2008 - Live on £4000 for a full year.

sweetpea03

NYK WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Don't think of what you spent, focus on what there is left and budget it to last a year.

thank you for all the tips nyk, they are really helpful & hope you have lots more in store for us! i have changed my siggy to descending balance now after reading your latest one

Hope the giving up smoking is going well

Frugaldom

:T Congratulations on starting this challenge, it is certainly one that will tax your brain to the max. In the beginning, it is an exciting new challenge, then realisation of what you've let yourself in for finally dawns. Following that is the last minute butterflies of anticipation, trepidation and, in this case, sheer shock that you agreed to take part in the first place :rotfl:

Still, you managed to get past all of those primary stages and have now hit the 'defence mechanism' stage, when your mind is battling out how the heck you will cope with such drastic changes. Funny thing is, they aren't really that drastic once you get used to them. They are like everything else in life. Use the old 1-2-3 trick. Week one/month one is the shock treatment, week two/month two is the getting used to it treatment and week three/month three is the accepting it as normal (weeks or months, depending how you budget. I budgeted weekly from the outset because 3 weeks passes much more quickly than 3 months Now it's a way of life for me.

HOWEVER life will always throw up surprises. Like tonight! I'm into day 2 of a 366 day programe and I hear from a friend: "Great news, we got engaged, getting married next month" or words to that effect... :eek: (NO!! She isn't!!)

Right, where was I? Oh yes, the psychology of skintness... when you accept that this is your life and that it IS for the best, you will feel a whole lot richer just by experiencing that acceptance. Plus, you'll end up debt free and with savings eventually :T

NYK'S WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Never forget that there will always be someone worse off than yourself and that it is good to help whoever and wherever you can. Even a penny in the shop counter donations tin helps someone, somewhere

I click this link every day since finding it on MSE, that way if I don't have any spare cash to give, someone somewhere is still benefitting out of my being here. It's the Hunger Site link I click but there are several others listed there too.
Thinking of others at the same time...

Frugaldom

sweetpea03 wrote: »

NYK WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Don't think of what you spent, focus on what there is left and budget it to last a year.

thank you for all the tips nyk, they are really helpful & hope you have lots more in store for us! i have changed my siggy to descending balance now after reading your latest one

Hope the giving up smoking is going well

To date, and it's been about umm.... 57 hours (ish) since I quit and I haven't missed the cigs. I'm being optimistic about it and believe that it's completely psychological and a bad habit rather than an addiction. So far, it's been a dawdle

NYK'S WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Quit smoking, save a fortune by switching your obsessions elsewhere, like right here, in the frugal 4k a year challenge :rotfl:

sweetpea03

Is it really 57 hours already?! you're doing really well & must have great willpower & determination Glad you are finding it easy & in the early stages too, hope it continues to be a dawdle!

Mollymop5

Well done NYk keep up the good work

andromache_2

nykmedia wrote: »

My 'Bite Discount Card' just expired and I have never even used it! It gets you 20& off food and drink at railway stations. It's a great idea if you go to busy stations, completely rubbish when your local stations are all of the type you pray the train slows down enough to let you grab a handle and jump onboard as it passes betwwn the raised wooden pavements in the middle of nowhere. I think they call them stations, you can tell by the nearby bridge for crossing the tracks :rotfl:

Hi nyk,

Well, it doesn't sound like you'll really need this!! But I got sent a new 'BiTE' discount card in the post to replace the old one which doesn't have an expiry date on it at all, and covers a couple of new outlets. I travel by train a LOT (LDR!) so find it very useful! (Of course, when I'm REALLY organised I make a sandwich at home beforehand anyway! ) So if anyone else is interested then they're still about.

mumzyof2

well done nyk, i tried to stop before and igot cravings as soon as i woke up! and i gave in!

Frugaldom

mumzyof2 wrote: »

well done nyk, i tried to stop before and igot cravings as soon as i woke up! and i gave in!

Didn't you join this year's quit smoking thread? How is it going this time around?

Frugaldom

andromache wrote: »

Hi nyk,

Well, it doesn't sound like you'll really need this!! But I got sent a new 'BiTE' discount card in the post to replace the old one which doesn't have an expiry date on it at all, and covers a couple of new outlets. I travel by train a LOT (LDR!) so find it very useful! (Of course, when I'm REALLY organised I make a sandwich at home beforehand anyway! ) So if anyone else is interested then they're still about.

I checked online and it says replacements are in the post by 31 December or else email. I only have one 'just in case' I travel anywhere because I very, very rarely pay full price for anything LOL Or had you guessed that part? :rotfl: The BiTE card expiry date is in the small print on the reverse side

NYK WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Never pay full price for anything - haggling is still legal, even in the big brand high street stores

mumzyof2

nyk yeh i did but then i misscarried and i gave in then and started smoking again then my mum borught 800 cigs over .....