October Challenges
It’s October! Which means the nights are getting darker and it’s getting a hell of alot colder each morning on the ride into work. Last month I made a huge decision when I quit my job and so now have just 7 working days left at my current place. It’s going to be very sad to leave after 5 years, however I know the time was right and I’m excited about the new challenges and opportunities the new place will bring.
I should have considered September’s challenges a bit better in advance as we went on holiday at the start of the month. Lesson learnt for next time!
September’s Challenges
3 blog posts a week – FAILED
A quick look over the All Posts page shows 9 for the month of September. I really struggled with this as this is the first blog I’ve ever written and often find it difficult to come up with new ideas for content. Alot of my content comes from things I’ve witnessed or experienced at the time and sometimes I will see/read something which would make an awesome article.. only to then have forgotten the important details later on. I don’t want to write posts just for the sake of increasing the post count so it’s going to be quality over quantity.
Repair the bike at last – SUCCESS (kinda)
The clutch cable snapped on my motorbike last month which I DIY repaired at home. 1 bike fixed however 1 bike remains out of action. I’m waiting on a friend with a van to give me a lift into town with it so I can take it to a repair shop.
Weekly jogs – SUCCESS
This was a fairly easy challenge as I knew it would be difficult to ease back into a routine after a lazy summer. I prefer running in colder weather so should be able to continue this over the winter months.
October Challenges
– Avoid lifestyle inflation
My new job comes with a 10% pay rise, however I’m keen to avoid all lifestyle inflation. Some expenses like petrol and work clothing will increase slightly as they are requirements for the role.
– House DIY
There’s a number of DIY tasks I’ve been putting off ever since we moved into the house. Bathroom plumbing, bedroom curtain rails and gutter repairs should all be DIYable.
– Interact more with fellow bloggers
There are a few blogs which I follow pretty religiously and most of them I try to comment on articles which I’ve found particularly interesting or relevant. This month I want to increase that list and read through the archives of some of the new commentators that have arrived here recently. I believe that building a good online community and supporting each other with encouragement and practical advice is very important. If you’re a personal finance blogger and haven’t got in touch yet, please do! I’d love to take a read through your content.
What goals have you set for yourself this month/year? And how are you progressing on them? Please Contact Me or leave a comment below.
5 thoughts on “October Challenges”
Hello! Fellow blogger here :). I like that you have “avoid lifestyle inflation” as a stated goal. I think that’s a great thing to articulate and focus on. Best of luck to you in this exciting new transition!
Hello Mrs Frugalwoods,
I’ve actually been a stealth following of your blog for awhile now, although tend to read the article feeds instead of the site itself so havn’t commented. Will try to be more involved in future :)
Gutter repairs. You know it makes sense ;) I reset mine last month – I must have thrown it out of alignment when fitting a water butt a while back, and it’s remarkable mow much difference even a couple of cm makes in getting the fall right. You need enough to discharge the water but not so much as to spew out.
The curtain rails can be fun – the lintels were unbelievably hard when I fitted mine. I guess SDS would have been my friend there
Good luck with the new job!
Urgh, I know Ermine. Have been putting it off for awhile now but as the weather has taken a turn it really does need fixing. The problem is that I need to buy a ladder to get up there and we don’t have a car big enough to transport so will need to spend a day at home waiting for delivery.
We had the curtain rail up before but couldnt get the screw in deep enough so eventually it fell down with an almighty crash at 3am. Borrowed an SDS so should make short work of it this time.
3 blog posts per week is pretty challenging I find. When I force blog posts the quality just goes down it seems.
Avoid Lifestyle inflation should be pretty should be pretty easy for you to achieve. :)