NST Super September Scrimping challenge

foxgloves

Hi Thrifty,
Please count me in! I never do the dfw challenges but we've had an expensive 2 or 3 months & our savings are very depleted. I will:
*Check in every day.
*Log all spending in a notebook.
*Aim for 18 SFDs. Apart from bills/regular DDs, I will spend nothing on my chosen SFDs.
*I already pay bills & loan first then budget to live off what is left. We only have about 4k debt as we saved a nice big wodge of money to make a partial repayment. We started saving to pay off another big chunk but have unfortunately had to spend this on replacing 2 household appliances & paying for remedial work to the front of our house, so I want to build this fund up again.
*September's grocery budget is £240. On camping trip for few nights but food for that budgeted for out of the £240.
*Will prioritise using freezer contents & garden produce as still quite a lot of food out there for harvesting/storing.
*Work lunches. Am not currently working but partner always takes packed lunch. Occasionally buy coffees out but always use our monthly 'Personal Spends' for this, so no impact on wider budget.
*Social life - camping trip is the main thing, but site already paid for & food budget in place. Only spend will be 4 gas cannisters.......& those would have been bought in Aug (today!), had the major outdoor retailer we went to not completely run out of them.
*DFD - would like loan gone by Dec 2018.
*Exercise pledge - 7000 steps a day.
*Beauty spends - I don't buy loads of products but my fave moisturiser is £26. Ouch! Oh go.on, I'll do it. £10 it is.
*Me time. I do pretty well with this actually as I find walking & gardening meditative. I can also lose myself in writing & reading.
*Heating - absolutely zero intention of switching it on before October.
Will that do?
If so, I'm ready.
Cheers,
F x

stoplurking

Hi all

Here goes scrimping September!

Thrifty this is a great challenge. I'm in mainly to curb my recent frittering. Have got a balance on 0% CC but savings more than cover it but I want to keep those so the CC will be treated as a bill and paid off before 0% ends. Here goes

1. Will check in every day. I'm on the site nearly every day anyway, so no excuse not to.
2. Always have a notebook in my bag so, again, no excuse not to write down the spends. I used to do this, hence the notebook, now use it mainly to write down things I want. Tsk.
3. 18 NSDs.
4. Pay bills and debts All bills covered and funds allocated to various savings pots. I have 'envelopes' online for 3-6 month EF challenge, C word for December, car and balance is just 'savings'. All bar savings get a fixed amount each month. The savings one is the one I am targeting for the next 4 months.
My OH manages the cash pots we have for other things -food/household, entertainment, garden etc. These get topped up each pay day. If there is anything left after that then that's what I'll live off.
5. Food budget allocated each pay day. Pay day is 25th but we're going to try to stretch this month's to 30th Sept.
6. Eat everything in cupboards etc. This, along with various other things as above, is something we do regularly. I like having full freezers etc, but hate seeing stuff languishing in there so periodically we have a month where it is 'use what we've got before buying more'. We did that in August so everywhere is pretty bare. Will keep my eye on it though and make sure we are using up before buying new.
7. Lunch to work every day is a given. No plans to lunch out any day in September at present.
8. Social life. The Summer was pretty full on with visitors and holidays etc. Looking forward to quiet September. At the moment only thing in diary is a meal out Saturday but this is being paid for by OH's parents and if we buy a drink or something it will come out of entertainment budget. I will try to resist any other outings that might cost money but 2 friends have birthdays in September so I might treat them to lunch or dinner. We don't do birthday presents as such.
9. DFD - hmm. I feel as if I am debt free because my CC could be paid off out of savings but I like having the savings. Daft I know. Will have a think about this and see if I should change my signature to show this card and offset savings. If the 0% were to be running out then it would definitely be paid off, no question, but I intend to treat it as a bill, as above. I will put a target on later for savings figure by end of December, my spreadsheet is on work computer.
10. Exercise - have been rubbish lately. I have enquired about a block booking for a class this term. I've been thinking about this class for ages, it's £10 a week if booked as a block. If I get in, the money will need to come out of 'anything left over'. So that will be once a week. The other 2(minimum) will be something free eg walking.
11. Beauty spends £10. I think the only thing I will need, other than a facelift, is a day moisturiser but I think the one I want is about double that so will try to eke out the remains of current one then manage with night moisturiser and sun screen!
12. Make time for myself - need to get time to do my crocheting but have also committed to a study programme which I will enjoy but need to factor in time for it. Would love to have a few more spells sitting outside before Autumn really kicks in.
13. Heating is off until at least October, preferably till clocks change at end of October. Sitting in bed with a scarf round my cold neck at present.

I might add my gratitudes as well because I have been following you guys from the sidelines and really like that part of your challenges.

Right, that's the longest post you'll ever get from me. Hope I don't lose it when I press 'Submit'

I wish you all tremendous good luck for the month. Each and every one of you can do this. I languished in debt most of my adult life till NSK got her claws into me. We can do this together.
Onwards and upwards. X

PS I can't really do smilies but you guys do make me laugh and sometimes want to cry when things go wrong for you.

dizzyblnd

Day one of the challenge. I need to do a shopping list ready to do a food shop tomorrow. I have a weekend away this month and quite a few birthdays so will budget for these. Means my week days will have to all b nsd to get to 18.

LollyPop0312

Morning all! Bring on the challenge! Starting off the month with a no spend day here to mentally get into the zooooone!!! Good luck everyone!

NelliePie

Good morning everyone,

Hope your month is off off a good start! I've topped up the car with petrol, £20 that was already budgeted for in the bill section so still technically a NSD as I need it to get to work. I avoided the work canteen breakfast this morning and took in my own teacake to have and although the smell of bacon is tempting, its not quite as tempting as being mortgage free!

Good luck to you all

vintagebrighton

Morning Day 1/30

Just said goodbye to airbnb guests, bed stripped, room cleaned and have washing in. Just need to remake bed for next guest arriving this afternoon.

Will withdraw my £40 shopping budget and get butter and veg as needed for breakfast tomorrow. Hubby is on a low fat diet (gp threatened statins) and I follow low carb/high fat - we're like Jack Spratt and his wife here! Need my butter for spinach omelette in the morning.

I think that technically is a NSD as its the shopping budget? Let me know if it's not. Will have a 20 min walk while I'm out and later do a meal plan and shopping list.

I've also dug out a big bag of wool I've been saving for something (not sure what) so I'll get back into the swing by crocheting a few squares.

Back later to update

VB x

ChasingSunshine

So annoyed wrote a long list of my plans for the month but lost it.

Budget set, first planned birthday celebration today then hopefully no spends for rest of the weekend so can get a good start to the month.
Have transferred my savings over. Have decided I am going to treat it like a debt until it is back at the level I am comfortable with as the last few months have just been eating into what I had put aside and no back on the wagon. Know that is why the money was there but don't like not having the security of my little buffer.

Ok this was more rambling than planned. Sorry. Good luck to everyone this month

Sun_Addict

Checking in on day 1 of the challenge. Budgets set, small food delivery today so not a SFD, still need some fruit from Aldi though but hoping for the first SFD on Sunday. All bills accounted for and credit card paid off. Meal plan done right up to next Sunday, mostly using up what's in the freezer/cupboards. Dog has been walked and I'm only a few steps short of 10k so will walk up and down a bit more. I've got one meal out planned for mid month with some friends and a haircut towards the end of the month but both are budgeted for. Don't need anything beauty-wise this month fortunately.

Determined to stick to this challenge

Kerry_Woman

Day 1/30
Was a spend day. Had to top up my oyster card and brought tv listing magazine for next week. Walked to where I had to do the errands and walked back which was 20 minutes. Did 10 minutes mindfulness. Wrote out menu plan and shopping list for tomorrow when I do the food shopping. Did check cupboards and freezer. Did book myself for the volunteer do next Friday. It is a thank you event for volunteers who did volunteering during August/September. Being doing this voluntary work since 2012. Only missed 1 year. There is no need to spend any money and refreshments are provided. Made some mince pies today as my Mum and I wanted them. Saves me buying cakes in the shop. Everything was in the cupboard for me to make them. Had the unopened jar of mincemeat in the cupboard.

LD_13

Spend day today as I had to go get some cough mixture (I was driving myself nuts so can only imagine how annoying it was for my colleagues). Since I've broken a spend day I'll nip and get a calculator on the way home as I need one for college on Monday.

Lots of DDs gone out today and money moved to my savings accounts.

Tonight I will be using up hair and face masks from my mountain of beauty products.