NST Super September Scrimping challenge

redofromstart

2/30 a no spending day 1/18
6.24/500 on groceries recorded.
Dinner: Side stepped a suggestion of takeaway after a busy day in the garden so burgers n sausages innabun, with veg sticks, wedges and dip - made the bread, meat from freezer
Time for me: a very rare lie in, hurrah, and an hour gardening all by myself (well, apart from the usual cat supervision which peaked at 3 cats and a stupid pigeon)

crazy_cat_lady

Evening all
Managed a nsd today, mainly due to being too tired for much else and waiting in for deliveries.
The new sofa has been delivered and is fabulous - just need to sort some correct sized feet for it, but it's absolutely fine for the moment (just a bit wonky). Got my exercise for the day by moving the old sofa out. This may sound like nothing much but it took me and dh 40 minutes to do it, manoeuvring the old one on it's side, then it's end, into the kitchen, up the stairs, tilted out through the door etc. The delivery guys had to do the same thing to get the new one in but they managed it in less than 5 minutes. I have a sore ankle and am starting to seize up so I know I've done something of a workout.
Dinner use up from freezer.
Improved from yesterday.

cybertortoise

Check in 2/30

I had to buy dog food today so missed a NSD, as I was out I bought some snacks for DD as she starts preschool on Monday. Hopefully we have enough of everything to tide us over til Tuesday which is grocery shopping day and I can squeeze 2 more NSD's. Typing this I have realised we'll need milk by tomorrow so I'll be off down the shop in a minute.

Some random lady told us about a box of cooking apples with a sign on saying help yourself, so dessert tomorrow is covered. I'm grateful for free apples, the sun shining and my 2 year old saying i'm great when I said I was silly!

Also, I have walked about 5 miles in the last 2 days, I need to find my Fitbit charger though!

Fmess

Evening all,


Spendy day today as I got my hair cut, although I opted just for a cut instead of a colour, saving £20. I bought a new pair of trainers, which were rather pricey; this money came from my temping money and not my entertainment/misc budget, which is nearly spent due to buying a birthday present and a couple of meals out this week. September will have to be free fun.


I walked the dogs for 15 minutes this morning but they were all tired this afternoon after running around the garden for most of the day, but I still managed 13,000+ steps.


The builder came round today to explain why no one had been to work on the bathroom for a week, and to tell me that its unlikely that anyone will be here for the next two weeks I am so close to having a bath, yet so far :rotfl: It does mean that I can paint the walls before the suite goes in, so I'd better get that started tomorrow, as well as preparing for school on Monday.


Today I was grateful for:-


- seeing my sisters
- getting my hair cut
- the lovely weather
- lots of food in the cupboards
- the dogs behaving
- not losing it with the rude buy-to-let landlord next door

apple_muncher

Fmess - bet it feels like you'll never get that bath!

Not an NSD here either. We had a cousins reunion and as my niece was catching a 9am train in order to get there for 2ish, having only finished her shift at 3am, I went to the sprmkt to get her some vegan food. So I spent over £30 (to get £2.50 off it all) and stocked up on gf/df for dd too. And I was soooo early doing this, that the frequent buses timetable hadn't kicked in, so I also went to Icyland and aldee for needed items - got the last 4 packs of gf (and df but not packaged as such) hobnob-style biscuits for dd.

We had a great time with my cousins - recently it has been at funerals that we have got together, so it is good to do it for fun instead.

Today I am grateful for swift trains, for dniece + bf waiting for us at the final station, for bumping into other cousins there and getting a lift, for my wonderful extended family, for my niece's face when I gave her a bar of vegan chocolate, for dd having a great time playing, for choosing to do nothing on the trains and just look out of the windows, for lovely weather.

LollyPop0312

Hope everyone had a fab day!
Check in 2/30. Not a NSD today as ended up rushing out for nappies today realising I had none, eek! So £1.40 on sainsburys basics nappies but that's all.
Grateful for mother taking us all out for pizza. Grateful for two beautiful healthy children despite misbehaving all day but I blame myself for being too tired and pregnant to give them enough exercise!
All in all successful day :j

DawnW

Evening all
Check in 2/30
Didn't manage a SFD again, but spent a total of £3.05, £1.05 on milk as we had run out, and £2 on a merry go round ride for small grand daughter All spends are being religiously recorded in my little black book!
All food from home, including feeding DD and her little one at lunchtime
Managed a couple of miles walking
No heating, it has been a nice day, albeit one of those when you need your cardi on one minute, and are boiling hot the next!

FurryBeastOz

Check in 2/30.

Spends again today, but within all budgets.

Exercise - ParkRun and Gym so I felt thoroughly entitled to my me time massage.

Tomorrow I will repeat the run and gym hopefully. Go to church, and do all my meal prep for the week. I also have to get together a whole ream of paperwork to prove my self-employment for the application for my new contract. 10 year old paperwork. Just as well I hadn't got round to the shredding since getting some extra time.

Today I am grateful for the energy to do the exercise, the money to have the massage, and a lovely, almost summery day in Glasgow.

mothernerd

Oh Fmess, it will be worth it in the end.

I'm back in permanently exhausted pigeon mode, want to stop the world and get off. Crrent strategy - Get up, survive, go to bed.

Budget is set at £60. Will try to spend as little as posssible but like Buffy (hi Buffy) I have lots of things in some categories and big gaps elsewhere (healthy options, things to have for breakfast).

Had a look at the freezer and dry goods shelves. Not doing a full audit but will turn what I have into meals and see how far that gets me.

Social Life still trying to increase mum's social life (and mine by default). Next weekend there is a canal festival with a lot of history/ heritage stuff in the Town Centre. I want to take mum to a health open day - lots of emergency services (hunky firemen) and the ambulance transport people. Mum qualifies for free transport to her appointments but so far is reluctant to use them. The local U3A is having an open day mid-month - they have 2 meetings a month with tea and biscuits for a £1. want to pick up a programme and see if anything interests mum. We have two hospital visits booked and a funeral this week. Film day is last Friday of the month.

Longer term we are thinking about a 4 day coach holiday and I would like to visit a newly opened sensory farm with lots of animals to feed and stroke. If there is anything expensive, I will count it as part of my Christmas money (usually disappears into the household money).

Exercise Need to get back to walking, initially around the car park. Will have to wait until tomorrow as the 'yoof'' are in situ and it will be busy until at least 3am and possibly 5-6am.

Heating will stay off until December as far as I am concerned. Will it count if I sneak downstairs and turn it off again, every time I realise DS3 and Beloved have put it on. For new turtles Beloved is DS3's gf, she and her 3 chinchillas (my grand-chinchillas) moved in with us in November.

Love the central question of where I want to be why I am not at that point and what is going wrong. I love looking after mum and am mostly enjoying it, but I am very tired and my own needs are sliding down the agenda.

Mum told someone I had set aside my own health problems to care for her, but does not realise that the sleep problems, over and under eating, lack of energy etc are all part of my depression.

I have also taken on two voluntary projects which I want to do, but atm the sheer amount of 'stuff' in my small bedroom is overwhelming me.

So for this week (I know this is not what thrifty meant by me time) I will
pay my Council Tax
make my doctor's appointment
get DS3 to do the meter readins and send them off
get in touch with the Carer's centre
re-do several years accounts in the format that the Carer's Allowance people are requesting (as opposed by the ones required by the Inland Revenue and WTC people)

Spend some time time thinking about my own health diet and exercise needs and making them a priority.

Today I am grateful for time spent with mum, for a lovely takeaway (mum wanted it and she paid - she's wanted another since the her birthday one at the beginning of the week) and lovely drying weather yesterday meaning I have clean clothes to put on.

greent

Day 2 - and more spends!

Bought/ spent on:
* white PE shorts for DS2 for new school £6.75
* haircut for DS2 £7.50
* HPotter things in Primarni (mainly for Xmas stash) £52.00 on presents, £12 on clothes for now for DS2 & DS3, £21 on household items, £1 on beauty (wipes for DD0
* parking in town centre for above £1.50
* shopping in A5da, A1di & Tesc0 :eek: - total food shopping £70.74/ £450 (includes some items for DD to take back to uni), cleaning stuff & loo rolls £9.50, batteries £8, new water bottle for DS2 £1.99

Will update actual figures tomorrow - have had a glass of wine with dinner and eyes are struggling to stay open now lol

ETA + £74.88 spent on fuel by OH, which I forgot about