NST February frugality and frolics

mothernerd

As usual I have not done as much as I would have liked but have got some things done. Washing dried outside and a new load put in, dishwasher nearly filled - room for a few more things before it's set off, used up several things from the fridge (some wrapped up and back in there for during the week) and ate loads of vegetables.

Quite a lot into various bins and not spent any money because I haven't been further than the bins. Slept much better (it's a bit of a b*66er this bug Toni's friend) but still very sleepy. Have read most of my book.

Need to sort my lists before bedtime - got rid of a lot that have been dealt with and condensed the info from several down to one page.

Today I am grateful for having time to read (stayed away from games on the internet - little animals will have to sort themselves out), for a visit from DS2 and for the bathroom - only removed one small set of drawers but I breathe a sigh of relief every time I go in there.

mothernerd

Maybe if we all sit really still Monday won't notice us.

Fmess

I’ll give that a try mothernerd did 6 hours admin and marking but still don’t feel ready for tomorrow!

sashanut

Hi all :j


Quite a busy day today as DH still keen to get outside (wonders will never cease) and keep cutting down trees etc. Think he also wanted to try out the hedge cutter thingy he bought me as part of my Christmas gift (!). It has been outside in one of the sheds till now, where I keep all my treasured items. After a lot of swearing trying to put it together, he accused the firm of selling him a dud as there was a small nut missing. However, it appeared to be loose in the bottom of the box Order restored.

F Food Expenditure Aiming for £225 for the month, down from about £275.. already done a bit of spending so no NSDs as yet. Shopping already spent £139.56/225 . Probably have broken the budget on this one but to be fair I have made a decent reduction I am sure. No shopping today.

E Excursions and entertainment should be planned. ...only the hol next week planned & DH wants to go to some Exhibition in Manchester so that is in the next couple of months. Also some other gallery place in N Yorks.

B Budgets None set as yet - other than food - & all DDs already out.

U Useful leftovers Will also carry on with frogs. No list today but did get a lot of things done. Now have to focus the mindset on getting stuff done that needs to be sorted before hols.

[/COLOR]A Aim to take your lunch
Don't work outside the home other than volunteer at a CS but will aim to take snacks/lunch/etc when we go out. Didn't eat whilst out but waited till we got home, sandwich then. Will do.

R Remind yourself Time to myself pottering in the greenhouse, happy animals, DDs meringues..

Y You should pay your debt or savings first Have no debt other than a cc paid off in full each month. However, savings needed for dental work & also for house renovations, so will take care of that. Paid back joint account for dental work again. Will make another payment after this post. Large payment due tomorrow for dental work though this 'should' be it now. All done now till July but that's just a check up. Now have to start on DHs teeth.

S Spend Free Days SFDs still 11/18

U Use it up Keep using up what we have, have done some shopping already but should only need fresh F&V & bread, plus animals food/litter. Fancy beef joint out of freezer YS from MnS, was tasty but never even worth the reduced price let alone the original cost.

R Regular check ins Mostly here

V Cards only .. in the nut household. Well it should have been but a plant mysteriously appeared with the card!

I Indoors/outdoors My only regular exercise is gardening, which I try to do most days. Got more done outside with the fine weather, big piles of branches all over will need to be dealt with. Large hedge trimming tool thingy did work well I must admit, must tame this garden before it gets away from me..

[/COLOR]Indoors - being a hermit. Some more of the complex knitting stuff done, just realised I made an error in the pattern (colour). Will just knit the other side to match (design feature). Some knitting & tv watching.

V Vending machines etc Rarely use but do have the occasional takeaway as part of family meal. Maybe once a month, but no plans so far. Had family meal out yesterday, no plans for a takeaway AFAIK. None planned .
A Advance planning This is a problem for me, I don't plan in advance but decide what to have on an almost daily basis. Getting better at deciding what to have for supper now at least the day before. Will plan rest of week.

Garden prep has been ongoing but have to think ahead & prioritise some things. Planted a load of sweet peas, then discovered another lot that need soaking. Also found a bag containing bulbs that should have been planted, oops..


Go Turtles!!!

SpekySquarehead

NST #11 for me. Making a late push before the end of the month. I might actually not end up too far away from my target of 17, if I manage to go the remainder of the month without spending - which I don't anticipate I will.

I need to dash now but I'll come back and catch up with everyone.

Nearly there turtles!!!

mothernerd

I tried to put up some quotes shortly after midnight but nothing seemed quite right.

The Kat challenge I used to check all my rules had the watchwords Persistence and Determination and I wanted to include them somewhere. When you write a challenge there are always bits that don't seem to fit. Sometimes a change of wording fixes the problem but sometimes it can seem as though you are asking too much.

The turtle rules are complicated, lots to learn, can be quite daunting to the newcomer or even more experienced turtles. We all slip up, have difficulty with a particular rule, don't make a target or two. I have had times when I've had to bow out of a challenge because whatever I did I was going to end the month deeper in debt than I started, all I could hope for was damage limitation.

We can always ask to substitute for a particular rule (no point exercising when it's going to aggravate an injury, greent gets a milk exemption because she has a tiny fridge and 4 milk guzzling greenlets to cope with).

Then there's life and it's curve balls (or cannonballs). We fall down, we get up again. Sometimes we don't. We stay flat on the ground so the next cannonball goes over our head. We can even lie there and take a nap but we must get up (even when it takes longer than me getting up off the floor when I'm dizzy).

I never think my brand of persistence is brave or courageous. It feels more like being too stupid to lie down when you're dead. I worry away at problems, trying different ways to accomplish the things I can no longer do. Do a tiny bit, then sit down, another five minutes, then sit again. I've learned to accept offers of help graciously or decline politely, admit to weakness and explain to strangers (at least I've not had anyone think I'm drunk). Most humbling, I had to learn to ask for help.

So dogged Determination and the Persistence of a mouse trying to eat an elephant to tackle everyday household tasks. How do you see your own version.

Right now I need to work out what I'm going to eat and wear and make some lists.

cuddlymarm

Good morning guys
Just checking in before I get on with my day.
I’m on 15/18 NSDs but I’ll check in with my Grocery spends tomorrow after my online shop has arrived.
I’ve got an unexpected week off because our work hols are April to April and I had some days left to use. On the up side the weather is lovely and due to stay that way until the end of the week.
We are looking at kitchen and bathroom design this week for when we have enough to redesign our tiny flat. We have a friend who does house design and has drawn up our plans for free and I know roughly what I want (that will fit, it’s a very small flat) so now it’s finding the balance between what we want and what we can afford. The design will maximise the space we have and make it lighter. I love my little forever flat.
Anyway I’m grateful for a nice springlike day and for my unexpected time off.
I hope everyone is having a good month
Cuddles

dolly84

Have worked today, DH is collecting the kids from the bus and I got away early (still getting paid until normal finish time as thanks for giving someone a lift), got home 15 minutes before I would normally have finished. Have been productive and walked the dog, made a spag bol for tea today, made a sausage casserole which is now in the slow cooker for tea tomorrow and also peeled some potatoes for mash to go with it, am soaking cous cous for work lunch tomorrow.


Plan to go for a run after tea then a glass of wine with DH later.

Toni'sfriend

NSD No 11. Stayed in so we could take in some parcels for a neighbour who was working.

Washing all done. Hung outside but not quite dry enough to iron so finishing it off inside.

Started clearing the common back yard. A full bag of litter. I took it to the bin store to find that some ****** upstairs had put a whole black bag of rubbish in my recycling bin rather that walk a few yards further to put it in their own black bin. Removed the offending object and it is now where it should be. I had already spoken to the Housing Officer again today rubbish being dumped in common ground nearby. A very nice lady who was very sympathetic but told me it's a huge problem all over the county and basically they just don't know how to solve it. Suppose all I can do is keep doing my bit to keep the place clean and tidy.

Finishing off last night's casserole for dinner tonight Got a kind of meal pan for the rest of the week using what we have and a long. long list of things to do this week.

Must get on. Hope everyone had a good Monday.

crazy_cat_lady

Survived Day 1 back at work, although I did sometimes wonder how... Year 9 were unbelievably badly behaved and I saw 2 classes of those. Thank goodness my other classes weren't at all challenging so I got a break in between.
Got a nsd as well but I still have no idea how many I've managed in February. I may have also found a way of shuffling and sorting debts so that I'm paying a bit less each month, which I still need to do.
Have a bit of exam related work I need to do and I also need to get my grocery shopping booked in, so I'm going to get straight on with that.