Hello! Newbie!

determinedtodothis

HAPPY SEPTEMBER EVERY ONE

This is the begining of the tough month, i had a lovely weekend and it was good to catch up with friends I haven't seen for a couple of years I managed spend £20 petrol less than I planned so I'm pleased it means I have a £20 contigency plan for the rest of the month

I'm aiming for 23 NSD this month which is a biggy but I have prepared and I think I can do it.

I did have to add £10 to my mobile because I got lost :rolleyes: and had to ring for directions



Balances:

• Phone Bill Balance (inc line rental) £20.80
• £10.00 credit on the mobile, still have free text
• 0 NSD
• Done me scratchcards £23.45 and £5.30in the bonus :mad:
• Dooyoo 22,545
• Survey's £2.60
• Capital One vs 100 Challenge £11.00

To Do:

• Read electricity Metre
• Complete a Dooyoo Review

determinedtodothis

Well i'm very impressed with myself. Eon have launched a service called 10:10 which is where you pledge to try and cut your energy usage by 10% before 2010, you get emails with tips, a free power cutter (completely switches things off when you hit standby on your remote) and it has an energy tracker - this compares where you are compared with last year

Pleased to say I have cut my usage by 31.1% over the last year and the last 2 months where I have been more "electricity aware" I have cut my usage by a massive 44.7% for the month of July and 45.2% for the month of august compared to last year!!! :T i'm really pleased as the months previous to me making an effort to stop using electricty wastefully the tracker shows only a 11/12% reduction.

It says this year I have saved enough electricty to light an average home for 5 weeks!!!

justruth

Well done you! It's the things like this that I like the most, because you get into good habits that last beyond becoming debt free.

determinedtodothis

Thanks Matey! its made me even more determined to cut it, Sept is going to be tough because I was working long hours so most of the time last year I came home and went straight to bed so theres a massive dip in electricity usage so the challenge is on!

I've even bought myself a hot water bottle to keep me toastie (well theres no man on the horizon but who knows?! *LOL*)

misscousinitt

Hi

Been reading your thread and just want to say how much I admire your focus.

Keep up the good work and I'm sure you will reach your goals.

Gook luck.

determinedtodothis

Thanks misscousinitt your much better at keeping to your grocery budget than me - any tips?

determinedtodothis

well feeling a little proactive today so after being soaked on my way to work this morning I thought in addition to my other challenges I start a "preperation for winter one 2 so here's my updated September challenges:

Challenge 1: The Home Phone
I've noticed that my cheap phone is not so cheap - i pay by DD but quite often my bill is £30+ considering its the £11.50 tariff i need to curb this im meant to get free evening and weekend calls so i need to make sure i'm using the phone properly if i can make even a £10 saving on that next month that would be good.

Challenge 2: The Mobile
I've got £10 credit on my mobile and 30 free text on line so I'm going to aim to not credit my phone all month and use facebook,email and free text to contact mates

Challenge 3: The Food Bill
I knew this month was going to be tight so i've stock piled a few foods and cleaning products that should get me thru the month - target is to spend £10 on shopping (this really should be emergencies only), ordered and being delivered tonight - eek!

Challenge 4: Complete went away for friends birthday and spent £20 less than budgeted!


Challenge 5: The Elec
Use as little Electricity this month as humanly possible

Challenge 6: EBAY
To make at least £30 on Ebay

Challenge 7: NSD
And this is the biggy....23 NSD's

Challenge 8: Winter Preperation

Ok in order to get myself straight for winter my action plan is:

• [STRIKE]Get the medicine cupboard stocked with cold n flu, Vicks and ibuprofen[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]Get a hot water bottle[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]change the duvet to the winter one[/STRIKE]
• buy some lining or lined curtains for both bedrooms
• buy some pj's that a winter warm
• buy dei-cer for the car
• [STRIKE]Wash out slow cooker and flask[/STRIKE]
• [STRIKE]check I have gloves and a hat[/STRIKE]
• buy a new coat
• stock up on longlife milk, bread mix and tinned soup
• see if I can find any toweling bedding - heard that its best
• look at purchasing new heater for bedroom/front room
• check what "coat" the water tank has (read that on Eon today)

Lots of expense there, but a lot of it needed

slowlyfading

Just saw your thread - you're so organised! you'll be debt free in no time at this rate

ElizabethJH

Check out Primark for the Bed Linen - I got some brushed cotton double duvet set for £13 from there - it really is the warmest! PJ's are only £4 from there as well so could treat yourself to a couple of pairs and not spend too much money - Good Luck with all the challenges, I think it's the best way to get through the debt! 23 NSD's is definitely a challenge I'm trying for 15 and that's going to be a struggle!!!

misscousinitt

Thanks for the shout out. My tips for keeping within food budget are (although I don't think they are much different to anyone elses!):

1. Plan, plan, plan and plan - and even if a meal goes pear shaped, think of something else to do with the ingredients or re-plan the meal for another day. All the planning seems really ridgid, but you can swap things round with success if you think about it.

2. Use up leftovers. I do a 'Fridgeraiders' Pasta & Sauce quite regularly, just to use up bits and pieces in the fridge that might normally get thrown away - this can also be done with rice or cous cous too.

3. Check out OS board - I've had such inspiration from them.

4. If you are not sure what to do with a main ingredient eg chicken etc... - check out the bbcgoodfood web-site and type the ingredient in and they will give you loads of ideas. I'm a bit of a recipe hound, so I have a big cookbook resource, but find this web-site very useful when I've got a mind block.

I'm lucky as I really don't have to worry TOO much about my budget, but I am saving the extra money for my wedding next year so its very satisfying to see the savings balance increase each month by what we have saved on food shopping alone.

Just want to say good luck again - you seem to be heading in the right direction and with continued support to drive you on, I'm sure you will soon be at your destination.

A
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