Yesterday, for the first time in weeks , I needed to leave the house to visit the pharmacy for something. I felt strangely apprehensive. I recognised that the feeling deep in my gut was fear...fear! of going shopping? Never before in my whole life have I felt that. I drove the short distance to the village, parked up (it's now free to park until 1st July so that no-one has to touch the machine I guess) and walked the rest of the way to the pharmacy, combining my daily exercise with a necessary task. Although there seemed to be a lot of people around and dozens queuing for the bank and the food shops, the pharmacy contained just one customer and an assistant who was wearing a mask, gloves and standing behind a glass screen. She placed my items on the counter, I paid with my contactless debit card, picked up my items, thanked her and left. Phew....that wasn't so bad. I took my courage in both hands, crossed the road to Superdrug where there were just 3 customers inside, picked up the very last hand wash on the shelf and went to pay. I was amazed and very happy to find that they had hand sanitiser right by the till. The assistant was wearing gloves and also behind a glass screen. I made another contactless payment, thanked her and left, taking the long route to walk back to the car. Once inside it I used the hand sanitiser and heaved a sigh of relief.
Is this going to be the way of things for the foreseeable future? Are we going to become a cashless society?
I have always found budgeting much easier if I can withdraw the week's food money in cash and only spent that amount. At the moment, everything is paid for online with a card and I'm beginning to lose track of our spending.
How are you coping with budgeting at the moment?
Long before the virus I intended to make a bucket list and tick things off as they were achieved. I even bought an appropriate notebook. Fat chance now! The notebook has been utilised for meal planning so it's easy to see how my focus has changed ...lol...
I love my ruler showing 'British History Rulers' in other words the Kings in order. Why, oh why, didn't I have this when I was at school. Although I love tales of history I have a mental block when it comes to remembering the detail so I dropped the subject in favour of languages.....
Like many others I have been reading more and have just finished this Alan Titchmarsh novel The Scarlet Nightingale about a young English girl who worked with the French resistance during WW2. I loved it...
Gratitudes
For a successful pharmacy visit
For yet another lovely sunny day
For followers who don't mind reading my ramblings (Welcome to Marlene)
For receiving 3 lovely phone calls yesterday which cheered me up no end :)
Stay safe everyone, wherever in the world you happen to be x
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Hi Angie I like you prefer to have cash, it's a right pain isn't it.
ReplyDeleteThere just seems no end in sight with this awful virus☹️. Xx
I think that's why this awful situation is getting us all down, Marlene, we have no idea how or when this lockdown will end. Stay safe x
DeleteThis week for the 1st time we paid full price for our preferred butter and olive oil spread, I have noticed the prices rising on other things.
ReplyDeleteYes, everything is going up in price on a daily basis. I think we might all have blown our budgets by the time this ends. Stay safe x
DeleteI've been doing paperless shopping for a few months now and make certain to write down the amount of any purchase in a log book I keep. Otherwise I would have no idea how much I spent on groceries.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I need to get into the habit of writing down any purchases as soon as I make them too. I'm losing the plot!
DeleteI've got that ruler too - I have been using it this very morning [to draw lines, not to revise the dates of Royalty] I've got to start logging purchases. Three weeks of not going out, then discovering shopping was a completely different experience has "done my head in"! as the kids say.
ReplyDeleteOooh, same Christian name...same ruler! I know what you mean, Angela, it's 'doing my head in' too :)
DeleteI gave my purse and handbag contents a wipe over today and realised I hadn’t even used them out of the house for 3 weeks. I think I am spending more but I don’t want to go to the shops. I like using cash but won’t be going to cash machine or the bank for a while. I suppose we must get used to this for now.
ReplyDeleteYes, janipi, this is the new normal, I think.
DeleteI must remember your third in the list of gratitude when I do my Saturday Being Grateful list - it made me smile.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same as you about shopping when I went on Monday last week - fear - it was horrible. My next shop will be Wednesday next week when I run out of apples.
Who would ever have guessed that we would become afraid to shop. Stay well x
DeleteI must admit I would rather use cash but I do understand the reasons behind it. We have been jotting the amounts used on the card so we can keep track. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can see the sense in it, MM, but I can just imagine people coming unstuck with their budgets. Stay safe x
DeleteI am just getting used to going out for the groceries since lockdown. One way system in Tesco...in through one door...out through another...wait to be invited to a till...I felt very apprehensive the first time I went out in the car after self isolating. x
ReplyDeleteI think it's quite frightening, I must admit...
DeleteI much prefer cash but now I'm shopping every 2-3 weeks its not too bad. I agree I think we will be social distancing for some while. The government are now worried we won't leave our home once its all over. But I think as the older generation we will be more tentative.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right, Tania, our generation will be tentative when the time comes to go out on a whim once more. Things seem to have changed forever.
DeleteFear of going shopping, I am with you. That is good you had a safe experience. I haven't been in a store in 30 days, I wonder how I will react when we get the all clear to go out again? It is a good idea to use cash at times because it is not traceable; i.e. stores, the government, etc. don't know what you buy when you use cash.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that, Terra, that everything we buy is now traceable through card payments. Another scary thought. Big brother is watching us!
DeleteI use my credit card, but pay it off immediately. My card gives us money back once a year which is why I use it.
ReplyDeleteI still shop once a week and do all my banking or other errands that day as well. One day struggling to find what I need is enough for this lady.
God bless.
Yes, Jackie, one foray was enough for me too. What have we come to...stay safe my lovely x
DeleteWhilst I’m very happy to use contactless during this time, I shall go back to cash once it’s over. I have a book which I write all card transactions in, as well as cash point transactions (but not at the moment obviously) to keep track.
ReplyDeleteI did feel very scared when I first went into a supermarket. So much so that I now get a delivery from a local company with local goods for most stuff and a trip to a decent sized farm shop for the rest. It’s more expensive, but there’s far less people and I’m supporting the local economy.
I have that wooden ruler, I use it regularly:)
Well done you for buying local goods. I wish we had a good farmshop close by too. Yay to the smashing ruler! I love mine. Stay safe x
DeleteIt's strange that feeling of impending doom as you drive towards the shops isn't it, I found myself exactly the same last week when we went to Tesco. The journey home on the other hand was lovely and relaxing, and never have I been so pleased to close our gates to the world again.
ReplyDeleteI had that same ruler until a couple of years ago, I was really upset to lose it, it came in so handy ... and yes it would have been great at school, although I doubt they would have let me take it into the history exam ;-)
I'm glad it's not just me feeling that way. Madness isn't it...
Delete