In the beginning ...

... there was Eden.

The Eden Project has been the beginning of our holiday for the last two years (previously it had always been a very long, but worth-it day out). We stop on the way down and stay at their wonderfully quirky, unusual youth hostel. It is the perfect start to our holiday and never fails to send me off feeling so positive that I can change...

Because change is good - a bit scary sometimes, but good. Life is taking one of its frequent sideways shifts and I will be time rich again, which I love 😍 but frugality beckons - it's those swings and roundabouts again. However, after some time at Eden, I start to see a path through the wilderness. Less buying is never a bad thing (not sure Daisyfay is totally on board with this in practice; there in spirit but ...) and priorities need focus. Our priority is always the Miracle Girl and the summer - so less spending is back, but I am going with the fact that what do we really need?

The main exhibition at Eden this year is Earth Story - one part of it, about extinction, reduced me to tears - I just stood there thinking it's all about money. Other parts were so inspiring about how to do more. So for me this year is going to be about do more - we do try, but once on the hamster wheel it's hard to keep focused. Don't get me wrong, we all need the money ... but there are some positives to having less of it, and some more time.

So I have a plan (again), my journal is up and running, I'm writing 😀, and I'm positive (I love an Oxford comma almost as much as an ellipsis...).

An inspiring place, with so much to challenge you...

Folding

Who knew - holiday folding is a thing?!! There are whole industries out there dedicated to this! I have had a week of discovery - and our house is now seriously folded. It appears that the sort of folding that gets everything three people need for a month in a caravan/ tent into a fairly small car along with all the equipment needed for said holiday, plus the boxes of food (because frugality reigns!), foldable barbecue, badminton set, body boards, wet suits etc, etc ... well, this sort of folding is a method. And there is a very nice Japanese lady out there doing very well out of it. Why did I not think of this? I would have a fabulous camper van by now ... although the Prossliz Method doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

To be fair, she makes it look much more glamorous, and I have followed her on Instagram - to keep me on the straight and narrow. Operation declutter/sell your stuff/ ramp up the frugality is back on the road and gathering speed. A summer of footloose-and-fancy-free-ness beckons ...☺. We have started said operation with some expense - we are doing Daisyfay's room - it is looking very good so far and is helping on the declutter front, and is as frugal as possible. It will be ongoing so we can buy as we go. But the Konmari lady would be proud of me.

So - folding is a tick. On the other hand I have unfollowed the lady with the cleaning products - my eco-soul can't cope. Bicarb is very underrated...

Plan B ... or is that C ...?

Well, that didn't work. I have not regained my life. Not in the slightest. I thought for a moment or two that I would, but that idea crashed and burned... looking on the bright side, we are relatively (money-wise, for us, it is always relative...) solvent at the moment.


The big news is our trip - we did a wild and reckless thing ... and it was fab! Instead of saving my extra money for the summer when I can't work, we went to Disneyland Paris, and to Paris too. Life's too short and all that. We had such a good time.


Back on the frugality train now - but saving to go back too...


Trying to assert control of wrack and ruin land too - slowly but surely I am denting disaster - any progress is progress, however tiny.


I didn't know what to expect of Disney, but I loved that bubble of positivity - it's sticking with me, anything is possible ...

Having a bit of a moment...

I've been having a bit of a moment - for quite a while now - been trying to move on, but not quite getting there. So, now thinking it's time - deal with it and ...


Pick yourself up girl, dust yourself off, and start all over again ... think it was the disappointment really - got so close to the campervan, and then ... but also it was Daisyfay's last term of Y5, which was really rather stressful - not nice to listen to your child decimate themselves, because, you know, I actually think she's rather fab! Anyway, as it went, it could have been worse - and we've been working on the positives - and maybe now is the time to look at my positives too...


Back being itinerant, which I do like, but frugality is also back big-stylie, possibly not a bad thing ... planning some forward-looking positivity ... sorry for being introspective, but love the fact that people out there listen...


Next time I WILL see the positives, one step backwards, two steps ahead...

Practicalities

So, here we are. We have a campervan. It's pretty cool.




                                         

                                       



Going to still be dreaming - whichever way the cookie crumbles, frugality is going to be up there. But, we will have the campervan and its associated freedom :-) .

Step 1 - M.O.T. - Eeek! Please! But should do...

Step 2 - Frugality and making more money - Prongs 1 and 2 will need a raised profile!

But in the meantime...

* Daisyfay has spent the whole afternoon sitting in it, ostensibly doing her (late) homework.

* We are planning an excursion to The Farm http://www.thefarmburscough.co.uk/ - our favourite after school ice cream and Sunday morning breakfast destination. They also have a campsite and Daisyfay has asked many times to camp there. But now we're thinking - great place to practise. And if we don't let her sleep in it soon ...


She cried when she realised we'd really bought it. So did I.


Oh yay, roll on everything ...



Hair Straighteners

I didn't buy any. I was all resolved to, but then - there's an awful lot of different kinds of straightener, you know ... so I wasn't sure which to buy. And then I thought: the only reason I really want them is to straighten my fringe, because how often do I actually "do" my hair really - and then I thought, if that's the case, is there any reason why the Rapunzel tongs won't work? The Rapunzel tongs were one of Father Christmas' better ideas - they have different attachments and are rather nifty. They aren't straighteners but, after some experimentation, they do straighten my fringe, more or less, albeit with a bit of a flick at the end! Frugality triumphs.

Anyway, now my fringe has grown, and is now summer streaked and salt softened, it is quite wavy, and not very controlled, and feels more me than when it is straight. Maybe what I need is just a longer fringe - the answers are sometimes very simple ...

Starting again...

And then I turned around and it was October ...
Feeble, I know, but true - and lots has happened ...but this was always supposed to be about looking forward.

So ... campervan ... no closer I think, but destitution is much farther away, which has to be good!
The plan, Prongs 1 and 2 ... undergoing a revival ... as we speak the plan is underway again ...just need to remember which prong is which...

Aha...
Prong 1: Frugality

* Daisyfay's extended birthday celebrations are now over (except for today's trip to Toys r Us to spend her (considerable) birthday stash - frugality is definitely not part of her plan!) - frugality had limited sway whilst we dealt with that. She had a fab time though - and, though every year it's a lot of work, she won't want this for ever so let's make the memories and enjoy it now. She wanted a horse party, not just as a theme but with real ones. I wasn't sure how we did this and early research showed it to be decidedly unfrugal! Eventually, however, I found somewhere that was, whilst still not cheap, at least affordable - so she picked 10 friends ( weaning her off the marauding hordes in the village hall concept!) and off we went. We thoroughly enjoyed it - they were riding for over an hour, did games on the horses, all sorts - then we came back here, they organised games and dance competitions - had a short discussion about play fighting never being an acceptable activity - did cowboy stylie food - cake and sing - home!! Wine and Calamity Jane followed quickly!!
I'd definitely recommend the pony party - it did feel like value for money, especially when you consider what you pay at a lot of party places. 
www.parboldequestriancentre.co.uk/ if you fancy a look.
Anyway the smiles were worth it.- and excitement doesn't really describe it...

So back to frugality - on top of the birthday, there was Paul's MOT, the expiring television, the overdue coal bill and the traumatic story of the laptop and the lemonade ... have decided to draw a line under it all ... starting again...

* I have a plan for November - it may be a tad ambitious - it  has 3 strands ( I like breaking things down, ok!)
          1. No spend November - frugal shopping - leftovers, using of - no buying of "stuff" (except
                  frugal, on offer, etc shopping for future, unnamed events looming on the horizon! ;-) )
          2. No wine November - hmmm - going to try...
          3. Contemplating a primal eating month - suppose it's not exactly to do with frugality, but it's
                kind of in the spirit ...

Prong 2: Making more money

* have a job - good start!

* have begun the selling stuff/ remove clutter approach again (it's half term - at least for us, not for
the Miracle Girl - don't get me started ...!) - having a mass Ebay session on Sunday.

Campervan for next summer? Unlikely, but you never know...




         

Pants!!

This week I have been mostly pants at:

* writing this blog

* cleaning my house

* not having any wine!

In my defence it was my birthday on Wednesday, so wine pushed itself to the fore! But in the spirit of frugality I decided not to go out - instead I had a lovely, delayed birthday meal on Friday. Paul cooked mussels, with homemade bread, and chocolate fondants. It was fab!

Further in my defence I worked a lot this week, which is always a good thing on the making more money front. The last three days of the week I spent at a lovely school in Wigan, one of the nicest I've been to in ages. It's the best thing about supply, the variety, and every so often you land on a school that is just great - and this was one. I had an enjoyable three days with an excellent, bouncy, personality-filled Year 4 class - and thought ( which I don't all that often) : now these I would like to teach.

On the plus side, the plan is going okay ... ish!

Prong 1: Frugality

* didn't go out for my birthday

* am using birthday money to pay to get my hair done

* made soup with stalks from broccoli and cauliflower, some leftover cabbage and leek tops - a bit of onion, a couple of ounces of lentils and some garlic and chilli - d'you know, it's really nice!

* didn't do a proper shop this week, used the freezer and storecupboard

Prong 2: Making more money

* worked for four days out of five - yay!

* sold some stuff - not a lot, but it's a start

* might be doing a bit of extra tutoring ...

* think I might be making some cakes ...

Feeling productive - feeling entrepreneur-ish! Need to investigate tax and stuff!

Daydream believing ...

Conquering technology

The two pronged strategy - actions today ...

Prong 1 : Frugality

* I have a blog to read - http://frugalincornwall.blogspot.co.uk/ - thanks to my first comment on my shiny new blog!!
* I wrote things on my spending diary ( but this just exposed my lack of frugality as we went to The Farm tearoom after school - oops!)
* I still have not had any wine.

Prong 2 : Making more money

I have been more productive here. I spent this morning conquering technology - in the form of my phone. Now, it's a very nice phone, and does lots of very clever things (although less of them recently...). You see it ran out of space - I didn't know they could do that. It kept telling me to delete stuff ... so I did ... I hope they weren't important. Anyway, what it really wanted me to delete were photos - I had tried to send them to the computer, but failed miserably. I also obsess a little over where they are, and have they really copied or am I about to lose them to the technofairies of doom! However the phone had ground to a halt and I needed to use the camera for Prong 2 ... now I have a fully operational phone, photos in a file in "My Pictures" and a sense of achievement!

So I have:
* taken photos of things to sell and posted them on my Facebook page and on a local buying and selling page - next I am going to put them on Gumtree, and maybe Ebay too.

Flushed with success, tomorrow I am going to investigate adding pictures to the blog ...

Money doesn't buy you happiness

Now, in essence, I'd have to say I agree with this. In fact so much so that a few years ago, around the time that Daisyfay was starting school, I left a workplace where I was very unhappy (but financially stable) to become an itinerant supply teacher. Now I have flexibility and am generally happy - I have time to spend with the Miracle Girl and no work related stress.

But ... back to dreaming of a campervan ...whilst happy I have very little money. If we are to buy a campervan I will need to find some money. This leads us back to the plan, which is beginning to evolve...

Step 1 of plan - pay off debts. Hmmm!
                         
I think frugality and making more money would constitute a two-pronged strategy...

Actions so far:

* Yesterday I sawed up the remains of the Christmas tree to burn on the fire - now that's frugal! And bloody hard work!
* I have stuck a spending diary (well, a piece of paper) to the cupboard door in the kitchen.
* I had no wine last night!

It's going to take a while ...