Day 12- March 12th

Uuuuugh – I'm sick again. It's 7.20 and I've been awake for the past hour with tummy aches. God, that makes me sound like a 5 year old. Anyway, the point is, I'm lecturing today so have no option to lay in bed awaiting a soup bearing Mother. I had planned to be a martyr to the cause and drive out to DCU though town today, thus avoiding the toll on the M50, but adding the guts of an hour to my journey. I can safely say that this will no longer be happening as my guts can't take the extra guts of an hour. I also need to buy Motillium in the hope that it will sort out dodgy tummy. So in a few hours time I will be spending:

€2.80 x2 on the toll bridge

€? On Motillium

Woe is me :(

***

Have made it home. I'm still alive and didn't even stop for the motillium, more out of laziness than a need not to spend money. Just got a text from Shoshanna, my lovely friend and Avon lady, informing me that the makeup which I ordered a few weeks ago has arrived. Nothing fancy, just some loose powder, concealer and mascara to replace the old stuff which, of course, all ran out within a few days of each other. The bare essentials if you will. Indeed, I do recollect, a time back in school, many mascaras ago, where makeup was strictly verboten (lest we actually begin to look like humans instead of trolls in our ugly green kilts). Clearly we ignored this rule and the essentials, and their application became an integral part of our day. Consisting simply of some concealer, powder, mascara, perhaps a little lip balm if we were feeling fruity and topped off with a squirt of white musk, these essentials got us through some tough acne prone times. If these accoutrements were essential half my life ago, I think I can safely say they still fall into the category of necessary.

€34.70 (Pretty much what a stick of YSL Radiant Touch costs so have saved money by defecting to Avon)

Total Spent today - €40.30 (Makeup and Tolls).

Not spent – whatever Motillium costs.

Day 11 – March 11th

This morning I made the "Big Switch". Yes, the lovely (or extremely irritating depending on how you view her) Lucy Kennedy finally got inside my head, with her oversized light switches and meowing Celtic Kittens. Between TV and Radio, I've been bombarded from all sides for the past few weeks so decided a change was due. 10% savings on my ESB bill, another 2% reduction because I'm already a Bord Gáis customer and a further 2% off for paying with direct debit! Round of Applause for the power of advertising please. Spurred on by my saving success, I then made a virtual trip to callcosts.ie to find out that with my mobile usage I should really be with Tesco Mobile. That will never happen but I may be tempted to a switch to Meteor in July when my Vodafone contract runs out. NTL will be dealt with as soon as I get my next bill and actually have an account number to quote them. So long Sky and Setanta Sports. You will no longer be required. Not really a sacrifice as I've recently realised I watch most of my Football in Mum and Dad's or in the Pub so my sports channels have been surplus to requirements for quite some time. I even called the bank to see how I could weasel out of my fixed term mortgage early in order to avail of the delightfully low variable rates they have on offer. Apparently things needed to be done with computers; calculations made and buttons pressed but great things should be on their way out to me on the post, post haste!

I had a look at my entry form for the Mini Marathon today to try to ascertain the closing date for this year's race. My big mission is to run the whole thing on June 1^st. Focus and determination will be needed in large quantities but I'm sure I can do it. Anyway, I digress (as usual). The marathon is on June the 1^st and I was hoping to hold onto my entry form till May 1^st (when my not spending spree has passed) as it's €22 to sign up. Unfortunately the closing date is mid April so I'm just going to have to suck it up and write the cheque in the next few days. I'll be sure to report my expenditure when that moment occurs. I'm also in a bit of a quandary about the Bupa run. It's in about 3 weeks and I was supposed to sign up for it and start training before Christmas. Christmas came and went, my training plan got adjusted and readjusted and I finally started running in February. I'm now clearly a serious athlete and am just at the point where I may be able to run half of it (at a push) but of course, haven't signed up yet. Now in theory I could run it without the tag and without getting the bag of free stuff at the end. However, if I don't sign up I won't get a medal and as I'm all about the bling I'm really not sure if that's an acceptable outcome. I shall mull on it for a few days and then decide but I suspect I'll be signing up for two 10ks next week and not just one.

I took a scissors to my second last mini tube of moisturiser today. Managed to scoop out the dregs and slather it all over my face. My second mini tube only has a few days left in it before the scissors will have to come out again. Then I will need to replenish. I think I have made the decision to give the cheap stuff in Aldi a go. God knows what's in it to make it so cheap but by all accounts it's fantastic. I will miss my lovely Dr. Hauschka all natural rose day cream but the fact of the matter is it's €30, barely lasts a month and is too hard to spell. Also, it's crazy money – whether I'm trying to not shop or not. So I will give Aldi a go and report back.

So apart from all my saving done today I did spend €25 on petrol.

I didn't spend €10 on Weight Watchers but hopped up on my own perfectly good scales. It will be even more perfectly good when the bright red digital numbers start reducing.

Am about to go to bed but am busy boiling an egg for my lunch tomorrow. I tell ya, this not spending business takes up a lot of time!

Day 10 – March 10th

Not a whole lot to talk about today. It was a day in which I spent nothing as for the most part spent it in bed sick and feeling sorry for myself! I did however get a glimpse into my future as a geriatric, when my mum arrived at the door with a tray of soup and stewed fruit for me for my lunch. Free meals on wheels is great!

I also spent about 20 minutes trying to get a brush through my birds nest hair. Wurzel Gummidge had nothing on me. Let that be a lesson to me to pack up everything for a Monday on a Sunday night as the forgetfulness is far less severe in the evening than it is first thing in the morning.

Day 9 – March 9th

Was half way into college this morning when I realised I'd forgotten my lunch. Fantastic. So back I went for my lunchbox and now that I'm finally here I've realised I also forgot to bring some fruit and flaskie - and I could really use a cup of tea. Clearly it's forgetfulness Monday. I should survive for most of the day on Salmon and yoghurt though so all good. Water will keep me sustained!

U2 tickets are going on sale soon – from the special recession busting price of €25 (I'd say about 50 of them will go on sale at €25, and by the time the touts are finished they'll be back up to the usual €400). Guess I'm not going to see them this summer. Certainly not the end of the world though - they're no Take That!

Have eaten most of my lunch and now can't get my lunchbox closed. Everything smells of salmon. I need a better lunchbox – but I can't buy one. So salmon and all things fishy may be off the menu for the next couple of months.

It being forgetfulness Monday, I also forgot to bring in a hairbrush which didn't go down too well after my post yoga shower. Ordinarily of course I'd have bought a brush or comb – not today though. I just dried it messily and threw it up in a bun. I now look like I have birds nest hair but this is high fashion in Quinn so although I feel hideous I'm sure I fit in well!

Have done some grocery shopping €28.78 (€20 of which is the cash I left with Ciara before I went to Bedford). Brian is on his way with a feast of cheeses and lasagne will be made. I need something nice to make up for the stench of salmon that's been following me around all day.

Going to bed. Feel sick (I blame the salmon). Can't get a brush through my hair and I think I have broken flaskie by putting it in the dishwasher. Boo hiss.

Total spent today - €28.78

Not spent – Whatever a brush costs. Probably €3.95 on Soup as ordinarily I wouldn't trek back home for forgotten lunch. €1.70 on a cup of tea.

Day 8 – March 8th

So I made it home from Bedford after spending only £4.80 of the £50 I brought with me. I don't know whether that's something to be proud of or supremely embarrassed about. Thank god Orna and Simon are coming over for Easter so I can have them over for a feast of a dinner after them feeding me for the past three days.

***

In some respects it is highly impressive that I made it back with so many pounds (of the currency variety – let's not concern ourselves with the ones related to weight, of which I'm sure I also returned with an impressive quantity). Under normal circumstances, buoyed on by the fact that you can't spend sterling in Ireland, I'd have gone on a veritable spending spree in Luton Airport. The DVDs always seem cheaper, the lotions and potions promise to reduce more wrinkles than those paid for in Euro and all the books which I've been meaning to read for an eternity suddenly seem to be on special offer. My pockets start smoking as the sterling begins to burn a gaping hole in them and before I know it I'm laden down with loot and the spoils of a 10 minute shopping spree. Not so today.  I kept my head down lest I be distracted and walked purposefully towards boarding gate number 2, where I bagged a free mag and waited patiently for Ryanair to herd us onto our flight. 

So that's about £45 not spent.

***

The thoughts of the lotions and potions however have struck a chord with me today. My skin is staging a protest. I ran out of my usual moisturiser last week and as I'm not supposed to be buying unnecessarily, I felt it only appropriate to run down my stash of partially used Clinique cream before replacing the stuff my face likes. In less than a week it's completely dried out my skin and now I feel like a haggard, weather-beaten old woman akin to Peig Sayers. Thank goodness it's nearly all gone and I can justifiably replace my other stuff next week.

Spent nothing today J

Didn't spend about £45

Day 7 - March 7th

March 7th

Am about to head to the cinema to see “Confessions of a Shopaholic”. This has been categorised as research by Orna and Ailish in an effort to justify my presence there. Either that or it’s Cinema on Orna and I’m not interested in scrounging. Besides, no matter who pays I’m still “consuming”. I wonder did Judith Levine think of this on the odd occasion that her friends paid for her to consume.

It’s actually quite hilarious. All this commotion over a film I wouldn’t normally go to see anyway. At least we’re bringing drinks, crisps and choccie with us so no spending at the confectionary counter when we get there. And don’t worry; I won’t be eating the choccie!

***

For a variety of reasons I actually think I’m going insane. I have just spent the past 3-4 hours being the most miserable, boring uptight version of myself imaginable. Pre “Confessions” I was being laughed at for the pathetic guilty look on my face. I think the girls actually thought I was going to cry as I handed the cash over for my ticket (not a drama queen I swear). Post “Confessions” my silence was being laughed at as Ailish asked was I being so quiet because I was trying to figure out what I was going to write in my Blog – spot on!

I then proceeded to roll up my sleeves and go on a rant about the sheer stupidity of the film and the incompetence and irresponsibility of the shopaholics anonymous leader. Perhaps I was taking my roll as researcher a little too seriously. Apart from the few lines about shopping defining our beloved ex Home and Away starlet, there really wasn’t much in the line of hard hitting consumer psychology issues.

There was a brief moment before we left for the Cinema when I actually considered staying in and just watching the football with Orna’s husband Simon. Then I realized the absurdity of what I was considering. I had flown all the way over here to visit Orna who I only see a few times a year. Ailish, who I also rarely see, had taken the train all the way up from London to see us and instead of spending time with them I contemplated staying in. Perhaps if I had been more vocal I could have put the foot down and insisted we all stay in, after all, how sociable is the cinema really? But why should the girls be forced into a night in because I’m not supposed to be spending money. Man alive this is tough.

£4.80 and a lot of guilt on “Confessions of a Shopaholic”. At least I got a cheap student ticket.

To make up for my misery, Orna bought me fish and chips for dinner. It actually made me feel shittier as usually when I’m over I try to shout Orna and Simon dinner or drinks or something at least once.

Total spent today £4.80
Total not spent £13 on fish and chips dinner.

Day 6 - March 6th

March 6th

This is what I was afraid of…turning into a scrounger. I didn’t stop buying stuff so my friends would start buying on my behalf. I’m now in deep discussions with Lizzie as she’s decided to buy me a ticket to Spring Break as an “Easter Surprise” - Instead of an Easter egg. Funny, because I don’t think Liz and I have a tradition of exchanging eggs. Kinder surprises perhaps, but not big delicious eggy treats filled with chocolaty goodness. And clearly it’s not going to be a surprise…
Anyway, I’m in college all packed for my trip to Bedford. Handbaggage under the maximum 10kg limit is beside me. I’m armed with the Holy Bible according to Judith Levine and my book club book, on loan from the Library of course. The lovely bus driver only charged me €1.15 this morning, because it’s Friday apparently. Silly me didn’t have the exact change though so Dublin bus got €1.50 off me anyway. Boo Hiss. Let that be a lesson to me in forward planning and organisation.

Speaking of forward planning, my bus to the airport should be outside Belfield at 3.20.

***

The food which I lovingly spooned into a lunchbox this morning has just been binned. Malodorous does not begin to describe the stench emanating from my bag. Somewhere between sour milk and feet is about the closest I can come to describing it. As a result I’ve just forked out €3.95 on some delicious soup and the customary 2 slices of bread. I did however notice that my coffee loyalty card was full so free Cappuccino for Cathy this lunchtime! Yey!

***

Have just refilled my water bottle and am about to head to the airport on the cheap bus – no aircoach comforts for me. Realised that in about an hour or so my bottle will be at the bottom of some bin beside security. What a waste. You’d think that if it’s empty they’d let you take it on the plane. What am I going to do? Hijack a plane by hitting someone over the head with an empty plastic bottle? Rediculous.

***

Am on the 746 at last. For a grim moment there I thought Dublin bus was going to be letting me down and I’d be back on the aircoach forking out €7 for a service that I hate almost as much as Ryanair after my run-in with a driver last year.

I just hope my lovely bus driver is a bit of a speedie Gonzalez. In my haste to down my bottle of water pre-security, I neglected to remember that I wouldn’t be near a toilet for at least another hour. Pulling in at Donnybrook garage to swap shifts with another driver didn’t fill my bladder with much hope but now he suddenly seems to have turned into Lewis Hamilton.

€2.50 for the bus to the Airport. (€2.20 for bus and the extra 30 cent ‘cause I didn’t have the right change AGAIN).

***

€3.85 to change €60.25 into £50 at the airport.

Have rid myself of my water bottle and am determined not to buy another one till I’m back this side of security on Sunday.

Total spent today - €11.80 (bus fairs, food and changing money)
Not spent €9.70 - (€7 on the aircoach, €2.70 on coffee)