Just a quick lunchtime post from me- hot office topic of debate: do you ever use tea bags twice?

Are you a double tea bag dunker?! 

Pros- one packet of tea bags last twice as long
Cons- two s**t tasting cups of tea

Decide for yourself which side of the fence you sit on- I think I fall somewhere in the middle of the two. If I'm coming to the end of a pack I'll make do until I next pass a shop which stocks them at a decent price. £1.50 for a packet of green tea in Budgens or 77p in Sainsburys?

Secondly, I've just given the Sainsburys basics chocolate digestives a go and they are no different from any other biscuit, bar the packaging. I've kept them tucked away in my bag though out of sight of judgmental eyes lol.

Often my housemate (currently around 5k in debt) makes comments about the 'cheap' food I buy, in reference to Adsa or Sainsburys own brands, not even the 'smart' price value ranges. I think I will definitely give the value brands more chance, even if I have to smuggle them into the cupboards. Also the BF can be a bit snobby about some food items, so wouldn't dare switching his beloved peanut butter down a range. I may buy one for him and a cheapo jar for myself in the future. Ooh the excitement of my life at the moment.....

In other news my dress has a bid of £27.00 on eBay, another £13 and I'll have recouped the money I spent seven years ago and freed up some space in my wardrobe. 

Occasions

Recently at work there has been one birthday after another, interspersed with Someones leaving collection, baby collection, been burgled collection etc. Litrally some collections have gone round just one day after the one before.

At first I didn't mind putting my hand in my purse to club together for a collective gift. But then it got a little bit much, and it seems I'm not the only one that feels this way. Afterall the management on the six figure salaries aren't coughing up a penny towards the cause. Embarrassingly these large envelopes filled with coins land on your desk for you to fill then write your name on the back so everyone knows if you havnt contributed anything. The last one went round yesterday, I had about 70p in my purse and felt like I had to put it in.

Over the last few months (just after Xmas too!) the amounts people have been contributing have been dwindling as everyone is complaining about a lack if cash. This might seem a bit mean, but if a colleague is a genuine friend surely we would vouranterily shlep to the shops in pursuit of a gift? No... Anyways, this brings me onto another similar topic- valentines day.

Those exclaiming that their bank accounts are grim are simultaneously online shopping for £60 flowers for their partners. Call me cynical, but they're just going to die right? I got bought a mini Rose plant, much cheaper and was meant to bloom and grow rather than wither and die which I appreciated much more. We're planning on cooking a nice meal together indoors this year and putting the 40 quid we save towards our holiday fund.

It's also a good job I didn't count my eggs before they hatched as I had a phone call from my mum this morning saying my dads job may be on the line due to his company performing poorly, so the financial help may not be as easily available as we'd briefly hoped. I think the best thing to do is to keep aiming for my 10k, then a 10% deposit and then see where we stand, after all a lot can happen within 18 months.

I think it's important to live in the now as well as plan for the future. So today I spent £2 on a hot chocolate at the in for a work colleagues birthday, and shared dinner with friends in their home. We all contributed towards the food so came to hardly anything each.

Done my bit for today. Until next time folks, happy frugal-ing x