NST December 2024 – the TARDIS awaits

apple_muncher

I have had a most enjoyable day! Pip went to school, I shopped at sainz and liddle and went to the gym - all with no time constraints. Then I had a couple of hours before big sis returned. With niece in tow! Lots of chatting, niece telling us about her recent trip. DH appeared, I collected Pip, everyone was fed and we had lots of giggles.

Today I am grateful for my family, for being able to shop and not worry about the total, for baked potatoes for tea, for lots of giggles, for feeling relaxed.

Esmeralda2662

Hi @apple_muncher, please can i join you all for December? What a fantastic challenge!  

dizzyblnd

Wow what a lot of things to be thinking about this month. I will aim for 15 nsds and 31 things out of my house. I donated a new body wash gift set to a local raffle today as I was gifted it but not my style so past it on so 1/31. I have also managed to not spend today. So nsd #1 complete. 

I have a few social events to enjoy this month. Most of which have been either partially or fully paid for through the year. I’m hoping to keep spends low. I have the majority of Christmas presents, just need to sort the last few bits. 

grandmanerd

I went to the library and got 3 new large print books and carried on to a cs with a large bag of donations (jigsaws and baubles). Stuff has gone in the recycling bins (large bin bag is nearly full) and 4 trips from  the sink to the drain outside. Very tired.

From Laura at How to Get Your S!*$ Together:
Time Traps To Avoid
1)   Abandon 'Perfection'. The 'perfect Christmas' does not exist, and if it did it would not involve perfectly fluffed pillows or the whole family (including teacup dog) in matching pajamas. 

2)   Resist expectations that you 'Should' be filled with joy. Christmas can be a tough time for many and involves lots of different feelings. Feel all your feelings, they all have their place and may be telling you something important.

3)   Avoid over-scheduling events. Saying yes to every invite means saying No to your own peace of mind. Pick the ones you truly enjoy and politely decline the rest. One Christmas market is better than lots of them (you'll just end up frazzled and poorer)

4)   Stop scrolling on social media. You can dip in for inspiration but don't linger.

5)   Take Care of You. You will achieve a lot more with less hassle if you prioritise Rest and Joy 

basketcase

Evening all!  I hope everyone's as well as possible and send hugs to anyone who feels in need of one.  Life can really knock you sideways sometimes...

@dizzyblnd I agree there are a lot of things to be thinking about!  Luckily they don't all apply and there's no pressure to do them all! 

I decided to try and group them by type and work out which challenges to deal with in each group.  As I said yesterday, I identified 5 vaguely finance-related, so here's my first lot.

Debt-free date

The only debt I've got is the new-to-me car.  Bought on a credit card which awards 'points' with a view to transferring to one with 0% for 20 months.  Will pay minimum and transfer the payment balance to a high interest savings account then pay off within the time.  So my latest date would be August 2026 (I think!)   If necessary, I could break into my savings, but this way they'll still be available for unforeseen incidents.

Organise your outgoings

I've worked on my budget for 2025 and wanted to use December as a 'practice run' anyway, so this is perfect.  Jobs for this week: meal plan, organise more batch cooking; tot up all annual payments (eg insurance, NTS membership etc), divide by 12 and set up monthly SO to savings account.  This means the money doesn't look "spare" and it's earning interest!

15 No Spend Days

I'll do my best.  Added Exemption: I withdraw cash to cover buying fresh stuff like bread, milk etc and won't count these against a NSD, unless I add non-budgetted 'wants'.

No entry to any sales

Don't generally go to sales, though I was wondering this year because my older fridge freezer will need replacing soon.  It's waited this long anyway!  I'm not too bad about coffee shops etc either, although I reserve the right to consider a Chinese on Boxing Day because it's almost a tradition, so is included in the Christmas budget for Justin.

Refuse to get sucked into guilt spending

Sales aren't really one of my problems.  I did used to feel bad because there wasn’t much money when the offspring were younger.  But they told me sternly not to be so daft.  So I stopped.  Eventually!  But I will remove 31 items from my dwelling this month!  (Though I doubt anyone will be able to tell!)

Another day without spending so NSDs=2/15

And that's definitely enough jobs for tomorrow!

Betharooni

NSD no 2 today. Another fairly quiet day, although I returned to work after being signed off for a month and a half. A bit of washing done. A long list of things to do tomorrow…

Today I’m grateful for a low pressure first day back at work, watching what I want on tv while DB1 is away and catching up on podcasts while I’m working.

beanielou

Count me in please.  

beanielou

I will have at least 20 NSD’s. I will remove at least 31 things from my house.  

I am on NSD 3 & have removed at least 3 items so far.  

apple_muncher

Today I'm having fun converting cats to dinosaurs!

f0xh0les

Nothing as interesting going on in F0xh0les Towers as apple's witchcrafty transmogrifications. 🪄 Bippety Boppety boo! 
Cleaned, tidied and hoovered all the top and middle floor bedrooms and put on the festive and tartan bedding. Huge pile of laundry mostly vanquished, the last load is in now. 
C-Word tree has been supplemented with a couple of branches from the old knackered malting tree that was on its way out. Looks much bushier now.
Robbed the top tier of the old tree and put it in an empty plant pot with some polystyrene.  Free mini tree for one of the boys bedrooms. 
Bathrooms cleaned,  bag for the charity shop filled, I have an idea for supper,  the kitchen looks like a bomb has gone off 💣💣💣. So after a cup of tea, the washing up will be vanquished and the s*dding laundry folded. At least the living room has been tidied. 
Won £350 on the PBs, so that is effectively my budget doubled for December. 
Read the meters and submitted the readings.