NST; January Challenge- The Money Saving Game

blubella

Going to count my SFD as I have managed to get through another day!! Friend cancelled tonight so no need to buy any wine...SFD now standing at 11! :j

Bobarella

Lilt -that is incredible re nectar. What do you do with yours? I am trying to stick to a strategy this year of, every time I get to £10 in points use that as a way of clearing another £10 of debt. So using the nectar points to buy food instead of shopping budget.
I know that I could save them for other stuff but I do that with my Mr T points. Also, jelly is lucky it passed so quickly. Fish poisoning can be nasty. I hope it wasn't the retailer that sold it to you selling bad food?

Apple - well done on your roadkill find. I just got 2p today...

Loveadove -funny enough I just decided with OH that we will go out for a meal next month. And fish and chips is top of the list!

Calling14

Bit sleepy so quick check in.
Had to get dog food and dog biccies today. Whilst spending got hay/sawdust for bunnykins. Had £3 voucher off Pets at home. Sawdust and hay cheaper in home bargains.

Needed some foundation offer on in superdrug 2 items Maybelline for £10 so new eyeliner as well. Had £3 off with my loyalty points.

Treated myself to choccie biccies in marks and a butties - used my bank tf gift voucher- still got 67.00 left on it.

Positives
Had a cheque back today off talk talk £14.71.
Dry dog walk.
Lots of jobs completed today and no more shopping needed.

Calling14

Samizel - Hope you get heating fixed soon, won't a fan heater cost a lot to run?
Synonymous how annoying for you. What a difference it makes to your interest shocking! Its like when you overpay credit card they reduce your regular payment for the month, mine on fixed payments for that reason.

Lilt lucky with your nectar points love their clothes, going to let mine build up until they have double up points or use them when have 25% off clothes. Need to treat yourself now and again.

speakingofart

Groceries 15th Jan - 15th Feb £11.57/100
Fuel 15th January - 15th February £0/£50
Spending money - 3.95/11.37
Lunch to work: 9/20
Lunchtime walks at work 11/20
Food bank 0/£3
SFDs: 7/18

Spendy day yesterday - stupidly fell into the "buy junk food" trap that I'm trying so hard to get out of. The only slight positive is it came out of some cash I already had, rather than my budgets, but it's so frustrating when I'm trying to have a very very good month and it feels like I'm sabotaging myself all the time - and for no good reason other than I'd been working hard on a job application and got bored.

However, new day, new start - it's weigh in tomorrow so just going to eat sensibly, do some uni work and hopefully get out for a walk in the fresh air later; it's a beautiful sunny and frosty morning. A week today I will be waking up on a campsite, having camped out overnight with half my Guide unit.... hopefully it'll be like this and not raining!

Bobarella

Speaking of art - don't worry. It's hard to deny yourself a treat for too long. And it hasn't damaged your overall plan has it.

Logging NSD 9 today. I'm off to work and have shopped and meal planned yesterday so shouldn't have a need to.

My worry is my food budget. As of yesterday's shop which will last us till Friday we have about £5 left till my OH'S payday the following Friday. Will have to dig deep. The hardest thing is when you have children to cater for they have to have fruit in the house. My son will do a bag of apples and satsumas in about 2 days. Including his lunchbox portions. We bought frozen fruit additionally yesterday, raspberries and cherries which were 2 packs for £4. He loves to just eat handfuls still frozen which is weird but I suppose no worse than eating icecream etc. I wonder if I might roll any savings I've made from my travel budget to my food budget or is that cheating? I am now saving £7.50 by not taking the bus so is that now food budget available?

apple_muncher

Bobarella, I wouldn't consider it cheating at all, using unused money from other pots! You certainly have a challenge ahead of you. Do you have an aldee nearby? They do frozen fruit for about £1.49, although I don't know how the pack size compares with what you've bought. Good luck - and fingers crossed for finding lots of roadkill this week...

liltdiddylilt

Course it is available Bobarella. If you had YNAB, it is positively encouraged to switch money around. Budgets are fluid. Some months one is more expensive than another, the next vice versa. If you had a house full of food but needed to get taxi's due to a broken leg, we wouldn't be shaming you for using the leftover food budget to get you around.

The point is to spend mindfully... not deprive yourself of something basic like fruit. P.S I feel your pain. We go through 2 dozen bananas a week.... :rotfl: and woe betide me if I run out of one goes brown... Yeeesh.

Saving the points. If I have a budget crisis I will use them but for the moment they can sit there as I have no need for them. Mr L has amazing fruit selections at great prices. Wish I had an Aldee nearby!

The voucher that printed off was 1000 points for £50 but frankly there is no way I am spending that in Mr S. so it shall go in the bin!

SFD again today but I am about to embark on a baking mission. First some bread dough to prove. The some green play doh for Jelly to play with while I sort the bread out next some biscuits. And I want to make some soup

blubella

Bobarella You have done well to save the money in another area, so yes it should be available to use...you have children to feed after all! I know they eat you out of house and home from experience!

I'm on my 12th SFD today, not going anywhere today so will count it now. Have dug out and dusted the slow cooker off...being creative making a butter bean and sweet potato coconut curry..no idea how it will turn out. Made chicken fajitas yesterday, froze 4 portions; already had spicy tomato lentil soup in the freezer so decided not to make any more!!

Fingers crossed I can make the month without starving or spending above my budget. Feeling positive right now

Debtdrowninglondongirl

Hi everyone!! Sorry I haven't checked in for a couple of days.

My NSDs are now up to 10 and hope today to be another one. Yesterday was a bit of a large spend (for me) as spent £10 yesterday on a glass of processco and lunch with my best friend but we were celebrating as she has asked me to be her MOH!!! Ekk!! And we did use a voucher which was 25% off food and drink.

Also sold my last item on eBay for this month so just waiting for that to come through and put into my savings.

This is least I have ever spent in 17 days in my life!! I seriously believe I will hit my Debt free target now!!! Thanks so much love a dove for setting this up! this is such a great way to start 2015!!