Trips the the chemist are a sure way to empty my wallet. It’s not unusual for me to spend $50 there, around three times a month. Today I needed to stock up on bath (shower) wash and Zyrtec (antihisthamine). I went to my regular chemist – the girls there are so very helpful, give me advice when I don’t want to go to hospital, and always make me laugh. I was thinking about how good it is to have a little community in the big city – the people who run my grocer, deli, cafes and chemist are all so lovely and friendly. Anyway, the pharmacist’s assistant told me I was in luck as Zyrtec was on special! I usually take one a day, to stop the daily itching and hayfever in the spring months. I buy whatever’s cheapest, though if I get stuck without it, I pay top dollar. Today the chemist had a pack of 30 on sale for $9! So I bought two packs, enough to last me two months. Hurrah!

I am unofficially participating in Frugal February – not because I am a joiner, but because I need to save for America and pay off this very expensive washing machine. I predict my frugality will apply to all months of the year – to July at least…

This afternoon I went to my local Coles and deli to pick up some staples. At the checkout I had a conversation with the sales assistant about how surprised I was that quite a substantial amount of groceries came in under $40. She laughed, and sang the ‘Down Down’ jingle to me. I corrected her, saying there is now the new jingle, and told her how I was tweeting Coles’ social media department about how I think there needed to be a transition period between jingles because the new one wasn’t easily identifiable as Coles – it’s to the tune of ‘There’s no business like show business’. I have been extremely impressed with Coles’ social media department – they are engaging and quite funny.

 I picked up a pre-cooked chicken at Coles. I try my best to buy local free range and organic meat at markets, or source it from my parents, but sometimes on a hot Saturday night, a pre-cooked chicken makes things easier. In the spirit of Frugal February, I used the ingredients in my fridge/pantry to make some Mexican inspired wraps with the chicken. Cabbage, carrots, a squash, spinach and a very spicy red chilli, plus Greek yogurt, mayo and lime. Yum! Plus I have enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

 Another way of making money go further is to make cocktails like my peach, ginger and wine concoction. I spent around $15 and so far have had four drinks, and there is still half a bottle of each drink left! Plus there is no hangover that I’ve come to expect from inexpensive white wine!

As I ate breakfast, I caught up on the tabloid paper.

I was excited to see two of my favourite women in media – Chrissie Swan and Meshel Laurie – Melbourne based radio and TV darlings. When I grow up I want to be just like them. I think they are clever, funny, engaging and very true to themselves. Chrissie starts a new radio show with Jane Hall on Monday. After nine years of being a loyal Nova breakfast radio listener, I am making the switch to Mix FM to hear Chrissie and Jane take over the airwaves. Although the music on Mix will definitely not be to my taste (though there is a high chance of hearing Darren Hayes on Mix) – and Nova hasn’t catered to my music tastes for quite some time – I am looking forward to hearing the warmth and humour Chrissie and Jane will bring to my morning. I tweeted them last night and they are very excited to hear I’ll be making the switch!

I heard on the news this morning that NSW is banning tanning salons by 2014. While this is welcome news, and I hope my home state and the rest of Australia gets on board, I wish the ban could be implemented immediately. The Australian states up to 43 people could die from solarium caused skin cancer if the ban is not implemented immediately. And while it’s impossible to legislate going out in the sun, it is a big step to ban companies from selling a means to get skin cancer.

Last night after my meeting with the CEO of Changing Faces, I had a leisurely night in – icecream and Sex and the City. Tonight I will still be relaxing, but doing some important research while I still have time – uni returns soon and I want to get on top of other things so I can give my thesis full attention.

Finally, I am taking part in Fat Mum Slim’s February Photo A Day challenge. Lots of people are taking part, and the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram is #febphotoaday. It’s fun! It is new for me to think about visual interpretation and presentation, and I can honestly say I am enjoying this iphonography thing! I am displaying my pictures on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram if you want to see. Are you taking part in it too?