How is it September already?
The last time I wrote a monthly goals post in July I didn’t manage to do 99% of the things I wanted to do seeing as I ended up being off work ill from about two days after I wrote the post until the middle of August. Now that I’m on the mend (or I will be when I have my op) I thought I’d try again and share some of the goals I’ve set myself for September.
September’s Financial Goals
Since my last post in July when I bought Master Frugal’s rather expensive school uniform, he’s actually changed secondary schools so I had to buy another expensive uniform! It was all very last minute when our first choice school (his sisters) rang and apologised the day he broke up for the Summer. I’m not sure what went on to get him his place at the last minute but it was an admin error that meant he didn’t get in originally and as they were full, we decided to send him to his second choice. The last minute turnaround caused a lot of stress for us all and he’s still not convinced that it’s the best thing for him but I think it will be. Anyway, that means I have two school uniforms and I’m waiting to hear if I’ll be able to get a refund on the first one when the schools go back this week. They said I should be OK so hopefully, I’ll have a nice little amount to put aside for Christmas shopping which is where I’m focussing this month as time is going to fly by between now and Christmas I suspect.
Weekly shopping budget – £75.00 including everything hopefully which is more than we used to spend but I really haven’t had that much time (or energy) lately for being creative in the kitchen or bargain hunting. I could do with writing out a bit of a freezer inventory so I know what we have in as they’re both filled up right now to the point where I have no idea what’s in there.
No Spend Days this month – 15 which means that on 15 days this month we don’t spend anything at all on anything. Easy? You might think so but not with two kids in the house!
Debt – This month I’m going to pay at least £250 more than I usually pay.
Christmas – I’m already starting to buy presents here and there and I’m on red alert for deals on the things I know the kids want for Christmas. I always buy throughout the year but really start in September when the kids go back to school.
Saving – Rather than saving this month I want to get our holidays booked for next year and pay the deposits on them. This year the kids chose Butlins so we booked the Wave Hotel at Bognor Regis which was lovely but cost almost as much as going abroad. We’re going to do something totally different next year and have several trips planned and I’d like to book two of them this month if we can afford to pay the deposits.
Switching Energy Suppliers – I wrote about this earlier in the week as I’m planning to change energy suppliers to save some money each month.
Cancelling Mr Frugal’s mobile contract – I’ll share more on this soon but his contract is up for renewal in early October and we’re going to cancel it and find a better pay monthly deal that doesn’t involve a long contract tie in and big monthly costs.
September’s Personal Goals
I’m really looking forward to September as I have so many plans and ideas that have been on the backburner since the start of July and I can’t wait to get going with them all. Some are bigger than others so I know that I won’t get everything done at once but I just want to make a start and even just spending some time to get everything I want to do down in writing will be a huge help.
De-cluttering – I have a plan to do a 20 a day challenge which means that I’m challenging myself to get rid of twenty items a day.
Home – I really have had some great ideas for our house and each idea in isolation is easy to do and not all that expensive. It’s just when I add them together that it starts to mount up so I’m going to get it all down and get quotes/prices for everything I want to do and then prioritise everything I want to do.
Family time – While the nights are still pleasant I want to be getting out somewhere with the kids as a family as we’ve had some lovely walks together over the Summer and I want that to carry on.
Family food – Meal planning is most definitely back on the agenda and I want to try and cook one new meal a week.
Weight loss – I’d like to lose 7lb this month because if I can lose 7lb a month each month before Christmas then I’ll be two stone down.
Photography – I’m always happier when I have my camera in my hand and my new camera has only reinforced that feeling. I want to keep at it and have even seen a photography course designed for the Olympus Pen so that’s something I’d like to try and do this month. It’s not cheap at £60 but the enjoyment I’ll get from it will be huge I think so I’m seriously considering it.
September’s Blog Goals
I have a lot of plans and so many ideas in my head that I really need to spend time writing them down and actually making some sort of sense out of the random ideas. That’s my only blogging goal for this month and I’ll be over the moon if I can achieve it.
Do you set yourself monthly goals?
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