The 2008 Money Neutral Gift Challenge

mum2one

I've finished my Christmas shopping, sad but true. All got left is dd/mum/dad.

Money neutral 100%

Breakdown 2008 (accounted mum+ dads. mine, dd as one figure)

Birthday -
Budget - £426
Actual Spend £174
Saved - £252
Proper prices of gifts - £526.00

Christmas
Budget - £632.00
Actual - £303.50
Saved - £331.50
Proper Price - £1043.

xx

mum2one

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but its only 141 shopping days to xmas, and Father Christmas has moved into Harrords, with the Christmas shop open. x

scattymam1

Yoohoo everyone - everyone must have their heads down, working at being money neutral. I def. am. Some of my survey sites have dried up a bit and I'm just waiting for a few more surveys so I can order vouchers ready for christmas. Need to order them soon as some take a while to come and I want all shopping done by Oct 31st if poss. I only have 3 birthdays left this year and I have them covered.
Saving a lot and bulking out pressies as I'm making a lot of pressies :T - got a lot of ideas from the crafty for christmas thread and I'm a keen scrapbooker so lots of mini scrapbooks to be made soon. I won a competition this month and got a very generous prize of more scrapping stuff which will always come in useful in making presents.

So here's where I'm at this month...
Coke Zone: 27 points (have been stealing peoples finished coke bottles to boost my points too) I was going for 140 for two cinema tickets and they downed it to 100 points for two tickets so dead chuffed - anniversary pressie for DH if they come in time)
Boots:5.82
Pigsback:11.15 (just off clicks)
Morrisons petrol:almost up to another £5 voucher
Tesco:12.00
E-bay/paypal:£15.00
Toluna:34,575 (totally dried up)
onepoll:20.10
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: 210 (Just cashed in and put £15 in my paypal account)
Trusted places: working on getting a £10 amazon voucher soon
Just joined pinecone research - hoorah - I hear they're good

Christmas saving: So I will use my boots and tesco points soon on pressies when I figure out what I want to get people. I still have a £5 sainsburys voucher and a £10 Argos voucher waiting to be spent, have a £5 amazon voucher coming in the post too. Am spending paypal money on ebay bargains and trying to get as much as possible for my money. Have started getting presents now, swopped an evans £10 voucher for cash with a friend so have bought a few things - biggest saving so far is a load of polly pocket things for my niece - very cheap, nothing cost more than 99p - fab. Just want my £20 argos voucher from IPSOS to come too after one more survey.

Was also my birthday this month so have a couple more pressies there that I wouldn't or can't use - must write down who they were from so I don't end up giving them to the same person - that would be...:o !!!

SugarSpun

I'll update as well!

I still need to buy the fresh gifts (mustard and sausages), which I will buy right before leaving for Christmas. I also need to buy the Christmas wine, although I have five bottles of very good wine that I'm hoarding already so all I need are 2 bottles of Beaujolais Nouveau, our traditional Christmas drink.

I have:
1270 Pigsback points (£55 redeemed on vouchers)
£166.01 on Quidco
£47.11 made back on ebay

for a total of £280.82.

I have spent £191.25, which includes four Christmas shoeboxes and all birthdays, weddings and Christmas gifts for this year, and saved £512 on RRP.

I'm going to make some extra bits and pieces of handmade stuff for my family and have bought jars and boxes from Ikea for that. I'll also be making cookies for my OH's family, the plan is three or four varieties in either one big box or several small ones.

jamtart6

Hello long lost friends! How are we doing? Still havent had time to add up etc.
Well done all!!! Need to get back on eBay and as its 5p listing day on Thursday, might give it a go!!!

How many shopping days until xmas? I have 2 main family birthdays to buy for an have no idea what to get!!

I have bought my Dad's presents for xmas and birthday in the duty free on my hols! Saved a fortune!


Mum2one - where are you getting all the amazon vouchers from? x

jamtart6

113 shopping days until xmas! cant wait!!!!

scattymam1

can't wait too - want all my shopping done by oct 31st though and I'm naiming to have it all wrapped by nov 30th so I will have a more relaxing december this year

jamtart6

Great plan scattymam! Last year I bought all stuff to make gorgeous gingerbread men around 20th dec and was so ill with the norovirus, they never got made!! I blame it on stress!!

mum2one

Those Amazon vouchers, it was when they did the BView promo, got £10 for 1st 20 reviews, then could do upto 100, they decided that they liked my fathers reviews so he ended up doing over 300 reviews, there was me, mum, dad and dd, so between us we ended up doing 780 reviews....... I never want to see a review again.

But its got spent.......Plan was DS for me, + few games, few games dd, (shes got ds 4 her bday end of mth....then save the rest.....the tv decided to blow a gasket, all we had was 3in square........so my darling mother ended up with a posh tv and stand...did leave me some change....2p! So I zapped the ds on dads credit card!! x

mum2one

scattymam1 wrote: »

can't wait too - want all my shopping done by oct 31st though and I'm naiming to have it all wrapped by nov 30th so I will have a more relaxing december this year

If you get ur prezzies wrapped by 30th Nov.....you can come and wrap mine....I'll supply the bottle of wine!! xx