NST October The Turtles Go Outward Bound

f0xh0les

Hello!   End of Month accounts are as follows:
O - charity shop purchases will not lose you a NSD.  I managed 18 NSDs not too shoddy.
U -take care of you - I did not manage to run once. I have not put on any weight, I have food in the fridge and warm clothes to wear.
T   Live frugally, be mindful of every purchase. The new oven was a necessity. It was needed and I have limped on nearly losing my (invisible anyway) eyebrows lighting the thing by stuffing a match down a blowhole for 2 years and hoping it wants to stay alight. It is a stop gap and can be gifted on when I get a proper kitchen installed.
W   Winter is coming. still not put the heating on timer, just pushing the button once it feels cold.  The roof is still leaking, the bathroom is still awful, but the leak has stopped.  Workmen are water soluble.  I have the money but can't get a man (or woman).
A   Awesome. I think we are doing pretty well, all things considered
R   Routine. 2 birthdays and half term survived. Volunteered twice a week all the way through this pandemic.
D  Debts  mortgage overpaid, kids savings paid into. cc paid off for last month.
B  Budgets - hmm, the oven is coming from savings, and the House of Swede items were on the list, but did not have a date for buying, so when they were put into the 25% off sale I pounced.  It will get a big sofa away from in front of a radiator in the living room, so might save on heating bills (nods wisely, does not believe a word of it), and might encourage the kids to spend more time downstairs and less time in their rooms.
O-   Originality and a sense of humour will get us through-  The only thing you can do at the moment is laugh. Utter chaos.
U  - change the way you think about things  I am repurposing the boys' broken divan bases as planters for the garden. They are wooden box frames, so I they are no longer boy beds, they will be flower beds. I contacted roofers, got them round, they disappeared. Not one written quote. It is chucking it down. The reminder to empty the buckets in the roof spaces has been written on the calendar, so it is done every weekend.  Rather a roofer not quote, than a roofer disappear mid job!
N   No limits. I am donating stuff via f/b and c/shops and repurposing what I have. 
D   December. - Still not planning on meeting anyone or going anywhere.  Did sign up for the volunteers Secret Santa - we have all decided between us we will keep the f/b open on Xmas Eve.  Even if nobody comes, the thought that someone might come and we were closed is worse than standing around for an hour with no clients.

abundant1972

Happy Halloween 🎃

Massive thanks to Mothernerd for the thread this month, and to Apple for taking on November.

Yesterday = NSD number 15 🎇🥳🎇

Ok - so quick review of this month's goals:

O   I have bought some new T-shirts and jogging pants - so will see if any of my old ones are charity shop worthy, or else they will be chucked or used to do jobs in. 

U   Didn't stay consistent with self-care, so must make more of an effort to get 7-8 hours sleep, and mindfulness time daily, and take my vitamins!

T   Living frugally has been a bit of a challenge, but I am on budget - and in fact a little bit ahead!!! Whoop!

W   I started a gift and 🎅🏻 fund so have a bit stashed away. Even though I don't really celebrate it, it's nice to have some cash if I do go out (erm... hello! It's Tier 3 here!) lol. 

A   Being Awesome - erm I am working on self appreciation still!

R   Need to knuckle down on my routines and actually stick to them.  

D   So I have restarted an EF, and am budgeting ahead for big spends, and trying to get a month ahead, whilst chipping away at debt (all 0% interest)... progress is slow but steady. 

B  Stuck to my budget - Yay!

O   Let my self get bogged down and stressed this month - could be the time of year not helping. Need to try and lighten up and stop catastrophising! 

U  "I think I need to learn to understand why I do great first 2 weeks of every month and then spiral out of control for the last 2... It is a definite pattern with me and my spending" - This month that didn't happen, because a) I stuck to my budget, and b) was ahead for November so didn't feel like I had nothing in the tank. 

N   No limits. I have plenty of pondering time 

D   Haven't thought ahead yet to Solstice, but will make plans and do something nice. 

Great challenge - thank you! 

Toni'sfriend

Thank you for the challenge, Mothernerd.

It's been a strange old month. We had a nice holiday but it was odd. So many restrictions and the uncertainty of what was happening from day to day. However, managed a fair number of NSDs which I wasn't expecting and the budget is looking OK. 

Strange, strange times but tomorrow is another month so let's see what Boris has to say and move on from there.

f0xh0les

When I got up this morning, Boris was going to make an announcement 'early next week' then it changed around 9am to 'Monday' suddenly there is an announcement tonight.   I do hope they do not put the 'old people' back in their hutches.  A few of our volunteers are 70+  and they have loved being back  ' at work' again doing their volunteering and making a difference. 

apple_muncher

Thank you for October, mothernerd.

Today I am grateful for the rain stopping so dd can go out to a bonfire (anyone else notice that Boris' lockdown will come in to effect on thurs - the 6th nov?!), for my neighbour dropping round some surplus yogs + we gave her some excess potatoes later, for the rugby, for egg + chips for tea, for tha exam board being in touch re marking next summer (though who know what'll happen with them...?).

Kerry_Woman

Mothernerd - Thanks for running this month's challenge.
Achieved 24 NSD's this month.  Was slightly over the food budget and was over the general spends.  Achieved getting a few things sorted this month, which included dealing with a couple of frogs.
Grateful for:
Starting a new cottage cross stitch kit.
Caught up with a few chores around the flat.
Good night's sleep.

mothernerd

Did not want to go outside as it was windy during the night and cold wet and miserable this morning. Put all the pillowcases on the pillows (some of them have two on but I know where they are and don't need a spare shelf to store them), moved my bedding into mum's room.

Sun came out so I did more moving large plant pots. Squeezed behind the shed, pulled up all the weeds and planted the bed (it's a funny lop sided L shape as it was made up from old boards and has to go around the large water butt. Emptied 3 small plant pots of soil into it to top it up). Came back in, watched tv and did lots of sewing, including the red heart and cherry I couldn't do the other evening as I couldn't tell the orange and red threads apart. Lots of little tidying forays in the advert breaks. Finally dragged the dining table out of my room and back in the front room.

Moved some piles of sorted stuff off the bed (concentrating on pills, toiletries - have been using a face cleanser gel on my feet all week, and notebooks/ reading books, with a few embroidery bits and things I don't want to mislay on a small tray. Sheets back on the bed (will be washed during the week depending on how many good drying days we have), pillows back, heavy snuggly merino wool thing dragged out of the corner, fluffy turquoise waffle cover on top.

Had a phone call to say mummy of twins will call on Friday and her twin will come on Wednesday (both to do heavy gardening jobs I can't manage/ haven't had time to do). Not sure if schools will be stopped again (I know mummy of twins DD2 is off because someone in her class has covid and other phone caller said there was someone down in every class at the schools her grandchildren go to) but think Wednesday twin will be asked to dig up the roses/ help with the side bed (to be converted to wheelie bin park - means I have to dig down about six inches to get below the level of the paving stones) and Friday twin can do the weeding and build the rockery (both outside the gate if the lockdown comes in on Thursday).

I have ordered some craft materials with a 15% discount (good prices to start with - aimed at schools and children's groups). I've paid on mum's card and given her the cash (from my stash). I've ordered glitter card and felt to cheer up mum's tree and two types of pine cones and a pack of stars (it called them vine stars but it looks like they are straw coloured) so I can make my own 'natural' decorations (don't think I will be able to collect mine from home) to hygge my room.

Told mum I was going to order some clothes and some things from Oxfam (books and candles) and we've agreed I will use her card and it will be my present money from her (so not coming out of my budgets). Will stock up on basics (t shirts and leggings) at sale prices and have seen some lovely jumpers, a red tartan 'nightshirt (thought it would be a useful extra layer) and a 'cardigan' (think it's a lounging bedjacket type thing really) in lovely teddy fleece. Might splash out on a couple of things I've seen - dressy tops (but not too flash) that would go over my long plain dresses (useful if we ever get to go on holiday again) as it's present money. May also finally buy my s o d a s t r e a m (want the one with glass bottles, have had an offer in my e-mails and there were some l a k e l a n d discount vouchers in a leaflet in this mornings tv paper. 

Had a shower and tucked up under my snuggly bedding (must put moisturising cream on my feet and any other vulnerable bits - all that muddy messing this week got ingrained in my feet and the hardened skin was cutting into the surrounding flesh. The gel thing helped a lot but grubbing in the soil dries out my skin and all the scrubbing to get clean doesn't help. So a bit of pampering and then will try really hard to spend some money on me (and the foodbank and send a few goats and pigs to where they are needed). Buy some more skin cream for starters, we've nearly used all mum's past gifts (people buy silly gift sets and you end up with blue gel cleanser and similar items).

Grateful for the turtle gang, getting stuff done especially as I had to force myself out there, hot showers, snuggly bedding, books, games, and tv series.