Xmas/New Year Overspend.............
 

Well now its all been and gone and the reality of january utility bills dropping through our door (or inbox) is upon us...........did you overspend over the yultide period or did you keep the purse strings tight this year (through choice or necessity) and if you did go wild , what did you spend on...? food, drink, presents, going out....? personally we`ve done really well with our spending, not spent a lot and had one of our best chrimbo`s ever, with plenty of the above but all done on a budget and are now ready to batten down the hatches for a credit crunch busting 2009....

Re: Xmas/New Year Overspend.............
 

Well I got a little expense I hadn't expected flashy, the flaming fridge went kaput this week, cost me the thick end of £200:mad:

Re: Xmas/New Year Overspend.............
 

i must say...i never overspend on anything anytime at all, i've always been careful with my money no matter what time of year it is, if i havent got it then i dont spend it, its as simple as that

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This is very strange (but good) behaviour for a female...............:eek:

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it wasnt me who started the thread lol

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i pay my bills BEFORE they are due too, dont know why but i've always been like that, never ever been in any debt either, never borrowed money from these doorstep loans, never had a credit card

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Ya just notice that flashy, but you usually do start things on here so thought I'd give you the credit:D

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Cost me about the same to m.o.t the car.Otherwise not to bad,still got 75 cans left over.:drunk::drink:

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Thanks for the reminder. Got to MOT my car in Jan and get it serviced which will probably cost 200 ish all together.

Still, we had a good Christmas and New Year and didnt spend as much as in previous years, (i think).

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Well in the black for a change. I started earlier this year and it has paid off. :D Will be doing the same this year as the crunch is upon us. Only big bill I had was my TV licence so for the first time in years I have spare dosh in the first couple of weeks in January. :D

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Been a bit off colour over the holidays have you Beni:D

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So I'm okay for a rough sub then SPUGS:D

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hm no comment: however I am going to be having a big sale on ebay to pay my credit cards off: Lesson learnt ( Never Ever Again )

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You could say that,waiting for my gob to heal after the tongue op.Should be back in form shortly,pain receding.:alright::Banane35::drink:

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Don't spend money I haven't got and never had a credit card. If I haven't got the money I go without.

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I pay off my credit card in full every month (I never pay interest) and am paid cashback for using it.
Mid January my card will be in credit when I will get a cashback credit of £25 approx

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How many people could say that though Margaret? Well done you but think you are one of the very few.

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Forgot about the tongue op Beni, but would have thought the Amber Nectar would have eased the pain even more:D:cheers:

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I have never paid one penny of interest on my cards either Margaret, I just use mine as a convenience as I get a lot of stuff on the net and phone

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same here, though i dont get cashback?:confused: aint overspent never really do. had problem with car xmas eve, aint bin able to drive since, have to ring mechanic tomoz he said, so thats a surprise worth waiting fer......i dont think.:(

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Spent miles more than I usually do but I am fortunate to be in a financially good place :) in my life.

Credit cards in this day and age are almost a necessity when it comes to purchases over £100 purely for the insurance cover if anything goes wrong..i.e. the company going bust before you get your items

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There's a hell of a lot of sense in that HR, that's why I always us my CC instead of my DC when buying things

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thank you kind sir :D

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I use my credit card the same way as H R and pay it in full before it attracts any interest. I never spend money I haven't got and I have never been overdrawn with my bank. We've had a very good Christmas/New Year without overspending.

Nik, for her part, had been buying shopping vouchers all year, through work, and had over £200 worth to spend in various shops and stores - so that was her Christmas presents sorted. :)

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Yes I save all year for the shopping vouchers, I know people think they are a con but wouldn't like to be without them myself:) And yes I know I could put the money in the bank but there is always the temptation to "borrow" it when money is short:(

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No con as long as you can trust the person collecting the money. She just banks it then arranges for the vouchers (all sorts, like M & S, Top Shop, various toy shops, it covers everything). I put my money in the bank but Nik knows she'd draw hers out and spend it before Xmas. :D

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Ohhh Nik could be my twin:) Yes my collector is very trustworthy and also very grateful for whatever she earns for doing it.;) She is more than welcome to her commission I wouldn't like all the hassle:)

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Just be careful with the vouchers you buy for this Christmas, half the stores on High Street Vouchers won't be there come December 2009 !:eek:

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that is damn good advice, hang on a while n see what develops i would say.:)

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Interest rates on savings has dropped yet again so when one of my fixed rate deals ends next month I will get 0.88%net interest - I might as well spend it on a dishwasher, and a washer dryer and put the rest in Premium Bonds

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Thanks for the warning but lets hope that they aren't all going to be gone:eek: Just counted and there are twenty one shops, lets hope that some of them hold out:)

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Me too. Bernie..i always tell the salesgirls that when they try to force you into having one of their wonderful stoRe cards,,,

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Also that some shops wont be taking the vouchers as they have done this xmas, that are still here come xmas 09 anyway, many are dropping out of the voucher scheme.

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read that in the paper the other day

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That's a very good point. Lucky, in a perverse way, that this recession has started now and not in 6 months time.

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I just mentioned it to Nik and she says it's not quite the way it sounds. She tells the person who's collecting which shops she wants vouchers for, at Christmas, and the collector then goes and gets them. As she pointed out, she could have £200 worth of Sainsburys vouchers if she wanted them, and they're not all that likely to go bust, so it's not quite as "dicey" as it appears.

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i know they arent all the same but i refuse point blank to get anymore vouchers since i got robbed by farepak

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I usually put a couple of quid on Asda cards each week then give them to grand kids for their Christmas presents.

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It isn't really sound practice to let someonelse have use of your money - they are, in effect, having interest free loans at your expense.

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I can see the sense in that................

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what protection do you have with these vouchers? NONE.

At least teh banks guarantee you. It was 35K but I seem to recall it went up recently to 50Kish.

I know where I would be placing my money....

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Some of the supermarkets probably pay more bonus on their savings cards than the banks pay interest on a savings account ;)

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I didn't know that some give you back more than you paid in - thats good to know

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What protection do you have if someone gives you M & S vouchers and book tokens as a gift? It's exactly the same. You take the risk of the honesty of the collector (who wouldn't get far - or, I suspect, walk for for long - if they embezzled) but the vouchers are not something dreamed up lately. Stores have had gift vouchers ever since I can remember and that's all these are.

I wouldn't use the scheme myself, I don't need to, but I can't see a problem and, believe me, I'm the sort to look for them.

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I didn't , I just know what happened to the unfortunate folk with Our Price and Music Zone vouchers !:rolleyes: