NST September 2020: the turtles do the Hokey Cokey

lcc86

I will join in but might not be able to post as regularly as September is looking pretty busy work wise despite a week off. Have arranged to see a few friends on different occasions as I'm terrible at staying in touch and also visiting my parents for a couple of days. Start a new volunteering role alongside work and potentially will have a couple of shifts for my zero hours work. September is also the month where I used to start buying for That Day in December, last year I was too busy at work and left it all till the last minute, and am determined not to let that happen again! Also want to continue working out and tackling my back pain issues. I've been reading loads more since lockdown so want to continue with that.

abundant1972

Good evening one and all... How is everyone? It's been a while! My 2 month hiatus is over... lots of ups and downs... mini-meltdowns... happy memories... Family all well... sanity intact... but the debt monster has crept up on me and my debt hillock has become more of a small mountain again. I recognise the slip... and am here to kick it back into line. Permission to climb aboard please? 

Betharooni

Hi

Can I join in for September please? The focuses for this month fit perfectly with things I want to look at anyway so seems like a good time to join in. Hopefully I’ll be better at posting than I have been previously. Will come back later today and get written down what I want to do properly.

B x

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

Hi everyone
I love September and that 'back to school' feeling It's a great month to re-focus priorities.
Health
I need to refocus on returning to more regular exercise routines.  I had my bike serviced but haven't been on it for 3 weeks.  I will aim for 3 x hour long exercise sessions per week - a bike ride, walk or exercise class;
Eating - I eat well about 60% of the week but it all goes pear shaped at the weekend and in general I snack too much and my portion sizes are generous.  I will try harder to address those areas and update my progress on here which will hopefully encourage me to eat better 
Me-time - i will aim to read more regularly 
Wealth
My main focus is to reduce my debt - i do pay to debt first and am making good progress which i will maintain. 
DD2 returns to uni in a few weeks and will need financial support which she hasn't needed since March.  So i need to stick to my budget. 
That day in December - i bought one present last month but i haven't saved any money or thought about it beyond that!
NSDs - will aim for 10.  
Life Well Lived
Social life - meeting friend for a distanced walk in a few weeks; will keep up with virtual meetings with sisters and other friends
Life admin - have started self assessment and will aim to have completed it this month so i know how much i need to pay by January 21 deadline.  I always intend to do my self assessment early but i never do - i have already started and it would be a weight off my mind to have completed the form this month.
Stuff - as i have put my house up for sale i am on a decluttering mission - i must keep up the momentum though.  I have 2 boxes of stuff for the CS in the garage and i have stuff ready to post to ziffit.  
Gratitudes - will post these.
Hope everyone is having a restful bank holiday
Love Deni x

Kerry_Woman

Health:

- routine. Going to have less screen time.  Get up at a regular time so going to set the alarm.  Set time to do the cross stitch kit – want to finish the one I am currently doing. Plan my day according.

-keep active   When weather is dry will go for a walk.  If too wet, I have an exercise dvd that I can pick routine and length of time I want to do.

- eating? Must increase my fruit, veg and water intake.

-look after yourself.  Reading, word search, meditation and mindfulness colouring.

Wealth:

-budget. Budget set for different categories I have for each month.  Do have enough savings, but am be careful with savings as I am living off my savings as am not working at the moment. I do have a few accounts, including one for bills - landline phone, water and electricity. 

- planning for that day in December ?   I only give money gifts just to my brother, sister, sister in law, ex brother in law, and their children.  I have a list already for who I just send cards to.  Have cards already in. Do have a separate account already where I put money aside to cover the cost.

-NSDs. For this month I want to set my target as 20.

Life well-lived:

-look at your schedule.  Most of the things I have planned are in my diary, eg birthdays, college course, float appointment, online meditations with someone who I know – other people attend as well.  Just have to wait to hear about when my new glasses are ready, so can book an appointment to pick them up. Also I need to book an appointment to get my hair cut.

-life admin – Start college course to get help with looking for work.  It will cover personnel statements, job applications, interviews, amongst other helpful things.  It goes over to October. It is a one day a week and is for 4 weeks.  Hopefully to do some voluntary work that will help.  Make contact with the lady at the college. I already know that I have to pay 5 years of NI to get a full state pension. Need to do an expression of wish form for one of my pensions and send it off.

-stuff –The only things I want to concentrate on is using up things I already have in the flat, eg toiletries and the paper that I can write to do lists and shopping list on.  I have notebooks and pens already in for the course I am attending. Also need to be careful as to what I bring in.

-be grateful for all that you have.   Will try my best.

abundant1972

Hey all,

Lovely to be back - thanks Apple! I'm more in debt because I had a few big outgoings; a new PC and I enrolled on a fitness/well-being programme for 6 months. I am seeing the first as a necessity and the second as an investment, which will hopefully spur me on into greater creativity and prosperity and help me overcome some of the long-standing things that pull me down. I just don't seem to manage life well on my own, and need some extra support and mentoring. 

That said, here is my action plan for September: 

Health:

i) Routine - I have written out a morning and evening routine, as well as structured my work vs my days off to try and help me keep a clear head, and get everything done that I need to. 

ii) Activity - As of almost a week ago I am aiming for a step target of 7000 per day (with a long term goal to build up to 10k). On top of that I have been managing 3 gym sessions per week. 

iii) Diet - I am using my fitness pal again and tracking my intake... so far lost 2 kg since Jun/July time. Slow and steady is the game for me... and consistency. 

iv) Me-time - I am allocating time each day for reflection, Friday evening as a pamper evening, and Sunday when I am home from my folks, as a total chill out time. 

Wealth:

i) Budget - I really need to get this back on track. I have one - but have been putting stuff on my card and moving it to the never never - buy now, pay in 2 years. Bad habit. So I am going back to drawing money and limiting myself like that. 

ii) Plan for December - I don't really do Christmas but am putting money away anyway into a sort of annual spends/emergency fund type account, and will have £200 towards Xmas for family stuff. 

iii) NSDs - I am aiming for 15. Helps to be more mindful of spending and plan better. 

Life well-lived:

i) Schedule - My schedule is mostly taken up with work, parents and new health/fitness/self-development stuff I am doing. Most of my friendships are now remote/online. 

ii) Life Admin - Booked in for blood tests. Need to book in for a dental check

iv) Stuff - I am pretty minimalist - but since moving in a year ago I still have boxes unsorted, and stuff in cupboards unlooked at. Where has the time gone? Mission de-clutter will begin, one box/cupboard at a time!!!

v) Gratitude - I am factoring time in to the end of my day 30 minutes before bed when I can do my gratitude list. 

 Good luck all - see you in September (tomorrow!)!!! 😉

Betharooni

Hi

My plans for September are as follows:
Routine - my daily work routine has gone to pot where I’m working from home and sometimes I’m not even bothering to get dressed. I want this to change so will make a plan today of what I want to do each morning and build a routine round that. I also want to improve my bedtime routine. I’ve been sleeping pretty badly over the last few weeks so hope a change of bedtime routine might help.
Activity - I need to get making better use of my gym membership so will aim to go there at least once a week. I also want to go out for more walks, maybe in the countryside rather than around the town I live in. I go to Slimming World so will aim to get my bronze body magic by the end of the month.
Eating - I need to stop eating takeaways and start having proper lunches. I’m going to aim to lose at least 1/2 stone this month.
Me-time - I want to start writing in my journal every day, to start doing yoga again and will aim to do a “pamper evening” once a week, as I have loads of pampering products to use up.
Budget - I’ve already planned my budget and built in plenty of slack. I should have money left over by the end of the month so will slide that over to my savings here and there during the month.
Xmas planning - I already save a bit each month towards Xmas presents  and had a chat with my brothers and sisters-in-law about just getting presents for the kids as we all tend to get each other vouchers most of the time so no point. Think the plan is to go out for a family meal sometime, but obviously we’ll have to see whether we can do that with social distancing measures.
NSDs - I’m expecting this to be a fairly quiet month so I’m going to aim high and go for 20 no spend days.
Schedule - As I said, I’m expecting this to be a pretty quiet month. No annual leave from work planned just yet but I have one day that needs to be used up before the end of October so I need to decide if I want to take that this month or next. My mum and I will be babysitting two of my nieces one evening during the month, and we have a couple of minor things to do on weekends.
Life Admin - Admin-wise I’m not too bad at the moment, but think I will focus on my crafting WIPs, of which there are quite a few. I have dresses to make my 3 nieces, a skirt to make for myself, a jumper and pair of socks that I’ve started and a cross-stitch that has been started as well. I would like to get as many of those cleared this month as I can.
Stuff - I have way too much stuff and it is really getting me down, so I’m going to use September to go through and clear out as much as I can, and put items on Facebook Marketplace to sell. If the items don’t sell within a couple of weeks, I’ll take them to the charity shop instead.

I think that’s plenty to be going on with. Will be back tomorrow to let you know how I do.

B x

greent

HEALTH:
Continue to do min 4x/ exercise sessions a week (not including walking). Still aiming for average 10K steps/ day - maybe I'll actually achieve this in Sept? Continue with weight loss - aiming for 7lb off in Sept.
Routine - time to get back into one after months of no alarms.....
Me-time - mainly the exercise time, perhaps some reading.

WEALTH:
Deal with any BTL sale paperwork asap (all done at present) in order that the sale goes through asap! Buy some more PSB with holiday refund.
Budget - crazy massive spend in August - mainly due to back to school stuff for smallest 2 (added it up - approx £800!! ) Sept sees no bdays but does see some spends on work on our house/ garden by trades (finally - yippee!) Also need to sort freezers and see what needs using up first....
Xmas - as well as the 25th, I have DD's bday 2 weeks before and DS2's 2 weeks after... No planning done, will put my thinking cap on and see if I can come up with some ideas/ easier gifts during Sept.

LIFE WELL-LIVED
No work scheduled for Sept - but by the nature of one of my jobs (cover) I may end up with some. Not fussed if I don't, tbh - need to get back into a routine of everything else without added hassle of working! Oh - I am starting a new volunteering role this week, though....
May well see best friend at some point during month - we shall see. Nothing planned as yet.
Life admin - need to book MOT for DH and my cars - soon! Catch up on some paperwork and arrange some more quotes from tradespeople for various things. Always need to keep paperwork in check!
Stuff - an ongoing issue. Have a CS bag half full in garage - will donate it when full. Have some things to list on fleabay/ fb00k - will CS them if they don't go. Have 5 bags (I think) of things to be donated to schools....

NON-NEGOTIABLES
Budget - no debt except BTL mtge and have stopped overpaying it as sale agreed. CCs paid in full. Money will transfer to savings, slush fund and investments automatically tomorrow.
NSDs - will track but not set target
RAOK - ok
Gratitudes - ok


Goals set - will aim to be involved a lot more this month.... x

apple_muncher

Mothernerd! Mothernerd! Abundant said the C'mas word! And the X'mas one too. He is slaying the elves...! We need to keep an eye on him...

nannygladys

Hi there, been off the boards for a while but I need some routines, goals and aims back into my life, so count me in pretty please.

Nannyg