the nerd's wannabe-mortgage-holder savings diary...

Fire_Fox

If you don't want to spend money on random breakfasts, lunches and snacks why not stop taking money/ cards out of the house with you? Stock up your fridge, desk or at home with easy to grab, healthy food (nuts and seeds, fresh and dried fruit, cereal bars, oatcakes and Ryvitas, yoghurt, portioned cheese etc.)

greenmantle

Stock up your fridge, desk or at home with easy to grab, healthy food (nuts and seeds, fresh and dried fruit, cereal bars, oatcakes and Ryvitas, yoghurt, portioned cheese etc.)

Yes, great ideas. Couple of things do stop me from working this sensibly though:

1) I'm in a shared flat currently, and there's literally no room to store 'stocked-up' food. My part of the food storage is already totally full with a couple of bags of pasta, cereal, biscuits etc. When I've had time to cook a surplus, though, I often take some lunch in in a box. I don't want to tell you about my desk drawers. Let's just say that clearance is on the 'to do' list.

2) weirdly, I actually find I eat better at the moment if I don't take stores to work with me. I *don't* snack on high-cal cereal bars, just because they're there... (I don't do dried fruit since my dentist forebad it years ago), I'll buy vegetably things from the subsidized caff. and not snack out of boredom, but solely out of need. The Pret blow-out was relatively unusual... (I'd stayed over not-at-home, for a start - hence the lack of breakfast...)

So I'm considering switching to the kind of plan you suggest when I'm in a more spacious house-sit soon, where I can store more of this kind of food, and not just rely on pre-packaged snacks. As it is, though, I do have to get over that tendency (which I used to do when work was busier and I was in different accommodation) of steadily consuming all bits of brought-in-food before 12, starting with the boiled egg and swiftly progressing to the bread roll and chocolate mousse etc... because, you know, cycling in is hungry work!

The food-for-work thing, though, I definitely find works in phases, weirdly. I find one constant routine very difficult to stick to, because I enjoy variation (in hours and work rates too) through the year.

Proper packed lunch preparation, though, is something to aim for this summer, when I'll attempt to prop up some NSDs with this idea, though, thanks!

greenmantle

So, after internalizing Firefox's advice a bit further by putting an egg on to boil for later consumption (working at home this morning), just to document a and a :T:

Spent a... over a hundred pounds on some usable rollerblades for the rest of the summer. Having these things is good (I've found) for almost a whole weekend's cheapo entertainment, so the expense is underpinning a lot of free, healthy amusement in the open air. I'd planned for this expense (coming out of the fresh earnings), but I'm still a little embarrassed at having spent it. However, this is the kind of thing that not-being-in-debt allows me to cater to. I'm hoping that over the four-five year life of the skates, the expense will actually divide down into a bargainous down-payment.

:T Got a small cheque incoming (only half the value of the skates...cough) from a book wot I wrote a few years back. It's not really a big money-maker, but the occasional dribble of income is pleasing.

Today: *must* get some stuff up on ebay.

greenmantle

Oh, and I thought I'd better be scrupulous and record that I've now got just over £160 sitting on my HSBC credit card. It's an advance foreign train ticket purchase for this summer when I'm going to be travelling for work. Technically I'll get it covered by expenses (but annoyingly, in another currency), but for the time being, I'm taking it. I may pay the whole lot off in the next few days, or pay half and let the other half go with the direct debit, not sure yet...

what usually happens is that I lose patience at seeing a balance marked 'D' and pay it off, but we'll see if I can pace it in the interest-free period this time...

greenmantle

1. got some expenses through, finally. If I do get expenses paid, it's usually by the individual place I'm doing a bit of work at, rather than my central workplace. It's highly patchy and the reimbursement times (if it happens at all) highly variable. Been waiting for this one since the beginning of May...

2. Set up an HSBC Regular Saver account for the 8% (though there's some trouble setting up the Standing Order on my account - had to phone up as the internet application link wasn't working at all...). Starting with £40, but since the monthly max is £250, I'm hoping to raise that total over the summer...

So, mostly good. Off to pay misc cheques in to HSBC this afternoon... :beer:

greenmantle

mbbbrrghhh. Too much work, and too much forward planning to do right now. Haven't even got around to Ebay...

greenmantle

Okay, inching forward here. Stacks to do today, but took time off to:

1. pay off the credit card/train fare, just to get that straight.
2. List two items on Ebay.

Ebay always takes me ages, as I feel I need to list things *properly* to sell them. These things are two bits of equipment which may either go down well, or not sell at all. But I need to get them out of here... There are some clothes to do, too, but I simply don't have time.

Must today get a work project out of the way, and plan (late) my overseas trip for the rest of the month. Tasks running away with me here...:eek:

greenmantle

Wahey - bids and watchers on both Ebay items (a princely total of 9 quid, but anyway). Got a bit depressed yesterday on noticing little action in their (small) categories, but at least I know I'll be able to get rid of these before my move!

:beer:

greenmantle

Finally: a No Spend Day (although had to top up the Oyster by a tenner yesterday after going on the Tube for the first time in yonks). Rest of today has been spent packing and getting some work done ready for next week.

Also, some more bids on the Ebay items, and quite a few watchers, which is gratifying.

I've decided I'll probably have to save my next ebay assault til after the move, perhaps some time in late summer when people start stocking up on (non-sale, non-summer holiday) clothes again...

greenmantle

£50 for the two ebay items :beer: which will come in handy as my current account budget is running away with me, due to the amount of travelling I'm having to do.

No updates for savings, as have to wait until the 20th to add more to the ISA, by which time I'll be off travelling again...