NST September 2021

Thrifty_Taylor

Still on NSD#4
Beach clean was cancelled due to torrential rain. Instead spent the morning hunting for son's free boat tickets in my bedroom, but no sign. Did some filing & sorted some things out instead. Quite a few things to recycle & some to donate to CS. Took hubby to town this afternoon, so he could deliver some plants to one of his nurses. She in turn gave us quite a few too. Looked in a couple of charity shops, but didn't buy anything. Did get two reduced bras in £land though ☺️
Spent the rest of the afternoon knitting. Have finished the poncho, so just need to sew it up, ready to give as a 50th birthday present on Monday. Washed up, then sorted more things in our bedroom. Feel like I've achieved today!

Grateful for being able to tick things off to do list, plant swaps, phonecall with my brother

lcc86

Morning turtles

Yesterday ended up being a NSD, I was meant to meet a friend for lunch but she had a migraine so asked to reschedule. Disappointed not to see her as it's been ages but my bank balance is grateful given how skint I am this month! Didn't do much yesterday in the end, just a bit of cleaning and mostly watching TV. Managed 10 minutes of yoga which is the first time since I had my back procedure done last week. 

@mothernerd I think the good sleep after taking magnesium must've been a coincidence, I've been back to "normal" (I.e. not sleeping great) ever since. Just hoping my pain levels start to go down soon... I'm so impatient I just want to be back to my normal level of activity!

Today should be a NSD, I'm going to go for a little swim and then go and see my share horse. No riding for me yet but will be nice to see him, even if he does only like me when I bring him carrots!

ditty1234

Good morning everybody 2 more days of going to visit ds1 every day - today is fine, it's the only thing I'm doing, but going after work is a push keeping me out of the house from 8am - 9pm roughly. I am not complaining as I am happy to be able to do it. But I am also tired. On Tuesday, ds2 gets to go for the first time in 8 weeks. He wants to go by himself - might be hard. 
I am having a lie in - coffee and communication in bed I feel I should be up and out and running and gardening and walking dog and swimming all at the same time. And here I am in bed. But it does feel quite good, and I have a long list of things I actually need to do to move my life on. 
On MSE  I found shower soap at home for ds1. 
Lovely neighbour helped w dog yesterday.
Ds2 hasn't been of much use - after cleaning spree last wednesday. He has last days w friends everyday! I think he's a bit scared of going to uni. And quite rattled by the whole thing with his brother. 
Need to get new energy deal, might just stay with current company. As can't be asked to get quotes. 

Grateful for a late morning in bed, for rain for garden, for car to just keep on running, and for the two days of freelance work I just finished, which I can now invoice. 

mothernerd

CEW said:

when do you guys count your spends for online deliveries, the day you place the order or the day of the delivery?

I’m on NSD # 8 or 9 depending on the answer to the above question. I placed a small addition to my milk delivery on Friday for delivery today, which was my only spend. So Friday may or may not have been a NSD

Today was definitely a spend day. A trip to The R@nge, didn’t spend anything there. On to MandS Foodhall, did spend £18 there but did manage a few ys items for the fridge / freezer so not too bad. Then on to B00ts and another £11 spend there, some medicinal the rest was face masks for a stay at home spa, possibly next weekend. That falls under my mental health awareness part of the challenge. Finally went to bandq but they didn’t have what I needed so again no spend there.Final stop before going home was an ice cream van outside bandq for a soft ice cream. It was lovely but had Mum not been with me I would have walked straight past.

Tomorrow will be another spend day as need to go to either Mr T or Mr S for some additional groceries but more importantly some doggie food and treats. I have also suggested to Mum that we go out for breakfast. Not very MSE but once in a blue moon won’t hurt too much.

Today I am grateful for free biscuits when I went into a kitchen showroom to check what’s out there, lovely fresh baked bread still warm from the oven in mands food hall, cheap but very tasty dinner of ys quiche, baby new potatoes and baked beans, extra potatoes cooked to use throughout the week.

I count the day I order (although the amount is subject to change due to unavailability/ substitutions). Although most SM say they only take the money on the day of delivery, other online retailers take it when you place the order and I've enough to keep track of, so prefer to have a standard rule - you've committed that part of your budget, subject to small variations.

I have a list of small items (things we need to get at some point), so when I've placed the food order, I will place an order for the other items - I let them build up then order as a batch to save time and mental energy. some things aren't urgent so may stay on the list for several months (diy items if I haven't got round to that task yet). Just remembered I should have bought a replacement  drain cover at b n q (for my house so need to measure or ask DS3 to do so).

At the moment I have a lot of lists (well one master list, jotting down things as I think of them, then sorting into separate lists from time to time) as I'm noting down thing to buy when I next shop with a particular retailer eg I put a tube of antiseptic on the SM list in case I run out (currently using 3 tiny ends of tubes including one I'd put in a drawer because I dropped the top and couldn't find it) but if/ when I can get to HB I will buy 3 or more at a bargain price. Anything we use regularly I am buying in 3 s as there is quite a lot to stock check - need to go through mum's medical but not medicinal cupboard soon as I saw her take the last box of tissues out. 

I think in the rules, I said that milk money/ kids clubs etc cash can all be set aside at the beginning of the month to save spending on multiple days - I know this is an addition to the regular amount. Probably I'd count that on the day it goes out (either the day it will arrive or the day you pay for it - presumably on the day of the week you normally pay) and then place other orders on the same day or make that a going to town/ my house day and buying other things we need. So use whatever suits you - you are thinking about each purchase (which is the important thing) but don't obsess over it. During my first pregnancy (my short term contract had ended, failed to get another job because the people interviewing me knew I was pregnant - partner had told all and sundry the moment it was confirmed and the person who did get the job went off sick after the first week) I spent endless hours working out if it was possible to use 3 toilet rolls a week instead of 4.

Some purists count the days dd and so go out of the bank but I don't. If you've got the best deal (or the one that is acceptable to your cohabitees) and committed to that amount going out each month, there's very little you can do about it (the day it goes out may vary slightly which can cause problems if it's too close to payday but it will leave your bank account at some point and is therefore unavailable for spending/ saving).

Hope this is helpful and not utterly bewildering. Your budget, you tweak it however suits you. The NSDs are to help you concentrate on planning what you need, avoiding expensive impulse purchases and buying in an orderly manner. You went to several shops to buy specific items, took advantage of ys bargains if they're things you will use (also handy for trying out 'new to you' foods for yourself or introducing new tastes to small children).

When I looked at No Spend challenges a while ago, the longer ones - NS Month and NS Year had increasing levels of flexibility. Utility bills and rent/ mortgage were exempt, some people ignored regular grocery spends (although might have a set limit). Some of the monthly ones advocated buying all your food for the month before the month started (so just shifting spending onto the previous month) and making and freezing all your meals (obviously never lived with teenagers). The blogger writing the round up did note that hardly any of the participants in longer challenges had children and many had no partner to consider. 

mothernerd

Sunday 12th September 2021

10 Signs of Magnesium Deficiency 
Poor cognitive processing
Headaches
Constipation or related disorders 
Fatigue (physical, mental and emotional)
Poor sleep quality
Muscle cramps and spasms
Pain and soreness
Irregular heartbeat
Numbness and tingling
Mood and behavioural disorders

Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA)
Adults (19 - 51 +)
Men  400 -420 mg 
Women 310 - 320 mg
Pregnant Women 350 - 360 mg
Quite a bit of emphasis on the daily, so probably something the body does not retain
Exceeding the RDA is rarely a problem if you're getting it from Food sources (Supplements can cause problems)

Best sources of Magnesium in Food
Spinach   Chard   Pumpkin seeds   Yoghurt   Almonds   Black Beans    Avocado     Figs    Dark Chocolate    Banana
(always carry your emergency banana) 


What Do You Need This Weekend?
A long Shower    Uninterrupted alone time    A chat with a friend    Time to read    Some time outside    A meal you didn't have to make    A walk    A nap     Something fun to do as a family    Hot coffee     Time with your child
(Hugs, I need hugs, you can have some too)


Daily Focus Sunday  -  Renew Your Spirit
Each Sunday is the day to renew your spirit.  This is a day to take time for yourself and BUILD you up with your favourite things.  If you don't Renew your Spirit, you can't renew the spirit of others. here are some great ideas:
A movie at the cinema (or at home)  
A walk in the park
Curl up with a good book
Take a long hot bubble bath
There are so many ways you can renew your spirit. Find some that work for you.
"You have to love yourself to get your house in order"    Flylady


     

apple_muncher

Forget carrying an emergency nana! I have my emergency dark chocolate!!!

f0xh0les

NSD #5,  all food from stores, made a rather spectacular lasagne, and some peanut butter biscuits just to use stuff up.  Nobody complained so it must have been good.

Dullish day here,  just doing laundry and cleaning and making a fridge/freezer/pantry inventory and doing a rough menu plan for next week - really will not need to buy much except salady bits,  but I do have 2 in food tech at the same time, luckily one only needs to grab stuff from the fruit bowl.

Gratitudes:  Managed to get 2 loads dry on the line, not spent any money,

greent

Have been awol due to sheer tiredness - over 55 hours spent at work this week - major shock to the system! (And to my family!! 😂)

Currently waiting outside DS3's school - he's been on a residential trip and due back any time now - can't wait!!

greent

Thankful for - DS3 having a good time away, for getting some things done, for DD cooking dinner last night, for dry days, for good colleagues, for a lovely impromptu meal out on Friday night after a busy week

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for the 'spend one minute on one task each day for a week' bringing a little bit of order to part of my room so far, for getting lots of stuff printed out, for dropping off a bunch of stuff for Baby Basics, for dh hopefully mending the leak under the stairs, for dc being feisty today.