Frugal Schmoogal

I hate no spend month.  It has very little to do with saving money.  It’s a ploy, showing up all your self-defeating, deflecting, sublimating, time-wasting habitual ways to make yourself feel better.  For an instant.  Or to avoid doing what you know you need to be doing, like feeling your feelings, or painting the utility room ceiling.  (The painting is satisfying, but prepping the surfaces just makes me want to take a big nap). 

Just as well I bought those packs of Cadbury ‘Little Bars’ last month. 

‘No spend’ also frees up more time than one would anticipate. 

To fill time usefully, I have adopted another self-motivational cliché that’s working (so far) – the 1% process.  Every day ask yourself, ‘How can I make this pile of books/sock drawer/room/life/whatever 1% better?’  Take that action, and over time, a tree won’t grow out of your head. 

Something like that.

Deciding to make the pantry de-clutter 1% better, made me feel 100% worse.  Six boxes of Twinning’s teabags – they were on offer.  Eight tins of mackerel – they are good for you, but only If you actually eat them – the mackerel, not the tins.  Several packets of wacky teas, like ‘Chocolate Digestives’ flavour, ‘Hazelnut Rocher’ and ‘Rhubarb and Custard’.  Several tins of marginally healthier items, such as borlotti beans and other legumes, with sell-by dates from 2020 to 2023.  On the plus side, found two of the three-for-two packets of Vitamin D, both well within their use-by dates.  Plus, if the world goes tits up, I can have bizarre-tea parties, with mackerel pâté Dali-esque toasts. 

Every cloud and such.

There is a dominant pattern however, shaped like a sugar crystal. (Six full jars of jam).

Undoubtedly, was a honey bee in a past life, compelled to bring nectar back to the hive.

Fecking algorithms.

Images for this journal would be far too mortifying to be posted on Insta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JvHroG3u5E

For info only – don’t do it: https://www.birdandblendtea.com/products/chocolate-digestives-tea

Definitely don’t do this:  cadbury-dairy-milk-little-bars-x6-108g