December 2022: The Turtles do the Cha Cha Cha

apple_muncher

December 2022: The Turtles do the Cha Cha Cha

December is the most horrific money swallowing month of the year and there are some serious demands surrounding us as we prepare. We are being bombarded by messages in every form telling us what we MUST buy for Christmas, what will make it magical and what will make it memorable. We are calling a halt to all this, giving ourselves the excuse to say NO and helping each other prepare for that new cleaner and clearer outlook for 2023.

So we are going to cha cha cha our way through the next 31 days. Together. A dancing gang of turtles enjoying life together and leaving no turtle behind.

We will CHALLENGE ourselves, CHART our progress and see CHANGE.

The next 31 days can be overshadowed by just one day (the 25th in case you weren’t sure) but December is a whole 31 days. We refuse to get sucked into guilt spending. We reject the mindset that needs to constantly acquire more. Consider what you want from the month. What kind of month do you want for yourself? Take a moment and really ask. What activities do I want to enjoy? What seasonal foods do I want to take advantage of? What do I want to have the energy to take on? Where can I build more leisure into my week? How can I be outside as much as possible?

 

Consistency, we know, is the key to many things. Over the year, we have hopefully built up some good habits. Keep them up! Drink your water, eat your veggies, get some fresh air, move about and do something nice for yourself on a daily basis.

Heart. Be kind to others and to yourself. Give what you can without draining yourself. If you feel pulled in all directions, try to take a step back and focus on what is really important to you. Then cut yourself free form those things/situations/people pulling on those ropes that take you away form your heart.

Accept that you are who you are. You are unique. You are wonderful. Heck, you are a turtle and turtles are just fab! Accept your own limitations, play to your strengths, and don’t strain to be other than the wonderful person you are.

 

Some other Cha cha cha things:

Chase your dreams: get yourself a notebook and braindump your perfect job/ house /garden /health /life! Don’t think about it, just write it down. Then next to each one, write something that you can do in 2023 to move you towards that. Your notebook will also serve to chart your progress through the year.

Challenge yourself to drop one bad habit in December. To live the month at your own pace. To enjoy the twinkly lights. To look after your mental health. To write down some gratitudes every day. To avoid all coffee shops and corner shops and unnecessary eating out. To keep out of the sales (which start earlier every year!) unless you have planned and saved the money up.

Charity and charity shops. Please donate to charity this month. And do as much shopping as you can in charity shops. This will make your budget go further and you have the thrill of the search and never knowing what treasure and goodies you will discover.

Chart every single spend. Some shops are moving towards online receipts, so you have no record of spending. Gulp. Make sure you note it down asap. Chart every single win you have, temptation resisted, extra veggies eaten, hugs given.

 

A few rules:

-the challenge runs for all 31 days of December.

-pay to your debt or savings first.

-aim for 15 NSDs (you keep an NSD for direct debits, yellow sticker shopping, travel, medical items, odds and sods that you know you’ll have to pay this month but don’t know exactly when (put the money aside in an envelope))

-keep in touch with people. Smile at them in the street – that is something that has even become more acceptable in Lunnon since covid. Send a letter / email / text if you don’t want to talk.

-read a book for fun.

- “Don’t give up. Not ever. Not for one single day. Be safe if you can be. But always be amazing.” So says Dr Who. Pop on here every day and tell us what you’re up to. Not just the good stuff, but also the bad and the ugly too.

 

Who will get their dancing shoes on and join me?

apple_muncher

Turtle dancers:

1 apple_muncher

2 Esmeralda 2662

3 DrCarrie

4 Shrewbie

5 DawnW

6 ldee2111

7 BadBookkeeper

8 Dfw38

9 grandmanerd

10 shabbychic12

11 greent

12 firsview

13 lcc86

14 funfairprincess

15 the_cross_rabbit

16 cybertortoise

17 beanielou

18 ditty1234

19 abundant1972

20 thriftylass

21 Thrifty_Taylor

22 crafting mad

55 f0xh0les

Esmeralda2662

Hi apple, please can i cha cha cha with you through December? Thanks for starting us off x

DrCarrie

Me please apple, I am cha cha cha charting new debt-free waters.

apple_muncher

DrCarrie said:

Me please apple, I am cha cha cha charting new debt-free waters.

Shrewbie

It sounds like just what I need! Sign me up please

DawnW

Can I join please Apple?

ldee2111

Can you add me please, apple?

BadBookkeeper

Me please 💃💃💃

Dfw38

Me please! 

grandmanerd

Me please apple. You do know the cha cha is quite a difficult dance, don't you - lots of back and forth etc. Ah what the heck, might as well throw myself in, what doesn't kill us gives us a dark sense of humour and a lot of unhealthy coping mechanisms.