NST May 2018: May the odds be ever in your favour!

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for being able to organise my time well, for getting up early and getting on with things, for having a car making it possible for me to mark and still get to work on time, for cheerful colleagues, for getting home in time to let dd in, for computers, for an easy tea, for there being so much less washing up as dh is away!

sashanut

Hi all :j

Motivation: what is your personal motivation for joining in with the turtles? My motivation is to cut down on the unnecessary spending and pay for some renovations to this property. In order to do this I think we need to be saving money by doing any jobs we can realistically (!) do ourselves. DH attempted to mend the hose reel so I could water the garden...He effected a temp repair but we need to replace one small bit really so I can have it at a higher pressure than dribble...otherwise it takes too long....


Money: know your income and outgoings. All DD bills should have gone out by now and I am going to add up our income, that won't take very long.. so far have done now two grocery shops. Grocery bill so far £57.07. No spending today, in fact received £10 vouchers (although they are technically towards postage) - and then won another £10 in vouchers in random draw from the same place....wooow I never win anything, had to check a few times that it was my name on the list:rotfl:


Me time: look after yourself. Get enough sleep; eat well; move; do things you enjoy. Sleep good. Ate well & used up some more items in risotto. Into garden in the evening when it was cooler, did watering then into greenhouse, planted some more seeds, I know its very late but spring has been delayed this year! Need to earth up spuds tomorrow.


Move: being active benefits your body and your mind. You know that. Now do it. Moved muchly around the garden mainly watering..


Activation: what spurs you on to keep on the path? Have not done much decluttering but have identified some items to sell to a fellow collector. Just need to find out how to price, which will be tricky as rare items & not available so need to research somehow. Got reply from friend re collectables; need to send her some photos & she has a source that she can consult. Sadly also told me she is very unwell with heart trouble. Photographed stuff to send to friend & actually sent them to her, so process started although I don't expect to hear for a little while. Took more photos, will post to try & get more sales. Lady received DVDs & says that she showed one film at the weekend, which she says will increase my DVD sales. All DVD sales sent off now - by chance I found a few US format ones from the first time we made them....PayPal balance looking very healthy & intend now to try to sell some other stuff over the BH weekend. Did a fair bit of clearing out in first of the fitted wardrobes, plus all boots into plastic container. Threw out some of DHs grotty undercrackers without telling him, got a few piles of stuff waiting for vacuum bags.


Arm yourself : you have chosen to follow a path that many mock and despise - that of ridding yourself of debt and financial constrictions in order to be free; free to choose what to do with your money and time, not enslaved to repaying or to other people. Glad we are not bothered about 'keeping up with the Joneses' - have done that a long time ago but really do not care any more. It's how some people validate themselves & that's fine, but not for me. We are now free from paid work commitments but spent many years getting there, wish it had been sooner. Desperate need of decluttering & getting rid of old lifestyle. Am going to do this so will post progress on here to keep me accountable. Am clearing out but it is at the stage where it looks worse before it gets better IYKWIM. Keep at it...


You. Are you happy in yourself? Know what brings you joy, what cheers your heart, what makes you pause and wonder. Don't just stop and smell the coffee in the morning; practise stopping and looking around throughout the day. Appreciate what you have. Be grateful. Gratitudes[/B] Peaceful time in garden this evening, lovely perfume of the white lilacs at the back, easy supper just us 2, prospect of possible trip out tomorrow..

NSDs 12/19

Check ins: 21/31

Finally done charity donation through euro account. Ten euro to the doggies...of West Cork

f0xh0les

NSD 12 done and dusted.

Nearly all the stripping is over. Will complete today !!
Yay! The end is in sight! Well, in the living room anyway.

Being up a ladder is a very good way to not spend any money.
Yesterday I .....
had another £5 p/a payment into my bank.
Got a £5 voucher card in the post from another survey site (postal)
Got a £5 Amazon voucher from another survey site (football)

So did quite well yesterday.

Enough food in fridge / freezer / pantry to do me over the weekend.

x_raphael_xx

dolly84 wrote: »

x-raphael - I agree with your friend on facebook about vets I am afraid, it is no longer about animals and all about money. I won't have another pet when current dog is gone. An example of their overcharging - our dog had a skin issue and they gave us a skin wash in a tiny bottle and charged £15, by chance I spotted the exact same stuff in Boots, 4 times the size for £5. Obviously we didn't just pay £15, we paid 2 x £36 consultation fees, a charge for a nurse showing us how to clean the area (seriously), disposable gloves, and some 'antibiotics'.

I'm going to agree to disagree

In my view it's the same as taking a car to a mechanics, you are paying for the knowledge and skills someone else has that you don't. Our vets are brilliant and never try to 'upsell' things that aren't needed.
The costs generally come from the dispensorys, not the vets themselves. A large store like Boots can afford bigger orders and subsidise costs from the other things they sell.



At least we get away without having to pay for our own healthcare Although, incidentally, I was charged prescription fee for a tiny bottle of skin cream by my drs once, when there was a large bottle for less on the shelf in the shop.


Duncan is doing well, he's finished his course of antibiotics (bribed with ham) and the wound is slowly healing over. The vet asked if we showed him (we don't), as he'll have a permenant scar on his side now. He's still my pretty baby

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for an alarm clock to wake me up, for the nighttime thunderstorm and downpour not causing any rain damage, for getting stuff done, for my workout, for dd enjoying school, for a peaceful day despite all its busy-ness, for a simple tea, for not being back to work for the next 10 days, for a really helpful solicitor.

Kerry_Woman

NSD: 18/19 NSD achieved today.
Motivation: To be more mindful regarding spending. This is going to be ongoing. So far doing ok.
Money: The budget for each category is done.
Me time: Read some of a book, wordsearch and mindfulness colouring. Move: Only walked from school to bus stop and doing errands in school.
Activation: To get my spending down to a reasonable amount.
Arm yourself: Will have to stand strong in my quest against consumerism and acquiring more. Still doing this.
Donation to charity: Done for the month.
Grateful for:
Am now off for half term, inset day tomorrow - no need to go in.
Good night's sleep.
Seeing the lovely colours of flowers to and from work in gardens whilst on the bus.
Done list of what I need to get and do tomorrow.

apple_muncher

Enjoy your time off,Kerry Woman.

Kerry_Woman

apple muncher-Thank you I will. I have a few things planned.

mothernerd

A slow day for me. Was intending to walk to my therapist appointment, until I tried standing up:rotfl::rotfl:. Good session but got a little intense - my fault but it's okay. Just needed to touch on something that makes it hard to move on (I have been exploring being 'stuck' as I have been for the past few years - more than a few now).


I have to try going to the evening film tomorrow and initiating a conversation :eek:. Or whatever I am okay with (need to push the boundaries a bit but not too far out of my comfort zone).


I have recognised that the 'clutter' is not only a gigantic security blanket but also gives me something 'visible' to focus on, to avoid tackling the underlying problem. This is all me and the internet, with the therapist I am working on going forward (boldly - nerdism without the split infinitive).


Went to order a repeat prescription, make an appointment to see my doctor in early June and made an attempt at explaining mum's current problem. Receptionist has promised me a call back from the doctor tomorrow am, to clarify the situation.


When I say it has been a slow day, bby this time I was holding onto the rails in the lift, stopping to get my breath back in the corridor and pulled a chair across to sit down whilst talking to the receeptionist.


Very grateful to get back home, take the strong painkillers and have a proper sleep this afternoon. It was a no sleep night but think I have got them down to one a week plus one late night/ dozy day (old pattern)


Comfortable now but will take ibruprofen with my evening pill and try to get an early night, rest and reading if sleep eludes me. Forearms and back of the neck are itching, will add tackling the sun caused eczema to the list of pils and creams in the daily routine.


Today I am grateful for my therapy sessions, lifts, grab rails, reserved seats on buses (quickly assessed the remainder of the queue and decided I needed it today (usually go one or two back if I can manage), for water which flows freely from the tap (costs buttons comparatively), for an easy day tomorrow (must look up the film), for the flowers in my garden - only buttercups and wild geraniums but a self-seeded foxglove or two (self-seeded with help from me).


I will do June if no one else wants to, but I am away for 5 days near the end.

sashanut

Hi all :j

Motivation: what is your personal motivation for joining in with the turtles? My motivation is to cut down on the unnecessary spending and pay for some renovations to this property. In order to do this I think we need to be saving money by doing any jobs we can realistically (!) do ourselves. Not much done on this front today, although did cut back lawn as likely that it will rain tomorrow. Tried to water garden also but temp repair to hose burst off so only half done, perhaps Mother Nature will take care of it for me..


Money: know your income and outgoings. All DD bills should have gone out by now and I am going to add up our income, that won't take very long.. so far have done now two grocery shops. Grocery bill so far £57.07. Spendy day today, sort of. £10 voucher arrived - via Special Delivery - eh? Took a couple of oven trays back, lovely quality but don't fit in our oven...got one that does. Went to MnS at optimum time for YS & bought lots of food, enough for a couple of weeks at least, including a dinein. Then to champagne afternoon tea, voucher provided by DD as Christmas present. Lovely, and as DH didn't have champagne - but a soft drink - we also got some cash back :rotfl:

Me time: look after yourself. Get enough sleep; eat well; move; do things you enjoy. Furry alarm clocks woke us up at 2am, doing what they do best, howling. DH got up to investigate, probably just animals fighting etc outside. Was then awake for an hour, and somehow managed to find, open & eat 4 OOD clementine & cranberry Jaffa cakes whilst reading...hmmm. Not what you'd call eating well tbh. Did enjoy going for the afternoon tea, easy journey there & back, missed all the traffic & Bettys was remarkably not too busy. Good seat & lady pianist to serenade us diners whilst we ate.

Move: being active benefits your body and your mind. You know that. Now do it. Cut back garden grass which is a workout for me..

Activation: what spurs you on to keep on the path? Have not done much decluttering but have identified some items to sell to a fellow collector. Just need to find out how to price, which will be tricky as rare items & not available so need to research somehow. Got reply from friend re collectables; need to send her some photos & she has a source that she can consult. Sadly also told me she is very unwell with heart trouble. Photographed stuff to send to friend & actually sent them to her, so process started although I don't expect to hear for a little while. Took more photos, will post to try & get more sales. Lady received DVDs & says that she showed one film at the weekend, which she says will increase my DVD sales. All DVD sales sent off now - by chance I found a few US format ones from the first time we made them....PayPal balance looking very healthy & intend now to try to sell some other stuff over the BH weekend. Not much done on this front today as I was out this afternoon, but in the room of doom I discovered a packet of vacuum bags which I must have bought full of good intentions before, so tomorrow I can fill those.

Arm yourself : you have chosen to follow a path that many mock and despise - that of ridding yourself of debt and financial constrictions in order to be free; free to choose what to do with your money and time, not enslaved to repaying or to other people. Glad we are not bothered about 'keeping up with the Joneses' - have done that a long time ago but really do not care any more. It's how some people validate themselves & that's fine, but not for me. We are now free from paid work commitments but spent many years getting there, wish it had been sooner. Desperate need of decluttering & getting rid of old lifestyle. Am going to do this so will post progress on here to keep me accountable. Yes place looks like a bomb hit it but will be an ongoing process. It took 20 years to fill this place, hopefully not as long to get rid of it!

You. Are you happy in yourself? Know what brings you joy, what cheers your heart, what makes you pause and wonder. Don't just stop and smell the coffee in the morning; practise stopping and looking around throughout the day. Appreciate what you have. Be grateful. Gratitudes Good weather & parking spot right outside caf!, delicious afternoon tea and nothing to pay, bonkers kitten zooming around all over, not having to food shop f or a fair while..


NSDs still 12/19

Check ins: 22/31

Finally done charity donation through euro account. Ten euro to the doggies...of West Cork