NST December 2018 – Exterminate the debt!

apple_muncher

Hugs chocolatelover. Take care of yourself.


Today I am grateful for a lovely frost, for my counsellor, for getting a good amount of walking done, for dh doing 2 loads of laundry and hanging them both up to dry, for the food bank box being emptied so I could put more stuff in it, for finding nice treats for the OAPs (dd's sch are collecting), for Cadfael on the telly, for watching cmas movies with dd, for needing significantly fewer balm tissues than during the last 8 days!

greent

Meh! Both my dishwasher and washing machines have fault codes and neither are working :mad: GRump… grump,,, grump

Shrewbie

First NSD for me....

Doing quite badly at everything else. Need to up my game!! Fear I may be spreading myself too thin!!

This week should be quiet, need to pack up my belongings in this temporary flat and move down the road to stay with BF for a few days before xmas, then in the New Year I need to find new housemates. (mine are leaving the country.... must have been something I said)

I hope to do better with my goals, this month's challenge and generally with life, tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a good week
xx

greent

Random question here - how do I change my avatar pic, please? So long ago that I can't remember how to. (Have tried searching but am clearly missing something!) Thanks x

LavenderBee

Chocolate lover, do take care and look after yourself X

Greent, congrats on staying off candy crush!

NSD 3/15. Exterminate 4/10.

Gratitudes
1) a bracing walk with my friend in beautiful scenery
2) being given a pile of unused clothing for DD, including a navy top-dress-thing which I can dress her in for the funeral and keep everyone happy
3) making a surprisingly good and economic dinner
4) for coming back into lovely warm house after our trip out
5) for managing to tick off 2 of my Christmas jobs

apple_muncher

Greent - but is the iron still working...???


Shrewbie - you've hot the nail on the head about spreading yourself too thin. Get some lists written and prioritise what HAS to be done and when. And taketime each day to relax, breathe and enjoy being .

pinkypig

Hello Turtles :wave:


Thank you for the warm welcome Apple!

Some NST successes;

3/15 nsd

Got up earlier and had 20 mins with a,coffee reading. Such a.good start to the day

Volunteered at a work event and didn't allow myself to be pressured into spending

Only small, healthy snacks between meals -my personal challenge for the month.

Mainly left my phone alone but still room for improvement

Took breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee and snacks to work

Went for a cold but invigorating run - felt much better as a result

Avoided my chief drainer

Off to bed with my treat of a,frothy hot chocolate and my book.

Grateful for;

A lovely chat with my DD
A warm, cosy home
Gritted roads and fog lights
Being fit and well enough to get out for a spirit lifting run


Hope all is well or at least improving:)

PP xx

misstara

[FONT=&quot]D[/FONT]ebt-free date / Mortgage-free date / Savings target date. What’s yours? Currently August 2021 but hope to bring this forward quite a bit. Paid £3 to the debt today

[FONT=&quot]O[/FONT][FONT=&quot]rganise your outgoings. Budget for the month. For e v e r y t h i n g. Write it down. And stick to it. Plan your meals – avoid waste.[/FONT] YNAB updated with budget for the month. Meal plan completed for this week. Stuck to meal plan and prepped stuff for tomorrow while it was cooking.

[FONT=&quot]C[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ount up to 15. Fifteen No Spend Days.[/FONT] Now on 3/15.. No spends today

[FONT=&quot]R[/FONT]efrain from browsing your phone when nothing else is going on for the duration of the challenge. Be present in the moment. Be okay with “boredom.” Shall do my best. Achieved today while waiting for someone - people watched rather than looking at my phone. No aimless browsing today.

[FONT=&quot]W[/FONT]hat kind of month do you want for yourself? Take a moment and really ask. What activities do I want to enjoy? What seasonal foods do I want to take advantage of? What do I want to have the energy to take on? Where can I build more leisure into my week? How can I be outside as much as possible? Need to have a good think about this one. Still need to think more about this.

[FONT=&quot]H[/FONT]ere’s a space to make up your own rule for the month. Please share it! Home - make the most of the time I spend at home instead of just slumping on the sofa. Prepped food for tomorrow, browsed for ideas for Christmas shopping and then watched Greatest Showman

[FONT=&quot]O[/FONT]utings. Drop one. Decide which one, inform those who need to know and enjoy the time and money you have just given yourself. Decided to drop my work's Christmas do and feel very relieved for doing so .

[FONT=&quot]S[/FONT]low living this month. In a month of manicness, make a clear intention to keep your schedule and pace in check. Because, really, does anyone want a hectic December? Always struggle with this but will try.

[FONT=&quot]O[/FONT]mm. Take care of your mental health. Do something every day this month that makes you feel good: gym, reading, time with family, favourite tv programme, meditation, building a snowman. NOT spending, of course!! Write down 4 gratitudes each day. Walk in the sunshine, gloves, singing along to the Greatest Showman, chat with my sister.

[FONT=&quot]N[/FONT]o entry to any sales. Unless you have a planned budget and have been saving for a specific item PLEASE do not go to the Boxing Day Sales. Or any sales. Anywhere. It’s temptation you can’t handle to buy tat you really don’t need. STAY AT HOME! Likewise, no takeaways, canteen meals (unless free), coffee shop or corner shop visits. Ok.

[FONT=&quot]C[/FONT]andles - Switch to candles and firelight after dark (or the high-tech adjustable hue bulb equivalents). Love this rule and have a huge supply of candles to use up. Had a christmassy scented candle burning tonight

[FONT=&quot]C[/FONT]hase down more awe and joy. Go after it with a purpose. Go and enjoy the sparkly lights. Take a tour of your neighbourhood to look at other people’s outdoor decorations – and be smug about how you are not wasting your money like that. Go and seek Santa’s sleigh in the sky on Christmas Eve. Will do.

[FONT=&quot]E[/FONT]xercise. Get 10,000 steps a day (or set your own target). Move a little more. Embrace the outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. Aiming for 16 days exercise this month, currently on 3/16 . Didn't quite make 10k steps but enjoyed a short walk in the sunshine although very cold.

[FONT=&quot]“D[/FONT]on’t give up. Not ever. Not for one single day. Be safe if you can be. But always be amazing.” Pop on here every day and tell us what you’re up to. Not just the good stuff, but also the bad and the ugly too. Will do my best. I'm here

[FONT=&quot]I[/FONT]dentify activities and people who drain you. Give yourself permission to take a break from them for 21 days (or as many days as possible) if you can. Just maybe this is a gift you should’ve given yourself a long time ago…? Unfortunately I can't quit my job just to get a break from people who drain me :rotfl: but will continue to avoid as much as possible. Avoided well today although it was still a very draining day for other reasons.

[FONT=&quot]V[/FONT]isit your local area. Find new footpaths, see where a road or path takes you. Explore new horizons. Boldly go where no one has gone before. Oops, mixing my sci-fi….! Will do.

[FONT=&quot]E[/FONT]xterminate (see, we can learn from the DALEKS…) one bad habit from your life for the first 10 days. This is NOT about food. I shall be renouncing a particular game I play on my tablet that just sucks me in and takes hours of my time. And I have recently moved up a level, so it’s even harder to put down…! I shall not play a particular game on my tablet, not played for 4 days.

[FONT=&quot]R[/FONT]emember that you are blessed. Count your blessings daily. Be grateful for what you have. And remember those that have less – donate money, food, non-perishables, blankets to a charity that you want to support. Relish life, one day at a time. Had a conversation with my dad over the weekend about various charities and have one in mind that I want to look into donating to. Still need to look into this.

The_Only_Girl

Hi all!

Late check in this evening/morning.

Sashanut I hope you will get better sleep tonight and feel invigorated in the morning.
Misstara sorry you’re feeling drained by certain people at work. I had a draining kind of day at work too, but thankfully not caused by my colleagues, just the people outside my team.
Lavenderbee good idea about the freezer audit! You’ve reminded me that my son needs to do another audit (he did a freezer and pantry audit a few years ago and it’s high time another one was done)
Thriftylass and CCL I wish you both a speedy recovery.
Chocolatelover93 sorry to hear about your breakup with BF. I hope your son gets better soon.
Greent oh no! I hope your terrible two (dishwasher and washing machine) will get fixed soon with out costing an arm and a leg.

Still NSD#2 as we did a big weekly food shop and petrol top up today. Packed lunch #2 today and tomorrow’s is ready in the fridge.

Today’s Gratitude list:
1. I’m thankful that I managed to restrain myself from killing my husband.
* We agreed last night that we would both go grocery shopping after I come home from work; we even made a shopping list together. Then I came home and I discovered that he’s already gone and done a bit of shopping (buying things that were totally not on our list) and blew the weekly budget but we still don’t have what we need for the week’s meal plan.
* He had a physio appointment this morning and paid £2.50 for parking in the hospital where we have a parking permit and we could park for NOWT!
* He filled his petrol tank in Cost*o this morning where we were going grocery shopping tonight!

2. After my annoyance with my OH’s antics (see above), I sat him down to re-visit our December budget and I realised that I miscalculated our original budget. Instead of having only £2100 emergency fund, it’s actually £3172. I don’t know how I have missed that extra £1K. I suppose it’s better to be plus £1K than minus £1K. Oops. I blame the calculator.

3. We received a letter from AviV4 stating that our life assurance plan which we were paying £10 a month for the first few years then £20 a month for the last few year have now matured and we will be receiving £5K each. That’s £10K that we didn’t expect. We plan to use some of the money to fund 1 or 2 of the many much-needed renovation projects in the house/garden but majority will be kept in the bank as replenishment of our now-depleted EF. To say I’m elated is an underestatement! This is just what we need to cheer us up after the series of storm that has hit my family and me. I can’t believe I can see the rainbow already and much sooner than I expected!

4. My eldest son who is working as an apprentice in a computer company has been awarded employee of the month for the 3rd time in a year!

I didn’t get to do much of my MSc module but I think a break from it is not bad considering all the things that’s happened tonight. Tomorrow is Zumba night and I am so looking forward to that.

Good night and have a great day tomorrow,

Shrewbie

apple_muncher wrote: »

Greent - but is the iron still working...???


Shrewbie - you've hot the nail on the head about spreading yourself too thin. Get some lists written and prioritise what HAS to be done and when. And taketime each day to relax, breathe and enjoy being .

Thanks apple!!!