Ultimate Challenge. 457 days / £16600!!!

liltdiddylilt

Bonjour all!!

Kat - you're welcome for the heads up. I thought you must have skim-read in your dazed state and just welcomed everyone and added them.

"Lilt I don't blame you from taking a break from any challenges.. You have a hefty month a head of you and how sad that your friend moved away... there will be a lot to take in with travel etc and getting your head round being away from the little. Good luck with it all though - when do you officially start back? Do you in-laws cover a day of baby-sitting for you on Mondays?.."

Thanks my friend moving is a bit of a downer for me. I was really quite alone after moving here, for 3.5 years right up until I had the littlie. Then I went on another forum & posted a meet a mum post & we hit it right off. She isn't far but it used to cost me nothing but coffee every other time I saw her & now I have a £8 train fare to think of.

I feel lucky in that I enjoy my job so much, I've been doing keeping in touch days & overtime so it isn't the massive mountain to climb that it otherwise would be. I am sad that I will get an hour or so of rushing around trying to see littlie adequately before a 2 mile walk to work, then the 2 mile walk home at 5 will leave me with an hour with her in the evenings 3 days per week. It will be tough. I start back officially Weds the 9th, so I get an extra week at home for my xmas break as such, compared to the rest of the office. It is good because I have a new 'assistant' as such starting the week before me. He will be trained to take on a lot of my old job role & I have a new title to fit my 'talents' :rotfl: - glorified dogsbody for the directors, general 'fixer' of anything that breaks, cheap office contracts finder & finance bod. Aka 'Business Administrator'.

Lilt: But being busy is always a good thing! :T Your arm/s sound really painful and (more important : P ) awkward! Have you tried putting slight and constant pressure onto it? Another suggestion link

Peaty - thanks for this!! You're very helpful! The constant pressure of me lying on my arm does seem to help & I've had various strappings before but haven't as yet done that this year so I will hop to it!

Welcome new people. 12k in a year Lou?!?!?!?! Sounds like we have another inspiration here!!

liltdiddylilt

Wow eco - I spent my life as a child on farms of friends of my fathers. My own personal obsession is tractors. Mainly old Ford 4000 type's since I collected the models (and played them to death) as a child... although I am partial to the odd brand spanking John Deere here and there... So sad :rotfl:

I'm glad you're not in the rat-race of selling milk that ends up in a supermarket. I've been reading the rates after the uproar over the past few months and I have to say I feel extreme guilt receiving 4 pints of milk for £1 in the supermarket. So much work goes into it.

I do envy you your day job. I might not enjoy the early mornings, but I always swore I would marry a farmer one day. My 16th birthday present was my friend turning up to take me for a spin in his tractor (ahhh those were the days). Now, I live in a coastal town instead of a village in the middle of nowhere in Nottinghamshire. There are no tractors and my lovely OH is allergic to the great outdoors... Haha!

Can I ask, as a point of interest... How long do your cows produce milk for? How does that compare to a cow in a much larger/industrialised farm?

NinjaSavingKat

Good Evening ladies and gents..

It is getting busy at work so I am going to have to reply in depth tomorrow.

Am LOVING the explanation of Eco's farming life - better be careful you might have some MSE'ers on your door step soon wanting to milk by hand!...( tastes nicer straight from the cow though )...

I have finally managed to book a holiday for my 30th in April:j ( Lou I hear what you are saying about holidays not being a great idea though when you are trying to save but my goodness you rocked it hard didn't you!!! ) - and have kept the prices down. My flight cost £106 ( with carry on luggage @ £26!! ) and my hotel is costing £376 for 7 nights in a little B&B with breakfast included by Lake Garda in the North of Italy. I have managed to stay under my £500 budget by a few pennies and the entire trip is being paid for by another venture! ...

THEN tonight ( literally hours after booking said holiday ) the landlady told me she is down-sizing, needs to shift out pronto and I need to move by the 1st May. I honestly though last night that I will need to start making arrangements in order to get "moving money" together just in case. So although it was kinda expected, I don't begrudge her a move at all and I have PLENTY of time to make inquiries I now have a little added pressure.:p:p:p:p:p

And its payday... £200 less than I was expecting!:(

However I am super excited about the months ahead, my possible new flatmates, a much needed holiday to mark a pretty special birthday and a friend returning from Australia within days....:T:T:T

I am going to read over everyone's contribution and will check back in with you all tomorrow / later today after a snooze...

Onwards and Upwards!!!

Happytogetdebtfree

Good day, a lot of milking and farming talk :-) brings a nice Cotswolds feel to the theme for me. Ninja the holiday sounds lovely and well deserved :-). Your friend returning from Australia will be amazing you will have some fun catching up :-).

Wow the landlady is downsizing, I'm sure you will be able to fiddle and save a comfortable amount for said move. Will you get a bond back? That will help. Might be an idea to put feelers out now and you might find some good bargains. I don't have any friends in London that are renting out or I would have given you heads up. Will you look to move closer to work? For the money saved in petrol and the time you save ?
BOOO about the wage I hate when I over estimate my wage! It's like a kick in the teeth. No doubt you will recoup the difference by selling or saving. Right I'm off to update my spreadsheet it's not even the 1st of jan and already pesky direct debits have come out in pure eagerness lol xx

liltdiddylilt

Good morning all.

Kat you're such a night owl!!! I can neither stay up late or get up early & be human. Need about 10 hours sleep a night to stop looking like Shrek. Do I ever get it these days? Do I bug**ry. So I am resigned to giant bags under my eyes, layers of concealer/panstick on a face which otherwise doesn't need much more than a dash of mascara & my trademark eyeliner. Blend, blend, blend!

Enough make up tips can anyone tell me if it is possible to add items to your asda 'favourites' without actually buying them first? I wish to streamline my work lunch/shopping breaks once per week so that I can just click & go & have it delivered when I am off. I cannot work out how to do it though & their 'shopping lists' do not fit my needs at all. I'm not that regimented in my meals....

That is a brilliant deal on your holiday Kat. I hope you really really enjoy yourself. You deserve a break. You can't be this MSE all the time! Relax, recharge and get right back on it!!

It's sad about your landlady but you have plenty of time to get yourself moved. At least it is only 1 rooms worth of stuff you need to shift. I hope you can find somewhere as cheap & accomodating for cat Maybe with luck closer to work, saving you petrol & time? Always look on the bright side of life, be-doo, be-doo, be-doo, be-doo!!

I am starting to panic about work & I have no idea why. I feel like I won't have enough time to do all the things I do now. I need to streamline my thoughts & get as much stuff down onto lists/diary as possible in order to organise myself to the extreme. Do I take enough stuff to work to cover me for 3 days lunches in 1, saving me carrying bags each day? Or do I suck it up and take a packed lunch proper each day? I will not be taking any cash whatsoever with me, to avoid temptation from either local cafe, Sainsburys, Burger King (have never been in 3.5 years of working & it's right opposite!) or anything else. How am I going to cook in order that we cna all be fed at a reasonable time on my work days without impacting my very limited time with DD... *does headless chicken act then gets diary out*

PLANNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NinjaSavingKat

Well now... we are into 2013! Whaddya know!

Lilt I am now wide awake due to the stupid night shifts. And find I work better at night... However I thought to get up at 1130 today having got to bet around 0730, slept through the alarm though and got up at 3pm instead. Not realising how much it would cost to re-stock my ENTIRE cupboards I went to Tesco's with only one bag armed with a horrific headache.

So I over-bought - £66 later - and had to run home on the bike and then go back. THEN I had to go to the Tesco Express down the road from me to buy a bottle of Shloer to celebrate with the Moggy tonight.

Yes that was a LOT of money but I will tell you now it wasn't much. I am starting a healthier lifestyle and where its okay to live on toast for so long I have noticed my health has "gone-off" a little and I have put on a stone over the course of the year. This has to stop. I am also cutting down on the amount of sugar I take in - which is a lot. Through tea, pastries at work etc..

So nuts, dried fruit, non-dried fruit, yoghurt, brown rice, broccoli, cheese, eggs and vegetables later I have a massive bill... ( okay my £5 spend allowance for beauty products went on hair dye, I bough 750g almonds for £4, a large vat of oil for £3 , honey for £2, dried apricots for £2 and quinoa and some frozen vegetarian bits for £5 )...

A lot of this will create a good few meals but I shall have to amend my food allowance...

Now - something else which I will touch on briefly then never again as I don't want to rub anyone up the wrong way, offend anyone or turn this into a soapbox moment but according to my faith a certain percentage of my income should go to the work of my church and its evangelism... this is 10% and this is what the Bible teaches. I have never done this. I am aiming for a full-rounded healthy lifestyle ( not everyone would include Christianity in this equation which is understandable ) but it just means that although I did not get paid as much as I expected, the amount I was going to pay towards my debt will now be even less as I am investing in my faith... and putting my trust in God... He is in charge as far as I am concerned.. So.. that's it. According to your faith dear reader do your best...whether Pagan , Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim Agnostic or Atheist... Your beliefs as it is important to you should guide your path.....

So I think I shall be able to get another £500 paid towards my debt... not as much as the desired £960 but its better than nothing eh?...

Right.. I have written a few letters today and OFFICIALLY signed off facebook. Which feels amazing!!! These are fun letters, telling my friends how lovely they are and one for my brother.... I shall be sending postcards to any nutter that wants one.. you want one from Italy gimme your address!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Lilt - it depends on what you are taking to work. Sandwiches might get soggy, rice and chilli con carne can be taken in bulk. Although I must admit taking at least 2-3 meals with me is so much easier and lets me have a mental break in the evenings when I would rather be here wittering on to you lot... DON't PANIC! You are going to be fine although I can understand why you have a lot going on in your head.... and are you seriously walking 4 miles a day! I am SO IMPRESSED WITH YOU!!!! Are you going to load up before and after pictures of your pins for us..?:p ( or are you going to get a tractor :p:p)...

Happy - I was tempted to move closer to work and use that website that advertises for flatmates. It would save about £200 a month but I work south of the river and it gives me the heeby jeebies. Sounds awful but in London you are either the Northener or Southener... I also have a good few friends in this area and it would be cheaper as I am a little outside London..rent can be £400 cheaper where I am... I am going to put the feelers out as you say.. not a bad thing to keep eyes open now. I must admit I had "live on my own" in my list I made whilst home in Ireland and forgot that was added to my list.. I have a goal I know HAVE to achieve so I guess it can't be a bad thing...:o

Eco - correct me if I am wrong here but what you are doing sounds a whole lot nicer for the cows and in effect producing a much better product yes? I like the idea of what you are doing with solar power and rainwater.. this is proper old skool farm to a certain degree. I have visions of it being MASSIVE though... how many cows do you have?... a girl I grew up with has a farm and we always uesd to get a drink from the tank as the cows were being milked. Probably not a great thing to do really but it tastes a lot nicer... I know her Dad worked so hard though.. must be a tough line of work... could anything tempt you back to the rat race..?..

Lou - keeping a spend diary is a great idea. I was amazed how my funds were dripping out of my account when I did one in December... you have made a massive achievment with your re-payments and I am sure you will make a brilliant step for change in 2013... you are inspirational!!!

Right now - bed is calling me although I am tempted to stay up and watch Scary Movie 4...:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Onwards and Upwards!!!

Siouxsie32

Happy New Year everyone _party_

I'm also super excited about what 2013 holds. I was watching the fireworks tonight kat thinking that this time next year, the London fireworks will be for you and your amazing achievement of getting debt free! For me, next year's fireworks will mark the start of the year I'm going to be debt free! I'm just 12 little months behind you

Bummer about the living arrangements. I'd LOVE to live a little closer to the centre of London (actually, if truth be told I'd love to live on the river but I think I'd have to permanently live my life at this pace in order to pay for it so perhaps a slower life and a readjusted dream may be a more sensible aim).

Until then, the focus will remain on the quest for a debt free life. I feel so lucky to have found such a kindred spirit and so many lovely, supportive new friends in this thread. I hope we can share successes, hiccups, curve balls and many more interesting stories in 2013

:):):):)

eco_farmer

morning all happy new year:D

Well NSK we are quite a big farm( national avg just over100) we have 280 ladies on our books! at the moment they are all on "holiday" ready to start work again in february! and yes i agree the milk tastes much nicer out of the tank than it does in the shop!
Its very difficult for me to have a balanced view on whether our cows have a better life than those who are housed 365. On the one hand our cows have been breed to produce less milk so are more able to put up with the difficult weather conditions that can associated with grazing for 300 days a year i would argue that this is what nature intended a calf in the spring and no milk in the winter when conditions are tough. those on other systems can quite rightly argue that having cows in sheds all the time means the weather isn't a factor the cow can concerntrate on her job which is eating the food placed in front of her to produce milk efficiently. In my personal opinion as long as you have the right cow for your system i,e friesians jerseys etc for grazing and holsteins for total housing systems and you have good management then both systems can work well for the farmer and the cow.
As you may be aware the supermarkets as with all products takes more than its fair share of margin this has lead to under investment in some parts of our industry which could be argued is holding back improvements in welfare. But it does seem that the supermarkets are increasing aware of this and some like M&S and waitrose now pay for and demand higher standards.

LILT you asked how long are cows are milked for well ours are in milk for an average of 280 days/lactation a year and we average 5 lactations per cow. our cow produce about 6.3tons of milk a year. I feel a little uneasy about the term industrialised but its out there so... there cows would normally have a lactation of around 380-400 days produce between 9 and 12 tons of milk over that period. they would avg 3 lactations on the whole . both system have cows that do many more lactations than the average we currently have cows that have done 10+yrs and on the whole our avg is rising.
and finally don't feel guilty about buying milk at a cheaper price. i have always felt uneasy about asking the customer to pay more especially when times are tough. the challenge has always been to have fairness in the supply chain supermarkets have made massive money from dairy products and all the majority of farmers want is a fairer slice of that pie.

please say if my posts are too long they seem to take up the whole page:eek:
eco

and NSK i try not to work to hard hense we have 6 wks off milking now and No there is nothing that would tempt me into joining the rat race though if it wasn't for the SKYARTs channels it could be argued culturally i'm missing out!

lou2003uk

I have lost my motivation today :-( neighbours had party's until 6am so I am very very tired with the noise :-( ...

Must regain healthy saving head soon...:j:mad:

Spent 2 hours on incoming outgoing spreadsheets last night...

abundant1972

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Wow - 01st January. I keep thinking... if all goes to plan... this time next year I'll be posting something saying how it feels to be debt free and thanking everyone for their support... Am going to really focus energy into that reality - it IS going to pass!!!

My January DMP payment went out knocking my total debt under the £10,000 mark finally! That's quite an achievement and feels like I'm on the downward slope from here on...

My thoughts are with you too Kat as you start looking for a new place to live. Having moved twice last year - I understand how important it is to find somewhere you feel settled. Am sending you lots of positive vibes - and hope a happy home finds you soon!!!

Loving the holiday idea too. Can't remember the last time I went away - so might try and factor in a couple of long weekends if I can. When am debt free will plan a bigger one to celebrate!

Am signing off for tonight but will catch you all really soon.

:cool: