The 2008 Money Neutral Gift Challenge

mum2one

Bit of a mix and match post...May be of use to someone else.

Anyone who does Quidco, theres a brilliant offer on, open a current account get £50.00, you dont even have to use the account, go through the motions, open the account and put a £1.00 in to keep it active if you dont want to use it as ur main account.

Also Alliance and Leicester are doing open a web based savings account and get £20.00

Done both, I only intend to use the current account to put any supermarket savings and internet payouts, Ive opened 2nd savings account (only one £20.00 per person....), so split the money accordingly.

That should get validated and paid think its Aug or Sept, (fingers crossed), as dd has now decided she wants a Nintendo ds lite for her bday (end sept) that means got to put a couple of games so the extra £70.00 will come in very useful.
x

mum2one

Thank you to Superspun, (sorry borrowed ur idea!!).

Our presents done as household budget,(avoid adding ours in family+ friends etc) breaks down to mum and dad, me, then dd. Did try the lets just get everybody one nice present from the 3 generations (save more money!!), but 3/4 of the people we sounded out have all said, oh, but we love the presents of you all, you buy such lovely presents, we look forward to the surprises........ (Do try to buy cheaper, )

Family Budget - 2008
Birthday - £391.00
Spent £151.00 (all done)
saved - £241.00
Proper prices would have been - £417.50

Xmas
Budget - £600 (was £800 last yr, have cut down to the bare minimum this yr)
Spent £300 - 3/4 way done
Got £100.00 worth of items not allocated yet (some will come in for next yrs bday prezzies or even xmas. Lethal if I go on Halfcost website, too many bargains)
total £400.00
Saved £200.

Proper prices £1177.00.

Anyone fancy sparing a week start Dec to come and wrap the lot up!!! x

jo_b_2

jamtart has given me a very polite nudge up the rear on another thread as a reminder that I signed up to this challenge earlier in the year and haven't been back to update since!

My defence is that I've been so busy clicking and surveying when I get the chance to get online that I haven't wanted to spare any time updating!

Anyway, I have done quite well. These are the purchases/savings that I can remember to date:

Greetings cards - I signed up to ipoints as a direct result of this challenge (and the xmas challenge over on DFW). I'm pleased to say that almost every card I've sent this year has been paid for with ipoints. :T They allow you to spend your points at Moonpig which is a great site and I'd be willing to part with hard cash there anyway (if I was desperate!)

Every other card has come from a range of the Photobox codes and offers that were around earlier in the year. The vast majority were completely free with a couple where I paid postage. All in all, I've probably paid about £2 for all cards this year. (I've even got some Christmas cards 'bought' already.)

Vouchers- Sister in law got married the other week and requested Argos vouchers. I was very pleased as I had saved up my points at Consumer Pulse and had enough for £50 in vouchers.

I've earned even more from survey sites, free bingo offers and cashback sites over the past few months but that money has been swallowed up in day to day living (as I'm on maternity leave.) For the purposes of this challenge, I'm only counting money that I've specifically spent on presents or cards.

I've also completed 20 reviews on the BView site last week and earned a £10 Amazon voucher.

I'd already got over £8 in my Amazon account anyway and claimed £5 from Juicy Brains so just had enough to order a Ben 10 duvet cover and watch for my eldest son. (He'll be six in September and has a list of Ben 10 items as long as my arm on his birthday wishlist!) :rolleyes:

I was planning to do some more reviews tonight but haven't been in the mood.

Anyway - hope everybody else is busy click-clicking away to a money neutral gift giving 2008! :T

SugarSpun

Whoo Hoo!

Last gift but one bought, the last one's a tub o'mustard in December.

I have spent £187, made back £235.22, and saved £498 on the RRP. My budget was £250, so I've come in well under and made back almost the whole budget anyway.

The bonus money will be spent on the Christmas wine (2 bottles Beaujolais Nouveau, 2 bottles M&S Bucks Fizz and 2 bottles Prosecco, total about £25) and also on Christmas shoeboxes, which I will furnish mostly from Home and Bargain.

scattymam1

Oh My goodness it has been too long since I last posted - but I am still doing this challenege - I am a bit obsessed to be honest - whenever I get a free moment I'm sat there with my notepad working out how much is left to go and what presents I can get next for a bargain price and how I will cover that cost...drives the DH crackers.

So here's where I'm at...

Coke Zone: 108 points (have been stealing peoples finished coke bottles to boost my points too) when I get to 140 that's two adult cinea vouchers in the pot
Boots:5.82
Pigsback:10.45 (just off clicks)
Morrisons petrol:almost up to another £5 voucher
Tesco:8.50
E-bay: 50p left still
Toluna:30,555
onepoll:19.10
Ipsos: have a £10 argos voucher and after next survey will have another £20 argos voucher coming in the post - TOTALLY RECOMMEND IPSOS BY THE WAY.
Valued opinions:8.00
Lightspeed: 1385 (That's nearly £15 in my paypal account)


Christmas saving: Used my whsmith voucher for fathers day but I still have a £5 sainsburys voucher
Have 23 people to buy for have 5 sorted with recycled presents from last christmas, so building up to that quite well - am making 2 scrap books whcih I need to get started on for another from all stuff I have so have 21 presents left.

Had a car boot sale but and made £100 but that has all been whittled away already because of cost of living at the moment.

Wilkinsons sale - got some £1 Bargains - one was two coffee mugs and coaster set - that will do for my aunt - she doesn't expect much, but at £1 I could add some actual coffee with it. lol.

Splashed out on my dad's birthday but it was his first one without my mam who died earlier on in the year - I felt that because he wouldn't be getting a load of stuff from her I needed to get him loads - instead of spending loads though I just bought lots of seperate little things and wrapped them all seperately. Even his big present had been reduced in Argos - so have to make about £25 back on ebay to cover all this. Might try making something to sell on ebay as I have ZERO things left to sell.
Also couldn't believe the prices of cakes - so we bought him a pork pie (he loves them) and stuck his birthday candle in that - we all had a laugh and he much preferred that to a cake.

How's everyone else doing? Anybody started wrapping yet. I'm looking for plain cheap giftbags and I'm going to decorate them all christmassy. Anybody seen any? No more than 50p I'm looking to spend and in all different sizes.

Phew - longest post ever.:rotfl:

SugarSpun

Ikea had a bunch of gift bags in a pack of different sizes for €3 on Saturday, but I'm not in the UK so we might have different things.

scattymam1

ooh thanks will check ikea next time i'm there

jamtart6

yay big claps for you all! so proud of you!!:T:T:T thanks loads for keeping me company on this challenege

ok so ive been away, no more holidays booked *sob* so its just xmas to look forward to (and the fact that Mr Jamtart has said we can go engagement ring shopping at the weekend:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:eek::D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D good job I'm not too excited!:j:j:j:j:j:j:j PS- I hasten to add this is not an official engagment, merely the selecting of the ring, it'll take another 3 years for him to ask me probably :rotfl:)

ok back to the gifts! I have evil september coming up, my worst gift month. All friend presents are done...anniversary present will cost £40 so need some vouchers for argos asap somehow!! and then 2 large birthdays which will total £100 boo the family haha!! get your thinking caps on guys, i only have £75 left to cover all of this, and then nothing for xmas :eek:

on the upside, september is a good month to get back into ebay, so I will be aiming to make £200 on there for xmas (ie. before 30th november)...anyone want to join me on a mini ebay challenge?

mum2one

Congrtaulations on the chooseing of the engagement ring. Will raise a glass ready 4 u, (then gd excuse to have another when its official).

xxxxx

mum2one

A big hello to one and all, just been very organised and gone though all my clicks etc and done my updates - here goes


payments - me / dad / mum

Quidco
£18.73 (validated) £88.56 on way left them 31st July / £7.06 / £25.73

Greasy Palm
me - Ive given up with them / £10.95

Toluna
27970 - being dodgy

Valued opinions
£10.00 / £5.50 / £5.00

Home of research
£15.75 / £1.50 / £5.05

You gov
17.25 / £26.25

market points
345

Mutual Points
45/2012/2283 (daughter - 146)

One poll
£40.25 / £32.20 / £35.95 (£24.05 daughter)

Pigs back
4.25/ 0.00 / 6.55 (give up - gone dodgy - try again)

Sainsburys Nectar points
1380

Boots
£29.30

Tesco
£125.00 vouchers exchanged £500 Haven voucher off nxt yrs holiday
£23.02

Christmas tin
£166.00

Internet Activity tin - Now renamed as Orient Express money- need £247.00
£95.00

42 first class stamps

Daughters ballet fund - need £60.00 (dec)
£40.00

others
£5.00 asda card
£15.00 tesco card
£10.00 McDonalds Vouchers
£6.00 Love to shop vouchers

Walkers brit trips
120 points

Amazon vouchers - £390.00

xx