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

Calling14

Happy 1st July turtles.

NSD for me 1/20

Sold a dress on ebay today so £10 off my credit cards. Hopefully another couple will sell tomorrow.

Walked dog,cut grass, cleaned car(bucket was so suprised it split) washed dog in pantene. Had to come inside hayfever worse ever had it. Might stay in rest month at this rate.


Will list my targets on Friday as on a spreadsheet, in work.

Hard to choose a terrific turtle all helped me in so many ways, love reading everyone's struggles and solutions. I would choose Applemuncher as always positive and cheery.

Great challenge Bob.

mothernerd

Can I join please Bob. Had my first SFD - easy because I only went as far as the end of the backs to bring the bins back. Feeling a lot lighter in spirit - though not in body, must start a food diary again (the turtle shell isn't supposed to be on the front? - no thought not).

Like Calling I will have to tread cautiously on going outside, even with the hayfever tablet (and carrying the inhaler as it's been useful in emergencies in the past), sun factor 30 (to avoid the sun related eczema). I sound like a hypochondriac, the sun can be fun but I need to limit my exposure - maybe take a picnic and go to the country park. I can always stay under the trees or in a bird hide.

Finally starting to rain - DS3 is going outside in his underpants to stand in it. (short interlude for 'dancing' in the rain). That was very refreshing cooling everything down - lots of lightning in the clouds.

Did a money saving thing yesterday. I tried to revive our pillows last month. So that isn't working and I have lumps of felted stuffing on my floor. So decided the purchase of new pillows will have to come forward (will buy myself new ones and give DS3 any usable ones from the old ones). But for now have rolled and folded the single quilts to use as pillows and will sleep under sheets or a thin cover (when cold).

Today I am grateful for sleep (tired from furniture moving yesterday), books and free food (living off DS3's leftovers.

WelshKitty85

Hi everyone! Happy July!

My name is Welsh Kitty and I am in debt. My financial target was to clear £5105.43 worth of debt by Christmas. This was debts I have built up over the years on credit cards, loans and hire purchase. I am pleased to say that I have nearly cleared it already, with just under £100 left on the sofa finance. My target for this month is to pay this off in full so that I can reach my target early. My final bit of debt is my car finance. I have now transferred this into a credit card and this will be my next target. At the moment, I am waiting to hear if I have been awarded any scholarships/grants for a masters starting in September. Until I know the outcome it is hard for me to make any more financial decisions. But, I want to be able to throw as much as possible at this last bit of debt to clear it as soon as possible.

So...this month I am aiming for 20 SFDs. I am setting my budgets as follows:
Groceries - £200
Fuel - £100

I am also setting aside £100 for DSs birthday as we have promised him a party this year (he will be 7 and has never had a proper birthday party yet). And £50 for my graduation next week as I think we will be going for a meal afterwards.

We have had a family chat this evening and decided we need to declutter. Some items will be getting sold and some will be donated to charity. As for getting outside, I am hoping to make the most of the warm evenings and get out for some walks and even some fruit picking from the local (free) orchard when they are ready.

Today has been a spend day as I have fuelled my car, which cost £53.

Hoping this will be the month that I succeed in reaching my targets.

Fmess

Evening all,

Read most but not all your posts but will do a proper catch up tomorrow, and post my goals tomorrow.

On the gf free front (miss tara and Stewby) I would definitely agree with Apple muncher. Don't try and have all the foods you used to as you pay a stupid amount of money for most products. I'm lucky in that I'm a diagnosed coeliac so I get food on prescription (although I do pay £100+ a year for that). Sausages are getting much cheaper, asda do their own brand gf for £1.55 for 8 and most the posh brands are gf but obviously are more expensive. I have chicken nuggets as a rare treat, but they are silly expensive so I usually have chicken breast in a sauce instead. You can do chicken in BBQ sauce with cheese melted on top for way less than the cost of gf nuggets I treat myself to one box of gf cakes or biscuits a month and then avoid all the other gf products due to expense. There are lots of 'normal' products that are gf, you just have to read the packets.

Today was a spend day as my car had run out of coolant and I didn't think it wise to drive it in this weather without any. Just finished marking and off to bed ready to get up for work at 6.

Bobarella

mothernerd wrote: »

Can I join please Bob. Had my first SFD - easy because I only went as far as the end of the backs to bring the bins back. Feeling a lot lighter in spirit - though not in body, must start a food diary again (the turtle shell isn't supposed to be on the front? - no thought not).

Like Calling I will have to tread cautiously on going outside, even with the hayfever tablet (and carrying the inhaler as it's been useful in emergencies in the past), sun factor 30 (to avoid the sun related eczema). I sound like a hypochondriac, the sun can be fun but I need to limit my exposure - maybe take a picnic and go to the country park. I can always stay under the trees or in a bird hide.

Finally starting to rain - DS3 is going outside in his underpants to stand in it. (short interlude for 'dancing' in the rain). That was very refreshing cooling everything down - lots of lightning in the clouds.

Did a money saving thing yesterday. I tried to revive our pillows last month. So that isn't working and I have lumps of felted stuffing on my floor. So decided the purchase of new pillows will have to come forward (will buy myself new ones and give DS3 any usable ones from the old ones). But for now have rolled and folded the single quilts to use as pillows and will sleep under sheets or a thin cover (when cold).

Today I am grateful for sleep (tired from furniture moving yesterday), books and free food (living off DS3's leftovers.

Of course! No 22 this month. Gosh so jealous of the rain you have. It is still utterly baking here. Downstairs the wind is coming in finally but up here its stifling. A sticky night ahead...

misstara

Thanks for the various tips on eating gf. I find lunches and teas fairly easy - I buy gf pasta and oatcakes but other than that I am pretty much eating the same. The thing I really struggle with is breakfasts. I am used to having toast or porridge for breakfast and am finding it really hard to give up that. I have tried yoghurt and fruit but I just end up really hungry about 9.30am (I usually walk to work plus I have a fairly physical job). I occasionally have an omelette for breakfast, very yummy. Any other gf breakfast ideas gratefully received

apple_muncher

misstara - I'm boring re brekkie - I have 3 scrambled eggs in butter with a dollop of cottage cheese on top. If hungry I'll also have up to 100g cheese! I sometimes have fruit with it but find that I'm then hungry again quite soon - weird! Poss due to teh sugar being digestd fast...?

Talkin gof which, am off to make it!

Bobarella

Good Morning All

Well it's hot again here already, despite the TV weather saying it's cooler. Managed to get some rest so that's all good.

WelshKitty - well done on your amazing debt paying off progress this year, that is some going in only 6 months. Good luck getting the next stage sorted out once funding is confirmed.

Really hope everyone is doing something towards their goals today, whether it's making a small payment to the debt, taking a shopping list and sticking to it, switching to a new energy provider or making up some weird and wonderful concoction to keep food waste low.

Good luck everyone!

Bob

thriftylass

Good morning!

Yesterday was SFD number one and today will be number 2. Tomorrow I'll pop into LIDL and get what we need for next week before DH comes back and I hope that this will be it apart from maybe milk and bread for the whole next week. Will need to fine tune my shopping list tonight.

It's funny once the kids are in bed and there is no pointless telly to watch with hubby I get so many odd jobs done. Sat down last night to read a book and thought, oh the couch needs a wipe, oh the dining room door glass panels need cleaned from kids paw prints etc and got up and done it. Usually it would just bug me but I'd leave it. It's great.

timetrade

Bobarella wrote: »

Hi All
TimeTrade - Do you think online shopping would work better for you to beat the 'just one thing' habit?
Bob

I used to do online shopping, but found that I ended up spending more than I wanted to for the weekly main shop due to the limits on the minimum order (£40).

I think that if I just schedule in a single top up shop I should be able to get a handle on it - it's more of a habit, really. My bus stop is right next to an express supermarket, so it was a bit too easy to just pop in while I'm waiting.

Yesterday was a NSD for me, by the way. (1/20)