NST December Challenge - Festive and Frugal

liltdiddylilt

Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of communication. Christmas is not a time to lock yourself away with a cronky old laptop/monitor combo in the bedroom! This time next month I may have bit the bullet and bought that macbook out of my savings!

LoveADove I look forwards to joining the new thread. Count me in in IN please! I need a kick up the bum if I am going to spend £850 on myself in month 1 of the year! :eek:

fmess you keep on going the way you are and you will definitely conquer your debt. The best part of all is that you have acknowledged all the things that put you into debt, looked at the things you need to do to improve areas, including your emergency fund etc, and taking in less dogs and once you are debt free, I am confident any future debt you take on will be a beautiful house with a modest mortgage which you will fight to kill off you are a true money saver now and I will be jumping up and down when you reach your finish line!! xx

Whats to report? My Christmas has been amazing. The cupboards still groan with food and I am off to research recipes shortly for turning 3/4 of a lamb leg leftovers into some useable meals for the freezer. Of course I need to empty the freezer of seasonal party food first mind you

Jellytots splurt of new toys has been successfully incorporated into the limited space we have, and my personal spends on her were far far surpassed by the spends by family and friends which have set her up for the next year. I think my personal gift to her will be clothes for her birthday in April as really she only wants a bike & my parents live very near to the Raleigh factory in Eastwood/Notts & so want to buy it for her. Who am I to say no?

I last checked in on SFD #12 which was Tuesday. I haven't spent a penny since then!! *runs to loo bursting :rotfl:* and shan't be spending today either. This adds another 4 SFD's to my total. I am now on 16 and only 2 away from my target of 18!! I can do it

I will post up all totals at the end of the month as a closer. I am sure in reality I spent far far less than I could have done had I not been part of this challenge, so want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your help in keeping me sane t'other side of Christmas when I may well have looked at the bank instead of YNAB and thought screw it. Bank & YNAB intact happy me!!

Don't know when I will get back on! Milk & bread are on the list, with teabags and superglue, as you do. So a spend day is in the near future.

Hugs and Merry Christmas to all xx

Fmess

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

fmess you keep on going the way you are and you will definitely conquer your debt. The best part of all is that you have acknowledged all the things that put you into debt, looked at the things you need to do to improve areas, including your emergency fund etc, and taking in less dogs and once you are debt free, I am confident any future debt you take on will be a beautiful house with a modest mortgage which you will fight to kill off you are a true money saver now and I will be jumping up and down when you reach your finish line!! xx

I last checked in on SFD #12 which was Tuesday. I haven't spent a penny since then!! *runs to loo bursting :rotfl:* and shan't be spending today either. This adds another 4 SFD's to my total. I am now on 16 and only 2 away from my target of 18!! I can do it

Well done on the SFDs lilt :j

Thank you for your kind comments re my debt I am very lucky that I am already on the property ladder, and even luckier that I was sensible enough to buy a small property, with a rather short term smallish mortgage, so I will be mortgage free in 10 years (if I make no overpayments).

speakingofart

Hello all, hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and enjoyed last night's snow - I was very disappointed that it didn't settle so I could go for a walk in it, but had gone for a lovely walk in the woods with my family earlier, so suppose I can't really complain. Apologies for the lack of check ins, but was staying at my grandmothers. New totals below... SFDs helped by simply not leaving the house to go anywhere near a shop.

However, eating has been insanely out of control, need to fix this, need to clean the flat and get an urgent move on with my studying, as so far haven't done any of this either. Have granted myself today to enjoy watching my new dvd and will start afresh tomorrow, starting with a good clean of the flat I think!

Groceries £56/£150 15th december till 15th January
SFDs: 9/15
Petrol £34/ 60 15th December till 15th January
Lunch to work: 15/15

Calling14

Wee spend today, saw a navy cardy for a fiver in Peacocks wanted one for ages and car charger for my phone £1.19 ebay.

Ate lots of choccie feel so piggy now, didn't get second dog walk in started hailing refusal by my doggie, think she feels cold since she has moulted so much last month.

Decided to copy Stewby saving pots. Started one for Xmas 2015 up to £30 already had to transfer to bottle today, pig too small. Holiday one next.

Calling14

Apologies my posts are rushed my tablet just logs me out after few minutes. Am reading your posts.

Think my daughter is treating me to pantomime tomorrow never been to one ever. Exciting so got some cash out for drinks will take some with us.

sazzlebgood

lost nsd to butter and french stick. Annoyed at OH for buying french stick as we had bread in the house.butter needed as DD1 decided to bake christmas eve.Yummy ginger biscuits.Made a nice addition to peoples present

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for a bracing walk (and warm clothes to wear whilst outside), for good coffee, for good chocolate, for a visit from my sister and niece, for the World's Strongest Man on tv!

Fmess

apple_muncher wrote: »

Today I am grateful for a bracing walk (and warm clothes to wear whilst outside), for good coffee, for good chocolate, for a visit from my sister and niece, for the World's Strongest Man on tv!

I know what I'm doing every evening this week :j


Had a lovely peaceful day at home, dogs snoozing, I've been on here and watching films most of the day, with a few chores in between. Might just repeat today's activities tomorrow

mothernerd

Another NSD, total of 18 and on the 8th consecutive. DS2 called so he's put the bins out (not due till Wednesday but the paper bin is only once every 4 weeks and it's full. Left the rubbish bin at the other house on the drive but as near to the pavement as possible when I went to to collect stuff on Christmas Eve and hope the binmen will be kind enough to empty it (had all the rubbish from DS3's old room).

Did a little cooking earlier but dozed this afternoon. Confirmed my lift for Monday and trying to organise any leftover jobs that can either be done at the start of the working week or need to be transferred to next year's list.

Started 3 new lists last week (well 3 of many) - cleaning jobs to do after recovery (things I can't currently do like the windows and the bottom of the bath, but can't use the bath either so if DS3 wants to bath in the muck he left last time), DIY jobs I can tackle (little or no cost) and Jobs that I either need assistance with or to pay someone else (but thinking about how I can tackle them at low/ no cost).

Keep reminding myself that it is Saturday, car park has been nearly empty all day or maybe people are elsewhere in town or off to the city. Think the only sale buying I used to do was maybe a toddle down to Woolworths as they were good for pirex type dishes. Clothes sales racks defeat me - they just look like a jumble sale and when you've had an Al*xon jacket for 10p (the woman who donated it showed me it as we were setting up, I returned the favour when I donated the J*geur jacket my aunt had bought from an Oxfam shop and then given me) the shop efforts are pretty poor.

Looking forward to more walks and want to look through my part done embroidery (some is deliberate, I have a pile of small projects and a 'use up' box of threads - some unlabelled, some leftovers from large projects - and sit going through the pile until I find perhaps a cat's eyes that need a few stitches of green). Don't waste anything.

The snow may have gone but it's very quiet outside (and in although I have set the WM off again)

Today I am grateful for peace and quiet, for simple home cooked food and having enough.

liltdiddylilt

Ahhh fmess I am sorry that read wrong!! I didn't mean to insinuate that you weren't on the property ladder!! Just that usually people aspire onwards and upwards once their ducks are in a row. My best friend is in her first and last house... she adores it and it has all the space that she could ever need, for a mortgage well within her means, and new baby due the 24th December hasn't made an appearance yet but hopefully will very soon (although not in the snow up there!) - I didn't mean to tie you in with many another person. I can only hope that my ex eventually gets me off the mortgage on our joint house in Nottingham which stands empty, and then I can sign it over and hopefully one day buy my own. That's 15 years off yet though! :eek:

Defo a SFD here. On my way to bed; never made it out of jamas. Did a trip to the bins on the front in my onesie