Walking into another chapter ...

benbenandme

So my SOA from when I started this diary, literally a year ago:

Income:

Wages                  £2129
Ds rent                  £200
TOTAL:                 £2329

Outgoings:

Mortgage              £315 (fixed rate, 1.29%, fixed until Jan 2028)
Council Tax           £184 paid over 10 months
Life Assurance      £29
Contents                £10
Electric/Gas          £157
Water                    £21
Car tax                 £12
Car insurance       £15
Car fund               £50 (MOT, maintenance)
Ds expenses         £70 (mobile, xbox, spotify - covered by his rent)
Mobile                   £25
Sky                        £45 
TV Licence           £13
Union                    £12
DFS                       £25 (finishes in April I think, this will then be added to the household pot)
Spotify                  £14
Plusnet                 £39
Cat insurance       £6
Cat treatments      £10                      
Food                     £250
Petrol                    £100
Birthdays/ Xmas    £50
Household fund      £75
Haircuts                  £40
Nails                        £23
Glasses                   £10
Dental                      £10
Brothers fund           £100
World cruise fund     £50
MB                           £9
TOTAL:                   £1829

Leftover:                £500

So this is looking pretty healthy, there is a nice surplus left for spends and hopefully I will be able to save some of that each month too. Next stop, looking at the goals

benbenandme

So this was a post I made this time last year ....

So my main plans for the new year aren't financial - I will be 50 in the summer and despite losing 2 stone in lockdown once life went back to normal I manged to find it again. It is non-negotiable that it is gone again by my birthday. Those of you who have read my previous diaries will know I like walking. A lot. In 2020 I did a virtual Lands End to John O'Groats walk over the summer, in 2021 I did 2021 miles in 2021 (finished in September as I broke my toe and couldn't walk for a bit), this year I haven't done a challenge and it has meant I haven't walked anywhere near as much as before. So I have signed up for '2023 miles in 2023' with the aim of completing it by my birthday. This means on average I need to do 9.5 miles a day. I am very lucky to live walking distance to the beach, as well as only a couple of miles from a National park, so I have lots of lovely places to explore. 

I am also intending to stick to approx 1800 calories a day, this should hopefully see a 1lb weekly loss. I have various kettlebells, hula hoops and other bits and pieces too. Birthdays aren't usually a big thing for me, but I have provisionally booked a beach hut for a couple of days over my birthday, the plan is to invite friends and family to pop along over the day when they like, there are public bbq's on the beachfront, we can have a big bbq, some games and fun, and I will look fabulous in my bikini 


Well ... I didn't do very well with this  However, this years targets are practically the same. In my defence last years got off to a rubbish start as it rained practically every day in Jan, Feb and March so I didn't get much walking done. I have signed up for the new challenge again (2024 miles in 2024), and I want to complete it by the time we go on our cruise (beginning of August) so again this makes roughly 9.5 miles a day. 

My weight is another repeating challenge for me - this will be linked to the walking obviously but mainly the eating is what matters, Ds rarely eats at home these days so I can buy food that will be purely making me focus on my health, not processed stuff. 

The world works in mysterious ways - following my earlier post about my mood today I received a text from the original hottie - those of you who have been here for a while may remember him. We have always stayed in touch but haven't met up this year due to me seeing this other guy. Anyway, we were chatting about stuff today and he knows how focussed I can be when I'm determined re. my weight/fitness, (we first met in lockdown when I was super-focussed), but also told him about how this year I just haven't got going with it. He's offered a weekend away together if/when I get to my goal weight So, I have 2 stone to lose (well, 1 stone 13lbs). Hopefully this will give me even more motiviation to stick to it   

Drawingaline

Just been catching up benben, I have been AWOL for a few months. Loving the pictures of your kitten, our boys bring us joy every day. They are indoor kitties due to being ragdolls, (pedigree breed and while gorgeous, they can be somewhat dim) they enjoy the garden in the summer, as long as someone sits outside with them. 

Shame about the bloke, but a weekend away with the original hottie. What a way to assist your health goals 😁

benbenandme

Hello Drawingaline, nice to see you

So, two days into the New year and all is going well so far. I've stuck to my January targets so far:

20,000 steps a day
2 litres of water a day
1800 calories max (had less than 1500 both days, felt full)
Taken supplements (iron, magnesium, Vit D, Vit E)
No caffeine
No alcohol
Minimal sugar / sweetener 

I can't say no sugar / sweetener as I have had a small bit of mayo both days but otherwise practically none. It has felt good to get the steps in but today was mind over matter, the weather was horrendous but you can't quit on day two so anorak was on and off I went at 6:30 this morning for an hour before work (in the dark) then down the beach for an hour or so tonight (again it was quickly dark after I started), The upshot is I feel nice and tired each evening and ready for my bed already.

Money wise I haven't spent much yet either - £9 in Sainsburys on some veg, eggs and daffodils, £2.25 on a pot of tea when i met friends yesterday, £2 bet but cashed out for £10.37 so that's £10 going into savings, then a £7 spend today. Hmm, now to figure out the savings pots for this year. I need to save £1000 for my world cruise fund (retirement), I have budgeted £50 a month for this and then the 2 months of no council tax (£184 x 2), which leaves only £32 needed for this pot, so I'll pop this tenner in then I need another £22 to find and I can then move on to another pot. 

[Deleted User]

Best wishes for 2024! Always enjoy reading your diary. You deserve a positive and rewarding year. 

benbenandme

Thanks Baron So I've survived my first week back at work and I'm very pleased to report I've stuck to my targets all week, it has been tough with the walking with the amount of rain we've had but a goal is a goal ... This morning I did an hour and a half walking before I got to work at 7:30, it made it much easier tonight and I'm having a lazy one in bed with the laptop watching the football

I've also spent minimal money this week, I haven't really been anywhere or done much so haven't needed to spend much. This weekend will involve a couple of long walks, food shopping, some housework although its generally pretty good, and some relaxing

benbenandme

Another week of walking, eating well, sleeping well, drinking water etc under my belt. This morning I went for a nice beach walk, made a change to do it in daylight as on work days I do it before work with a torch

Veggie curry is cooking nicely in the slow cooker, using up loads of bits of veg from the fridge, food shop needs doing tomorrow. I have also walked and bathed Mums dog this morning (he was rather muddy). Now an afternoon of footie ahead for me. Very low spend week this week, I need to do the food shop tomorrow and my nails appointment on Monday but hopefully another fairly low expenses week ahead too.

[Deleted User]

I hope all is well. How are things? 

benbenandme

Hello, thanks for the prompt Baron, not sure how its been 10 days since i posted last?! Things are good .. January is dragging as always but I've been sticking to my walking plan - I'm doing 11 miles every day currently, which usually involves an hour and a half's walking before 7:30am as once I'm in work I am office based and little opportunity to move around much so I get the first 10-11,000 steps out the way nice and early so the rest of the day isn't too tough. At the moment it's a bit of an effort as it is still pitch black and either icy cold or blowing a hoolie, but 22 days done so far this month, 242 miles of my 2024 mile challenge completed

Moneywise not much to report, I did the Octopus saver hour thing the other day, hopefully added a couple more £££ to my account there. This weekend I must take a look at the banking as I haven't done much of that yet this month,

[Deleted User]

Many thanks for the update. Impressive number of walked miles!