Thrify Gifty Santas Challenge 2013,

mum2one

Cher-Ching wrote: »

*Ahem*, men too (Well at least I'm one man, any more to make it plural?!)

Yes believe it or not us blokes like to save too!

But seriously good point about the treating gifts at full price. Just because we know it's 75% off others don't - or even if they do (in my case) they will say 'good on you' There is absolutely no need to rush out and buy something else just to bring it up to a certain amount, that's not very money saving is it?!

Got 13 gifts in Boots sale (£42 in total down from £168) and £22 of that was paid for by points :T so 2013 stock is well and truly underway and assigned as well. Mostly because I'd hate to give the same gift to someone for their birthday AND Xmas lol

The extended family has agreed to do homemade gifts this year - aunts, uncles, cousins etc so will have to get my thinking cap on as to what to make. As a bloke i'm nowhere as crafty as you ladies with your needles and thread and wool! But I'm sure there is something out there for me to do.

Don't forget, if you are planning on making purchases on the high street, consider buying gift vouchers from Argos before Feb 14 as they have an offer on at the moment for 2x £10 gift vouchers for £15 or 2x £20 for £30 (I got sister Next vouchers) for her birthday. This way it's an easy way to get 25% off if you are buying them something or if they want the gift cards you get more for your money. I wouldn't recommend saving them for Xmas to be on the safe side - look at HMV - but if you are going to spend/give them in the near future then it may be worth it

Massive apologies - you can never go by "names", sounds like you got some good bargains there.

We're soon get you crafting away - the only crarf thing I can really do successfully is a 1970s letter rack from Blue Peter days!!

Although I can highly recommend flavoured vodkas and the jam and marmalade in tins where you just add water and sugar to. They both go down well. My 1st batch was orange marmalade with brandy.

Thanks for the tip on Argos vouchers, - have to have a look, def get a couple £10 ones for cinema if they do our chain! .

Cher-Ching

Massive apologies - you can never go by "names", sounds like you got some good bargains there.

We're soon get you crafting away - the only crarf thing I can really do successfully is a 1970s letter rack from Blue Peter days!!

Although I can highly recommend flavoured vodkas and the jam and marmalade in tins where you just add water and sugar to. They both go down well. My 1st batch was orange marmalade with brandy.

Thanks for the tip on Argos vouchers, - have to have a look, def get a couple £10 ones for cinema if they do our chain! .

Don't be silly no need to apologise, you're rights names are never easy to work out! To be honest I don't care if people think i'm male, female, or alien as long as I save money that's all I care about ha ha

mrs-moneypenny

afternoon all
thank you for the challenge for this month will decide what im doing later for each part. but thank you miss hoodie for the freezer one, im on the apres christmas run down so i might leave it another week but it definately needs defrosting before i do a freezer shop.
thanks also for the heads up on gift vouchers at argos, will look at getting some of those.

been in school all morning, helping my class make a start on bookmarks for mothers day, glad i asked to start early i can only go in once a week and finished 4 today so still got quite a few to do but the kids enjoyed it and it was nice to see the boys doing so well at it.

Peppapig

Mum2One - High five for Miss Hoodie - you must be so proud of her :T (was going to say three cheers but thought high five was a bit more modern lol). I absolutely hate bullying in any form and brought my girls up to be the same. Fortunately they were never bullied at school but I really feel for you because I did used to wonder how I'd deal with it if it ever happened. Glad that things seem to be ok at the moment but agree with the other advice, make as much fuss as it takes for something to be done and shame on the other parents who don't do the same.

Cher ching - sounds good but I can't find the voucher thing on the Argos website - can you point me in the right direction?

Isn't it amazing that January is already nearly over. I don't know whether to be pleased because it's a month nearer Spring (and Christmas of course) or sad because life seems to be passing me by!:D

mum2one

Cher-ching - owe u one, ur a star x

Mrs Money Penny - ditto were on the freezer run down / sort out, brought few frozen bits earlier, - moving around, there was box of 24 mince pies and lemon meringue from xmas - the meringue was lush - thou I had to share it!!!


PeppaPig - Thank u, all gome quiet today... so hopefully blow over for a while. xx

mum2one

Thought as I'm making everyone work hard, I'd get a head start.

=Money=
Feb's money now balanced out the £1 in the diary, so hopefully remember to use it, and set myself I need to make £50 in Feb - so ebay here I come...
Birthday wise got 2 bdays -
1st - friends boy - having Ted Baker set (thank you Boots sale)
Uncles 80th - At xmas made an extra cake - when we marzipaned and iced mums + dads anniversay did his as well. Got jar of Thortons chos (thank u Asda £2 instead of £6) - Got to buy scroll from ebay - one of those the day you were born, - got frame already £1
(both bdays - £10)

Sale Bargains
yes I hit the sales, - storage - at mo spread between side and bottom of bed, and the dining rm - next move seperate to bday and xmas - then there go in the shed.

Lists
Sorted had a little swop around, (ok confession I really wanted another one of the Gok wan sets so swopped a prezzie around so I get another)

Have to swop budgets a bit - account for an extra bday, 21st and 50th as presents - normally just cards.

Bday
Budget £225 - (16 people)
Spent £116.97
Proper price £446.25;)
All done - just to be wrapped as needed :T

Xmas
Budget - £345 - 35 people
Spent - £150.40
Proper Price £487.50

23 done:) / 4 half / 8 still waiting


Organise the House
Are using a spare diary just for the household items, car tax, ins etc dates all going in there :T

Prescription / Over the counter / first aid kit.
Rang the chemist - as soon as I said name - no prob do you all need stuff (we're too well known), over the counter stocked up.

Miss Hoodies Corner - Do we love it, do we hate it!!! its here...
Daddy darling - guess what its your favourite job!!
Have to do an iou on the "odd object" .


Me Time
As dads doing the freezer should really give him the me time - but then i've just put BT vision in their bedroom!!


Try Something New!!
This could go either way!! brought word "faith" in wooden form and going to acrylic paint it for friends bday, and ordered some small wooden hearts - going to make some fridge magents with initials on for little token gestures for xmas.


Make sure you all wrap and warm and take care with this cold spell. xx

Cher-Ching

Peppapig wrote: »

Cher ching - sounds good but I can't find the voucher thing on the Argos website - can you point me in the right direction?

Not sure if it's on their website, but it works in store. It was mentioned on the Grabbit board here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4402545

I managed to get 2x £10 Next vouchers for sister's birthday for £15. It's valid until Valentine's Day (Feb 14) - by that I mean the offer is valid until then not that the vouchers will expire!

It's such a shame that the deal only started on the 19th and wasn't a few days earlier in time for the Boots 75% sale lol

mrs-moneypenny

Santas Challenge - January

=Money=
Use this month - to balance and plan Feb's money, - the only celebration I can think is Valentines day (cheap day for me!!), but as one of our lovely ladies mentioned Birthdays/Clintons have reduced cards so may be worth a look.
going cinema saturday and i know theres a clintons round the corner so will go and have a look.
me and DH have already agreed no flowers on the day, didnt like look of the veggie option at the place we normally go and it will be packed anyway so going to make a veggie lasagne and stay at home. theres a book he really wants (already ordered off amazon) and im getting one of my cross stitces framed - sorted.
cards bought for other feb birthdays
need to ring step mum to find out what dad would like for his birthday.

Anyone who wants to do a money challenge
im not taking any extra money out other than the agreed budget, nov/dec sort of ran away and more money was used than should have been so keeping a tight rein on the cash and using what we have in rather than buying different or more.

Sale Bargains
Have we allcated it to the right person
Have we got somewhere safe to put it
sorted a new 'squirrel' place. have got a few lists on paper but sorting out a designated note book to keep with the stash listing birthday present people - what if anything ive already got them or ideas of what to buy or make them. same for christmas. then ill put a smaller list in the back of my diary with just names but tick them off as ive bought/made them things. so if im out and see anything i know who ive already got for.

Lists
More of a just follow through with a check up, as well as Birthday and Xmas, you may have mothers day, fathers day, presents for the teacher when your child leaves the year, Christenings, Weddings, (would say engagements, but we got to have some element of surprise), make sure you have these listed down.
as above

When you've checked your lists, double checked budgets, if you to update everyone with your new totals, pop it n the thread. I bet even if you think i've only really think i've got 1 person sorted, penny to the pound - your be more organised. As we can't really shout from the roof tops I've got this sorted for xmas - your among friends here

Organise the House
New Year, new diary, generally the 1st couple weeks are get organised, but look at any service agreements, car ins, car tax, house ins etc, make sure your getting your moneys worth, and you know renewal dates, so if you do need to research for a better deal your be prepared first. need to write in when things like holiday balance etc need paying by on the calendar

Prescription / Over the counter / first aid kit.
I know we were super organised before xmas getting our prescriptions organised, but nows the time to check whether we've run out of any mediciations, running low, thinking more with the weather, I know different parts of the country are affected differently, - but if we have a heavy snowfall - we could be stuck. pretty well stocked, no one on prescriptions (except mil, who got me told off last year for trying to reorder while she still had loads, then said shed got enough for over christmas but was in a panic first week in jan as she was running out of one type of tab. She wont let me have the chemist deliver them as "its easier for her if i do it" which means me having to hang on the phone trying to get through then walk down to collect prescription then go chemist for tabs.

If you needed to use any other items over xmas, (hopefully not), but pop on the shopping list to be replaced - plasters/paracetamol/the runs tablets...

Miss Hoodies Corner
Its the freezer -
I guess she is right:mad: as we all stocked up for Christmas - but she wants to know the oddest thing you find in the freezer, whether its something that is way out of date, something you can't identify, or you found some mince pies you'd forgot about.
this does need doing so thank you miss hoodie, ill let you know what i find

Me Time
Espically after doing the freezer I think we need a me treat, - it doesn't have to be expensive, - it could be an hour with the remote control, a bubble bath with a do not disturb, or even saying right I finishing the cross stitch. my me time is knitting and cross stitch and i give myself plently of that by justifying the fact im making gifts for people,

Try Something New!!
I'm leaving this totally up to yourselves, - it could be a recipie, it could be you have a go at making something crafty you have never done,
ill have a think about this one, but definately up for trying something new

Make sure you all wrap and warm and take care with this cold spell. xx[/QUOTE] upposed to have the final big blast of cold tonight followed by heavy rain sunday so all stay safe

Lina_T

Money challenge
£30 Swagbucks vouchers in Feb


Sale Bargains/Lists
Updated my spreadsheet fully. I have £221 worth of christmas presents for £73, all paid for with xmas bonus and webhosting refund (managed to get free webhosting), vouchers and points. Got quite a few people ticked off and most of my cards. All allocated exept for a couple of bits which are "emergency presents".

Most of February and March birthday presents sorted too, cards all bought in sales. Post-it notes attatched with the names on :rotfl:

I'll try and sort out storage for them all but it won't be till next week, snowed under this weekend (figuratively, and probably literally too).


Organise the House
To do this weekend, dig out documents & update calendar.


Miss Hoodies Corner
The freezer is my mum's domain as I live at home still, and it's been done recently. But as an extra :money: to make up for it I'm going to do some overtime. It's the silly season for accountants so there's a lot of it going! Hopefully I'll get cash in hand and can put it towards valentines day present.


Try Something New!!
I've set up a website about party planning, christmas and weddingy things. I'm exited to start writing some content and will hopefully make some money from it once it's more established!

And on top of all that I need do do some serious studying :eek: I think I thrive on stress :rotfl:

cdsmiler

mum2one - blimey that's a weird order from the court (not that I know anything about anything!!). Oh well, not long now!

CHer-ching - my OH made marmalade and meat seasoning rub this christmas to give as pressies! So you can start with something like that!

Off to look at the monthly list!

Clare x