NST; January Challenge- The Money Saving Game

LoveaDove

Hellooooooooo!!!

Right, Right, Right! Leaving Do's, Birthdays and Baby Shower are now done!! So sorry for my busy-ness throughout this month. What with moving to a house that sold within the first week of me being there (this is still on-going), to OH losing his job, to applying for uni, to suddenly having to organise events I was not originally assigned to organise because other people either did not step up (when they really should have) or they did not bother commiting to what they agreed to. Gah! But all went well all in all!

It has been a bit of a mixture of this month- some highs and some lows amongst us turtles, however generally I have seen some amazing achievements from all of you! No matter how small an achievement seems, you should always celebrate it, even if it is sharing it with us on here! Be proud of yourself! Sometimes things are out of our control, plans change, we go a bit over budget, emergencies happen- that is life, and we can always re-group and re-plan. In my eyes you are all SUPERSTARS! :cool:

stewby - Congratulations on getting below the 3k target and also you are doing amazingly with your savings pots- what a great feeling it must be to pay so much for your holiday out of savings! :T

nannygladys- HUGE congratulations to you on the birth of your Grand Daughter- what lovely news!!

SOA- Sorry to hear about the job- did you request any feedback? Hopefully some experience from the application process and interview will put you in good stead for an even better job!

debtdrowninglondongirl - Hope you hear back about the job! Well done on arranging so many interviews!

lilt- I really lol'd at DD refusing to let go of her snowball resulting in a puddle in the living room! :rotfl:

blubella and calling - Sorry to hear about your situations at work! Blubella, I hope that this all gets resolved for you so that you can return to work x

traveller- I am excited for you, for getting your new kitty!! :j

cupcake-queen- Hope your landlord gets a good rollicking!

synonymous - Chin up chick, it is hard having the ups and downs post break up. But it is only natural, in some ways it is a little similar to grief, as that person is suddenly not in your life. Keep busy and enjoy the extra time for yourself and with friends!

Thank you all for joining us on this challenge!! It is great to see you all setting targets for yourself, sharing tips etc... I know the rules (eg SFDs) can take a little time to get your head round, but you will definitely find as time goes on it will get easier, as you forward plan at the start of the month and become more conscious of those little spends here and there. It soon all becomes habit

I am very excited for a new month with the fantastic mothernerd- leading us through our next adventure!!

My Stats for the month and mini challenge winners are to follow!:T

LoveaDove

Month Stats round up:

* £115/£100- Groceries (needs work!)
* £60/£80 Fuel
* £25/£25 Birthdays
* £75/£75 Social
* £100/£150 towards move

18 SFDs- 17/18 (one short!)

Lunch to work- 21/21

£3/£3 Food Bank

Meal Plan- Needs a little improving- I managed 3/ 4 weeks

Increase Exercise- Definitely improved since December- but still needs improvement in February.

And the Mini Challenge Winners are...

LoveaDove

Mini Challenge- Turtle's of the Week are...
(Under 50p Bargain Finds)

traveller - 20p Black board for DS!! (Most unusual bargain)

And...

mothernerd's- 10p each range of lettuce, watercress, mushroom, stir fry and houmous! (Yum!)

What Great finds!!

Goodbye January NST's and Helloooooo to February's NST's! Thank you for joining us in the Money Saving Game! :T

mothernerd

Well spendy day as predicted. Managed to go on the bus for the viewing so only £1 - need to alter my figures, the driver coming home wouldn't take my money (it's happened a few times, there is a good side to being on crutches).

When I was on my way noticed the cs round the corner had carrots in - they sell eggs and Maris Piper potatoes are £4.99 for 25kg but saw carrots a few weeks ago (Sunday so they were shut and couldn't have carried them). So went in and the man offered to carry them home for me - just weighed them and 9.5 kgs carrots for £1.20. I have big carrot plans (DS3 has discovered he likes carrot cake so that is going down rapidly. Also splashed out 42p for 2l SM own brand diet de-caff coke (do I know how to live or what).

So total spending for the month (not including dd and cc minimums) is £19.83.
Obviously this only possible due to stocks of tinned goods and freezer goodies. Would need major changes to achieve that every month but hoping I can get another good month from the stores .

Thrilled just to be keeping one step ahead of the bills. Change of energy supplier for this house should come through in February so will live to fight another day.

Today's positives
Saw a small patch of snowdrops in the churchyard - I know February is the month for them but they are so delicate yet so hardy and lovely to look at.
Bargain prices and big carrot plans.
Binmen had once again emptied my bin so filled it again - have now got rid of a large piece of refuse from the shed (cut up small over several weeks).
Tired from the viewing but good to do it.


I'd like to thank my mother, my sons for their support, the teachers I remember, everyone who voted for me and most of all you the readers of our humble little thread.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for some snow (but it didn't last - boo), for dd's dance teachers, for a phone call from dh, for digging out some old exercise motes and planning a sweaty feb, for getting lots of reading done.


See you on the other side x

Debtdrowninglondongirl

Thank you so much loveadove for doing the Jan challenge!! Was awesome and have def got me thinking about saving.

mothernerd can I join for February?

I managed to hit my SFD!!!! 18!! And was so tempted to buy chocolate today but held back and made flapjacks using stuff I had in the cupboard! I was too close to the end!!


I did go over my food shop but still have food left for Feb and was under on all my other budgets!!


Love being spend conscious!! Thanks so much guys and been great to get to know you all!

Xx

Calling14

Just popped in for the leaving do. Is there any chocolate craving big time.
Congratulations Nannygladys and warm welcome to the world granddaughter.

Exciting times Traveller have fun with your new kitty.

Last day and I bought tickets for Thriller for my London trip in May. Hey ho only one day on the naughty step.

Love the mini challenges pics loveadove made me giggle. Thanks.

nannygladys

Thanks for the congratulations, I'm really proud of dd as she has had a few problems along the way but is now in a very happy marriage with a husband who loves her for who she is and has accepted her dd1 as his own. Anyway the dgd has now gone home but I still have her dog, but I don't mind as she's company for me.

January hasn't been that successful but it could have been a whole lit worse without this thread, so February here I come.
Nannyg

liltdiddylilt

Hi guys

Sorry for the late bye-bye!! Had to get Jelly to the hospital but we now have antibiotics. Had to pop into Mr A to get the prescription and I spent the grand total of 10p (10% of the original cost!) on some fresh sage. Banged it in the freezer and left with a SFD intact so that makes 19 for the month!! :T

Busted my Jan food budget wide open as you can see but all other targets met/kept under.

Thanks Loveadove. I am ending my post with you... as you are something I have been very grateful for this month! You are a star xx

thriftylass

Also quickly popping in to say goodbye (dry) January. Thought this month would be the hardest but actually you guys kept me on track. Overspend but nearly managed the 20 SFDs and kept going till the last day in terms of spreadsheets etc. In February I will keep all my receipt and keep a spreadsheet of exactly what groceries we bought to better understand were we go wrong. See you on the other side. Better dash, DS is cryinf with teething pain