NST February 15 for February

Porridgecat

Can I join in please. Not a DFW but a MFW. I've read the Jan thread and you all seem to be the kind of likeminded people I need to give me an occasional kick up the behind to avoid falling into a pandemic slump.

ldee2111

FIFTEEN FOR FEBRUARY

1)   FIX your budgets - ✅

2)   FIND out your debt free date, Ideally this amount should be paid before anything else.

Only one wage coming in right now so having to flip this - living expenses first and overpaying the mortgage with what is left at the end of each week.

3)    FIFTEEN NO SPEND DAYS

Will do my best. 

4)    FRESH. Fill up with five a day or more. Take a multivitamin supplement to support your immune system if you find this impossible.

I’ll aim for 5-a-day but also take supplements as I have a weakened immune system.

5)    FREE drinks are available from the faucet (posh word for tap) in your kitchen.

I’ll continue on with my personal daily goal of drinking 1500ml water from the spicket [Scots for tap]

6)    FAKEAWAYS not takeaways. 

In Jan we had 3! In Feb I’d like to have 0. I’ve got a 4-week meal plan but I’d like to add a couple of new dishes so I’ll look for and try some new recipes. I can make good scotch pancakes but for Shrove Tuesday I’d like to try crepes with lemon and sugar.

7)   FIFTEEN minutes of exercise a day.

I’ll keep aiming to do a walk 3 times a week. I most definitely feel better for them. Lighter mornings and, fingers crossed, milder weather should help this month.

8)    FEELINGS matter.

Walking 🚶‍♀️it has to be done. Reading. Music. My happy trinity.

9)    FOCUS on things that really matter.

Family, friends, and health. 

10)   FLIGHT OF FANCY

Grateful for the life I’ve had and have. I’m an adventurer at heart and my ultimate goal from frugality is to be mortgage free and to live a life travelling the world with OH and DS until he grows up and wants to do his own thing.

11)    FUN and FIZZ (non-alcoholic). Forget the grand plans, for the moment.

The grand plans are definitely stunted for now with the combination of Covid and only one income, but we’re making our own little adventures as best as we can. 

12)   FOOD BANKS and many other charities are struggling as demands increase and funds decrease. 

Not in a position to make financial donations right now, but will continue to donate goods to our local charity shop and contribute to the local supermarket’s food bank collection when doing our top up shop.

13)   FIRST of February to the 28th. The challenge lasts throughout February. Check in daily, whenever possible and especially if you're struggling. No Turtle Gets Left Behind.

Even if not posting daily, I’ll be checking in daily. I like to read other turtles’ updates.

14)   FREE yourself from the burden of too much stuff.

This is my never ending story. 

15)   FIND the best price for everything but beware of false economies - fast fashion harms the planet and the people who produce the goods. Protect the planet and its people.

Challenging myself to not buy clothes this year apart from one exception - leggings! There’s no way my current sad stretched pair with their loosening stitches will survive the year!

Looking forward to the mini challenges @mothernerd. 

Deni_debt-free_dreamer

hi mothernerd, id like to join in please X

facethemusic

Hello porridgecat- the turtles are a friendly bunch, so pull on your superhero cape and join the gang. 
Buffy- i can be hopeful, but something always gets in the way of NOT spending money 😂
Preparing for the month ahead- 
1- Fix- budgets are set, I am going to speak to the bank about how to start overpaying my mortgage. Will only be small amounts as I need to save to replace windows and external doors, and replace the bathroom. And by the time that is done the kitchen will need some work! But even teeny tiny overpayments will be better than none. 
2-Find debtfree date- I only have a small credit card balance at 0% until July 2022, I have more than the balance in savings so just pay a minimal amount by direct debit and will clear the lot before the 0% runs out. I think about clearing it just to get rid of it but might as well make a (very) small amount of interest on the money for a while. 
3- 15 NSDs- will definitely try for this- should be possible. 
4-fresh veg- and frozen and tinned! Aim for 5 a day, and have recently gone back to taking a multivitamin as well. 
5- free drinks- I drink tea, by the bucket load and not much else. I will attempt to increase my water intake. No point saying 1.5l a day, as I know I won't do it, but 500mls as a starting point is a realistic aim.
6- fakeaways- I meal plan, and batch cook and freeze. Takeaways have not been happening very often, but its my birthday this month so a takeaway WILL be bought.
7-15 minutes- I always walk more than this daily, if the weather gets better I'll be back riding 3 times a week, but if the weather is rubbish I will try and fit in 2 or 3 30 minute work outs. 
8-feelings- will try and post gratitudes on here (it helps me appreciate the little things).
9-focus- DD and the rest of my family, and my animals are my main focus, getting outside is my main relaxation.  A global pandemic has reduced the number of places I have to be and allowed me more down time than I normally have, would rather it was under different circumstances (obviously), but time to stay home and just spend time with DD is good. 
10- flights of fancy- I have goals I'd rather not share, but slow and steady, save some money, keep on working and eventually I'll get there, but having just bought this house, I actually think my life is pretty good. 
11- fun and fizz- lots of time with DD, better weather means more time with my horse,  unlikely there will be many other social events! 
12- foodbank- the local church have a collection so will donate to that 
13- 1st-28th- will aim to post daily
14- free yourself- decluttering is an ongoing problem, DD and I have too much stuff, but I will keep chipping away at it! Charity shops, passing onto friends and occasionally selling on gumtree/facebook are my main ways of getting rid of stuff. But I am quite bad for keeping things "just on case", i am getting much better at not taking new things into the house. 
15- find best price- shop around and only buy it if I need it will be my aim. I'm still working out exactly what bits of furniture I need to "finish" the house. Am holding off buying until I find exactly what I want. No fast fashion here, unlikely any clothes will be bought (unless DD keeps growing!). 
Wow! That was a bit of an essay- probably bored you all to tears, so thanks for reading. 

abundant1972

Happy 01st February!!! 🌿

You know what this means... PINCH PUNCH... FIRST OF THE MONTH... AND NO RETURNS!!! 🤣 I promise I wasn't waiting up - I was just fiddling with my budget and lost track of time!!!

So looking at this month's challenge:

1)   FIX your budgets ✅
2)   FIND out your debt free date ✅ December 2025! Of course this will change if I pay more down...
3)    FIFTEEN NSDs - goal set! ✅
4)    FRESH/frozen/tinned veg - I will have to improve here.
5)    FREE drinks - I do need to drink more H20 and less fizzy drinks. Even if I went to fizzy water it is cheaper. 
6)    FAKEAWAYS ✅ I am pretty good at these. 
7)   FIFTEEN minutes of exercise - Goal: 7.5K steps but 15 min walking as a minimum. 
8)   FEELINGS matter - Goals are for mindfulness and gratitude. 
9)  FOCUS on things that really matter- nature walks, and appreciating my family and what I have for sure. 
10) FLIGHTS OF FANCY ✅ To be debt free again is up there, and to get a month ahead. 
11) FUN and FIZZ  - I need to work on the fun aspect in my life
12) FOOD BANKS - I give to charity ✅ but can definitely give to a food bank too even if it's just a few £ worth
13)   FIRST of February to the 28th - I will try and check in more regularly
14)   FREE yourself - I will aim to declutter this month once and for all whilst I am off - a bit a day
15)   FIND the best price ✅ I do shop around, so am pretty frugal in that sense. 

This month I want to resist impulse buying and really stick to my food budget. I have drawn out cash in envelopes again, and my credit/debit cards are out of my wallet. I have re-distributed my Emergency Fund into other areas (car maintenance fund, white goods fund, health pot etc). If something crops up outside of those I can still shift money around. My new aim is to get 1 month ahead financially now 😊 as well as pay down my debt faster. 

Have a good day folks!!! x

mothernerd

Monday February 1st 2021
First of all a list of days to 'celebrate' in February (might help those of you who are home schooling younger children or preschoolers with themes to base activities around)
1     Robinson Crusoe Day, National Read Aloud Day
2     Groundhog Day, Bubblegum Day, Day of the Crepe (doesn't specify whether that's the food, material or paper)
3     Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Carrot Cake Day, Women Doctors Day
4     World Cancer day,  Thank a (couldn't read this one so went with 'Martian', Mormon? before settling on) Mailman          (Postman/woman in English)
        Home made soup Day
5     Chocolate Fondue Day, World Nutella Day, Women and Girls in Sport Day
6     Frozen Yoghurt Day
7     Send a Card to a Friend Day, National Wear Red Day
8     Boy Scout Day , National Kite Flying Day
9     National Pizza Day
10    Umbrella Day, National Clean Out Your Computer Day
11    Make a Friend Day, National Inventors Day
12    Plum Pudding Day
13    National Cheddar Day, Tortellini Day, Change Your Name Day
14    nameless celebration of commercial tat day (make your own celebration) renamed Treat Yourself Well (with love and                      kindness) Day. Turtles don't need knights on white chargers, we can organise our own rescue (and most of us would prefer              the forest animals who do all the housework). International Book Giving Day
15    National Hippo Day (save the chubby unicorns), Gumdrop Day, Singles Awareness Day
16    Do a Grouch a Favour Day, National Almond Day
17    Random Acts of Kindness Day, National Cabbage Day
18    National Drink Wine Day
19    National Chocolate Mint Day
20    Love Your Pet Day
21    National Sticky Bun Day, National Grain Free Day
22    Stay in PJs Day, National Margharita Day
23    Play Tennis Day (No from me), National Banana Day
24    National Tortilla Chip Day, World Bartender Day
25    Chocolate Covered Nuts Day, 
26    Tell a Fairy Tale Day, National Pistachio Day
27     Polar bear Day, No Brainer Day, National Strawberry Day
28     National Tooth Fairy Day, National Floral Display Day

The month of FEBRUARY is Black History Month, National Library Lovers Month and National Creative Month. Shrove Tuesday (pancake Day) is Tuesday 16th and the Chinese New Year is on Friday 12th. It is the Year of the Ox (Pratchetteers will know that 2021 is the Year of the Beleaguered Badger). It is traditional to wear red and children are given red envelopes that contain money or shiny presents. Lucky colours for the year are (metallic) white, silver, gold, purple, blue and grey. Wear metallic accessories for extra luck.

Mini Challenge Week One 
Mini Challenges are an optional extra, no one has to do them. Sometimes they take the form of lists (preparing for winter focusing on health, road safety, home) but as the lockdown is affecting a lot of us, this time I am focusing on our mental health. Week one is based on Hope, Gratitude and Simplicity.  I will write a bit more about each sometime this week but briefly
HOPE  we all need things to look forward to. Life in general seems a bit grim at the moment (and our government is a bit dim) so we need to make our own occasions for celebration, fill in the calendar, give shape to our week. I hope the list of dates above gives you a starting point.
GRATITUDE This has become a regular feature of turtle challenges and several turtles have said how helpful it is and that they enjoy it. Starting and ending the day on a positive note. Gratitude has many benefits (more later). Remember a positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth doing.
SIMPLICITY This can mean many things. Clearing the clutter from our lives. Living simply. Practising mindfulness. Simple pleasures.

Quotes
May your choices reflect your hopes not your fears  Nelson Mandela
Gratitude helps you see what is there, not what isn't
It is the sweet simple things of life which are the real ones after all   Laura Ingalls Wilder 

ldee2111

‘Remember a positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it worth doing.’ @mothernerd this made me chuckle. I’m going to be much more positive this month after reading this. 😂

apple_muncher

Hands up if you think abundant stayed up so he could get in first...??!!??

apple_muncher

I have started well, with a short run. Go me! Actually, I can't manage anything more than short runs, but it's better than most. Dd's group of school are taking part in a Fit Feb challenge amongst themselves, and all the family can join in. It's a good motivation to get out there and run a bit, as well as doing a daily short walk with dd.

f0xh0les

I think we all need to give @abundant1972 a great  big hand

Off to work, will check in later-  Happy Monday folks!