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Focus on the positive #5happythings

9th October 2020 by shoestringjane@outlook.com 5 Comments

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What a week. I am still limiting my exposure to the news, because it seems relentlessly negative. However, I want to know what’s going – I just don’t want to feel overwhelmed by it. So I listen to the headlines once a day and leave it at that. Otherwise I end up shouting at the TV! Still, we have had several reasons to be cheerful this week, so let’s focus on the positive. It might be pushing it a  bit to say they are five frugal things, so let’s go for five happy things!

Job news 1

Getting a job in the current climate is tough. My youngest daughter has just graduated, and what a time to try to kickstart your working life!

focus on the positive

She is a tryer though. She applied for almost 200 jobs and got just 3 or 4 interviews. One of them was allegedly a receptionist job, taking calls and booking appointments for local businesses. In reality, it was the most awful call centre. She took one call after another from angry and abusive customers, who weren’t getting a good service. They were understandably furious that she could only pass on messages and couldn’t really help. She lasted four weeks before the stress of it overwhelmed her and she left.

This week, after only a fortnight of trying, she managed to get a job in a large department store. She worked for them as a student, and as they knew her they didn’t even make her go for an interview.

She is crazily over qualified, of course, but hopefully things will settle and she will find employment related to her degree at some point. A job is a job, so she can focus on the positive for now.

Job news 2

My eldest daughter has also had a rocky time and has been unemployed for a while. However, she also managed to get a job in a new Starbucks. It’s a drive through as well as a café, and seems to be doing very well. Maybe the coffee shops are the new pubs?

She is loving it so far and enjoying being busy. This is exactly the sort of environment she likes, surrounded by people and with plenty to do.

focus on the positive

Starbucks are happy for you to take your dogs in. This meant that we had to take Archie had his first puppacino, and loved it! This was basically a small cup of whipped cream, so he can’t have too much of that.

I have been surprised to find it so busy there, with many people working remotely on their laptops. I guess if you have small kids or other distractions then home working can be a bit of a trial. 

Anyway, if it keeps her employed, I am delighted!

Wildlife watching from the window

There are a lot of urban foxes where we live. We think one of the neighbours has been feeding a particular group of youngsters, as they are all fearless and healthy looking.

They seem to enjoy looking at Archie through the window, and are often found sitting on the front lawn. He goes crazy, barking the house down and wagging his tail. I really think he would love to go out and play.

focus on the positive

I know that they are considered vermin but, apart from pulling the bins to pieces, they do little harm. If I still had chickens I would feel quite differently, I am sure!

Look at this one’s cute little face though. We are enjoying their visits.

Charity shop haul

Because of the awful cold and wet weather, I haven’t made it to any boot sales recently. My plan was to stock up as much as possible in case we had another lock down.

Regular readers will know that I buy to sell on eBay, so having nothing to sell is a little inconvenient!

focus on the positive

Anyway, I have hit the charity shops quite a lot this month and found some amazing bargains. There are three in particular where I know I can pick decent stuff up cheaply.

It involves going through a lot of rubbish to find the gems, but I love a treasure hunt. 

My favourites this month have been a Joe Brown’s coat for £2, some brand new suede boots for £3.50 (RRP £89.99) and an Adidas padded men’s jacket for £2. For that £7.50 outlay, I hope to make at least a £90 return.

Soup season means a cheap lunch

After using my unwanted bag of frozen mixed veg to make soup last week, I decided to finish the last of the frozen broccoli to make some stilton and broccoli soup.

Although it’s always handy to have frozen vegetables, their tendency towards sogginess means we don’t enjoy them nearly as much.

focus on the positive

Another fave soup from frozen ingredients is my mum’s easy pea soup. I just love soup – it is quick, cheap and nutritious.

In these dark times, it’s good to focus on the positive and find some light. All we can do is control what we can control, try not to get too stressed and do our best with what we have.

How has your week been? Do you feel overwhelmed by the bad news or are you trying to focus on the positive too?

I’m linking up with this Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Frugal Friday’ linky.

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Filed Under: FRUGAL LIFESTYLE Tagged With: five frugal things

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Comments

  1. Vicki says

    9th October 2020 at 06:16

    Thanks for this lovely positive post – just what I need today! So many people are finding solace in the natural world and their families. All the best to you and yours, Vicki

    Reply
  2. Julia says

    9th October 2020 at 11:12

    Congratulations to your daughter. My 3rd also graduated this summer and was getting call centre job offers left right and cerntre (it sounds like no one can hack it for long in those jobs – my eldest did it for a while too) but landed a dream job in his field, on his birthday no less, and started a week later! 🙂
    My eldest 2 have been unemployed for the last 2-3 years though. 🙁

    Love foxes, but rarely see them on my street as it’s too busy.

    Reply
  3. Susan@ TheRunciblePen says

    9th October 2020 at 13:36

    I echo thanks for a timely post. After getting upset at the news last night (as well as Covid-19, our daughter is studying in Armenia, luckily far from the border conflict, but still a worry), I resolved to try to practice positivity today. Finding your post in my inbox was just what I needed!

    Reply
  4. Lisa says

    9th October 2020 at 13:41

    I really enjoyed this post, especially the cute fox picture! I live in Austin, Texas, and feel the same as you. I am also trying to not get pulled down into the muck too much, and also limit my news intake. We do have our presidential election coming up very soon, and I actually feel some hope in that.

    Reply
  5. Pam in TX says

    9th October 2020 at 15:13

    Thank you Jane for this positive post, it really lifted my day.
    Best wishes to you and your family.
    Pam in Texas.x

    Reply

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Would you like to take control of your finances, pay off your debts and save for the future? At Shoestring Cottage we aim to show you that you can live a good and happy life on less than you think, you can get off the consumer treadmill and you can live more simply and healthily and not feel deprived.
We are also moving toward a less wasteful, more sustainable lifestyle and believe frugality and sustainability go hand in hand. Read More…

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