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PMS Challenge 2008
Queenie
Posts: 8,793 Forumite
Little birdie tells me some of you are missing the Pin Money Savings Challenge, so ... here it is for 2008 
Here's the deal:-
This is our "Pin Money Savings Challenge" (PMS for short) - a very old style way of money 'saving'. The old adage: "Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves" is as true today as ever it's been and so has the old style idea of "Pin Money" (tucking away pennies to buy the odd luxury - in reality, that pin money literally saved the day when families lived payday to payday or the breadwinner was made redundant!)
Once you've set up your budgets (here's Martins article on the basics of budgeting for those who may not have done so yet) you'll know where you're at with your income/outgoings.
Some of you will already have earmarked amounts to tackle your debt problems (if you have them. Here is Martins article on Problem Debts) and some of you may even have set up regular savings.(Martins article on Starting Saving)
There's a danger that those "savings" are being swallowed up elsewhere and never really knowing just how beneficial those nips and tucks have been in reality or benefiting from them. This is pin money and we should know how much we're accumulating; We should be able to tap into that money and benefit from it; we've earned it by making cost cutting choices!
First, choose a goal. Think about what you want to save for. Maybe it's something relatively small that would actually help you to save more money in the future.
For example: I used some Tesco vouchers in January which saved me £28 on my monthly shopping bill - at the till I got that £28 via cash back and then I bought a bread maker in another shop which was on sale. The bread maker is saving me money as I don't go to the shops as often to pick up a loaf and end up tempted into buying extra's while I'm there plus it saves on petrol through less trips.
Maybe you wish for something larger - a family holiday? Dish washer? New car? These items may take longer to save up for, but they are still attainable.
Where is your pin money coming from? A variety of ways ...
Coupons/Vouchers: You can't bank on coupons when you draw up your household budget, so view them as bonus'.
If you normally spent £50 per week on groceries and that week you have coupons which reduce your bill by x amount, that x amount becomes your pin money savings. Put the same value of the coupons into your pin money.
Bogof's: If it's on your usual shopping list and you are able to get it on bogof - put the cash value of the saving into your pin money.
Freebies: I've put some of these into my gift box store; I can't bank on freebies to provide my gift needs (gift purchases are accounted for in my budget planning already) so they are also bonus' - so, the cash equivalent can go to your pin money.
The monthly food challenge:
Take a look through the Store cupboard Challenge and/or the Monthly Grocery Challenge. If you find your food bill reducing, put that extra into your pin money.
Tips from here: Cleaning E.g. Vinegar as a fabric softener; if you stop buying fabric softener, work out the saving (you'll need to deduct the cost of the vinegar you are replacing it with) and put that amount into your pin money.
Make it from Scratch: Look through the recipe collection and see if you can make it/bake it cheaper. Grow you own herbs/veggies to save money, check out the Greenfingered Moneysaving Forum Once you’ve deducted the amount spent on seeds/compost from the amount you would spend on buying those herbs, fruit or veg, the difference becomes pin money savings. Green and Ethical Forum has numerous ideas on recycling and saving money as well as the planet and very in keeping with the Old Style way of doing things.
Research your purchases! - before you buy anything have a look through the Shop but Don't Drop and Quick Grabbit While You Can forums to see if you can get it cheaper (utilise the "search" facility within those forums too). If all else fails, try posting in I Wanna Buy-It, Do-It forum, someone else may know of the best deal on what you're looking for.
At the end of each month, empty out your pin money and transfer that to a savings account (this way it can now begin to earn a bit of interest = more pin money! )
The start of the next month, you will know how much you've shaved off your basic grocery bill (this applies to the food/fabric softener example, not those unbankable freebies/bogof's/coupons) so begin by putting that into your pin money.
Each month we can post what we have saved money on and add to our pin money.
What if things are so tight that every saving you make each week can't be put away because it's needed elsewhere?
Not a problem, you can still keep a record but instead of cash this will be your "virtual" savings. It will be very encouraging to see how much you are "saving" by making small changes, even if you can't put away the actual cash.
Some of you have already absorbed these savings into your budget and recalculated accordingly, that's ok, this challenge still applies because any new ideas/tips that you pick up can now be utilised for your pin money.
Also, check out the Up Your Income forum to see if there might be something you could do to add a bit of pin money to your income. Also, double check the Utilities forums to see if you can save on your gas, electric, heating and not forgetting Telephones (home, mobile and internet access) Do check out the Reclaim Your Bank and Credit Card Charges forum, you might be able to claw back some money from there to add to your PMS!
Clarification of Virtual Savings
Let me give you an example:
Suppose I've worked out my budget and menu plan for the week and one of the items, I know, will cost me say, £1.99. Off I go with my list. When I'm at the store, I find a pack of something else, reduced to £1.99 instead of the usual £2.99. So, I snap it up! I have made a virtual saving of £1
However, I didn't *have* £2.99 in the first place; therefore I would never have bought it. I could *only* buy it, because it was the same price that I had available to spend (the original £1.99). In reality, I haven't saved any hard cash. But that doesn't mean I haven't saved. That is where *virtual* savings come into play. By simply snapping up a bargain and not spending anymore than I usually do, I've bought something a little better that I couldn't normally afford. I don't want to lose sight of the fact that I've saved that £1 by being more shopping savvy. So, I record it as a *virtual* saving ... not *real hard cash* but a saving nonetheless. The term, *virtual* saving, is a bit like "virtual reality" LOL
It can be quite demoralising if, week after week, some of our MSE'er are really working at pinching those pennies and squeezing those pounds - this way, at the end of the year, they can still see that - hey, it's working!
Now, should I find my budgeted £1.99 item reduced to 99p THEN I have £1 in cold hard cash that can be put away into the pin money savings.
I hope that makes it a bit clearer. If not, don't hesitate to ask any more questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A head's up for those who pay their Council Tax and any other annual bills over 10mths - your February and March payments will make a lovely bonus for your PMS fund :beer:
Here's the deal:-
This is our "Pin Money Savings Challenge" (PMS for short) - a very old style way of money 'saving'. The old adage: "Take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves" is as true today as ever it's been and so has the old style idea of "Pin Money" (tucking away pennies to buy the odd luxury - in reality, that pin money literally saved the day when families lived payday to payday or the breadwinner was made redundant!)
Once you've set up your budgets (here's Martins article on the basics of budgeting for those who may not have done so yet) you'll know where you're at with your income/outgoings.
Some of you will already have earmarked amounts to tackle your debt problems (if you have them. Here is Martins article on Problem Debts) and some of you may even have set up regular savings.(Martins article on Starting Saving)
There's a danger that those "savings" are being swallowed up elsewhere and never really knowing just how beneficial those nips and tucks have been in reality or benefiting from them. This is pin money and we should know how much we're accumulating; We should be able to tap into that money and benefit from it; we've earned it by making cost cutting choices!
First, choose a goal. Think about what you want to save for. Maybe it's something relatively small that would actually help you to save more money in the future.
For example: I used some Tesco vouchers in January which saved me £28 on my monthly shopping bill - at the till I got that £28 via cash back and then I bought a bread maker in another shop which was on sale. The bread maker is saving me money as I don't go to the shops as often to pick up a loaf and end up tempted into buying extra's while I'm there plus it saves on petrol through less trips.
Maybe you wish for something larger - a family holiday? Dish washer? New car? These items may take longer to save up for, but they are still attainable.
Where is your pin money coming from? A variety of ways ...
Coupons/Vouchers: You can't bank on coupons when you draw up your household budget, so view them as bonus'.
If you normally spent £50 per week on groceries and that week you have coupons which reduce your bill by x amount, that x amount becomes your pin money savings. Put the same value of the coupons into your pin money.
Bogof's: If it's on your usual shopping list and you are able to get it on bogof - put the cash value of the saving into your pin money.
Freebies: I've put some of these into my gift box store; I can't bank on freebies to provide my gift needs (gift purchases are accounted for in my budget planning already) so they are also bonus' - so, the cash equivalent can go to your pin money.
The monthly food challenge:
Take a look through the Store cupboard Challenge and/or the Monthly Grocery Challenge. If you find your food bill reducing, put that extra into your pin money.
Tips from here: Cleaning E.g. Vinegar as a fabric softener; if you stop buying fabric softener, work out the saving (you'll need to deduct the cost of the vinegar you are replacing it with) and put that amount into your pin money.
Make it from Scratch: Look through the recipe collection and see if you can make it/bake it cheaper. Grow you own herbs/veggies to save money, check out the Greenfingered Moneysaving Forum Once you’ve deducted the amount spent on seeds/compost from the amount you would spend on buying those herbs, fruit or veg, the difference becomes pin money savings. Green and Ethical Forum has numerous ideas on recycling and saving money as well as the planet and very in keeping with the Old Style way of doing things.
Research your purchases! - before you buy anything have a look through the Shop but Don't Drop and Quick Grabbit While You Can forums to see if you can get it cheaper (utilise the "search" facility within those forums too). If all else fails, try posting in I Wanna Buy-It, Do-It forum, someone else may know of the best deal on what you're looking for.
At the end of each month, empty out your pin money and transfer that to a savings account (this way it can now begin to earn a bit of interest = more pin money! )
The start of the next month, you will know how much you've shaved off your basic grocery bill (this applies to the food/fabric softener example, not those unbankable freebies/bogof's/coupons) so begin by putting that into your pin money.
Each month we can post what we have saved money on and add to our pin money.
What if things are so tight that every saving you make each week can't be put away because it's needed elsewhere?
Not a problem, you can still keep a record but instead of cash this will be your "virtual" savings. It will be very encouraging to see how much you are "saving" by making small changes, even if you can't put away the actual cash.
Some of you have already absorbed these savings into your budget and recalculated accordingly, that's ok, this challenge still applies because any new ideas/tips that you pick up can now be utilised for your pin money.
Also, check out the Up Your Income forum to see if there might be something you could do to add a bit of pin money to your income. Also, double check the Utilities forums to see if you can save on your gas, electric, heating and not forgetting Telephones (home, mobile and internet access) Do check out the Reclaim Your Bank and Credit Card Charges forum, you might be able to claw back some money from there to add to your PMS!
Clarification of Virtual Savings
Let me give you an example:
Suppose I've worked out my budget and menu plan for the week and one of the items, I know, will cost me say, £1.99. Off I go with my list. When I'm at the store, I find a pack of something else, reduced to £1.99 instead of the usual £2.99. So, I snap it up! I have made a virtual saving of £1
However, I didn't *have* £2.99 in the first place; therefore I would never have bought it. I could *only* buy it, because it was the same price that I had available to spend (the original £1.99). In reality, I haven't saved any hard cash. But that doesn't mean I haven't saved. That is where *virtual* savings come into play. By simply snapping up a bargain and not spending anymore than I usually do, I've bought something a little better that I couldn't normally afford. I don't want to lose sight of the fact that I've saved that £1 by being more shopping savvy. So, I record it as a *virtual* saving ... not *real hard cash* but a saving nonetheless. The term, *virtual* saving, is a bit like "virtual reality" LOL
It can be quite demoralising if, week after week, some of our MSE'er are really working at pinching those pennies and squeezing those pounds - this way, at the end of the year, they can still see that - hey, it's working!
Now, should I find my budgeted £1.99 item reduced to 99p THEN I have £1 in cold hard cash that can be put away into the pin money savings.
I hope that makes it a bit clearer. If not, don't hesitate to ask any more questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A head's up for those who pay their Council Tax and any other annual bills over 10mths - your February and March payments will make a lovely bonus for your PMS fund :beer:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0
Comments
-
Great to see you around again, Queenie!
I'm so glad to see that the PIN Challenge has returned :T :j0 -
Thank you for starting it up again, I was looking for the thread earlier this week after having read about it in the 'Thrifty Ways ...' book :j
January 2025 Grocery Challenge: £220.00/£59.47
January 2025 NSD: 0/30 (unplanned spending)
2025 Frugal Living Challenge0 -
Great to see ya again, Queen. :T0
-
thanks Queenie,
i will join in this challenge i think
good luck everyone
regards
tooties:j0 -
Was it in there? Wow, I never knewThank you for starting it up again, I was looking for the thread earlier this week after having read about it in the 'Thrifty Ways ...' book :j ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 -
Now there's a thought! :rotfl: Except, as the concept of pin money dates back to Tudor times, I can't really claim credit for the original thoughtJust think of all the PIN money you'd get if you received royalties!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 -
Hello,
I'd like to join in for Pin Money Savings for this month too!
Hi Queenie, I was reading about a couple of the of Old Style Challenges, (Store Cupboard Challenge and Pin Money Savings) ....that reminded me of the PMS Thread from when I used to visit the OS Board about a year ago!
I still haven't investigated to see if the Store Cupboard Challenge is still running, but I have joined the Grocery Challenge and it's certainly helping me.
January 2025 Grocery Challenge: £220.00/£59.47
January 2025 NSD: 0/30 (unplanned spending)
2025 Frugal Living Challenge0 -
Hello,
I'd like to join in for Pin Money Savings for this month too!
Hi Queenie, I was reading about a couple of the of Old Style Challenges, (Store Cupboard Challenge and Pin Money Savings) ....that reminded me of the PMS Thread from when I used to visit the OS Board about a year ago!
I still haven't investigated to see if the Store Cupboard Challenge is still running, but I have joined the Grocery Challenge and it's certainly helping me.
Storecupboard Challenge Thread HTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PMS Pot: £57.53 Pigsback Pot: £23.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0 -
Thanks Queenie, off to investigate now. I have a lot of tinned chestnuts and chickpeas lurking in my pantry for some reason
January 2025 Grocery Challenge: £220.00/£59.47
January 2025 NSD: 0/30 (unplanned spending)
2025 Frugal Living Challenge0
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