Thrifty Gifty Santas Challenge 2014

springdreams

susan42 wrote: »

Mum2one - poor miss hoodie, it's one thing I've always dreaded seeing that- give her my love

On a positive note - well done on your present buying good savings there

Spring dreams - I think that about eBay regularly. I get that I fall out with it. I've had 6 non payers (why bid !!!) and 3 parcels went missing
I've never tried gumtree

Money penny - anytime the celebrations are sharing :-) I love sweets

Wonder if Angela ok

Does anyone know where the forum board is where they save money / pay debts . I see the signatures on the bottom saying sealed pot challenge... £**** in 100 days etc and can't find them. I'm in the sealed pot challenge but joined and never found the forum again :-( I'm sure I'm cracking up

They are the Debt-Free Wannabee Challenges. It is a sub-board of the Debt-Free Wannabe board - the 4th one down under Essential Money on the main forum list of threads. Here is a linky:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=267

DundeeDoll

mum2one poor misshoodie, but well done on the haul.
susan42 1383 on the stash-busting is fantastic, well done. am inspired by you to ditch 2014 items by the end of the year
aw anglea i know exactly what you mean. I am at the same stage with the love affair that never was. time to move on (could be my first stash-bust :rotfl:) hugs you have a lot on your plate
xoh has gone on holiday with the reason i was dumped. just a long weekend. Then taking 2 children and the dogs (!) down to see mil for a week. goodness the house will be quiet! I am formulating plans on how I can buy out xoh. I am already referring to xoh in my head as the lodger - makes it soooo much easier to cope with though have to say still get jealous when friends celebrate 25th wedding anniversaries :-(

Will let you know how my decluttering goes. Overall feeling positive - work is good, windows quote chap is waiting for info from the council re. type of windows (unfortunately we're in a conservation area), mum much better after her fall, eldest child has been invited to apply for a job (supervisor has 2 posts, both 7 months starting september, her course finishes mid august), middle child still looking for a job, youngest child has gone nocturnal, roll on next term!

mum2one

Hope everyone ok, nice as were not doing a table top or car boot 2mor, thou knowing my luck still wake up at 5am!!

Getting organised with decluttering, - all left in my rm is bedside draws and computer chair, once emptied with end up somewhere....

Started Miss Hoodies bedroom, - did wardrobe (then gave up), - but positive theres a bag ready for f/b sellers or table top, 1 bag for charity.

Parcel wrapping tomorrow - so Tuesday / wed there be a little surprise dropping through Susan's and Angela's door from the cookery challenge of Miss Hoodie.

Exicted got my half cost parcel - wrapping paper 39p roll (xmas), xmas tags 10p pack (even thou cut up cards dread to run out), and birthday tags (10p pack). felt like Christmas early...

DundeeDoll

Had a fabulous weekend with the children. Mum came round Saturday, then Sunday evening went with best friend to see live screening of Monty Python Live (mostly) which was brilliant. Used to watch MP with my dad so was especially nice to know he was watching it in a cinema in Southend while I was up in Dundee. Not very mse at £18 but worth every penny.
Also cleaned and tidied my bedroom, bathroom and the kitchen. Oh and remembered to post BiL's b'day card in time for 2nd class
Have a good week everyone.

susan42

Angela - I'm glad you ok - sorry to hear about your dad. Hope you get some better news soon . Best to end relationships if they're not going the way you want. Easier said than done, I know that from experience. Get that appointment made with doctors, at least it'll put your mind at rest, and make time for some TLC
Thanks also for the forum advice.

Springdreams - thank you for the link.k, that saved some time I can tell you

Dundeedoll - it was crafting mad who started it . She has a thread I've joined and it started as decluttering your stash and escalated from there. Some are doing 50 , you chose the amount you want. But I'm guilty of thinking to myself. Ill have a go at stamping, they collecting over 400 stamps :-0 ....the same with other things btw I can't stamp properly so starting selling all my things
Lol at romance being the first stash bust that made me chuckle
Good luck to kiddies finding jobs the worst part is applying and everyone ignoring you. One thing DS found is that employers now don't read your CVs they have computers looking for keywords, how personal is that!!!

Mum2one -well done on you Xmas finds. I'm just getting prepared for Xmas card making...
How did your table top sale go?

Well I'm back from DDs house. I never thought it could of got worse but apart from all the things.vs that went wrong before. I pulled the bathroom window shut. The handle came off !! OH went to fix it and the whole window fell out and smashed !!!
Then to top it all off the car got broken into. They was trying to hot wire it I think as the casing under the steering wheel was off. The Sat nav was stolen and some CDS nothing was on show. It was so strange because OH said to me you left your car door open last night. I said I couldn't have because the alarm would have gone off and it would ny have locked. He was adamant I had. Then when I went in the parts under the dashboard had fallen down still didn't think anything. Went in centre console and everything was missing. :-(
Couldn't work out how they had got in with out damage to the car. So looked on tinternet and there was a video showing thieves with a new gadget that intercepts the frequency of the central locking and alarm system to get in. Good job there was as I was getting lots of stick off OH

So needless to say couldn't wait to come back

I'm now going to start a project I was planning last year but left it to late for Xmas , don't know if anyone seen my little Xmas village out of paper I had on my blog. Well this year I decided to upscale :-0 hopefully with this forum I will get more organised so I decided to make a more 'permanent' display .
Yesterday I bought a train set ( OH has kindly said he'd test it for me , he does need to grow up) and I'm going to make a Christmas village ... if you go on pinterest and search Christmas village you'll see what I mean . So I have got hold of a barge boat and lock , a bridge that needs to be assembled in paper . And some trees, a piece of MDF 8ft x 4 ft and I'm going to have a go , so with me luck. I will need lots of it. And I can hear you saying a lock? Well a lot of these villages are American and I need something that is British for mine , so I thought of a lock. ( don't ask, choice was limited) I want a bandstand but can't find one :-(

Anglea

Hi all

Although I wrote a post in the past week I never did reply to the previous posts so here goes.

Mum2one - how's things going with the entertainer - any more messages?

How is Miss Hoodie now after the cat incident? Hope she enjoyed the final days at school. You always give such lovely presents to everyone.

Have you all been enjoying using the swing seat?

I was laughing to myself when I read your comment about a dread of running out of tags (re your half cost parcel) even though you also cut up cards.

Dundeedoll - how's your home makeover going?

Mrs M - are you making any more stockings for this Christmas?

Susan, bet DD was glad of your help at her house, but very sorry to hear about all the disasters you've had, the car and then the window. I've never heard of a window falling out like that.

The village scene. Years ago I made a village miniature railway scene with a proper train I forget the name of the gauge by I think it had a 'Z' in it and I made all the shops, houses, church from card kits and had trees, people etc bought from railway modelling shops.

I think it is a very satisfying hobby and hope you enjoy working on yours. I used to buy the railways magazines specifically to look at the town and village scenes.

I never realised that employers look for keywords in online CV/s, more people should be aware of that.

Even though I was getting a lot of strong feelings to end my latest relationship and told them it was over (once again, I've done it several times) - I then gave in again and saw them. There is a reason for this which I did write in this post then deleted because I realised that as it's a UK site, you never know who is reading.

As Susan remarked, DundeeDoll I also like the way you referred to ending relationships as 'stash bust' lol

Susan you told us your hassles from selling on Ebay - but it sounds as though you are still carrying on.

I still haven't got round to finding something to do income wise and have been living off my savings. I've looked into lots of things I could do from home but the initial outlay for each idea and the hit and miss aspect of getting a return means they are all ok as a hobby but not for guaranteed income.

I also looked at the writing I used to do for magazines but am not in the mindset to do that anymore and my charity organiser, grant writing days are also over and I don't want to return to the days of pressure.

I decided against getting a lodger as don't want a stranger in the house. I still haven't made up my mind about the social services job (the one with the 6 month assessment process).

I've started a few survey sites but they will only yield £90 together once I finally reach the payouts.

I expect something will turn up, I think I'm probably not seeing the wood for the trees and it's right in front of me.

Rufus - what are you up to lately?

mum2one

Susan Sorry to hear about all the disasters at DDs house, just had visions of Hubby going through the window and you holding his legs!! But glad no -one hurt.

Sorry about the car - its amazing how they get into the cars, bet a penny to a pound they were on a car breaking in spree - yrs ago mine got broke into, we were loading it up and gone back to the house to load us in - they had 10 mins - but they started 2 streets up and worked there way down and did 30 cars - u can imagine the mad rush trying to unload mine to fill up dads, (they'd broke the back side window then hit central locking) apparently they were trying to get the Cd player out... the police came and said cant use it, they took finger prints - caught the lads the same day - but they only got charged for 3 cars - mine was one taken into consideration!

I love the sound of the village sounds amazing, - shall I send grandad hoodie round to join your DH, boys and toys - he had a radio controlled racing car for his bday, so he's been out playing with that tonight!!

....

Angela Hope your ok, no news off my entertainer, guess I can't be that good of a catch!! thou quite funny as ended up as f/b friends with the nice guy from the reception (no romance he's married, known him 6 yrs), he's so sweet with Miss Hoodie, when they put the mints on the counter, he gets the one she likes and keeps them locked in his change draw.

Miss Hoodie is now sorted with uniform, bar sports shirt, got to order as it has to be the school one, sweatshirts are on order, everything else all here safe, sound and fits.

Feels weird her not being in school, but she's been ok, she had a gd last day there, shes pleased that I'm staying on with the PTA as shes asked can she go to the Xmas fayre there, yes, - you can help me on the table - no I'm going shopping.

We didn't do too bad, between her school fete, the car boot and the other school carboot we made nearly £100, so gone in holiday fund... need I ask anyone to guess where we have booked for next yr!!

Been to town today - got all her stationary list (£20) that was £1shops, Wilko etc.

Then opticians for me, - thou we turned up for appointment (11.40) got there 11.30, to be told were late as app was 11.20, and was booked in the downstairs room... despite the I'm on crutches, don't do stairs, want to see x... when I rang yesterday to check appointment, and was told 20 too.. apparently they have one member of staff who gets muddled with past and too the hr! But luck was on my side as they had cancellation 2pm with my optician, so back to a couple of shops, and then pub for lunch, £7.50 for 2 x 8oz gammons.

As well as main glasses, now need seperate glasses for computer.... so dreading the cost, but with the store discounts, (bogof and vouchers), got 2 main prs that had reactions put in, the 3rd pair just got a coating on them, should have been £429... came in at £175. Very happy with that.

Major update - Miss Hoodie choose a skirt..... the 1st in heck knows how long

I must have the only daughter that doesn't like shopping!!

--
The swing chair is getting plenty of use, - popped outside last night and grandad hoodie was asleep on the swing, fight between him, the dog and Miss Hoodie to c who gets there 1st.

mum2one

santa's challenge - July

Another month bites the dust, bringing us closer to that magic day...

Swimwear
This may seem really daft starting a christmas challenge with Swimwear, but method in my madness. Most shops now are having there summer sales, and the one thing that is always there is swimwear - whether its online / instore - theres a size for everyone.

2015 Diaries
This almosts feel mad as well:D but 2015 diaries are starting to make an appearance - (cardwarehouse has a good selection) - double check your not getting the one that is 2014/15 as these are for school year. Method in madness - dentist appointments - if your anything like ours 6 monthly check ups - you've got the diary ready.

School Uniforms
Although the kids have just or breaking up, the back to school range seems to be hitting and disppearing just as quickly, - may be worth looking at bigger items and then stationary etc can be dropped in as and when.

Christmas Cakes
Don't panic you dont have to start now, but just a thought to see which recipie you want to do, and check the ingredients. It may be worth (if your using Value fruits), planning to get them by end of Aug, as last Sept, in 2 of our local supermarkets the value fruit was apparently flying out as soon as it got on there.

Christmas Cards

Nows the time to start those Christmas cards lists, we all do them differently, for me its family, street, walkies, post - also look at whether you need any special cards, whether your being brilliant and crafting them, or doing a me and buying them. If you put them up safe leave a note say inside a cupboard door where they are.

If buying cards - do check the sizing if your posting so you can avoid the "larger stamps".

ARGOS
The argos catalogue changes on saturday, at the moment there is a sale on home page (click yellow box that says "clearance" and you can search clearance stock at any store in the country. Presently the current sale ends on Friday, but going by past experiences when the new catalogue comes out the clearance gets more stock. It can be hit and miss, but worth a look.

Christmas List
Hopefully the Christmas list is going well, but have a look through, check any that you have got finished (that you have the items) or there's missing gaps, or even empty lines - so look at budget, see how your going. Also do a refresh on how much money you need to finish your xmas shopping.

Miss Hoodies corner
Now we'll try to be gentle as we have warm weather.... so this is 3 little parts to the corner challenge.

1st - Find yourself a christmas hiding place, whether thats cupboard, bed draws, or bottom of wardrobe - keep this for Xmas goodies.

2nd - Have a look at your winter clothes, do they fit, do they need any buttons sewing on, does anything need washing (use air to dry rather than tumble drier), so when you need the items there be ready for use.

3rd - Garden - is there a shed (or mans hiding hole), that needs a tidy out, do you really need that 1in of magnolia paint that you have had for the last 10 yrs - for the just incase needed!!

=Money / Sites
The magic money tree at the bottom of the garden... or the magic fairy that does all the work!! Have a push at the sites your working on, see whether there is different vouchers you might need. If you use cashback sites look at the free sections, whether its ordering a sim card, or searching a flight, - every penny earned soon makes a £1...


As always treat it as a pick and mix, but most of all take care. xxx

mrs-moneypenny

morning all

sorry not been around for a while i have been reading what everyone has been up to.
sorry the romance didnt work out mum2one, something else more suitable will come along.
ive got mil in hospital so rushing round keeping her house and mine clean and tidy. as well as visiting her every night.
went away last weekend it was my birthday/our wedding anni so we had a weekend at our favourite place in all the world- sheringham. it was bliss. going back again with the kids next month.

will go through the challenges later and see what i can do/need to do.

hugs and good wishes to all i hope everyone is as well as can be.

mum2one

emergency dentist appointment today for Miss Hoodie, shes got a fang tooth growing, but it was pushing her baby tooth out - when she tried on her gum shield, bless her heart, I just wished could have swopped places for her.

She was really brave she had to have the baby tooth out, he took 5 seconds, - shouldn't laugh she frightened the dentist, the dozy madam licked the numbing gel and her touge froze - he was panicing that she was having a stroke.

Had call today to confirm that the building company are coming back on Monday to finish the kitchen.... hopefully we can finally get sorted.

Off on the family escape, at weekend, so be quiet from me xxx