NST March TURTLES ARE TOUGH

XSpender

Time to get tough.

I have three assignments that need to be completed for some work related courses I have been avoiding doing. I will complete them all by the end of March.

U will avoid coffee shops, pie shops, sandwich bars, vending machines, canteens and takeaways

Haven't got room in the budget for these this month!

Reduce your food budget by 1/15th

We are away for a week and this is a shorter month so have reduced it by 2/15th

Lunch to Work

I have a lunch allowance from work but will focus on DH taking lunch to work every day as he can waste a fiver easily and it’s not good for his waistline or the budget. Not a good start today as he left his lunch on the side!

Exercise. 4 x 30 minutes a week.

I start training for a half marathon today and I am planning on 4 sessions a week.

Savings or debt repayments come first. Live on what is left over.

Saving for house move so will be attempting to live on just under 1 salary this month!

Audit your cupboards, fridge and freezer and meal plan before going shopping.

We have done this over the last couple of months so have had to do a Costco visit for essentials this weekend but I will meal plan and focus on no waste if that is OK

Review your annual budget.

We have cut and cut again in order to maximise our savings and have already begun work on our budget at the new house. I will check when our annual subscriptions are due and budget for them.

Eat Well. Give your brain and body the fuel they need to do their jobs.

This fits in perfectly with our focus this month as we are looking to change our diet for the better as we have let it slip over the last 3 months.

Tough. This is my aim this March. Deviations from the rules may be questioned.

Feel free to kick my butt mothernerd and turtles as and when required.

Others as ourselves

Will focus on my thoughts and actions rather than donations this month.

U will aim for 16 Spend Free Days.

Will do my very best

Get ready.

Home

As our house has been sold we have no little jobs to do but will focus on keeping on top of the house work and laundry and clearing the garage out ready for moving day, whenever that might me!

thriftylass

Hello,

despite going on holiday for 10 days I thought I give March a try again and will hopefully stick around a bit better than so far. Made a few changes to my life which hopefully will enable me to. Off to read the intro..Thank you Mothernerd

Edit, just printed the intro off to put it next to my desk for motivation


March starts with Mother's Day (6th) and ends with Easter (GF 25th) and then there's also the 17th. Some of you will have holidays booked We go away to Germany for 10 days. Travel money is budgeted. Will be driving over as it’s cheaper for the 4 of us.

Time to get tough. Time to get serious. Time to stop procrastinating. I quit Facebook and started reading Ruby Wax’s book about mindfulness. Will read her second soon too. I’m a good example for being like a computer with too many windows open and then crashing. While I was still able to procrastinate on FB etc rather than doing sth more worthwhile like crafting, reading and the like. But this website/forum is sth that I won’t give up. But I need to wittle down my priorities so I feel less overwhelmed all the time by "stuff"

Reduce your food budget by 1/15th (divide this month's budget by 15 and take one off). As we’ll be on holiday for 1/3 of the month it’s hard to judge but I am anyway in “freezer-run-down”-mode to stretch the weeks budget for the week and a half before and the same for after the holidays. Will do a proper audit this week.

Exercise. 4 x 30 minutes a week. I started going to the gym for at least 20 min a day at lunch. Swim, HIIT, run or Spin.

Review your annual budget. Will do that. Will have to be more strict with annual savings for car bills etc and not to touch them.

Eat Well. The meat part will hard but the rest will be implemented as part of my trainings plan.

Home.We have few bigger things planned this year, new front door, decorate guest bedroom, do garden up a bit more, plant loads of veg etc etc. And I also want to go through my snag list. Little things that I have been putting off.

LINKYPIE2009

Sign me up please.....hopefully I'll do better than previous months attempts

nannygladys

Sign me up please as I'm around more this month.

I will do 4x 30 mins exercise - walking
Continue sorting out ' I have already taken a couple of bags to CS today!!
Sfds arent a problem, as I will be going to pantry and freezer first as I'm sure stuff is multiplying on the quiet.
Bought a food flask to take to lottie, and already take a normal one down there.
Healthy eating and excersise Its only 31 days I'm sure I can do this eek!!!
Budget overhaul - I will definitely do this one, probably on Wednesday as I'm out tomorrow.
That's all I can think of at the moment, so if I think of any more I will post them tomorrow/Wed.

Nannyg

Eager_Elephant

I'm in for this month - will post my goals tomorrow.

Bobarella

Pinch punch! White rabbits and no returns. Let's do March!

FunBrum

Woohoo! Welcome to the MAD MARCH HARE! :eek:

I'm on this challenge turtles, and I'm running at it head on!

Good luck everyone. I will post my goals when I get my head around it!:j

clippy_girl

Morning turtles!

Ready and raring to go this month!

Working from home today so I can get the cleaning done in preparation for my guest arriving tomorrow. Have got sky coming at some point this morning to install a line in the guest room so also need to do a check of local listings and see if it means I can put my price up or be satisfied I offer the best value for money and therefore should get more bookings

I need to nip to the shop and get flowers and milk for my guest but I'm not going to count them as I buy them when is best for the guest arriving rather than on shopping day to avoid waste (eg did my shop on sat and guest arrives tomorrow so if i bought flowers then they would be half dead by now!). I will never get NSD if I count my Airbnb spends!

At present I only have a rough idea of my monthly food spends as I lump the Airbnb spends in with them. If I go over budget I just think 'well I've bought more for guests this month'. I am going to keep a total of everything spent on groceries this month and also a total of everything spent on guests so that I can effectively plan better in future months. I am aiming for £92.50 on food (this is minus 1/15th) plus £25 for Airbnb groceries (no idea if this enough!).

Hope everyone has a lovely day- raining here

thriftylass

Hello and here we go. Well although I'm not practising mindfulness yet I adopted some positive thinking practises mentioned in the book I finished last night. Also instead of watching mindless telly after I was done with chores I went to bed and read. Hopefully this will help me being bit more focused, positive and determined from this month forward. I guess the sunshine and lovely weather helps too

Lunch to work, will go to the pool at lunch and but will have to spend money on milk, bread, cough syrup and plasters after work.

FunBrum

mothernerd wrote: »

NST MARCH

TURTLES ARE TOUGH

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

March starts with Mother's Day (6th) and ends with Easter (GF 25th) and then there's also the 17th. Some of you will have holidays booked (please feel free to join the challenge suitably adjusted). Have you extra childcare needs/ expenditure? Food budgets may need to be adjusted if people normally eat elsewhere. School holidays should include as many free/ low cost treats as possible (for adults as well). I mention it now as some events have limited numbers. However otherwise it is

Time to get tough. Time to get serious. Time to stop procrastinating. What have you been putting off? What have you been avoiding? Are there any areas where you are falling down?
1, Ok, I've been putting off clearing my debt which is insane! I've always put things off, so maybe it's time to take the bull by the horns, make a plan...in writing...stick it on my kitchen cupboard door and 'bust' it!!

U will avoid coffee shops, pie shops, sandwich bars, vending machines, canteens and takeaways
2, This shouldn't be an issue as I rarely go into them, apart from Maccys to use their internet! I usually have a free coffee voucher to use so I don't look too conspicuous!

Reduce your food budget by 1/15th (divide this month's budget by 15 and take one off). This means that those with large family budgets reduce by the same amount as lone turtles.
3, This might be hard but I will give it a go. I don't usually spend more than £20 pm as I have quite a lot given to me for free. Still, it's a challenge and I will challenge myself to do it!

The challenge runs from 1st March to midnight on the 31st March.
4, Looks like it's started!

Lunchto work every day. Also to appointments/ other regular activities and if possible on outings.
5, i'm retired so not a difficulty.

Exercise. 4 x 30 minutes a week. Please exercise with caution if you have been ill. Break it down into 10 minutes sessions if you need to. Those who already have more developed regimes, continue as usual.
6,i walk I walk at least 3 Mile's a day as part of another challenge I'm on, so will increase that to extra.

Savings or debt repayments come first. live on what is left over.
7, That's my plan! I'm dog walking to put the extra money towards paying it off!

Audit your cupboards, fridge and freezer and meal plan before going shopping. Make a meal using something that has been in the cupboard for a while.
8, I only have a few bits at the moment as I'm trying to eat/empty the freezer to defrost. Will certainly stick to this!

Review your annual budget. Next year's Council tax and Water bills will be arriving. The big energy switch has just taken place. These bills have greater impact on those on lower incomes but everyone needs to factor them in (don't go overdrawn). Are all your renewal dates in your diary so you can compare ahead of time? Are there any annual/ occasional expenses which you tend to forget?
9, I've already shaved my utilities down, but will see if there us any 'wiggle' room!

Eat Well. Give your brain and body the fuel they need to do their jobs. Eat more veg to boost your immune system - particularly important for those who have been ill recently. Remember the standard portion of meat should be approximately the size of a small matchbox.
10, Not a problem, but there is always room for improvements.

Tough. This is my aim this March. Deviations from the rules may be questioned. Alternatives will be suggested. This means that I must be tougher on myself then on you as to do less would be hypocritical. If you are putting yourself on the naughty step could you take a duster or wet cloth and give it a wipe when you are there as I am still finding it difficult to reach?
11, Bring it on:T

Others as ourselves Donate to a food bank or charity of your choice (time, goods or money). Someone somewhere is worse off than you.
12, I always give. There is always someone worse off!

U will aim for 16 Spend Free Days. Remember this is to help stop impulse spending, the 'went in for two things and came out with a basketful' syndrome. Also helps with small spends which can become expensive habits. A small chocolate bar won't kill you but when you get to 11 am and you are expecting that chocolate bar (and then eating tit without any awareness). If you prefer to chart your spending in line with your budget (ie half way through the month/ less than 1/2 spent) this is fine.
13, No problem. I HATE spending!

Get ready. the clocks change at the month end. Spring is officially upon us. Time to get fit - physically, mentally and moneywise.
14, I'm going to use my gym more. My free sessions are at 7.30am, and is 2 miles walk, so I will get up earlier to do those sessions. (Yawn)!!!

Home. This will be my main focus for March, making up for years of neglect and patching up.I would like you to make up a 'snag list'. Go round your house one room at a time and list all the jobs that need doing. You can add 'niggly' jobs if you like - the drawer that never gets sorted. Sort into things you can tackle (or think of ways to tackle them) and those you might have to pay for. Start with the no cost ones. If it's something that would take less than 5 minutes, just do it (you are allowed to put it on the list and tick it off afterwards - I know how satisfying that can be).
15, This is good.....! What a great idea. I'm forever putting things off but can tackle them in bite-size peices.

So are you tough enough for March?

Oh yeah baby........!!!:rotfl::j