Eager Elephant's Effective Everyday Excursion ...

brizzledfw

Hope alls well EE

Eager_Elephant

brizzledfw wrote: »

Hope alls well EE

All is good in the Elephant household!!


I do come on nearly every evening to read a few diaries, I tend to post daily on the Ninja Saving Turtles thread and hate posting the same stuff on here unless it is my aims for the month.


I'm loving the NST's - they are super strict but it is really stopping me spending money for no reason.


I am surprised that DH is keeping up with his savings - he is saving £300 per month :eek: and only gets £20 spends which he sticks to :eek:
I am also saving a small amount each month and concentrating on paying DH and DS back for the loan [strike]they gave me[/strike] I took to get my car.


Still keeping busy with too much committee work:D


Working hard on my allotment - I can nearly see the back now so I should be able to start digging soon and planting from March onwards:T

brizzledfw

Excellent. Glad alls well :dance:

Eager_Elephant

Have already reached 10 NSD's this month so far - target is 16. Hope to get that.


DH has a poorly tooth and we have been to emergency dentist yesterday, he has dentist tomorrow to see about removing his tooth but he has a large abcess which has made his eye swell up quite badly.
I did get quite angry with him as he does not look after his teeth and he doesn't go to the dentist unless really urgent and he is in pain, then they start the treatment on the teeth that need it but once the pain has gone he stops going.
He is dentalphobic due to experience from when he was a child and was sat on by the dentist so he could look in his mouth!!!
But in my eyes that is no excuse.


I did have a rant and told DH he had to sort himself out as we can't go on like this - he is also ill/in pain from one thing or another and I think if he looked after himself better he would not get ill all the time (depression and headache aside).


No celebration of Valentines day as DH father died 20yrs ago today and it is not right to celebrate - it's our anniversary soon so we can celebrate then.


Had a busy day today stripping the lounge out - removed everything as we are having the floor replaced tomorrow. We have either wet or dry rot (not sure which) and the floorboards have all rotted.
They have allowed 2 days to complete but if the skirting has to come up as well then we may need plastering.
Will need new carpet also in case the mould has penetrated the carpet and we don't want the same problem again
We are taking this as an opportunity to repaint as the light grey we have looks blue and I hate it so DH is going to open up the fireplace so we can put the TV on the wall and the sky and dvd in the actual fireplace freeing up some room in the lounge.
We also need a new sofa or we are thinking about having ours fixed and recovered as gets dirty too easily but is a good make or we will get a corner suite as would fit the room better.
Don't want to spend loads of money though!!


Hope you have all had a good weekend!!

Eager_Elephant

Well the floor got replaced and it did only take 2 days - we had new skirting but we did not need replastering.


They finished at 2pm on Tuesday and by 6pm when I got home DH had knocked the fireplace through - luckily the lady who lived in the house before us would not allow the council to do any work so we have the original fireplace which is big - I thought we would just have a normal size on hiding behind the plasterboard but we didn't.
DH has made a mantel piece and shelves from old scaffold boards and it all looks really rustic and lovely.


We have purchased carpet and this is being fitted this week - could have been earlier but we wanted time to paint.
DH is just doing the touching up now but it looks lovely - we have a very light grey on the walls which actually look grey rather than blue and we have kept our black feature wall.
The TV is now up on the wall.


Looked into getting our sofas recovered - they confirmed it was a good make but we are looking at minimum £2k for recovering them which I know is good value due to the amount of work needed but when you can get clearance sofas from the same place as our others for £600 each it seems a bit excessive.


So yesterday we went to pay for delivery of the carpet and I may have accidentally put down a deposit on a patchwork armchair:eek:
But it looks amazing and they usually retail for a lot of money and as this place is closing down I was offered it for £275:T
I am going back to pay for it next weekend.
Plus they offer other sofas but none we liked but their sofas can be made to order so we are going back next weekend to pick some fabrics and they will make us our own bespoke sofa (we will include some fabric which is on the armchair so it all matches in). A 3 seater sofa is only £600 so definitely much cheaper then recovering etc.


Not sure how to pay for it all yet but might put on credit card and then pay off asap.


The lounge is freezing, we have no carpets and no curtains - I took them down to wash and the black out liner is now longer than the curtains so taking them to my sewing lady to take up. Hopefully she will have them done by next weekend.


I wish I wasn't so impulsive but on the other hand we have been dithering since January about our sofas and have looked at hundreds and we are still no closer to picking any that we like so maybe being impulsive is best!!!

Eager_Elephant

Am late updating my Turtle challenge for Feb so here it is:


What is important to you? That is what you will naturally focus on and that is what will take up most of your energy, so choose wisely. Keep your eyes on that goal this month. What will you fill your head with this month? Remove excuses, unsatisfying filler activities (tv, FB, PC time) and dedicate time to your chosen focus. My allotment is very important to me but I can only get up there at weekends as I work full time. I never get the time to watch TV and always have loads to watch on the planner and then panic when it gets full. I will cut down on my computer time and watch some TV with DH and on alternate nights I will go to bed early and read – I so miss reading!!

I have managed to watch more TV than I usually do but not done much reading. Definitely cut back on computer time and had loads of days when I did not make it on to the thread.

• Cut back to the basics. Be austere. Definitely back to the basics this month.
• When is your Debt Free Date? How much do you need to pay each month to achieve this? Can you bring this date forward? What are the consequences of not meeting this date? My DFD is far, far away!!! All my debt is on 0%, one ends in about 19mths and the other is a defaulted debt so will always be 0%. I am saving in various pots including a Help2Buy ISA so all spare money will go in here and I will pay off my credit card when the 0% expires. The only consequence of not paying off my 0% is that I will be charged interest which I don’t want so it won’t happen!!

I thought we would be quite austere but had to buy new carpets and paint for the lounge, these were planned for this year but were brought forward as we had flooring replaced due to dry rot.

Have still saved money into Help 2 Buy.

Food: If your cupboards are stuffed, then you are to hone and tone them. Be creative in your concoctions. Downshift brands. Set your budget and stick to it. Can you reduce it by 10% We had managed to eat the cupboards down quite well and I did a monthly shop on 31/1 so we are well stocked again. My budget for 4 weeks is £350 for 4 people. I only have £8.50 to last until 14th Feb.

I spent over my budget on 14th Feb but needed to stock up for packed lunch things but the pot was refilled on 15th Feb so I just decreased my budget for the next 4 weekly period.

Every penny has a purpose and a job. Allocate a role to them all. Pay to your debt/savings first. Do not give your money to coffee shops, canteens, vending machines, corner shops, takeaway outlets. Budget before the month starts and ensure you compensate for food, vehicle malfunctions, birthdays, travel, outings. And cut it back to the bone. I have done my YNAB budget and every penny has a job – I just need to update with the DD’s which came out yesterday and move my money into savings.

Every penny had its job and did very well for the month. All the essentials including debt and savings was paid first.

Buy a homeless person a tea/coffee; donate to a foodbank or the trussell trust; volunteer. I am already on 2 committees so volunteer my time but will donate to a food bank. I don’t buy drinks for homeless people as it encourages them to beg on the streets when we have drop in centres for them to go to and to engage with to get off the streets. (Sorry if this offends but I work with a lot of vulnerable people and I know that the majority of the people on the streets in my town actually have somewhere to live but they beg to fund drug and alcohol habits)

Didn’t get a chance to donate to a food bank but have done all my volunteering. I did however refer some people to the Food Bank!!!

Recharge your batteries. The lighter days are coming. Do what you need to do to lift your mood (that involves no spending…!) Do it 5 times per week. So, clear stuff out and recycle it/give it away/donate it; sort out the paperwork that bothers you; exercise; listen to music; dance. Reading and watching TV will lift my mood as I rarely do it.

No reading done but did watch some TV which I enjoyed.

Use what you have before replenishing eg toiletries, cleaning products. Use up your freezer and cupboard stocks. Plan your meals. Take your lunch to work every single day you are there. For some reason I have never had excess food, toiletries etc so I only buy what I need for the month and the monthly shop is in so we might look excessive but will all be used by end of Feb.
I have to take my lunch to work every day otherwise I lose a NSD!!

I kind of failed on the taking work to lunch every day – one day I had run out of GF bread and did not realise until the morning so too late to make a vegetable dish so had to buy lunch but instead of buying ready made sandwiches I purchased bread, butter and sandwich filling which lasted me all week!!

Avoid the virus that puts the over-riding feeling of ‘want’ beyond what you actually ‘need’, that makes us spend, waste food, accumulate debts. Weigh up every spend and if you decide to buy it, keep a note of it in your notebook. I rarely buy anything but may have to get DH an anniversary present!

Well we agreed our anniversary present would be some fruit trees for our allotment – I had looked online and could get 3 for £40 but then popped into Poundstretcher and they had them for £2.99 each so got pear, plum and cherry which are in the greenhouse in pots and will be moved outside to harden this week with planting in a few weeks.

At least they will be useful for years to come.

Reduce your outings. You cannot afford to go out every weekend! Arrange them before the month starts and cut by 1. Can you do it cheaper? I rarely go out – long gone are the nightclubs every weekend!! Hopefully I will meet my friend for a meal again and also it is my anniversary so I think we might go for a meal or maybe get a takeaway.

Met my friend but we don’t spend much, had takeaway for anniversary.

Yellow stickers are your friend. If you need to use these or can get to a supermarket at the right time, then set yourself no NSD target (but keep within your budget). For those who prefer rules, you have to get 16 NSDs (not lost if you need medication, fuel, regular activities that need paying weekly or only buy reduced items) I need to stay away from supermarkets to keep my NSD’s so I will be aiming for 16 NSD’s.

Only managed 14 NSD’s – must do better!!

Savvy_sewing

EE if the furniture place is closing down vibe careful they don't take your money and then don't deliver! You hear such stories a lot and you of all people can not afford to loose money. ( pay with a Credit Card? Possibly your able to claim via the card then, but you know the legal bits more than me!

Eager_Elephant

Mooloo wrote: »

EE if the furniture place is closing down vibe careful they don't take your money and then don't deliver! You hear such stories a lot and you of all people can not afford to loose money. ( pay with a Credit Card? Possibly your able to claim via the card then, but you know the legal bits more than me!

Thanks for thinking of me Mooloo.


Sorry I should have explained more, the people who own and run it are retiring and are renting it to someone else who will continue with the same stuff. All staff will be moving to new tenant.
I have out down £100 deposit on my credit card - the rest gets paid when it's been made and has been delivered to the warehouse.

Eager_Elephant

Been having problems with MSE all month and finally got it sorted by moving to new forum.

Have been following the NST's again - here is my update for the month:

Time to get tough. Time to get serious. Time to stop procrastinating. What have you been putting off? What have you been avoiding? Are there any areas where you are falling down? I really need to plan my evenings to include committee work and time with the family. Most evenings pass in a blur of not much and I always feel I should have done the opposite to what I have done (If I watch TV with DH I feel I should have done committee work and if I do committee work I feel I should have watched TV.
Did not achieve this but I have a printable monthly sheet so will sort this for April.


Uwill avoid coffee shops, pie shops, sandwich bars, vending machines, canteens and takeaways I am happy to avoid these, I rarely venture into a coffee shop unless I am buying for a client and that is claimable on expenses. The others I don’t go near (except takeaways on special occasions) as they don’t cater for what I eat. We had a takeaway for DH’s birthday at the start of the month and when we went on a Uni visit we grabbed fish and chips on the way home.

Reduce your food budget by 1/15th (divide this month's budget by 15 and take one off). This means that those with large family budgets reduce by the same amount as lone turtles. My budget will be 326.67 for 4 weeks. I think we overspent, I am losing track of the food account, I should pay it all from one account but when it gets to month end I pay it from my account and then pay myself back when the food account gets topped up hence I run behind all the time. This month I will reign it in and try to empty the freezers down so won’t need to spend as much.


Lunchto work every day. Also to appointments/ other regular activities and if possible on outings. This should be fine, I usually take lunch from home. Took lunch from home every day.

Exercise. 4 x 30 minutes a week. Please exercise with caution if you have been ill. Break it down into 10 minutes sessions if you need to. Those who already have more developed regimes, continue as usual. I don’t actively exercise but everyday I either walk the dog twice or walk the dog once and sort the animals – this usually adds up to an hour a day. Hope it is ok just to keep doing this. Just did the usual plus I go to my allotment for 3-4hrs every Sunday and that is strenuous work!!

Savings or debt repayments come first. live on what is left over. I will follow my budget which includes savings first (debt is 0%) Savings came first. Pots slowly building up.

Audit your cupboards, fridge and freezer and meal plan before going shopping. Make a meal using something that has been in the cupboard for a while. I check the cupboards and then go shopping but never meal plan, maybe I should? Will find some long forgotten ingredients and make something nice. Checked the cupboards and realised I had half the ingredients for granola so have stocked up using a Lidl money off voucher and will be making my own granola for this month.

Review your annual budget. Next year's Council tax and Water bills will be arriving. Need to do this, got new council tax bill which has gone up by a few £’s a month, rent has reduced by £6pm and water is reviewed every December. Still not reviewed but will do this tomorrow as all bills came out today.

Uwill aim for 16 Spend Free Days. Remember this is to help stop impulse spending, the 'went in for two things and came out with a basketful' syndrome. Also helps with small spends which can become expensive habits. A small chocolate bar won't kill you but when you get to 11 am and you are expecting that chocolate bar (and then eating tit without any awareness). If you prefer to chart your spending in line with your budget (ie half way through the month/ less than 1/2 spent) this is fine. Will keep away from the shops as much as possible and will aim for 16 spend free days. I managed 15 NSD’s!!!

Home. This will be my main focus for March, making up for years of neglect and patching up.I would like you to make up a 'snag list'. Go round your house one room at a time and list all the jobs that need doing. You can add 'niggly' jobs if you like - the drawer that never gets sorted. Sort into things you can tackle (or think of ways to tackle them) and those you might have to pay for. Start with the no cost ones. If it's something that would take less than 5 minutes, just do it (you are allowed to put it on the list and tick it off afterwards - I know how satisfying that can be).DH and I did a list last month of things we would like to do but this wasn’t really a snaglist, more a wish list. Will compile a snag list for each room but it has to include the lounge as this is being decorated at present and new carpet due on 9th. We have nearly finished the lounge, all the walls have been painted, the wood has been oiled, the carpet went down, I purchased a chair I never knew I needed!! We have ordered new sofas which will be here in about 6 weeks.

Eager_Elephant

April's Ninja Saving Turtle Challenge:

This Challenge commences on the 1st April 2016 @ Midnight and closes on the 30th April 2016 @ 2359.

Rules
1. Aim for 20 SFD's (Spend Free Days) GULP Going to be tough month. OMG!!!

2. Pay to your debt after usual bills. Live off whats left. YOU CAN DO IT. If you get paid weekly set monthly target to pay and be focused. I need to make sure I start saving to pay off my 0% card, I am paying £200pm to DH and DS to pay back money they leant me for my car last year.

3. Set Budgets before the start of the month, can you use up food, loyalty points? I am going to redo my budget this weekend as it’s the new financial year. I need to use up the food we have as my food budget account is not working correctly!!

4. Check in daily to be accountable for your actions, the naughty step is waiting ! Will do!!

5. Unnecessary spends are unnecessary for a reason. Stamp them OUT please. Will do!!

6. Plan, plan, plan what you are doing this month. How many nights out do you need? Can you do anything which doesn’t cost money instead? Can you get your little one to make a birthday card for a relative instead of buying one - simple things count! We have a charity event on Saturday which we run so will need money for food and drink. I need to meet with my friend at least once this month so that will be about £25. DH mentioned a 50th birthday party in April so likely to be the end.

7. Random acts of kindness, try for at least one a day. Be the annoying smiley person.Ooh this will be interesting.

8. Donate to Foodbanks/ charity of your choice. Wont’t set an amount up to you what you can afford. Already donating to EAAA.

9. Treat time, you can either set some me time each day or treat yourself with a budget of 15 poundsfor the month. Whichever works best for you but chill out/enjoy life. I am going to diarise my evenings and plan each evening so I get everything done that I need to.

10. Don’t spend on credit cards. It does NOT cheer you up in the long run. The recent house decorating stuff has been going on the credit card to make it easier to keep track of and DH and I are paying a set amount each month to clear it.

11. Review your DFD(debt free day) anything you can do to bring it forward? Currently it’s miles away as making £5pm payment to a £7k debt but need to start saving to be able to offer a full and final.

12. Shake a tail feather – exercise walk, jog, kettle bells – whatever you body is up to at least 30-40 minutes a day. Exercise releases endorphins (happy hormones) which helps us deal with stress. Up to you set weight target for the month (in private or openly whatever gives you more motivation and check weight weekly(Friday) Will carry on walking the dog every day – sometimes twice and sometimes once but also do the animals (feeding and watering which is 30mins of heavy lifting etc.