NST March 2022: March movement

firsview

Evening Turtles. Unbelievably busy day today! In between working I have made a millionaires shortbread which was DS2’s birthday cake choice for tomorrow, taken a cat to the vet and collected her later, been to Mr T for wrapping paper ( toyed with the idea of using Xmas paper but decided that would just be lazy!) sorted the insurance for my Dads new car and been to collect some parcels which was a bit of a waste of time as instead of the socks and pants I was expecting I got a size 8 tracksuit top. I am turning into Mothernerd and I don’t know how she does it! I am hoping I can persuade DD to wrap his presents as she likes wrapping. So only £2 spent today and went slightly over budget for the month.
Today I am grateful that the cat belongs to DD so she had to pick up the £530 vet bill (broken tooth), the millionaires shortbread turning out fine (I expect we have all had one that didn’t set!) and a visit to Dad.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a dry day, for getting stuff done, for lovely colleagues, for getting 5 veg into sausage and mash for tea, for my book.

BadBookkeeper

Still 16/16 NSDs, took ds for haircut & had to pay £1 for parking to avoid freezing rain!!

It’s finally pay day tomorrow & I have 80p left in my current account!!  

I’ve planned a budget for April.  It’s gonna be tight 😟. However I’ve had a lightbulb momentish!  I was going to use what I overpay my cc’s as a back up and put back my DFD if needed but when I realised I currently save £125 a month towards Christmas and birthday gifts for other people, I’ve decided how ridiculous that is and if needs be that will be what I will use as a back up and cut my cloth accordingly!  

Watched H0lby tonight instead of waiting until Saturday as scared I’d hear or see spoilers!  

Grateful for:
80p
Clarity over my budget 
Offers on Easter eggs!
Snow! so I can still wear my jumpers and comfy trousers! 

mothernerd

Lovely visit from DS2 and mummy to be on Monday. DS2 swept the path and is going to come back and help with tidying sometime.

Yesterday I did cooking, some of which was lovely and some not great. I sat outside in the sunshine whilst waiting before checking on the cooking and was feasted on by midges, hunting for cream in the middle of the night and frequent applications today. Still have some bites swelling into lumps. 

Took books back to the library. Had a list for shopping but it had started raining again when I got out of the library, so came back home.

Grateful for doing a wee bit of shopping last night, good series to watch, entertaining books, the closeness of the library, not stressing about anything (even the things I should be slightly stressing about)

Thrifty_Taylor

Happy birthday for tomorrow @firsview junior 🍰
The snow melted quite quickly, though had wintry showers during the day.

A good day at work, felt quite useful finishing off the last of the assessments, then doing some photocopying (took me back to my office job days) for wall displays. Pinned a colleague into a coat, as she'd bought a size too big. Have sewn that now & started another sewing job. Made a fire when I got home from work, it was freezing! Hubby late home, as stayed in town to run errands after his dialysis. 2 DS's out too, so a quiet house, just me & DS2.

Sold one of the coins I'd listed to sell on Sunday 😃

Grateful for a warm fire, children safe & sound, 2 days left before the holidays

ldee2111

March report

I moved a bit

I donated to the DEC Ukraine appeal and handed in a few things at charity shops

I OP my mortgage and paid off my credit card which had all our holiday spending on it

I had a good few NSDs but no idea how many

I took one ‘outing’ where I spent money. Does that mean I can carry forward the other 3 I didn’t use? 😂 My outing was a bit impromptu. I picked up DS from nursery one day that OH was working late, and I took him out for dinner to wagamummy and then to waterstanes where he got a couple of books using the money his grandparents gave him. It was a nice break to our usual after-school routine and to spend time just me and my baby boy. 

Grateful today for morning birdsong, tea in bed, this forum and all you turtles. x

Thanks for our March challenge @apple_muncher x

Shrewbie

Hi turtles! 

Yesterday was very busy. Had to be in work early and then worked through half of my lunch break. Don’t like having my sacred morning routine disrupted!!. I don’t know how the people above my pay grade do it.... is the money worth it?! 

  Anyway, I’ve finished the month better than I started with all nsds this week so far.
grateful for a piano concert last night which was lovely and sth different, for finishing a almost 1 year long project at work and colleagues being lovely and congratulating me. Have a lovely day turtles 

lcc86

Evening turtles

Haven't posted for a few days but not much to report. I finally found part of the reason why I had extra money, OH had sent me some money he owed me and because I missed it I accidentally spent it on things I needed (and a couple I wanted) not the end of the world but a definite d'oh moment! I still underspent overall though which is positive.

Had some new internal doors fitted yesterday, now begins the fun task of painting them and repainting all the woodwork.... 

Budget sorted for April, onwards and upwards turtles!

DawnW

Evening all, managed 12 NSDs in March, which is pretty good for me

Donated to the Red Cross appeal for Ukraine, and to the local food bank

Payments were made to savings (I don't have debt any more)

It was quite a spendy month, including 2 vets bills, a load of compost for the garden, and a couple of bits that were wants rather than needs (though they do make life easier)

Thank you for the March challenge @apple_muncher  

Grateful for my 4th covid jab today (though not the shivery feeling that seems to go with it each time), a warm chair by the fire and lovely thank you cupcakes from a friend I have helped out.

BadBookkeeper

Copied my post from 1st March to updating any progress:

Getting ahead of the game and setting out my plans for March! 

My credit card debt is finally under £10k, my DFD is 24/12/24 as I pay £300 a month.  Imagine what I could do with that instead! so I want to knock some time off that.  Every £9.67 extra I pay off, knocks 1 day off that date so I want to be more mindful & accountable about what I’m spending on but also enjoy life as I do hence me joining this challenge. Nothing extra paid off, nearly thought about using extra payments as a safety net but will use other pots instead!

Definitely stuck in a rut so wanting to make little changes as follows:

Work - I have been wfh since March 2020 & I do prefer it but feel completely forgotten about.  From next week I will be wfh Mon/Tues/Weds & office based Thurs/Fri.  Settled back in the office, parking is an issue and the office needs a good sort out of old paperwork.  I’m going to tackle this in April I’ve saved some boxes to use to store old stuff.

Family - there’s me, my DH & my DS who is 10.  Our free time seems to be chores & DS football!  We have a campervan & NT membership so aim to use these more this month. Used the campervan for a day trip but not the NT 

House - Needs a little TLC in every room. and some big jobs.  I’ve written a list and want to tick a couple of things off in March. Nope didn’t do anything here!

Garden - needs a tidy up & power wash.  DH does this.  We don’t grow anything! Our garden is basically a football/basketball area! Nothing achieved here either

Life Admin - there is always something, I’ve been trying to transfer previous pensions hit a snag & gave up.  I want to move forward with one this month.  Also noticed we all need our passports renewing, DH done his & I want to get DS done this month. DS passport renewed & received back.  Mortgage switched to cheaper fixed rate and life assurance & Income protection checked.  

Happiness - I’m quite happy in my little world, but as we come out of covid restrictions I feel I’m being lazy & not making an effort to socialise or go anywhere.  Before covid I used to see my best friend every Friday.  We have just started this up again.

Mental Health - I’m very organised and find this helps.  Although could do with more quality me time (not just scrolling through social media) ok here

Physical health - I am overweight and could do with losing 2.5 stone.  I’ll aim for 5lb in March. Nothing gained or lost!

Finance - As a bookkeeper by trade, I’m good at budgeting but not forecasting!  I have today set up a set of ‘books’ for personal spending so I can have a better idea next year.  Scrapped this & used a different method for April 

Savings - I have various pots for Christmas, gifts, car emergency fund, clubs, holidays and dentist/haircut.  I round down my bank account to our holiday pot, sell things to fund DS yearly birthday party, use top£back, zip0, and cash back credit card for groceries (paid off in full).  I try to make my £££ spent work harder and earn me something back. This is ongoing. All pots covered what it was supposed to.

Hobbies - Need to use campervan & NT membership more Had a day out in the campervan 

Food - We are all so bored of our dinner menu. Will try 2 new meals this month.  Switched our supermarket as used to do A1di & t£esco but don’t think we are saving much anymore so switched to a$da so at least we save time by getting it delivered.Attempted a chicken pie.  Was ok but not sure worth the effort!  Will have another go and try a different recipe.

Move your body a bit more than you have been - the days I work from home I plan to go for a walk around the block.  I need to get at least 5000 steps a day.  Also, DS had a VR set for his birthday, there’s a boxing fitness game I’d like to try so I’ll do that this month. Failed on this!!

-Foodbank/ charity donation of £5. - Will do this Donated to 4 different causes in March

-Pay to your debt/savings FIRST and live off the rest. Will do this Did this

-16 NSDs - I’m aiming for this.  Already bought birthday/Mother’s Day cards needed for the month of March, this is where I usually lose NSDs. Achieved 17/16 as NSD today 

-Fun - Plan A NT day out / meal out for parents b/day & something social able with my best friend. Had a day out for Mother’s Day also met my friend in the pub & been to her house & she’s been here.  Family meal out for Dads birthday too.

-Have a budget and stick to it. - will do this ended the month with 80p left!

-Keep a note of everything you spend money on - have started a set of ‘books’ Scrapped the method I was using but got a simplified version for April.

-Come on here daily and tell us 3 things you are grateful for. - will do this.  Did this & it really helped focus on the good simple day to day things 

If you’ve read my ramblings this far, thank you! I can’t wait to get started! Ended the month as I started!  Thank you for the challenge and see you in April!