NSK; The August Fairwell

dolly84

I am in for August, thanks for the new challenge NSK, very sad it is your last one though.

I am back from my holidays and have caught up with July, I failed on SFD's but I knew it would be difficult. I should be able to manage 12 this month but again I have the children at home for the whole month and another holiday planned.

I kept within the budget for our holiday, everything was paid for in cash and we brought home £28.

Caeraugirl

So now I have my shiny new NSK number (17) I have to actually commit to some targets.....

I'm a MFW and this is now our only real debt, but with OH defiantly not on board I'm chipping away on my own until I can get him round to my way of thinking. The reason I wanted to join you all here though is my need to set a monthly budget and, the hard part, stick to it!

Having prided (i.e. deluded) myself that I'm good with money for a long time - no longer using overdraft, paying off CC in full every month - I've slowly realised that I'm just using the CC as a replacement overdraft, as the balance creeps up every month and leaves me little or nothing on payday to use before I have to start using the card again. Doing this with no budget, I was really heading for trouble. I've gradually managed to turn this around over the last few months so hope to start with a full, realistic budget from next month. I've already done a mega shop to feed myself, OH and 2 DS when I got paid near the end of last month, so if I can stick to meal plans and the targets below, I hope to finally start living within my means and start hammering the mortgage. Just hope I can stick within budget with some school holiday entertainment thrown in!

Sorry for long ramble, now for the plan:

August SFD's 0/12 (never consciously done this before, hope it'll be more)

Items to eBay 0/20 (optimistic but that was the minimum, may need to get creative.......)

Food: 0/£100 (possibly achievable as have already done mega shop, but have three food monsters at home)

Exercise: 0/18

Planned spends: Nephew / Brother birthdays - £10, hairdresser (already booked months ago) - £60, Girls' night out - £30, activities with kids - £70 budgeted but hopefully less, just needed to be realistic as school hols..... So total = £170. Oops, that's a lot!

Petrol: 0/£80 - have to collect and return mum for her summer 2 week visit to us, so gonna cost more for those trips than usual petrol budget for the whole month.

Okay, think that's it for now. I love it when a plan comes together.......

homemademama

Day one and here are my targets:

August SFD's: 0/12
Food spends: £200 (hopefully less though, just not used to including lunches for 5 people on this amount of money)
Planned Expenses: Nothing planned for this month
Exercise: 0/16
Decluttered: 0/50 (maybe not all through eBay, hope that's ok!)

Have a great day everyone x

Munchin

Hi all

I am looking forward to the final month -

SFD - x/12
Groceries - £x/£115
Odd - £x/£60
Petrol - x/£125
Ebay - x/20
Exercise - x/16

My ultimate goal when it comes to money is to save up a month's wages and budget from it the following month so that I am a step ahead and have savings

Good luck everyone

MagicCat

Hello everyone,

Lovely to be here for August :j- great to see people from the last couple of months I've been with the challenges, people returning and new people!

Apologies for this epic post - trying to set out in my own mind what I'm aiming for - I need to have clear goals if I hope to achieve them!

12 SFDs - I MUST do this. A couple of months ago I got 18, last month it was a laughable 8. I MUST PLAN!
DFD - Nov 2015, paying at current rate. So close to being sub 20k! Have paid to the debt and really tried to challenge myself - I have no options this month after this, MUST stick to the budget. It will be an expensive month, as car insurance and breakdown cover are due, and service/MOT is due beginning of Sept - might do this end of Aug, depends when I can book in the car. And I have the dentist - I have been saving for car stuff over the year, should be enough for the basics, but praying it is good news for both me and the car or it will have to be the CC and pay off next month.
Birthday budget is high again - I mentioned this last month, need to work on this, but we seem to have so many people to buy for each month and OH particularly is very generous, it is MIL's birthday this weekend and he has got her a present and is taking her out.
Grocery budget - I did well last month on this (for me!), but this month we are hosting a party for MIL's birthday, and having friends to stay over the bank holiday weekend, so have upped it a bit - £190.
Meal out - planning to go out to celebrate mine and OH's birthdays, otherwise will be strong and say no!
Budgets:
Groceries 0/£190 (0/£20 buffer)
Petrol/parking 0/£90
Personal (prescription/toiletries etc) 0/£12
House 0/£25
Birthdays 0/£100
Car (MOT/insurance/breakdown) 0/£550
Social 0/£40
Dentist 0/£20
PIO - I LOVE this! Kat, you are such an inspiration - thanks to you I am regularly donating to my local food bank, and this is another lovely idea, will be on the lookout for something to do.
Ebay - This is a hard one for me, have already sold more or less everything that is not nailed down and not sure anyone will pay for what is left! I find ebay a bit rubbish now as with fees and postage, I really don't seem to make anything. But it is the challenge, so will have to see what I can do! 0/20
Exercise - I go to a gym class daily and try to get a run at weekends BUT my daily activity is poor. I need to get my pedometer going again - setting a daily target of 6000 steps (not high but I fear I only do about 2000 at most at present!) Sessions 0/25 steps 0/186000


My legacy
This is tough, I think what you've said about thoughtlessly and selfishly affecting the future by current spending is so true for me. What I really want to move towards is starting a family. So what do I need to do to get there? Obviously paying off the debt, I also need to focus on working on the house, accepting it is a work in progress, but doing what I can to make it better. (For anyone interested, it is a long story, but we were lucky enough to buy our first home last year, bit of a wreck but lots of building work has been going on for the past 6 months, now fighting with builders to get them to finish the final touches such as floor in kitchen [it is concrete with holes at the moment] and chasing in wires etc).
Still living out of boxes is not good for my mental health, and just because some things need to still be done, doesn't mean I can't sort what I'm able to. I need to eat properly, and stop stuffing unhealthy snacks and reverse the steady upward trend of my weight - I will feel better if my clothes fit again! If I'm going to be any sort of parent, I need to be less stressed and more positive. I also can't put my life on hold until i get what I want, like a petulant child who isn't allowed a cake so refuses to eat at all. There are lots of things that bring me joy - I need to get back to these. I want my legacy to be contentment - being content with what I have is at the root of being able to keep working on paying off the debt, and staying debt free once it's done.
So – Legacy of contentment plan:
House - paint bathroom and kitchen, put up shelves for books and unpack, arrange downstairs furniture, sort out spare room so friends can stay! 0/5
Mental health - follow the lovely Applemuncher's example and think of things to be grateful for daily, start doing daily mindfulness 0/31
Health - allowing time for eating and eating well. 0/31
Joy - doing some knitting, baking and learning something new - will try the fishtail plait that Dolly84 inspired last month! 0/3

If anyone is still reading, thank you for making it through - looking forward to supporting each other through this month.

apple_muncher

magicCat, I love the idea of your legacy being contentment!

I've had to up my food and travel budgets hugely this month, despite it being the school hols. My uncle has now been moved to a hospice, and is nearing the end of his life. We are planning to have a family holiday somewhere in the West Country later this month so that I can get to say goodbye - he lives right down in Cornwall. But, he may not last til then, so we may need to do a last-minute visit, and a funeral.

I'm also going to stay with my mum for a few days with dd at the end of the month, so more fuel/train tickets.

And when we are away so much, we seem to spend more on food - especially if I let dh loose!

However, we are currently redecorating dd's room. It was a pale green and I've spent recent days painting it white. Now it is a blank canvas for her to decorate in her own 6year old inimitable style! She's done some today while I finally got the landing walls done. All done using paint we already have, or mixing emulsion with poster paints! So...all free.

I plan to craft 45 items again this month - I'm loving my sewing machine! Dd's school has a Cmas fair (29 nov this year) and I want to have a stall to sell my stuff. Dd likes to make things too, and I have plenty of material to use (thanks to the £1 racks in charity shops), so this should also be free.

Exercise is set high as I'm not at work, so now is a great opportunity to go for it! I'm back onto ZWOWs on alternate days, plus repeating the Jiggle free routine with jump squats and jump lunges this time.

With this month's budget and the unknown expenses, I don't have my usual surplus. However, I've never been one to spend what I don't have (only have a cc because dh said to keep it for big purchases, but I usually get him to buy them and get tesc0 points), so my challenge will be to have money left in my account on 31st August.

stewby

Good afternoon and welcome to a brand new month. Hooray!!


Key Challenge Info:
* Spend-Free Days - 0/12.

* Debt Free Date - 12.12.14!! (yep, staying the same).

* Food Budget - £5/£60
This is my half. Total budget will be £120.

* Luxury Budget - £0/£50.
Failed this as wasn't going to have anything but OH suggested going away in Bongo. However, we have made meals and have found some free activities so only cost should be the anniversary pressie for my mum and dad (35 years) and the campsite.

* Other Budgets - £131/£171.
Petrol: £40. Xmas fund: £31. Secret Savings: £100.
Apart from the petrol, this has all been paid.

* Pass on a good turn... will do my best.
I do quite a lot of good turns normally but will try and find something else I can do.

* Ebay 20 things.
Sorry NSK but I am not allowed an ebay account so this one won't be happening. (I would not be able to control myself and would spend too much thinking I was getting a good deal).

* Exercise.
This will be happening. We are planning on a nice walk on Saturday (even if it is raining). I need to exercise as well as lose weight.

Legacy:
This is really difficult to figure out.
* Financially... I want to have a security blanket. I would love to pay off my debt, pay off my mortgage and have about £8000 in a savings account just sitting there. So that if something needs done to the house or we want to go on holiday, then we can. There is no credit card, no humm-ing and hey-ing, just doing it.

* Personally... I would really like to adopt. To love the idea of giving someone a stable and loving home. OH is not so keen, he is not against it but just isn't keen on children. However, I think it is just fear of the unknown as he is now looking after children a lot more and is beginning to be more comfortable with them (my nephew is 3 years old).

I am with the others on here and am stealing an idea. I am going to be more grateful for what I do have.
I am fed up of focussing on the negative stuff. As I wrote in my diary... the grass is pretty dam green on this side of the fence too.

Calling14

Well here we go again - Spent yday food/fuel/animals
Food 103.63/150.00 - higher this month, done monthly shop this time, as reckon spent more odd trips to lidl last month Freezer cupboards stocked up.
Petrol 40.11/45.00 - got half a tank hopefully will last me this month
Animals 8.71/20.00

SFD or nsd 1/20 not parting with any cash today
Ebay 1/20 listed a dress already today, like it but only worn it once.

Exercise 1/20 long walk after work.

Just want to be Debt Free. Thanks Kat 6K I have cleared so far is down to your challenges. Target March 2015 going to get a wriggle on !!!!

Siouxsie32

Good afternoon all It's great to be back!!! I promise to check in every day in August, even if it's just to say I have nothing to say!!

So, I was finished work by midday and on my way home I returned some Oyster Cards that I bought when my nieces came to say which netted me a £44.60 refund and I managed a mystery shopping visit too. Just got the report to type up now and then I'll get off to yoga for one of my exercise sessions! All in all, a good start to the month.

So, my plans for the month:
SFD = 12
Food budget = £150
Yoga classes = 25 (I may live to regret this one, but I'm gonna give it a go!!)
Ebay = 20 items (I just bagged a load of stuff to take to the charity shop, but I'll get my camera out this afternoon and try to list at least 6 items over the weekend)

Phew, sounds a lot, but I'm raring to go!!!!

Fmess

Afternoon all,


I think my theme for August is going to be spending I just had the gas man visit to service the boiler etc and ended up having to have the fire disconnected, a new hob fitted (luckily we had a spare in the garage) but the boiler was fine, so I am £150 lighter this afternoon. Luckily, I have saved money for the impending electricians visit but so far the locksmith and the gas man have had a large share of this money. This also means its not a SFD day.


I run my budgets from 25th to 24th and have done most of the food shopping for the month already, so my totals are already high. I should just need fruit, veg, bread and milk hopefully for the rest of the month.


Totals to start the official month:-
SFD 0/12
Food 190.90/270 (2 adults, 6 animals)
Misc 196.56/220 (This is including passport, passport photos, new phone case, 4 birthdays and 2 hen dos. Although I think I am going to be way over this month.)
Petrol 50.01/120
Exercise 0/20 (None today but have a class booked for tomorrow and plan to run on Sunday).
Good deed 0/1
Items to sell 0/20 (I have most of these sorted but just need to sell them, maybe by car boot or may try some on eB4y).


My DFD is January 2016, which is 2 years and 4 months earlier than if I just paid off my standard loan payment. This should be doable, however we have decided to get married in April 2016, so the DFD may go back a little bit to accommodate saving for the wedding.


My overall aim would be to be DF and MF by the time I am 40 (10 1/2 years).


My legacy...not sure tbh...will have a think!