So rather than give individual gifts, why not buy for the whole family with one big gift. Buy the family a beauty pack for the whole family to enjoy.
It is good to be inventive and what you can afford. Prices of things are going up and so I hope these gift ideas help you to budget and have a good Christmas without worrying about the price as its the fact you have given a gift that means the world to the people you love and care for.
Even a collage of family photos. I love being creative and I ask those I buy for of what they’d like.
So I will back with more Cheat sheets as we move forward towards Christmas and wish you a good week.
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I hope you all had a good time doing Trickle Treating and fire displays. I have done some gift guide videos. Please check out my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@financialliving
Now it is birthday season for me and then of course there is Christmas and hear is my first Cheat Sheet with gift ideas.
This is all those who love books and planners and great gifts as they are useful and I love to read and can be passed down and give old books too, if they are in good condition.
These Cheat Sheets I post on this site each Monday are completely free to download and print.
It is good to just take my time to drink a cup of tea or coffee and gather myself to set the tone of the day and not rush. It is good to set up your day so you look forward to it, like a nice cool shower with a lovely shower cream you like, that makes you feel fresh and alive.
My choice is Radox, Nivea, Sanctuary Spa and just enjoy the water on my body, with a hair wash with Dove, head and shoulders and others I like to use different ones and do this each Sunday morning feeling properly awake, ready to take on the day and week ahead.
I do like a bath too but I save that for evening and good to have a lovely soak after a very hot day and just wind down after the eventful day to ensure I get a good nights sleep. I am been using Sanctuary Spa bath soak.
Then it is going through my plans for the day. I love planning and setting goals. I am going to set up some goals for the next season that is coming up (Autumn) and prepare for the next year of school, so my son is prepared to go back and completing my Life Coaching programme “Summer Project 2024” and if there something you liked that I have covered in this years (2024) life coaching programme, please give me your feedback of what you’d like me to talk about on this blog. You can leave a comment below.
The other thing is journaling. I love to journal and going to get back into scrapbooking, to store memories and get some pictures printed to help store them and creating more art and started to create my own prints as I am going to be doing up my room in Epsom and also going to use the shed, which we having work done. We are getting the roof of the shed redone and plan for my programme, Autumn Reset which I do each year and helps to get areas of my life completed, to start new projects and also complete another course. I have completed many as there are many things I want to do and create and continue to grow online and on the outside too, by making a difference for people.
It is important to have things set up so you can ensure that every gets done and you enjoy life.
We can get so bogged down with to do list and feel “Why?” can’t I do that another day? And so think about it, what do you want to do? What would make it easier? Perhaps you are thinking too much about it and thinking about the process, and that is putting you off.
One of habits to get bits done is to jot if down and what is the first step I need to do. Example: Cleaning my room. So I think about what one thing can I do write now that will help make it less painful? So I started clearing receipts and put them in a small folder. I then it charged it up and then went through what can I do next, and then found myself taking it all cleared and it took literally five minutes to do.
So take your time and clearing one thing is still getting it done.
I will spend my time each day checking my bank accounts and what has come out and gone in. Every Sunday I will go through what I spent in the week, and helps me to monitor what I buy and how it is spent as I do prefer spending cash and not debit.
just staying stop of things, gives me that piece of mind.
So go through your habits and what habits you want to implement in your life, and what is working in your life and what is not. Set your goals and what the outcome do you want. If you’d like this blog then please click, because it helps me see what subjects you like me to share and if you want to read more and be notified of my posts on this site then please subscribe.
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Here is my weekly post which has a free Cheat Sheet in helping you Get Your Life Together and cleaning and tidying areas in our life to declutter and organise and a great time to do this is during the summer hols, and is completely free to download.
Please check out my new Life Coaching video for my Summer Project 2024 talking about Everyone’s Capable of Living the best life.
I am not a rich chick, not saying I don’t want to be, but happy now, but growing and growing so it develops even better and set goals and practice positive habits and creating a plan, to grow my life to the best that it can be.
Last year it really made me look at where my money was going, and did a yearly budget which I have started to do this year, and it helped me manage my money effectively, and that bought me results. I spent time avoiding things like my bank account knowing that it could go down to zero and asked do I want this to be the rest of my life? Do I want die being in debt? If I want to go on a holiday, buy new clothes or notebooks and put money beside for my son, I needed to change my habits and so doing No Spend was so rewarding. I now check my bank account everyday and do a spending plan each week and month and just by making these changes in your life, like prioritizing on what is truly important to you, can grow your money for it to go further.
This year I decided to do No Spend because I want this year to be the end of debt and now setting in place a strategy by giving myself a monthly allowance to buy whatever I want and the same online, and this helps stop and save on many things and limited how much I wish to spend on the things I want and measure the need for an item, when using my allowances.
I have decided to pay off my credit card debt by August this year and this will be free up space to save and build my income. Rather than spending money on courses, I having been doing some that are free and complete the ones I have paid for and make my spending useful, by donating money or food each month to a foodbank, whenever I go to the newsagents use the change to donate to their charity box, and now I pay my son a pound for when he reads his book, so he can build his pocket money, and have him pay for the things he wants.
My son needs to learn about money and buying things for himself, and it has been very effective, as he is at the age to understand and I learned this from when I was a child. I the other day went through my stuff in my plastic draw unit in Wimbledon, as I travel and spend time in Epsom and Wimbledon each week, and found more notebooks still not used, and has stopped me from buying any more, and use what I have already got.
I am realising that I can save by shopping in my own wardrobe and room, and see that I have enough of what I need and its not about quantity but quality, and if its going to be beneficial to me in the long run.
To track my money I use a spreadsheet for myself on Excel and using it to see where my money is going towards and if I need to change my budget in some areas and cut down, like food shopping and perhaps being a bit too tight about it.
It has helped me to see what I enjoy, like meeting my mum for lunch, or going to a coffee shop and write and not stuck in doors, or going for a walk which is free exercise and buy a coffee whilst I enjoy a walk and can shop now without buying.
So, I challenge you to do No Spend January when it comes around again, and begin like I did at first have No Spend days and set a budget for each area of your life to invest in the things you love.
Hello it is Monday again and beginning a new week and for me gets me pumped up to start the week on a good note and plan for the week ahead, and there are things you can do that don’t take too much time and if you don’t want to clean in one day or organize, then break it up and here are things you can do under ten minutes. This is from my own personal experience.
Things you use all the time make them assessable and easy reach for you, but not where if you have children they can get to if really young, and teach your children about cleaning and how to use the cleaning products you have and supervised.
So plan your week and on Mondays I like to go through my finances and plan my writing for the week and editing of books and vlogs and for film for my other channels, and this morning had to finish a form to send. I like to plan and go through what exercise I’d like to do each week and started meal planning again and making sure there is no waster and practice affordable living. Please check out my Youtube channel:
Here I talk about how I manage my finances. It is good to set the week up for success and build and grow as I introduce more good habits that help me stay productive and have good quiet breaks through the day and week.
I started to plan my goals for 2024 this week, and getting ready to kick start the new year, and see what I can accomplish. I have already set my financial goals, and now starting my Personal/Home goals, and then set work goals and then play.
However set your goals that suit you, as everyone has different things going on in their lives so it isn’t one size fits all. I find some goals over lap, with other goals like Financial goals, example, Pay off debt could be in Financial and Personal/Home goals, along with fitness goals.
So, first of all I like to reflect on the previous year, before getting myself ready for the new year and putting a printable together to help you, and then start planning for the new year.
I use a notepad and OneNote, and set yearly goals and Quarterly goals, and separate them, and also do a vision board on Pinterest, and want to do one using Canva. I have already started on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/thetypicalLondongal/vision-board-2024/
I like to set goals for my son and things I’d like for him to do, like for example he has a bike for Christmas and want to take him to a cycle park, and get confident in riding his bike, and he wants to use a Tennis court to play tennis, and so, this I would like to put into home. Then there Play where I want to take him to different places on the train, and he actually wants to be a train. Yes we have had many discussions, about this and not sure, it is being heard as my son is very determined, and not getting that he does have wheels or several doors, but I am sure that he will grow out of thinking that he and ride on the train tracks, and can work on the trains.
Then there is work. So it could be, getting a pay rise and work more hours, or less, and have a side hustle, and want to build your career and profession. If you like me, write blogs and books, then it could be write a new book, or complete a book, or do some writing everyday and create it, into a book and get it published. I love creating stories and have many books that I have started, but not continued, and once one ideas comes into my head, so does another, and then it could, doing Voluntary work, or changing careers. It is all about how it makes you feel. If it excites you, then do it, and yes, you can get self doubt, but if it gives you a buzz, I say go for it.
If you’d like to check out my current books, then go to amazon, and look under my names, Carrie Challoner and Carrie Holmes.
So, lets enjoy the rest of 2023, and be ready for 2024.
Since a kid I have loved donating to others and when we had a fete on the housing estate I lived in Hammersmith, I would donate clothes for the jumble sale they had, and loved giving to good causes.
I would watch and donate to Children in Need and Comic Relief and now I want t help out in food banks and donate food and would like to do a monthly haul to give away to a local food bank, to feed families in the UK and the other countries and make a real difference.
Or donate money to them to help feed families and homes, that can’t afford groceries in supermarkets as the prices increase. How is somebody able to live when everything is going up and increasing.? More should be done.
Next year I am going to do walks again for Charity and raise money for good causes. I loved doing this and helps me get fit and grow myself, so why not join me. If you have tips on fundrsaising then please comment below, I love sharing knowledge to help give support and build a community that gives us all a boost to live our lives the best we can and make a difference.
I am gong to begin by buying food that someone can have for at Christmas and be able to buy a contribute in having a Christmas meal or things like Mince Pies and tinned vegetables and something that have long shelf life, and still celebrate, rather than just having whatever meal they have, to feed their family and donate things like Crackers and Puddings, and just making sure they can still enjoy the seasion, and buy a gift to donate for chilidren that may not have one, because of their parents not able to buy them a gift, and often the Supermarkets will have a Christmas appeal to help feed families, So check them out.
So, lets give and change the world and its poverty.
Yes it is that time now where I share my monthly newsletter of what is coming up and share tips on various things and this month is all about getting ready for Christmas.
Everyone can build a castle 