58 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 7 Miles in December 200 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £190 at work (£10 of which in December) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

Lots of thoughts, just how to put them in order. a target of 200 miles has been surpassed that is a good thing to have to write about. I have also surpassed £1,000 pound actually saved, which is a good psychological target to have broken through.

This is the first post about activity in December, the month has the potential of setting me up really well for 2019. Because of how my fixed shift falls, I don't actually get any days off for Christmas, it means I will get 18 days in at work so be saving £90, I have 31 days of the supercharged saving which means £93 saved ( >>> link to super charged saving plan <<< ) and already I have been able to put away £140 from items sold.

Selling my old phone has been a bit of a roller coaster, initially thinking I could get £240 then being shown a fault I hadn't noticed, for that offer to slump to £24 then yesterday getting £100 for it as part of the remaining dvds being sold. So as I hadn't sold anything last month it kept me well on target. with the £100 i put into the share scheme it means I have smashed through the £1,000 saved barrier (currently £1,193.02) with the not spending money and supercharged saving this makes the end of month figure being over £1,370. A very respectable achievement and a good base to go onto in 2019.

The walking is doing well, and I admit could do better but 200 miles is not to be sniffed at. My goal for 2019 is to not just be walking to work, but having some good long walks in between especially as I have two sets of holidays coming up for January and March. This is where keeping up the pace might be an issue, short time at work and a short month in February so the first three months of 2019 maybe steady and not abundant.

That is why all signs are good to look at, and I know people would laugh at the fact of me talking about 21p interest on my money last month, but seeing that figure go up and keeping an eye on it the same as everything else. Is like ensuring the watering of a plant and making sure all the buds are fine. As that figure increases it means only a very small part to the total, but the higher that interest paid is, the larger amount I have saved.

My optimism is high, I think without this I certainly wouldn't have barely anything saved, I would certainly have eaten more at work, wasted that money and be probably down with myself. At the moment I can see a bright prospect, enjoy the thoughts of having covered 200 miles and see an achievable goal into the distance.

YAY!!!

Supercharged 1p challenge update

It's the time of the month when I start putting the money to one side from what I have saved that month, For November as you can see from the chart below it is £60, equates to £2 a day which brings the total to £110 saved and makes me £77.60 ahead of the challenge of I had just done 1p on day 1, 2p on day 2, 3p on day 3 and so on.

Follow the red link at the bottom to see how that has contributed to the grand total.

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end of month	days in total	money saved per day	Total saved	comparative 1p challenge	How much ahead of the standard challenge
up to the end of Oct	50	£!	£50	£12.75	+£37.25
Nov	80	£2	£110	£32.40	+£77.60
Dec	101	£3	£203	£51.51	+£151.49
Jan 2019	132	£4	£327	£87.78	+£239.22
Feb	160	£5	£467	£128.80	+£338.20
Mar	191	£6	£653	£183.36	+£469.64
Apr	221	£7	£863	£245.31	+£617.69
May	252	£8	£1,111	£318.78	+£792.22
June	282	£9	£1,381	£399.03	+£981.97
July	313	£10	£1,691	£491.44	+£1,199.56
August	344	£10	£2,001	£593.40	+£1,407.60

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Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

44 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 16 Mile in November 157 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £132 at work (£18 of which in November) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

I was asked the question yesterday "Am I serious about blogging?" context of the question, it was asked I think by someone trying to sell me something who seemed desperate to DM on Twitter. After a brief interchange, of saying that was a strange question, getting a reply back about how do I get revenue from my blog and please DM. I then just blocked them.

But, it did get me to thinking, just how serious about blogging am I? Not really is the reply, this is an online diary for me, just a way of hopefully improving my abilities of putting thoughts down in typed form as quick as I can think them, and hopefully make them comprehend able. The more I practise the better it will get hopefully. It also helps me log the project, and helps reinforce my efforts. But seriously, why take it seriously? Life is far too serious this could well be 6 years of me talking, well typing to myself. If I achieve my goal unnoticed, so be it, as long as I achieve my goal. Now that is something which I am serious about. 

Yesterday, was another test of resolve, I hadn't taken any food to work, I then get to lunch time, and was trying to justify how I could buy something from the canteen. Yet again the thoughts of breaking the run won out over the giving in and how I would feel if I was to do so. I did walk from my building to the one the canteen is in, then went and got a coffee, sat downstairs checked a few games on my phone and walked back. I didn't starve. though I was hungry at the end of the day. But the run is in tact. 44 days and counting. Go me!

42 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 10 Mile in November 151 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £126 at work (£12 of which in November) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

Mondays are long days, 12 hour shift up at 5am to prepare for work and then the walk to work.
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Less than 3 miles each way that is not much of an effort

— neil mclaughlin (@neilmclaughlin2) November 4, 2018

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So it is funny when you put up your stats and someone says that a 3 miles walk isn't much of an effort. What constitutes an effort? I have a neighbour who gets in her car drives around to our local supermarket, the route is longer than the cut through you can walk along, and then she comes back, not normally with a weeks worth of shopping but normally one or two bags at most.

So to me any effort is good effort, I would / could walk to work and back but on long days it would mean leaving the house at 6.30am (I get up 5am just to give myself a slow lead into the day) then back at 9.30pm. So our lass picks me up. Now if our lass couldn't pick me up, it would have to walk back home, but this project is not about torturing myself it is about making little changes to improve myself.

I know I need to diet, but by cutting out the sweets and biscuits at work, I know I haven't added to what I eat at home. That is my next step, but everything is done step by step.

So now I have completed 42 days and I feel good. Not cost me anything, not damaged or harmed others, but it does give you that warm, and at times smug feeling inside. (we are indeed human). We all have our faults and mine is smugness in certain situations.

Anyway, who will be the first to dare to leave a comment? Will it be you?

Supercharged 1p challenge update

So far so good with my supercharged 1p challenge, for those who don't know how a 1p challenge work it is quite, simple each day you save 1p more than the day before, so day 1, you put away 1p, day 2 you put away 2p day 3 you put away 3p and so on in a year at day 365 you would be putting away £3.65. This works out to over £667.

So I worked out as I had nearly 6 years until retirement, what would happen if I carried that on for the 2,165 days and it would be over £23,400. An amazing figure with such a simple concept. Noe to me, getting a penny, then two pence, and so on seemed a bit of a chew, also I wanted to see results quickly as we all do. So for the first 50 days I have put a £1 a day away, totalling £50 now. With the intention of working out a way of upping the amount per day at certain times.

Below is a table I have worked, out and if I can keep to it, it shows the results of my actions, now come next year I am more than likely to keep it at £10 a day as that is £300 pound a month on average plus other savings I am making such as not spending money at work. It is great to see your goal, but it is no good setting one which is unachievable.

Would love your thoughts folks.

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end of month	days in total	money saved per day	Total saved	comparative 1p challenge	How much ahead of the standard challenge
up to the end of Oct	50	£!	£50	£12.75	+£37.25
Nov	80	£2	£110	£32.40	+£77.60
Dec	101	£3	£203	£51.51	+£151.49
Jan 2019	132	£4	£327	£87.78	+£239.22
Feb	160	£5	£467	£128.80	+£338.20
Mar	191	£6	£653	£183.36	+£469.64
Apr	221	£7	£863	£245.31	+£617.69
May	252	£8	£1,111	£318.78	+£792.22
June	282	£9	£1,381	£399.03	+£981.97
July	313	£10	£1,691	£491.44	+£1,199.56
August	344	£10	£2,001	£593.40	+£1,407.60

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Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

37 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 45 Miles in October 138 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £111 at work (£48 of which in October) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

So yesterday brought the first fall of snow to the North East, well I say snow it was more like sleet, but an hour walk through it to work and then 12 hours at work sat in the damp clothes wouldn't have been much fun. So if you are taking note the mileage in the stats has stayed the same whilst the money saved has gone up by £3.

Luckily I have a loving wife who doesn't mind giving me a lift of a moving, and that's not just by saying "You look great darling, now walk to work" I do honestly feel bad and always do try to walk to work rather than get our lass up, though I am sure my wife would say I do wilt quite easily some days. So as I say mileage the same money up to a nelson 111.

Each day is becoming more of an achievement, more of a shout to the world "JUST LOOK WHAT YOU CAN DO". Already thinking ahead at the 100 day mark it will be £300 saved, now folks may find it difficult to put aside any sum of money these days, but what about that luxury coffee or bag of crisps or bag of sweets, don't buy it and put the money onto one side, and after time like grains falling through an hour glass, you can have a reasonable pile after a time.

anyway enough my thoughts would love to read yours.

34 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 39 Miles in October 132 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £102 at work (£39 of which in October) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

Yesterday, happened to be the closest yet I have found myself to nearly breaking the run of not spending money at work. I was at the point of justification. Maybe you have had that same thought yourself. I will buy this or that, which in your mind know you don't need, but then justify it by saying you had the money spare anyway, or it will just fit nicely in that corner only for it to be used once and then forgotten. 

Yesterday I had that same experience, it was the last break of the day, morale at a low ebb, due to self inflicted thoughts and I was getting a coffee from the vending machine and looking over at the sweets machine, thinking if I spend a pound then I could say today I have put £2 away instead of £3. It is nearly the end of the shift I were thinking and it is not like spending £3. Justification after justification, excuse after excuse. I did however manage to simply take my free coffee and go back to work. Not then helped by someone eating at the desk next to me. I almost thought of committing a highway well deskway robbery of their food. But thought the HR meeting wouldn't be worth it. So carried on with my shift and felt an enormous sense of well being, that I managed to get to the end of the shift without wilting. Actually I was just glad to get out the building and on my way home. This morning I felt the "YAY" you didn't give in.

My reward was an email from someone moaning about something I had sold them on ebay, but that is a thought for tomorrow.

31 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 26 Miles in October 119 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £93 at work (£30 of which in October) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

One thing which does get me down is spending your thinking time in the future and not enjoying the present. With this project I am always mindful of the goal I am heading towards, which is gathering the £50,000 I try to help me stay focused by monitoring how much I have already gathered and how well the projection is doing, or what I might need to do to improve it. But it always means I am steering more away from the here and now and starting to wander of in my mind to the future, what will it be like when? Always thinking of the end of the month, next month when I increase the saving on my 1p challenge, a year from now when I have been saving that long, 5 years when the shares mature. always into the future. 

I put a lot of it down to the fact that maybe I don't enjoy today, and this wanting to gather the money is to keep away from the moment which I don't enjoy. When ever I feel weak and think lets have that gamble, lets buy that choccy bar. I think of how I feel and why I am going for the goal. 

Now if it brings happiness is another matter, and a fear of when in 6 years I hit the goal, will I be looking to the future or will I enjoy that here and now of reaching my destination?

30 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work

Stats. 

So far I have walked 23 Miles in October 116 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £90 at work (£27 of which in October) on sweets and snacks, I don't really need.

Click this link to see how all the endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal. 

Thoughts

Today I have gone back to my old blog post heading for these posts, I previously thought it a bit of mouthful, my other option was simply saying day 28, 29 and so on which sounded a bit like (and create your own Geordie accent) It's day 29 in the Big Brother house. The final nail in the coffin was today I am not actually at work, I have got restricted use of my voice, which can be a big of blow when you work taking and responding to calls.

The millage has been added because I will this afternoon go and walk to meet our lass when she finishes work. I don't like putting down for items not already done, but I really need to meet our lass when she leaves work as she needs the support today. Her first day back after a lot of stress from work.

As for the money, well I haven't been at work so haven't spent the money so will put another £3 in the pot.

Completed another yougov survey and so another 60p in the pot, as with lots of sayings, such as Q. How do you eat an Elephant? A. One mouthful at a time. or which would probably be more politically correct, How do you complete a 1,000 mile journey A. One step at a time. It may seem daft that I comment on 60p but they all add up and over 6 years it is £1,000 Which is something folks would not be so sniffy at. So today there will be a few more posts around things I have done, such as a book I have read, and the Yougov surveys why don't you try it as well?

If you have any thoughts on ways to make money, then feel free to comment.

DAY 29

Stats. 

So far I have walked 20 Miles in October 113 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £87 at work (£24 of which in October) on sweets and snacks I don't really need.

Thoughts

Annoyingly the mileage has stayed the same, due to storm Callum, well due to me not wanting to walk 3 miles in the rain and already having a cold and sore throat. About an hour and a half into my shift, my voice wasn't getting any better, I had a sudden bout of sickness, a quick glance to the team leader, a text to our lass and I am home again.

It is so annoying to have thoughts but not be able to just burst out with them, maybe I should learn from these days of making every word count, as they are so difficult to utter. I will more than likely not be at work on Monday, so again no more mileage but will add the £3 regardless, need to keep that going. When pay day comes around I will be add all this to the total. I think that will cheer my spirits when I see everything building up again.

Another day another survey and yes it may only be 50p but every penny counts that is over a grand by the time I am 50.

Click this link to see how all these endeavours are helping to build towards the final goal.

Want your opinions to be heard? Then why not join YOUGOV polling surveys https://t.co/uUhF7D0qM0

— retireatfifty (@retireatfifty) October 10, 2018

Day 28

Stats. 

So far I have walked 20 Miles in October 113 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £84 at work (£21 of which in October) on sweets and snacks I don't really need.

Thoughts

Yesterday I was full of cold, and the weather was miserable, the situation today hasn't changed much, voice just about there, kind of need it as my job is talking on the phone and storm Callum or the remnants of, is causing the rain outside. So our lass loves us, so will get another lift to work, it means the mileage hasn't changed but the money not spent will as you see have gone up, I am closing in on a £100.

In other news, I have revised the opinion poll income stream upwards from £50 a year to £150 a year. Based on the fact it seems you get 50p a survey every day, so if this continues over a year that is over £180 as it won't be all the time I have factored I should get £50 every 4 months. This is from just doing one, if the Yougov one slows up then I have at least 5 others I can join as well. As I have work, and I want this to stay fun and not monotonous I am just doing Yougov for the moment.

follow the link below 

Click this link to see how close to the target I am

27 Days of walking to work and not spending money at work.

Stats. 

So far I have walked 20 Miles in October 113 miles in total since starting this blog

I have stopped myself from spending £81 at work (£18 of which in October) on sweets and snacks I don't really need.

Thoughts

I really need to change the title of these blogposts where I keeping the diary entry of what I do, 1, It seems a but long winded and hardly a snappy to the point title. 2, Today I won't be walking to work, I could press on and get drenched and make my cold worse, But why do that?

So I need a I am going to walk as much as I can to work, and other times and keep a tally of it. whilst also monitoring what I am not spending at work.

Any suggestions in the comments section please, whilst I have a think between now and the next blog post.

New ways of adding an income to my target

Whilst doing this blog, I won't just sit on my hands and just keep on with the same old, same old.

I will look at other ways of adding an income or way of adding money to my target.

Click this link to see how close to the target I am

This latest one is by completing polling information. my first one got me a £1 when you get to £50 you can withdraw the money.

You get money for introducing folks, so feel free to click on the link below, and you get money for filling out daily and weekly questionaires. Will report back on how quick or slow this will be, currently set a target of £50 a year £300 over the 6 years, will review in the future as I add other polling groups to it, but keeping it real, as the first polls can be there to entice you and then it might slow up.

But every little helps on the way to £50,000

Want your opinions to be heard? Then why not join YOUGOV polling surveys https://t.co/uUhF7D0qM0

— retireatfifty (@retireatfifty) October 10, 2018