More sleep! And plans

For the second night in a row, I actually slept very well....woke up 3 or 4 times (normal), but went straight back to sleep each time, which is definitely not normal for me.  I feel so much better for it.  So I would cautiously say that the CBD oil seems to be having a positive effect on my insomnia.  Can't say the same for my pain, it's had no effect at all on that as yet, but it's early days.  It's a pity that the stuff tastes so vile, but that's a small price to pay, and having a drink or sucking a mint after I've held the oil in my mouth for a minute soon gets rid of the taste (so stop being a wimp, woman!).

I've been thinking about holidays.  In previous (more affluent) times, and before we had a dog, we'd go away for a week 2 or 3 times a year, with long weekends in between.  Well, we can't afford that many holidays anymore, and now we have the lovely Betty, our holidays have to be tailored for her.  We've decided we can't have caravan holidays anymore, or even chalet/lodge holiday park hols.....whilst they're fairly cheap, that's pretty much the only thing in their favour.  The accommodation is too small, certainly with a dog, and the lack of an enclosed garden is a bit of a problem - Betty likes going outside for a sniff around, even in winter, but we can't let her out if there's no garden.

So it will have to be cottages from now on, which cost more.  Which means fewer holidays, and saving up more in order to afford one in the first place.

Food shopping is the biggest area where I can make savings.  I am pretty good at economising on food shopping, but it's only ever short lived....I need to do it on a regular and more permanent basis.  I'll give it some thought over the next few days and see what I can come up with.  

The other thing we've had a bit of success with recently is selling a few things on our local neighbourhood social media pages.  It's a bit frustrating, you get loads of enquiries (some of which are quite abrupt and rude - manners cost nothing people!), some even say they want to come and look, but then either don't turn up or you hear nothing more from them.  We've discovered that it's best to be totally realistic about what people are likely to want to pay for things (not a lot to be blunt), rather than trying to sell things for what you think they're worth, or what you'd like to get for them.....the reality is they're only worth what people are willing to pay.  So if we ask a cheap price we're likely to be able to sell the item quickly.  And any money is better than no money and having the thing cluttering up the garage or spare bedroom or my utility room.

So the plan for the near future is to try and save as much money as possible, for a holiday next year.