NSK; "The Janus Illusion".

Billie-jo

No spend days - 15/20 Managed to nab another NSD today -every one’s a prisoner.

Pre arranged outings 2 with budget of £30 in total £0/£30 the outings have been postponed until later on so have stashed the £30 that was allocated for them into the savings account.


Although not a task set on this challenge - this month will be the 10th in a row that I have not incurred ANY bank charges. (Deliriously happy about this one) would add loads of the smilies here but I haven't been able to get them to work for a while now.

apple_muncher

tea-lover, no way is 8 NSD measly! Well done on getting each and every one of them:T:T:T. Walking the school run is a good start. There's an awful lot to focus on with kat's challenges, but that's the thrill of them! Finding out your strengths and not-quite-so-strong-bits so that you can improve a little every month.

billie-jo, well done to you on no bank charges - again!:T:T:T

loveadove, I bow to your NSD total! (insert bowing smilie here) I can imagine you striding through the shopping area, head held high, wearing a super smug face as the sellers try to tempt you to buy and you leave them wailing in your wake.

stewby, well done on the cc amount :T:T

Mrs GSR, you seem to have spent the month with pooly littl'uns. Hope Feb brings better health. My dd has just turned 6 so can move up to 'big girl' Ca1po1, which is 1/2 the previous dose. A moneysaver when it's £6 a bottle!

dolly84 well done on those price comparisons - 10/10 for dedication and perseverance :T:T

luckystar, glad you're staying with us in Feb!

his missus, well done to you on not panicking over the cc dates - how pesky!

calling, my thoughts are with you tomorrow. Do hope Feb is a time of rest, recovery and joy for you :grouphug:

kat, great news on thehouse but 'boooooooo' and :shocked: to having to pay far every bus trip. Have you looked on gumtree for bikes? And you mentioned the next challenge - so excited!

Put a few of dd's old dressing up outfits on our local facebk site and have sold 3 - yippee! Only £2 each as want them to go, and if they don't sell, then off to Sally Army they go. Dd wants a new lunchbox so have said we'll use the money for that. Tis a sad ocassion as she leaves her ScoobyDoo one behind in preference for ... Princesses!

Enough wittering for now. Just one more sleep til payday...

shyspender

Checking in with SFD 17

I had planned to pop to tescimos after work to pick up a few bits, not essentials but with having six days off now, would have got me through until Saturday.

Had a headache when I woke up and nothing shifted it. Ended up leaving work an hour early and heading home, without stopping at tescimos, and going to bed for three hours. Feel a little better now but still not 100%.

I had lunch at work but only managed one bite before i thought i was going to be sick so ended up throwing it all away.
Now going to have to go out tomorrow to get a few bits, a little bit of comforty food to try and get me back on track.

Going to be a day at home other than that tomorrow. I need to chase up a few things. Need to check if my contents insurance covers a boiler break down.

So looking forward to the alarms not going off in the morning! S@ds law says i will be wide awake before they go off, but i don't have to get out of bed.

Making a few plans for the little trip away in Feb too. It's not going to be totally MSE but i'm looking into what we can do and what there is available. That's on tomorrow's list too.

splodgethefirst

Good evening all,

not had a very MSE day - bought my supplies for work (including treat for co-worker who's helped me with some paperwork) but i did spend sub a fiver - which could've been a lot worse.

found 13p on the ground got lots of nice jingly change in my big M

i have sneaky suspicions i won't be increase the SFD count at this rate ...

Tea-lover_2

Ahh thank you apple muncher, I feel a lot better now you are so right, if I improve a little each month I will get where I want to be

My oldest girl loved scooby doo too, I remember her watching an episode when she was about 5 and I looked over and she was crying her eyes out cos Fred and daphne had fallen out :rotfl: so cute! She is so sentimental, takes after me lol! She is 9 now so we have moved on to the disney channel rubbish like Selena Gomez etc, well I suppose it could be worse, could be one direction :eek::rotfl:

Fmess

Evening all

Spend day here today (cakes for work tomo) and yesterday (new tyres :mad: ) so can't make 20 SFDs this month but should make 18 or 19 by the end of the week

Took lunch to work, walked the dogs and no alcohol

I too am very grateful for the lessons and habits I have learnt from this challenge. Although I am in debt, I have never been so financially savvy and I'm really looking forward to ploughing through the debt over the next 23 months

Sorry I've forgotten who asked about bank accounts... I am with First Direct and can highly recommend them, plus they usually have a £100/£125 offer for new customers. I find them so easy to deal with, everything you need is online and easy to use, and they are fantastic over the phone if you do want to speak to a real person.

Well done to all those paying off debts/ccards with their new pay packets. Bring on the February Challenge

Superdopsa

Evening all.


Up to 15 SFDs now - well chuffed with that.


I have had a pay rise too! I have a temporary job and get paid weekly in arrears - I got paid on Friday and I am now £35.22 a week better off! I knew I had a pay rise but didn't want to say anything until I knew how much it was after deductions. In the 'olden days' I would have bought myself something as a treat, but now I am more concerned how I can spend that extra money on debt busting. My loan is quite small and I would like to pay it off by the end of June so fingers crossed . . .


Like a lot of people on this thread, my attitude to spending money has changed over the past few months. I have now realised that there is lots to do without spending any (or much) money. I quite often would 'treat' myself or buy something to cheer myself up, but now can find so much more to do. I also think you should persevere with these challenges. I gave up during the 2nd month I was doing these - because I knew I couldn't meet all the targets. I now realise these are targets - I do my best to reach them - but if I don't I just vow to look at what I have spent and try to do better the next month. Just don't give up!!!


On another note, I went for a run before work this morning and loved it! I lost my mojo recently but am getting it back - I think because I know that spring is on the way and it is getting lighter!


Have a good Tuesday everyone and check in again tomorrow.

Siouxsie32

LoveaDove wrote: »

Delightfully brainwashed and acquiring the Siouxsie Stoop™

Love it :rotfl::rotfl: I did come eyeball to eyeball with a Big Issue seller tonight. We both saw someone drop a penny - he saw me spot it and he ran after it as it was still rolling. I'd have let him win. I gave him my change just cos he entertained me

A big spendy day today - I finally did my tax return! And I had an underarm wax...plus a trip to Wholefoods so I'm fully loaded up on kale and spinach! I found a great recipe for mint choc chip smoothie and my kale/spinach and cacao nibs are already in my blender, waiting for the avocado and mint leaves to be added in the morning - I'm like a kid at Christmas when I discover new smoothie recipes to try!

Like a few others, I've overspent on my food budget. It's been such a long month hasn't it?

My payslip was published tonight and I got £147 extra (some back payment or other from last year) :j Just as well as I have a huuuuuge credit card bill to pay (huge on the new scale of having no usual credit card bill to pay rather than the pre-LBM huge, which would have been mighty huge!!). Still, it has to be paid by the end of February - there's no way I'm carrying any of it forward and paying interest!!!

Fmess, I just opened a First Direct account (for the free £100) and I agree with what you say about their customer service. I've spoken to them twice, and it's been a really nice experience so far!

With regards to the Halifax Reward Account thrifty, if your pay dips below £750, there's nothing to stop you withdrawing some money and paying it in again so you get your £5

mooomin

I didn't get a SFD yesterday as the gig I thought was tonight was actually last night When Mr Mooo's sister showed up I was already in my dressing gown, so we had to hotfoot it to the other side of the country and my carefully planned dinner was out so I had to buy chips instead :rotfl:

apple_muncher

Today's my spendy day :j:j:j! Off to search out a new lunchbag for dd so will trawl round the charity shops too, take a bag to Sally Army, then do a food shop. It's also catch up on jobs day so certainly won't get bored! I find that if I set the timer for 15 - 30 mins, depending on the job, then I enjoy getting it done more.

Snowdrops are out - such brave little plants being the first of the year! Looking forward to being out and about, in daylight (albeit gloomy daylight!), upping my step count.