BAUK's Bithday Challenge

blackangeluk

Well the month of July is looming which means my two little ones will be expecting fab birthdays! Why oh why did I not plan conception further apart than the two week gap we have between birthdays :rolleyes: I clearly was not a DFW at that time!

So, I started looking around last night for potential presents and working how it would fit in my budget (I had to do something in the board's absence!)

I decided that, as a dedicated DFW I will not go into my monthly budget for birthdays and neither will I use the £450 that is sat nicely in another account for over payments. Instead I will set myself a challenge to raise the money in the next month and use only that to pay for two lots of presents and a cinema party for the oldest. The youngest will be 3 and so just a family get together, probably go to Grandma's! but I have promised DD she can take 3 friends to cinema as she has been very good lately.

Sooooo to my challenge, I have found two pairs of my jeans that I do not wear and cost me a fair bit, rifled through the kids wardrobes this morning and they have loads of clothes they have grown out - so this weekend all that will go on ebay. Also got a 3 wheeler jogging pram no longer used and will get rid of that too

Going to buy as much as I can from Ebay (through Quidco of course) and also any other sites I can get a % back on!

so the challenge starts here - wish me luck :j

Skint_Catt

Good Luck!!!!

Don't forget to check the Grabbit/Freebie boards etc for bargains! How old will they be??

C xx

Broken_hearted

I took mine to the cinema with my sisters orange wednesday code buy one get one free. If you could do that it'd save money.
Good luck with the challenge.

tesuhoha

I feel for you because this year it is my son's 18th and my daughter's 21st. How about that for bad planning? I managed to save £200 for each of them and gave them cash. (My daughter's is coming up in two weeks) I also bought tickets for them both to see their favourite rock band (different bands) with a friend although this was part of my daughter's Christmas present. I am going to send her champagne and cake (shes at uni) but I wonder if Ive done enough as the 18th and 21st are supposed to be really special arent they? But i just can't afford any more than that and I cant bear to get into anymore debt again as we've only just recovered from Christmas :eek: I feel for you as its so difficult.

elantan

i bet martin is sitting chuckling about this thread thinking i might put mse down more often these challenges will keep popping up...love this one i'm sure you'll get there good luck with it

Storm

Good luck Black Angel - how much are you hoping to raise this month?

Remember Pigsback too - if you sign up for loads of newsletters you should be able to get a £10 voucher within a month.

As for birthdays coming together - in my family we have 5 in the first half of January - how's that for bad planning?

blackangeluk

Wow! Thanks for all your replies. They will be 3 and 7 so easy enough ages but the oldest keeps compiling lists :rolleyes:

I am thinking £40 each or less if I can get away with it.

Didn't know about the pigsback vouchers - will go and have a look,

tesuhoha - I think you have done loads for your kids, I would appreciate that for my 18th or 21st without a doubt

Broken Hearted - I have an orange phone so I could do the voucher, and take them in school hols as its when her birthday falls.:j

I am hoping to raise £100 to cover pictures, presents and cards.

Birthdays are a nightmare aren't they, I have my niece, nephew , mine and DH all within 2 months :eek:

Will keep you updated, my challenge starts tonight getting the kids to help me empty the wardrobes

Storm

For Pigsback there's a very good thread on the freebies board where it explains how to get the points building up & also people post answers to the competitions.

Remember to look on Freecycle too - it's amazing what some people will give away!

Skint_Catt

Storm wrote: »

For Pigsback there's a very good thread on the freebies board where it explains how to get the points building up & also people post answers to the competitions.

Remember to look on Freecycle too - it's amazing what some people will give away!

Agreed on Freecycle - a lot of people have been giving away garden playthings which their children have grown out of. Maybe they would like a swing or a slide if you have room?!

blackangeluk

Cheers for the advice re Freebies board, needless to say that is now marked as a favourite.

My day has been productive. I actively encouraged the kids to play outside whilst I rooted through their bedrooms for stuff I know full well they haven't looked at since they were given it as a present and stashed it in my bedroom :cool: I did proceed to search DD's wardrobe for clothes but she caught me out. After a short discussion she soon saw why she couldn't continue to wear shorts aged 3/4 (she's 7) and so I ended up with a pretty stash of clothes to sell as a job lot on Ebay.

Mardy DH has been snooping in the garage and cleaned the 3 wheel jogger pram and a tent in readiness for Ebay.

So, as soon as clothes are washed and ironed I will be stuck to the kitchen table putting it all on Ebay. The thought of it all is boring but hopefully it will all be worth it.

Birthday shopping here we come...............

Oh, and I got about £3.70 on pigsbank :j

hypno06

Fab start! You should be able to get a £10 voucher from pigsback before the end of the month, you may have to sign up to a few boring newsletters but, hey, you are being "paid" to do so, so what the heck!

For an extra free present for each of them, how about making a book of vouchers that they can cash in with things like:

- your favourite dinner cooked at a weekend
- time to play your favourite board game all together
- a favourite story to be read to you

etc, real "quality time" things that cost nothing but they will have fun cashing in the vouchers.