NST December Challenge - Festive and Frugal

mothernerd

Can I join, Please. Not sure how much I can do but I will try. May go missing again as I am using DS3's cable for my laptop but hoping my new one arrives soon.

Transferred £230 of food from my mega shop forward to this month (hope it's going to do most of January and February as well) but want satsumas, a couple of loaves of bread (still have some in the freezer) and possibly some fresh salad stuff before Christmas. Would also like more fizzy water but not sure on the logistics of getting to the SM.

DS3 is going to his gf's for Christmas but DS2 has been signed up for topping up my water bottles and tying my shoelaces.

Will allow £26 for travel - that's five one day anybus tickets. I have two appointments (may have a lift for one) and I need to go to mum's if I want a shower - took taxis last week but hoping I can manage bus soon. Walked as far as the post box last Friday but otherwise only been up and down the yard.

No parties (hooray). Paid the minimums on all the ccs yesterday, otherwise a NSD (I'm good at those).

Food bank donation is gathering, just need to get someone to take it to the library (might ask the lady who brings the books, she's due on the 11th. Also going to try donating 24 things for advent - I have the things (well quite a few gathered) it's just finding organisations who can collect them - need to see if any of the groups which help homeless people can dismantle a bed.

Synonymous

Hello everyone, I've been off MSE for years, but really need to pay attention to what I spend now that I'm back at uni full-time - can I join please?

This thread has inspired me and I'm up at this late hour because I'm delving into my financial records - think I have about £1,000 owed to me through being slack with overpaying various bills! So thanks guys!

Budget to follow when I get my head round it all, but did have a NSD on the 1st and got a free lunch for helping out a colleague, so that's a good start

So, hello to you all and hopefully you wont cast me out straight away but... I can't figure out what the NST in the title stands for!

Fmess

Wanna bee free if the only thing you spend is direct debits then it's a SFD. I think you can definitely count that as your good deed, well done

Synonymous it's Ninja Saving Turtles in honour of Ninja Saving Kat who started these challenges and is now debt free and travelling the world on her savings. Think it started when someone associated the word ninja in her MSE name with the teenage mutant ninja turtles.

apple_muncher

Fmess - what on earth are you doing up at that time!? You ok?

Aphidgirl

£370 paid out to the debts yesterday. I'm tracking my spending this month in my signature so hopefully no going over budget.

Got most of my xmas presents already. I think any more I buy will have to come out of the entertainment budget, but I get paid again on Dec 23rd so an opportunity there for some some last minute purchases!

Managed NSD 1 yesterday and did a mystery shopping assignment in a restaurant which made a small profit of £1.60. So far so good....

thriftylass

Good morning,

finally updated my numbers for December and my signature. Paid off about £500 off my debt this month. Bought a few gift etc and only a few small ones left and postage to send stuff home so the HH and gifts budget might be tight. Off the food budget I spend about a third and already bought the christmas goose. So that should hopefully be manageable but I'm not holding my breath to be honest. Better keep my purse strings really tight the next wee while but I already see "unexpected" spends coming like the Thank you cards for the wedding gifts, that we three months after the wedding really should get out before we start writing blooming christmas cards.

Was off yesterday so today is LTW no 1.

Had friends round on Sunday and roasted a duck for dinner. So yesterday I made a nice stock from the carcass with juniper berries, pepper, carrots, onions etc. Now what do I do with it. Soup?

Also made limoncello yesterday for friends hampers. Still got bottles left over from last year which saves me that expense. Found a half made crochet creature so that will do for the second baby friends just had. Just cookies to bake now and to fill the "cookies in a jar" jar and that's the friends and their kids sorted.

CoffeeandStitches

Morning all!

Dentist appointment is looming.... boo! Not a SFD yesterday, as had to get some bits and bobs for lunches at work this week, but it does mean that I won't be buying any lunches out at all.

Finally bitten the bullet and decided on my budget. It is a realistic and doable one. I've stuck all the surplus on the CC already so can't go over budget, not that I would aim to, in fact I'm hoping that by some miracle I come in massively under.

Food bank is done. Good deed has been offered (a free night of baby sitting so some family members can go out for some adult time, which they NEVER do!) but I'm struggling to think of things I have achieved this year. I have my first one, it's stupid but....

I recognised when I needed some help, and I managed to get it and save our marriage. I was completely in self destruct earlier in the year, and convinced my marriage was ending (pretty much all in my head), but my achievement (well, ours really) is managing to pull through and make it out of the other side stronger than ever.

Sop bucket time over. I'm off to get my mouth drilled. Fingers crossed it's not going to be too costly!

Happy Tuesday all!

maria3104

Hi Everyone.

Today will be my second SFD in a row. A very good start to dec. The problem is I can crack in style and suddenly spend a fortune. So I am being vigilant with myself. No CC to come out at all over the holidays.
Jobs tonight will be clean kitchen and sitting room which look like war zones. Cook from fridge. Do some business paperwork. Should be home about 6, and aim to be in bed about 8 so a busy 2 hours I think! Good luck at dentist coffee and stitches!
Have a good day everyone.

CoffeeandStitches

:wall::wall::wall::wall:£89!!! *cry* - That's the dentist budget blown! Double what I thought it would be

thriftylass

CoffeeandStitches wrote: »

:wall::wall::wall::wall:£89!!! *cry* - That's the dentist budget blown! Double what I thought it would be

Oh no, hope the physical pain isn't too bad though.

After spending an unplanned £47 in H&M yesterday (as I needed clothes that aren't a hoody or t-shirt) I got some reprieve as DD's nursery came in £50 under budget (my calcs incl. credit, days shut etc must've been off). Phew, so clothes for free and a wee wake up call to keep it together now for December as my budgets are back on track :cool: