NST Join In January 2019 - In With The New

Lovely, count me in please CCL

Super long post here from me, just setting it all down at the start - will make them shorter going forward xx

Spend free days (NSD’s) –Yellow Sticker shopping, medication, fuel purchases and milk (greent) do not scupper your nsd’s. – Will monitor 😊

Make plans for the month – Nights out, treats and outings should be planned well in advance, and reduced wherever possible. No popping into coffee shops or takeaways without prior planning – and try to limit yourself to a maximum of three for the month. – DS2’s bday will mean a meal out/ takeaway. May possibly purchase a Grooopon afternoon tea for myself and OH as a treat (his work contract has finished and his MH is already suffering – spending money makes him feel better (argh!) but it needs to be managed….. sigh……) Will also add in 1 takeaway towards month end – if I ban all treat spends if affects OH’s MH…

Always pay your debts first – Set your budget at the beginning of the month and pay particular attention to areas where you’re likely to overspend (food for me). Make sure that you pay to your debts first. – have sto and ddr to savings acct and ISA. Extra monies (cashback, £2 coins saved, faceb00k/ flebay sales etc) will go to holiday savings account. Hoping to keep food spends relatively low for the month… (although will be sending the 2 students back with food parcels – usually amounting to about a week or more’s hopping for each) Have some late Xmas and DD’s 21st spends on 0% CC – will clear no later than Feb payday.

List your frogs – Write a list of jobs that you have been putting off doing, no matter how big or small. If you’ve been meaning to make a phone call, or appointment, put some things away in a cupboard, go through a pile of post etc, then put it onto a list. Aim to cross one thing off the list each day in January and you’ll be amazed how much better you’ll feel as the month goes on. – Will report in on achievements, rather than list beforehand! (will write a list for the fridge, though 😉)

Little savings – Even if you’re paying off a lot of debt, you should be aiming to put a little bit of something away as an emergency fund. Yep – have sto going out 1st monthly. 'Shrapnel' change and £2 coins saved in piggy bank and used for holiday fund

Chill out – Whatever helps you to relax, make time for this – even if it’s only 15 minutes a day.. A small amount of time just for you leads to much better mental health. Planning on exercise, reading – and ironing!

Helping others – If you can, please consider donating to charity or to your local food bank. – Will no doubt be donating to CS (can think of some unused items for there) and either foodbank or homeless mission. Also have a monthly DD to a local wildlife charity. Am considering volunteering at local CS or foodbank later in year (but would need them to be flexible about hours, which may be an issue for some places)

Always be grateful – Take time every day to think about and write down three things in life that you are grateful for. – I really like this part of NST challenges :T 😊

New to You – Before splashing out on new clothes, stuff for your house, magazines etc. consider whether or not you can get what you need by swapping with someone or going to a charity shop, using eB@y or Fakeb00k. – my mum gave me an almost unused CD player/ ip0d dock/ DAB radio today – which is needed as our (20+yo one) is on blink (and isn’t DAB) – although I appreciate it’s still Dec! I do need a new pair of shoes sometime for work (super silent soles for exam rooms) (current main pair are 14yo, so I’m not an excessive purchaser!) and maybe a new pair of trousers - although some weightloss in Nov/ early Dec meant I fitted into a previously too-tight pair (given to me as a freebie) – let’s see if that’s still the case after Xmas! :rotfl: I can’t think of anything needed for house (new blinds have been ordered pre Xmas but lost by couriers) but poss DIY type stuff as we get some frogs/ jobs done….

Get involved – Try and check in on here every day if you can, just a quick hello can be really motivating to others, and you may pick up some helpful hints and tips from the other Turtles. - Yep

Exercise – It’s more important than ever to get outdoors when there are so few daylight hours. If you are an absolute beginner then aim for 10 minutes of walking every day (no matter the weather), if you’re a regular then aim for 1 more session each week than you would usually do. – Have signed up to Red January (www.redtogether.co.uk) and so has OH – should be good for both our physical and MH! :T Cannot pledge will all be outside though – I am a fair weather walker!

Sort it out – Your food cupboards and stores. Someone on the Small Things thread made a ‘use it up’ box of foodstuffs, filled with items that were lurking unloved and unused. I encourage you to do the same and aim to use 1 item from the box every time you cook. – I have used up lots over the past few months with NST challenges, and the students are very good 😉 about taking stuff back with them and ‘helping’ me out….. However, I would like Jan food spends to be lower than normal whilst also taking into account I want it to be a healthier month (so more fruit spends are likely….) I will try and target 5 things to use up (so 1 a week-ish) I am also on a mission to use up toiletries etc – I seriously have enough face day and night cream to last me easily into 2020, if not all of that year and into the next!!! I am sure some other turtles are also awash more than usual after Xmas…. I am planning a small list of these to target, too (again, the students are ‘helpful’ with some toiletries)


Phew! Looking forward to a month of re-grouping, ready to tackle the rest of the forthcoming year!
xx

Can I join in please.
Looking forward to starting 2019 with a clean slate, well a new diary to continue my journey. Will be back to post once I've had a proper think about what changes I want to make.

Please can I join ccl? Thank you

I have just been browsing through the challenges and love the idea is this one. Could you count me in please

NSD’s are definitely something I need to start and I’m going to go traight for 15.
I’m also going to do the penny challenge. I did this a couple of years ago.