NST March TURTLES ARE TOUGH

Fmess

mothernerd - your ears and tail comment has just made me giggle, but I do think we'd all be happier if we had furry ears and a tail. My friend's daughter bough a unicorn horn and ears on a head band from asdar the other day and apparently has worn them 24/7 since, including in the bath and to bed each night. Bless her!


Today I have had a bad diet day - chocolate, biscuits, maccy Ds and chip shop tea! I have a vague excuse for the chip shop tea as my builder was nearly three hours later than first expected, so I was running too late to cook cottage pie, and then the water has apparently is off. However, tomorrow is the start of the next month and a new challenge and I will succeed.


I have however just paid off another £40 off my debt so cc2 has less than £600 on and I am less than £100 from being under 4k, and am less than £100 from having paid off 2k this year so far! I need to find £100 more to get to these targets before the next payday I love numbers.


Thank you for all your quotes and the challenge mothernerd, you are truly inspirational.

Eager_Elephant

I am gutted, I was nearly there for 16 NSD's and ended up with a fail yesterday.


We ran out of butter!!! Disaster!!!
I buy in bulk on shopping day and store in the freezer but didn't quite have enough.
Popped to Waitrose (closest to my work) and found some reduced Flora which would do us but then chanced upon the Easter stuff all with 75% off - I may have been a naughty elephant and purchased some lovely chocolate!!


Today has been a NSD though so finishing the month on 15:T

crazy_cat_lady

Thank you Mothernerd for such a fantastic March challenge.
I am also in the 'could do better' category this month. Time off work and lack of planning really scuppered my nsd total, and my being ill meant that I overspent on the grocery budget. However, on the positive side, I am feeling a lot better, getting my diet and exercise back under control. April's budget is good to go, and I'm hoping that by the time May kicks around then dh will be back to full contribution to the house fund.
It's my birthday today, and I've had a quiet but lovely day. And dh bought me a card - this is a big deal for the man that never does things like that. I've tried to tell him I'm not materialistic and it's all about the thought for years - looks like he might have finally taken that on board.
See you on the other side (or on the April challenge) where I will be back to my full mse ways.

Bobarella

Thank you Mothernerd I've really enjoyed your challenge this month. All the quotes have been wonderful. Sorry you had such a bad nights sleep. May tonight bring you many zzzzz's

apple_muncher

Belated Happy Birthday, CCL!:bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake: Glad it was a good day x

Azzzaa

I am aiming for 15 NDS in April, if i can managed 18 i shall be over the moon! I shall keep you all updated on the April thread!!

[Deleted User]

Thanks for welcoming me back during the March challenge Mothernerd, it was just what I needed to restart this debt-busting Am looking forward to turtling away with you all over on the April thread. Also loved the quotes

Eager_Elephant

Thanks mothernerd for the March thread.

I did not post my goals at the start of the month due to computer issues but here are my goals and the results:


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? I really need to plan my evenings to include committee work and time with the family. Most evenings pass in a blur of not much and I always feel I should have done the opposite to what I have done (If I watch TV with DH I feel I should have done committee work and if I do committee work I feel I should have watched TV.
Did not achieve this but I have a printable monthly sheet so will sort this for April.

Uwill avoid coffee shops, pie shops, sandwich bars, vending machines, canteens and takeaways I am happy to avoid these, I rarely venture into a coffee shop unless I am buying for a client and that is claimable on expenses. The others I don’t go near (except takeaways on special occasions) as they don’t cater for what I eat. We had a takeaway for DH’s birthday at the start of the month and when we went on a Uni visit we grabbed fish and chips on the way home.

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. My budget will be 326.67 for 4 weeks. I think we overspent, I am losing track of the food account, I should pay it all from one account but when it gets to month end I pay it from my account and then pay myself back when the food account gets topped up hence I run behind all the time. This month I will reign it in and try to empty the freezers down so won’t need to spend as much.

Lunchto work every day. Also to appointments/ other regular activities and if possible on outings. This should be fine, I usually take lunch from home. Took lunch from home every day.

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. I don’t actively exercise but everyday I either walk the dog twice or walk the dog once and sort the animals – this usually adds up to an hour a day. Hope it is ok just to keep doing this. Just did the usual plus I go to my allotment for 3-4hrs every Sunday and that is strenuous work!!

Savings or debt repayments come first. live on what is left over. I will follow my budget which includes savings first (debt is 0%) Savings came first. Pots slowly building up.

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. I check the cupboards and then go shopping but never meal plan, maybe I should? Will find some long forgotten ingredients and make something nice. Checked the cupboards and realised I had half the ingredients for granola so have stocked up using a Lidl money off voucher and will be making my own granola for this month.

Review your annual budget. Next year's Council tax and Water bills will be arriving. Need to do this, got new council tax bill which has gone up by a few £’s a month, rent has reduced by £6pm and water is reviewed every December. Still not reviewed but will do this tomorrow as all bills came out today.

Uwill 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. Will keep away from the shops as much as possible and will aim for 16 spend free days. I managed 15 NSD’s!!!

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).DH and I did a list last month of things we would like to do but this wasn’t really a snaglist, more a wish list. Will compile a snag list for each room but it has to include the lounge as this is being decorated at present and new carpet due on 9th. We have nearly finished the lounge, all the walls have been painted, the wood has been oiled, the carpet went down, I purchased a chair I never knew I needed!! We have ordered new sofas which will be here in about 6 weeks.