NST; January Challenge- The Money Saving Game

mothernerd

Spendy day. Knew if I went out the door I would spend money but didn't manage a walk yesterday and it gets more difficult if I miss days. Rained before I reached the end of the street, turned to slushy snow when i went round the corner. Kept going.

Went in two shops have celery,carrots, cucumber (healthy snacks), spring greens, eggs and cooking bacon.

Spent the afternoon trying to get and keep warm, wearing a double layer of clothes, a short hooded dressing gown and am under the bedclothes - cumfy.

Today I am grateful for other people's cast off clothing (everything I have on is second hand), for my little house and eggs (now I have enough to make the things on my list instead of having to choose which I should have).

Fmess

Evening all


Claiming SFD number 11 today :j and went to the gym this morning (although rain cancelled my dog walking this afternoon).


I have massively over spent on food this month but this did include the Christmas dinner food so I am not too upset by it.


Today I am grateful for:-
1.) Having a warm home
2.) Having managed to complete all the work I had to get done for tomorrow
3.) Having done day 1 of the fasting diet and not felt too bad (we'll see how tomorrow goes!)

WelshKitty85

Good evening everyone!

Lilt it sounds like you get to spend lots of quality time with Jelly, which is lovely! I sometimes feel like I am neglecting my children as between work and uni I am hardly ever home. It's worse when I'm working weekends too, but I just keep telling myself I've only got to see it through until May and then hopefully it will pay off!

Work for me yesterday and today. Forgot to take lunch with me both days! Luckily yesterday I had a voucher code for a free hot dog from greggs, which was ok. Had to spend £1 on kitchen foil though. Today was a SFD and I just raided my locker at lunchtime.

Have stuck to meal plan. Made a roast last night and stew with the left overs which just needed heating up tonight.

Not feeling too good this evening. I started losing my vision when I got home and after about an hour it was just like tunnel vision and I couldn't see anything at all on my left hand side. Hubby ran me a bath and I feel a bit better but I'm wondering if I haven't been eating well enough. I think I only had about 700-800 calories today. I haven't been trying to cut back but I haven't been eating breakfast and then have just been having something like a tin of ravioli for lunch. I think I need to get better organised and start planning breakfast and lunch in advance.

Think I'm gonna have an early night tonight and try to recharge for tomorrow.

Today I am grateful for:
- my tenants renewing their tenancy agreement so I don't need to look for new tenants
- that I prepped tonight's dinner in advance so I didn't have to head straight to the kitchen after work
- cuddles with my children
- oh, and I almost forgot to mention, I have now manged to save over £200 already this year!

shyspender

SFD #12 today.

Quiet day in the house.

Gave up pretending to have a lie in at seven and decided that the ironing would have to be done. I hate ironing but I only have so many shirts for work and I'd pretty much reached my limit. Didn't take me too long, couple of hours.

Managed to freeze my soup in pots. I say managed because I had to rejig the freezer a bit. Lost one of the pots when it came to tipping them out though. Was a little too heavy handed and broke the pot. However I have two small stacks of soup in the freezer now rather than six pots.

Baked a load of potatoes too. I bake them all in one batch then halve them, scoop out the flesh, add cheese and ketchup, then refill and freeze. Then I can just grab them out the freezer and pop in the oven for an hour or so when I fancy them, rather than two and a half hours.

Final batching for today was what I call bolognese soup. It's basically bolognese, beanfeast bolognese which is veggie, and quinoa. I call it soup because I eat it without pasta. Trying to reduce some of my carb intake and I would happily eat pasta and cheese for months on end.

Pretty impressed with all I've done today, and watched about six films on 'nile' prime too.

Impressed with my fitbit flex too. Pretty sure the steps are out because I don't think I've done as many as it says each time but for a general check on what I am doing and sleeping, it works ok.

Fmess

shyspender wrote: »

Final batching for today was what I call bolognese soup. It's basically bolognese, beanfeast bolognese which is veggie, and quinoa. I call it soup because I eat it without pasta. Trying to reduce some of my carb intake and I would happily eat pasta and cheese for months on end.

.

I am the same, I now have bolognese or chili without the pasta or rice and have them with a microwaveable veg pack. Also I'm addicted to pasta and cheese, with or without sauce or pesto, I could eat it everyday forever and would still love it.

stewby

Spend-free day today which brings me up to 12.
:j

Spent a lovely evening in with my OH... watching frozen, cuddling and counting all our savings. Including our pots, 10p and smush we have over £630!!!!!
:eek:

Who says savings don't amount to anything.


Short post, sorry.
Hugs to everyone.

P.S - may be missing in action a lot this week as working 5 days out of 7 (going to be a busy time, hope I am up to it).
:embarasse

speakingofart

Thanks Bobarella. Hoping to have a good few SFDs this week to make up for it! Back to uni tonight so hopefully that'll keep me out of trouble. Have a great week everyone, stay warm!

Groceries 15th Jan - 15th Feb £27.29/100
Fuel 15th January - 15th February £0/£50
Spending money - 3.95/11.37
Lunch to work: 10/20
Lunchtime walks at work 11/20
Food bank 0/£3
SFDs: 7/18

traveller

Morning everyone Well I'm grateful to be working from home as I truly feel awful and don't want to keep downing pain killers. I've had four since Friday as I thought, why suffer the pain. But I don't like doing so. I'm also glad to be having a warm home and enough food to eat, enough so I moan about having to cook it rather than the other way round Today is a NSD as was yesterday. I am going to see how far I can go as anything I don't spend is going straight at the debt monster. Welsh Kitty, don't be hard on yourself. It's so easy to feel you are not getting enough quality time, but you are doing enough-it just never feels like it at the time I used to be in tears dropping my son off at the nursery when he was young. In all honesty, I still feel a bit uncomfortable remembering those days, but I had to do it. And do make sure you get enough time to look after yourself, so easy to forget Well done on the savings Stewby-I feel inspired :T Well take care everyone and KEEP going

thriftylass

Trying to fill out DD passport application today at work. They scare me. Every inch of the sheet down the side is covered with GET IT RIGHT paragraphs that just make me more nervous. Will send it by check and post though. Rather spend the other 8 quid than get it wrong as we're going away home in 10 weeks. Those cheeky monkeys now also dare to charge us for getting the supporting documents back by secure mail rather than just 2nd class. No way they send that back by second class. I'm sure that's new. Anyway, will hopefully still just be under the 60 I budgeted.

Felt a bit deflated on the weekend. Love my kids but miss having time to myself. We don't have babysitters or grandparents nearby so are never without them. Don't get me wrong i love them but sometimes I would like to just have half a day to get stuff done like decluttering, tidying the garden. During the week I can't do it as we only get a precious hour with them after work before bedtime. And after they're in bed there's just enough time to get the essentials like dinner, washing, tidying done mostly.

Also went through our spreadsheets and there is just not enough money to do the things OH want to do, pay the wedding back, holiday next year, mattress, new front door, garden, christmas, MOT etc etc. never mind having a wee cushion for emergencies. Sorry silly western world problems. I think I just have a bit of an early midlife crisis. Was sitting yesterday feeding the baby, thinking about the no more smoking and drinking (the latter only till the middle of Feb) but started to mourn my youth, the party phase which I never started till 23 hence the delay in growing out of it. Now on to sensible middle age. I'm not ready. But a attitude change is needed I think.

Sorry some of you probably had a wee giggle reading this. I'm just in a funny mood just now. Withdrawal?, lol

Anyway back to MSE business. Today should be SFD. Will sit later when work is quiet and write a dinner plan for the week and a list of little thigs I can declutter and chores that need done.

Will take off a day at the end of January for house keeping stuff like a deep clean etc. (btw. OH is taking off two days next week to go snowboarding - priorities eh?) And will have to have another chat with him about money. As I spend 1400 or more of my income on nursery, bills, feeding us, HH etc, and the rest (2-400 depending on month) goes to our debt and savings. He's got 800 left after bills and only needs to run the car off it (fuel) and clear his OD, which is still there. Unless I'm wrong about the numbers things need changed!

Off to a swim, will come back chirpier after

Calling14

Thifty good luck with the passport application my boss had his sent back because he didnt sign within the box and he had done!!!!!!

Thifty sympathise with not having time to yourself with young ones, find that in the week, usual day finish work, grandma duties, dark dog walk, make late tea and collapse. Thought I have done all this before so it actually seems to get more difficult as I don't have the energy now.

Quick check in SFD today making 12 in total.

Been a disaster of a month, really budgeting has been awful, missed out payments on my spreadsheet - result broke till beginning of Feb and having to put dog food, food and petrol onto my credit card. So cross with myself as was not going to use it this year.

Already booked to see Queen and Adam Lambert weds so the joys of parking fees in Manchester and extra petrol. Just hope its not too icy driving home. They will be good but at this moment in time prefer the cash. Well at least will get me out of my onesie for a night.

Have a great Monday - off snowboarding (well not really just to wind Thrifty up - must have more patience than me - perhaps why I am single lol)