$446.08 over two days – spendthrift or responsible? Allow me to plead my case.
Yesterday was a very cheap day in fact. The 11.5 k walk that shredded my feet was completely free, unless you want to count being dropped off and picked up by my husband in his gas guzzler. Maybe petrol and depreciation on his car but I’m not counting his time as he’s on a retainer.
I bought myself a vegetarian pie at the famous Patrisha’s pie shop – an Island Bay icon – for $7 afterwards. Money well spent – and a girl’s got to eat.
I was keen to watch the cricket afterwards at the Basin Reserve, and would happily have paid the $15 entrance fee, but I was too busy eating my pie, bemoaning my blisters, and having a nap , so I ended up watching the games on TV at home instead. The two Wellington teams – the Blaze and the Firebirds – both thrashed their opposition, so that was nice.
By then I was craving an ice block, and since we had none at home, I popped out to buy one at the local dairy. Unfortunately as it was Sunday evening, all the dairies were closed, and I had to limp to the nearest supermarket to pay $4.20 for a Ruby Magnum (3 stars – would probably go for caramel next time).
After dinner I walked down to the Botanical Gardens for the music and lighting show. They had a band doing covers of Elton John hits, the lighting display was very impressive, it was a gorgeous evening – and all free.
Today I didn’t have any work on, so was completely free to do as I wished. Accordingly, I slept in, repotted some plants, replenished the neglected bird feeder, tidied up, and did some washing. Not very exciting but it didn’t cost me anything.
Now was the time for some spending in town.
First step: taking some trousers in for shortening. This cost me $25 which was a surprise but as they are a very old pair of tramping pants which I’m going to need for the Milford Track, it was much cheaper than buying a new pair. OK, I could have taken up the hems myself, but I’m doing my bit to support the local economy, all right?
Next stop was Lovisa, a cheap jewellery store. There’s a story here. All during my French lesson on Friday, I was lusting after my French teacher’s necklace. I spent the weekend researching where I could get something similar – and let’s be honest – I would have paid quite a bit for real gold and diamonds – but as it happens, Lovisa had the nearest approximation I could find – and that cost me $28 for a set of five. Maybe they’ll fall apart on the second wearing, or turn my skin green – but until then, you can’t say it’s not a bargain.
From there, it was Lululemon Athletica. Now I’ve done two yoga classes, it’s time to show I’m serious – I think my new yoga pants will demonstrate I really am trying my best. I also bought a pair of jogging shorts – not that I would ever even consider going jogging – but surely I could wear them tramping if it’s really hot? (and there aren’t too many sandflies).
After the fiasco with my tramping sandals on Sunday, and since it’s less than a month until our southern adventure, I decided to explore the walking sandals genre one more time. I went to a couple of places before ending up at Bivouac, where a young lady was very patient and helpful. In her opinion, my Merrel shandals may not be beyond help. It’s possible I just need to tie the laces a bit snugger, to stop my heel moving and rubbing against the back. That was very good to hear. Just to be on the safe side, though, I did buy another pair of Keen sandals. These were on special at 15% off and they were made of recycled drinking bottles, so that hardly counts as spending at all. You couldn’t get any greener!
Pleased with my conscientious shopping habits, it was time for a late lunch. As it was past 3pm, the local Vietnamese takeaways was doing leftover lunch super cheap. My three chicken rolls only cost $7. Mind you, they’d either puréed the chicken, or it was actually tofu, but either way it didn’t bother me.
…and hey presto, my day was done! Back home to walk the dogs in the sun, and it’s back to work tomorrow.
In summary, no regrets, but maybe it’s for the best that I’m usually busy at work every day.