Ultimate Challenge. 457 days / £16600!!!

Siouxsie32

Afternoon ladies, how's everyone doing today? Seems like you're all out earning extra pennies :T:T:T I can't seem to get motivated today - still sitting in my PJs, although I did spend the morning under a blanket on the sofa doing surveys if that counts as a MSE activity??? Going to spend the afternoon sorting out clutter for ebay and catching up with my mates (hee hee, sent a text saying I'm around so that they'll call me back and not use my minutes up!!)

Today's turning into a NSD, although I need ink for my printer - not urgent, but thanks to this site I need to print money off Ikea vouchers. Maybe I'll get the ink in the morning and hit Ikea tomorrow afternoon - it's all part of operation declutter. A £30 spend (£25 if I can print the voucher) will free up so much space (and probably unearth a few bits and bobs that can be sold on ebay so almost cost neutral!)...oh, and it'll almost take me over the 250 mile motormate target

I was thinking of you yesterday Kat when I was driving through London. I saw a woman on a moped that had made a canopy for her legs with a blanket to keep them dry. I decided to turn up the stereo in my warm car and be grateful it wasn't me. About 6 hours later when I was driving home in rush hour, I watched all the bikes zip through the traffic that I was stuck in and kinda wished I was on a bike instead

Talking of cars, I have an old one that I've been trying to sell for the last 6 months and all I've attracted are scammers and people wanting a free test drive! It's worth £2200 according to various sources but, ultimately, it's only worth what someone will pay for it I was hoping to get £1500, which would wipe a lovely amount off my debt. I have found a local garage that will take it for "between £800 and £900". The guy's not seen the car yet so I'll assume £800. The tax is up at the end of this month and the insurance runs out in early November so I really have to get rid of it before then. Gutting, but I suppose £800 cash in my hand is not to be sniffed at. It'll plug my November wage shortfall plus pay a chunk off the first debt that has to die so all good?

Must get some enthusiasm together! Ok, so today's plan has just written itself:

• Sort and list at least 10 items for ebay
• Buy ink (using ASDA vouchers i already have!)
• Drive old car to ASDA and call at all garages on the way to see if I can improve on £800 offer
• Cook a big pot of Quorn Chilli for dinner (and freeze remainder for later)

Actually, I have another dilemma - My niece turning 18 next week and need gift ideas. I took her older sister away for the weekend when she turned 18 so it can't be too MSE. The ideas I came up with are:

• 3 x £20 vouchers for her favourite restaurant (not really a gift for her as she'll need to use them for her and someone else)
• Sat Nav (she's got a car but doesn't drive very far so probably not necessary)
• Cash - always goes down well but how much and it's not very memorable
• A leather bracelet (I have a voucher for the jewellers but I'm not sure she'll like it - she doesn't wear jewellery)
• An iPod Nano - she'd LOVE it but I'm a bit (very) broke and it'll actually cost me the whole £129 - no discount, no voucher!

Or any other suggestions you can come up with fellow MSE'rs. Ideas on a postcard (sorry Kat, clogging up your diary! But there's loads of savvy people on here so I'm throwing it out there....I'm currently leaning towards either the bracelet :money: or the iPod un-:money: I've asked her mother to see if she thinks she'll like the bracelet. I'm all for teaching youngsters money lessons, but she means the world to me and she'll only turn 18 once so I don't want to be too scrimpy. Maybe a trip to the local garages will improve on my £800 offer and I'll be able to afford the iPod.

Hmm, it would appear I've taken overyour diary Kat! Signing off now PJs at 3pm when there's MSEing to be done is no good. Off to get showered and dressed and get busy!

Shall report back later......

killerpeaty

Hey, I love this thread, it's so upbeat and lovely! You're so inspiring.

Siouxsie32 wrote: »

Or any other suggestions you can come up with fellow MSE'rs.

If she's into theatre/musicals, I'm fairly sure you can get pretty good deals on those.
If she's going to uni then a survival kit would probably be appreciated.
If you want to go unique, for my 21st I was given a pocket watch and a top hat from the 1930s. That was awesome. Look in ye-old-e shops

Happytogetdebtfree

Hi, i cant think of any good ideas, what about a percentage towards the ipod so an apple voucher ? or buy a pandora charm and then give a percentage for buying the bracelet OR better still ring up and ask her some ideas ? cash is always great when your 18 because you want to go out and get razzled ORRR beauty vouchers for a nice bit of makeup doing or nails and stuff for before her first legal night out ? tbh the more you give doesnt = the amount you love her, dont cause money worries if you dont need to:) xx

NinjaSavingKat

Well a very good evening to you all!!!

Its has been a very full day for me. I am now a fully fledge "Emergency Responder" ( how American! ). I feel confident in approaching a situation though where someone may be unconscious so a good day all round.. shame it took so long!!

Welcome Carrie ( I love Pepsi Max by the way )... and well done on the overtime. I am up at 0500 for my overtime shift tomorrow. Always seems a great idea when you book it until you realise getting up on a Sunday or Saturday morning kinda makes you a muppet.. but the money is ALWAYS tempting! So well done Carrie...:T:T:T ...Glad you enjoy reading about Mumsy's antics.. she is so cute and has been unashamedly penny pinching since I was a kid!

And a big WELCOME also to KILLER. Your post makes me think you are a boy ( apologies if you aren't ) and your name. SO...are you a boy? My first viewing boy? ..although I think BrokeMedic "might" be a boy. Something about the way they write is different.. like a distinct lack of the :T:T:T and the :D:D. Ha!

Siouxie get you. I think staying in jim-jams is allowed on a Saturday especially going by how hard we MSEer's have been working / thinking / planning / scheming etc..and yes any surveys count as productive!!! I think you should hold out for a better price on that car though. Would it kill the MSE plan to wait another month?... especially as some jammy-beggar thinks he can get away with only giving you £800. Make your mind up at £1200 MINIMUM and don't budge! Seriously!..

I am super impressed with your ink cartridges..do you ever get them refilled though? I need to get another printer to get all my coupons printed and in my wee pockets before hitting any stores!

I honestly think money or a nano. I got a nano from my ex.. it was stolen by my flatmate's boyfriend so I believe so I bought the next one. It mysteriously disappeared again. I bought the third one from eBay.. it was purr-fect.. Get one of those for her! It cost me £75...

..and those scooters riders are a joke ( kidding )... might as well get a sleeping bag and sit on a train!...:rotfl:

Well my eBaying was not a success. I sold the bag for £15.99. Not great but every little helps... everything else ( all 19 items ) were re-listed. How slightly depressing! I am not worrying too much as tomorrow is another day - and it WILL be an NSD ( well done Siouxie on yours ).. Sitting at work tomorrow will give me the time and the tea to work through the ISBN on my random books as well..

:jMilly Milly Milly No Debt Milly..... NOT FAIR! Although we bestow upon you great wondrous admiration and jealousy...:j

Thank you for your sentiments about working to hard.. I do tend to. I feel weird without something to stress over. This has affected my hair and skin would you believe.. I was also banned from overtime (oooopsie) for so long time to get on the band wagon. If I wasn't banned I would have worked every weekend going - it was needed..

SO its an early early start again but I am gonna sit and make a list at work... make a serious quorn chilli like Siouxie ( how weird ) and hopefully add those "extra" 6 items on eBay tomorrow..

Keep it going ladies.. Onwards and Upwards...

NinjaSavingKat

Whats this.....? I am up before all of you! ..Shocking...:o

Well now WELCOME TO SUNDAY! Over on the DFW thread posts there is one advocating a person should sign on the dotted line for a limited spend this week.... starting today and ending on Friday..

I have signed to an £80 spend ONLY! This was due for the friends 30th Birthday party and set aside at the beginning of the month anyway with me hopefully thinkig there would be a lot left over. This now has to be stretched to accomodate 3 events... ( a leaving do for a colleague and a breakfast for said colleague as well )...

I NEVER buy breakfast out and about. I made the mistake once of "re-creating" mine according to what was on their menu, forgot to tell them the two items I had substituted ( bubbe and squeak and stinking grubby slimy slug like mushrooms ) and was duly charged £9 as they told me I made the whole thing up!.... :eek::eek::eek: They have left a bitter taste in my mouth ever since... I will have cereal before I leave and then only order an egg on toast with a tea...

The actual leaving do is on Thursday and I have spied the menu already.. £10 for burger and chips at a gourmet pub. That'll do nicely. I can easily nurse 1 drink a LONG time... I don't drink either which helps.

The Birthday Party on Friday is going to be a £21.25 spend on food ( yes I have already checked ) and I believe £15 on petrol..

I have precisly £115.31 set aside for petrol ( Until payday ) and these few events..( I put £200 aside each month for petrol and what remains is included with the £78.13 spending for outings )..

Will I do it???

YES I WILL!!!

There are no if's, buts or maybe's.. when I plan this tightly around what I can and cannot do I feel safe. I don't like guessing as this is where pennies can disappear... we were "sprung" with a £22 bill for the first aid course last night so will squeeze that into the equation as well! GRR!

I am withdrawing this money tonight and will hold it in my dirty mitts until close of play on Friday....

So I truly hope you all have a productive, glorious and happy Sunday. I have my book list in front of me so will get cracking with the ISBN's.. I promise.. I will I will I will...

Siouxsie32

Morning Kat, of course you will do it....and inspire us to do it along the way! It's funny how £80 sounds like a lot but it's really really not! I quite like having a budget planned to the penny as the lack of wriggle room makes me more focused. I love how being veggie non drinkers makes us cheap Don't you hate it when people try and split the bill? It drives me mad and I hate having to point out that my plate of vegetables and glass of water isn't quite the same as your steak and wine! I used to say nothing and resent having to go out but now I couldn't care less what people think. I hasten to add, this is work type of meals out, my friends are great! They either join me on the cheapo veggie menu or make up a ball park figure for what my meal cost, always erring on the low side, and suggest I only pay that. I always make it up to them in other ways (like the pleasure of my company or taking food I've cooked round to their house for a cozy night in).

Good luck with your weird book list I once had a book about orgasms - don't know what phase I was going through when I bought that :rotfl: When I moved, my ex flatmate asked if she could keep it :rotfl::rotfl: Happily!

I've written a list of 20 things that are going on ebay tonight - just got to get the descriptions written and photos taken. I've got 8 items ending tonight, all with bids so [STRIKE]hopefully[/STRIKE] in a few days when I get the money, it'll contribute to the slow demise of Debt Number 1!!

My car saga is over - after driving round five 'We Buy Cars For Cash' type garages, and getting offers around the £400 mark, I decided to bite the bullet and take it to the place that offered £800. He truly wouldn't budge on £800 - wouldn't even pay my taxi fare home - a decision that would come back to bite me in the bum! He said instead, that he'd come to collect it this morning. Great! I came home and pondered what you said and decided that the car's been advertised since March and nobody wants it. If I spent another £50 advertising it again and didn't get a buyer withing the next 10 days, I'd have to tax it (£120) and insure it (lots) so, even if I got the brand new Kat special price of £1200, it may well cost me £400 in the process so me and Dodgy Dale shook hands and agreed on £800 cash. Of course it would be too easy if the story ended there. There has been an intermittent warning light on the dash board for the last 5 years. I've been told that the problem would cost £200 to fix but it's not urgent, nor is it safety related, so I never did anything about it. The warning light occasionally comes on when it rains but if you switch the ignition off and on again, it goes off. There was a downpour last night and when Dodgy Dale came to pick up the car this morning there was a huge STOP light staring him in the face :eek: Sods law! He had to take £150 off the price as it has to be fixed before he can sell the car (actually, I'm surprised he didn't take off more) so I was faced with £650 cash or entering the loop of advertising the car again and attracting scammers...blah blah blah - Moral of the story? Learn how to quit when you're ahead and pay your own damned taxi fare home!

Thanks everyone for your birthdy present advice. All good suggestions :T:T I discovered a scheme at work where I can buy Apple vouchers and get a 8% discount Plus, Quidco offer a further 3% Cashback so the iPod's a teeny bit cheaper than I initially thought. Plus Apple engrave it free which I think will make it a lovely gift. Her M+D are getting her a spa day and she'll get money from elsewhere. I just wanted to get her something special and now, courtesy of the sold car, I don't have to worry about my salary shortfall so I'm not as broke as I was this time yesterday! I know how much she'll love the iPod which is why I really want to get it for her. It can be her Christmas gift too (I did tell her and her sisters that I'm scaling back Christmas this year )

Happy overtime to those who are at work today. If it's any consolation, it's pretty yucky outside so you're not missing much! Happy listing for all you ebayers - hope lots of bids come your way!

NinjaSavingKat

OOOh Siouxie what a day weekend you have had!

Yes I shoulda realised just how much the insurance and that would cost you so I can definatly see your point there. Well done for getting on with it and getting rid!!

And yes you are right - sometime the little things in hindsight annoy you the most. HOWEVER you now have 1 less thing to worry about- you are £650 better off and it sounds like you will have a very happy neice anyway. My ipod is so precious to me - I can't live without it. Its my taste in music thats horrific - but I never realised they engrave it for free! Thats very cool - you must put on it...."Never Spend More Than You Have"...:rotfl:.. that'll make her think.. ( kidding )...

Seems like my books are worth no more than 30p here and there... jokers the lot of them! One I am going to keep and send on to my mother but the others need to go as I want the floor space ( currently renting a room with 10 years worth of junk )...

I know what you mean about food and going out. I sometimes grab the waiter on the sly and say I am paying seperatly so when the bill comes I have already paid and there is not a lot people can say. The ones that have a problem usually get put right in their place with no fuss. Someone usually pipes up that I am a veggie and non-alcho drinker. But yes I resent paying for alcohol in any form so never let people buy me a drink as I refuse to waste my money on an alcoholic drink in return sound horrific but its one thing I really won't budge on... work mates are very good with it to I must admit.

...But seeing as this one is a 30th Birthday I need to be careful.. I just still do not wish to contribute...thats sounds awful doesn't it... but I am spending £20 on petrol to get there ( which I had to do for my own birthday as my friends didn't come to me in London ).. £60 on a present... I think thats enough to say I care yes??

I have just been looking at ( not purchasing ) items for my filofax.. now I usually pick these up at the airport at Christmas but am just surveying whats available. Its the one thing I use a lot and write in, and scheme, and plan and scheme some more since I make life so difficult for myself and am a bit scatty...

Might use some Amazon vouchers... I'm off to Swagbucks...

Siouxsie32

Not wishing to contribute doesn't sound awful at all. It's a bit like weddings - you get pressured into buying a gift, buying an outfit, getting yourself there, all the waxing/hair colouring/beauty stuff that goes with it. When actually you could be sitting at home spending nothing and still care just as much. I don't equate money with caring, and thankfully nor do my friends. Every Christmas I get nothing from my family - my sister has loads of kids and is broke and my M+D think I don't need anything. I know they still care (and I get to have a laugh when I get nothing and my bro in law gets an all expenses holiday from my parents!). My friends and I don't generally exchange birthday or Christmas presents, thankfully.

Must follow your lead and join swagbucks - feel free to PM me a referral link if you have one! I feel another sofa day coming on (after I have photographed everything in sight and listed it on ebay of course!). I just had an email in response to a Gumtree advert I placed and someone's coming round this afternoon with a tenner for me I would be wiser to have a batch cooking day as my freezer is completely empty (apart from 2 Quorn Chilli potions left over from the other night), but that requires a supermarket trip...ooh, motormate miles! 30.2 to go

Yes, I lost my emotional attachment to the car a few months ago so now I have £650 cash in my hand it doesn't seem to bad. I already froze my AA membership (got a years RAC membership for my new car - unfortunately didn't cover me and all cars) and I'm about to call my insurers to make sure they don't renew!

Ebay list is up to 21 now - wonder what else I can find......

Happytogetdebtfree

hola ninja.. gosh lots of planning on here .... if you like your filofax organiser why not ask for voucher for staples or wh smiths ... It looks miserable outside foggy and misty its a nice day of staying home and relaxing.. i did all the house choures yesterday lol xx

NinjaSavingKat

Morning happy.. in line with what Siouxie says above I stopped getting and giving to the parents and brother when I was a kid.. we all look after each other here and there during the year and my mother is more impressed by our presense over Christmas as opposed to presents - ha ha get it.. ahem... however the whole all-expense-paid holiday thing is't fair.. what was the excuse?

So I might drop a word in that WH Smith vouchers are the way to go ( well done on that suggestion ) I honestly didn't think!!!

See how we all help each other ...:T:T:T

Soiuxie I will send a link later in the day. I have a gorgeous male friend popping over for tea but as much as I like the boy I really need to get on with stuff..

Amazing how important this MSE stuff gets and what your jolly well willing to cancel... ahem....

We're just FRIENDS ok!!!....:D

P.S ...my eBay is back up to 18..I'm putting a teddy bear on their later. And those stupid teacups... and a catwoman magazine.. so cool!...oh and a automatic cat feeder thats never been used.. and a little deep-fat dryer thats never been used... genius!