NST January: Health, Wealth and a Life Well Lived

Kerry_Woman

Fmess - Belated Birthday wishes.

laurenh1

any one got the feb link

DawnW

Feb link https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5785493

apple_muncher

As January draws to a close, we reflect on the month past and look forward to the one ahead.

Thank you all for joining me in Jan. See you in the forest!

ilovetea

Thank you to all the people who post on here.Haven't posted much myself as I never seem to do anything worth writing about!.
Managed 25 NSD.
Got rid of a lot of clutter,even sold somw of it.
You've inspired me to be fairly frugal,hardly spent anything at all this month,don't want to admit being a "naughty" girl.:D

ilovetea xx

Chloris

Hi All.
I know I am a terrible poster but I did read along daily and really enjoyed myself. Taking part has kept me on track this month. It has been a difficult month. The family have had the flu and I'm still struggling after 2 weeks. I have also struggled with my side hustle, just wanting to jack it in but also landing 2 big commissions for February. I'll have to play it by ear and trick myself into keep going by telling myself it's just pretend really.

Managed an awesome 23 nsd!!! Super pleased with this. Definitely helped me to keep to all the budgets, grocery, mortgage overpayment and savings included.

Also managed to read 5 books so doing well on my challenge of 52 books this year. Exercise and weight loss was a fail though. Flu and comfort eating is getting the blame. Truth is, my heart wasn't in it. Will need to be much more intentional next month.

My condolences to those who have lost loved ones in January. And I'm sorry about your burglary, nnn.

Thank you for letting me play along. Xx

Kerry_Woman

apple muncher - Thank you for running this month's challenge.
NSD 18/18.
Done all the budget total's for January. This month is usually expensive due to property maintenance(pay in full for the year), contents insurance and prescription certificate due.
A date has been made for my Dad's service and cremation.
Grateful for:
Finally finishing my cross stitch project.
Walk in park despite the rain.
Doing a few bits in the flat and small bit of decluttering.
Having a chilled out evening.

DawnW

Well, that is January done! It has seemed a long month, partly because of various illnesses, and a difficult home situation at the moment for other reasons

Anyway, on with Feb and hoping to get it all resolved one way or another!

Not a great deal of success with the challenge's aims, partly because of all of the above, which is costing us money.

For example, I only managed 9/18 NSDs. I am not too worried about this, as I prefer to shop every few days rather than do big shops. Having said that, I have spent a lot on some categories this month but was under budget on others

These aren't my only budget categories by any means, as I keep a very detailed spreadsheet, but they were the ones I specified for this challenge:

Groceries, toiletries and cleaning products - £379.09 / £240 This however did include a bulk buy of meat, of which I have only used one item. So I still have all the rest of it to use over the next month or two

Personal spends, hairdressing, clothes, social, magazines etc - £34.99 / £100 . This is about what I expected, but allowed extra to try to account for my husband's personal spends as well. This has proved impossible, so I have counted only my own. On my spreadsheet I simply track what OH takes out of the bank as spending money (which doesn't necessarily mean he has spent it iyswim)

Gifts (my children's and best friend's birthdays) £115 / £150

Fuel for vehicles - £30.45 / £65

I have donated to the food bank

Among other big expenses this month, I bought a new vacuum cleaner - in fact I bought two, as the 'main' one does not have tools etc and was therefore awkward to use on the stairs, of which I have a lot, as we have 3 storeys here. So I bought a small handheld one as well, which will also work for odd corners (we have lots of those too), the car and our old camper van. I did however sell my monstrous old Dyson, which still worked fine, but I was finding it a struggle to drag up and down the any stairs due to it being so heavy, so offset a little of the money spent And sad though it might seem, I do really like them, as they make the housework so much easier. The other big things were my passport, which needed renewing, a trip to the dentist, a family member who has needed bailing out :mad:, and private physio / chiropractic treatment for OH, who has had a very painful back issue for the past few months, now thankfully improving. This by itself has been costing over £100 per week :eek:, but will only be £50 for next month.

Well, all in all, good riddance to January, and hoping February brings better things and MUCH less spending! Thanks for the thread Apple, and see you all on the new one :j

mothernerd

Spendy day as needed to pay for travel and a few bits (gaps in the fridge and cupboard and too short of time to improvise). Finally went to see the doctor. Looking like the shoulder pain is arthritis. I have been referred for physiotherapy and had an x-ray. Need to go back in a week to 10 days and we will chat about it then. Could possibly have steroid injections which would keep me pain free for 6 weeks at a time (no more wincing and yelping my way around the house) but they could interfere with my diabetes/ medication so may not be able to have them.

My other recurring problem is unsolvable. Had medicine and mouthwash, both of which helped but did not clear the problem but it has now come back. Not sure I can face restricted diet of no salt, nothing spicy, nothing hard and no? hot drinks and cold ones through a straw (salt isn't a problem except for the odd packet of crisp which I should not have anyway.

However it is what it is and at least have some idea what I am dealing with. Will wait for results before having a complete rethink of the kitchen - putting 3 plates away in the cupboard hurt as did pegging washing out even though I used the line to support the weight as much as possible.

Bought lunch at the infirmary (still have birthday money left) as I had just missed a bus. Got off in the town centre, went in a couple of charity shops to avoid flurries of snow/ hail and rain but did not buy anything. Got hailed on again crossing the Town Hall square so went in the library to get my breath back. Waited 5 minutes and it was chucking it down.

Remembered the exhibition I wanted to see and spent a magical time in there. Really lovely photographic exhibition made to commemorate 30 years since the miner's strike. They have taken a Rose window (stained glass) from France as a template, then filled each slot with photos which changed gradually so eg when the window had a ring of red, the images were of coal when it burns really brightly (more so with real coal rather than the smokeless which is rather insipid by comparison).

Two short slide shows with a pit choir acompaniement but so much in it (each ring was comprised of different images), encompassing everything from the formation of coal - ferns and trees from the age of the dinosaurs, compressed for many years, carbon atoms, individual miners, the mining process, miner's lamps (perfect collaboration of useful and beautiful) and coal and its byproducts.

Very beautiful, soothing and hypnotic and full of memories. I must go once or twice again whilst it is on. Rest of the exhibits were cannal coal sculptures and a hammock made from a rope used by Greenpeace on one of their sea protests and a fascinating set of photographs which were quite different from what I thought they were.

By then the weather was all rain/hail/snowed out so made it the last 5 minutes to home. Short rest then gathered stuff for crafts. More of us this week but still peaceful (noisy person may be banned again - one of the workers said she wasn't allowed near him). More cards made but plans for making paper flowers and weaving with paper strips are in hand - thinking ahead to making Easter bonnets and a card in the form of a basket of flowers.

Very tired now (but happy with what I have done). Would like to do a bit more sorting - feels a bit like when hair is full of knots and you have got most of them except for the last couple of difficult ones which have to be teased out then suddenly they give up and it's all done. Kitchen is on the agenda for February. I have also found the paper I wrote the 'overwhelmed' strategy on so will write it neatly and put it on the wall, as it should help.

I forgot to put the bins out yesterday evening. 4.30am me in nightdress, coat and wellies taking the bins out in pouring rain and a gale blowing. Had to read for a bit before I could get back to sleep.

Today I am grateful for a lovely doctor, only having a short wait and possible diagnosis for what is wrong with me (well a bit, the list of what is wrong with me is probably infinite :rotfl:and Always look on the bright side of life.)

misstara

NSDs 12/18
Food - £159.95/£150
Petrol/travel - £144.87/£144.65 (original budget was £100)
Social - £62.95/£70 (original budget was £50)
So really over budget on all
Exercise - 4/12
Debt repayments - £158.80/£200
Emergency fund - £30/£100
Extra income - £112.50/£150
Definitely room for improvement in Feb

Thanks for running the challenge applemuncher.