NST Super September Scrimping challenge

dizzyblnd

It's so lovely to see how well everyone is doing. Isn't it strange how we all have our downfalls? It was cold here this morning but nowhere near as cold as the North/Scotland. My weakness is the food budget this month. I've already spent the whole budget. All my other budgets r well below tho. Prague for Christmas markets sounds amazing Furry. Have u been before?

greent

SFDs - now 10/18 - no reason to think that I'll need to spend anything the rest of today.

Extra monies/ debt repayment - None. Few more hours at job#3 today - so when I put in my hours sheet that will go towards either kitchen fund or repaying holiday on 0% CC

Food - running total £266.83/ £450

Eating up/ using up stuff - all meals from home today. Had leftover roast chicken & sweetcorn sandwich at lunchtime again. Dinner will be from freezer. Made a small batch of maple syrup and cranberry flapjacks - found maple syrup lurking at back of pantry and cranberries were brought back from camp by DS1.

Lunches taken - 3 packed lunches for boys today.

Social life - None today - fairly standard for midweek

Exercise - 2/3 Busy morning at work - managed just over 6k steps. Was going to get a lift home from work but decided to walk instead as it was nice and sunny, so I'll take that.

Beauty - £2.73/ £10

Time for self - Will have another relatively early night (after collecting DS1 and DS2 from activities at 9.30) If I'm awake enough I will read a bit of my book!

Heating off - yep.

Gratitudes:
* Work - few more extra hours
* sunny weather - a load of washing is on the line and should dry
* picking lots of pears from the garden
x

foxgloves

Hi,
Just a quick one from me today so that I can say it's check-in 19/30 & it's SFD 7/18.
Have just made a big pan of spicy chickpea stew which has got lots of 'use-it-up' ingredients in it. Have also gathered 6lbs of our homegrown pears & turned them into several jars of chutney. I have left the best pears for eating fresh & made sure I used all the knobbly, weird or very small ones for this. I know many people would just compost these but they taste fine & they all look the same chopped up, cooked & in chutney anyway.
No heating on - Not even heated airer today, as washing has pretty much dried on the line & I don't have any more laundry to do this week. We have had the bathroom towel radiator on a few times overnight just because it isn't warm enough for big towels to dry, but no other heating has been switched on yet at all & we are still not aiming to do this until at least Oct 1st. It really is just a case of putting another layer on at the moment. I did swap to the winter duvet, but if anything, that's still a bit too warm, so not even an extra blanket come out yet.
Beauty stuff holding up well. My favourite lippy is getting rather small, but I am eeking it out by using up an old one in a colour I don't much like. I bought it, though, so I can jolly well use it!
OK, must crack on now.
f x

thriftylass

As someone mentioned the C-word :eek::xmastree: I thought I better start giving it some thought. I had started a gift list but it mainly contained names and not much else. The grown ups/friends/family will all get limoncello again (started a wee tradition 5 years ago) and I might try making fudge after eating some lovely stuff on Islay.

The kids got more crafty bits, spirographs etc last year (£10 max). I think this year they will mostly get books and I'm trying to keep it under £5 incl. some sweeties or HM cookies. Just found a 3-for-10 deal on Amaz0n including loads of classics that I started to read to mine now like Dr Seuss and Roald Dahl. Just earned another Amaz0n voucher and will order them next month I think. So they might even be free :money:

Oh and it's my mum's birthday soon too , so hard to find sth that I can send to Germany and doesn't cost the earth, done all sort of vouchers etc before. She loves Ferrer0 R0cher so I'll make her a bouquet out of them as the kids have loads of coloured tissue paper left. Sorted

vintagebrighton

Check in 19/30 and I can report NSD 11/18

Of course, that's only if my bus fare to the hospital is counted as medical expenses?

Tomorrow I'm having my hair cut so I'll get the fresh eggs and veg then.

Heating - 9 days till it's fixed, I'm sure it'll be fine:cool:

Me time - lots

Exercise - lovely and sunny here in Edinburgh today so had a long walk back from the hospital.

Keep it up scrimpers, over half way there :T

VB x

ChasingSunshine

Oh Ferrer0 R0cher bouquet sounds interesting Thrifty good plan. NSD here today in the end. Have come straight home from work and no intention of heading out for the evening. Need to get started on packing up my stuff before my flat move, might start with things I definitely won't need in the next few weeks (like my summer clothes) :rotfl::rotfl:

DawnW

Day 19/30
Nothing spent
Using up continuing apace, but I did a larder inventory this afternoon, and was surprised how much there is in there :eek::o But it is all tidy and well ordered, and will all be used
Made mushroom soup for lunch, to use up the last of the chicken stock made last week
Fajitas for dinner tonight, using ingredients we already have. No guacamole or sour cream etc, but we are both trying to lose weight, so no worries there. Used home grown rocket, tomatoes and cucumber in the accompanying salad, and a leftover wedge of lime in the marinade
Got some oxtail out of the freezer to make a stew to take with us on our last few days away in the camper van for this year, this is currently in the slow cooker and includes lots of bendy veg
No heating
No social (or other) spends
No groceries
Not much exercise today, just a 20 minute dog walk

Sun_Addict

Last two days have been spendy days - yesterday on house stuff and today I couldn't resist the 25% off TU and got two pairs of trousers and a top for work plus a few bits for Mr SA - all coming out of a budget pot though rather than just compulsive spends.

Tomorrow will be a spendy day too as out for lunch with friends, first social event of the month, really looking forward to it

determined_new_ms

check in 19/30 - don't honestly know how long it's been since I last checked in haven't had any SFDs though seemed to have been very busy the last few days. Still only at 6....

I've now spent £90.06/160 on groceries What I've got will see us through to next week, but will need milk and bread towards the end of the week. The never ending meat supply is coming to an end (I don't eat meat but oh & madam do) so next week will have to top up there.... Freezer is brimming with veg from the allotment

still 0/10 beauty spends

I've been recording spends in spending diary - I have discovered it's the online spending I find hard to track. After all these years of not being able to keep a spending diary - always forget at some point - I've discovered what has made it so hard! Am pretty chuffed I've managed to keep it

Tomorrow is now going to have to be a spend day as realised my front tyres need replacing. Glad I have a "car" virtual piggy bank with money in

not really much exercise today - power walked to school but was only 8 mins, walked back with madam but that's more of a poodle. Intending on going to the allotment first thing and lots of digging weeding to do at the moment

I had grand plans for tonight but now it's here feeling lazy! Can I find the motivation to make some sugar scrub or beeswax wraps???

mothernerd

Left the house at 9am in deep fog - could not see the church clock from the front door and it's only the width of the library away. Picked mum up and went to her hospital appointment. Had to have blood tests and wait for a prescription item that is only available at that hospital.

Bought sandwiches, water and fruit (mum paid) and had a picnic outside in the sunshine (fog, what fog?). picked up paracetemol for mum and anti-septic cream for me whilst we were in the pharmacy and went back to the newsagents for diet coke. Extortionate price (small bottles even dearer) but picked up a puzzle magazine that is usually only available via a 16 mile round trip which costs £5.60 on the bus.

Easily available puzzle book (only 4 of my favourite puzzles) is getting too easy to do. The one I have bought has about 30 of my favourite puzzles and even the lowest grade are higher than the ones I'm doing - take between a day and a week to do each one, so will last for months, save buying the other mag monthly and it's useful if I get so ill that I have to stay in bed.

Mum also kept trying to re-imburse me for things I had bought (and offered to buy me another new top which was £25 - the ground floor of the hospital is like a shopping mall only everyone is polite, no pushing and shoving) so I came out winning (even after turning down several of her offers).

We both dozed for most of the afternoon. Decided my painting arm was still aching too much to continue but did cut the last bit of tree trunk (took my pruning saw), made food for us both and put the bin out.

Today I am grateful for lovely food, getting a lot done at the hospital even if we did not get home until 1pm and getting tomorrow off - just re-read the challenge aim of working out where you want to be. Will tackle my stuff first tomorrow. Also grateful that my finances are not as bad as I thought (having counted up all the little money pots in the house but still need to make savings go up not down.