Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

dND

HH62 wrote: »

So much for NSD

Was studying and looking out at the lovely sun and snow and decided to go for a walk which led me to the newsagents which forced me to buy a mag and some chocolate...total spend £3.08.
I could kick myself :mad:

It's the impulse buys that are knocking me for six...
I know - don't take my purse out next time :mad:

But you are noticing the impulse buys now - that's the first step. :jNow you have to work on breaking the habit and after that it starts to become second nature. It took me most of last year keeping the spending diary to really bring home how the little spends mounted up. Gradually I learn't to think twice before buying - doing things like wandering round the store again and debating if I really did need to buy it or even remembered it after I'd got the rest of the shopping.

I'm certainly not perfect yet but I spend a lot less on impulse buys than I used to.

Changing our spending habits doesn't come overnight but you will get there

dND

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Had a shop in the community day today...........

I have a bad neck problem at the mo and can't carry anything so me and my shopping trolley hit a local high street

I like the idea of shopping at the greengrocers butchers and bakery but hate carrying it all

Having a crafty afternoon

See you soon

Shaz

Hi Shaz :hello:

I do hope your neck is better soon. It's my back I have problems with and it's amazing how heavy even light stuff can feel isn't it.
Deborah

the_cat

fizzel - credit card protection would not help anyway, it's for purchases over £100. Any chance you can get to a store? They had it on the news that lots are going to close ( with about 100 staying open temporarily to see if they can be sold on) Would def be worth a look if at all possible.


Having another NSD today. Due to bingo win/cashback and selling a book on Amazon I am in the unusual position of having more money now than at the start of the challenge!!!! Not going to last but I am enjoying it for now anyway.

Have plenty of food in and as there is still quite a bit of snow here I probably won't do my planned whoopsie hunt tonight. Don't fancy skidding round the local roads. Kids out tonight at my mums and soup leftover in fridge for quick tea.

Will make myself do exercise tape to make up for sitting on PC all day and then tackle at least a small corner of my bulging wardrobe. Want to challenge myself to either use or chuck the vast numbers of clothes I never wear, so I am going to get out all the stuff not used in the last year and try to make up some 'new' outfits from them. If not, they need to go in the charity bag!

Speak soon
Cat

lilac_lady

Still only shopped once and spent £6.41. The local schools open tomorrow, quieter times, so I'll venture out with my little purse. I'm so keen on this challenge that I'm almost afraid to enter a shop!

jtb2412

JAMIEDODGER wrote: »

well next time i pop over to see my nan in LA, ill send you a PM to see if you need anything over here and I can always come pick you up when im on my way back and drop you off in bognor...then its only half a fare:D

JD, that's really kind .... thank you :A

Maybe we shall have to organise a cuppa somewhere (free with some kind of voucher of course !) to compare notes

Who is the other person who lives local to us (sorry I forget the name ..... I'm getting older, that's my excuse :rotfl: ) - am thinking we could organise a mini-meeting ?

Kittikins

Yay, I made it around the mean streets of the town I work in at lunchtime without spending a penny over my 30p for the Sun I got to the checkout at Waitrose with a packet of cream crackers that I was keen to buy, being ravenous as I forgot to make any lunch, but then decided to ditch them and keep on eating apples/drinking cupasoups as they're free - and I can do without the calories

So, I'm going to cheat a bit and count this as a NSD as it's a kind of 'essential' spend.

I agree with the other opinions to NOT buy anything online from a company we know is going under. I noticed Waterford crystal have gone today. Horrible, it's like skittles!

JAMIEDODGER

oooh a mini meet:) how exciting!!!! Im def up for that! Will be keeping eye out for free voucher from now on:D

jtb2412

That's sorted then JD (why do I keep wanting to call you JammieDodger ! lol)

Will keep eyes open for free starbucks vouchers (they seem to be quite popular lately !) ....... see if we can sort out a date and if anyone wants to join us then that's great !

On topic lol Am having a bit of a declutter here this afternoon. I had sorted out quite a few bits and bobs from our bedroom before Xmas and was planning to hold on to them for a car boot sale in the summer but TBH i'm sick of them laying around already so I've decided to freecycle the lot ! I'll have to think of something else to help with our money neutral pressie challenge (maybe i'll just limit that to birthdays and not Xmas too).

Once that's done then i'm off to batch cook some apple crumbles/pies - just need to make sure I freeze them in 'small' portions

2NDTIMEROUNDER

Hello ladies.

I am writing today that the pace of things in here has fallen off a bit. I am a bit dyslexic sadly and when things move that fast with names and info I get confused, get a splitting headache, cant concentrate and therefore cant read or write properly.:o

It is very encouraging to see so many people managing their money and lives so prudently though.:T Today I had to pay for some food, my first spend for the year so for a former constant spender this is a huge milestone. And the scary thing is that it keeps getting so easy for me I am beginning to think I am bit weird.:rotfl: Seriously though, my new spending habits have begun to sort of unravel my friends calmness when it comes to paying time, as I had got them used to me paying for most of the time. So another good thing that will come out of this challenge for me will be the emergence of my true friends among the throngs of hanger ons. So tough on you guys; you have lost out I am afraid.

Its a bit late to offer my thought for the day so perhaps you can keep it in mind for tomorrow.;)

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
John Tillotson[/FONT]

Frugaldom

Yeah! Work's all up to date, fire's lit and I am about to do an inventory of contents of freezer before dinnertime. HS is outside digging and levelling after my decision to move the greenhouse but he is going to benefit from the garden juggling act as he's claimed the existing greenhouse space for his shed, which should have been going where I now want the greenhouse. :rotfl: It is absolutely freezing outside, I'm surprised the washing didn't freeze solid! Rhubarb crowns are now in the ground and a delivery van has just pulled up... wonder if it's my 4 pairs of bargain cloggs?

Back again - freezer inventory done and delivery van was for neighbour