NST Penny Pinching GoSober Stoptober

thriftylass · 4 October 2018 at 2:37PM

chocolatelover93 wrote: »

Thifty - like the sound of the spend freeze, not sure if I can go a whole week but I am willing to give it a go!

Go on, give it a go :T. Make sure you plan properly. Got enough milk, bread in? Any clubs or activities on? If you don't have it make do without. It is possible.

greent · 4 October 2018 at 4:18PM

A challenge for you - anything you could change to the positive or give up for October? My plan is to re-start bodycoach during Oct, before then I plan on cutting down to one sweet treat/ day maximum

:o - Major fail - don't feel well (just a cold) so have been grazing trying to find something to tempt my tastebuds

Organise. . I'm also taking the opportunity to use up those things which have been lurking in the freezer/ cupboard and are now exposed! .

Regular budget CCs all paid off in full (one is in credit!) Money gone to savings ac and ISA.Running totals Spends: Groceries £18.37. Clothing £35

No Spend Days. 2. Only spends today were fuel for car and a prescription fee

Improvise. -

Exercise Four times a week at least Nope - have spent half of the day huddled under a blanket with 2 wheatbags (whilst wearing 3 layers) trying to get warm

Christmas Will plan this out this month
Have had another present arrive today

Banned Takeaways, coffee shops, chippys, etc. - have social budget. Will include a meal out for OH's bday.

Extra Income Running total £37.78

Report in, here

Thankful for - Life, my family, my friends

ETA: I'm not joining in the spending freeze x

Kerry_Woman · 4 October 2018 at 6:13PM

apple - Hope you are recovering. Take good care of yourself.
Challenge – Do more self-care. Still doing my 365 days of self care journal and 365 tiny love challenges.
Organise. This I must to. Have been tempted to buy things unnecessary.
Regular budget Budget done.
No Spend Days NSD today 4/20.
Exercise Did 1 lap of my usual route around the park.
Christmas This is already sorted. Have put money into a savings account each month for the year. Immediate family all get money. Christmas will be a difficult time for me so I will concentrate on self-care. Usually I spend time around my sister’s. Will have to wait to see what the plans are for this year.
Banned - Was fine today.
Extra Income Will be doing surveys when possible. Done a few today.
Report - Reporting in.

I will be unable to spending freeze, but will be monitoring what I am spending. I do go swimming if possible on Sundays, which is good for my arthritis. Also buy tv mag and top up oyster card. Will not be planning to buy anything else if these are going to be the only spend on that day.

crazy_cat_lady · 4 October 2018 at 6:49PM

Ha - I may have already unwittingly completed the spend freeze by Sunday. Not through choice but necessity.

I'm going to try though for sure. I'm another one who is lucky enough to have a second freezer. It's a small chest freezer I got second hand and was £40 very well spent in my opinion.
Same stuff here. Still tired. Still stressed. Still grumpy. I just want a really good night's sleep and to be able to appreciate the little things in life a bit more. DS made me a card to tell me he loved me, and I cried. He is a lovely little man. I feel like I'm wasting my life feeling so down all of the time. However, this too shall pass. As everyone keeps saying. It's just awful being in the middle of it all and not being able to control how long it all takes.
Obviously another nsd here. My kids are amazing and really supportive... thank goodness they're so understanding of the current situation.
Bathroom wall is finally fixed - paid for last Friday. I was quite relieved to get in the shower this evening and not panic about the walls caving in on me :rotfl: So there are lots of things I am grateful for.
Just keep swimming...

WelshKitty85 · 4 October 2018 at 8:54PM

NSD3, took breakfast and lunch to work, all meals from stores. I've not consumed any snacks yet, but there's still around an hour before bed time!

lcc86 · 4 October 2018 at 9:08PM

I'd like to do the spending challenge but I fly to Iceland at 6am tomorrow and don't get back until Monday so no time to prep! Shopping delivery is pre booked for Tuesday, also going to a friend's engagement drinks on Friday night (I didn't know that was a thing) and then a pre booked gallery event in London on Saturday. I'd actually like to cancel that (it was free) and might do nearer the time but I feel events have conspired against me next week in terms of spending freeze!

Today was a NSD though, been running around like a headless chicken tonight getting everything sorted ready for my trip and am already in bed. Hope to be asleep soon. Will check in again next week. Good luck on the spending freeze turtles!

apple_muncher · 4 October 2018 at 9:14PM

I have freezer envy! We have a fridge-freezer, so 2.5 drawers. Mostly taken up with dd's gf/df foodstuffs. But there's no point being envious, as there's nowhere we could put one, so I'll just have to get over it!

Thank you for all the well wishes. My nose is nearly back to normal and although my energy levels are still rather low, I am coping.

Today I am grateful for a lovely colleague, for a wonderful class who sat peacefully waiting for me when I was 15 mins late cos I thought I was teaching a different group who were in a meeting (oops!), for getting my marking done, for rather enjoying the online training I'd booked, for clear roads on my journey home, for a nearly normal nose.

I like the 7 day no spend challenge. Certainly going to have a big think about it. I'm off to brum to visit mum thurs-fri so will have to spend there...

thriftylass · 4 October 2018 at 10:07PM

lcc86 all the best for your trip to Iceland (holiday?).

Apple muncher glad your nose is better.

Good to see a few dare ( or are able to etc, as everyone is in different circumstances and all that of course) to do the freeze with me.

I started my prep today, did an inventory, spend £36 in Lidl and started cooking. Amazing what you can achieve in just under two hours. Week's meal prep well under way, just stopped short by the lack of pots and freezer space.
Have marinated gyros and made tzatziki to go with it, made red slaw, and haggis stuffed beef olives to go on in the slow cooker tomorrow. Also Italian meatballs and tomato sauce. And last but not least, a Bolognese/lasagne base and a chilli. The other meals planned are easily made fresh from pantry and freezer etc.

Knackered now and off to bed. See you tomorrow

sashanut · 4 October 2018 at 11:54PM

Hi all :j

Challenge: Oops forgot this one yesterday! Don't smoke & rarely drink either, so it has to be giving up unhealthy snacks...Not too bad eating wise until we went out for a meal, then had a cake each from Bettys of Harrogate....OK, will do better tomorrow.

Organise. Start as you mean to go on. Know the contents of your fridge, freezer and cupboards. Plan your meals around them. Cook from scratch. Don't buy anything you can make unless cost /time taken dictates otherwise. If you are new to turtle challenges or still have full cupboards you could try living from the cupboards. Little shop in Marks as lots of YS items. definitely need a ban on buying more food.

Regular budget items should be set by 1st October. If you don't know how much you are spending on food or petrol, now is the time to find out. Question every purchase - need or want? Not sure whether wood will be coming tomorrow bas no answer to my email. Am not planning on going out anywhere so no spending hopefully. Weather due to be bad but if not will be painting/gardening etc outside.

No Spend Days. Aim for 20 (high target) or 15 (low). Am aiming for 15 but hoping for more. Still 1/15.

Improvise. Make do and mend with a creative twist. think of a substitute ingredient, how to make an old/broken piece of furniture last a little longer. Not today.

Exercise Four times a week at least (20 minutes minimum but can be done 10 minutes at a time). Get outside in daylight as often as possible. Outside today to cut the grass as rain forecast for the next few days & grass already getting quite long. Also outside walking round whilst shopping, now feel pretty tired.

Christmas Saw another gift but didn't get it yet. Took note of some things for DD Christmas/birthday (within 2 days of each other).

Finally Don't Be A Martyr For Christmas.

Banned Will only be chippys normally with the odd takeaway planned for a celebration etc. No takeaways today.

Extra Income and Extra time Only had the morning but got quite a lot done. No extra income so far, but working on it. Oh I tell a lie, closed 2 business bank acs. Transferred the balance - £1.02 from one & 0.05p from the other :rotfl:

Report in, daily if possible I'm here..

Go turtles !!

mothernerd · 5 October 2018 at 12:41AM

Sooooo tired. Slept for most of the day (fell asleep yesterday evening fully clothed and with no sheets, as I had thrown them down for washing). Fell asleep reading, fell asleep sitting bolt upright (caught myself as I started to sway otherwise I might have been imitating apple).

Did get downstairs to put food in the oven. Dragged myself out of the house very late on but managed a successful shopping trip. dropped off two books at the library, checked bus times, caught the mobility shop open and purchased another can/ lid grip opener (another present from mum to cleaner), bought ibruprofen in £ emporium and found Vit D as well, snagged 2 ys sandwiches in B**ts and a nail brush with a wooden handle from the reduced shelf + used extra points coupon, walked across to the shopping 'mall' to buy stamps and had 10 minutes sit down at the bus stop to read my book and eat a sandwich (did not want to go shopping whilst hungry),last bus to Morries (asked because bus both ways would have been slightly cheaper than getting a taxi), ticked off everything on my list - got bread and buns ys to 40p and 28p, 2 x peas and mange tout (8p), broccoli,(6p), romanesque cauli (6p) and bag of mixed lettuce (6 or 8p) and the only thing not on my list was a wedge of watermelon (treat for mum). Especially pleased with stepping away from the magazine rack and maintaining a quarantine zone of at least 3' thereafter as I noticed they had Christmas magazines for sale - crafts, cookery, what to wear etc. No, No, No.

Had to wait for a taxi but I had food and drink (bought a pack of cans as mum and I are out for the day on Saturday and not paying £2 a throw for diet coke or water) and my book to read. Will wait until tomorrow to tot up as tomorrow's delivery has some items for me but giving mum an option on some of them.

Came home, put things away and have been sleeping since about 7pm (DS2 called in to book my services as a house sitter next week as he fell asleep and missed his delivery today).

Plans for tomorrow (organisation) include taking more sewing to do at mum's, moving more strawberry runners across to the new bed, finding places to put all the cleaning stuff when it is delivered, writing a new list of all the stuff they had forgotten (like air freshener which I hate) and washing up liquid (ordered for me but will let them have some). Lots of rest as out on Saturday (Liverpool giants puppets).

Today I am grateful for a successful shopping trip (multiple shops, got everything on the list including healthy stuff and very little that wasn't - ys bits were non-specific but within the brief). Also for cheerful cashiers (young but could count without referring to the till) and taxi drivers and sleep - just want to be alert and able to do stuff.

NST Penny Pinching GoSober Stoptober

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