The End of the Beginning

18 days

January is over and wow it sure went quick!

How did I do, well my goals for January were as follows:

1. Pay 1st payment for 2011/12 tax year in full.
2. Save £300 in my regular saving account (RSA).
3. Save £500 in my ISA.
4. Keep to my expenses budget of £200 (ie. don't overspend on my phone or Internet usage)
5. No food purchases unless out with friends. (This for my wast line as much as for my finances)

Of the above I have completed the first four items but have missed out badly on the last however a surprise bonus of £50 meant that I was able to take a friend for lunch and also give towards a birthday gift. So that saved my spending budget from going way out of control.

Hope you had a good month to start the year!

January Budge Coffee and Weight

17 days
January is almost over and I have done very badly this month with regards to not spending and keeping away from coffee shops. I have four days left before the month ends and my spending budget is already just under £30 over budget. I need to spend more time in the gym so I can avoid the shops and work on the weight loss.With regards to the 10 Pound Challenge I am not having any great success so far with the weight loss and I have even gained 2 pounds since my start weight of 10st 7lb, so I am not happy about that. Still weird or what - this morning I tried on a skirt I brought awhile back that was a tad too small and it fitted me perfectly? I have increased my cardio workout at the gym and wonder if this is just a bit of a glitch because of that.

Still onward and downward (well weight wise) lets see how into goes as we start February....
How are you doing with the 10 Pound Challenge?

10 Pound Challenge

No spending Days: 7

After working out at the gym for a hour and then walking all over Barnes I stopped in at Boots (the chemist) on the way home for the start numbers I need for the 10 pound challenge. (Big roll of the drums here..) My current weight is 10st 7lb (67.1kg). So that is the starting point for me and I wish everyone else who have taken up the challenge all the very best.

I have been sort of following Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body diet which is like the Atkins diet but with beans. Now that the Christmas season is done and all the seasonal treats are no longer on display at the shops, I am hoping to be back on track with my eating in no time.

Doing the challenge? What diet are you using?

First Challenge for 2012

I have taken up my first Challenge for the year and will be working on my waist line for the next 12 weeks. Lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks - sounds like a plan.I dropped a jean size towards the end of last year and would like to get my weight into the middle range of my ideal body weight for my BMI, which is 7st 9lb (48.5kg) to 10st 4lb (65.6kg). The very idea of weighing only 7st 9lb is crazy - I'd probably be way too emaciated or dead and think 9st would be much healthier goal to aim for.
If you're in the UK you know that we are now the fattest country in the EU, so it is passed time to loss the pounds.
Go on sign up and lets get slimming - just think if your jogging past the shops then you will not have the time to stop and spend.

2012 Plans and Dreams

No spend days: 6

Everybody seems to be doing Carla's No-Spend challenge for January I thought about participating too but as I have a very set budget for January and my spending money for the month is £155.85 my current account balance left over from last year. So 100% of my income for January is all budgeted for and there is no room for saving anything extra.

January is Tax payment month for the year ending 2011-2012, so that is my biggest expense for the month. It's due by the 31st and I will transfer the payment on Friday 28th therefore gaining as much interest on the money as I can get.

I am continuing my saving plans from last year and so will be aiming to save £500 a month into my Freedom Fund and £300 into my Building Fund. My Freedom Fund is an ISA and I am planning to fully fund it by the end of the Tax Year in April. I may have to use my Emergency Fund to do this but feel it is all for a good cause. I can save up to £5,340 tax free for the tax year of 2011-12 and then this amount goes up to £5,640 for 2012-13.

I am planning several trips overseas this year and have already paid for the first trip which is to Venice in March. I have promised to attend a cousin wedding in New Zealand in August and would really like to visit both Kenya and Uganda maybe in December?. And then I have been looking at city breaks to Moscow too. Oh there is so much world to visit isn't there!

Do you have any major trips planned for 2012? Where are you off to??