Dusty's Frugal Fortnights

dustydigger

Oh wow! Never had time to look at the Ninja Saving Turtles'June challenge. Lots of stuff to think about there!

NST June 2018
A JUNE ODESSEY
A Staycation

Getting into debt is much easier than getting out of it. We turtles have rejected the notion that possessions make you happy. We give up fleeting pleasure in favour of debt freedom and having the life we always wanted. We help each other, encourage and console when times are hard, celebrate one another's victories.


Achieving debt freedom brings new challenges. All turtles have life challenges - too little money, work, children, study, ill health, support for other relatives, everything from pregnancy to bereavement. All of these and the decision to follow 'a differnt path' can bring stress at times.


Last month apple emphasised the value of Consistency. This month is all about making things better. We all have things we do well, we all have areas where we can improve. I want you all to make subtle changes (baby steps), develop good habits, ditch the negative (negative self talk, stress, mental turmoil). I am not asking you to do more, I want you to do less. Simplify, slow down, stop and step back. This does not mean that the normal rules will not be in place, I will admonish you gently in my best Joyce Grenfell voice.



No turtle is in competition with another. Your only competition should be with yourself, getting closer to your goal every day. Turtles do not fail, we may occasionally miss a target but we do not fail. The only failure is in giving up and we always get up (it may be next month or a few months down the line but we get up). No turtle gets left behind.

Expect words of wisdom, thought provoking ideas and things to make you smile, bucketfuls of help and encouragement and

Lots of Fun

A Ask yourself 'Is this necessary?' Before purchasing anything. When you make a 'to do' list (is it realistic or even possible). I have noticed references to 'a pile of ironing' or 'the ironing mountain'. In my experience, most ironing is unecessary. You are not an Edwardian lady with a house full of servants to iron the linen and the newspaper. You aren't a fifties housewife (on amphetamines).



J June challenge runs from 1st June to 30th. You will aim for 20 NSDs (tough target) or 10 NSDs (soft target - if you are struggling, take the 'soft' target and exceed it). YS (yellow sticker, reduced items) alone do not lose you an NSD. Safety overrides other considerations therefore medical purchases do not count and petrol as we do not want tyou to be stranded in the middle of nowhere (applies to 'oyster' type cards where you cannot determine when you will need to top it up). Greent has a milk exemption (many hungry boys and a very small fridge). Other exemptions will be considered on their individual merits.




U Use the food you have in the cupboards, fridge and freezer to base your meals on. Meal plan (for the month or for a few days at a time, whichever suits). Cook from scratch (short cuts permitted if you are feeling stressed)


N No takeaways, coffee, chip or pie shop purchases. Do not use works canteen (unless free/ highly subsidised), vending machines. Take your lunch to work every day (same applies to hospital visits and days out). If your family has a regular event (eg film night) and includes a takeaway, this is permissible. Similarly if you are meeting a friend and a coffee shop is the only convenient venue (or a 'social event' for which you have a budget) that's okay.


E Eating well is a form of self respect. Give your body the fuel it needs and appreciate all it does for you. No specific rule but I can recommend the 'emergency banana' or small bag of seeds and nuts to prevent the rush for chocolate.


O Offer help and encouragement to other turtles and people you meet. Be kind to everyone, especially yourself.


D Debt or savings payments should be made first - live on what is left


E Exercise according to your programme or your ability. Minimum of 3 times a week. Try to get outside every day.



S Set all your budgets before the start of the month. Food, travel, social, diy, other.


S Someone, somewhere is worse off than you. Donate to the local food bank or other charity of your choice. Clear some of your clutter and donate the goods to charity. Now is a good time to check children's clothing (I would always turn too short/ holey joggers/ trousers into shorts). If your family is complete pass on your too small clothing to relatives, friends or charity. Sell it if it's 'designer' - and ask yourself why you paid so much for something that only fit for a few months and spent most of its life covered in sick or poo (sorry, that's judgemental).


E Every day check in is reccommended, especially when things go wrong.


Y You are the most important person in your life. You are your own longest term investment. You matter. Read this and the daily quotes, take on anything you find relevant and helpful, ditch the rest.


*****************

Off to make supper now,but I have things to ponder on here ,though I dont formally do the challenge,but find lots of good pointers:T

dustydigger

I had £4.15 in my purse when I did my usual end of fortnight transfer for my Sealed Pot challenge- and ONLY £4.15 to my name.:)
I used up my total £300 budget (decorating,bedding ,towels,food,transport etc etc etc) Nothing left in any purses where I save up for the window cleaner,hairdresser,etc. Not a penny in the usual household budget box where we place £140 at the beginning of each fortnight for food and daily expenses.Nothing in coat pockets or windowsills or drawers.I normally add anything left to the pot,so I am happy there was at least SOMETHING to save!:rotfl::rotfl:

I definitely budgeted it all out pretty accurately,didnt I? I thought I might have had to resort to my debit card,which is looking a little sparse too,but I managed to do everything without a withdrawal,so I am so pleased:T:T:T:TBut thank heavens for my MSE Emergency fund,without it I would have been sunk.
My dear stepson actually gave me £300 as a gift as he was leaving - so the whole thing cost nothing,and I have a newly painted kitchen,new bedding and lots of little things.In the past he would often give me £100 but this was so unexpected - and the exact amount of the budget spent. I was gobsmacked.
Turns out Mr Dusty had explained how I used up my precious funds and slaved away to the point of exhaustion from hard work just to do everything I could to give them a comfortable happy stay.I was mortified when Mr Dusty told me all this after the visitors were gone.So embarrassing. Remember how I said before that my mother said when having visitors you must act like a serene swan on the surface,no matter how much hard paddling is going on below:rotfl:

Its going straight back into the Emergency fund tomorrow.
I am now going to ponder how to save £800 for Xmas and £1000 for the USA trip next March:eek:
A challenge,but I hope it will be some fun tooand that some of you Money Savers are lurking and supporting me.SOMEBODY must be reading along with stalwarts beanie lou,Sayschezza,redofromthestart,and lonelyrat,because there are close to 13000 views on the diary,and 1350 thanks.I appreciate it.
On a Sunday afternoon I usually spend a couple of hours reading diaries.There is such a variety of personalities and different circumstances and priorities so its fascinating. I try to add some ''thanks'' each time in appreciation and they are mounting up nicely, 983 given to 1352 received:)

beanielou

How lovely of your dear stepsun to give you the money as a parting gift.

beanielou

So to money saving.
Anything you could sell on the local FB pages to make money.
Any skills that you can sell?

Sayschezza

Dusty you are amazing and if anyone can save the amount you need for your trip, you can. Go girl.

dustydigger

I am very confident that I can save the money. I already have savings,but I will have to shift priorities,put things off adjust.
I have been amazed at how much I can save since joining MSE.I have cut down lots of spending on my utilities,phone and broadband etc.I am about £20 a month better off there.Giving up alcohol and sweets,chocolate etc gives me something like £30 a month.Cutting out convenience foods,takeaways is probably another £20 a month. All in all I am saving over £100 a month with ease. Small feed to some,but something I am relieved and proud of,instead of scratching around in emergencies,I have something to fall back on.And once I put money in the savings I am Mrs Scrooge and hate to touch it!:D
I have £800 saved.This is how it is allocated at the moment,once the £300 goes back into the account;
Emergency Fund - £400/£1000
Xmas savings - £200/£800
Carpet - £100/£300
Decorating Fund - £20/£800
Passport Fund - £40/£90
Window Blinds - £10/£100
Clothing - £20/£100
Personal - £10
I'll have to continue this tomorrow,its bedtime and I'm shattered.But there will be adjustments

See you tomorrow:)

beanielou

You could cancel Christmas this year!

dustydigger

Morning! Another beautiful day,wish it had been like this when the visitors were here but of course we had grey skies and bitter winds.14C was a little in contrast to 30C in Virginia,27C in Africa.
But they know the routine,brought their coats with them:DAnd the last day was sunny,if a bit cold. We counted it a triumph that it wasnt raining this visit!:rotfl:
Had to make 3 attempts to get this post acceptedsomething about my token had expired. I got here in the end:)
At last we have restored order to the house. Beds returned to their normal positions,chairs taken back upstairs. Stuff stacked on the yard brought back in.Dining table leaves back to normal,table tucked back in its usual position. Crockery and glassware washed and returned to their cabinetAll the guest bedding, was washed and ironed on Saturday. Mr Dusty had a marathon ironing session!:rotfl:
Sunday morning I insisted he rearrange all his cases so as to put all bedding in one place.3 cases stacked up on top of the wardrobe in his den.The first two were only half full of his stuff so I urged him to put them in one case,and we could use the second to store the bedding. Finally sorted and he then got down the final case,the one he hadnt bothered to look in when we couldnt find the missing bedding and sure enough there we found 2 pillows,2 pillow cases the missing sheets,2 new bath towels and some facecloths.I spent a fortune buying all those things when he insisted he had searched EVERYWHERE for themthey were not in that roomI must have mislaid them myself etc etc......Once again I restrained myself from killing him,but it was a close run thing:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Oh well,the silver lining is that we now having bedding for the next decade or more !
Of course that wasnt all Mr Packrat had in his case. He had a worn out loofah brush(apparently he kept it just in case the new one he had bought broke (?).Plus a new real sea sponge,the scratchy kind. Plus a set of drill bits for his electric drill.Plus a file of correspondence about a dispute with BT in 2010.I couldnt see any sort of logic or sense in that disparate set of items!:rotfl:
I suggested we get rid of the BT letters,but as the shredder is caput and he didnt want to put stuff in the bin with our details on, or have the patience to scratch out all the details,he solved it by putting them in the sink and turning them into a filthy mushy ball with black dye all over the sink,and put the mess into my shrinking hands to dispose of it!
I deserve canonization for putting up with this sort of thing for 48 years;);)

dustydigger

Last night I showed my existing savings funds;
Emergency Fund - £400/£1000
Xmas savings - £200/£800
Carpet - £100/£300
Decorating Fund - £20/£800
Passport Fund - £40/£90
Window Blinds - £10/£100
Clothing - £20/£100
Personal - £10
I will have to defer some of these things.
+I am happy to just keep the Emergency Fund at £400,though eventually I would like it to be £1000
+The Xmas Fund can go down to £500.I should have over £300 in my Sealed Pot/£2 coin challenges to make up the shortfall. I had intended to try not to use it all but we are usually about 12 or more at Xmas,Boxing Day and New Year's Day festivities,plus I have a whopping 14 people to buy presents for,so £800 budget is not as extravagant as it looks at first sight.I will be careful on present buying,and reduce the food budget too

And NO,beanie lou,we will NOT cancel Xmas,everyone would die of shock if I tried.:eek::rotfl:
+After all the difficulties with the decorating I need to factor in the cost of paying someone to do it.There are 4 rooms needing serious work doing on them. Its 8 years since the rooms were painted!However,upstairs is a case of what the eye doesnt see the heart doesnt grieve over,but the sitting room definitely needs doing. It will be next summer. At least I have much of the paint plus all the rollers and brushes,so I will budget £200 for that,and forget the other rooms till 2020.
+I will have to defer the new carpet I wanted for another year. Actually when I shampooed it last month I was very pleased with the results it didnt look altogether bad. So I'll keep on shampooing!:)Anyway with two new little tykes(at present 18 months and 3 months old) to spill things on the carpet and the numerous tramping around of the tribe its probably sensible to wait a while for a new carpet. So that goes right off the agenda:(

+Obviously I will need to continue the Passport Fund,get together the rest as soon as possbleso I am prepared. I remember GD3 being unable to go away on a school trip because her passport didnt arrive in time. She was devastated
+I will jettison the window blinds.I have had my frilled checky kitchen/dining room curtains forever,they are worn thin and faded. I really fancied getting something new and modern now the kitchen is newly painted,but its just a ''want'' not a need.....someday......(sigh)
+ Clothing is a bit tricky. I have lost quite a bit weight,my clothes are hanging on me like sacks,I only have 2 pairs of trousers left that dont slide over my hips!:rotfl::rotfl: still not sure what my weight is going to settle at,so I will stick to buying cheap trousers and T shirts for now. I will need a lot of items for the USA visit,as I havent bought many clothes for years.So I will just buy clothes for now out of my normal budget,and the clothes fund will just be a part of the USA general budget.
+Personal is just where I save up for the hairdresser,any makeup,even just stuff for my tender old feet! .I'll just save up in the house anything from my usual Frugal Fortnights,so as to streamline my savings funds.
So the new rejuggled plans;
Emergency Fund - £400/£400
Xmas savings- £240/£500
Decorating Fund - £20/£200
Passport Fund - £40/£90
USA savings - £100/£1000
**************************
saved : £400/£2190
still to save - £1790
that works out at £150 a month.I now save about £100 plus coins,perhaps another £20.I now have to tighten my belt! But it will be a fun challenge
Off now to make the dinner.Barbecued chicken wings for Mr Dusty,I am going to do a huge pot of vegetables which will last about 3 meals for me,
This afternoon I have an appointment for my retinopathy eye test. Its at a clinic a 40 minute bus/walking trip away,so I will take my kindle and enjoy some reading time!:j I am off to iron my clothes.:(
I'll get back on here tonight and post my budget.Its always been a relaxed one up till now,but that will have to change:D

dustydigger

Sheesh! You would think I am trying to rival War and Peace here!Some VERY long posts. Sorry!