I’m acutely aware that the start to my blogs is quite repetitive, apologies! Anyway, I hope that whoever takes the time to read this latest personal challenges update post is having a great week. I also hope that the weather where you are is better than the weather here in Four Oaks.

I’m also aware that approximately four weeks ago I said that November was going to be what I described as a ‘blogworthy’ month and that I was aiming to publish a few posts. Talk about expectation vs reality, my blogging mojo continued to be pretty much non-existent, and I experienced a couple of quite unpleasant migraines. After spending over eight hours a day on my work computer, I decided to give my eyes a break from staring at a screen in the evenings.

My blogging mojo has returned – I’ve handwritten a couple of posts and just need to get them typed up – so if everything goes to plan and my migraines stay away, I’m aiming to complete and publish some slightly overdue race(?) and product reviews and life updates.

If you read the three personal challenge posts I published at the beginning of the year, you’ll be aware that I set myself some money-saving challenges for 2021.

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If you haven’t read these posts, please check them out; Challenge 1 | Challenge 2 | Challenge 3

Challenge 1: Will I be able to get through the year without buying any new clothes and shoes?

Although I’ve failed this challenge a few times, I decided to continue to share monthly updates as I’ve always tried to be open and honest on this blog. I also had a theory that if I continued with the monthly updates, I’d be more likely to stay away from Long Tall Sally, Dorothy Perkins et al.

I’m pleased to report that I managed to avoid treating myself to any new clothes and shoes. I’m not counting the jumper I bought my sister for Christmas from Ginger & Jardine as a fail. I can’t share a link to the jumper here as it’s a Christmas present, but I think my sister will like what I’ve chosen.

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Whereas in previous years I would have found some of the ‘Black Friday’ offers and discounts impossible to resist, this year I deleted all of the seemingly never-ending emails and didn’t buy anything.

Challenge 2: Can this shopaholic get through the year without entering any races and without buying any more running clothes?

The combination of my ongoing knee niggles, parkrun, and the Autumn Miles for Mind mileage target I set myself meant that throughout November, the race and medal #FOMO both stayed away.

After getting outside most days and walking 75 miles during November, this month I’m aiming to walk 100 km between now and Christmas Day. Fingers crossed the weather is kind and I’m able to continue with my lunchtime walks and strolls around the Sutton Park parkrun route each Saturday.

[Photo: Vicki Hart]

I’ve always found the second element of this challenge more difficult than the first. After finally becoming a member of the parkrun 50 and the Volunteer 50 clubs, I could have treated myself to two parkrun milestone t-shirts. I didn’t treat myself because I’m the proud owner of the Nike parkrun 50 t-shirt my friend gave to me a long time ago. So, despite parkrun sending me several emails, no running clothes were purchased during November.

Challenge 3: Can I make £2021 in 2021 through a selection of side hustles and other sources of income such as cashback websites?

And finally, how much money did I manage to make through my various side hustles and other sources of income? Was November more successful than the previous three months? Did my selling mojo make a reappearance? As in previous months, I’ve listed each side-hustle and source of income individually.

 Selected side hustles

• Prolific Academic surveys – £0.00
• eBay sales – £0.00
• Facebook Marketplace sales – £103.08
• Sponsored blog posts – £0.00

 Other sources of income

• Overtime at work – £0.00
• Share dividends – £31.00
• Interest from bank accounts – £0.63
• TopCashback cashback – £10.29
• Vouchers from points and gift cards – £5.50
• Competition wins – £0.00
• Freebies – £0.00
• Roadkill finds – £0.67
• Random – £3.00

November total: £154.17

Rolling 2021 total: £3142.30

November wasn’t the most successful of months. Despite this, I’ve worked out that I’m still just about on track to meet the new, more challenging target I set myself a few months ago.

The aims I set myself for November were in theory reasonably straightforward and achievable. I started the month with the aim of selling at least 20 items on eBay and Facebook. Although I had to limit the amount of time I spent online in the evenings, I still managed to sell nine items on Facebook including a woolly hat, a couple of LED armbands and a couple of base layers that were too small for me. These sales added £103. 08 to my November total.

As for my other sources of income, after a couple of good months, my share dividends only added £31.00 to my November total. I was reminded just how lucky I am to be a shareholder, and how much I would have struggled to get anywhere near my £2021 target without my share dividends. I’m not looking forward to selling my shares next year. The interest from my bank accounts contributed £0.63 to my November total. I cashed out £10.29 from my TopCashback account and redeemed some of my Nectar and Boots points and saved £5.50. Although it felt like I spent a lot of time walking around Four Oaks, I only managed to rescue £0.67 worth of roadkill.

And what about the all-important ‘random’ category? I’m still carless, so I continued with my Ocado food deliveries and returned £3.00 worth of carrier bags. Writing this has just reminded me that I need to place another Ocado order as I’m rapidly running out of food.

Now that I’ve reviewed November, it’s time for me to look ahead to the final month of 2021.

After throwing what I’d describe as a mini strop last month and stating that I doubted that I’d continue to complete studies on Prolific Academic, I changed my mind when the issue I’d had with a researcher was resolved. It will be interesting to see how many studies I manage to complete this month. I have a feeling that Prolific Academic won’t be very ‘prolific’ due to the festive period so if I manage to complete £20 worth of studies, I’ll be happy.

Last month, my selling mojo made a welcome return, this month I’m aiming once again to sell at least 20 items on eBay and Facebook. I’ve got a few bits and pieces listed on eBay at the moment and need to list some more once I’ve taken some photos when it’s light, hopefully, a few items will sell. I’ve got a pile of running gear I’m never going to wear again as it’s shrunk in the wash to list in a couple of selling groups on Facebook.

And finally, I hope that you enjoyed reading this quick(ish) update as much as I enjoyed writing it 🙂

Did you have a good November? Are you looking forward to the forthcoming festive period?

Would you buy and wear second-hand running gear or trainers? People seem to have mixed opinions about this so I’d love to hear your views.

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