Remember I Said It Would Get Worse Before It Got Better.....

.....hmmm, well I wasn't wrong about that!

January so far has been spend spend spend.  Though happily not on useless rubbish, booze, drugs & rock and roll.  Though saying that I will be spending twenty quid or so at a gig next weekend where there is a cheap bar and I need a taxi home!  Tickets already bought & paid for.  No drugs - unless you count the paracetamol I will undoubtedly need the next day.

It's been the month for the car service, MOT, repairs required to get through MOT, insurance and break down cover.  Ouch.

I have also done an Approved Food shop, a Tesco freezer stock up for vegetarian things which the likes of Aldi don't sell, and other bits and bobs required i.e fresh fruit & veg, bread etc.

I have also had to purchase some new clothes and boots as well.  The boots are Clarks but they were half price online (£25) with free delivery.  I won't buy cheap shoes, not when I have to cover what feels like miles on the hospital site some days; my feet deserve so much better.  And Clarks are comfy and have definitely upped their stakes in the style department recently.

The clothes have been off of EBay or today, in the sales at BHS.  Charity shops are good for a browse and I do love a good rummage but there have been specifics I need to fill gaps in my wardrobe or replace worn out items so I have hunted them out for less money.  I know in a previous post last Autumn or so, I said I shouldn't buy any more clothes but the truth is, there weren't enough practical items for this time of year or work so, shell out again I had to do.  I am pleased with the results though and have one more item on EBay to finish tomorrow then (if I win it) I am done.

It's hubby's birthday early next month so I have got him some nice gifts, luckily what he wanted I could find on Amazon Marketplace (sellers like you & me trying to get rid of old CDs, DVDs, books etc) or on sale online.  I guess that is one plus point about having a birthday in the Winter: you can get the gifts in the post Christmas sales if you're organised!

I have agreed to start going to an exercise class with an old friend and it is £4 a class on a Monday, held in a school hall.  We went for the first time last together last week and it was good.  I had a real laugh, a bit of a boogie (which I love) and got my heart rate up.  £4 a week over a year is much less than joining a gym I won't make the most of and there is no commitment so if I can't make it one week for any reason there is no hassle.  You don't have to pay up front.  I want to go though and get into a routine of it with her (I am really hoping the forecast snow does not make an appearance tomorrow to screw everything up) as exercise/dancing was always a big part of "me" so it will be good to have it back in my life as part of my weekly routine.

Socially, it's been pretty good, I have seen some friends and family whom I haven't seen for years, for the cost of some petrol and I passed on an old PC/monitor to my family member so that was my good deed/doing my bit to keep something out of landfill!  I am off to see another friend next weekend again for the cost of petrol (20 mile round trip) and she is also watching the pennies/trying to budget so I am sure we will have many things to talk about and compare.  I am trying to get another friend crowbarred into my diary as well but already we are mid January (or thereabouts) so it's looking like February to see her but that's OK as long as we get it sorted.

So it's been expensive but there you go.  I hope that February is a lot quieter financially - it *should* be.  The rest of the year needs to be fairly calm as well if I am going to meet my target.  Fingers crossed eh?

Bye for now.

x x x