NST December Challenge - Festive and Frugal

Calling14

Well had a spend free today. Lovely day made mulled wine with daughter, lamb, redcurrant in slow cooker with mash and a cinamnon apple crumble then a xmas film.

I will have to clear my credit card used over last month by 8th Jan.

Plan to clear 4k next year bit tough but after this year know where every penny has gone. Will increase my minimum payments to aim for this amount. Aim high can always reduce but 3.5k will be gone at the very least

Calling14

Sorry have to post small posts or my tablet kicks me out.

Sazzlebegood I laughed my head off at the thought of your oh dry Stone walling the fridge with food.

No idea how to lose weight I am not paying for slimming clubs, just eat healthy and exercise a lot more. Notice my skin improved so much last few days without work stress and more walking.

Going to meal plan each month next year, bought tartar sauce yesterday added to the other 2 unopened jars in my cupboard. Organisation needed.

Will copy Fmess and set up dd to Emergency Fund use my extra £14 per week pay rise for that.

Shopping tomorrow pressies so off to make lists.

mothernerd

Still not done the how to achieve my goals list (s). A NSD.

Stocking was finished at 10 past 4pm and has been delivered. Probably got a lift to next week's appointment.

Since I came home I have eaten (sandwich and berry jelly), had a thorough wash (bathroom was icy earlier but had the heating on whilst I was sewing - re-arranged stuff on the radiators last night so that's dry, new stuff in place) and changed into double-layer of nighties. Probably going to stay like that for next couple of days so my clothes stay clean.

Still have two more wash loads to do, then concentrate on drying and putting away. Bits of tidying to do but plan on spending most of my time in the kitchen - no fuss, no stress just chopping, peeling (eating whole carrots atm), raw veg, dips, simple dishes, healthy eating. Plan to spend the rest of the night relaxing (actually feels like 10pm to me).

Today I am grateful for satsumas (loving my fresh fruit), E45 (smothered myself in it) and having skills.

sazzlebgood

avoid panic saturday but did need to buy stamps for cards and a paper. lost a nsd today, my gran is very hard to buy for but doesn't have a up to date picture of my sister, me my two girls and her, have lots of old photo frames so will recycle one of those and that will be her christmas present. Cost 39p

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a good walk with dd, a lovely nativity at church, discovering that the cbeebies panto IS on again in a few days after I forgot to record it, for jam tarts, for a delivery for dd today from her big sister.

traveller

Hi everyone. Well yesterday I was up with the lark, so I thought I go out for 7.30 am to M&$ to get some german biccies they normally do at Christmas. They had none! Not impressed. I bought some NY cheesecake instead and Belgium biccies(I had a voucher).


Good deed, I popped in to see my elderly neighbour the way back from shopping. I was supposed to go today, but my daughter had a meal put on by their dad for her 18th as a family thing. I still at his place with them now. I did say I might, so may go tomorrow, if possible.


My goals:


1. Be and remain grateful for everything I have

Looking at everything everyday and how far I've come from various trials and tribulations, will help to reinforce this.

2.Become debt free by the end of August

I pay £550 every month to the debt in my signature and have done since I started my fight in September last year. At present my last round of debt is interest free until March. I will still have a fair chunk left after this time, so will get a balance transfer into my bank account interest free and use this to pay of the card I owe, then pay that amount off by August.


3. Have a job

I'm grateful I was retained at work.

4. start and maintain a holiday pot

I have started putting 50.00 per month away for the 365 challenge

5. Keep up with the exercise

I need to stick with this, finding something enjoyable. I'm not young enough to leave it to chance any more,lol.


Calling-Fantastic news on the pay rise !!!


Well take care everyone and I hope we all come out of Christmas being able to limit the damage to our wallets,lol. Have a good evening : )

Dottydaisy

Here I am again. Not doing too well at posting but been struggling with pain and feeling down, but popping up again as usual.


Posting my latest figures and month end 19th. Food etc £256.19 includes xmas stuff, drinks chocccies, cakes, stamps, cemetery wreaths, and last presents. so month end looks like


Food, household, dog £464.05/£400 (see above)
Penny pig £1.37
NSD 12/15
Fuel £65/80


I've moved my debts around onto 0% cards so all is debt free until March2016. I've thought about my goals for 2015 so here goes.


No 1 Loose another stone to go down to approx. 10st. Go back to smaller portions and healthy food


No2 De clutter house completely, not play at it, then decorate throughout as not been done since 2007, will take all year at my speed but heyho it will get done


No3 Pay off £2400 off my debt at least, £200 per month is doable, more would be better. Complete an SOA, make a budget and stick to it.


no4 Make new friends by joining groups, day school eg sewing class, tai chi class or volunteer. Since I became a widow in 2006 life has not gone as I hoped it would, but I am getting more confident and organised so the New Year is the time I start to have a life.


No5 Echoing Mother Nerd I am going to be kind to myself. Say no when I don't want to do something asked of me, take time to set up and follow a 'beauty routine' not that I am a beauty, take time out to do the things I like, curl up with a good book, sit in the garden after I have sorted it and use my sunshade instead of DD2 having it all the time. Do you get my way of thinking.


I am sticking to my budgets for the next month as it includes New Year and I have visitors coming, and going to see my grandson.


Food, household, dog £400
Petrol £80
NSD 15
My treatments £106
Car pot £25
Mum £5 per week


Have read thread but not retained most of it in my head so I wish all who need sticks or hugs, congratulations or commiserations or just spoons full of love please take all you need but there may be a shortage of sticks as I still need some. Good luck in the shopping chaos and reach Christmas as calm as possible.
Dotty

Synonymous

Just wanted to say hello before bed. Not posted for a while but have been keeping track of everyone's progress.

I'm up to 10 NSDs, including today, but the other budgets have finally had some hammer as I went out with old school friends on Friday night and out with bf last night for a Christmas meal. Also finally had to fill car up, and pay for parking for an xmas meal in town (which was paid for by work). Everything is still looking ok, the food is over budget, but also includes toiletries, hair dye etc that I don't buy every month, so in future months I might budget for these separately to keep a more accurate account.

I've been thinking of starting a MFW diary in the New Year, was reading some earlier and was inspired to declutter a few drawers. Found some old uni textbooks that are on Amazon for £20ish second hand so might set that up and flog them when the website is working again (all I got was error messages about selling tonight).

Decluttering is definitely a goal for 2015. I have not been a massive consumer for the last few years, but have lots of older items that I don't use/need/want and need to sell/donate/bin!

Having a very stressful time in my research at the moment, and just want to bury my head, but trying to battle through and get the answers I need in these precious three days before Christmas. Depending on the outcome I'll either have a very busy Christmas making up lost ground in the research, a very chilled (but sad) Christmas period because the research has fallen apart and I have nothing urgent to do, or an uncertain time where I try to do some work on the research despite not knowing if it will actually happen. Reading MFW diaries and playing with my spreadsheets has been a welcome distraction today, but need to put that aside in the morning and rattle some cages!

Night all

CoffeeandStitches

Afternoon All,

Just a quickie from me before I catch up on all posts. Saturday was spendy. It was the last bits before Christmas, and the last of the Christmas parties which was actually a friends birthday. Came in slightly under budget on the night out money, slightly over budget on the xmas bits. Totally lost track of the spending though. Boo hiss.

Feeling a LOT more positive than I was last week. Just need to keep going this month, knowing that next year will be totally different, and all totally planned for.

Off to catch up on all your posts from the busy weekend, and will try and plan next years targets, workload permitting

xxxx

Fmess

Afternoon all


Well done on the plans traveller and dottydaisy


Today is a very spendy day - left the house at 8am and returned at 12pm, having shopped at Ald!, Mr A (twice!), P3ts at H0me, N3xt and B+M. Got all the food shopping, most of the animal supplies for the month (and just ordered the rest online) and picked up the last of my mum's Christmas shopping as she's working this week.


I've also just paid out for a vets visit, dog training classes for 2 of the dogs, a hydrotherapy class, a new dog bed (and need another) and just ordered some new parts for my dyson, which I'm hoping mean I don't have to buy a new vacuum for another year (I'm going to save my T3sco points towards one). Also to come will be a present for my Dad's 60th and my tax bill for tutoring work. Oh well, it is all under control and will spread the cost in various ways to ensure that I make my target for debt repayment and savings.


Hope you are all having good days, I'm off for a quick tidy up before hydrotherapy with the tripod dog