Change - better late than never

milasavesmoney

Excellent day and start!!! Subscribed.

Ilona

Good start, Newlythrifty. I like the idea of de cluttering the bathroom by mixing the bits in the bottom of bottles all together and making one new bottle. It's a money saver.
Ilona

lessonlearned

Hi NEwlythrifted.

You have come to the right place and you've made a cracking start. If you don't mind I am going to join you for support and motivation.

I am not in debt but I have been drifting of late and have been spending too much and not earning enough. A lethal combination....:rotfl:

Time to tighten the belt and start making some money. Oh and I also want to lose weight. So here's the plan.......

1. Lose 2 stones by Christmas
2. REduce grocery spends to £200 (will join the Grocery challenge)
3. EArn some extra money

I am retired so should be able to find the time and energy to do this. I just need to stop messing about and focus.......;)

newlythrifty

I woke this morning feeling really positive and keen to start doing things towards my goals.


I went out to the shop early - last night I looked through a lot of slimming world recipes and noted the main gaps in my store cupboard for meals that I know I will cook.


I bought those items, which seemed extravagant, but using half a teaspoon here and there I hope they will last and keep me on track with weight loss. Other spends were milk for me and supplies for my committee.


Does anyone else here shop for groups or other people? I shop for my sister who is housebound at the moment and for my committee. I get the money back eventually but my bank account and budget won't agree. Perhaps it doesn't matter as I always have a bit of spare in my current account.?


I've done a little bit more recycling, and sorted out some items for the charity shop (another car journey so I need to combine it with other errands).


Thank you Monnagran for this: Make a budget for everything. Remember that a budget is telling your money where to go, not wondering where it went.


I have another walk scheduled for today, some work for a meeting this evening and some housework. If I get time I will list a couple of items on e-bay - if not, I'll do it at the weekend. Decided not to do the ironing today - I'll finish it tomorrow with the TV on.

newlythrifty

Welcome Lesson Learned. We can motivate each other. I tend to drift if I don't have a specific aim, so I like your idea of losing weight by Christmas.


I can't see a like button for your post - any ideas why?

[Deleted User]

Good Morning and welcome newthrify you have made an excellent start just by logging on your goals. I treat running my household as I would running a business, and do my best not to waste anything .

I am at the moment working my way through my food stocks as my friend bet me that I couldn't empty one complete cupboard of stocks so I am staying away from supermarkets as much as possible this month so my menus will be ...interesting I think .

As previous posters have said, dig out the stuff from the cupboards and use it before buying anything else. We all have, as a rule, far too much stuff in stock (I know I have ) so its hard earned cash sitting there gathering dust in effect.

My freezer is bursting, and I have six cupboards full of odds and ends that need to be used up. This morning for example, I have dug out a strawberry jelly to make up and put in the fridge, along with a packet of Creme Caramel mix that I bought at Christmas for goodness sake.
So both of those will be made up and put into the fridge for puddings.

I have in my fruit bowl 7 gala apples and two pears, they will be eaten before I buy more fruit. I tend to spend about a third of my housekeeping on fruit and veg.I have the last bit of a huge cabbage to finish off ,probably tomorrow, as I have got a piece of fish out for tonight's dinner which I will have with a bit of salad

Well done on decanting stuff from the bathroom.I have granddaughters that seem to think that dear old Granny needs even more stuff like that for Christmas and birthdays:)

I had to say to everyone last year please don't buy my slippers I have 6 pairs in the cupboard that I have to get through before I need more When you get to.. a certain age folk buy you slippers and smellies for the bathroom in industrial quantities

My friends who are usually my generation all say that its probably the last thing we want We usually instead of exchanging stuff we don't need we go out for a nice meal together which is much more fun .

My eldest DD always treats me to a day in town with a meal and a show for my birthday as she knows there is very little that I need or want.

I certainly need no more clothes or blooming slippers, and I have enough nighties and PJs to restock M&S

So get decluttering your stocks as we all do What you can't or don't want to use regift or donate and clear the decks for a different lifestyle Its great that you have had that 'light-bulb' moment as we all do eventually and as Illona says 'use it up' after all that's what you bought it for

JackieO xx

Serendipitious

newlythrifty wrote: »

I bought those items, which seemed extravagant, but using half a teaspoon here and there I hope they will last and keep me on track with weight loss. Other spends were milk for me and supplies for my committee.


Does anyone else here shop for groups or other people? I shop for my sister who is housebound at the moment and for my committee. I get the money back eventually but my bank account and budget won't agree. Perhaps it doesn't matter as I always have a bit of spare in my current account.

I have done this in the past and where this is paid for up-front by yourself, it can make it difficult to reconcile especially if there is a gap between paying out and waiting to be repaid.

In the case of family members, it is quite reasonable to ask to be provided with the shopping money along with the list. Would this be possible with your sister?

For committees, you should be paid out of petty cash on submitting the receipt, though if the repayment comes from some central department, that can take some time.

I would try to keep a separate cash purse for all of this, if only to lessen the impact on your bank account.

lessonlearned

Did a tip run, pulled out a few weeds in the garden, and managed a NSD food wise.

Also renewed my senior railcard (aiming for some nice little trips out and about).

So a good start.

newlythrifty

Great achievements lessonlearned. I am hoping to do a tip run next week.


I did a few of my planned jobs today - my walk, planning for my meeting and the meeting itself, and tidied the bedroom a bit.
I also went to see a friend who is ill so that was pretty much my day.


Tomorrow I have some paperwork to do following my meeting, and preparation for an event this weekend. I need to clean the bathroom, make a shopping list for the weekend (won't be much on it for me) and finish my ironing. I have a laundry load to do but may leave it until Saturday or Sunday when the weather will be better. I will also continue my walking. My sister has a pedometer she doesn't use so I will have that - then I'll be unstoppable (perhaps).

Ilona

Hello. If you want some inspiration for your walking you could join the Walk 1000 miles in one year challenge, it's not as daunting as it sounds. Broken down it's 2.73 miles a day. There is a web site you can join to monitor your progress, and read what others are doing.
http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/Latest/Search-Results/Features/Walk-1000-miles/
Although most people started in January, you can start at any time.

I have a set route of three miles starting from my front door which I walk every day, with odd days off if it is raining or I am too busy. I can walk three miles in 50 minutes. At the moment I am on 421 miles and heading for 500 for the half year.

I don't think pedometers and fitbits and suchlike are accurate so I have a route that I measured on this website.
http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php
Toggle map sizes so the OS on on the right is bigger. Click on start point and trace route with your mouse, it will add up the miles.

I set time aside to walk, incorporate it into my daily activities. If I haven't found time during the day, I walk up to 9 - 10 pm at night, my streets are lit.

Good luck with that. Walk even if you don't feel like it, discipline is the key. Every step you take is doing you good.
Ilona