NST December 2018 – Exterminate the debt!

Wanna_Bee_Free

apple_muncher wrote: »

December is the most horrific money swallowing month of the year

So so true for me the last 8 days. I think Daily M is the newspaper...

Debt Free Date: At the moment I am technically back in debt each month with things on my credit card so my target is to get back to zero by Easter.
Organise: This is my key to getting back on track Things improved in November but everything has gone to pot in December so far. What’s going well: main meal planning in the evenings, healthy eating. Need to improve: Plan ahead for my lunches and no trips to the expensive coffee shop - it’s over from now.
Count: Ahem 1/15 so far this month.
Treat yourself well: I have made some progress on this so far this month.
One thousand days - will dare to dream and think about this - thanks!
Refrain: This has been really worthwhile for me and I have made great progress on this so far this month. First few days was all about awareness of when my phone magically appeared in my hand and I have found it really interesting to see how it has taken over so much of my queueing and boredom moments. Continuing with this one for sure.
What kind of month do you want for yourself? Such good questions. I want to feel rested, cosy, healthy and solvent. I want to sleep enough, eat healthily, be sober enough and start January without trying to undo December’s excess -all areas. Activities: I am really looking forward to sing-a-long muppet Christmas carol. It’s my favourite Christmas movie. And I really enjoy panto. I am looking forward to brussel sprouts and my Mum’s brandy butter with a mince pie. I want to conserve my energy for the right things. I want to build reflection into my working day so I am less frazzled. I had a bad stomach infection last year in the run up to Christmas which meant antibiotics and missing out on boxing day through new year as I was ill. I want to drink enough water and rest and relax so this doesn’t happen this year. I will sneak out of the office for some daylight and plan to walk at lunch to get some outdoors time.
Here’s space: My habit is eliminate swearing. My sister, Mum and I are putting 50p in a swear box between now and Christmas Eve. I don’t want to lose too many more NSDs this way. I swear more than I thought I did!
Outings: dropped my big work Chrismas do - so relieved.
Slow Living: Better than last month but need to keep focus on this. Another great rule for me apple muncher - thanks.
Omm: Reading more and listed 4 gratitudes 1 day so far. Work in progress
N: Happy to comply with this one.
I am: trying to be
Candles: Have used the dimmers and turned off the tech half an hour before bed. Must buy candles.
Enough in this post - will cover Screwdriver next week.
Just to say treating work colleagues to two huge rounds of drinks on my credit card over the course of Friday night wasn’t big and it wasn’t clever and I regret it. I guess that the desire to be nice and generous - buying affection? - leaves you feeling decidedly un Christmassy and stupid the next day.

f0xh0les

Kids being horrid so I am escaping to a bit of sanity (that is you lot - in case you don't recognise yourselves).

Did some shopping yesterday- used vouchers and all sorts, but still ended up spending £100 on grocery shopping. Which is not much for 6 normal people, but is massive for me. But it should mean very few runs to the shops as I inventorised and meal planned and then wrote the list. - also will get a £5 bribe from Mr M's shopping emporium on my next visit from points.

Gratitudes
- no one was eating at the kitchen table when the ceiling fell down this morning
- Greggs mice pies
- being able to laugh at the ceiling falling down
- fairy lights
- Sunday morning politics with lovely coffee
- Turtles to escape too when kids being horrid

You are my turtles of sanity. Sanity in a hard shell. Turtle POWER!

mothernerd

Sorry foxgloves, I'm now hoping that lightning doesn't strike twice etc as I've been keeping an eye on my kitchen ceiling for a while - cracks in the corner and occasional mini flood in the bit underneath the bath.


I've been bad, very bad. Am alternating between feeling guilty (I passed the stage where you can return to normality and just carried on) and thinking I've done the right thing.


It was mostly food, mostly normal food, not special stuff and not sure yet how much I have spent (pretty sure it's less than my Christmas money so taking it out of that for the time being and then allocating it to monthly budgets later.


I.m all shopped out and still have to do a pre-Christmas order for mum as the slots are going rapidly and probably another shop for me.


Friday was mostly tins + healthy salad stuff for me, yesterday was freezer stock up (checked out after the screen froze several times) and on Monday I have another delivery. I have also done a pre-christmas order to arrive the Thursday before. Mum has a delivery on Tuesday late afternoon (I went for all the cheapest remaining slots). Also did what I thought was the last of the present orders but then realised I hadn't gone back to the grandchnchillas list (they won't notice).


Why I did it
* Shopping (which I hate) is taking up far too much of my time. MUm's lists often mean trawling round for hours and lugging stuff about.


* Pain in my arm has been almost constant this week and I'm very good at ignoring it but may be doing permanent damage if I continue.


* As turtles we are working on a just in time basis - do inventory, meal plan based on it and then buy just what you need to complete it - and repeat. This is a good system but it isn't working for me atm.


* Planning ahead is also part of the turtle system and this is what I'm doing (nearly to prpepper standards in some cases). My Christmas money gave me the extra in my budget to do this and I took my chance.


* On both mine and my mother's orders I've adopted the 'if it's not going to go off'', buy in bulk principle. This varies, depending on the item, 5 boxes of the cereals mum wanted (only two varieties now rather than 5), tins - a dozen basic, more for tomatoes (they were 20p, evemn the basics brands are usually 32-34p) and am so sick of going to the shelf and finding that Beloved has used them all, less for infrequently used pulses (bought several bags of dried lentils and barley).



When they work, home deliveries are magic. Lovely Tessimo's even let me have two different delivery addresses so I can do mine and mum's on the same account without having to argue with a computer (bangs head on screen in frustration) about who I am.


Christmas presents are slightly over budget but I would have had to buy their sheets anyway and I'm under the £100 if I take those off (slightly muddled because I also bought mum's cushion covers in the order).


Oh bought myself an old-fashioned potato chipper (like a sized up garlic press) which I.m hoping will help with veg prep and (further indulgence) 3 tins of B*xter's French Onion soup as I can't work out how I could slice onions finely anymore.


Was in the bathroom when someone knocked at the door. Made my way slowly downstairs and there was no key by the door. I had to climb on the sofa and take it in through the window. DS3 and Beloved are not here - no idea where they've gone - did notice two of my big towels on the couch and one on a chair in their room.


Would love to rush in and attack their room but I just can't. Priorities are my room (good progress) and the kitchen - just need someone to move the s**!!888ing mattress taking up most of the available floor space.


Today I am grateful for home deliveries, for peace and quiet, for candles, for finding more things to give away, for finding some good (expensive) cupboard fittings which might be an alternative to replacing the kitchen, for some (inexpensive) ideas of my own, for tinned tomatoes , for lucious lamb stew (lumps left over after I'd sliced as much as possible and a variety of frozen (defrosted) veg, for having food in the house (you have to have lived through having nothing in the cupboards and no money to buy any to get that deep satisfaction of having full shelves), for bargain prices on tomatoes and pulses, for still having a faint hope that I will 'get there' for Christmas, for putting out a bin bag yesterday having dealt with something smelly, the broken light fitting, the yoghurt spill in the kitchen and a disgusting dish cloth (they had used it for something and I'm not washing it).


I had worked out that 1000 days was roughly 2 years, nine months but my mind immediately went to 2000 days which will be after my retirement date (as long as they don't move the goal posts again). Will have to get in a very positive mood to tackle it - I know it's never too late but mostly I'm in 'survive until I get my pension' mode. Don't want to bring the thread down with doom and gloom but in the same way you notice your house,s imperfections when you can live with them happily throughout the year, I have noticed in the past two weeks how little sewing I can do, compared to this time last year (shorter working time, longer breaks needed). But I have candles and music.

f0xh0les

Blimey Mothernerd don't wish my ceiling mishap on foxgloves.

Sounds like an Irish blessing doesn't it?

May your kitchen ceiling never fall in!

Think of it as an investment in the January shopping bill - when it snows and you have full shelves in the pantry. I am sure Aunt Fanny managed to feed all of the children and Timmy with her snow cupboard, which I think I remember she had in her bedroom.

All hail the soupery!

mothernerd

Sorry f0xh0les. I've already had this ceiling fall in bit by bit (until I took the rest of it down before it got me) and at the big house half of the kitchen fell in at about the same time as my builder was sitting in the airport waiting to go on his holidays so I couldn't get in touch with him or the plasterer. They were both slow bathroom leaks, think this is carelessness (overfilling the bath, having showers and spraying everywhere aand not putting in the thing that catches all their hair when they are emptying the bath). Oh and my dad once crashed through my bedroom ceiling when he was doing something in the attic (grey, greasy dust all over my things).


I also bought enough toilet rolls to last until mid year - I looked at the space behind the bathroom door where they are kept and decided 7 packs should fill it.

dolly84

Really enjoying reading about what festive things people have been up to, it all sounds good fun - especially f0xh0les mice pies.


Got lots of jobs done this weekend, both trees are now up but not without incident. The enormous pre-lit tree I put in my bay window wouldn't fit due to the enourmous new chair I bought in January so I had to put the slimmer tree there and the big tree in the french doors but the lights on the top of the tree have died so we bought a set of 400 lights and still have the bottom pre-lit lights working. We also bought 4 tree storage bags - 2 for the trees and 2 for other storage so £26.62 spent in B&Q.


Bought most of our Christmas goodies and wine yesterday using Tesco vouchers and Nectar points and bought the last two Christmas/Birthday presents for the kids so just something to get for DH now.


Wrote my Christmas cards yesterday, gave the downstairs of the house a good clean before decorating it. Dh and I made a wreath today, we are very pleased with it, we got foliage from our local area, I already had a wicker ring and some floristry wire and pine cones. It wouldn't fit to our pvc door so we have put it on the wall at the side and it looks amazing.


Dropped DD at the charity shop for her shift and bought her a brand new pair of traditional style brushed cotton pj's for £3.15, a cotton makeup bag with a gold G on it for DD for £1, a Vango daysack for £3 and a leather purse for me, again brand new for £1.50. DD got a boxset of Lord of the Rings for free because someone had drawn on the box and written in the Hobbit. The other three books have never been opened it seems, she is giving them to her friend for her birthday along with the dvd's of the films which she paid £1 for all three.


Made a chickpea curry for tea and have enough to take to work for lunch, made a rhubarb and strawberry crumble with gorgeous Alpro soy custard, have a full tummy and am feeling quite satisfied with the weekend.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for the Nativity going down a storm at church, for dd deciding that she wanted to stay on for the meal afterwards (they always look after us allergy-people very well), for dh being more mobile (huge shoulder pain - unknown cause through the night), for wrapping up my haul of 2-for-a-quid T1ger candles for teachers/friends, for dd starting on making a dress for her doll (a very steep learning curve), for leftovers for dinner, for being warm and snug, for having more than enough.

Kerry_Woman

NSD today - 6/15.
Walked to and from a recycling point to put in jars and cartons.
Have done a few household chores.
Still thinking about the 1000 days.
Grateful for:
Putting the Christmas tree up.
Putting out the crib.
Watching the films with the American detective in the mac.
The quizzes on tonight.

LavenderBee

Oh dear - I've been AWOL. Had a rocky weekend for reasons I shan't go into but I'm very deflated. There is a big pile of Bee on the floor with no air left inside

Anyway, no more NSDs gained, stuck on 5/15 as I have been out each day doing little bits. £5.45 out of the Xmas budget (still £80 odd left), £3.99 on a gift for baby bee's birthday next year and £33.66 on groceries, toiletries and medicines. In positive news we have tidied our spare room and I have replenished the "family cold box" with tissues, remedies and some comfort foods. The cupboards and freezer are stockpiled again which always makes me feel comfortable.

Struggling for gratitudes a bit, after some pondering I'm going back to basics:
The amazing new library in town
For a roof over our heads
An understanding family
Full cupboards

apple_muncher

Hugs LavenderBee - hope you feel better soon .