was struggling to force myself to put myself through the anxiety of the trip just to go on my own. I wanted to leave bright and early but by the time I forced myself out the door it was close to 2pm. As soon as I put my music on while driving in the direction of Kenmore I felt great and it was a beautiful day for it. Kenmore is beautiful and lots of people has the same thought as me so I struggled to find parking. I had a wander around and managed to find a quiet spot by the loch despite the busy-ness. I had planned on going to a nearby waterfall, doing the castle walk and sitting by the loch but it was so beautiful and peaceful by the water I couldn’t bring myself to move! I started a book called We Are Okay by Nina LaCour. After an hour or two it was so warm I couldn’t resist a dip in the loch which was my plan anyway and so I prepared with my microfibre towel, water shoes etc. The rocks in the water were very very slippery so getting in and out was a challenge and I worried about dislocating my knee but it was worth it and all was okay. I dried off super quickly while listening to music and podcasts. I eventually dragged myself away as the sun was starting to set and I vowed to come back for the waterfall and castle walk.

“I don’t feel my hovering around in the water is worthy of a wild swim title!”

Monday 26/07/21

£10 – Towards lunch
£13.99 – Credit card (Netflix)

Had a cheeky extra day off work this week so I met a friend and his girlfriend and child for some wild dips. He definitely wild swims but I don’t feel my hovering around in the water is worthy of a wild swim title! We went to a local small waterfall which was quite chilly due to my lack of movement/swimming and the shade provided by tree’s. After an hour or so we headed for some food at a fish and seafood place which was delicious. I didn’t have any cash but got £10 to the couple later in the day towards my share. We then headed to a local reservoir I hadn’t been to for years. It was delightfully quiet, peaceful and beautiful. I also didn’t realise how close it was to me so I must make more of an effort to go here. The water was surprisingly warm despite the grey skies above. The couple had a kayak we all had turn on and I was definitely the most rubbish due to lack of experience but by the end I feel I was getting the hang of it! I got home just before the rain started and got things organised for returning to work the following day.

Tuesday 27/07/21

£200 – House savings
£38.98 – Tk Maxx

Worked 9-5 then went to Mums for tea before heading home and watching tv. Having a busy Sunday and Monday have me more tired than usual.

Wednesday 28/07/21

Payday – £1,433
McDonald’s – £5

I stayed at work until 6pm to complete my college application on the computer as it’s far easier to use and navigate than my phone. On the way home I listened to the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepherd episode with January Jones. I was deliberating what to have for dinner all the way home but pulled into a McDonalds last minute. The hot chocolate was terrible so I was a little disappointed. I chilled in bed intending to have a “quick look” on tinder but, partly due to my fussiness and partly due to lack of creativity when it comes to profile creation, I ended up on it for hours. With each minute/hour that went by I had the mentality of “surely there will be someone soon after all this time?” But I think I need to learn when to quit when it comes to dating!

Thursday 29/07/21

£17.50 – The Works
£2.70 – I didn’t write what this was for

I finished yesterday’s podcast episode on the way to work then applied for some cleaning jobs and ordered some working from home bits . This is all I wrote for today so I imagine I fell asleep pretty early after watching some tv.

Friday 30/07/21

Chilled in bed all night which I think is a luxury I won’t be able to do often moving forward so I’m glad to have squeezed some bed chilling into my schedule recently although it must be boring to read! I booked an ear piercing for the following day as a local place had some availability. I had been wanting it a while but knew if I booked to far in advance I would be very anxious and overly worry whereas by booking last minute I alleviate that a bit. Always a trier I did get pulled back into tinder for goodness knows how many hours. I have a love hate relationship with the app.

Saturday 31/07/21

£35 – Piercing
£25 – Lashes
£2 – Measuring tape

I had an early start to go and have my lashes infilled at 9am and then I watched some piercing review videos on Youtube before heading off for that. I only got the one piercing today but we looked at different options that fit my ear shape and planned the future piercings also. When I got home I had a few Tinder notifications and the messages I got really made me laugh. The person I was most recently seeing deleted me from social media which hurt as nothing particularly went wrong with us we just want different things. We were never official but were talking for quite some time so it will just take some time to get used to not seeing or talking to them. My lack of hesitation before getting Tinder is because I typically take months to meet anyone from it if I even swipe right on anyone at all. I tried to give myself space to be upset about being deleted but this is the third time the person has done this so I wasn’t as upset as I expected and so I watched The Handmaid’s Tale instead. I tried watching this years ago but wasn’t in the right mindset to pay attention and appreciate the wonderful plot but today was a good time and I was up late engrossed in the programme.

Sunday 01/08/21

£3.60 – Organic cola and strawberry ice cream
£11.60 – Chinese Takeaway

“I made many mistakes on this walk”

I was tempted to cancel the walk I had planned for today as I was feeling a little more mopey but I knew getting some fresh air and exercise would do me the world of good. I picked up my friend and we walked approx 12 miles around Loch Leven speaking about all sorts in the process. I made many mistakes on this walk. The first was leaving my water in the car because it wouldn’t fit in my bag as I had been told there were lots of refreshment opportunities on the way. I only saw one stall the whole way so I got an Organic Cola that was expensive but nice to try something new and some ice cream as well. The second was wearing my typical every day trainers instead of my walking shoes. I only had thin socks with me so assumed I would be just as well to wear my normal shoes. After walking 12 miles on top of a very stoney trail my feet were ruined with a total of 7 blisters. Totally my own fault! I took my shoes and socks off and walked on the grass for a while and had a sit to alleviate the pressure and was able to drive home without too much pain. I was informed I’d burned about 1300 calories and had only eaten an apple and peanut butter despite having a lot more with me so I ordered a Chinese for dinner. But, I only managed a few bites so saved it for the following day. I picked up my cardigan from the person I had been seeing recently and left a note with how I felt. Very old school but I didn’t want a back and forth conversation about it I just wanted no regrets. Binged The Handmaid’s Tale until late.

*A picture of my ear with my new piercing – I am wearing a hoodie and my hair is up and swept to the side. The image has a cartoon style filter on it.*

Monday 02/08/21

£50 – Ad hoc savings

I worked 9-5 and definitely had that Monday feeling. When I got home I think the ‘upset’ I tried to give myself space for on Saturday finally hit me along with a migraine so I wrote the night off and watched The Handmaid’s Tale curled up on the couch with a blanket.

Tuesday 03/08/21

£44.26 – Fuel

Worked 9-5 and had Mums for tea before chilling with The Handmaids tale – I’m a bit of a binger.

Wednesday 04/08/21

£4.40 – Cake X2 and a toastie
£1.20 – Milk

Typical 9-5 work day again today I got a toastie from the canteen from lunch as well as a cake for myself and for a colleague who had been a bit upset earlier in the day. Recieved an interview invite for some Bank Reception work I applied for. I made a pasta bake for dinner with bits and bobs I had left in the fridge before doing some college work before bed.

Thursday 05/08/21

Picked up my TK Maxx and The Works orders before heading home. My ear has decided to swell to three times the size causing a lot of pain. I had some food and watched tv uncomfortably while having a somewhat restless night.

Friday 06/08/21

£27 – Nails
£75 – Hair
£35 – Meal
£29 – Asda
£4 – Parking

I booked today off so I could get my hair done before starting my new job as it hasn’t been done in a good few months so definitely needs freshened up. First, I had a 9am nail appointment before heading to get my hair done which takes a few hours. I had been speaking to someone on Instagram who I have a lot of mutual friends with and we had agreed to meet today to go to a local museum and some outdoor food stalls but the weather was atrocious. I couldn’t message to rearrange due to getting my nails done and when I was about to message I was surprised to see he’d taken the initiative to book somewhere indoors for us instead. I accepted the hairdressers offer of a pink toner for a change which is new for me but it’s on my Comfort Zone Challenge so I went for it. I was a little dismayed when the guy I met voiced his love for blondes while I sat with my very pink hair but it washes out after all! We hit it off and spent hours chatting. I paid for the meal but he got so many drinks I think it worked out equally anyway. I also had to go and get a larger piercing put in my ear due to the swelling.

Saturday 07/08/21

I had absolutely no motivation to do college today as the task was relatively easy which makes my focus terrible. Therefore, it took me a good 6 hours to do very very little. I had music on in the background.

Sunday 08/08/21

£6 – Coffee date (£3 back)
£13 – Indian Takeaway (£7 back)

Met the guy from Friday again but this time I introduced him to one of my favourite places for coffee. The food is quite expensive as it’s organic and mostly vegan but the coffee is affordable and delicious. We hoped to go to the beach but the weather was very iffy so we tried the local museum we had planned to visit on Friday but it was fully booked. We decided to head to the beach regardless of the weather and chatted there for an hour while looking out at the waves. We were desperate to have a dip in the sea but weren’t prepared for this so vowed to return to do this. When it got grey and chilly we headed to his house to have an Indian Takeaway. I had a lamb tikka masala with pilu rice and a garlic naan bread. I used a £15 money off voucher for the order and then we halved the coffee and the food bill.

*A picture of two Orange and Passionfruit VK bottled drinks (alcohol)*

Monday 09/09/21

I have been listening to the Algorithm podcast and finished the most recent episode today. I was super tired today and intended to do college after work but could barely even watch tv I was so tired. Was super gutted to find I left my remaining curry at the guy’s house but had some pasta bake left in the fridge. Early night!

Tuesday 10/08/21

£4.60 – ?
£6.29 – Socks, sweets and flavored water
£40 – Fuel

I had the morning off work to attend and extremely disappointing doctors appointment. I was supposed to discuss my mental health and my skin but the conversation about my recurring acne and suspected fertility issues went so badly that I scrapped the mental health talk as I would have gotten upset. Pulled myself together then headed to work. On the way I received a call offering me a cleaning position I had applied for and I accepted. I submitted some college assessments and sent the cleaning job some required documents. I headed to mums for tea after work but things aren’t going great so we had a chippy and a chat before I headed off to rescue the remainder of my curry. First though, I took the guy to Asda and met a friend of his (safe to say it’s going well) and was surprised with a gift or five.

Wednesday 11/08/21

£4.40 – A toastie and cake for lunch
£110 – Asda

I worked 9-5 today and was all on my lonesome as my colleague was on annual leave. I had an interview for some bank reception work within an Emergency Department which I think would be right up my street. Not knowing who is gong to walk through the door or what they will need is something I would enjoy. I think I would also thrive in the busy environment. I feel the interview went well but, unfortunately, due to working full time already (albeit potentially only for 6 months) they explained it may not be worthwhile training me in return for the few shifts I would be able to undertake. When I start my new job on Monday I have to send my shift information over to them so they can have a closer look at what shifts I can undertake. I have been putting off ordering my food shop so had to buy lunch yet again which isn’t like me to spend money on this so often. I planned to workout and do yoga when I got home but I was super tired so curled in a ball on my bed for a while chatting to my Gran. I had leftover curry for dinner and watched a little of the Handmaid’s Tale. I finally finalised my Asda order for next day delivery and I can assure you I never usually spend this much! My monthly food shop used to be about £40 a month but I allow myself up to £80 if needed to be healthier etc since getting my promotion. However, this time my order included leaving snacks for my work and expensive things like razors, dishwasher tablets etc. Yusuf (thought I would include his name, with permission, as ‘the guy’ is too impersonal and we;re not at the nickname stage yet) called and we ended up chatting for over an hour. What we keep finding to talk about since all we do is chat is beyond me! Wasn’t tired afterwards and think I ended up falling asleep around 2am.

Thursday 12/08/21

50p – For a wee carton of milk since I didn’t make coffee before leaving this morning
£19.45 – Thank you cards, cake, gift bags

I was 30 mins late to work – shit! I have absolutely no recollection of my alarms going off but thankfully my Gran messaged me at 8:30am totally coincidentally which woke me up. It was not good news that she messaged but I tried to put this out of my mind while I chucked clothes on and raced to work. I’m leaving this job tomorrow so it’s been a slow week to say the least. I have some of the new website to finish setting up (this sounds way fancier than it is) but not much else. After work I dropped off birthday presents to my stepdad then sat with my Mum with a cuppy for a while before heading home to unpack my food shop. I finished my night off with a call to Yusuf.

Friday 13/08/21

99p – Amazon Kindle Book
£96.45 – Restaurant Meal 1/3 transferred back and 1/3 given back in cash
£152.74 – Amazon Home Working Supplies including a desk

Last day at work! I was very generously given a £100 voucher to Tiso, a set of Pandora earrings and a card from my team mates. I was also surprised with a bag of goodies from the cleaner of our department and the canteen worker which included a caramel slice which I used to tide me over until my evening meal. I kept having waves of forgetting it was my last day and rudely almost left without saying goodbye to a few people! I changed and set off for a local Italian restaurant I had never been to before but it was delicious and I would definitely love to go back. I had a mushroom concoction as a starter followed by a mushroom risotto and some lemon cheesecake – I did have to take a doggy bag home! I paid with my card for easiness – we just split the bill 3 ways. I went to Yusuf’s afterwards but I wasn’t much fun. I was super tired after a week full of many changes.

Saturday 14/08/21

£10 – Chinese Takeaway

Had a bit of a blip mood wise at one point this day but managed to put my wireless headphones on and crack on with cleaning the house. Yusuf kindly got the bus to my local area which isn’t something many people do as people who live in a city can’t usually handle the hour-ish long bus journey. We headed to a local swim spot I’ve been to a handful of times. I was nervous as it’s usually very busy but we timed it well getting there just as the only people were leaving. We had three places planned but it was clear we were only going to manage two. The second was less of a swim and more of a challenge – I had wanted to jump off a rock into a local river for about 10 years and so we travelled there and after lots of encouragement I did it. Tired and hungry after eating NOTHING all day we ordered Chinese at 10pm and watched Van Helsing. The takeaway was £20 but we split it.

Sunday 15/08/21

£5 – Cheesy Chips

Yusuf and I headed to another local walk which had great opportunities for swimming but our things weren’t dry from the day before so we just observed and scoped out swim and jump spots. Afterwards we had some food at the beach before parting ways. I tried and failed to focus on college for the rest of the evening but was too busy looking over the wild swimming pictures and videos from the day before wishing I was doing that instead. I did manage to do some college in the end but mostly watched The Handmaid’s Tale which I had started to get withdrawal symptoms from. I ended up being a little anxious about starting my new job the next day so I was up until about 3am…