September's Step-Up!!!

Superdopsa

Hi all.

Another spend day for me today - albeit a small one. Spent £2.45 at lunchtime on a latch hook.

Did manage to walk to and from work again, and had a packed lunch.

Updated totals as follows:

Food - £30.44/£100
Misc - £25.70/£120
Petrol - 0/£70

Hoping to manage a run before work in the morning - fingers crossed I can motivate myself to get up early enough!

Have a good day tomorrow everyone and will check in again tomorrow night.

mrso2b

Low spend day today - me and OH had coffee whilst waiting for the train

No exercise today

No alcohol

I'm def spending less than I used to on this challenge! I've not done my usual big weekly shop, just been topping up which is def saving me money!

AnnieBox

This is my check in for Monday 9th, time has flown by me tonight! My food budget is looking like it may be too tight may have to adjust it, this challenge is a very tough learning curve!

I still have only 4 Spend free days so far this month.

*walked on lunch break for exercise
*Still no energy drinks


Budget so far:

Food: £13/£20
Petrol: £20/£40
Other: £20/£100

fyggy

Hello hello fellow MSErs

I write now able to wear a fabulous orange headband having completed 12 very hilly (Yorkshire!) miles of mud, freezing water, large fences, high jumps, electric shocks, barbed wires and more mud & shocks, aka Tough Mudder!! Our team did brilliantly and clocked in just over 3hrs. They were fab. All pulled together, started as a team and finished as a team. Very proud.

Also very bruised, cut and grazed all over especially knees & elbows. But they'll heal. The worst part of the race was the cold. You're in and out of water all the time and up the top of hills, windy and also queuing at times to get on/through the obstacles. Very chilly by the 10mile mark. As a team we've raised so far nearly £2000 for Help for Heroes. How great is that? Thank you for all the well wishes.

So aside from being epic, I have still been MSEing, albeit an expensive month! Here are my totals:
Fuel: 75/225. We got a lift there, to hotel after and back home the following day so saved some of our fuel, just paid the parking fee for Tough Mudder at a tenner (budgeted)
Food: 37.73/150. First proper shop. Managed to stick to £35 budget for L1dls and the other part of that is some milk.
SFDs: 5/18. Getting there. Spent as predicted on Fri & Sat. Then today was shopping day so not SFD.
AFDs: 28/28. That's my run of them before Tough Mudder completed! Had my first drink on Saturday at the end of the race. Then a few afterwards at the celebratory meal. I'm not a big drinker these days but its a busy month so I don't doubt I'll be drinking during the rest of the month.
Exercise: 7hours so far. Not that much for me. I had to have a restful week prior to TM. But back in the gym again now on a new programme

Sadly I have had some CC spends. But I have £330 coming in a week on Friday and also hopefully another 100 from 2nd job. I have some things to list on eB.ay to try and generate some cash to cover those expenses.

Keep going fellow Sept Steppers

lotti379

fyggy wrote: »

Hello hello fellow MSErs

I write now able to wear a fabulous orange headband having completed 12 very hilly (Yorkshire!) miles of mud, freezing water, large fences, high jumps, electric shocks, barbed wires and more mud & shocks, aka Tough Mudder!! Our team did brilliantly and clocked in just over 3hrs. They were fab. All pulled together, started as a team and finished as a team. Very proud.

Also very bruised, cut and grazed all over especially knees & elbows. But they'll heal. The worst part of the race was the cold. You're in and out of water all the time and up the top of hills, windy and also queuing at times to get on/through the obstacles. Very chilly by the 10mile mark. As a team we've raised so far nearly £2000 for Help for Heroes. How great is that? Thank you for all the well wishes.

Congratulations!! That is a fantastic achievement and a fantastic amount to raise! Well done!

lotti379

Superdopsa wrote: »

Hoping to manage a run before work in the morning - fingers crossed I can motivate myself to get up early enough!

Did you go?

I can never manage it, I am definitely an evening runner. Lovely to wind down at the end of the day!

NinjaSavingKat

Good Morning!


What a start I have had... got the train to the tube station having gotten up 30 minutes late. Moggy woke me up at 0400 wanting back into the house and with an hour to go I was sure I'd get up... nope. Made the usual train but realised I forgot my staff pass and train ticket. Did I want to buy one for the day..nope. Trudged home, back on the train, into work and hey presto 1 hour late. No one cares though. #feelingthelove.

Any newbies... membership is closed for the month. please please lurk and see how we do things and post a wee bit about yourselves and your debt levels - I encourage complete outtage and honesty and about our fight. Official numbers and placings will be happily given next month as I need your attention from day one and we are already 10 days into September.

Am reading a trash book at the moment. I sometimes interject with a carp book between intellectual ones to rest my tired brain in the morning. In this particular one a young girl takes on a sugar daddy as she is considerably in debt. And he pays off all her debts for her AND gives her a black Amex card... ahhhh a simple life eh....#coughcough...:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Am off to a friends gallery showing today.. I think this is her end of degree showing as she is studying photo journalism... something makes me think she completed her project in Panama.... nice for some though...

So I am stacked full of food... as I finish work early and have a few hours to kill until this evening... but my goodness I am tired... I am managed only 30 hours of OT this month and am aiming for another 11 at least.. thats two more shifts or there abouts.. or if I can wing a 12 hour in one hit I would be happy...

Fyggy - well done on the money raised. And for HTH.. so proud of you chickadee... at least there are no broken bones eh? Am trying to bribe a friend to join me on the Spartan run..:T..your current exercise regime is making me feel sick though especially the enthusiastic "for a new programme"...:):):)

AnnieBox - what are you particularily learning about..? Adjustments will have to be made as you end up scutinising everything.... it's good though..

Cottage_retreatist.. I have that thread loaded and am going to have a gander at it shortly...

Thrifty - so true! And the main expense that I have each week if fruit and veg..

Zoominov... did you pay for everyone..? Why..? I know it's hard though when "it's your turn" ....:o

Right... I need to catch up on fun things in my office... I don't want to. I want to go back to bed...:)

Check in again soon...

NinjaSavingKat

Andrar a MASSIVE congratualtions to you .. I would LOVE to live on my own.,...

andrar

NinjaSavingKat wrote: »

Andrar a MASSIVE congratualtions to you .. I would LOVE to live on my own.,...

Thanks NSK! Its been a tough few years but I feel like I achieved something, saving up for the deposit and fees and taking the agency leap of faith has paid off!

Yesterday was a low spend day for me but unplanned so I've had to borrow from next week's food fund. I've been up since 4am not feeling too great so going to work at lunchtime to try and catch up on some sleep now.

Now to find a man with a van for a reasonable price...

NinjaSavingKat

SO I have been thinking about my food expenditure and it's annoying me. I posted a picture on FB last night that amounted to around £1.11 for the meal which to me is WAY too much. I duly tried Jack's staple of tinned everyday value potatoes and apart from the preservative and their slightly too perfect surface they tasted fine... it was pointed out that Lidl's had an offer of potatoes for 89p although I wasn't told how heavy this amounted to ( or who posted as everyones names were different).. but the tinned ones work out at 30p for 1KG according to Jack.. albeit the less healthy option..

On the side amounst the regular accoutriments of YS rocket and half a tom I had a Everyday Value Veggie grill thing. Now these are £1 for 4 and they are superbly thin. If you are feeding a growing teenage you would have to use two at least.. meaning 50p alone just for them... way too much when Jack's carrot and cumin burger are 9p each. Shocking if you ask me.

I also purchase on Saturday night 2 packs of veggie sausages for £3 for 20. They are 15p each and again way too much in my book but they are lovely chopped into tom sauce on pasta... but if any veggie out there has used them, or anyone for that matter and can suggest a way of making them work harder please let me know.. they are Tesco veggie links, not the denser Quorn ones..

Vegan cheese was a complete unnessesary purchase but might make some meals a little bit different...this cost me £2.20

These were my downfalls - not massive I am sure you say but to me they added £6.20 to my expenditure..

When I think of what Jack is living on I am a little bit annoyed with myself, I like a good challenge though..

So... I am going to add my loose change into the pot.. (£5.27 left over with pennies from the misc budget roaming around ) and buy a few more basic items today or tomorrow... and live then on what I have bought for the next two weeks. I will not be replacing the vegetables or fruit but will make them stand the test of time....

Que a lot of lentils / kidney beans and red lentils I have tucked away... what I forgot to buy myself was more kidney beans and sufficients stocks of tinned toms...

It's time to get imaginative.... I think I am punishing myself for being too flippant in my spending and for spending so much already and only on day 10. I will make it all stretch don't worry...:o

Any suggestions on vegetables that will last.. looks like I need to hit the frozen section... shame I barely have room in the freezer - might need to speak to LLL about this today..

Right thats me... Sorry for the waffle...