NST December 2018 – Exterminate the debt!

LavenderBee

ccl have you tried mush? It's like a dating app for meeting other mums in your local area. I can't recall how old your kids are but I've seen mums with offspring up to teenage age on there just looking for grown up conversation. If you're in a more populous area than me there are meet ups too.

Saving_Glut

plumduff55 wrote: »

Hi, can anyone help? Is there any way to copy a post and then just edit it to give answers? Hoping there is as it'll take ages to type it all out.

Thanks xx

Plumduff, just select the relevant text and copy, paste and edit as you normally would. Does this help?

The_Only_Girl

Hi all,

I am back. I used to be one of the “turtles” back in 2016 and 2017 but due to various reasons, I have been absent for a long time.

Let me introduce myself again. I was lucky to become debt free in 2015 after a long and painful journey of lifestyle modification and severe austerity measures. After that, I slowly managed to hit my target for my 3-6 months emergency fund. Then came the period of autopiloting, false sense of security and a string of major emergencies which drained our emergency fund: my car written off due to a car accident, my dad being in hospital for 3 weeks (no NHS in my home country) and eventually my dad passing away which led to us taking emergency trip back home and paying for his funeral.

My husband and I have just finished writing up our budget for December and we were both horrified to discover that our emergency fund has significantly dwindled and is now down to £2100 (£12000 target). We also reviewed our spending in November and we were utterly disappointed with ourselves having gone way over the budget. Take aways and eating out were the top two reasons for the overspend (we spend £450 last month including my husband’s 50th birthday dinner). Our grocery and housekeeping spends were also way above our budget (£450 instead of £350). We have also done what we said we wouldn’t do which is to take out credit cards, which we pay off every month, so it’s not accumulating or accruing interest. We had 5 foreign holidays and 2 UK holidays. We nearly fell into the trap of taking out a car loan to buy a nearly new car after my car accident although we did manage to stop ourselves from our stupidity. So suffice it to say, I think we are spiralling out of control.

I was wide awake til 4:00 this morning, filled with the dread and realisation that if are not careful, we will be heading towards the slippery slope of debt again. This forum maybe just what I need to keep me in the straight and narrow and get the emergency fund back up again.

Please can I join in again?

Kerry_Woman

Was a spend day. Went to the cinema to watch Fantastic Beasts - enjoyed it. Also brought something for under the dish drainer.
Was ok with time on computer, no computer games. Lit candle, self care and read a book.
Grateful for:
Kind words on this thread which I am ever so grateful.
Managing to get through this day.
Staying dry whilst I walked around park.
A good night's sleep.

thriftylass

Love the doctor who theme.

I'll just reading and cheering from the side lines as I missed the start and will be away from the 19th.

X

apple_muncher

Hello TOG - good to see you again!


Thrifty - I'll add you in. Just do what you can for the month.

dolly84

Welcome to the newbies and returners. Hugs to poorly people and sad people - hope you feel better soon.


This weekend has been spendy. Friday saw a small spend on snacks and DD's birthday cake for tomorrow. Saturday we bought light bulbs, batteries, dog treats, a candle and bike lube, also party food for DD for tomorrow and some alcohol free fizz. We went out for tea last night for DD's birthday which for 4 is never cheap.


Today we bought DS a birthday present and will be returning one we bought him last week and have decided isn't quite right. Also tried to buy a chest freezer for the garage but failed on that one for now.


I cycled in the wind and rain and dark yesterday morning and also in the rain/blinding sunshine this morning.


Made 4 individual vegan cottage pies today, me and DH had one for tea each then two spares, made a rhubarb crumble for pudding today and DH made a corned beef quiche for his lunches Monday/Tuesday. Also walked the dog, cleaned the bathroom and re-organised under the stairs.

plumduff55

Saving_Glut wrote: »

Plumduff, just select the relevant text and copy, paste and edit as you normally would. Does this help?

Hi, I'm using an iPad and when I press on the screen I only get the option to select one word. Is there a way to select a whole paragraph on an iPad?

Thanks for your help xx

The_Only_Girl

Thanks for the warm welcome. It’s good to be back.

So here’s my plan for the month of December:

Date: my goal is to replenish my depleted EF £2100/£12000, so £9900 to go hopefully by December 2020.

Budget: OH and I have already set the budget for December. We really need to be intentional with our spending and stick to the following: £350 for food and £200 for petrol.

NSD’s: Since I dropped the ball during my long absence, I would like to set a realistic target of 10 NSD’s this month and hopefully work my way up during the next few months.

Outings: Holidays, outings, take aways and eating out were our downfall last month so I am also going to be realistic and limit 4 outings this month. It’s my mum’s birthday on Thursday (it’s already budgeted for), my 2 SIL’s want to go out for coffee, and my hubby booked a night’s hotel stay on Friday, and one currently unbooked or unplanned. If I could avoid using the 4th one, I would be a happy bunny.

Well-Being: Life is super crazy at the moment as I am doing an online MSC module and I’ve got essays and journals coming out of my ears at the moment. Work is super crazy too. My goal is to squeeze in as many health and well-being activities as I could in my week such as

>. Zumba class every Wed night with my bff
> 1 hour of creative session of my choosing a week
> bonding moments with OH and 2 sons.
> be focused again on my diet which I have taken a break from when my dad died. OH and I are doing the Low Carb High Fat or ketogenic diet, (OH went down from being XL to S, 34” to 29” waistline) and I have lost 20 lbs. I hope to lose 2 lbs this month.
> Conference video call with my siblings and their families once a week.

So today in the 2nd of December:

NSD no. 1
Cooked a big pot of chicken stew and had early dinner with family, Enough left over for lunch tomorrow
Watched a few episodes of my favourite series on Netflix (Heartlands) while cleaning the kitchen and doing the laundry.
Now trying to do the ironing ready for the week



Here’s what I’ve done so far:

the_cross_rabbit

Count up to 15. Fifteen No Spend Days.1/10 first claimed today.

Treat yourself well. 15 minutes of yoga

One thousand days. More on this later as it’s a meaty one. Or a vegan sausage-y one. But definitely gluten and dairy free.

Refrain from browsing your phone when nothing else is going on for the duration of the challenge.Just checked the news and half an hour on here catching up with people today

own rule family challenged to give up cheese for the week starting tomorrow.

Slow living this month. DD1 made soup for tea tomorrow

Omm. make time for 15 minutes of yoga a day 2/31 Write down 4 gratitudes each day. 1) DH going to the allotment to harvest veg 2) For DH helping me to do a job I've been putting off for the last month 3) for the chance to lie in this morning 4) Having a roof over my head.

No takeaways, canteen meals (unless free), coffee shop or corner shop visits. None today

Be an optimist. trying to

Candles - managed this last night

Switch off your tech an hour before going to bed - managed this last night as well

Read fiction before bed. love a bit of escapism

Exercise. Dog walk and yoga everyday

“What’s the point of being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes.” Go play. Go have fun. Laugh. Smile while you eat. Just because. Stayed in my pjs all day like a teenager

Exterminate (see, we can learn from the DALEKS…) one bad habit from your life for the first 10 days. I will not watch bad tv in the afternoons that suck me in and I get nothing done. 2/10

Remember 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. Have a bag of clothes to to c/s, looking at doing the foodbank advent calender
CRx