Nst; fearless february

Calling14

Hiya folks apologies for absence, no excuse just find posting on tablet at home pain in backside.
Saturday - spent money food and few bottles of wine. Daughter and boyfriend for tea(he's an electrician and now I have a main light working in my bedroom heaven) Cheap way to get it fixed and still within my food budget. No excuse for going out in odd coloured shoes now. lol

Sunday I was going to pop out around the shops but no I decided to face a frog? Is that how you put it? Anyway actually cleaned my cooker out!!! Unfortunately it wouldn't work after - gas one. So mended the hoover(had blue flash coming from plug last few days) and hoovered the jets all working now. Cleaned cupboards out. long dog walk and then had two toddlers dumped on me. They were contained in a cushion den, on my lounge floor and Disney channel put on. Amazing how a few cushions and a blanket work.
Somehow its Monday again SFD's yday and today so up to 14/15.

Try and catch up on reading rest thread now. x

Calling14

Welshkitty wow well done you on your payments. Brilliant mega jealous.

Bob thats what the EF is for isn't it, may have to borrow from mine by the end of the week, things very tight this month.

Parsniphead - welcome someone will put the kettle on in a bit. Well done on DMP plan.

Dizzy Imp - it took me months to get into this challenge and hrs spent on the naughty step. Stick with it, great people, great support when you need it.
Loveadove - good luck on home hunt - reminds me of Eyeore looking for new house probably watch too much kids tv.
Thrifty love the breakdown of your food spend. Will have to try it.

Mothernerd thanks for an amazing month. Off to daydream about my future, oh perhaps might need to get back to work at the moment. Will read properly and plan tonight. x

thriftylass

Just spend more money :mad::eek:. However all needed and I might recoup the cost within two months by cancelling my bus pass. Bought a cheapish stroller for DD as the big buggy is now too cumbersome and DS old stroller got all mouldy and rusty in the conservatory. Also bought a child bike seat so i can try and take DS by bike to nursery/work over the summer months rather than bus. It was only £25 as it is really just a seat that goes on the cross bar like my mum used to have in the 70s (didn't know they still did them, thought they were all those plastic molded ones or then a trailer for £100 when the child is too big). My bus pass is £40 a month and will hopefully be able to cancel it if DS likes riding on the seat.

Just cancelled my bus pass with immediate effect, DS will have to like it, lol. Still got the pass to the 13th of March in case it's freezing some days

Debtdrowninglondongirl

Hello everyone!

We are slowly coming to the end of the month and things are good!! parsniphead I am in a DMP and praying for the day I am free from it. So glad to hear of someone on the other side.

Thanks everyone for your support - I really appreciate it!!

Lilt thanks for the job seeker tip. I actually didn't think of that and have booked an appointment so would be good if I could get a little help for the weeks I have been out of work - I don't usually pay 40% tax for nothing I guess.

On the up side - I will be back in work from 2nd March and on a third more than I was on before so means a lot more money will go into the debts.

mothernerd thank you for the challenges. Luckily I had chosen to do 15 mins of yoga each day to centre myself and am still going strong. I have really dealt with the stress of debt well considering I have also been out of work.

And..... Focus was to focus on being more content in my life and slowly all the parts of my life are coming together. I am able to put more towards my debt and still on track to be debt free by the end of the year.

I have my dream job and looking forward to finally managing a team and being in a senior role

And recently I have decided to fight for the man I love. We broke up about 2 years ago cause I was in debt and was always trying to hide it all from him. Testing times - but after we broke up he has always been there supporting me as a friend rather than a boyfriend and we have decided to take the step to give it another go. Slowly of course but this time I am going to be completely honest about my money situation and stop burying my head in the sand about debt.

I am in such a better place and feel like I have the focus and control in my life that I have never had before!

Here's to a better 2015 turtles!

Hope you are all getting there with your money challenges and looking forward to getting on it for March!

apple_muncher

mothernerd, I am guilty of filling time with 'busy-ness' so I am spending the last 7 days of the month without playing a certain game on my dd's tablet! I realised that I was picking it up as soon as I got another life in the game. (But I did break through level 70 before making the decision. )

I love the idea of dreaming my ideal future. I realise that so many of my future aspirations are tied up with paying off the mortgage (possible within 4 years now ). This has been my FOCUS since joining kat's challenges. My frogs stem from things I must do for my parents, but also have a probable knock-on effect on paying the mortgage down, so I think that is why I have adopted the ostrich approach to them. So I must rightly split my focus (become bi-focal?? :rotfl:), in order to be/feel more in control/ more knowledgeable.

Thank you for this month's challenge - you always manage to make me think more deeply .

Bobarella

Hi All
Well I had the lovely start to the day of finding £5 in the street. Total boost takes me to £6.50 for Feb in roadkill.

Calling - yes and no. I feel bad that my fixed savings amount has drained my current account which was never the intent. I personally want my EF to be for real emergencies not budget gone to pot emergencies. I hope that doesn't sound rude it surely isn't meant to. I feel cross with myself that I can't control everything but that's the control freak in me can't control burst tyres, needing to be warm and dry clothing, higher costs due to having half term. So really my advice to me is lighten up already

6th NSD today.

Mothernerd -at the moment I am focusing on getting my business reopened ASAP and spent around 5 hours there cleaning like a demon today. I will be on this track now until we succeed. My husband is going there tonight for 3 hours once he finishes his day job. I couldn't think more highly of him at the moment and thank god for his support and hard work.
I also meant to say I am so pleased you are getting there with your health post op.

Thrifty -don't beat yourself up on your shopping bill. Unless you are prepared to cut down on meat and it sounds like that is important for your family, it is hard to make huge in roads. Maybe challenge yourselves to give up 1 bottle of wine a month and see how that changes your total?

Love to everyone else
Bob

thriftylass

After falling asleep on the bus home I got a bit of a second wind now. Made dinner, then coleslaw and soup. Also made a salad for lunch and sorted some cardboard recycling. Now sitting down to crochet. Tomorrow i might eat last weeks frog and sort e paperwork pile on the desk.
Also submitted the gas and leccy reading and it's another 150 quid month, but the DD of 114 won't go up. Gosh a can't wait for spring and for that bill to go down.

mothernerd

Thank you for all your kind words, wasn't sure if it made as much sense as it did when it was in my head.

Thriftylass I was going to say that £2 a day off your food spending will be £62 in March which might be a bit too much, but if nearly £40 is the baby powder it could be doable. Good luck.

Well today was a SFD as I walked to the infirmary for my blood test appointment, then ate the sandwich and apple I had taken with me plus morning medication and then walked back. It's taking me a bit more than half an hour (probably a 15 minute walk but 30 years ago I did it in under 10 minutes when I was pregnant) but I shall have lots of opportunities to improve on that as I have diabetic foot appointment on Friday, have to go back to see the Practice Nurse next Tuesday for results and a diabetic review and have my health Trainer appointment late in March (so 4 weeks to get rid of the weight I think I have put on).

Slept on and off for most of the afternoon (very little sleep last night). Back to housework in fifteen minute chunks and eating frogs tomorrow.

Today I am grateful for MSE'ers particularly all you turtles and the lovely Greying Pilgrim, for being able to walk (however slowly) - I remembered to 'focus on where you are going' and for books and the internet.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for my bunch of daffs starting to flower, for a gorgeous sky on the way home, for the mechanic being able to sort the car out on tues/weds, for my drawers being kondo-ed and looking sooo good I keep opening them up just to look inside (!), for the scrubbed clean feel of olive oil + salt facescrub!

Fmess

Evening all

Good luck with rekindling your romance debtdrowning

Your food budget looks very sensible and health thrifty

Today was SFD number 13 but realised that I might need to spend money everyday this week so might not get anymore. Unfortunately, they are all for things that only happen on that

Going to go visualise my future