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

Littleskintdragon84

Well it's been a fail for me this month!
I haven't posted,and probably had 3 Nsd at best.
I am joining Junes thread and will strive to improve.

On a positive note, I needed 4 tyres this month, paid for in cash (£360 :eek: ), I also had to buy some more stuff to do the garden out, which cost me £371, also paid in cash. I know this is a big step from a few years back......

I've run regularly, and said no a few times.

I will budget for June, down to the last penny once dh gets paid this week. I never know how much he's getting until pay day. I'm hoping to stick a bit in holiday savings for next year.
We were hoping to go this year but we don't get holidays abroad very often so I want to make sure it's a good one

Well done on a great month turtles :j

laurenh1

Hi lovelies



Sat down last night & looked into all our bills. I have £177 left this month & £60 for fuel. Tanks already full though & I am hoping the shopping I got yesterday will stretch to when we get back from our holiday.



I am trying a new tactic of drawing out my grocery spends. I usually keep it all in my account but I had a lot of cash on me & I was going to have to drive 40 mins to pay it in to the bank . Plus parking expenses etc. I am hoping it will stop impulsive on line purchases .


The Weather is rubbish today so we need to get our thinking caps on for something to do with my boys. I was hoping to do something English Heritage but it needs to dry up first. hub has pointed out the cost of fuel for all these free places we visit but I still feel the cost of fuel with no other spends is a cheap day out .


I hope you all have a lovely Bank holiday:D

indigowarrior

Hope everyone has a good bank holiday.
I am finding the hot weather very uncomfortable at the moment. I am unsure which medication it is but its making my sweatbuckets. Am on to my third NSD of a streak since Saturday. Looks like I am living on burgers until Thursday though. I bought some SW meals and have had to bin most of them as they tasted foul.

f0xh0les

Happy Monday Turtles!

Got up and went for a run this morning. It was rubbish, I managed 7 minutes out and 7 minutes back - I was aiming for 5 each way but had to stop to remember how to breathe. It will get easier, it was only day one. A mile and a half. Better than everyone else in my house who were still lying in bed. Still, 15 mins exercise.

All food from stores today

Minor DIY tasks and laundering bedding today.

Just chillin' really today.

Before the planned great leap forward (not the Chinese one!!) with wallpaper and paste.

Plotting and planning and writing lists.

This weather is well weird. As soon as you leave the house it is like being wrapped around the head in a wet towel. Urgh!

Gratitudes; watching Jurassic World on tv last night with all the kids (wi-fi went down, kids reappeared!) much laughter, a vanishing packet of chocolate digestives, a grape massacre, asthma inhaler making a run even possible, 2lbs disappearing, which means the downward slide begins, instead of the upward creep continuing. Finishing 4 books this week (all tat but jolly good fun), payday on Thursday!!

mothernerd

June thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74336227#Comment_74336227


Could someone read it through please, not sure if the balance is right.

greent

mothernerd wrote: »

June thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74336227#Comment_74336227


Could someone read it through please, not sure if the balance is right.

Thank you

Looks good to me - I've already popped on over

Kerry_Woman

NSD: 20/19 Was a spend day. Went to the cinema. Was £4.99.
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: Reading, wordsearch, mindfulness colouring and did some of the jigsaw. Watched a couple of episodes of Sherlock Holmes.
Move: Got off the bus quite a few bus stops before I should have got off on way back from cinema.
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.
Donation to charity: Done for the month. Have put things for cs near the front door to take to cs tomorrow morning.
Grateful for:
Enjoying the film I went to see at the cinema.
Being content so far with my new journey of self discovery since my Mum's death.
Relaxing today.

mothernerd

Hugs Kerry Woman, that is so lovely.


A NSD. Went to mum's. More plants in pots and started on the edging stones - hope to put the rest in place tomorrow.


Today I am thankful for bees on my buttercups, for lovely weather, for less pain, for simple food and a good serial to folllow.

greent

Motivation: have short/ medium/ long term goals. Short: OH's 0% CC will be closed this month as the statement showing it has been repaid has come through :T Pay from invigilating work has come through and all been paid to my CC Medium - additional OP to BTL set up as a STO
Money: All DDs gone so all money left is ours... thankfully CB arrived, as there was diddly squat left!
Move: Been pootling around but nothing 'proper' Managing 8-9k steps and active minutes but nothing more.
Activation: What spurs you on? - Not feeling it so much this month Hoping to re-energise and re-focus over half term break ready for June
Arm yourself : No 'things' bought today, just grocery items Appreciate what you have. Be grateful.
* used up items from garage in garden and cars
* a flower on DS3's plant from school
* getting VAT return submitted
* using up some random bits from freezer
* getting the garage tidied

Foodbank/ charity donation of £5. - monthly DD to WWT. 2 bags of items donated to shoebox appeal - new bag started Huge bag of stuff donated to CS (some new in packaging). Also donated some random foreign coins (ie: not euros or dollars) to school collection - they raise money from them. Also started a new CS bag - will drop it there this week as it is now full (and some) with items culled from garage!

Pay to your debt/savings FIRST and live off the rest. - done Few small extra payments made since. Also took remaining balance from OH's switching c/ac (unused for several months) and paid to CC (just over £65) plus OP to mtge of £220.

Plan the month: every single day: what you are doing, what you are eating, - sort of - have written in work days, day when collecting DD from uni, DS3's, my mum's, my sister's, my aunt's and bestie's husband's bdays... Am not going to plan food, though).

Check in every day. oops -am checking in sporadically....

NSDs - 8/19

As well as clearing/ tidying garage today (with OH) (looks SO much better!) and doing some pruning, weeding and planting in the garden I have done OH's VAT return. Next step is personal tax stuff and student finance paperwork for eldest 2 - not much fun! However, we are off to Leg0land on Thurs (courtesy of Te5c0 cc vouchers :money:) so that will be good :j Have listed one item on flebay and recycled loads of stuff (whether that be via recycling bins or offered on freeg1e)

LavenderBee

Oh dear - no checks in for ages again. Not feeling very in control in my current physical state and with everything changing. I mean, it could be worse, a lot of people have it worse; but I'm a control freak.

Motivation: what is your personal motivation for joining in with the turtles?
Getting ready for a complete 360 in our life with having first child and being a stay at home mum soon.

Money: know your income and outgoings.
I normally know the detail of every single penny in and out and check my banking apps at least once a day; but I didn't appreciate that I actually get paid 3 weeks in arrears, 1 week in advance. The one week in advance this month actually consisted of maternity pay, so a bit less than expected. Also paying two energy bills at the moment as a change in supplier 'got lost' between them. Old supplier being thoroughly unhelpful, new supplier being helpful. Paying both for now then sorting out refunds.

Me time: look after yourself. Get enough sleep; eat well; move; do things you enjoy.
Haha. I consider it a good night if I get 2 hours. It is hot, humid, 30 degrees in our bedroom and I'm ready to pop! I eat what I feel like when I think I can stomach it. Sounds awful but actually I'm not eating all that badly considering.

Move: being active benefits your body and your mind. You know that. Now do it.
I moved, and I broke my foot at 37 weeks pregnant Not moving is sending me a little crazy- it's very unlike me. I must keep it up to try and get it healed as well as possible before I have little one (though it will still be broken...)

Activation: what spurs you on to keep on the path?
MSE :money: - I read regularly but on my phone and hate trying to post on my phone.

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.
I like KerryWoman's point about not giving in to emails trying to sell things. I am unsubscribing to anything that doesn't offer freebies as they come in.

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.
I am grateful for my husband being so lovely and looking after me despite being totally under the cosh work wise and trying to get admin in line for our move and change in life. He's been so good looking after me physically when he is home for the weekends and still has work to do.

Budgets:
Absolute bells up! Everything is totally blown. The unexpected inconveniences of a broken foot on top of everything else have made my usual modus operandi impossible. Hubby is having a tough time so I can't chastise him for his considerable assistance in blowing the grocery budget! We had a grocery delivery booked which didn't arrive, we then had to go to a shop in our precious time off with me on crutches, and came out with more than was in the order.I did tell him this evening just how much we've gone over and he was pretty shocked, he's never had to live on a budget before but I used to live on £1-2 a day.

Anyway:
Groceries - £261.24 / £200 and I'm having a delivery on 31 May too, as it's a cheaper delivery fee than 1 June...
Diesel - £93.77 / £30.00 I could have just put in an extra fiver for my last 2 days at work, but decided to fill up for ease. Now I can't drive because of my foot anyway! My fuel budget for the next few months will now be £0.
Personal - £52.62 / £23.45 I was doing great, until I had to buy some cheap slip on shoes 3 sizes bigger than usual to take account of my swollen feet. Also bought a few other post-pregnancy comfortable items in the TU sale and Primark (jeggings, tunic, a button down nighty for nursing etc), and a couple of cheap items of clothing for the baby. Excess taken from next month's money (I have already been paid)
NSDs - 16/19

Just looked through mothernerd's June challenge; rang very true as there are several points there that I was flogging myself over at 4:30 this morning before I decided "enough". The harder I am on myself I think the deeper I dig myself in. But that's all for next month

Gratitudes - a lovely hubby - I am very lucky to have him and not sure what I did in life to deserve him. The NHS for patching me up, a good bag of baby freebies from the midwife, the fact I have got the money to buy things to make myself comfortable, even if I'd rather save it.
And finally - an electric fan :cool: