Friday's Frugalities

I missed posting yesterday, real life got in the way! And I'm only here with a very quick round up this evening, I didn't want the month to end without tying up the loose ends.

Today's (and yesterday's) combined additions to the pot are £24.12 eBay, £5.00 from selling off my old stock, £7.12 from using Asda vouchers and £3.67 'oddses' from my bank account. A grand total of £39.91!

Added in Feb so far: £346.23
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-179.23 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-196.74 Hurrah!

I'm really pleased to have done so well in what has actually been quite a lean month in the Challengee household - by going over and above my monthly target I've made the March target significantly lower which is good since I'll be away for a whole week towards the end of the month. With £1298.14 to go, next month's targets look like this:

Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in March £167
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1298.14÷10) = £129.81 - left to do in March £129.81


Running total:

£715.86

Wednesday Witterings

Well, today has been a landmark day - I finally received payment from MusicMagpie! They rejected a couple of my DVD box-sets due to what they call 'damaged artwork' - I can only assume they meant the covers were a bit scuffed. It's annoying as they don't return the items they reject and I presume they still sell them on in some way - they're hardly likely to send large quantities of perfectly watchable DVD's to landfill just because the covers aren't brand new. So somewhere along the line they made a few extra pennies at my expense. Still, hey-ho and on we go, I shan't use them again and I'm just glad to finally get paid - £9.70!

Additionally, I sold £12 of old stock and made £6.19 through eBay, so today's total is a healthy £27.89.

Added in Feb so far: £306.32
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-139.32 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-156.83 Hurrah!

Running total:

£675.95

Belated Tuesday Top-ups

I didn't post last night as I came upstairs much later than planned (I blog from the 'office' computer upstairs as I find the iPad a pain to work from) and fell into my bed without a second thought!

Yesterday's contribution was the £12.99 I used earlier in the month (here) on a giftcard - I couldn't put it into the pot at the time but the end of the month is more fruitful!

I'll be back this evening - thankyou to those who commented on my last post to say they're still reading!

Added in Feb so far: £278.43
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-111.43 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-128.94 Hurrah!

Running total:

£648.06

Very Dull Monday Mutterings

If I have any remaining readers clinging on out there, I think you deserve a medal. This blog is fast becoming as interesting as watching paint dry!

Today's addition is solely £12.47 from eBay. I did get some good charity shop bargains which will be going onto eBay tomorrow - but I really must think of some interesting way of making money!

Added in Feb so far: £265.44
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-98.44 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-115.95 Hurrah!

Running total:

£635.07

Sunday's Savings

My Qmee total reached £1.07 again today so I cashed out, and with a couple of small eBay items (£7.75) I have a total of £8.82 to add to my fund. 

I've had a 'payment processing' email from MusicMagpie today - which says 'please allow several days'. I discovered yesterday that weBuyBooks also buy Cd's and DVD's - I know where I'll be selling in future. MusicMagpie's time schedule is a farce, and their online reviews agree with me!

Picked up one or two resaleable items at the car boot sale this morning, and stopped the car to get out and pick up a coin I spotted - only to discover it was an old-style 5pence piece! I now have 70p in old (huge) decimal coins - apparently Lloyds will exchange them for face value when I get to £1. There's no end to the embarrassment I'll go through for the sake of making money :D

Added in Feb so far: £252.97
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-85.97 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-103.48 Hurrah!

Running total:

£622.60

Saturday's Snippets

This evening I decided to treat myself to an Indian takeaway (the first this year!) and as it had stopped raining for a nano-second, I thought I'd walk down to collect it rather than have it delivered. I didn't realise that the restaurant offers a 10% discount for orders that are collected in person - so I was delighted to save an unexpected £1 off my order! That's gone into my pot, along with £5.88 from eBay today - and I'll be collecting my food every time from now on!

Added in Feb so far: £244.15
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-77.15 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-94.66 Hurrah!

Running total:

£613.78

Friday's Frugalities

My only addition to my £2014 fund today is £4.03 from eBay - I haven't even got any 'oddses' in my bank account to transfer! Next week should be easier.

On a brighter note, however, I had a couple of cracking finds for my 'found money' pot today - firstly another 50p piece (that's two within a week, and they're like hens teeth usually) and then a few minutes later what did I spot, crumpled under a hedge? A nice (slightly damp) £5 note! My first paper money find this year!

Added in Feb so far: £237.27
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-70.27 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-87.78 Hurrah!

Running total:

£606.90

Thursday's Thoughts

Not much to tell tonight - £2.22 from eBay and a fiver from sale of stock. Still NOTHING from MusicMagpie! Still, £7.22 in total today takes me over the £600 mark.

Added in Feb so far: £233.24
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-66.24 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-83.75 Hurrah!

Running total:

£602.87

Wednesday's Witterings

Phew - I thought I was going to have to report a NIL total for today - but I've been saved at the eleventh hour by an eBay sale! £7.40 into the pot.

In my defence, there should have been £6.50 from sale of old stock this morning, but the lady only went and paid me with £2 coins! Now £2 coins are saved religiously in my 'Holiday Fund' Terramundi pot, so unfortunately I couldn't divert the funds into my £2014 account. The worst of it was she actually gave me four £2 coins so I 'lost' £1.50 out of my own pocket into the Holiday Fund as well :D

So today's total is £7.40 - fingers crossed for MusicMagpie to come through for me tomorrow.

Added in Feb so far: £226.02
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-59.02 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-76.53 Hurrah!

Running total:

£595.65

Tuesday's Top-ups

A nice large addition to my pot today, thanks to WeBuyBooks from this morning and a few eBay bits too. WeBuyBooks netted me £10.25 and eBay brought in a further £14.41, so a nice healthy £24.66 in total!

Added in Feb so far: £218.62
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-51.62 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-69.13 Hurrah!

Running total:

£588.25

Extra Tuesday Post!

I normally blog in the evenings but I had to jump online this morning to tell you about the brilliant service I have had from WeBuyBooks. As I told you, they got my parcel yesterday after I sent it Thursday pm - and my payment hit my PayPal account this morning. I'm delighted with this fast service and would definitely use them again in future. To be frank, they're making MusicMagpie (to whom I sent a parcel on the 3rd Feb, which has been showing as 'processing' for a week now) look like a shower of... brown stuff.

So well done and thank you WeBuyBooks, for doing what you said you do quickly and efficiently.

No totals for today yet, I'll be back this evening with that!

Monday's Mutterings

Today's contribution comes solely from eBay and is £16.63. I have had an email from WeBuyBooks though, to say my parcel has arrived. Now, it went via Collect+ and left here late on Thursday afternoon, so that's pretty good going - considering my MusicMagpie box went by exactly the same method and apparently took ten days to get there! Hopefully I should have results from both of those some time this week.

Today was the first day in a long time that I didn't find a single penny in the street :(

Added in Feb so far: £193.96
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-26.96 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-44.47 Hurrah!

Running total:

£563.59

Sunday's Savings

(Hurrah, I made it through the entire week in alliterative headings!).

Today's additions come from eBay, old stock and a free McDonalds hot chocolate! Totalling £9.94

eBay: £7.95
Old Stock: 80p!
Free McD's hot choc £1.19 (using those coffee bean stickers you collect. I often scavenge these!).

Today was a good day for finding money in the street too - I found a 50p outside McDonalds (which is very rare, people almost never drop 50pence pieces) and 34p in other coins outside the shops. I'm really having to fight temptation over opening my pot!

Added in Feb so far: £177.33
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-10.33 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-27.84 Hurrah!

Running total:

£546.96

Saturday's Snippets

Today's top-ups comprise £5.45 from eBay and £3.75 from sale of old stock = £9.20. Not a huge amount but every little helps!

Added in Feb so far: £167.39
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £-0.39 Hurrah!
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-8.70 Hurrah!

Running total:

£537.02

Friday's... frugalities?

(Really strugging with the alliteration now!).

Today I treated myself to lunch from Subway and thought it was worth asking the lady to check if I had enough points on my card to cover the cost of my sub - and hurrah, I did! So that saved £2.79 for the pot. I also sold a tenner's worth of old stock from my job on Facebook. Today's total = £12.79!

Had an email from Music Magpie to say my items have now been received and are 'processing'...

Added in Feb so far: £158.19
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £8.81
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £-8.70 Hurrah!

Running total:

£527.82

Thursday's Thoughts

(Not sure I can keep this alliterative title business going all week!)

Today I used £3.84 in vouchers and a £2.00 gift card in Asda, so that's £5.84 saved and going into the pot. I've also transferred £2.16 'oddses' from my bank account, so today's total is £8.00.

Added in Feb so far: £145.40
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £21.60
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £4.09

Running total:

£515.03

Wednesday Witterings

Just one tiny addition today - £5.03 from eBay. I have been very good today and listed a further fifty items! Hopefully I'll start to see results very soon. 

My items are now 'processing' at Music Magpie - it seems very suspicious that when I send an eBay package via Collect+ it gets to the customer within a few days, yet when it's going to MM it takes ten days. Very odd. I suspect they sit on it for a few days at their end to delay sending out my pennies!

Went for a (very windy) walk today and picked up a further 14p in coppers for my 'found money' jar - at this rate it will need emptying long before the end of the year!

Added in Feb so far: £137.40
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £29.60
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £12.09

Running total:

£507.03

Tuesday's Top-ups..

This morning (after posting yesterday's update at stupid o'clock) I sat at my desk and mucked about briefly with a few crafty bits. Two hours later I'd sold the result on Facebook for a fiver! I'm afraid I can't tell you what I created  (as I'd have to kill you) but I was pretty pleased with my swift result. Buyer paid via Paypal so after fees I got £4.88 - not bad for a few minutes messing with glue!

I also sold six pairs of socks to my neighbour at 3 pairs for £1 - I have a huge stash of new socks left over from when I used to make sock monkeys, so my friends know where to come when they need cheap foot-coverings! Another £2 into the pot...

Finally eBay brought me in £8.33 today, so my Tuesday Total is £15.21.

Added in Feb so far: £132.37
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £34.63
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £17.12

Running total:

£502.00 (only £1.50 away from 25% of target!)

Monday's (delayed) mutterings.

Yesterday was a busy day and I was too tired last night to update, so here I am at 07:23 on Tuesday morning instead.

Yesterday I used a £2.50 voucher in a pub restaurant off my meal, so that goes into the pot. I also added £6.32 from eBay and a further £3.03 from 'oddses' after a D/D went out of my bank account. So Monday's additions totalled £11.85.

I also used a gift card to purchase my friend's birthday present and, at the end of the month, I'll add that £12.99 to the pot. I can't add it right now as A) I don't have it spare and B) if I hadn't had the gift card, I'd have waited until the end of the month to get the gift anyway. 

Picking up money in the street is going pretty well too, my Terramundi pot feels maybe a quarter-full already!

Added in Feb so far: £117.16
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £49.84
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £32.33

Running total:

£486.79

WeBuyBooks

I've been wandering around Blogland today and found myself at 'From Aldi To Harrods' which is a fab blog chock-full of ideas for making extra money  - one of which was a link to WeBuyBooks. I'd never heard of them before, they work just like Music Magpie and I've just boxed up a few books which I'd been given and didn't want. So that'll be just over a tenner into the pot when I get paid.

Today's addition comes from eBay and is £5.27. I did get a couple of items to resell at the boot sale this morning, including a genuine Radley bag for just £1. So I must get some more items listed this week!

Added in Feb so far: £105.31
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £61.69
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £44.18

Running total:

£474.94

A tad more positive today.

A few more eBay bits finished today, adding £13.78 to the pot, and I managed to get my Qmee piggybank up to £1.01 and cashed out. So a total of £14.79 added to my total today!

Off to the car boot sale in the morning - buying, not selling though. Yes, I know, I know, I need to get my stuff sorted and get down there to sell one day soon! Hoping to pick up a few nice resaleable items tomorrow though. Fingers crossed!

Added in Feb so far: £100.04
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £66.96
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £49.45

Running total 

£469.67

Slooooooooooooooowing doooooooooowwwwn...

Nothing whatsoever to report yesterday, and only £3.79 'oddses' today! My Qmee is on 96p and I'm waiting for it to hit £1 to cashout, and my Music Magpie box hasn't got to them yet. I'm trying to find the motivation to do a car boot sale on Sunday...

Added in Feb so far: £85.25
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £81.75
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £64.24

Running total 

£454.88

Cash 4 Clothes

Yesterday my son finally got around to having a sort out of his old clothes. I've been asking (nagging) him to do this for about two years! 

There were a couple of items which I've put on one side for eBay but the majority of it went to the local Cash4Clothes branch, weighing in at 15 kilos and making £9 for my pot. 
I also picked up some washing powder from Costco for my neighbour and was told to keep the change, so another quid went in - and a further £4.63 from eBay. So £14.63 today!

Added in Feb so far: £81.46
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £85.54
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £68.03

Running total 

£451.09

Thinking outside the (chocolate) box!

I was given another box of posh chocs at the weekend, this occasionally happens through work. Now, firstly I'm trying to lose weight and secondly, my tastes in chocolate are actually very plebian - I'm a Cadbury's fan.
Well the giver had left the receipt in the bag and had paid in cash, so today I returned them to the shop and popped the £13 refund into my fund. Ker-ching! Was this naughty of me? It would have been ungrateful to have handed them back, but they'd have been wasted otherwise... 

Also added £6.65 from eBay (diverted a few other pounds into other savings) and got 12p interest on my bank account! 

Added in Feb so far: £66.83
Original Monthly Target: (£2014÷12) = £167 - left to do in Feb £100.17
Balance-Based Monthly Target: (£1644.37÷11) = £149.49 - left to do in Feb £82.66

Running total 

£436.46