Evaluation of the first two weeks...

I don't think I'll have time to evaluate this tomorrow, so I'll look at it now.

The two weeks of normal spending is pretty much up. It's so easy to see the common places I waste money. There was also the near miss with Sonic & The Secret Rings (Wii) (would have been £17 as my boyfriend and I were going to split it, but in the end we completed it and returned it :S haha) and also I get so tempted by books but I've been really good with that for quite a while now.

Amazon used to be my worst thing, but I really tried to cut that out at the beginning of the Uni year. Although as a result my wishlist is triple it's usual size :S (Or it was until I was really cruel with it yesterday and hacked it to pieces)

Looking at my old Amazon orders, I've only ordered myself one book since the end of August and it was a uni book. I did however blow £350 on a camcorder not long after that...

Anyway, looking at the spending... The totals for two weeks and the cost should I live like that for a year (which is unrealistic but it's a nice shocktastic way to curb the spending)

Alcohol - £13.55
Cost - £352.30
I doubt I'll be drinking again for a while anyway, considering the other night...

Chocolate - £8.29
Cost - £215.54
That's really scary... although I did vow at the weekend to not buy myself chocolate

Other junk food - £9.42
Cost - £244.92

Total - £812.76

Not really surprisingly, since I already curbed the book/music/game outlet at the end of summer, it's all foooood. Vending machines are definitely my downfall. I've been taking a bottle of water to uni to stop myself buying Ribena and I really have got to remember to eat before going to uni. I'm sure that would stop the vending machine snacking. As for supermarket bought snacks... I'm trying.

It's definitely been interesting. The next two weeks are no doubt going to be difficult, I do so love my M&Ms :(

I'm contemplating keeping a food log in conjunction with this, although I'm really not sure I want to know what I've been eating. I'm sure if I have to blog it I'll think twice before looking like a gluttonous heifer... so maybe it would be a good thing.

Sonic's a blue bastard.

Thursday 8th March

Chocolate 2.35

Totals so far...
£68.18
Necessary £51.60 75.68%
Unnecessary £16.58 24.32%

Melty melty melty cheeeese!

Wednesday 7th March

Groceries...
Crisps 0.79
Hula Hoops 1.05
MilkRoll 0.71
Parsnips 0.49
Smoothie 1.29
Chocolate Pudding 0.69
Organic Shop Stuff... (no receipt so just a total)
Cheezly Melty Cheese
Organic Soap
Organic Shampoo
Vegan Chocolate 1.41
Veggie Sausage Rolls
Organic Moisturiser
Total 16.71 (15.30 essential)

Totals so far...
£65.83
Necessary £51.60 78.38%
Unnecessary £14.23 21.62%

M&M Addict

I guess I'm just feeling a bit down, so, M&Ms and their consistency of existence are keeping me going.

Tuesday 6th March

M&Ms £1 (yes, I got two bags, whilst at the library, vending machines are extortionate)
Art Supplies (2 paint brushes and a dipping ink pen plus nib) £2.50
Photocopies £0.60

Totals so far...
£44.10
Necessary £35.81 81.2%
Unnecessary £8.29 18.8%

That's not that great really...

Day Whatever Day It Is

Monday (?) March 5th

Groceries...
Cucumber 0.85
Peppers 1.42
Brown Rolls 0.48
Houmous 0.80
Bounty (chocolate) 0.34
M&Ms 0.50

Totals
40
Necessary 32.71 81.78%
Unnecessary 7.29 18.22%

Money Money Money Money Mushroom Mushroom Money Money Money

I tend to read a lot of things on how to not procrastinate, life stuff, but usually fail at actually implementing anything etc.

I love Zen Habits - I tend to use it to procrastinate with - haha, completely the opposite of it's purpose, but you know, it's interesting.

Anyway, the author of Zen Habits did this thing where he tracked his expenses for a month and worked out what percentage of them were necessary.

My boyfriend and I thought we'd try it, for funsies. I'm going to document mine here, just because it's somewhere I always have access to. Although unlike Leo we're doing two weeks of normal spending and then two weeks of trying to cut down on the unnecessary expenses and then comparing. I do think though that documenting it alone will affect the first two weeks simply because we're more aware of what we're spending and more likely to think it through.

Also I won't be generalising food as groceries, otherwise I could buy eight packets of M&Ms and consider them necessary. I'm thinking healthy eating here - if I'm aware of how much money I spend on crap food I'm more likely to not spend it, and therefore it's more healthy. Woo.

1st March
None

2nd March
Ribena £1.10 - U

3rd March
Train Ticket £10.65 - N
Cake and Crisps £2 - U
Groceries...
Carrots £0.23 - N
Flour £0.31 - N
Loo Roll £1.69 - N
Lettuce £0.49 - N
Quorn Burgers £1.79 - N
Goats Cheese £1.35 - U
Sweetcorn £1.99 - N
Broccoli £0.54 - N
Cucumber £0.47 - N
White Rolls £0.20 - N
M&Ms £2 - U
Red Pepper £0.78 - N

4th March
Petrol £10.02 - N

Totals so far...
£35.61
Necessary - £29.16 81.89%
Unnecessary - £6.45 18.11%

You ARE Amazing

Things are good.

I'm on the mend now. Fingers crossed it stays that way. I made it into town the other day, and I've even been to Portsmouth and to uni. I was mortified about missing the start of that really. And also, I have so much work to do now, last semester's, and this semester's... but that's ok. Because it'll get done. So long as I can stay well. I still get fairly tired easily, but that'll go. Thankfully the feeling depressed about it has passed, I think that went with the actually being able to do things again-ness.

South Park, good or bad?

I actually did something artistic the other day, it felt good.

I'm also reading Design Anarchy - finally managed to put my hands on it in the uni library (yeah, because I can afford £50 for a book). It's good. It scares me sometimes, as do the Adbusters magazines, but it's good. I like it a lot.

I finished The Modern Pagan: How to Live a Natural Lifestyle in the 21st Century. It came across to me as a little preachy at times, a lot of things are common sense, but it was alright. Not the best book in that vein that I've read, but still good to read all the same. I know I marked off some pages to go back to, maybe when I do I'll think some more about how useful I thought it really was.

I started a Library Thing thing actually, though I've not had much time to play with it. I like the site and what it does, but not the interface so much. I don't know. Anyone know of any similar sites? I guess it's like last.fm in a way.

So it's halfway through February. Anyone keep their new years resolutions this time? I didn't make any. I stopped eating chocolate for a bit, but that went to hell when I got sick. I can't count how many Mars eggs I've eaten - they have to be the best invention since.... cream eggs. Still, that needs to stop. Really.

Actually, that's a lie, I did have a resolution in mind. Haha. Guess that went to hell too. I'll dig that out and maybe start doing it. It involves cameras.

Happy belated Val Day world. Love is amazing. Find some.

I got an essay back that I wrote "analysing an image found within contemporary visual culture". I got 70% which is really good, and some really nice comments. Considering I was in quite an upset/stressed out state the day I wrote that, that's pretty amazing. I did put in some library time for that though, and it paid off, judging by one of the comments. I guess I might just live in the library this semester. It's not like I don't have too much to do.

Quite probably one of my favouritest photos ever. <3 Although it should be the other way around, as per the way it was developed ;P

I'm getting rid of my tellybox. That's not to say I won't watch telly elsewhere, I think that's inevitable. And you know, the stuff I watch on the PC, but but but, I'M GIVING UP HOLLYOAKS. Properly this time. Yes. You heard. Giving it up.

24 is scary. It's all going wrong. Fix it.

I should do the stuff I came home to do.

SLOW DOWN

Adbusters have announced 'Slow Down Week' (see the animation here). The premise being:

For one week, instead of running to catch the bus or zipping in and out of traffic, try walking to work. Instead of grabbing take-out on the way home, cook a meal with your family. Leave the TV and computer off, and play an old-fashioned board game, or just sit and catch up with family and friends. If possible, take a day off work — and then while it away with a long walk and an afternoon nap.

It sounds interesting, but then one has to have been going fast in the first place for that to work :P

I checked out the latest Adbusters in the liiiibary t'other day, it was a roundup of 2006 edition, which, as per usual, scared me senseless. It's very interesting though. Always worth reading.

Also, it being new year and all, I thought I'd share this link with you - yes everyone claims to have the secret to willpower, but this kind of thing I think would actually work if anyone actually tried it.

And now, I must go blitz my Play to Create project...........

ETA: I've been chocolateless since Sunday.... similar to last year I've given it up.

Space Monkey.

Happy new year. Do not drink wine. That is all.

I can't believe it's 2007. That's all kinds of scary. I'll be 20 this year, no more teenagerness. Although, twenteen :P

I'm working on an essay about imagined communities, joy. Ed's playing Sonic Heroes, I'm jealous. But I'm listening to Placebo, so it's ok. And I have cake. Good cake.

Also, if you've never heard of Girls are Pretty and have a few decades to waste reading amusing things, you should go there now.