The Ultimate February Challenge

YORKSHIRELASS

poodlegal wrote: »

YORKSHIRELASS I know the feeling about just wanting to tell people you cant afford it. At our old running club I was constantly finding excuses not to go on socials and tey even used to run marathons abroad and i'd get invited and it was so far out of my league moneywise it was a joke!

My parents have paid for us to go away with them in June which is great but i'm wishing now we had declined as I need to renew 2 passports, pay for dog kennels, luggage, clothes etc etc and with three kids spending money it still wont be cheap. I'm really dreading it to be honest. If it wasnt my mums 60th bash theres no way we would be going. :eek:

Thank you x Thats the problem I have - I cant relax and enjoy holidays and treats any more if I cant really afford it - or if I feel like I should be paying that money off the cards instead. Thats one thing I am aiming for once these debts are gone - a nice guilt free break away somewhere.

poodlegal

Yeah, me and DH have still not had a honeymoon, we've only been married 11 yrs! :eek: Hoping to get to the Seychelles before they dont exist any more!

nannygladys

Hi everyone

:bdaycake:Happy birthday Yorkshire Lass

Been at work today, 3 down and 1 to go before a couple of days off:)

Another SFD for me, been speaking to DD3 this pm and we have decided to have a baby spending day in a couple of weeks she only has 10 weeks to go so we'd better start soon:) she does have a load of stuff but theres always more to get.

Not much been happening , cant be bothered cooking so just had beans on toast, and going to have an early night so I dont feel so tired tomorrow,

Jxx
PS weather here has been gorgeous here

Learning2Budget

Evening........i am weak but i have now realised that the weakness is post nights lack of motivation and planning. Macdonalds breakfast on way home from work, then because i forgot to get the pork out we ended up doing a supermarket run for pizza which suddenly incorporated chocolate n sweets n crisps. Not good and i shall berate myself for my actions. :-(

I have been of target this month:, poorly organised and just haven't had my eye on the ball. Halfterm next week too which could be expensive if Im not frugal. So i am off to Google cheap ideas
..... no Im not. I am off to Google free ideas.

Focus L2B.x

Siouxsie32

Evening everyone :wave: Loving the stories!

Massive congratulations to Thrifty and a huge Happy Birthday :bdaycake: to Yorkshire Lass

I've been a bit MIA as well this month (and not the best UFCer ). My bank account is empty, my kitchen is still unusable and I ran out of electricity overnight so what few bits of yummy home cooked bits I had all defrosted so had to be chucked out!

On the plus side, I've been going to the gym for some free fun (:eek:), it's payday in precisely 10 days and I managed to get some free rubber gloves today .

I had a rubbish(ish) night on ebay...although I did manage to bring in £40 after fees etc. Normally this would go straight to my credit card but I need to keep hold of it as I have to feed myself for 10 more days. Gutted, this would have taken my Capital One, current debt of choice, below £400 but c'est la vie. It'll not be long til the balance is zero, I just need to be patient.

I have a pair of boots I've been contemplating taking back. I bought them 4 months ago (can still get a refund) and haven't worn them, although I LOVE them :happyhear. I saw another pair £60 cheaper elsewhere so I tried Martin's trick of looking at the original boots, then looking at the new boots + £60 and it really works! I don't like the new ones anywhere near as much, but I'll not wear them very often (going out boots!), so for the sake of £60 to the debtbusting challenge, I think I'll take the old ones back :sad: and get the new ones - WHEN I GET THE MONEY TO PAY FOR THEM!!!! Pre-explaining everything to kat, I wouldn't have contemplated taking the original boots back cos I love them. Even then, I'd have bought the new ones even if I didn't have the money, so although I've been a bit naughty with all my unplanned spends in February, I still call this progress! The cost of the new boots? £20 using money off vouchers

abundant1972

Hi everybody!!!

First & foremost - CONGRATULATIONS Thrifty + Hubby! There are some good ones left! Very romantic <sigh>

Happy Birthday YLass too!!! :beer:

Sorry I haven't been around much... haven't fallen off the wagon - life has just been really busy... and I've been super tired!!! Am also trying to come off my anti-depressants... so my mood has been up and down like a yo-yo! Still am determined! Am feeling so much more settled now, and I just want to be able to feel something again!!! They've been a great help when life took a slide - but it feels like time to try without the safety net.

My focus on MSEing has been a little off centre, but never far from my mind...

Today = SFD number 11

I have a whole :j £1.12 :j left until the end of the month HA HA!!! I was thinking a movie... then dinner... a weekend break... :rotfl:Good news is my cupboards and freezer are FULL of yummy stuff. I just have to resist the local chip shop which is just a little too close for my liking LOL!

NSK - when do you go to Oz... How far are you off your goal (money-wise)? It's all very exciting!!!

10 days to pay day - hoorah! This month I should see the fruits of my overtime so hoping to make an overpayment off my debts. Fingers crossed!!!

Catch you later!!!

PurpleJay

Morning All, how are you doing?

It is day one of half term and me and M have had a lazyish morning. I have done some washing (second load in) and the dishwasher. I have been making lists and tidying paperwork (aka throwing away old lists), I love lists lol I need to spend more time doing and less time planning what to do!

My new bag has arrived and I love it, love it, love it :j So pleased I decided to return the other one (a smaller, squarer cross body version) and that the price had come down on this one

It is this one. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bailey-Quinn-Black-Leather-Hertford/dp/B009KXHM36 now out of stock at amazon and Debenhams. RRP £150 and I got it at 70% off!!! It is lovely, loads of pockets and just the right size.

Yesterday was nearly a SFD but then I bought hubby another birthday pressie... budgeted for but not helping with my totals! Today might be one, not sure yet. I have a hospital appointment this afternoon and I think hubby and son are taking me so not sure if we will go anywhere else.

I have pasta planned for tea. Have been daydreaming again about giving up work and doing avon/ebaying full time. Still if this week is anything to go by there is no chance, out of the items listed for me only one sold for 99p! I have some more up on Wed so will see how they go. Hubby did well again though. I suppose the difference is, he is buying stuff to sell which he thinks people will want, and I am mostly trying to sell our old tat!

Car is back and seems happy. I hope nothing else goes wrong though, hubby lost his phone on friday, he thinks on the bus and will be ringing lost property today. Noone there at the weekend!

Right time to set the timer and do a 15 minute tidy up in M's room, I am going to get him to help.

xxx

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi all

Thank you for the birthday wishes!! You made me smile. My brother is taking me out for a meal tonight, just the two of us like old times when we used to go drinking together - except the alcohol consumption will be much lower.

And we have been invited out for tea tomorrow night - I am doing well for free feeds this week! Hubby will need feeding tomorrow though as he cant come so I might make him a steak and kidney pudding which is his favourite but the kids dont like it.

PJ, that bag is lovely. Nice size too, big enough to get everything in but still neat enough to look smart.

Abundant, hold on to that determination, positive thinking all the way. And I might join you on that weekend break, I fancy somewhere hot and sunny. Hubby has £211 in his business account and nothing coming in. I normally take £650 out a month to put in the joint account which somehow doesnt add up.

Ah well. Off to make a cake to take to friends tomorrow. Kids are very quiet. They have either murdered each other or are watching a DVD. Hopefully its the latter. Have a good day all x

karmachilovething

hello all! Checking in after the weekend.

I've noticed February has been a quieter month than January. Good for me though, because it means I can actually keep up with the thread! And I don't think it's any indication of the efforts going on behind the scenes!

OK, so Friday turned out to be spendy - went to London to visit BF, who is recovering from flu. Really (some - in deference to the male UFC-ers!) men like to milk it eh? BF does have Eore tendancies, but I wasn't expecting that level of lethargy!

Anyway, because he's lost his appetite, there was no food in the house. Off I went to T3scos and the chinese take away (naughty but nice!). But putting shopping on grocery budget, and chinese on social I'm actually doing kind of OK . . . I had to reload my Oyster card too, so that has blown the travel budget completely, but that's the way it goes.

The rest of the weekend was super quiet, so two more NSD - however that puts me on 10 today, and so I don't think I'm going to make 20 as I was aiming for. I definitely have spends on Saturday for moving day, so best I can get to in is 19 SFDs which is what I'm going to aim for.

Most of this week is going to be taken up with packing and organising for the move. Plenty to be done, but I think it will be fine. Also eating up what's left in the freezer as much as possible.

NinjaSavingKat

So glad everyone is so honest about their failings thus far! Not just me then! I don't know what it is about this month but I have flagged somewhat. I wonder if its all to do with a lack of stipulated SFD's?:rotfl:

On a more serious note I am out, completely and utterly of my £150 budget. I have resorted to lunch at work on more than one occasion, bought fizzy drinks, fallen off the "no-sugar" wagon with a thump, bought food yesterday in town ( Whoopsie! ). I miscalculated my funds and thought after all is withdrawn that i would only have £90 left. I actually had around £140 left. So I got a little TOO comfortable.

I have £60 left in my account ( all went on food grabbed at the last minute ) and £35 left in my petrol account. This is a rough estimate though!!

I am NOT proud of myself but again, the eBay sales ( shocked myself ) made me a little too comfortable. I have 10 items finishing soon with on average 3 people watching each item with 11 people on one and a second with 7 watchers. These are only items on between £4.99 - £31.99 but if they all sell its another £156 on the total. I doubt they all will but I have all fingers crossed.

So Australia is on my brain, I have had my passport application arrive on my door with a fee of £155. This might be my Birthday present to myself. I basically now NEED to clear this debt I have by the end of the year if it kills me.... ( people check out my actual thread of my journey ..."Ultimate Challenge ; 457 days / £16,600 "....).. and the collate £6000 to get over there, via Japan and have enough to start a job and survive if this does not happen straight away. So we are talking about before my birthday next year ( April 2014 ).. long way off but I need to start planning now...

Siouxsie what a month for you eh? Payday for me is the 28th I think. I have enough food in so should survive but I know how you feel about eBay / Paypal money. I refuse to withdraw mine just yet as it HAS to pay for my hotel in Italy.. I just need another £83 ..but I had to do the same thing in December last year and it really annoyed me...

I have nothing planned for the following few days. I have a friends babies 1st Birthday on Sunday and that's it. I am going to collate all the pictures that I have taken of Bub in the last year and put it in a little booklet for her and maybe get him a stuffed cat...( he seems obsessed with cats and I am determined to make his first word "meow"....:rotfl:)...

So I think I might be able to scrape through until the end of the month. Then and only then will I get to see how much overtime is coming my way from December and January. Due to the amount that I worked I will CRY is I am not able to put away at least £1200. I have one more payday after this to go until I head to Italy for 7 days, then have to move as soon as I return. However this may happen prior to me heading away so I need as much money as possible! Grr!!

Right - thats enough from me. Keep the confessions coming!

****Hands up who wants a March Challenge though! Just click thanks to this message if you do and I will go by the number of willing participants!!! ****

Right then, I have to hit the last few minutes of work with a big stick then I am on my way home. More eBaying on the cards for me.....

Onwards and Upwards!!