November - PMS Challenge.

Queenie · 22 October 2005 at 11:55PM

Pin Money Savings Challenge Details
(PMS Challenge)

This is going to be our "Pin Money Challenge" - 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)

I have been very impressed with the responses to the Now & Then threads recently and how you all manage to pare down your spending/budgets on a regular basis. I've even impressed myself with new ideas that I'm incorporating. The danger (for me) lies with those "savings" being swallowed up elsewhere and never really benefitting from them or knowing just how beneficial those nips and tucks have been in reality. Yet, this is my pin money and I should know how much I'm accumilating; I should be able to tap into that money and benefit from it; I've earned it by making cost cutting choices!

First, we need a goal. You need to 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 cashback and then I bought a breadmaker in another shop which was on sale. The breadmaker 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? A dishwasher? A newer 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 Storecupboard 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.

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 added to our pin money.

What if things are soooooo 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.

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 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.

JC67 · 23 October 2005 at 7:16AM

I'd like to do this for the first time in November as I want to buy a breadmaker. I'm going to aim for £10 in pin money by the end of November.

Queenie · 23 October 2005 at 8:36PM

:hello: Hi JC67

Welcome to the PMS Challenge

Ooooh, a breadmaker is a very worthwhile investment and a great goal to have!
Wishing you all the very best in your £10 target!!

pink_fairy_7 · 24 October 2005 at 9:55AM

Going to do this challenge this month along with the Grocery challenge.

Target PIN £35.00

Wish me luck

pink fairy x

Queenie · 24 October 2005 at 10:20AM

pink_fairy wrote:

Going to do this challenge this month along with the Grocery challenge.

Target PIN £35.00

Wish me luck

pink fairy x

:T Good luck pink fairy

Queenie · 24 October 2005 at 10:24AM

I've noticed that some of you set yourself pm "targets" each month ...

... I'm just wondering ...

.. how to you set that "target"?

freyaluck · 24 October 2005 at 10:38AM

Queenie wrote:

I've noticed that some of you set yourself pm "targets" each month ...

... I'm just wondering ...

.. how to you set that "target"?

I usually sell a few items on ebay a month , I know roughly how much I will get for them, plus If I can see ways of making a few changes e.g bus home not taxi I then set a target to see if I get that much, so far I have gone over it by adding the extra savings that I make . This month I have an extra 5% off my grocery bill so I will be adding this to my pin savings, I know what I spend roughly a week so can work out roughly ,how much i am saving

hope that is of use
hugs

16011996 · 24 October 2005 at 11:58AM

i'm aiming for £20 this month, as i'm not going shopping much, cos i want to empty cupboards right down.

kiwichick · 24 October 2005 at 5:22PM

My month started on the 23rd as I did a MASSIVE shop, enough for 3 weeks I hope and didnt think it fair to include that in last months budget due to end today as it would mean a tiny spend this month.

I think I had better aim for about £20asI will not be doing many shops hopefully!

brummiebabe · 24 October 2005 at 7:56PM

Didn't do as well as I'd hoped in October, so will be a little more realistic for November. My aim is £30 virtual PIN money!!;)

foreverskint · 25 October 2005 at 10:36AM

Well every month I tell myself I will start this challenge, and never quite get round to it.............:o .

So this month I am going to start. My target will be based on the need for a new microwave. It went 'ping' for the last time in April and although I have done without, I am starting to miss it now.

So for the next two months I shall set my self a target of £30.00 per month so that I can afford the one I would like before Christmas.:j

I already have saved £5.00 by using some coupons on the shop last week so I hope to keep this up.
Good luck to everyone else on the PMS challenge:D

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November - PMS Challenge.

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