No, no, no, no, YES!

In my mind there's no such thing as a strict negative when it comes to spending money. Last minute jitters, sweaty palms at the thought of parting with loadsa cash, the prospect of eating beans and value bread for a month. Sure but no, no, no, it's all good. Strict financial management, denying oneself the delights of new purchases. Yes, yes, yes, total misery.

Over the last couple of weeks I've acquired a mini capsule collection of discounted goods. Shocking behaviour, and so unlike me. 70% or more off equals a virtual giveaway and I never say no to a freebie. No, no, no, yes.

Grey cable knit jumper, Topman - 67% off

Black roll neck long sleeved top, River Island - 75% off

Black skinny cropped trousers, River Island - 60% off

Brown suede brogue wedge shoes, Office - 60% off

White short sleeved shirt in a 2 pack, Topman - 60% off

Blue quilted sweatshirt, Topman - 83% off

According to the style experts throwing their tuppenceworth into this year's Oscar frock glamaganza, blue in all its hues is bang on trend for spring summer 2016 so chances are I'll be parading the sweatshirt at any given opportunity. Wearing it as we speak even. Previous incarnations of the black roll neck and black trouser combo have drawn comparisons with the Milk Tray man by my work colleagues. The similarities clearly end there, I ain't risking my life to deliver a box of chocolates to nobody. Yes, yes, yes, fuck that. 

There are lots of things I would say yes to though, no, no, no qualms about it. Arsenal miraculously going the rest of the season unbeaten. Zlatan in blue and yellow slaying the competition in France this summer. The sunniest, driest Great British summer since records began. A Dale Winton sponsored supermarket sweep in Selfridges. An overwhelmingly resounding trouncing of the Brexit brigade in June. A humiliating defeat for Donald Trump in November (Hillary FTW!) 

For all its fallacies, I unequivocally feel that the UK is better in than out of the EU, particularly as we're currently at the mercy of a government who sees the Human Rights Act as unwelcome bureaucracy. Anyone believing that 'reclaiming British sovereignty' will automatically mean a better deal for the general population need to stop overdosing on Murdoch supplied news. And wouldn't it be great to witness Boris Johnson's face when an IN verdict is read out?? Priceless. As for Trump, such a vile clown holding the most powerful position in the world doesn't bear thinking about. He makes Kim Jong Un appear rational and sensible.

This year, two of the most significant ballots ever will be made within months of each other. People of the world, the decision is yours. Don't fuck it up. Yes, yes, yes, no.

I'm a blogger, I'm a smogger, I'm a midnight togger

Roundabout this time 3 years ago, my ex and I was featured in a BBC2 documentary exploring different couples' approach to managing finances and the impact money had on the relationship. I was profiled as a care-free shopaholic with a penchant for t-shirts and free range eggs. As a minor claim to fame, I was subsequently described as 'a disaster, who buys t-shirts by the truckload' by the resident TV reviewer at The Guardian. Although there's probably an element of truth in that particular description, I prefer to view it less as chaotic disruption and more measured frivolity.

The basic premise for this blog is to chronicle my spending, a kind of visual representation of my bank statement. I intend to write a blog post every time I spend money on non-essential material things for myself over the next year or so and see if over time it causes me to re-examine my approach to parting with money.

The idea for the blog came from a hungover (me) conversation with my dear friend @JeanetteLeech on her sofa in Harringay. J is a writer by profession, check out her acid folk opus "Seasons They Change", and holds the written word in high esteem. She also undertook a 52 week blog project with her friend Jude the other year so she's got previous. Initially I figured I'd start the blog in January as a way of ushering in the new year but then as it so happens today is that most revered day of the month: payday. It all begins today therefore.

I've just returned home to Sheffield after spending 5 days in London. I work for Breast Cancer Care, the UK wide charity supporting people affected by breast cancer, and was down at our head office for a 2 day course and a project meeting, interspersed with leisure time. I can heartily recommend a visit to Institute of Sexology at Wellcome Collection which opened last week. Amongst the items on display are a rather impractical vibrator and a scary looking anti-masturbation device. The main focus however is on the pioneers of sex research such as Kinsey and Von Krafft-Ebing, the latter's 19th century work "Psychopathia Sexualis" introduced me to a whole range of sexual deviancies I frankly had no clue existed. 'Mania, or theft of, women's handkerchiefs' anyone?

I of course found some time to do a spot of non-Christmas shopping, and happened across the below garment in Zara's new Oxford Street flagship store

I'm by no means a Zaraholic, and at £19.99 it's possibly the most money I've ever spent on a single t-shirt, but it took me all of 5 seconds to grab it and run for the tills. As it turns out it was actually a rather crucial purchase as later that day I managed to wreck a shirt by attempting to iron it using the carpet in my hotel room as ironing board (yes, I really am that stupid). So if I'd not bought the t-shirt I would've had to walk round London at night with a bit of Travelodge stuck on me and that would've been a real disaster.