Bonfires and fireworks - NST November challenge

Kerry_Woman

Florence J - Great news about work.

sashanut - Sorry to hear about the spa day dealing with what was included in the package that was paid for.

apple_muncher

Gosh - here we are at the end of November already! Thank you misstara for the challenge.

f0xh0les

Last day of the month
Racked up 14 NSDs I think I aimed for 12 so nearly half the month was a no spend day.
Still have £490 in the bank after all stuff has gone out for the month. All CCs cleared, all savings to kids accounts gone, everything. So in order to celebrate, I thought I would go WILD and do something CRAZY!!! So have arranged a boiler service. Rock and Roll. I dhave a parents evening tonight, and need to get a dowelling rod to put the advent calendars up on the wall. 6 calendars should hide a lot of ugly anaglypta .wallpaper.

Today will be spent baking as tomorrow is the school xmas fair.

But I really want to be stripping wallpaper instead.

Anyway,Misstara thank you for running the challenge, it worked, I have money left over.
Today is not a NSD as I spent my vouchers on school teacher gifts and white wood paint and bubbles for my s-i-l's cat (they are special cat bubbles) and ended up paying 39p and getting a very rude and sniffy shop assistant.

They really do not like vouchers do they? they don't know how to put them through the till, they mess them up, they end up calling the manager over. I wonder if it is embarrassment or they really are just horrible people.
Anyway, see in in December Debtbusters

laurenh1

Hi all

Today is NSD # 15/16 disappointed I didn't make the 16 but hey ho, such is life.

Oragnise- going to gut the house tonight so I can spend the wkend with my boys. done my budgets for the month, saved what I can. going to drawer out 70 quid tonight which will be my spends for the week, including York on Sat to help keep me on track

Value- got a free pouch of baby food from nursery, a small victory when I spend 100 pound a day to send my kids there but I will take it ha ha

Eat well & excersize- I will try

Mental health- feeling good. planning on getting on top of things this weekend- house work, clean car, xmas cards, and then I know where I stand!

Be Christmas ready - on it, just need to sort wrapping and cards and then do my food shop.

gratitudes- 5th wedding anniversary with hub, grateful for a happy marriage and 2 perfect children, for the mince pies brought into work and my little boy singing happy birthday to me, not my birthday but I don't think he understands what an anniversary is

BadBookkeeper

Day 30 - #18 Checking in....


NSD - Reached 12/12 yesterday so happy with that. Will be a spendy day today.
Organise - Food budget is over by £12 can't complain as had a self catering holiday this month.
Value for Money - Throughout November I have had a few bargains to be fair. Realised I hadn't used my November allowance for free 50 photos so ordered them this morning and will have a new allowance tomorrow for the others I need printing. 1/2 price thornytons christmas chocs in t£sco.
Exercise - None today
Mental Health - Being organised is helping.
Be Christmas ready / DS Party - Wrapped the bulk of DS birthday and Christmas presents last night. Advents ready for tomorrow, concert outfit taken to school, will be going to retail park after work to get a few bits.
Eat Well - Porridge, satsumas, soup & meatballs with pasta is todays menu think that's quite good.
Reasons to be grateful - My DS is so excited that its December tomorrow he was in such a cheery sleepy mood this morning bless him. Also grateful my Grandparents in Law who live in Oz have moved in yesterday with my Mother in Law (also in Oz) and all went well, Grateful to everyone on this challenge for tips and advice and for Misstara for organising the challenges


O/D - Think it suffered an additional £87.06 this month. Could have been so much worse!! Budgets done for December and I've accounted for EVERYTHING I'm short by £40 so I'm going to try to shave this off somewhere and sell some things hopefully on FB or [EMAIL="eb@y"]eb@y[/EMAIL].

greent

Thanks to misstara for running the challenge

Florence - great news re the job :j:

Last report of the month from me - and today feels like a Good Day!

Clear Out - 2 bags of clothes to cash for clothes - £7.50 cash received. £10 transferred to kitchen fund as a result

NSDs -7 - it was never going to be a high number from me this month!
Organise - flooring chap emailed to book him for Jan. Several gas safe people emailed to get price to disconnect old cooker/ connect new one (on different days) OH's timesheet submitted (still need to do expenses) Sains shopping done and C4C trip combined, as it's just down the road from there.
Food - £370.95/ £400 - a reasonable amount under - mainly due to using some nice Sains money off vouchers
Fuel (me) - £84.45/ £65 -
Social - £125.74/ £150 -
Toiletries - £23.60/ £10 - spent £18 today on 8 0ral B toothbrush heads - worked out @ £2.25 each (I try and buy @ no more than £2.50 each) - blew budget, but will last quite a while
Clothes - £128.48/£100 -
Gifts - £479.59 - 2 December birthday cards bought (inc one for my DD). I have deliberately run down my stash of cards and now mainly have new home/ get well soon/ sympathy ones left.

Value for money - used a £9 off voucher and an extra points coupon. Shopped from list and spent only 80p over the required spend to use the £9 voucher Also converted some of my nectar points into an Oxfam gift for my aunt.
Exercise -
Mental health - yep - as I said, today is a Good Day
Be Christmas ready - getting there
Eat well - yes.

Report/ Gratitudes -
* a lovely lady stopping her car (and therefore the traffic behind) in order that I could get across 3 lanes of traffic
* workmen doing a good job of repairing the street (we have block paving road in our cul de sac and it was quite badly damaged in one area) Poor chaps looked freezing, so I made them tea & coffee
* Money off vouchers
* Having more than enough and great children
* OH coming home tonight
* OH getting a contract extension for the NY (3 weeks without pay from mid Dec - early Jan but then has work for min 2 more months )
* blue skies
* heating
* gloves and scarves against the chilly weather
* our neighbours selling their house within a week (not that I'm glad to see them go - they are lovely neighbours - but I'm glad a quick sale happened - fingers crossed it all goes smoothly)

See you all next month x

DawnW

Checking in Day 30 / 30 :j

NSDs- Total for month 14/12. I have exceeded my target, so am happy with that
Organise - Grocery / supermarket / household etc spends - I have sadly overspent here, so £270.20 / £250. Includes paying the milkman. Could be worse!
Fuel - £39.70, low this month
Beauty etc - no hair appointment in November, so nothing here really. The few toiletries I bought were included in the supermarket shopping budget above
Clothes - £22 spent on a new fleecy dressing gown for OH. Nothing else, as we didn't need anything else
Because of relatively low spends, I have been able to donate to 2 good causes this month
Value for money - Not bad overall for the month. I got a good price on the car insurance renewal, a free winter safety check on the car from the main dealer, and I bought some items towards Christmas at good prices.
Exercise - Only really managed 2 x daily dog walks this month, due to OH being ill, and my being unable to leave him for long during the earlier part of the month. More recently, well, I think it is the cold putting me off!
Mental health - Not the best month, due to health worries etc. Hoping for better things in December :T
Be Christmas ready - I must confess I haven't done a huge amount due to being preoccupied with other things. Still, I only have a few more presents left to buy, plus the food shop really, so not too bad. Haven't been able to commit to anything on the social side yet.
Eat well - Not too bad, too many stodgy snacks perhaps, but we make everything at home and have lots of fruit and vegetables
Report - I have checked in most days
Quite pleased with finances this month, even if other things haven't been ideal.

Toni'sfriend

Well, didn't quite manage my NSDs but haven't spent too much. All the Christmas shopping is done (apart from some small amounts of food which aren't yet available) and not a credit card bill in sight so that's got to be a result.
Had a lovely meal out with my cousin today and the rascal paid the bill whilst I was in the loo. Plus she gave me about £30.00 in Hungarian currency for part of our trip in January. She refused to take the cash but I'll buy her a restaurant voucher for somewhere nice for her and her husband.
So. not been too bad in November. Thank you, Misstara. Looking forward to December now.

Florence_J

Thank you Misstara, what a great month.

Today was a spend day, so my total was 7 for the month.

I got a bit excited and posted all my international Christmas cards today, am aiming to post the UK ones tomorrow, wrapped all the presents that have arrived, need to buy some bottle bags or decide on a unique way of wrapping them.

Did very well on my to do list today, tomorrow's to do list genuinely contains things like 'drink Bailey's' 'Wear Christmas Jumper' 'Do Christmas baking' and 'listen to Christmas music'

Toni'sfriend

'drink Bailey's' 'Wear Christmas Jumper' 'Do Christmas baking' and 'listen to Christmas music'

Oh, I really like that - especially the Baileys