NST April 2018: April Fool's Challenge

greent

Aim for at least 15 NSDs. Usual exceptions apply, you won't lose a NSD for ys items, petrol or medical expenses. - 1/15
Pay to your debt or savings first and live off the rest. - ok (done)
Report in every day. ok
Interests - is there any hobbies that you'd like to take up or perhaps an old hobby that you'd like to start again. This is the month to do it, let us know what you plan to do - am going to ease myself back into fitness this month - out for a 35min walk this afternoon (an hour out in total) Love yourself, do something to make yourself feel fab - wear a bright scarf, get your eyebrows done, have a bath, put on your fave perfume. - unusually for a weekend - wore perfume)

Find time to get outside. Lighter nights are now here so get out in the garden, go for a walk. Fresh air is good for everyone - out for an hour - canal path wlk, fed ducks (bag of greens), playpark and then back homeOverpay - aim to pay 20% extra to your debt or savings. It's up to you how you do this - overtime at work, saving money on the food bill, selling items. - sold items and paid all money from job 2 to debt last week - managed over £450 extra. Will 'collect' extra monies this month (cashback, sales, job 2 pay at month end) and do it again
Organise your month. Check your cupboards, make a meal plan and stick to your food budget. Plan any social events and budget for them, ideally come up with free alternatives. - DS1's 18th birthday mid month - that's gonna cost...... Aside from that, food budget is £450 - school hols for 2 weeks so all 3 boys home and DD home from uni for 2 weeks (plus food parcel to go back with)
Lose one bad habit. - a certain game which I've spent waaay too much time on in March.... - not played it today
Sign off your daily post with a list of gratitudes. - yes
Today I am grateful for:
* DS3 suggesting a walk to feed the ducks/ playpark
* yummy roast lamb dinner for us
* everyone helping with clearing up after dinner
* getting DS3's wardrobe sorted (lots of gaps now identified - will check boxes in loft first...)

Budgets:
Food £450
Travel £75
Gifts £150
Toiletries £10
Cleaning £10
Social £150

indigowarrior

Today was a NSD. Going to bed soon.
Plan spends up until the 20th
£92 perfect home. (almost paid off)
£20 electric
This will be paid Wednesday
£20 food. (Doing a £1 a day challenge)
£13 for transport This will be used primarily on friday potentially
£2.50 Eating out. This will be thursday

Today I am greatful for Ibuprufen. (Been very unwell today)

swimminginaseaofdebt

Evening everyone :hello:

Did my weekly grocery shop today so current spends are £35.94/£350.

Donated a family size box of cornflakes to the food bank which was on offer for £2.

Managed to get a small survey completed today and cashed out to PayPal bringing my extra income to £0.49/£93.

Have batch cooked for the little one today and filled my freezer with butternut squash soup x4, vegetable curry x5, pasta with veggie sauce x4 and garden vegetable risotto x4. Need to introduce more meat to his diet I think.

Mum has decided to come to Tony Macaronis for my sisters birthday lunch. Could work out quite well for me as she'll probably insist on paying or going halfers.

Dad unexpectedly gave me £40 and said I've to use it to take the little one somewhere in the Easter holidays. But I'm working half the week and he's only 21 months so too small to bother about things at the moment. I've decided to pop it into his savings account instead. My sister also got £40 to treat my 7 year old niece and was being interrogated within about 10 seconds where the money would be going :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:. My sister said my dad must have won something in the lottery as he is not normally so free with his money!

Also I've decided the bad habit I want to kick this month is buying the little one new clothes. I'm really bad for picking things up in the constant sales and before I know it I've spent £20/£30 a month buying a £2/£3 top here or there.

Today I'm grateful for mum looking after the wee one as it allowed me to get things done around the flat.

Right I'm off to do some reading for leisure, sorry for my ramblings seem to have got a bit carried away whilst writing this!

Misstara are you doing the kiltwalk by any chance?

mothernerd

Happy new month, a warm welcome to all new, returning and stalwart turtles and a big wave to abundant (have you got your lycra and pompoms?) the cheerleader. Some very interesting user names.

Plans for the Month
Budgets staying the same £120 for food, £15 for travel and £30 (+£20 membership fee) for entertainment. These figures may not work.
Already 'spent' £60 on food last week - this may need adjustment. I need to find the receipt and check how much of it was mum's.

Travel depends on how soon I can walk again easily (more later) and entertainment is very complex. Mum has an appointment on Tuesday and the driver has decided we are going to the Trafford Centre for lunch. I don't think it's fair for her to pay for me - last time(3 monthly appointment) I bought my own meal but let her buy me a dessert. Or I may drag her small son off to the lego shop and buy him his first duplo (still owe his cousins a present from the baby twins - they came so early they forgot that new babies bring presents for their siblings).

Crafts is Wednesday and Thursday is my second therapist appointment. Then mum and I are going to St Annes for the weekend (mum will probably pay for most things - hotel and travel already paid). On Saturday we have a trip to Albert Dock and at the end of the month I am going to Whitby for the Goth festival. I will try not to spend money but it is 30 years since I went to Whitby and probably 24 years since I went to Albert Dock (went to Liverpool 12 years ago to get my passport) and if it's my only chance to see the Beatles exhibition (mum probably wants to see the Titanic one) I am going to take it.

Film club is on the last Friday of the month and I want to see the evening film as well as the afternoon classic one with mum (hence £20 membership fee). I think most people are trying to curtail their soccial events but I am still trying to build a social life - will try for some free events in between (strictly speaking crafts is free as they will not let me pay for the session but I usually buy a couple of cans to drink and sometimes a packet of crisp).

Will report in except when away and if the laptop dies (it's sick and/ or temperamental)

Have a new piece of embroidery to start and get back to one I was doing before Christmas. Should also find a couple to finish off. Want to make lots of crafty bits to use up oddments from crafts and have another sort of the cardboard box stash.

Love youself - had a horse chestnut bath earlier and will smother my feet in cream when I find some (using up odds and ends). Will mend old coat and put it in the charity bin. Will do more pampering with mum.

Will get outside as soon as I can (did half my steps yesterday just walking between buses and home - no idea how many I did at the zoo on Friday). Also considering going to the baths just to walk up and down in the water but need to information gather and it's no longer free.

Overpaying will be difficult but will see what I can do (maybe more decluttering or donating time (what time?)

Organise will do cupboards and have a proper meal plan but am going to mum's for lunch and tea tomorrow (have filled mum's freezer to bursting), sleep there overnight so will have breakfast there, being taken for a meal after the appointment and will be going back to mum's on Thursday ready for our holiday pick up on Friday am. So for Tuesday evening to Thursday lunch I may just use whatever most needs using. Will stockcheck as I want to order a food delivery at home and at mum's probably for when we come back home.

Cutting out the junk (mostly), eating lots of veg, more to come as have to write a first steps for short term goals for the therapist.

Gratitudes - always.

Today I have not spent any money. I have not been outside. My ankle is really sore (other bits hurt to varying degrees). I have had to use the walking stick just to get to the bathroom and back and did not have a bath until 3pm because no-one else was awake and I was scared I would not be able to get out by myself. Have been downstairs once to attempt some diy (putting larger hooks and a bigger bar under a shelf) but gave up, grabbed a box of salad and some chicken and came back to bed.

Normally I would have paced myself by resting yesterday to recover from the zoo but that wasn't possible so it will take a bit longer. Monday will be quiet - only need to do things if I feel up to it (must check how many days clothes I have) and will wait to see if I can walk to crafts and the therapist or have to pay for transport. No point making myself too ill to be much use to mum at the weekend - she uses her walker outside but holds onto me for support inside the hotel and last time I took her to our seats and then brought her food, then my own (staff helped me).

Today I am grateful for living in a house of sloths so it's okay when I need to send the day in bed, for my old rucksack which has made an excellent ankle support, for DS3 letting me use his walking stick, for having lots of salads, cooked meat etc ready in the fridge, for a grey day brightening up, for wonderful reading books, for feeling peaceful, for being able to get in to and out of the bath unaided (distributed my weight differently), for being a no tv household (even though I enjoy watching supervet and the odd film at mum's), for not being stressed about 'things that need to be done' - I will do what I can.

mothernerd

indigowarrior wrote: »

Today was a NSD. Going to bed soon.
Plan spends up until the 20th
£92 perfect home. (almost paid off)
£20 electric
This will be paid Wednesday
£20 food. (Doing a £1 a day challenge)
£13 for transport This will be used primarily on friday potentially
£2.50 Eating out. This will be thursday

Today I am greatful for Ibuprufen. (Been very unwell today)

Saw an embroidery last night "Welcome to adulthood. hope you like ibruprofen." Very appropriate as DS1 was visibly worsening during yesterday's visit. He came to join us in the sitting room, lay sideways on a couch and then started muttering about it being time for medicinal cream. He had also said he is allowed to work from home aprt of the time but has to wait until they have bought a supportive office chair as he seizes up using ordinary ones.

Whatshername

#026 checking in.

£1 spent today for an Easter trial and then found £1 in my coat pocket so classing it as 1NSD

Grateful for drying clothes on the line - simple thinga

LavenderBee

NSD 1/18

Grateful for an Easter roast. We're veggies so actually it was a dry packet mix nut roast (think stuffing mix style stuff, but nutty), vegetable gravy granules and economy veg that were past their best, followed by apple crumble made in a similar vein bit of attention to detail and it still came out fine!

Dorastar

Aim for at least 15 NSDs. Usual exceptions apply, you won't lose a NSD for ys items, petrol or medical expenses. 1 NSD
Pay to your debt or savings first and live off the rest. Paid £500 over yesterday
Report in every day. The daily support from this thread will keep you on track waves hello for April 1st
Interests - is there any hobbies that you'd like to take up or perhaps an old hobby that you'd like to start again. This is the month to do it, let us know what you plan to do Back on the knitting & sewing
Love yourself, do something to make yourself feel fab - wear a bright scarf, get your eyebrows done, have a bath, put on your fave perfume. Took myself for a drive this afternoon & some time to plan goals for the coming months

Find time to get outside. Lighter nights are now here so get out in the garden, go for a walk. Fresh air is good for everyone Went for a 3.6k walk
Overpay - aim to pay 20% extra to your debt or savings. It's up to you how you do this - overtime at work, saving money on the food bill, selling items. Looking at stuff to sell on Tuesday
Organise your month. Check your cupboards, make a meal plan and stick to your food budget. Plan any social events and budget for them, ideally come up with free alternatives. Started a list of big things like birthdays/days out etc
Lose one bad habit. Mine's is a food related one but it can be anything you like. Turned my phone off for a few hours
Sign off your daily post with a list of gratitudes. Thankful for a loving family to spend today with

BadBookkeeper

#13 checking in....

Aim for at least 15 NSDs. - 1/15
Pay to your debt or savings first and live off the rest. Budgets done, spending diary started.
Report in every day. DONE
Interests - I need to finish an online payroll course.
Love yourself - Chilled out today, enjoyed lots of chocolate!

Find time to get outside - Played swingball with my DS
Overpay - Still planning how to achieve this how is everyone else doing it??? An extra 20% for me is £44
Organise your month - Planning to change supermarkets
Lose one bad habit - Mine is Facebuk limiting time to 1/2 hr morning & night!
Sign off your daily post with Gratitude's - giggles with DS, a start of a new month, a lie in tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

shabbychic12

Well 1/15nsd DD took me out for Sunday Lunch so no tea needed either lol
I finished of a beaded embroidery bird l start 4 years ago with great satisfaction just spending time doing something for me for once.
I will make more of an effort when going out walking the dog and try not too look too much like the mad woman of Flixton (weather dependent)
I will also aim for at least an hr a day outside in the garden.
Well at least this is a positive start for April for me but there again it is only day 1.

Forgot to say grateful to my DD having a lovely Sunday together, for the Easter eggs l am still to eat and the dog behaving tonight
Hope you all have a lovely Easter Monday