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KonMari 2016 - The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

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  • GreyQueen
    GreyQueen Posts: 13,008
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    :) I'm glad it's not just me whose premium bonds never win even the smallest prizes. I did had an exchange of correspondence with the premium bond people once, and was assured that each and every individual bond has an equal chance of winning. But, funnily enough, those people with tens of bonds or hundreds of them, seem to win pretty regularly, whereas those of us with one or two never get anything.

    I'm sure it's my feeble brain not being able to estimate the odds correctly rather than a conspiracy to keep me from a £25 prize........... :o

    That old shed is probably glued together with the cobwebs of ages and I am so glad that I won't be the one to empty it. I love a good sort out but not in prime spider season. It hasn't got an awful lot of stuff in it and a lot of what is in there (fragments of old binder twine and disintegrating bamboo bean poles) is of no use to man nor beast.
    Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
    John Ruskin
    Veni, vidi, eradici
    (I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
  • Pooky
    Pooky Posts: 7,023
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    We won over £700 on the bonds last year, cashed them all in now and paid a nice chunk off the mortgage.

    Another bag went to the CS yesterday, DD2 had sorted through her winter stuff and there were several pairs of jeans and a couple of jumpers to go. I used the opportunity to pass on a couple of craft bits I'd found lurking that just won't get used.

    This morning I've been konding a headache by a lovely fresh blast of sea air and a good long walk along the cliffs.
    "Start every day off with a smile and get it over with" - W. C. Field.
  • Pooky
    Pooky Posts: 7,023
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    From what I understand, Ernie counts on at least 1000 between stops so buying in lots of £1100 or more increases your chances.
    "Start every day off with a smile and get it over with" - W. C. Field.
  • GreyQueen
    GreyQueen Posts: 13,008
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    Pooky wrote: »
    From what I understand, Ernie counts on at least 1000 between stops so buying in lots of £1100 or more increases your chances.
    :D I guess if mila is reading this part of the thread, she's scratching her head and wondering what the flip we're jabbering on about.

    mila, premium bonds are part of National Savings & Investments, which are government bonds and savings accounts. Ernie is the nickname for the computer program which picks premium bond winners. 'His' name is derived from Electronic Random Number Generator Equipment; http://www.nsandi.com/ernie
    Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
    John Ruskin
    Veni, vidi, eradici
    (I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
  • Siebrie
    Siebrie Posts: 2,887
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    Mila wasn't the only one wondering :D although I had heard of this government-led savings/lottery combo.

    I have sorted through dd1's winter sweaters, cardis, and pyjamas, about two thirds could go, either back in the attic for next year/next dd/cs. Sometimes I hold on to nice stuff in wrong colours, because it's the only one I have. Then, when something nicer comes along, I can easily let go of the first item.

    Finally managed to catch a holey pair of pants for ragging, before it went back in the wardrobe. As I've mentioned earlier (and I think several others do the same): I do not throw items away, I purposefully wear them out. Every single time I put on this pair of pants, I remembered there was an unfixable hole on the side, next to the seam. By then, I was already wearing it and could not be bothered to get a new one from the wardrobe. I got at least ten more wears out of it :), but now it will definitely go!
    Are you wombling, too, in '22? € 58,96 = £ 52.09Wombling in Restrictive Times (2021) € 2.138,82 = £ 1,813.15Wombabeluba 2020! € 453,22 = £ 403.842019's wi-wa-wombles € 2.244,20 = £ 1,909.46Wombling to wealth 2018 € 972,97 = £ 879.54Still a womble 2017 #25 € 7.116,68 = £ 6,309.50Wombling Free 2016 #2 € 3.484,31 = £ 3,104.59
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460
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    MMF007 wrote: »
    As an aside, when carrying a large box of paperwork for tax records etc back upstairs I was struggling with the weight of it and passing the bathroom scales I was inspired to weight it, out of curiosity. Unbelievably it weighed just 2lb more than my weight-loss to date. THAT really brought it home to me, how much excess I had been carrying round. It is so good to Kondo that weight. So onwards and inwards!
    That's a *really* good idea, I like that one! It's shocking to see, isn't it.
    Pooky wrote: »
    From what I understand, Ernie counts on at least 1000 between stops so buying in lots of £1100 or more increases your chances.
    Very interesting ... I was mucking about on a financial website recently, and took advantage of an offer that was for people who put in "over £1000". So I put in £1100 - I acknowledge the overthinking :o but firms want to keep hold of as much of their money as they can, which is why I did it :beer:
    Save
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • GreyQueen
    GreyQueen Posts: 13,008
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    :) You could have even been really cheeky and put it £1001.00 or even £1000.01.

    Righty, off to get my flu jab and then on to run some errands/ visit some pals/ feed the recycling bin outside (not in that order). Laters, GQ x
    Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness.
    John Ruskin
    Veni, vidi, eradici
    (I came, I saw, I kondo'd)
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460
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    GreyQueen wrote: »
    :) You could have even been really cheeky and put it £1001.00 or even £1000.01.
    I definitely wondered about doing the £1001 :rotfl: but I decided they'd declare it a purposeful attempt to get round their conditions, something of the sort :rotfl:
    Righty, off to get my flu jab and then on to run some errands/ visit some pals/ feed the recycling bin outside (not in that order). Laters, GQ x
    Oh! I'm not eligible for an NHS flu jab yet, but I'm going to get a private one ... time to start pricing up local offers, I think, thanks GQ. Have a goodun :)
    Save
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228
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    Re ERNIE, if the odds are say 10,000-1 and you only hold one bond then that bond has one chance in ten thousand. If you hold ten that doesn't really decrease the odds to one chance in a thousand, it means that each of the ten bonds has one chance in ten thousand and as you hold ten you have more chances of the one in 10,000 coming up. Ultimately it works out the same really.

    However, according to the NS&I site the numbers are generated totally at random and then matched to bond numbers to check for matches. This is very different to a list of bonds in numerical order with a machine programmed to stop randomly. So it makes no difference if you hold consecutive blocks or not. Cos I'm going to win next month. So there :p.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • MMF007
    MMF007 Posts: 1,375
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    gallygirl thanks for the excellent explanation of the premium bond odds and the random number generator!
    I have been trying to convince my mum of this for years. The concept of random numbers and a linear string of premium bond numbers does not sit well with our brains somehow.
    MSE has a calculator on this webaite so you can put in the value of your bonds and get an estimate, based on probability, of what you might win in a year if you have average luck. According to that I'm done for this year :D

    off to town this morning, after a few chores, to take Stuff to CS and to buy a pair of trousers to keep my modesty intact :rotfl:

    I have pulled all videos out, 2 fairly large carrier bags full, but more importantly 2 of my sideboard cupboards full :mad: I have plonked the full bags on the LV floor so they have to be dealt with one way or another - passive aggressive? Me? Nah.

    Had my flu jab at Drs, DH paid local pharmacy as he is not entitled. He paid £10 but I think Asda are offering it cheaper. Money well spent I hope!

    Have a great day Everyone,

    M
    I have changed my work-life balance to a life-work balance. :grin:
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