Since I came back from holiday everyone else at the shop has decided they want to go on holiday. So I'm getting extra hours next month. Keep on stashing the cash.

I think folks is getting so poor they has holes in their pockets. The little money they have drops thru onto the street. Today I picked up a $nz10 bill. Doing the happy dance and checking there's no holes in my pockets.

I found a 10GBP in a wallet - all the money I have left from my trip. I took it to the bank and exchanged it for $nz19.

Now if only someone would pay me for every pound of weight I lost...

It is officially 10 days till spring. Today was a beautiful sunny day with warmth in the breeze., but there will be a frost tonite.

I checked this week's specials in Countdown - canned corn for $nz1.05 so I got 6 cans. Also baked beans and spaghetti for .69 cents, so will go back for those later. (Only $5.70 in the wallet until Wednesday, but I don't think I'll need to buy anything.)

New World had a special on rolled oats this week - 60 cents off a 1.5 kg bag, so I bought 4. Should keep me going for a couple months. Marmite was also on special for $nz4.99 so I bought 2. I'll be bursting with energy after breakfast.

I bought 10 pairs to travel to Britain and there are none left in my drawer. The underwear I also bought made it back home ok, so I can't have left a trail of dirty sox in hotel rooms. Where can they have gone?

Having put on a little weight - erm, gone up a size, I am finding it harder to get fitting clothes in the charity shops. I was down to 4 pairs of trousers I can wear. So I went to Classic Clothing and bought 2 pairs of jeans @ $29.99 each. $10 off per pair. I should lose weight but if I do that my new clothes won't fit!

Here is a breakfast that requires no cooking

One cup rolled oats
handful raisins
tablespoonful sunflower seeds

mix together, pour milk over and leave to soak overnight. In the morning add sliced banana and apple. Guaranteed to keep you regular.

and is predicted to go on for the next four days. This morning it was coming down in spurts so I got to church where the oldies were all talking about the Big Snow of 1939. I thought i would stop by the supermarket for some teabags - the place was chocka with people all stocking up. I got my teabags plus a big pumpkin and some cheese. Soup and scones tonite.

I was looking for info on building up an emergency food supply and I came across this.

http://www.grandpappy.info/hfood1yr.htm

I feel bloated at even the thought of that much food. I hadn't looked much beyond an earthquake or severe snow storm cutting off supplies for a week - friends in the Christchurch quake were without water and power for 10 days, but the worst affected areas were evacuated. Still I think the most likely time I will use it is when I lose one of my pt jobs at the end of the year. At the moment I have in my pantry

10 cans beans
2 cans fish
6 cans veg
2 cans fruit
1 can beef stew
1 can chicken soup
1 can coconut cream
1 can tomato paste
400g sultanas
1 kg oats
4 kg potatoes
2 kg flour
1 kg dried milk powder
4 pkts instant noodles
2 ltr cooking oil
small amounts pasta, rice and dried lentils
herbs and spices

When I get paid next week I shall buy 10 kg rice for $nz19 and some mung beans for sprouting. And a big jar of peanut butter.

Call me an optimist. I don't buy scratch lottery tickets but I pick up ones people have thrown away, just in case they overlooked a winner. I picked one up today and it was worth $3. Thank you unknown person who dropped it.

I am currently using up some of the older supplies in the pantry. There was some popping corn which has been there so long I didn't think it would cook, but it did so I had popcorn for breakfast.

In
UB $130
found .50


Out
grocery 25.70

Friday night I went to the supermarket to buy groceries and when I got to the checkout discovered I'd lost my debit card. Yikes!

I abandoned my basket of meat and veg and rushed off to phone the 0800 number. They cancelled my card and said they would send me a new one (at a cost of $10). Unfortunately it takes 3-5 working days to arrive.

So there I was with plenty of money in the bank and no way to suck it thru the ATM. Luckily I have plenty of rice, flour, dried beans, canned tomatoes and a sack of potatoes. My diet for the weekend has been limited but healthy.

I hope my new card comes tomorrow.

Fortunately I haven't been sick, but there has been a lot going on and I haven't had time to blog.

My dad passed away soon after the earthquake. In many ways it was a relief as he was getting to the stage where he couldn't recognize us. Dealing with grief has been complicated as he was an alcoholic and at times could be abusive. I try to remember the good times.

He left us quite a bit of money which I am expecting to be paid around November. I have to work out what to do with this. It is enough to provide several thousand a year in extra income but not enough to retire on.

And I took a trip to Britain last month. I had a fabulous time seeing ds and various relatives I haven't seen since childhood, looking at cathedrals and castles in England, Wales and Ireland. I blew my budget but it is worth every cent.

And a further change coming up - I will be losing my pt cleaning job at the end of the year as the Early childhood centre is closing.

So, need to make some plans and get back to watching the pennies.