NST June Challenge

apple_muncher

You always get in first with the Pinch punch thing, bob!

thriftylass

Welcome to June!

sunshine&showeres you are given a number and are more than welcome to join.

Bob I would love to do the Flylady method. Unfortunately life seems to get in the way or I am too disorganised. Simple things like the kids are in bed, can't do anything upstairs, or sth else always gets in the way. Would love to follow it someday though. Made a list for the garden though and try to tick at least one thing off a day. As we have guests on Saturday and DH is overdue to take the kids I will blitz the house Saturday morning.

Oh and Bob you are totally right, thank God they are so cute .......remember that time vividly. Hope bubba gets an easier time with the teething soon and you get some sleep.

Today will be my first SFD and I am determined not to smoke today. Lovely weather here again so will go out for a run this lunchtime.

apple_muncher

Am booking my place on the naughty step! Dd has asked to go to c0sta today, for one of their babychino milk drinks. That is 55p, and my black coffee will be about £2, so not too bad... 99% of their food isn't gluten-free so we are never sucked into buying that, at least.

misstara

Shift over apple and make some room for me. Am just away to buy a coffee and possibly some food depending on the gluten free options. Have been travelling for 4 and a half hours with over 3 hours to go so coffee is a must

LightBulbMoment

Hi Everybody

Well I am very new to all this so be gentle with me!

My pledges for June:

Back to basics with the rules

• This will commence at 00:01 on the 01/05/2016 and complete at 23:59 on the 31/05/2016

• Minimum of 20 NSDs. (It’s a long month) This challenge does NOT include rent / mortgage/ DD payments/preplanned regular spending like afterschool club or medicine. - This is going to be so hard for me. I think it is just a case of being organised, or I hope it is.

* Pay your debt first and budget with the rest. - This morning I have gone and paid all the bills and misc items that I usually pay throughout the month. So I do feel really organised as this is all done now and I can forget about it until July.

• All monetary outgoings are to be accounted for prior to the start of the month. This includes anything from direct debits and standing orders to a basic amount for dinner dates that have already been planned. - I have worked out my budget for the month and I am going to stick to it as I really need to.

• Utilise any random food left in cupboards / freezers etc and get creative, think twice before going out for a food shop. Only need milk and bread, stick to that. Make a list for a bigger shop and don’t go shopping hungry - I have made a list of food that is in the freezer and am going to shop for items to go with this. I have recently cut our food budget and have found meal planning really helpful and it has saved an awful lot of money.

• Batch cooking is encouraged- meals that require individual or specialised ingredients are not unless you already have them. - Going to commit to batch cook soups, spag bol, chicken curry, lasagna, and some sorts of stew.

• No foods are to be purchased at work canteens / cafes etc. If you are having a family day out take packed lunches. (this will be hard with a non-MSE DH like mine) - This one is so easy for me as I work from home:j.

• Only supermarket own brands are encouraged unless there is really sth you despise like the coffee and can’t live without the brand (like my DH). Get it delivered to prevent impulse buys… the delivery charge will outweigh impulse buys and any green-eyed monster issues you make incur. Use Aldi and LIDL, if you haven’t tried them yet you might be positively surprised. - I already do this. There are a few items that I will not compromise on e.g. tea, baked beans and coffee.

• No non-essential beauty items are to be purchased. Use up everything you have in the house before ANY purchases. I have plenty of make-up that I never used and toiletries cluttering my bathroom, this will be so easy for me this month.

• Beauty purchases are to remain under £5 for the month if you are truly out of resources. Challenge yourself (Tesco/Lidl/Aldi sell shampoo and conditioner for 75p or less each by the way) - This will also be so easy as I have so much stuff I dont really need to buy anything.

• Try and eat at least one frog this month, a giant one (for the uninitiated it means dealing with sth that you have been putting of for ages for various reasons) – Do a car boot sales to try and get shot of all the junk in the garage. I have been putting it off for so long now.

• And last but not least: Combat overwhelmed-ness : There just aren’t enough hours in the day, right? I’m guilty myself of easily being overwhelmed. This month I am going to finally empty the ironing basket of all the clothes in there and keep it empty.

And finally, blossom, enjoy life, there is too much negativity pumped into us through the media etc. Slow down. It’s nearly half way through the year and it just passed me by. Do sth everyday that makes you happy, even the smallest thing counts…..I am going to take the dogs on longer nicer walks ( no spend involved ) and if the weather is nice sit outside on the sun loungers and start to read all the books I have purchased and never opened ( another no spend option ).

Take care everybody and I hope I have done this right.

LBM

apple_muncher

misstara - fraid you are on your own on the step. Dd and I visited a few ch shops, then decided to do a spot of shopping in icyland and head home - then it started pelting with rain so we were pleased with our decision. No coffee shop visit here!

Bargainaceous purchases - and needed ones too, so all good.

SpekySquarehead

Today will be Spend Free Day numero uno. So confident that I've already updated my sig.

Good luck everyone this month!!!

Calling14

Hi quick check in from me. I haven't even worked out my budgets for this month properly yet.

Will claim a SFD for today as I have gs after work and just plan to go home and chill out. We did pond dipping, den building, lots of walking, played in a fairy village yesterday afternoon and I am shattered.

Stopping popping into Lidle/Aldee for slightest thing, as my food overspend was awful last month. Away for a week this month. so will run food stocks down, will need extra petrol for my road trip.

Frogs I will eat.
Finally I will get my passport pic done and get an oil change on the car done - put me on the naughty step for all of July if I fail.

Going to have a few nights out this month and enjoy life. Debt busting will be slow if at all any extra, other than regular payments. House spending on repairs first. Would like to find a good hairdresser and get my locks sorted out as I feel a mess.

De cluttering starting tonight as need to empty lounge/ dining rooms anyway. The junk is moving out and not upstairs!

I will use up all moisturizer had for Crimbo. Will need more face cream before the month is out Aldee cheap and cheerful one. Hair dye I am alright until next month - so no beauty spends.

I like the start of a new month, makes you feel positive again.

thriftylass

Well, that all sounds like a good start to the month.

Quick question. Today is an especially bad day in terms of feeling bleu, overwhelmed and stuck in a hamster wheel. Plus the thought of going home from work doesn't cheer me up either as it just means kids, lunches, dinner, washing etc.
Now I usually go to bed at 10pm, habit from when DD would wake up during the night to ensure I got enough sleep. Now she often sleeps through or I get at least 8-9 hours which i almost think is too much and adds to the feeling "there aren't enough hours in the day" as I sleep too many of them.

How many hours sleep do you get (because you want to, have no other option etc) and is it enough?

Interestingly just found an article on BBc that says the ideal number of hours is 7.

Thanks

Bobarella

Apple I promise to let you pinch me first next month no touch backs though right. And even if you have squibsees it doesnt matter....