Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

brizzlegirl

Hope you had a great birthday weekend! 

Suffolk_lass

You're a bit quiet - I hope all is well and it is because you are having fun

brizzlegirl

You’re very quiet!! Altho so have I! Hope alls Ok with you x

brizzlegirl

How’s it going XS? Hope alls good and you’re just busy x

Honeysucklelou2

Hope all is well with you XS.

XSpender

Hello

Thank you for dropping in during my long absence.  It has been a crazy few months here.

Work is very busy for me (and the contract will continue for 2021, yey!) but absolutely dreadful for DH who buckled under the pressure last month and walked out (the 3rd manager to do so in 3 weeks).  He did go back after a long weekend and things have changed for the better. I hope the recognition and praise he has received and the support he has been given continues. They were desperate for him not to leave and his hard work has resulted in a good sized bonus being due next month.  However, since some accountant much higher up the food chain refused to pay it last time I am not holding my breath it isn't reduced or cancelled again so I haven't included it in my budget planning.

Talking of budgets, I haven't used YNAB since August, having moved to a paper based system as per thebudgetmom.  I haven't paid for any downloads, just following the method and have been able to save much more using this method.  I am cashless and not using cash envelopes for spending but have found saving in cash envelopes is really working for me.

Our 20 year old boiler died and we had to have it replaced which wiped out almost all our savings and that was mates rates from a former BG engineer who had recently been made redundant.  I cancelled the gift DH was buying me for my big birthday to help with the cost and top up the savings.  I didn't feel comfortable not having much left in the savings pot.  We have just about got our EF back where it was and will have finished our Christmas savings pot next month and we have 1 sinking fund fully funded and are funding others for 2021.

We have radically changed our diet, finding a way of eating that has reduced our weight and makes us feel great.  It is a plan DH has signed up to at a new gym and I am following it too, I can't see me ever going back to how I ate before.  It is metabolic typing, similar foods to paleo although I do eat oats and a little organic milk so I'm more primal.  I've lost over half a stone in 4 weeks and DH has lost over a stone.  I have barely done any exercise either. The food budget was blown out of the water last month after finally coming in under budget in August for the first time in forever.  I have increased our budget his month and will be monitoring it closely.

DS is back to school and loving it.  He is doing well and does not seem to have got behind at all been off but will see what his teacher says in his report next month.  He cycles the mile there most days so I end up not leaving the house much!  We have the secondary school applications to do this month!  It doesn't seem 5 minutes since I was stressing over which primary school he was going to.

Hope you are all well xxx

apple_muncher

Wow - that is a crazy few months indeedy! Well done on coming out of it stronger and together and doing so well x

Suffolk_lass

Good to have you back. How fortunate that you had most of what you needed saved for the boiler! You sound immensely positive and it all sounds fantastic. Let us hope you get a bit of plain sailing now.

As you have been using (USA) the budget mom did you realise in the UK @slowlyfading on here (runs the "Save £12k in 2020" thread) is the Frugal Cottage blogger and also has free downloads and videos on youtube - she also runs the NSD Facebook page but not as anonymous as here? I like her simple straightforward style. 

Congratulations on that weight loss! I need to lose half a stone so my jeans are looser!

XSpender

Thanks for the blog recommendation SL.  I have read some of it before, but not for a long time, so spent a happy hour looking at it over the weekend, watched a couple of videos and will read some more this week.  The method and budget planner is very similar to that created by thebudgetmom so all makes sense.

I have topped up the EF to the minimum level with the small emergency fund I have for the dog, the sinking fund I had saved for next year's YNAB which I am not going to renew and a tenner from the Christmas savings pot.  I don't really need a separate EF for the dog, he is an old boy and won't be having any future operations or anything (as recommended by the vet for a pup of advanced age) and I will cashflow his meds and the EF will cover any end of life care needed.  I can now tick 'refill emergency fund to minimum level' off my to do list.

The sinking fund/dog EF were saved in cash so I have had to transfer from the current account to the EF account and will use the cash to spend.  It is now in cash envelopes for food and household spending in my purse.  Good job I have one of those long purse/wallety things as the envelopes (free downloads from thebudgetmom and Autumn themed ) just about fit.  Must remember to use cash now and not hand over the debit card as per usual!!

I have signed up to an 8 week course of small group PT sessions, 3 per week, (same course as DH) and start next week.  The PT was offering it at half price so couldn't pass up the offer.  I will have to ask the PT what I need to do with the diet plan as I am on week 5 of DH 8 week plan and not sure if I should continue or re start it.  DH is tempted to do another 8 weeks depending on price.  This week we have chosen to add in a number of recommended supplements which cost more than what we spent on the weekly shop!  Luckily, some are only needed for a 2 month period but some we may continue with depending on the difference they make.  I will need to buy some new gym trainers as I trashed mine doing the garden during lockdown.  I have lots of gym kit I can just about squeeze into so don't need to purchase any more.

Inspired by newgirly on the MFW thread I am setting myself some goals for the rest of the year:

1) Achieve Christmas savings target (currently at 50%, should be done next month if DH bonus comes through)
2) Achieve £9,000 credit card debt paid off (original goal of £10k is now unachievable due to paying for boiler replacement)
3) SIF target debt - currently £844.82 (included in above total)
4) Achieve goal weight (not sure what this is, will know when I hit it. Somewhere between where I am now and another stone off. I should be back in the heathy weight range for my height, just, by next week.)
5) Maintain new way of eating (back on it this week after eating crisps and chocolate at the weekend! I blame TOTM!!)
6) Attend every one of the 24 PT sessions I have signed up for
6) Eat 12 frogs off the to do list (preferably the ones that don't cost any money)

Suffolk_lass

Re weight loss, have you seen the research by Prof Roy Taylor at Newcastle Uni? He is the man behind the 800 calorie ultra low calorie diet to reverse diabetes. His is the research that Dr Michael Mosley (8-week low blood sugar diet) is based on. The clinical trials have shown that if you can keep off the sweet tastes (ie water instead of diet sweet tasting drinks) you can retrain your brain as well as your gut. And then your whole metabolism behaves differently. Paleo is very similar from what I see.