I arranged to meet a friend on Sunday 8th March, at Kaunos tea Gardens. I couldn’t take the whole day off so we decided to meet at 9.30am with the intention of having a bit of a walk too. As I walked past the River House I noticed they had sea bream and bass on special for £10. We ended up sitting inside as it was still quite chilly. I had 2 large Turkish teas and a cheese toastie for 195 lira (£3.30). We had a good catch up and then a walk along the river, stopping to speak to the owner of the new fish and chip place between the Zabıta office and China Town. It looked really good so my friend and I added it to our places to try out soon. I went back home with the intention of getting on with my next handy travel tips book, which I needed to start again as the document had disappeared. That didn’t happen as I had emails to reply to and I ended up working until gone 5pm. I had bacon and asparagus for dinner, with parmesan on. It was so good and rather extravagant. For afters I made strawberries with quark and mini meringues. I was going to bed when I got a message from Vanessa inviting me to Matt’s birthday at the new fish and chip place on Wednesday at 5pm.
Gratitude List 1. Fresh air and a walk 2. Catching up with a friend 3. Asparagus.
I had some overripe bananas that needed eating up on Monday 9th March so I made a flourless cake. Moshed bananas, oats, egg and blueberries in the air fryer (or oven) for 20 minutes – and Slimming World friendly too. I worked all day and was impatiently waiting for the pay day email to come through to show what I was getting paid. Usually we get a statement which shows the top line amount then less any fees and charges. It is broken down by customer name and I cross reference it with my spreadsheet. I was particularly looking forward to this pay day as it was my first one from Resort Experts in 2026, my last pay day had been in December. Because I have more bookings in for spring & summer it means my first pay was due now. I started The Signal, a course about writing, with Georgina Chapman at 10am and it took my mind off it for an hour. I had plenty of tea and wrote my content for the rest of the week. At 6.30pm I made myself a Slimming World style pizza and did some blog writing in the evening. It was a zero spend and a zero alcohol day.
Gratitude List 1. Something different for breakfast 2. The Signal, a free course I’d signed up for 3. Eating healthy.
I was in my office by 8am on Thursday 5th March, writing Resort Experts content and catching up on more free training and courses. Today marked 10 years since I had done the trip to the biggest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong, in Vietnam. I bet I couldn’t do it now! I noticed a woman I had been following on Facebook for a while, was doing a free challenge next week; 5 days of using your voice in a market that’s stopped listening. It peaked my interest and I decided to sign up, I even decided to share it with lots of other Facebook friends who worked for themselves or had side hustles. There was a prize to be won if we got chosen, for sharing the link so I asked everyone I could think of, including my Resort Experts colleagues. I had a quick walk round the block and to check if my parents’ trees had started to grow back after a rather over zealous winter prune – they weren’t but it had been a pretty cold and wet winter, here. I let my mom know and tried to reassure her they would be in full bloom by the time they arrived. At 2pm I attended the team meeting where more talk about new improved systems were coming our way and things were business as usual, despite the Middle East conflict.
After a busy day I decided I would have chicken fajitas for dinner, only to realise at gone 6pm that I didn’t have any peppers or onions. I took it as an opportunity to leave the house for some fresh air to go get some and have a walk by the river with my new phone. It was also a good opportunity to get a selfie of me wearing a music related t-shirt in memory of an old Aviva friend who had died 1 year ago today.
I tried doing sunset photos and videos to have a practice with my new phone too, appreciating the beauty around me. It was quite a warm evening until it got dark.
Here’s what I bought at the shop, prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket 2 Onions 4.27 2 Green peppers 24.79 2 Red peppers 25.89 8 Satsumas 26.63 Total spent 81.58 lira (£1.38)
Seasonal fruit and vegetables are still quite cheap here in Dalyan but I’m always careful not to buy out of season produce. I was tempted to pick up a bottle of wine but decided to enjoy a 3rd day this week without any alcohol. I also thought I might try to avoid alcohol for the rest of this week.
I walked the long way round to take a photo of a couple of local hotels which I was recommending to friends who were coming later in the year. They were closed for the winter at the moment but would open next month. I made sure to say hello to my regular doggy friends, the usual white two were excited to see me and came over for belly rubs. Back home I made fajitas which were really tasty and I got ready for a busy day at my desk tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Being busy from getting out of bed to getting back in it. 2. Appreciating a walk while using my new phone 3. Good food.
I had a slight fuzzy head when I got up on Tuesday 3rd March and I had quite a few things to do. I’d started to get queries from people who hadn’t booked holidays with me (who had booked directly or online), they were worried about their holiday due to what was going on in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I could only help my own customers as I had no idea of the cancellation or amendment terms that these bookings would have been made with and I advised them to call who they had booked with or read their terms and conditions. Meanwhile, at the moment all the holidays I had booked for my customers were safe and going ahead as planned. I broke off for lunch of homemade lentil and tomato soup with rye bread and butter. I’ve been eating a lot more lentils since I’ve been in Turkey and they are so good for bulking out meals cheaply.
I nipped to the shops again around 6pm to try to finish off the shop I half did yesterday and hoped I wouldn’t be too late to get some decent meat. Here’s what I got with prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket Pasta 15.25 Dido chocolate bar 34.95 2 tins of tomatoes 99.90 900g chicken breast 180.35 940g chicken thighs 235.95 Total spent 566.40 lira (£9.60)
Dried pasta is so cheap here, especially as I buy the supermarket own brands. I couldn’t resist the new Dido bar which tastes like a Ferrero Rocher in a chunky KitKat – highly addictive. Of course, I didn’t need the tomatoes but felt compelled to buy while they had some in stock and I was chuffed to be able to get chicken. It always amuses me that here thighs are more expensive than breast because the Turks prefer to cook thigh as it has better flavour. I had leftover pasta for dinner then spent the evening catching up on my blog and a much needed zero alcohol day.
Gratitude List 1. Customer holidays being unaffected 2. Getting chicken 3. Dido chocolate bar for a treat.
I already knew that weigh in results on Wednesday 4th March were not going to be favourable, given that the Slimming World plan had gone out of the window. I’d eaten out and consumed lots of alcohol in the last week so it was only right that I had put on 0.8kg (1.8lb) on the home scales this week. My measurements were -1cm from my bust, no change to my waist and a whopping 4cm on my hips! I chucked the ingredients for a chicken casserole in the slow cooker and cracked on with my to do list. At lunch time I looked at flights for the girls trip to Spain where I wanted to be on the same flight as the rest of the group from Gatwick. I had a wander to Jamie’s to pick up my new phone case, he was laying on a sun lounger by the pool. I still had jeans and a hoodie on but he and his friend were sunbathing in their shorts and a bikini! Norman was indoors having a nap. At 3pm I was facing Carol’s scales at Fat Club to find I’d actually put even more on; 0.95kg (2lb) and I was blaming Captain Caveman for that! I couldn’t blame him for what happened next though. I stayed at Ren Garden after the group had left and ordered a hot chocolate while waiting for Vanessa to join me. She arrived a bit flustered and late then ordered a wine and soda. We had a good catch up for the next couple of hours and, as I had not eaten lunch, I gave in to temptation and had one of the fresh homemade cookies. They are so good! We had another drink each and this time I joined Vanessa with a wine. Here’s what I had with prices in lira;
Mine 1 hot chocolate 170 1 cookie 120 1 red wine 170 Total spent 440 lira (£7.46)
We said our farewells and I went home to see if my casserole was cooked yet. It needed another half an hour so I decided to take my new phone out for a walk and practice using the camera. On the walk along the river I bumped in to one of the Dalyan Dwellers (quite literally) who had stumbled out of Tapa bar and was zigzagging his way to Corner bar. My camera on the new phone was super snazzy and I was so happy with it. The video took some getting used to though.
I was back home before 7pm ready for my dinner which I made some mini roast potatoes to go with. It was delicious and there were more portions leftover. It had been a good day, but not a zero spend or zero alcohol day, I would try to get at least 1 more each of those in this week.
Gratitude List 1. Meeting Vanessa 2. Great food and treats 3. My new phone and it’s fab camera.
Over my morning tea and toast on Sunday 1st March, I checked my blog stats. I had just 1% more views in February than January. Interestingly, I had viewers from a country which wasn’t previously on my viewers list, let alone at number 4: 1. UK 2. USA 3. Türkiye 4. Israel 5. Australia 6. Vietnam 7. Hong Kong 8. Ireland 9. Canada 10. Sweden
Because I had taken Friday and Saturday off to accommodate Captain Caveman being here and the postponed boat trip, today was spent in the spare room/office catching up and drinking tea which I made with my new kettle! I loved the new kettle but I did think I might need to be careful about increasing the amount of caffeine I consumed. I consciously made sure today was a zero spend and zero alcohol day but tomorrow I did need to go food shopping as I didn’t have much in, especially as I had missed the Saturday market yesterday. I decided to set my budget for the first week of the new month at just £50, although strictly speaking I could have put it at £140 – I chose not to so that £90 could go in to my emergency/travel fund. Captain Caveman got back fine and I had my first proper meal of the day at 8.20pm, just a pasta dish that I knocked up. I’d not even left the house today.
Gratitude List 1. Catching up on stuff after 2 days off 2. Having good blog stats 3. A zero spend day to get me back on track.
After tea, toast and a couple of hours of work on Monday 2nd March, I decided to pop to the shops to stock back up. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:
I’ve been buying my milk in small cartons to reduce waste. If I buy a normal sized carton, there’s a chance I don’t use it all before it goes off and I don’t like to waste it. I had tried putting it in to ice cube trays but I’m not convinced it’s as good with my Yorkshire tea. There was also a shortage of meat on the shelves so I would have to try again later or tomorrow. While I was looking at my copy of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, which I’m using a lot, I noticed I’d already added Israel and Iran to countries I wouldn’t visit, before any war started. The planner was proving to be better than I thought for mult-trip planning. I had a check of flights to the UK to see Captain Caveman when he returned from Vietnam at Easter. I could get a one way without luggage for £30 and I almost booked it. It’s a good job I didn’t as Captain Caveman said not to bother as he was down to work on site over the Easter weekend. We toyed with the idea of me going back at the end of April/beginning of May but the flight prices were higher, my parents were arriving in Dalyan around then and I was looking forward to seeing them. I didn’t book anything and decided to see how things went. That evening I had been invited round to dinner with Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay so I called at the Yaman Büfe 2, off licence, and picked up a bottle of wine for 300 lira (£5.08). When I got there Jamie ordered me a phone case from Trendyol as he’s got an account and I gave him the 400 lira (£6.78) cash for it. I had no idea if this was a good deal but to me it felt like an absolute bargain to not have a broken phone if I should drop it. Norman was pleased to have visitors and he was keen to get a snaffle of something, as usual. We discussed requirements for his 15th birthday and Nanny Kay very kindly agreed to make a carrot cake for the occasion. We had a lovely homemade meal of shepherd’s pie and plenty of wine. It was pretty late when I got home having had a good day where I’d spent a total of £22.78, mainly as I had only done half a good shop.
Gratitude List 1. Allocating more budget in March 2. A walk and a shop for fresh air 3. Dinner & wine with friends
I didn’t feel too bad when I woke up in bed, fully clothed, thinking I had overlaid for the boat trip, on Saturday 28th February. Because I don’t drink alcohol that much any more and am going through the menopause, I get drunk very easily and the hangovers are usually horrendous. We needed to get up as the boat was leaving at 9.30am but I still had to undress from last night’s outfit and get ready. Time was ticking on and we didn’t have time for breakfast. That wouldn’t have mattered ordinarily, as the boat trip we were going on had breakfast included but I’m always a bit wary of how the Turkish breakfast affects my stomach.
Captain Caveman and I arrived separately to the boat, me first this time and I paid our £30 each for the trip. I was very well wrapped up and had my big coat, a scarf, gloves and a woolly hat on. Captain Caveman turned up in thin trousers, a t-shirt and a jumper (no coat) and a towel for a very optimistic swim! The boat was Captain Fuat’s (of Dalyan Dreams) new smaller boat which was going on its maiden voyage with us today. Water levels had gone down and we set off towards Köyceğiz lake. On the boat there were 13 of us as a private trip of friends, which was lovely. Captain Caveman had his transfer booked for tonight at 7pm as he was flying back to Manchester. The boat was smaller than his main one but it still had a toilet on board and we all got a tea or coffee as we set off. The scenery was great and although a little cold, the Captain had his plastic flaps down to shield us from the wind. There was a lot of wildlife to see, the keen photographers amongst us were on the look out for the kingfishers and we saw loads. Because I didn’t yet have a case for my new phone, I had left it at home and my old one was playing up still. This meant I didn’t get as many good photos as I wanted to. For breakfast we had lentil soup, by which time I was feeling a bit fragile so I only managed half of it. Because I don’t eat eggs, tomato or spicy peppers, I just had bread cheese and olives (from the Captain’s garden) to eat and it’s probably a good job as I started to feel a little hungover. We played a great game of Who am I? It was absolutely hilarious as our organiser had chosen suitable people based on our individual personalities and interests. We got to Jimmy’s Island and the sun was quite warm by this point, a few of us had a walk while Nanny Kay and I did a shorter walk then back on to the boat. The recent storms had badly damaged Jimmy’s Island, the boardwalk had collapsed. On the way back, my work phone was unusually active so I checked it; I was shocked to find out that the USA and Israel had started a war with Iran – it didn’t look good! I mentioned it to Captain Caveman and both of us were on our phones checking for more information. I didn’t want to spoil anyone’s day out so I decided not to mention it. I’d got a couple of messages about whether upcoming holiday travel would be affected and it all looked rather worrying. The Captain served his usual cake for everyone but Captain Caveman and I didn’t have any – he doesn’t eat sweet stuff and I had a bit of a belly ache so was avoiding it on purpose. On the way back, it was pretty cold and I had to huddle together with Captain Caveman who was wearing the towel as a blanket as he was shivering a lot. It was a long day, after our late night last night, and we got back after 4pm, both with hangovers and shivering. Back home, we got straight in to bed with our clothes on to try to warm up. Sadly, we had no time to eat even though I was peckish and Captain Caveman didn’t make himself any wraps for the airport as he’d planned to. We said our farewells not knowing when would be the next time before July, that we would see each other. I wished him a safe trip to Vietnam in March, sad that I wouldn’t be joining him. I had already commited to helping Norman, the dog, have a great 15th birthday. I was in my lounge wear on the sofa drinking tea and eating crisps before Captain Caveman had even got to the airport. I was ready for bed but I stayed awake long enough to know Captain Caveman had taken off. I did a check of the finances with it being the end of (not so) Frugal February. In this week alone Captain Caveman and I had spent over 21,000 lira (£500)!!! Obviously, in this last week of February we had drank alcohol, dined out quite a bit, paid the council tax and even spent the day on a boat! The total spend for February was £632 and I was glad I had attempted to keep more frugal in the first 3 weeks so we could splash out in the 4th week. Unfortunately, the money going in to my account was less than I spent so I was ending the month on -£86, however, Captain Caveman had left me £120 in sterling. I intended to keep that as cash to use for boat trips and airport transfers in future months. Incidentally, the minimum wage in Turkey for 2026 is just 33,030 lira (£560) per month and locals who earn that still have to pay all their rent and bills from that. It’s much tougher for those people and I empathised. I decided for March I would set my monthly budget at £560 to see how that worked out. Could I live like a local on minimum wage?
Gratitude List 1. One last day with Captain Caveman 2. A boat trip with Captain Fuat and friends 3. Having a really good week with Captain Caveman.
It was Captain Caveman’s last full day and night in Dalyan on Friday 27th February. He decided it would be nice to go out for breakfast and we chose Ela’s Kitchen, another favourite of ours. Unfortunately, it meant I had to cancel a call with a friend that we had booked in, but she understood and said to enjoy my time with Captain Caveman. We called at the bank to put in English money to cover the council tax expense and in readiness for our last couple of days. The breakfast was so good and my massive sandwich came with chips and salad. Here’s what we had with prices in lira:
My next mission was to leave Captain Caveman to get on with work and for me to go find a phone case, and a kettle in Ortaca. I was also booked in to have my hair done at my favourite hairdressers. The bus takes about 30 minutes and is just over a £1 each way but it can get busy. Once in Ortaca I spent over an hour traipsing between phone shops and electrical stores. Interestingly, 2 shops sold the same make and model of phone that I had in my hand but none of them sold cases for them. There was no way I could have a phone without a case so I was a bit disappointed and would have to see if I could get one online. I couldn’t even find a suitable kettle so I decided to give up and go early to the hairdresser’s. I took some Turkish delight which cost 150 lira (£2.54) and was from the lovely shop I bought gifts from last time. I’d completely forgotten it was Ramadan but, luckily, most of the staff weren’t observing and we shared the sweet treats. I love going to Emrah to have my hair done as he always does such a good job. I know I can get it cheaper in Dalyan but it’s one of the things I really value and trust – a good hairdresser. The cost of a colour, cut, blow-dry and curling cost me 2,300 lira plus I gave a tip of 200 lira, so I spent 2,500 lira (£42.37) and I felt human again – and my hair looked pretty good too! On the way home I popped in to Migros to buy that Turkish kettle I’d seen for 799.95 lira (£13.56) and a packet of wraps for 120 lira (£2.03). The cashier told me to go home and check that the kettle worked and to bring it straight back if it didn’t. I didn’t need telling twice, the kettle was out of the box in no time as Captain Caveman was giddy to see how it worked too. For the price I paid, I was happy with the kettle with the tea pot on the top.
After finishing work, Captain Caveman and I met Jamie and Geoff in Sofra bar and had a few Friday night beverages. I’d not eaten since breakfast so the wine went straight to my head and I jumped at the suggestion of food, by which time it was almost 10pm so finding a venue may have proved tricky. Jamie was on it and got us booked in to Ela’s Kitchen, for the 2nd time today. Here’s what Captain Caveman and I had, prices in lira on our last night together;
Ela’s Kitchen Walnut pesto pasta 550 İskender kebab 700 Drinks 975 Total spent 2,225 lira (£37.72)
We had a great time but I was drunk and couldn’t remember finishing the İskender kebab or getting home. I didn’t realise at the time that we had spent more than £120 in a day – that would usually last me almost a month! We got home and I don’t recall getting undressed or setting the alarm for tomorrow’s boat trip.
Gratitude List 1. Food at Ela’s Kitchen (twice in a day) 2. Getting my hair done and the new kettle 3. Having a night out with Captain Caveman, Jamie and Geoff.
There were plans for an after work outing on Wednesday 25th February and I was looking forward to it. I was also quite tired on our morning walk round Dalyan where we saw that the water levels were back down. The Dalyan Dwellers who had been having to use the back door only, for drinking at Tapa bar would be pleased with that progress.
Before breakfast I did my measurements and got weighed. Despite putting 1cm on my bust and waist and losing 1cm from my hips, the home scales said I had lost 0.4kg (0.9lb), which I was surprised about. I felt sure I would’ve put on some. After work and soup for lunch, I popped off to Fat Club where I had unfortunately put on 0.25kg (0.5lb) on Carol’s scales, so that was disappointing but better than I had expected, plus I was about to ruin it with a night out. I finished more from my to do list and left Captain Caveman working until late but he would join us later. I met Nanny Kay, Jamie and his Dad, Geoff, at Ren Garden for a drink before dinner. I just had a red wine for 150 lira (£2.54) then it was time to go for food. Captain Caveman joined the 4 of us at Jik’s pub where we ordered food. All of us except Jamie ordered pizzas, Jamie chose a chicken curry. Jik’s is one of those places that is consistent and has friendly staff. The wine and beers flowed for a weekday night too. Captain Caveman paid our bill of 1,760 lira (£29.83) which included red wines, beers, pizzas and chips. I thoroughly enjoyed our evening out and didn’t think about having to get up early tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Seeing Dalyan being dryer 2. Being lighter on the home scales than at Fat Club 3. An excellent evening out with friends.
Disaster struck on Thursday 26th February when our kettle started to leak! It turned out that the calcite in the tap water had finally made the kettle come apart where the measurement level section was. We didn’t have a walk as we both had work and laundry to do. While Captain Caveman had a meeting, I went to several shops to see if there were any kettles. They were very expensive in the electrical shops although there was a Turkish style kettle and tea pot in Migros for only 800 lira (£13.69) but I wasn’t sure it would be good enough. I decided to wait as tomorrow I was taking the afternoon off to go to Ortaca and I might find one there. For our dinner, Captain Caveman had insisted that we go out to another one of our favourite restaurants in Dalyan. We arrived at Duble just after 8pm when Captain Caveman finished work. Ibo welcomed us and we sat at a nice table inside. We decided to order a bottle of red wine, 2 soups for starters and 3 dishes to share for main; cheese rolls, liver and chicken shish. It was all very tasty and the liver there is my absolute favourite. We had a great night and we ended up paying just less than £40 for the 5 dishes and a bottle of red wine.
Gratitude List 1. Still finding time to go out after working a long day 2. Captain Caveman suggesting Duble for dinner 3. Great food which was such good value for money.
On Monday 23rd February Captain Caveman needed me to find the paper work for the Council Tax from last year. One of the jobs he was doing while he was here was sorting out paperwork, insurances and anything he needed signatures for. I usually work in the morning but today Captain Caveman needed me to help him and he wasn’t working until midday our time (9am UK time). Oddly, although we only paid 3,379.20 lira (£57.27) for a whole year’s council tax, this was an increase of 55% on last year’s. This was based on us being 2 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. Captain Caveman was ecstatic about how low this cost was as his monthly amount in Pontefract on solo occupancy was twice the price of our annual amount for just one month! We both worked hard and I made us a bowl of soup for a late lunch at 3pm, then went back to work. I finished at 7pm so that I could cook Captain Caveman and I a meal for when he finished at 8pm. I was tired but glad that Captain Caveman had been able to work all day and the 2 lots of internet we had, worked enough for us to both work from home. We have Captainnet for the home WiFi which can be very slow at times so I also have Turkcell as a back up on our ‘bat phone’.
Gratitude List 1. Council Tax bargains despite a 55% increase 2. Managing to get stuff done 3. Having Captain Caveman in Dalyan.
By 8.15am on Tuesday 24th February Captain Caveman and I were on a walk round Dalyan before starting work. The weather was fine but the water levels hadn’t receded that much yet. We called at the bakery where we bought 1 simit, 1 açma and a fresh loaf for 50 lira (85p). We decided to have a breakfast at home so we called at the shop for some more breakfast essentials, prices in lira;
Şok Supermarket 1 plastic bag 1.00 Cherry jam 59.50 10 eggs 75.00 Honey 99.00 Total spent 234.50 lira (£3.97)
Back home, we tucked in to our breakfast with me knowing that Weigh day tomorrow was not going to have a good result. Both of us got on with work and I even squeezed in a Lisa Johnson Fabulous Foundation session to catch up with my friend who was flying through it. We had a late lunch of leek and potato soup then more working until after 7pm when I made us a mystery frozen meal. I’d not remembered what it was and even after tasting it, we weren’t sure but it was pretty spicy.
Gratitude List 1. A morning walk with Captain Caveman 2. Getting stuff done from my to do list 3. A random spicy meal which we were impressed with.
It was my last full day and night on Friday 20th February before Captain Caveman’s arrival in Dalyan tomorrow. This meant that I had a to do list as long as my arm to try to get everything done today. I was aiming to take Sunday off so that I could spend the day with Captain Caveman and some friends on a boat trip. I finally finished for the day at gone 9pm and made myself some pesto pasta for a quick dinner. I didn’t leave the house so it was another zero spend day but tomorrow I would go to the market and get some shopping ready for Captain Caveman.
Gratitude List 1. Looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman 2. Working hard to get everything done 3. Pasta.
The day that Captain Caveman was flying to Dalyan was finally here on Saturday 21st February. This would be his first visit of the year and wasn’t quite the holiday we would’ve liked as he still needed to work as usual while he was here; Monday to Friday – 12 noon to 8pm, which was 9am to 5pm UK time. He’d stayed in the Tribe hotel at Manchester airport last night, so it meant he could have a good breakfast before his flight took off at 1.45pm. Before 9am I had spent an hour working, and could hear the builders at the apartment downstairs. The Aussies were replacing their balcony railings with metal ones and I was surprised to see them working in the rain.
I ventured over to see Jamie & Norman who were going to the market. Jamie gave me a lift there as it was raining again. I spent less than £3 this week as I had some fresh veg left at home. Here’s what I got with prices in lira;
After a quick mooch round the weekly market, Jamie dropped me off in town. I still had items on my shopping list that I’d not managed to get and I wanted to stock up, ready for Captain Caveman. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I put the shopping away, had a tidy up and cleaned the house before deciding to tot up my total spending for February, up to today! I’d started February with £91 left from January and it had been a self imposed challenge to see if I could live off that for the first 3 weeks of February. If you’re an avid reader you will know that because of a planned night out with friends for Valentine’s, I’d almost spent it after 2 weeks in. So, I did a cheeky cheat and isolated that weekend’s splurge and carried on to see if I could still spend up to £91 plus the £37 extravagant weekend. It wasn’t easy, especially as each time I went to the shops, there were a few items I couldn’t get hold of. This meant that when I went again, it was tempting to buy extra treats that weren’t essential. Anyway, here’s the results with the night out in; Week 1 spent £25.97 Week 2 spent £57.72 Week 3 spent £38.63 Total £122.32, which meant I overspent by £31.32! If I took the night out from week 2 where I spent £37.29 extra, my total was only £20.34. which would mean a total of £85.03 and being under by £5.97. Of course, I had cheated and didn’t achieve it but I know I would’ve given up and spent more had I not isolated that blip. I think it’s still impressive to have spent less than £41 per week for 3 weeks running. It also showed me that it was possible to live in Dalyan cheaply. Lucky for me, Captain Caveman was bringing cash with him and we were going to be less frugal for the last week of February. After doing a bit of work on an itinerary for Vietnam, I had a curry for dinner and then decided to open a bottle of red wine while I waited for Captain Caveman to arrive.
Captain Caveman’s flight was due to land at Dalaman airport at 9pm, however, it took off 39 minutes late. We’d already agreed for me not to save or cook Captain Caveman any dinner but we would have some drinks with cheese and biscuits instead. At 10pm I got a message from Sonuç, our airport pick up driver, to say they were just leaving Dalaman now. Captain Caveman had only an underseat bag so he was through quickly once they had landed. He arrived bearing gifts of a brand new Oppo phone for me, 2 boxes of solid coconut, 2 vacuum bags with the stuff I left in London and new electric toothbrush heads. I was so excited to have a new phone as my old one was playing up more and more – I had hoped to get one the next time I was back in Vietnam. I cried with happiness and was so overwhelmed as it was better than my existing model. He’d also treated himself to a nice bottle of Rakı for £26 at Duty Free. We had a glass of wine and then, as it was Saturday night about 11pm, we decided to head to Sofra bar. I was surprised to find it was empty apart from a couple of people who left not long after we got there. Captain Caveman had his first Efes Malt and I had a red wine, they went down so well that we had a second. Our bill came to 660 lira (£11.19) and Captain Caveman was very happy with that price. I knew I would find spending money so freely this week a bit of a change, after my attempts to live off less than £5 per day! Back home, I prepared a cheese board and we had some wine with it. Captain Caveman seemed to react to the wine here in Turkey and I think it’s because it’s got sulphites in. We finally called it a night at 2.20am so it’s a good job the planned boat trip for tomorrow had been postponed due to unsafe water levels.
Gratitude List 1. Shopping 2. A new phone 3. Captain Caveman arriving in Dalyan.
It was a busier day on Wednesday 18th February and it was also weigh day. At home the scales said I had stayed the same as last week and my measurements showed no change to my bust, 2cm off my waist but 2cm on my hips. Carol’s scales this afternoon would be the official result. I added more items to the shopping list and went over to Ren Garden for the Fat Club meeting. I had a tea which was 60 lira (£1.02) and Carol’s scales showed I had lost 0.75kg (1.7lb) – I was happy with that! I called at the shop while we had a gap in the rain, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Back home I had a late lunch/early dinner of chicken and veg fried rice which I added edamame beans to, one of my favourites. They say on the packet not to freeze edamame beans but they were fine. I went back to my laptop for the rest of the afternoon then I decided to have a wander.
The recent rains had been quite brutal so whenever it stopped it was good to get the wellies on and go out! A friend shared photos from the beach which had been hit hard with the storms, while the Dalyan river had flooded – Tapa was now advising patrons to use their back door! By the time I got back home, it was dark and I noticed a delivery of something weird for The Aussie’s apartment downstairs. I made an assumption that my noise cancelling headphones might be coming in handy over the following days!
Gratitude List 1. Losing Weight 2. Shopping (including some treats) 3. A rare early evening walk.
I was pretty much in my office all day and night on Thursday 19th February. At 9am I started the Lisa Johnson Fabulous Foundations course. My friend had already got started yesterday so I was playing catch up. It was very good and was a free course to help business owners get their businesses off the ground and growing in the right way. It was useful and then I had a chat with my mate, who had also got on well with it. We discussed and decided to help each other be accountable for getting things moving in the right direction. At 2pm we had the Resort Experts team meeting, and I eventually ate lunch of leftover fried rice, at 3.20pm. Next week, both Captain Caveman and I would be working from home and I was a bit concerned how we were going to fit in any free time as I simply didn’t seem to have any lately. I did some work in the afternoon and then had a video call with Vanessa who was due over to Dalyan later this month. My dinner ended up being a Slimming World wrap pizza at 9pm and then I was fit for nothing but had managed another zero spend day and had not left the house. I told myself it would all be worth it in the end and to just keep going.
Gratitude List 1. Starting the Fabulous Foundations course 2. Good food 3. Zero spend day.
On Monday 16th February I had a bit of a word with myself and decided I was sometimes doing things that weren’t essential for earning me money with Resort Experts or selling/writing my books. I’d been given a free course from Lisa Johnson ages ago and never got round to actually doing it. When I spoke to a friend who also works online, she was in the same boat. We decided to start the Fabulous Foundations course and actually do something about it this time. I logged in to it and found the password still worked and we set up time to do it later this week. It was cold, rainy and set to get even colder tomorrow so it would give me the perfect opportunity to crack on and do something useful. As I’d decided to say yes to more travel in 2026, I needed to do something to create more passive income. More places became flooded in Dalyan, we had a couple of power cuts and the Denizkızı ferry got suspended because the road to it, was flooded. We received weather warnings that tomorrow and Wednesday would be worse too. After working straight through until 3.30pm without a break, I decided to chance a walk to the shop to get the things I couldn’t get yesterday, plus a couple of cheap treats. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Pasta 27.96 Peppers 32.89 Bananas 37.59 Haribo sour jellies 39.95 A 4 finger Dido bar 44.95 Mushrooms 84.95
Total spent 268.29 lira (£4.55)
It was very blustery out and when I got back I realised I was tired and had not had much water. I rehydrated, did more work then made a Slimming World style pizza made from a wrap for my dinner. It was really nice and I’d added leftover chicken to it which was a great idea.
Gratitude List 1. The Lisa Johnson Fabulous Foundations course was still accessible to me 2. Shopping before the storms came back 3. Slimming World dinner.
I almost forgot what day it was on Tuesday 17th February. I did know it was just 4 days until Captain Caveman arrived and, although it would only be a month since I last saw him, I’d missed him. I worked all day, it was rainy outside so I didn’t leave the apartment which meant it was also a zero spend day. It was after 8pm when I finally made dinner which was pancakes for Shrove Tuesday; 1 plain and 1 with cherry jam. Tomorrow was Fat Club so this didn’t bode well for my weigh in results.
Gratitude List 1. Counting down to seeing Captain Caveman after 35 days apart 2. Zero spend day 3. Pancake Day.
I was awake at 6am on Thursday 12th February looking at a recipe for chickpea, beetroot and feta salad – as you do! The rain was heavy and loud on the bedroom roof so I got up and started looking at European city breaks. By 3.30pm I had moved on to looking at Japan. My working day also included the Resort Experts team meeting. I had to fit in all the rest of the Carrie Green sessions as her free course ended at midnight tonight and I’d got behind. After work I found myself having a wander along the river to stretch my legs and called in to the shop when it started to rain again. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
The river level was very high and looked like it may overflow on to the main path. There was lots of puddles of water everywhere including the corner of our complex where the pool had overflowed again. I ate Mantı (Turkish Ravioli) for dinner followed by a Dido chocolate bar. I finished the rest of the Carrie Green stuff off, and met the midnight deadline with half an hour to spare.
Gratitude List 1. A wander by the river 2. Chocolate for a treat 3. Finishing the free Carrie Green course.
Friday 13th February was another very wet and stormy day in Dalyan. If I’d not agreed to go out with Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay that evening, I probably would have remained in lounge wear or a dressing gown all day. We’d arranged to have a pre Valentine’s Day meal out, which Nanny Kay and I have been doing for several years now, and had booked Ela’s Kitchen. But first I had work to do, and at 11.30am I had a call with a good friend in the UK which was lovely and always makes my day better. In my lunch hour I looked at flights for my own holidays, including for Poland and Belgium later in the year. In the afternoon I did all my chase up emails and admin, I was enjoying using the new system to add Tasks etc and found it easier to use than Teams. This week I’d spent £21 already on shopping, despite having 3 no spend days. To stay on track I really needed to only spend £15 tonight but that was going to be near impossible, maybe I would allow myself to borrow out of next week’s portion of the £91 budget of which I currently had £44 left. Jamie picked me up in the car as it was absolutely chucking it down. I’d not eaten much all day as I’d been busy so at Ela’s, I chose to have a bacon and cheese burger with chips. I’m not usually a burger person but it was so good. Drew chose the same, Jamie had a Chinese style chicken dish and Nanny Kay had a jacket potato. We shared a couple of bottles of wine and the total I paid for my dinner with wine was 1,000 lira (£16.95) so I had gone over my budget, but not by much. Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay ordered a taxi and I walked home, through Mosque Square where all the tables were set out for a market stall/craft fair tomorrow. It had been almost a month since I’d had a meal and wine out so I had thoroughly enjoyed myself!
Gratitude List 1. Chatting to a friend 2. Getting giddy about a trip to Poland and Belgium in 2026 3. A night out with friends.
I finally got a lay in on Saturday 14th February and didn’t make myself a cup of tea until 10am! Captain Caveman called so we could wish each other Happy Valentine’s Day, something we don’t tend to celebrate and are rarely together for. He was amused by my attempts to live off £91 in 3 weeks and include a meal and drinks out with friends. He offered to send me money but I said I’d be fine until he arrived in a week’s time. I didn’t bother going to the market and I spent the day catching up on blogging. I also promoted The Handy Travel Planner in the hope more people would buy it and I wouldn’t have to budget so much! In the evening I had a wander and inadvertently ended up going to Sofra bar where I bumped in to some friends and had wine. Obviously, I spent more than I’d bargained for, another 1,100 lira (£18.64) on wine. I was a bit disappointed with myself that I’d blown most of the rest of the budget, this weekend, though. This week I had spent 3,406 lira (£57.72) which meant I now only had £7.31 of the whole £91 budget left and a whole week to go! I was pretty sure that was not manageable and would potentially have to admit defeat of living of £91 in 3 weeks.
Gratitude List 1. Having a much needed lay in 2. Speaking to Captain Caveman 3. Catching up on blog post content.
If you would like The Handy Travel Planner to help you make sure you have even better holidays, you can find it here:
It was the last day with Norman on Tuesday 10th February. I’d let him know that Little Daddy and Step Daddy Drew were going to be home before tea time. Norman was taking it all in his little stride as he’d already seen me tidying stuff up and popping the washing machine and dish washer on. He knew the score as he was so used to it now. Next month he would have his 15th birthday while Jamie and Drew were away so I said we could have a small party. Today I knew I had a window of opportunity to be able to do all my chores before it rained. The forecast didn’t look good, I had tea and toast where Norman took advantage of the last breakfast and got 3 corners! And still begged for more, I was going to miss him. I took the day off to clean the house as it did smell and look like a farmyard. When I checked the flight, it was due to land 30 minutes early and I still had all of downstairs to clean and tidy. When I let Norman out for a wee I noticed that the skies looked very dark as I said bye to Norman who was quite content in his bed, patiently waiting for his owners to return home. I messaged Jamie to say I had just left his place and was heading home, as I reached my parents it started to rain a little bit and by the time I was on the corner of my street, there was thunder. I’d been indoors about 10 seconds when there was a huge storm so I went to the window in the study to film it. I had a shower, put some lounge wear and a hoody on and was going to have a nap. I ended up doing 2 hours worth of work from about 4.15pm, even though I was really tired after such a busy day. I had sausage casserole for dinner, took more photos of the leaky bathroom window and put towels in all the spots where there was water coming in, before finally getting in to bed around 10pm. My phone was on do not disturb and I was looking forward to a lay in until 8am tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. Getting back home before the storm came 3. Not setting my alarm for so early.
My day was very busy on Wednesday 11th February and unfortunately, I was woken up with the storms, including lightening at 5.30am – so much for a lay in. I scheduled Facebook content for a couple of hours before I got up and made myself a cup of tea to bring back to bed. When I got weighed I was pleased to see I had lost 1.6kg (3.5lb) and my measurements were very favourable too; I’d lost 2cm from my bust, 1cm from my waist and 4cm from my hips! I worked in the morning, including attending an Anex webinar, then Jamie popped round for a cup of tea. I didn’t have time for any lunch as I then went to Fat Club, where Carol’s scales agreed with my home ones. I only spent 60 lira (£1.02) on a pot of tea and this time we all had just the right amount of money. On the way back, I nipped in to the shop and decided to buy a few expensive items while they were at a discounted price. Here’s what I got, with the prices in lira;
I was meant to be on a Zoom call with Claire Clarke’s Create Publish Grow group but I ended up missing it as I had to take a call. By 6pm I was playing catch up on a course with Carrie Green, founder of the Female Entrepreneur Association. She was running a free course entitled She Means Business to help women, like me, create more income streams. I did that for about an hour and then I was begging for mercy as I had to do some Resort Experts quotes and hadn’t had any dinner. After a cheese sandwich, I was in bed not long after midnight and I didn’t set an alarm for tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Losing weight 2. Shopping 3. Being busy.
On Sunday 8th February Norman’s tummy was much better and he’d not had any mishaps, which I was grateful for. I did some work first then did breakfast and tea. I worked all day and just had a warmed up sweet and sour chicken with rice for a late lunch/early dinner. It was now less than 2 weeks untill Captain Caveman was arriving. Even though it was a Sunday, I still worked and and only popped out when I walked Norman. I forgot I’d opened the wine yesterday, so it ended up being a zero alcohol and zero spend day.
Gratitude List 1. Norman 2. Zero spend day 3. Nice food.
Monday 9th February was a busy day which started with me catching Norman chomping on cat shit which he’d dragged out of the gravel. I had my usual tea and toast then shoved some ingredients in the slow cooker to make a curry for lunch. I worked all morning and in the afternoon I spoke to a couple of customers and a colleague before having a late lunch. As it was the Tet holiday in Vietnam, and the year of the horse was about to begin, I found a photo of me on a horse so that I could wish all my Vietnamese friends ‘Chúc Mừng Năm Mới’, next week. The photo was taken by Murat from when I’d joined my sister, brother-in-law and 2 nieces on a horse riding trip, not far from Dalyan. Not only was it the year of the horse starting on the 17th of this month, but it was a Fire Horse. Here’s some info about what that mean if you believe in the zodiac signs; Key Themes & Predictions for 2026 The Fire Horse Energy: The rare combination of Fire and Horse signifies rapid progress, passion, and intense, sometimes volatile, energy that can feel like a “wildfire” if not managed. Career & Finance: A strong year for leadership, creativity, and ambitious, fast-moving, and risky career moves, particularly in tech or media. Relationships & Health: While a year of high excitement, it is also a “clash” year for Horses, which may lead to instability or break-ups in relationships. It is crucial for everyone to practice emotional steadiness, manage stress, and avoid overthinking. Advice: Focus on calculated risks, and “control the changes” by celebrating milestones like weddings or new babies to counter potential instability. Lucky Elements: Red is a favourable colour; incorporating “cool” elements (like travelling to colder, northern, or western regions) may help balance the fiery energy. I finished at 8.30pm and it had been a long day so I decided to eat cheese and biscuits for dinner with a couple of glasses of red wine to finish off the wine I’d bought on Saturday and forgotten to finish. I’d had another zero spend day which I was pleased about and was hoping for another one tomorrow too. Tonight was my last one with Norman as Jamie & Drew were back tomorrow afternoon.
Gratitude List 1. Good food 2. Another 5 Star review 3. Norman.
I woke up early on Friday 6th February and it had been raining all night. Norman had to go out in the rain in the morning so he was a bit miffed. The pool was almost overflowing and it was very blustery out there. I worked all day and got another review for Resort Experts which I was pleased about as they can definitely make a difference and help customers who don’t know me decide on whether to come to me to book. For lunch I had leftover teriyaki chicken with steamed rice and then decided to take Norman for an early walk while the rain was temporarily stopped. We didn’t go far and once we’d got past my parents’ place, Norman insisted we turn round and go back. He knew the rain was coming and we got in just before another massive downpour. I made halloumi pasta with pesto for dinner and then did some blog post scheduling while Norman snored loudly next to me on the sofa. I’d had another no spend day and I was under target if I managed not to spend anything again tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Good food 2. Another good review. 3. Norman.
Saturday 7th February didn’t start in the best way that it could have but I was glad I’d not had to deal with it hungover! I’d come downstairs just after 7am and was greeted by quite a bit of doggy diarrhoea. Poor Norman had gone back to bed after attempting to spray ‘paint’ the living/dining area with runny poo. It smelled disgusting and I had to put him out on the terrace while I donned the rubber gloves and cleaned it up. Poor Norman watched as I got to work and seemed a little regretful that he’d managed to get a bit on Dennis, the doggy doorstop. I was convinced it was due to him having licked and tried to eat cat shit, plus it was the first Peanut Paw snack he’d had in a week yesterday. Norman came back in to a wet wipe wash down and a spray or 2 of cologne before he was allowed his breakfast. I put egg in his breakfast to try to rectify the runs. As he’s nearly 15 years old, he didn’t get a telling off just a reassurance of not to worry and a video for Little Daddy and Step Daddy Drew who were still enjoying the last days of their cruise holiday. I worked in the morning on quoting a customer on a Wendy Wu escorted tour, there was a sale on so it made the prices pretty good for February bookings. I was definitely getting more traction on enquiries and bookings in February 2026 were already more than last year’s. Around lunch time I nipped to the shop and bought a bottle of wine for later at 300 lira (£5.08), and a loaf of bread and an açma for lunch as a treat. I spent just 30 lira (51p) in the bakery and decided not to to go to the market today. I did this for several reasons; I had food in still, it was peeing it down with rain and I wanted to stay on track for spending less than £30 this week. I totted up my spending for the week and I was doing fine. So far this month I had spent 1,532.14 lira (£25.97) and I had £65.03 left to last me until the end of the 21st! I had another call with a potential customer in the afternoon and I used a page from The Handy Travel Planner when they asked me what information I needed to know to find them a suitable holiday for the family. I ended up working until gone 9pm on a Saturday night! Then I watched something on TV while eating bread and cheese for dinner with some red wine.
Gratitude List 1. Norman not shitting on the rugs 2. Wine 3. Cheese.
