The Ultimate February Challenge

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  • fairy3
    fairy3 Posts: 511
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    Just a quickie...I have been crunching too and am now a bit less chipper as I forgot petrol, however here are my figures: £150 food for 1 adult and three teens with adult appetites and 1 dog as really want to clear the freezer and cupboards, treat £10, emergency £50 because there always seems to be one! Petrol £100, work shoes needed but will shop around and only buy if I can sell something on ebay, beauty £0 as have big stash to clear and £20 for going out, have two planned evenings out which cost money so in total £330.

    nannygladys I am in awe! hope you can do it, you have inspired me to get the knitting needles out and actually make something!

    Let the games begin!
    January 2020 Grocery challenge £119.45/£200 :)
    February 2020 Grocery challenge £195.22 /£200
    March 2020 - gone to pot...
    April 2020 - £339.45/£200
    May 2020 - £194.99/£300
  • Siouxsie32
    Siouxsie32 Posts: 1,987
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    Evening everyone :)

    So, my February budget is as follows:
    Food £50
    Petrol £50
    Misc £100 (to include Oyster Card top ups, one night out and a few other bits and pieces that need to be paid for throughout the month)

    And I plan to make £100 on ebay plus as much as I can in surveys etc. My spend free day target I'm going to hang fire on for the time being til I see what's what with a few things, but rest assured I'll not be spending if I don't have to!!
  • Kerfuffle
    Kerfuffle Posts: 1,384
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    edited 31 January 2013 at 5:54AM
    Hi everybody,

    Here I am with my aims for February:
    Food /185.00
    Petrol /175.00
    Postage /15.00
    Beauty Products /14.00
    Social Outing /47.00
    Homeless Person /4.00
    Treat /10.00

    The original budget was for 185.00 petrol and 175.00 food, and I was disgusted to think that I was planning to spend more money just feeding the vehicles than I was feeding myself and Hubby that I swapped it around just on principal :rotfl:

    A slight increase for the postage to get the birthday cards and presents to the UK, as I'm hoping to be more realistic.

    Beauty products, it's ages since I bought anything and the mascara I'm currently using is threatening to finish some time soon. So I thought I'd put it in the budget and do a bit of shopping around.

    The social outing is based on what I spent last month for Hubby, myself and son, so I've repeated it just in case we all get together again. If we don't then it's for Hubby and me :)

    Homeless person - if we have a homeless person around here I don't see them, so I'll do the same as I did in December which is to buy something (maybe a box of teabags) and put it in the collection point for the food bank.

    The treat money of 10.00 is ideal as I know I can get 3 x London Fogs, including tips, for this. So my treat for this month is to allow myself three of these.

    Ebay I won't be attempting yet, as it's not my friend, but I do have some clothes listed on a facebook site and somebody is enquiring about a jacket I have on there. Now I've just to see if they come up with the cash.

    I'm aiming for 20 Spend Free Days as I like the rigid rules ;)

    My budget for the month is 450.00gbp :eek: ( A reduction of 30.00gbp from last month :A) for Hubby and myself with 2 vehicles and going to work is a 30 mile round journey.

    Here we go folks - hold on tight!

    "Please stay in your seats or you might lose your heads......shabah"
  • Morning all,

    Cant believe Im up this early - thunder, lightning and cat at 4am:mad:.....

    Kerfuffle- Whats a london fog????????????

    Well payday has arrived, whoop!whoop!!!, so feb budget is done hopefully Im just being generous and will have some money left as I said previously everyone else's is so much lower.
    • Food £80
    • Petrol £120
    • Going out £175 - 1 weekend away, Theatre night, BGT, 3 meals
    • Presents £50 - Dad's & 2 friends b'days
    • Car service £30 - Just parts if req
    • Avon £5 - Already ordered handcream, only one that suits due to eczema. (Still have 17 shower gels to use:o)
    • Other £10 - There's always something I don't budget for/ treat money
    TOTAL £470:o:eek::o:eek::o
    I want to make £50 on ebay and 20 sfds please.

    Have a lovely day all xxxx
    Halifax CC All paid Mort £7669.99,Car loan 31 months to go
    Food 99.25/100 Petrol 133.12/150 presents 59.12/80 going out 73.75/150 toiletries 4.50/5 other 179.07/100 money made 480 SFD 11/20
  • Munchin
    Munchin Posts: 2,816
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    Hi all
    Can I join please. I will work out the numbers tonight
  • Count me in please

    First challenge so this might be a bit daunting but needs must.

    Petrol £300 - its a lot but i have a 170 mile round trip to work (will see if i can work at least 1 day a week from home)

    Food £0 - the opposite end of the extreme, i have enough diet packs in the cupboard to last me for a couple of months :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

    Therefore aiming for
    25 SFDs
    £50 on ebay

    and picking up on the January thread will be using adpoints and surveys etc to boost Nectar points and stuffs :cool:
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729
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    *Shuffles in, embarrassed*


    Am i able to join in again please Kat?
  • I've just crunched the numbers.... I feel a bit sick :(Someone send some positiveness my way please? And remind me that it is okay to have a life as long as you're still paying off the debt and not using credit?
    This is going to be interesting as i seem spend money almost every day, this will be the biggest challenge for me i think :o
    km1977 wrote:
    Me tooo I want in, in fact I will have to have had my hours cut at work grrr have just had my pay slip and only just have enough to cover my bills :-(
    £67 for the 4 weeks, I arrived at this figure cos its the amount of cash I have in the house, so Im aiming on NOT using the bank account for anything, its going to be sooo.... hard but Im determined to get that OD down.
    I knew February was going to be a expensive month, but I didn't realise that bad!
    Just being sitting trying to sort figures for feb budget and feel pretty carp about it. Everyone else's budgets are way lower than mine.....
    _gien wrote:
    eurgh, I know that sinking feeling when the numbers don't add up!
    fairy3 wrote:
    Just a quickie...I have been crunching too and am now a bit less chipper
    capricious wrote:
    First challenge so this might be a bit daunting but needs must.

    Now then.. it wouldn't be called a challenge if it ain't challenging now then would it? I see these mind-sets and match them with mine. Determination, Ruthlessness, Optimism should be your weapons of choice!!!
    We.Will.Succeed!
    There is no other way to put it. Stand firm and stand hard. You are now looking after you. You are taking a stand for the greater good, saying no to unnecessary things, planning ahead and taking stock of where you want to be! Yes this will be HARD.. but grasp that fear and feeling of doubt, harness it , face it and say I AM NOT AFRAID and throw it out.. harness the negativity and be happy that you are doing some about that CC , DD, Loan, etc now and not still living life behind rose tinted glasses..

    This sounds all airy fairy but your thought process counts for a lot. Personally.. I will not fail. Simple as that. I will not fail, I will not allow myself to consider failure. I will pay off my debs by the end of this year and I will make money in any way possible ( that's legal of course )..

    Turn your optimistic self on by tonight at midnight.. I will help push you to the end, I will be the hands that blinker your eyes to things you don't need. I will guide your feet away from the take away and back into looking at your freezer, I will poke you in the ribs and make you realize you do not need another pair of shoes..I will remind you that your child will not be loved less if her/his clothes are second hand or repaired instead of replaced.. I will send you hugs when it all gets too much to handle and everyone else on here will stand behind you and cheer for every little thing that brings you towards Debt Freedom!!!

    For everyone quoted above and for everyone else who has joined in the fight for freedom this message is for you too...

    Onwards with a strong mind, Upwards with a stronger heart. x
    “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent".
  • Siouxsie32
    Siouxsie32 Posts: 1,987
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    Onwards with a strong mind, Upwards with a stronger heart. x

    ...and Downwards with the debt!!!
  • WantToBeSE
    WantToBeSE Posts: 7,729
    I've been Money Tipped! Debt-free and Proud!
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    I am trying out a whole new way of food shopping, which is SUPPOSED to help me spend less. We'll see how it goes.
    Normally, i just have the amount (for example £200) for the month, and everything comes out of that, in no organised fashion.
    This month, i am trying something new.

    I have split that £200 into several 'categories'.

    Online monthly tinned good (all basic)-£40 (this is for all the tinned goods i will need during the month, so things like rice pud, custard, red kidney beans, baked beans, lentils, curry pastes etc)-this is from asda.

    Cleaning/washing/personal care-£20 (for all shampoo, conditioner, bubble bath, deodorants, baby wipes, washing up liquid, washing powder/gel, bin bags etc)-and i buy it all from the 99p store.

    £40-Fruit and veg (this is mainly from lidl as its such a good price)

    Then the rest is split up into weekly amounts. Not sure how this will go, as like i said, its my first time. Does anyone else do this? Any tips?

    Thanks for taking me back under your wing Kat, and for the number. Things are pretty dire here financially.
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