Sunday 31 August 2014

August Round Up - No Spend/Low Spend September

We got back from our break in Norfolk on Saturday and as August draws to a close, the summer holidays are now almost at an end.  They've gone by pretty quickly this year and we've managed to keep ourselves amused.  It's been great to have visitors this August and to make the odd visit ourselves, but as September approaches my thoughts are rapidly turning to the idea of getting back to a normal routine.  Taking a break has really made me appreciate our everyday routines, the ones that keep our lives moving forward.

Little Bird is now positively itching to start secondary school and whilst I will enjoy the freedoms that this will inevitably bring to my everyday life, I will also miss having her around during the day.  I'm so looking forward to seeing her on her first day, dressed up in her new school uniform and looking all grown up.  I'm also looking forward to hearing all her daily news as she makes new friends and discovers new subjects and interests.  It's such an exciting time for her.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little anxious for her too, although I won't be letting her know that.

I, myself,  will no doubt resume my normal day to day routine or something similar.  I've been toying with the idea of starting a course of some kind this September, but my search for one that appeals, hasn't thus far been fruitful enough for me to actually enrol myself on one.   Not to worry,  I have plenty of projects in mind, to both start and complete, so I may just focus on those for the next few months in the lead up to Christmas and consider starting a short course in the New Year.

On the financial front, my finances have taken a real bashing this August for various reasons, so I am definitely looking forward to getting them back under control again in September.  I haven't managed to stick to my plan to pay £100 off my overdraft this month, so have fallen slightly behind with this aim.  In addition, my daily recording of expenditure has fallen by the wayside over the last couple of months, for the first time in 10 years.  In a way, it has made a nice change not to pay too much attention to it, but on the other hand it has meant that I seem to have spent way too much.  The break has been good in some ways though, as I feel a fresh enthusiasm for returning to it starting in September.

Talking of September, I've decided to join with Sue from Our New Life in the Country blog, in having a No Spend/Low Spend September.  I'm hoping this challenge will help me get back on track and also encourage me to use up foods we have lurking in the cupboards, before buying more.  It should especially help me with rectifying another consequence of my lapse in keeping a daily record of expenditure, namely chalking up more no spend days.  I got stuck on 51 back in July when I stopped keeping expenditure records, and as I'm aiming for 100 this year,  I really need to make a superhuman effort in the next four months or I'm not going to achieve this.  We'll see, stranger things have happened I'm sure, 





1 comment:

  1. I love September & think it's a better time for fresh starts than January.
    I'm sure LB is excited & a little anxious - it's a big step to take but sounds like you are all handling it well x

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