My money mission this month - Help me achieve it!

[angel1976]

I don't usually come on this topic but this is the most relevant for what I am trying to do so please bear with me! :) I really want to buy a Kindle for my DH for father's day. We are trying to buy a house at the moment so trying to be really frugal as money is going out left, right, centre for surveys etc. We are not poor but have 'stockpiled' all our savings in accounts we are not touching till the house sale/purchase is all completed.

I usually have about a thousand pounds in my current account as a 'buffer'. But in the last few months, I've paid out for a few house stuff without going into our 'house' savings and it's wiped out my buffer so am finding that I am going into OD at end of month (not good!) so this month, I'm trying to get back into the black by not buying anything unnecessary.

But this Kindle!!! DH really wants it but he won't buy it for himself now and till be a perfect father's day present. So my plan this month is to 'earn' extra money to buy it. So I am setting myself a target of £100. So far, I've:

• Redeemed my nectar card points for a £5 amazon voucher
  

• Been doing online surveys for money (but not looking great at money as I have £2.70 in one account and £2 in another and they don't 'pay' you till you have accumulated £10 and £40 respectively)
  

• I have a spare Take That ticket to sell and I think my good friend wants it for her mum, otherwise I will have to think of someone else who might want 1 Take That ticket
  

• Friend owes me £25 for a sling I sold her but haven't paid me so that can go towards that... Have other baby bits and bobs to sell but don't do ebay so not sure what's the best way of doing that...
  

So, I have £95 more to go...

Any other ideas? And who wants to join me (as in if you have a money mission this month!). :)

[countydurhamlass]

i would ebay things. i have found children clothes are always a winner and have sold lots of the clothes my son has grown out of

[angel1976]

My stupid ebay account got hacked a while ago and I managed to get it shut down and for some strange reason, could never get back on it again... Gutted! It really put me off ebay when my account got hacked as I always thought I was very tech-savvy. But might give it a go with a new account, fresh start and all! :) Thanks for that. Wish I knew someone having a boy who needs stuff but all my friends are on their second or third so no need for second-hand baby stuff!

[suebfg]

Second the Ebay idea but make sure you factor enough in for postage.

A car boot sale is another option and is less hassle than Ebay - I made about £300 a long time ago on one and at least let's you get it all done with in a day.

You could also try online competitions - Moneysavingexpert's competition forum is the best place to find them. Be warned - it is addictive, is time consuming and it can take time for wins to come through. However I won £1,000 shortly after starting so was hooked from that point one and have had many wins since then.

Also, if you have stockpiled savings into various accounts, are you sure you're getting the best rate of interest?

Another idea is to look for accounts that have opening offers. I remember A&L/Santander having an offer a while ago whereby they would give you £100 if you opened a current account with them.

If you are doing any online purchases (including insurance etc), register with Quidco and you may find that you can get cashback on your purchases if you click via Quidco.

[hormonesnomore]

Look through your jewellery box - I was recently gobsmacked to be offered £70 for some old Argos gold chains, rings & earrings, most of which were broken.

Old phones are usually worth something too.

[hormonesnomore]

oh yes, I'd forgotten carboots - get rid of your old tat & make money!

[angel1976]

Thanks for the quidco idea. We always forget to quidco until after the fact! But we will have to take insurance on our new house so I will have to add that to our list of things to do...

I got the online survey idea from MSE, am now off to find the competition thread... :) A £1000 sounds like a good idea now!

I'm not too worried about savings interest rates at the moment as we need to access the money at short notice and we have left the ones in our ISA accounts untouched for now.

Ebay is a pain isn't it???? I want to do a baby sale (as we need to de-clutter before we move as well) but the local NCT ones have such long waiting lists...

[angel1976]

You have all inspired me... Have done the mobile phone thing so no more to flog... Might have to look into car boot sales though avoiding that as I've mostly got baby clothes and they sell for next to nothing usually at car boots... I'm 7 points short on my Nectar card before I can redeem £2.50 amazon voucher! Gutted Tesco clubcard don't do amazon vouchers as that's where we mostly shop and I have almost £10 with them!

[onadietcokebreak]

I have had alot of success on local buy and sell baby items groups on facebook .

[angel1976]

How do I find my local buy and sell baby items groups on FB? Thanks. :)

[suebfg]

Well you could check that you're getting the best deal on your ISA money. Obviously depends on how much money you have stashed away in ISAs and savings accounts, but the difference between a bad rate and a better rate can add up.

Also, stating the obvious, it doesn't really matter if you buy the Kindle from additional money made or saved. Look at all your existing deals for utilities, insurance etc and see if you can make savings that way.

Sorry for going on, I converted to MSE some time ago and it is very addictive!

[angel1976]

Thanks suebfg. I do appreciate what you are saying! I love MSE. Went off it and got back into it big-time recently. :)

[onadietcokebreak]

Its a bit tricky but try just inputting your town in facebook search and see what comes up.

Or you could use netmums boards!

[angel1976]

I just went on Netmums and joined a whole lot of competitions including one to win a £100 amazon voucher... This could be a very short thread, NOT!

[Carrotsandcelery]

Hi angel I have popped over from the no spend May thread.

Are there any Merrygoround sales in your area? They happen regularly here and are aimed at selling on childrens equipment, toys, clothes etc. Keep an eye out as they are a quick and simple way of selling on your stuff and generally help a charity too.

[angel1976]

Thanks carrots. I am keeping an eye out for any children and baby sales around here. I really need to get rid of stuff before we move as well. I have about 7 boxes of baby stuff but though we definitely don't want any more children, part of me feels a bit sad at getting rid of the kids' stuff. :( Argh! Need to let go! I will go and have a look for merrygoround... :)

[Carrotsandcelery]

I found it really hard to let go of my baby stuff. I gave my cotbed to an aquaintance and she didn't even send us a thank you card but did quiz me relentlessly about a missing screw

[angel1976]

LOL carrots. I have got rid of some stuff so not a complete hoarder but the stuff I am keeping now are stuff I loved for my kids and still in really good condition. I was hoping a really good friend would get pregnant with a boy and would appreciate all the nice stuff but still hoping... I want to keep some bits but I can't decide! When we move, we are going to get bunk beds for the boys so will need to get rid of a whole set of M&P furniture and they are really nice. SAD SAD SAD...

[Carrotsandcelery]

I found focussing on what I could do with the dcs now, that I couldn't do before, and what was easier, made parting with the baby stuff a bit easier.

Every time someone has a baby I am intensely jealous though.

[angel1976]

carrots I never want another one. Our family feels complete and I never understood when people say they feel sad as they will never be pregnant or have another baby again. But I suddenly got that feeling you know? My friend just told me she got pregnant and I am so happy for her but I told her it's weird that part of me feels sad that I will never feel that way again...

I just sold a pair of shoes that DS1 doesn't wear on here so that's £11.50 towards the kindle fund... £83.50 left to go! :)

[Carrotsandcelery]

Well done on the shoes angel.

We can't have any more without huge risks to me and the child so it is pretty much decided for us. I had dreadful pregnancies and that is enough to put me off too. It is just sad to think a stage of life is overwith. If someone gave me a baby now and I didn't have to carry it and give birth to it I would be over the moon!

[angel1976]

Thanks carrots I think you are my only friend on this topic! LOL.

I'm the same as you. It's not life-threatening but I had a prolapse after birth of DS2. Also on meds for pituitary tumour. I want to get my prolapse fixed but I can't do that until we are definitely done with DCs and I can get help for 6 weeks post-op as I can't do any heavy lifting or driving for quite some time afterwards. Definitely done with DCs but can't really afford to have 24/7 for 6 weeks post-op so will have to wait till the DCs are bigger and more independent.

[Carrotsandcelery]

Ooooh! That is a tricky situation. A friend of mine had to have surgery a wee while back but she could afford a nanny until her dh got home so she was driven around and all the child care was covered.

Could you get a rota of friends going? We are doing that for another friend who is going through tough times just now.

So how much in total do you have towards this kindle then?

[angel1976]

I have a target of £100 (they are £111) so now have £83.50 to go... :) I have a spare Take That ticket for London, which I will be able to sell. But my friend wants it for her mum and I am hoping she will pay for it soon as that would be £60 in the fund. Also, have a mummy friend who owes me £25 for a sling I sold her... I'm just not good at asking for money...

It's difficult to get a rota of friends. I think the first 2 weeks will be very tricky and DS2 is still of the age where he wants to be picked up a lot (he's 18 months old) so I figured in a year and a half, I should be able to have the surgery... Fingers crossed!

[CallMeBubblesEverybodyDoes]

How is it all going now, Angel? Did you ask your friends for the money they owe you? I find it easier to ask by text than in person. If your friend doesn't want the TT ticket, I would think you could definitely shift it on Ebay

[angel1976]

Hi Bubbles I didn't think anyone would be interested in this thread anymore... Guess what? I'm almost there! I sold the Take That ticket to a good friend of mine and she paid me! And my mummy friend paid me for the sling too. So I've reached my target of £100 but I wanted to make the full £111 and I think I am still a little short... I managed to redeem another £2.50 nectar points for an amazon voucher so I think I am £7 short overall.

I've been doing paid surveys for a while now and have almost £20 'stored up' but I can't redeem them yet... Also, they started selling Kindles at a Tesco near me and I have £12 of tesco vouchers so that will 'offset' the price but not sure if I should do it that way as I already have £7.50 on amazon vouchers squirrelled away. Thanks for asking. I know we are nearing 31 May and I'm so proud! As a bonus, I am also now back in the black (after a very careful month spend-wise) after a few months of dipping into my overdraft. Fingers crossed for the next few days...