NST November: battening down the hatches!

speakingofart

angelicious, you now have a number! Welcome on board!

sazzle - I'm the same, when I first got YNAB I wondered why I always seemed to have massive "unexpected" bills, and then took some of their classes and honestly don't know how it hadn't occurred to me earlier - I'd put some money aside at the start of the month, need something I'd forgotten about and spend it, so never acquired any savings. These things always sound so obvious when someone else says them

Spendy day today, but crossed 5 people of my christmas list for about £50, so was quite pleased! vintagebrighton, I know what you mean, yesterday was so warm and today here is cold and rainy!! Apparently we're now going to have proper autumn weather.

liltdiddylilt

Hello guys!

I am sorry for not checking in yesterday. I got up first thing in the morning and blitzed the house. We filled a 660 litre industrial bin with all of my old junk yesterday. It felt like a weight leaving my shoulders everytime something went into the bin pile! All of the Cristmas presents bought in September/October are now wrapped. I have a teeny list of people still to buy for and about £140 left of my YNAB Christmas budget to do so. There is no way that it will cost more than £60 for the few leftover folks so £80 into the Christmas food pot and that should more than cover Xmas Day/Boxing day spends on food.

A cupboard which was piled high with 'stuff' I have been keeping in the vain hope of finding it useful one day has been binned and then refilled with wrapped gifts. Mostly for Jellytot, as we have already brought our gifts from all of my family back home. I am super organised and either proactively shove my family into their purchases (my sister likes it when you do it all for her!) or when asked in August by equally organised SIL, I gave her a few Argos catalogue codes to peruse and purchase. I am told she went with a disney princess scooter and a pink helmet and elbow/knee pads. I am so excited for Xmas morning now! Anyways, the fact that I do this for Xmas and birthdays leaves me precious little to have to spend myself during the rest of the year other than a basic stock up for clothes for the cold/warm seasons

SOA - I love the weekly mini challenge. Have just settled in with a homemade rosemary piadina (halfway between a pitta bread and a tortilla wrap) chopped into segments, and a cup of black tea. So off I go to do that.

My mini challenge for myself this month is sticking to my groceries budget and cooking homemade filling and nutritious foods within that budget. I should stick to it easily if I can get creative with what I have. Piadina's for instance are just plain flour, a touch of baking powder, salt, marg & water. I can make those to go with so many meals

Today I have acquired SFD #1. Yesterday I did the beginning of the month stock up shop. It came to half what last months stock up did! :eek: but then most of last months stock still sits in the cupboards

VintageBrighton - I am in Folkestone & the weather was so beautiful yesterday. We get all the best weather here - I don't mind Autumn though I hate the dark mornings and nights walking to and from work. Must buy waterproofs this year.

Hope you all have a lovely afternoon. I am surveying my kingdom and seeing if I forgot any annual bills on YNAB

moohound

£18 on groceries today, from budget, mostly packed lunch stuff, using up sausages for casserole for the carnivores and I'll find some veggie thing in the freezer for me to go with the mash and veg.

OH went shopping, I didn't feel up to going out

I don't go back to work until Thursday, if I am better that is, I feel terrible today, withdrawing from steroids is not nice.

Sent for one christmas pressie online, for my friend's little boy, looked hard for a good deal and got a little bit of cash back as well.

The list is pretty small to be honest, we don't really buy for many adults, I just need something for my mum, I have a few ideas, and my OH, for whom I have zero ideas.

My friend just wants a Christamas cake making, same as last year, so that is no problem.

Got my little mans main gift already, the danger is buying more and more stuff, but I can't cope with the clutter, our house is infested with toys as it is, you can't walk without stepping on spiderman, and you can't sit down without having to retrieve Lego from your bum. He has too much stuff already and is in danger of not appreciating anything.

I am not sending Christmas cards, I will donate extra to the food bank instead, and I hate writing them, we don't need any more decorations, we will get a real tree from Dalby Forest on a day when Santa is there, we will be buying one not just taking a saw

kittycashless

Hi all
First time posting but was wondering if I could join up please?

speakingofart

Of course, you'd be very welcome! I'll give you a number now

lilt - that sounds like an amazing budgeting snack. I got a bit carried away... and now I have a pretty coloured spreadsheet showing what I need to put in all my YNAB categories

Fmess

I've say down to try and figure out all my 'unexpected annual spends' but can't seem to come up with many! I've got Christmas presents, MOT, car tax and car insurance - anyone got any other suggestions?

Thank you in advance

speakingofart

Fmess - that's pretty much what I got. I also have contents insurance, professional registration fees, holiday (not exactly an unexpected/ necessary expense but I'd really like one). I suppose if you have kids there might be others - club/ subscription fees etc? Ground rent if you live in a flat perhaps?

Fmess

speakingofart wrote: »

Fmess - that's pretty much what I got. I also have contents insurance, professional registration fees, holiday (not exactly an unexpected/ necessary expense but I'd really like one). I suppose if you have kids there might be others - club/ subscription fees etc? Ground rent if you live in a flat perhaps?

Thank you

Think I'll do one Christmas/birthday/other events that require presents pot and one car pot

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for dh giving me his waterproof to run from the car to the house, for watching Frozen again and still finding more laugh-out-loud moments, for fizzy water, for making poppies with dd, for doing a workout.

Fmess

Evening all


Today has been SFD number one Although I will lose one tomorrow as I have to pay for parking at the hospital. I don't need to buy anything, so can't combine it with other spends, but cannot avoid paying for parking as there is no on street car parking and I have to be in and out as quickly as possible and then get to work.


Also exercise session number two today Have planned with a friend to go to the gym together at the weekends and for a swim one week night. We are always so tired and busy during the week that a workout never gets done, but a swim seems like a relaxing treat so I'm hoping we will be more likely to stick to it.


OH has been an angel this afternoon - though I'd better note this as I complain about him so much. He has tidied all his pots away, made dinner (his one and only chore) and cleaned away afterwards It makes such a difference not having to do everything I am very grateful as I've been doing school work all afternoon and now I'm onto tutoring prep work before bedtime. Also there was leftover roast veg from dinner so I am going to have that for lunch tomorrow at work


I have figured out I need approximately £700 a year for presents and £600 a year for car costs. So if I save £50 a month for each, I'd be pretty much sorted Now I just have to convince my brain that its a good idea to put the money into the pots and not pay it straight off the debt. I need to think long term...