NST: January 2017

32b3in2013

Sorry, me again, there is nothing on the tele, so I have been having a think about the rules.

Set a NSD target, aim for at least 15.
I will go for 15 and see if I can exceed that number

Donate to a charity
My friend is doing dry January for cancer research again, I will sponsor her for each week she completes. Is this acceptable?

Pay to your debt or savings first
Done

January's rules:

Look at your usual food budget and aim to spend 10% less. Do a stock take of everything in your freezer/fridge/cupboards - I seem to have heaps of food left over from Christmas despite thinking that I hadn't bought that much!

I currently spend at least £50 per week on lunch and snacks at work, so I will cut that down to £30 per week.

Post 3 things that you are grateful for each time you post

Today I am grateful for
my car. I drove 4 bags of rubbish to the tip which means it is not going to be sitting in the bin for another two weeks before the refuse collectors arrive again.

my great niece. she always has a smile on her face

the takeaway delivery driver. Its not January until tomorrow!!

Post something that you would like to have achieved by the end of 2017 - think about how you will achieve this, break your goal down into small achievable steps.
I would like to achieve 3 stone weight loss and 5 fewer debts in 2017.

Organise some cheap (free if possible) things to do with family or friends. January is a long and usually boring month, it's nice to have things to look forward to

It is my best friends birthday in Jan and 4 of us will be going on a mystery tour. It is not my turn to drive, so all I need to pay for is food. It is usually a cheap day out and an opportunity to go somewhere new with good friends.

I think thats all. I will be back tomorrow to update. It should be a spend free day as I am out for lunch, and nothing is open anyway

32b3

FurryBeastOz

I'm in please.

Taking the grocery budget down from £300 to £250 a month with a month 13 for bulk buying.

I'm going for 15 days this month after a complete failure in December.

Today I am grateful for my parents, my husband and dishwashable wedding china (we still have to hand wash the crystal:D)

By the end of 2017 I want to be down 1.5 stone and sitting there, not clinging on by my fingernails.

Tomorrow I need to do my other goals for the year. I have transferred to savings all the underspend for last month and will top it up after being paid in the middle of January.

Happy Hogmanay everybody.

cybertortoise

I'd like to join please.

Aiming for 15 NSDs to start with. A food budget of £250. I'd like to achieve savings of £250 which doesn't sound much but our budget is going to be so tight already and we hope to be housed soon so lots going out and none coming in. I'll need to earn extra income from selling stuff and see what else I can do.
And I'd like to achieve a full declutter and overhaul of all of our belongings (me and 5 kids) before we move as we have lots in storage at my aunts which hasn't been touched since August.

Happy new year everyone x

Fmess

Wow well done on the weight loss welshkaren

dolly84

Happy New Year everyone.

welshkaren - incredible weight loss, hope you reach your goal.

My budgets for January are:

Diesel/Petrol/LPG - £100
Groceries £360 (5 week month)

as payday is 26th usually all savings pots have been transferred to already.

My targets for the end of 2017 are:

1. To have a new job
2. To have £9k in savings (this means saving £5200 this year)
3. To stay debt free
4. To make a family effort to reduce our waste. Just recycling is not the answer.

barnez

The challenge runs from January 1st to January 31st.
Set a NSD target, aim for at least 15. Aiming for 15 - this is a new thing for me. Looking at my bank statement and seeing how much I spend at work on lunches etc has made me realise I need to leave my card at home
Donate to a charityMoney is very tight, however I have a large bag of toiletries and other donations for a homeless project that my friend works for. I also donate regularly to the Foodbank.
Pay to your debt or savings firstPart of my resolution. This month I have relied on payday loans to get me through, so will be concentrating on not doing this again
Post as often as you can

January's rules:
Look at your usual food budget and aim to spend 10% less. Do a stock take of everything in your freezer/fridge/cupboards - I seem to have heaps of food left over from Christmas despite thinking that I hadn't bought that much! Done. I have done an inventory and a meal plan, and done the shopping I need. Hopefully I won't need anything other than milk and fruit for the next two weeks. I have set a budget of £200 for the month
Post 3 things that you are grateful for each time you post I love this! Today I am grateful for my Son bringing me a lovely coffee in bed, made just how I like it. I am grateful that I have both of my children home with me today as no one has to work. I am grateful for our health
Post something that you would like to have achieved by the end of 2017 - think about how you will achieve this, break your goal down into small achievable steps.I would like to have paid off my credit card and overdraft (combined total £2000), so I can use them as they were intended originally - for emergencies. I am going to do this by making a small overpayment everyday to my CC at the same time as I put my pennies into my 1p a day challenge. I will decrease use of my OD by £50 a month. I would also like to pay off some of my other debts, I have downloaded my credit file, and am going to work out the best way of going about this.
Organise some cheap (free if possible) things to do with family or friends. January is a long and usually boring month, it's nice to have things to look forward to. Will have to work on this one. This evening however, me and the kids are having a big curry dinner with 3 different curries and all the sides. Home made, not a takeaway, didn't have to buy anything except a bag of Quorn and some chicken pieces for around £5. We have drinks and dessert left from Chrimbo, so we are having a big feast for next to nothing, and there will be some leftovers to freeze for later in the month. And the best bit will be, sitting down together, talking and laughing, you can't put a price on that.

clippy_girl

Morning all,

Hope everyone is bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. I ended up having to drive to/from the party I went to but somehow still feel I have a hangover! Think it is a sugar one!

I am going to aim for 15 NSD

Will donate to food bank next time I go to supermarket.

My budget for food and household is £140 (this includes breakfast and toiletries for Airbnb guests). Will aim for £126. I have already done a big shop before today but won't count that (as no doubt do one just before Feb). I am going to keep a note of all spends in this category so I can review the budget.

My goals for the year are to loose 3 stone 4lb to get back under 10st and to find a partner. Weight wise need to start going to the gym again and cutting out junk (esp sugar). Going to do no sugar in Jan (was stuffing sweets in my mouth during the countdown last night but swallowed before the chimes :rotfl:). partner wise I will start online dating again prob in March and am going to try and get the courage to go speeddating. Need to ensure I message people and am proactive on the online dating front as well!

Made a start to healthy eating as yest I batch cooked a pot of chilli and a pot of squash and spinach coconut curry. Today I'm doing parsnip soup and a beef,prune and apricot stew. Tomorrow will be turkey curry! Inventories all done :T

abundant1972

Happy 2017

It's really nice seeing how motivated everyone is... long may it last haha! On to my goals, targets and daily gratitude:

Today I am grateful for:

I) The roof over my head
ii) Clean running water to drink and bathe in
iii) Food in my cupboards

Monthly Goals/Targets:

NSD target = 20 days. That gives me a spend day on Wed & Sat (days off) and a few flexi-days for emergencies.

Donations each month go to WWF & a heart charity.

Debt/Saving payments go out on the 01st of each month

On to my Budget. Last month I set myself £80 Grocery and £20 spends for the whole month, and failed. I think in hindsight I could have managed on £80 for food... but having next to no spends meant I ate into my food money to cheer myself up... So - I'm going to have a rethink. It was going to be £100/£100 but I'm going to aim for £80.00 food and £80.00 spends

2017 Year Aims:

1. To be DEBT FREE again. I did it once and slipped but I'm back on track - and need to stay that way.
2. To exercise at the gym 2/week and use the stairs at work instead of the lift. I will also eat healthily - allowing for treats on a Wed/Sat. It is too easy for me to give up and eat myself into oblivion. I have budgeted in £400 for my birthday in November. I will get paid £3.00 per planned gym session/nature walk that I have achieved. I have 133 potential sessions = up to a £399 CASH BONUS! If I have unclaimed money I will donate it to a charity.
3. To have got back into my daily mindfulness routine and get back in touch with my spirituality and get out more into nature (at least 1/week).
4. To have made a firm decision on where I want to live and have money saved for a mortgage deposit (10K).
5. Make time to socialise! I have become too insular and withdrawn from friends - this is perhaps my biggest challenge of all. I suffer with anxiety/depression - mostly triggered recently by issues with friends that really let me down and betrayed my trust. I am going to allocate £40 which I can only access if I am with other people in a social setting (sounds like a giveaway but trust me - I'm practically a recluse!!!). If I don't put this aside I will say I can't afford it or prioritise something else. I will aim for just one outing a month for now.

Well - sorry for the mammoth post... But if feels good to have got that all down in one place! I'll go ahead today and break it all down into manageable steps so I don't get overwhelmed by it all...

Once again - Happy 2017 - Let's make this an AWESOME one!!!

Seasidegal58

Happy New Year Turtles!

Please sign me up mistara!

misstara wrote: »

I love the start of January - the possibilities for the year ahead are endless and I feel incredibly positive about everything. Usually by mid-January, this feeling has worn off slightly as the weather, work and broken new year's resolutions take over. This year, I want it to be different so part of this challenge will be to post 3 things (daily if you can) that you are grateful for. im so grateful to have a wonderful family, a mortgage free home and my health.

I would also like everyone to post something that they would like to have achieved by the end of the year. For me, 2017 will be the year that I become debt free and I would also like to take part in a 10k.finish off my emergency fund then save enough for new kitchen. Also I want 2017 to be the year I finally get back to my fighting weight!

Usual rules:
The challenge runs from January 1st to January 31st.
Set a NSD target, aim for at least 15.going for 15
Donate to a charity - will do
Pay to your debt or savings first - have done this already
Post as often as you can try for every day

January's rules:
Look at your usual food budget and aim to spend 10% less. Do a stock take of everything in your freezer/fridge/cupboards - I seem to have heaps of food left over from Christmas despite thinking that I hadn't bought that much! - I'm away from home at the moment so will stock take when I get back.
Post 3 things that you are grateful for each time you post - as posted above
Post something that you would like to have achieved by the end of 2017 - think about how you will achieve this, break your goal down into small achievable steps. - as posted above
Organise some cheap (free if possible) things to do with family or friends. I'm away with DD and her OH and will be out for a nice long walk later and also each day till Tuesday! January is a long and usually boring month, it's nice to have things to look forward to

Today is actually looking like a NSD as won't be buying anything. All inclusive on meals here and walking is free!

XSpender

Happy New Year!

Here are my goals for January's challenge.

Usual rules:
The challenge runs from January 1st to January 31st.
Set a NSD target, aim for at least 15. - Aiming for 5/week
Donate to a charity - Will do
Pay to your debt or savings first - Have paid 1 debt already, a small overpayment to another, the first 4 weeks of my 52 week savings challenge and the rest of my debts and savings are on DDs which come out tomorrow
Post as often as you can - Will do

January's rules:
Look at your usual food budget and aim to spend 10% less. £350
Do a stock take of everything in your freezer/fridge/cupboards - Will do
Post 3 things that you are grateful for each time you post
Post something that you would like to have achieved by the end of 2017 - (1) Pay off £20,000 of debt run up buying and refurbishing our new house. Monthly payments and bonuses will cover about £16k so need to somehow find another £4k from our tight budget!(2)I need to sort out my diet, I am not overweight but tend to eat too much rubbish, too many carbs and miss meals. DH also needs to lose about 2 stone. From Tuesday we are eating clean, doing dry January and I am restarting the Body Coach plan I got as an early Christmas present that I started and then stopped. We do a lot of exercise but you cant out train a bad diet.

Organise some cheap (free if possible) things to do with family or friends. January is a long and usually boring month, it's nice to have things to look forward to - DH and I have agreed to keep Sunday special this year and will not be doing anything other than a bit of housework, the odd small house job and spending time as a family. We have also made a list of places to visit that are free or use our NT membership. Tomorrow we are going walking in the lakes with a packed lunch


Today I am grateful for:

* Sunshine so that we can take the dog on a long walk to clear our heads
*Takeaway drivers that work on NYE and deliver delicious food
*Lovely friends to share a meal with