NST July - Bobs Bucket & Spade Boogie to the beach!

mothernerd

A SFD (tried very hard). Made myself go to the other house and spent an hour getting very hot and sweaty in the process. Brought back more plant pots and broken crocks (in the 65l rucksack) two shopping bags of seed trays/ covers and the second half of the plastic shelving.

Really wanted a kebab (not at all good for pocket or waistline - sure I must have one somewhere) so reminded myself that I had taken a sandwich out of the freezer earlier so had that and a ys mousse SO KEPT MY SFD.

Today I am grateful for being happy with what I have, for (much needed) hot baths and keeping going thanks to you turtles and getting the balance right (I am aching but not hurting, so using muscles but not to excess).

Bobarella

Morning All

Mothernerd - well done on your NSD

Calling - well done on your overpayment & sounds a lovely visit with your brother.

Fmess - Glad the wedding was nice and people made you feel comfortable and included. Weddings can be hard when your not feeling 100%

TheOnlyGirl - well done on your NSD total, doing great this month.

MissTara - Glad your bread worked. That will save you loads day to day.

Becky2 - I agree with what you said. I think I started joining in around October of last year properly. Before that I'd read along and just thought 'I could never be so strict' then I went through a period of time where I had to stick 100% to a budget with very uncertain time scales as it was money coming from insurers and that was enough to scare me into joining the challenge.

Abundant - thank you for your kind comments on my car free ness. I have just paid for a hire car for next weekend and for 1 day only that's £60 without any top up petrol. With zipcar you don't pay for petrol unless you go over a certain volume. However. It's the first time this year we've needed to hire one. So if you look at overall savings....but still ouch this week

Academia - it's good you have no debt. That's what I'm aiming for too. No frauds here only inspirations.

Bobarella

So this week is the middle of the month. Feels like we are making good progress on the challenge. Some good discussions on our strange ways of saving money that may seem extreme to the uninitiated, but all help get us to where WE want to go.
Great numbers of SFDs too.
Personally the stretch target has worked well for me. I feel I would not ever have paid off almost £250 in a month (£100 min) without it. £29.72 to find before the end!

Keep going with all your own goals. If you haven't spent your fun budget do it! Likewise your getting outside days. Make the most of the generally warmer weather and longer hours of sunlight.

Go Turtles!!!

Bob

apple_muncher

Well done on the bread misstara! By the way, vinegars are fine, even the malt one apparently. Ones like apple cider vinegar are made from ...apples! But I still avoid the brown chip-shop-style one except to use it for cleaning. I am still getting through bottles of fairly posh vinegars from when I used to spend.

Fmess - so glad the wedding was so lovely. And you kept your mse head on - well done you!

Bob - my sister doesn't have a car and they live in the back of beyond. There used to be a bus service that ran close by but now they have to walk 400m+ to the nearest stop, along a busy road frequented by quarry lorries. She doesn't cycle either (too dangerous, plus she is at the top of a massive hill!). However, if you need to travel by train, she knows more about possible routes, connections and tickets than anyone in a station!!

Dd's sports day this morning and it is rather drizzly. Oops. Will still get a day outside though!

dolly84

Fmess - glad you had a good day at the wedding.

Misstara - glad your bread turned out well, sometime it takes a few goes to get used to the feel of the dough.

Today was supposed to be sports day but it has been postponed until Wednesday and if it rains then they won't be having one this year. This is DD's last one at primary school and if it doesn't go ahead I may have tears again (mine not hers).

Calling14

Dolly84 - hopefully the weather may improve by then. Left it a bit late for sports day? most schools had it few weeks ago.

Fmess - Glad the wedding went well. Hard going to those functions on your own. More brave than me.

Misstara - saved a lot of money with your bread making. Well done you might inspire me to have a go.

Didn't sleep hardly at all last night, think I was just too hot. Ate too many sweet things yesterday, heaps of birthday cake. Result one grumpy me today.

Today will a SFD 7/20 - need to post a parcel but got heaps of stamps to use up.

Paid off another 15.00 today determined to catch up with Bob hehe Perhaps my debt busting has gone on too long and I am getting impatient now.

Had a lot of outside days, Thursday afternoon Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday playing being a local tour guide. Burnt nose stopped peeling now.

Nice to be back to normal today, after lots visitors. Can budget and keep working on eating up what is left in my freezer. No shopping for a few days, may need some doggie food then.

Have a lovely day folks x

OnwardAndUpward81

I have no NSDs to report but trying hard to make today one. Calling14, well done for paying off £15 today and I agree that MissTara has got me thinking about a breadmaking!
Have a good NSD week everyone !

abundant1972

Hi everyone.

Today trundled along quite nicely and am claiming SFD number 8. Nothing much to report... Have got my car park bag done - £5 in change. Yet to look for Gluten Free recipe, and going to look at my spending map again tonight...

The_Only_Girl

NSD number 10 woohoo!

My LTW of chicken stew and rice was eyed with envy by my colleague and those who didn't see it commented on how lovely the smell was. I can't believe that until 3 months ago I never brought any lunch with me and spent at least £5 for lunch everyday. Saved loads of £££.

It was such a shock to my system to wake up at 5:30 am this morning. My shifts for the last few weeks have been either night shifts or late shifts so what a change to my body clock. I played yawn contest with my colleagues today and went straight to bed when I got home at 3pm. It's tempting to just sleep through the night and wake up at 5am tomorrow but I must really get up and make supper.

My husband got £46 for his quidco cash back and £14 from Santander for interest and cash backs. It's nice when there's incoming money rather than just outgoings. They will go straight to the credit card. Slowly but surely chipping away.

Right I just go, the supper won't cook itself. Wishing you all a good evening and lots of NSD's to report. Ta.

academiablues

Evening all :-) unbelievably tired today, think the weekend has caught up with me. I did four hours in a car and eight hours sat in a lecture theatre on Saturday, and my back is aching awfully today. But managed another NSD, and did a workout in spite of the pain. Got two days off now, which I'm grateful for!
Bob, to answer a question you asked me a while back, probably at least £500 a year (car insurance, MOT, bit of petrol that wouldn't be used because OH would walk instead) could be saved by only having the one car. TOG, I don't know how you do shift work - I'm sure you get used to it eventually but it sounds quite difficult to me.
Right, off to look at (free) days out in my area - going to make the most of the sunshine this weekend!