The Money Diaries // Pt. 2

I did one of these diaries about a year ago. My financial situation hasn't really improved since and I wanted to see again if there is anything I can cut back on (the extra glass of wine.... Sainsbury's Local...... UBER/Addison Lee).

My living situation is the same. I live in the same house share in London and my monthly outgoings in terms of bills are the same. Our landlady raised the rent by £200 (£50 each last April) and I cancelled by gym membership to cover it. I prefer running outside anyway and joined GoodGym as an alternative which combines running with good deeds and volunteering in the local area.

RENT: £591.50
COUNCIL TAX: £40.00
GAS AND ELECTRIC: £41.75
WATER: £10.45
PHONE INSURANCE: £8.49
MOBILE PHONE: £41.00
CONTACT LENS: £18.00
NETFLIX: £7.49
APPLE MUSIC: £9.99
SKY: £12.87
CLEANER: £26.00
GOODGYM: £9.95
ZONE 1-3 TRAVEL CARD: £148.70

TOTAL: £966.19

Monday 04th September
I had a bit of a hangover yesterday so lazed around a lot all day and then went for a run much later than usual. Instead of making a dinner that would also double up as today's lunch, I shoved a pizza in the oven. Ran to Sainsbury's local before work and picked up one of their My Goodness Butternut Squash Risotto ready meals for my lunch, also was a bit naughty and got a pack of Foxes Chunky Cookies as they were on offer for £1. For breakfast I make a tea and toast from stuff I already have at the office. My colleagues also have brought back a nice range of sweets from a business trip to Japan! Going to be an indulgent day!

Stay a bit later at work as it's been a busy day. End up finishing around 6:15pm. When I get home, there is no else in so I make the most of having the house to myself cooking a bacon and potato hash and watching Hollyoaks (guilty pleasure right there)!! All the ingredients are from a shop I did on Sunday for a hangover busting fry up.
Whilst mindlessly watching TV, I buy a Groupon for a Brazilian wax - £9

TOTAL: £12.20


Tuesday 05th September
Wake up feeling ridiculously tired and want to go back to sleep immediately. Head into work again on the tube. Tea and toast again at my desk for my breakfast. I made enough of the potato and bacon hash to bring for lunch today. I still head to Sainsbury's at lunch and buy a multipack of Walkers Max Paprika flavour crisps, a bag of Cadbury's Caramel Nibbles and a cinnamon and raisin bagel for £2.40.

Spend the afternoon doing work but also catching up the Hetty Douglas Twitter backlash and the Tinder date stuck in a window retrieving a poo story!

Head out that night for a cinema date with the guy I'm seeing. We have dinner at a chain Italian. We had starters, a main and a beer each. It wasn't great at all, very flavourless and a little bit like a microwave meal. We split the bill. My share is £26.27. We watch Logan Lucky which I definitely recommend and it's not only for the perv-fest on Channing Tatum and Adam Driver (although that is a plus)! He pays for cinema and snacks.

TOTAL: £28.67

Wednesday 06th September
I always sleep badly if I'm in anywhere but my own bed. Still, I get up at 6:20am... debate getting the bus back but decide that if I get my run out of the way this morning, I'll be able to be lazy this evening and that is more appealing! Run 5km home and it surprisingly makes me feel more awake. I had planned on getting a coffee from Pret before work to ensure my eyes stay open past 11am but a few bad connections on my commute mean I don't have time. I have coffee in my desk drawer at work though and have that with the bagel which I bought the day before.

Lunch was again the bacon and potato hash and snacks from desk/office that I have bought over the past two days.

I finally finish work at 6:15pm. I'm so tired from not having slept well the night before and head straight home. I catch up a little bit with one of my housemates, then make a tomato and mozzarella pasta salad for dinner (and Thursday's lunch) and pretty much head to bed and binge on some Top of The Lake and Gilmore Girls on Netflix.

TOTAL: £00.00

Thursday 07th September
Late for work because I get on a wrong train at Monument Station! In my defence it said Barking on the side and the announcement on the tube was that it was an east bound district line to Barking. However, it terminated at Tower Hill and turned back into a westbound train. Cool story bro ha!! Make toast and a drink at work for my breakfast. We still have some many Japanese snacks left so help myself to a few of those. I feel constantly hungry at the moment with the amount of mileage I am running.

After my lunch, I'm craving a chocolate fix so pop into Sainsbury's and pick up a Double Decker. I also grab a bottle of water and two 10p bags of Haribo Tangfastics for the run home. I finish work a little earlier at 3pm and run 12km home. I manage a time of 01:11:30 which I'm pretty pleased with as that also includes time spent waiting at traffic lights and slowing down to battle all the people of south London doing the school run. I have a quick shower and head back into central London to meet my friend. We share a bottle of wine and a cheese/charcuterie board and have a great time catching up and vow not to leave it as long making plans for one of our school night outs after my marathon is done. We split the bill each paying £30.01 (annoyingly 1p over the contactless limit)! We walk back to London Bridge for the train home.

TOTAL: £31.16

Friday 08th September
So so happy it's Friday today! The weather is miserable and I wear completely the wrong shoes (backless loafers do not offer much protection from the rain). Pop into Pret before work and get a heavenly coconut latte which is my favourite caffeine hit of the moment - £2.75.

As I was out for dinner last night, I didn't prepare any lunch for today, so head to Sainsbury's and our local to work branch has a hot food counter. The weather and slight grogginess from last nights wine is making crave comfort food. I get a Macaroni Cheese with broccoli and cauliflower. Wonder if I've eaten too much pasta this week but I have my BIG training run tomorrow of 32km so I use that to justify it. Also get a Dairy Milk Caramel. Beginning to see I have a bit of refined sugar addiction. - £4.40

I head to Tescos after work as I need to stock up on food and a few household bits and toiletries such as toilet roll and face wash. I need some energy gels for my run the following day and they're on offer in Tesco at 3 for 2. Total amount comes to £33.06

TOTAL: £40.20

Saturday 09th September
I have breakfast of porridge, banana and a coffee to prepare for my run. I really don't want to go out and do it and put it off for as long as possible before practically pushing myself out of the door. Running feels a bit harder than usual and I get stitch easily but power through. Almost cry at around 18/19 km in the middle of Battersea Park when Proud by Heather Small comes on my motivational playlist (loser!). I stop off at a corner shop in Balham and grab a Lucozade sport for £1. At 30km, it starts to rain and my legs are in pieces. I want to cry but Bruce Springsteen gets me through. Finally make it home, 32km and 3:23:52 hrs later.

Spend the rest of the evening, being lazy, eating all the carbs and watching trashy TV.

TOTAL: £1.00

Sunday 10th September
Still achey and tired from run on Saturday. I decide to take it easy and have a lie in and a general potter around day. I head to Sainsbury's Local and grab some bits for brunch, and make a homemade Sausage and Egg McMuffin. After that I pull out the slow cooker and put a chilli in there for my dinner and a few lunches for the week ahead. Do some chores and watch more crap TV. Perfect lazy Sunday.

TOTAL: £2.45


TOTAL AMOUNT FOR THE WEEK: £115.68

The Friday Five // 001

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I'd seen a few reviews of this book online and it was swiftly added to my Amazon Wishlist. However, it was a complete impulse purchase on a visit to the Shakespeare and Company bookshop in Paris two weeks ago along with Reni Eddo Lodge's Why I'm No Longer Talking To White People About Race (also added to my wish list after she was a guest on the brilliant The High Low podcast).
Eleanor Oliphant works in accounts for a design company. She's a bit of a loner and slight social misfit. Aware but seemingly unaffected by her colleagues sometimes cruel speculation of her life. She has her routine perfected, work all week, supermarket meal deal and the Telegraph crossword for lunch, pasta and pesto for dinner (except for Fridays which is a frozen pizza), two bottles of vodka to get through the weekend before Monday rolls around and the cycle starts over again. That is, until a chance encounter with a new work colleague breaks the monotony and what follows is a heart warming, slightly tragic story of kindness, human nature and loneliness. I dare anyone not to get a bit teary at the part Eleanor has her hair done at the salon and informs her hairdresser "You made me shiny!". Before starting this I was in a bit of reading rut but Eleanor and her story have made me fall in love with good storytelling again. Definitely my favourite book of the year so far!
I would also recommend a visit to The Shakespeare and Company too.... I could have come away with way more than two books if my luggage/bank balance had allowed! For EUR2.00 they also have small envelopes on the till with famous poems written out on a typewriter which make great souvenirs and will look great framed on a picture wall.

2. Love Island

I want to hate it..... I tried to hate it..... It was just too powerful for me to resist. The Internet is alive with gossip, memes, tweets, think-pieces... It's just impossible to avoid this absolute bonkfest. When discussing with my housemate last night about potential winning couples, she reminded me that we still have FOUR WEEKS left. Still too early to call my favourites but (and this might be a slightly controversial opinion), I cannot get on board with Camilla. She's a bit too whiny and I just need her to get out there and grow a pair so to speak.


3. Lidl Sunflowers

Lidl is the BEST for fresh flowers at budget prices (they have some prettttttyyy decent wines too) and I couldn't resist these sunflowers for £3 to brighten up our living room. Bargain.

4. Decluttering

I have lived in my house for five years now and the sheer amount of belongings I have is getting out of control. I guess it doesn't help being in a houseshare situation whereby I keep more in bedroom than I normally would. I'll never be minimalist but some kind of intervention was needed, maybe not as severe as Marie Kondo-ing but do I really need Boyzone programmes from a concert in 2010? And those collections of fancy dress tat?? I've started sending books and DVDs off to Ziffit, making piles for eBay and the charity shop, and I spent last Sunday building a new TV stand (FYI - an electric screwdriver is a game-changer). It's going to be an on going project that will take a good few months to get where I want but it will definitely be worth it.



5. GoodGym
I signed up to GoodGym back in February but have only managed to make 7 of the weekly group runs since then. I'm trying to get a bit better/regular but life gets in the way sometimes especially when we actually get some good weather here in the UK. I signed up for this weeks mission which was a 12km round run from the Brixton base to Streatham Common and back. Whilst on Streatham Common, we helped out in The Rookery Gardens with some weeding. The garden has had all it's funding cut and relies solely on volunteers to keep it in shape. It's also a protected site so they are not permitted to use any chemicals on the weeds so it has to be done manually which is where our green fingers came in. Despite living in Streatham for over five years now, I definitely don't take advantage of this common as much as I should. The Rookery is a gorgeous little garden and retreat away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. They often host different events too - last weekend was a music festival Rookfest and this coming weekend, it's Shakespeare in the Rookery. The common itself and the neighbouring Norwood Grove offer some great views over London too.

Running Update

I've been feeling pretty uninspired with running lately. One of my intentions for this year was to run a half marathon in under two hours but for a while I've been feeling like that's not going to happen, at least not in an official race. I'm currently signed up to the Hackney Half on the 30th April, which is 05 weeks away. Still plenty of time to log some good runs, but previously I've been able to feel myself improving, getting faster, feeling fitter and it's just not happening this time around.

I don't think I'm helping myself much. I've missed runs due to being severely hungover, probably not eating as well as I should be or fuelling myself properly for runs, as well as having a few glasses of wine the nights before doing my long runs and wondering why I'm struggling and having to stop and walk. It's not going to get much better throughout April either with a hen do, wedding, Dad's 60th and a friend's birthday looming on the calendar...

One thing I have started doing is attending a weekly running group with Goodgym, which combines a short group run with helping out a local community project. This week it was clearing some rubbish for Bandstand Beds, a community food growing space. They have recently acquired some more land for the project on Clapham Common and we helped to move wooden crates, twigs and old clothes in order for the council to come and collect. This was followed by some fitness work before running back to base at Brixton. Doing the fitness work, planks, burpees, squats etc... has made me realise that I do need to focus on some kind of cross training. I am currently running three times a week with no other exercises included in my plan. I need improve my strength and all round fitness. As well as the group runs, Goodgym also offer training sessions incorporating drills and strength and conditioning exercises so I think it would be really beneficial for me to start attending a few of those too.

This morning I went out for an 8km "build up" run which I ran a lot easier and faster than I thought I would in 43:59, the first time I've managed to get 8km in under 45 mins in this training cycle, so I guess things are looking up a little bit. I'm going to attempt a longer run this weekend, aiming for 16km and see how that goes. Wish me luck.

I think I also need to remember that my main focus this year is actually running a full marathon and any other races that I do in the lead up to that are just added extras. Furthermore, if i run 13.1 miles in under 2 hours even if it's not part of an official race, it is still an achievement. It is just nicer to do it and get a medal for it ;)

Here's to 2017

So, it's a new year. Whooo... Gone is 2016, famed for being the annus horribilis for many people I know and for the world in general. On a personal level, there's been a few lows but equally as many highs too. I'm proud of running two half marathons, a hobby which is definitely following me into 2017, getting to know the new addition to our family, my nephew Oscar and being a bridesmaid for and watching my little sister marry the love of her life and childhood sweetheart.

You can make changes at any time of course, but there's something about the start of a new year, after the over indulgence and exuberance of Christmas and the general festive period, that makes it a good time to take stock of your life and realise what you want to achieve over the coming 12 months and beyond.

Rather than resolutions, I've set intentions for the year. It doesn't matter if I don't reach all of them, as long as I've made some progress and continue to work on them into the next years. After all, small progress is still progress right??

Anyway, here's my 2017 intentions...

1. Run a marathon and complete it, run a half under 2hrs and a 10km under 50mins.
I've already signed up to the Yorkshire Plus Net Marathon on the 08th October so I guess I've already committed to that one. I'll hopefully be able to succeed and achieve some half and 10km personal bests as part of my marathon training.

2. Start driving lessons and pass theory test
I've never been that bothered about driving or owning a car, with living in a city like London, you just don't need it. However, as I think about getting older and possibly relocating away from the city to be able to settle down and buy a house, you can't deny that being able to drive would open a lot more possibilities. I feel like this is one thing, I need to stop putting off and just stomach the time and costs and get on with it. Wish me luck, crossing a road terrifies me, never mind getting behind a wheel!!

3. Be more of a morning person
Every work day I press snooze on my alarm for as long as possible, then rush around using every single last second until I'm out of the door, rushing again to the tube station, getting stressed and frustrated at every time the tube stops unexpectedly, making it to my desk by the skin of my teeth. It sets the day off to a bad start. I want to be able to take my time a little bit more, make sure I look and feel calm and well put together when I arrive at my desk.

4. Learn to cook more dishes, plan meals better and food shop better to save money
I'm not a terrible cook but I fall back on the same tried and tested meals (sausage pasta) again and again. I want to learn a few more dishes and get better at cooking things from scratch with fresh ingredients. I need to get into my head that spending more on a supermarket shop will benefit me in the longer run and stop me spending more in Sainbury's local on top ups and in Pret when I haven't made breakfast at home.

5. Save more and chip away more at the credit card
Pretty self explanatory.

6. Read 52 books
I have this intention every year. One book a week. I fail almost every time by one or two books. This year I'm determined. I just need to select books that I can't put down and partake in a little less mindless internet scrolling. Currrently reading: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

7. Look after my health a little bit better
Make sure I keep my regular appointments for eye tests, smear tests, dentist etc.... Get a better skin care routine and drink less alcohol!
I'm guilty of burying my head in the sand when it comes to the above but I need to realise I'm not getting any younger and looking after myself will help me both look and feel better.


8. If you want to do something, just do it, even if it's by yourself
Ten years ago, I left Hamburg after 6 months of working as a language assistant in a school. I haven't been back since. I was browsing the Easyjet January sale and found flights for £45 return. I just thought f*** it and booked them. I didn't wait to check if anyone else would be interested or before the politics of where to stay and what to do. I just wanted to go and be able to suit myself. It's gonna be a little bit strange eating by myself but hopefully I'll enjoy this and possibly take a few more solo trips this year.


Fingers crossed for me !