NST;September Squirrels

luckystarr

Hello All

Today has been a spendy day forgot my lunch so had to buy some :mad:.

I have been having a read through the posts and you have all started really well

Caeraugirl Do you find shopping at the butchers expensive ?? I seem to struggle making my meat last also can be cheeky i would love the YNAB code please

MrsGSR welcome back !!! :j

I am hoping to spend less this month ... we really overspent last month and i have just started a new job so hoping to just break even this month .

Quiet reflection and me time that will be a tough one as it is not something I do ... so I will have to work on this on I also need to learn to say NO and stop planning every inch of my life lol

shyspender how long did it take for you to get the buffer on YNAB if you don't mind me asking. we had a free trial last month and it didn't go well.... thinking it was a mixture of not inputting everyday spends etc... have you got any tips on how to use YNAB to it's full potential ??

Food shopping is going to be another tough one. I did an online shop at Morri$ons but have heard good things about Lidl . what are peoples thoughts ??

Hmmm learning a new skill I will have to think on that one.

Hugs to all that need them

today's Positive thought I am grateful to have a supportive and kind OH

Sorry for the long post going to have a cuppa and go to bed.

Night All xxx

shyspender

luckystarr wrote: »

shyspender how long did it take for you to get the buffer on YNAB if you don't mind me asking. we had a free trial last month and it didn't go well.... thinking it was a mixture of not inputting everyday spends etc... have you got any tips on how to use YNAB to it's full potential ??

luckystarr I started using it midway through May. When I started Kat's challenges I was managing to put around £300 away to the credit card and then savings so I guess that just continued. My tips would be to watch the tutorials. You can book in for a webinar, but they are also all availabe 'offline'. I watched and paused and editted, and watched some more etc. I also spend some time browsing the forum there. Gives some good advice even if you don't know that is the thing you were asking. I also find having a Master Wallet category a big help. So, I have a wallet category that then has sub categories for all the things I spend cash on, groceries, fuel, entertainment, prescriptions etc. This is the main thing for me that I input for.
I download my bank stuff once a week, although most of that now is just SO's and DD's. If you want any specific help, feel free to pm and I will try and point you in the right direction.

homemademama

luckystarr I use YNAB, I found that it works best if you start out by budgeting only the money you have (i get paid weekly), not a full month at the start iyswim. I've found it really helpful and am currently trying to decide between building up a months buffer or paying everything to debts first.

mothernerd

Welcome back Mrs GSR.

Yeah to Tilly tidies.

crazy-lady2009 always worth spending for proper glasses (not for the designer frames though). Interesting to read that the soft lenses technology has moved on. I had hard lenses but tried the new soft ones about 8 years ago, had a lesson on putting them in but lost so many as they ripped so easily - they weren't the dailies, I could wear them for a few days. So amazing when they are in, the difference between that and a lens which is only a short distance from your eye. Struggling with my glasses atm. I have a tiny bridge to my nose (thanks grandma F) so the opticians do their best and bend the glasses bar into a little upturned v - but the stupid memory metal goes flat again after a short while.

LoveaDove broccoli is also good for iron.

Tiptoes just be kind to yourself for a few days, we all have down days. You may also be coming down with something, the changing seasons always bring them (the bugs die off when it's too hot or too cold). Try eating some raw veg, may give you a lift. But you are allowed to huddle in a blanket when you need to.

A NSD for me. Went out last night and did about an hour and a half cutting back shrubs and next door's buddleia (they are intending to pay someone to cut it back and I had room in my green bin so thinned out some of the overhanging branches). Spent some quiet time sitting in the garden in the nearly dark.

Anyway it was too much (still finding those limits) so a slow a nd creaky start to the day. mrs builder phoned to say they had the laminate so could they bring it (in about 2 hours) so shuffling things from the kitchen and hallway into the dining room to make space in the hall. Discussed the order for doing jobs and made an alteration - laminate in the tiny room then front room (so I can dismantle my bed and move it into the tiny room so my room will be ready to be done after front room).

While I was downstairs I shouted up to ask if DS3's friend wanted a bacon butty. DS3 mistook this for buffet and said it would be very acceptable. So made them 1/2 packet of fishfingers, pack of gougons, smilies (which he bought himself for the free plate offer) and Yorkshire puddings (yes have been asking people if they want 'dinner' for last 3 months as this torn packet is taking up a big space in freezer and spills everywhere) with tiny strips from the last packet of roast beef (from joint bought for Easter I think) and gravy.

Whilst waiting for that to cook I prepared 2 lots of mini-quiches (no pastry) using bacon scraps for 1 lot and home grown red onions and a scrap of cheese (grated the last third of a ys'd piece for cauli cheese and these crumbs were left) for the others, ready to go in the warm oven when their food came out. Boiled some eggs, made Mexican rice salad and put together a cheese salad for myself which I ate outside in the last of the sunshine.

Remembered I had intended to throw the scrap veg pots into the rice salad so then cooked bacon soup (mainly onions and lentils) a slightly strange chunky minestrone, carrot cake and curried butter bean salad. Sat outside again while checking on things in the oven and finally cleaned the fridge. Been driving me mad but so many items in transit - veg which normally live in the veg rack needing to be prepped and put in the fridge, things on their way to or from the freezer. Managed one shelf a couple of weeks ago, knew it needed doing but couldn't face pulling everything out and the fridge tetris never seemed to end.

One minor mishap - the dressing I was making didn't get all the way onto the shelf. The bottle stayed intact but blasted the two pyrex lids waiting to be washed. Luckily had a handy piece of paint covered plastic which made a nest for all the pieces which were then bundled into a bag and binned. Should really have made the fish pie but hurt all over - washing up and portioning the soups will have to wait until tomorrow (mothernerd is a slob).

Today I am grateful for boys who are satisfied with very little really (both said how lovely the meal was - mind you they do eat those disgusting pizzas), a clean fridge and the dressing that survived its suicide bid.

moohound

Had 5 a day by the way of veggie curry and loads of fruit.
Did brisk walk to watch my son play rugby.
No spend day
Learned Makaton colours and and the " happy birthday" song which is ........interesting......:o
Some DDs came out for mobile and dental plans so did tidy of £21 into ISA, this leaves me with £400 for the month plus £82 child benefit later in the month, all I NEED is diesel out of this which will be £60 to fill tank. In theory could get to £1000 in the ISA this month, which would be awesome.

nannygladys

Just a quickie, someone has said they aren't very good at making extra money but better at saving the pennies, I like this idea as I think I'm more like that so I'm going to see how many pennies I can save from my budgets for September and put it in a Xmas pot.

Nannyg

CEW

Good Evening Fellow Squirrels,

SFD no 1 for me today. Hoping tomorrow will be one as well but our local Sainsbury's is reopen ins and I would like to look around. Maybe I should wait until I NEED to go for something. Thursday will be a spend day as I need to do a big shop to use the voucher before it runs out.

Has my first proper physio session today and have been given a few exercises to do 3/5 times a day. They shouldn't take long and will help with my balance and should help to strengthen my left hand side which we identified last time was my weaker side. During the session my left hand side came out as the stronger side. So typical of MS you never know what to expect and whether your body will play ball or not. Never mind the exercises are for both sides so they should help somewhere along they way :rotfl:

Enjoying the quiet reflection time. Physio gave me some breathing exercises to do after each exercise which has really helped me to relax which is great. I really have difficulty relaxing - once had an hour full body aromatherapy massage and it took 50 minutes for my body to begin to relax :eek:

Still plodding on with the budgets and pondering on the learn something new task but I will sort both out by the end of the week.

Good night all and have a great Wednesday.

Chez x

speakingofart

Would definitely third the recommendations for YNAB - since using, for the first time in my life, I've known exactly how much money I have, where it's going and have a plan to save for yearly expenses. The forums and support site are also excellent - you can get a 34 day free trial as well, as it does require some changes in your thinking when you start, so it's a good way to figure out if it works for you.

Caeraugirl

Hi Stewby and luckystarr, I'm a recent convert to YNAB and have just bought it after 30 days of the 34 day free trial (which seems identical to the paid version so you can really get to grips with it). As others have said, it takes a bit of time to get used to but there are great online guides on their website plus free webinars (though usually 11.30pm -3.30am starts as it's American) to help you use it properly.

The best tip I had was via a search on this sites' forums, I set up a "cash" account and transferred all cash withdrawals to it on YNAB, so I can keep track of my day to day spending. Like others I've been trying to go cash-only for everyday spends, and have juggled this with physical envelopes, four separate savings accounts (usually empty!) on top of current & joint current accounts, MyMoney software that I've had for years, and a spreadsheet to track all cash spends each month, but this was getting more and more complicated and I didn't feel it was helping me keep tabs on spends for food, etc on a day-to-day basis. I've been very disciplined at logging all these spends on YNAB and it's so much easier, plus I've closed the two savings accounts with the worst interest rates. The best thing is that I can allocate money for annual spends each month and it can sit in a current account if needed, rather than trying to physically move them into the relevant savings "pots".

Hope that makes sense, and sorry if I seem a bit evangelical! I think once you learn how to use it - and I'm very much still learning - YNAB is a great tool that can help you do whatever you want to do with your money.

Luckystarr I'll PM you the code in a mo. As I said, it's still a little cheaper on Steam even with the code so it's up to you whether you want to use it. As for the butchers, it's not cheaper tbh, unless you factor in the need for meal planning before I go. However, I buy large joints to do 2-3 dinners (cook, slice and freeze what's left in meal-sized portions ready for next dinner), something I'd never buy in SM, which I suppose is quite MSE. We have a fab butcher a couple of miles from us and although it's around the same price or occasionally slightly more expensive than SM, I have NEVER had a bad piece of meat from there and it's always full of flavour. Their chicken is double the size of Mr T's and never shrinks in a puddle of water when cooked (unlike Mr T's). And the last time I got chicken from said SM a month ago, it was chewy, full of gristly bits and none of us could finish our meal - though admittedly we'd never had that before, it's put me off completely so now making a concerted effort to go to butcher's every couple of months and wedge the freezer............

Tiptoes, hope you're feeling a bit less meh today, sometimes everyone needs a snuggle on the sofa, with or without a big cat.

Today is a spendy day, have just waited 25 mins for computer to wake up sufficiently to use without freezing so have had enough! DH has already said he will give me money for new one from his savings, have researched and researched and keep hesitating, but today's the day, off to PC World in a bit to get it then pick up desk from DH's work on way home (offsetting spend with freebie to reduce the pain a little...........lol!)

Have a good day everyone

dolly84

caeraugirl - hope your son settles into his new school, my DD will be starting a new one next year and I am dreading it.

Yesterday was a SFD but I need to buy wraps for tea tonight as I forgot them on last weeks shop so I will lose one for the sake of £1.