My SOA- feel free to rip apart..

psychopathbabble

Glad to see you are positive and making changes for the better Kaz!

As of today, I am back on it and really going for it. Managed to pay off my friend today, it's taken 2 years but I've finally managed it. It was the smallest debt and no interest accumulating but I am still pleased!

Let us know how you get on!

By the way, I have 3 savings accounts - 1 for car stuff (tax, insurance, mot) 1 for christmas and birthdays, and 1 for clothes (only £10 a month goes into that). If I didn't have these separate accounts to include in a monthly budget then I would certainly be paying for all these on my credit card, as I couldn't possibly afford to pay the lump sum out of one months wages. It's not quite saving, more assisting the budgeting.

psychopathbabble

kaz0705 wrote: »

Although, i thought i'd be good at the pub this evening and just have a blackcurrent and soda.... Then got charged £1.45!!!!!!!!!! :eek: Was too shocked to argue! Considering soda's free, that's £1.45 for a shot of blackcurrent squash. Outraged is a word i'd use!

I quite often drink soda and lime, and it's amazing how the price varies.... I pay anything from 20p to £1.85! Still, it's cheaper than alcohol and I would rather occassionally be on soda water and out, than sat indoors!

Youdontseeme

kaz0705 wrote: »

Youdontseeme- excellent tip! I'll speak to them tomorrow. Do you know if you need landlord permission?

If you can get the Assesed Charge I wouldn't think so, its not like your changing supplier.

I did check with my landlord when I thought I was going to have a meter fitted, but as I said in the end it wasnt possible. Although I cant see why they would say no, it might be worth a phone call 1st to stay in the Landlords good books.

BTW any hints and tips for free stuff to do in London are welcome, I live like a hermit at the moment!.

kaz0705

Welshangel: http://www.moneyextra.com/credit-cards/?affilId=mse

Psychopathbabble: a savings account for birthdays might not be such a bad idea. I only by for my very nearest and dearest but it still isn't cheap. I'd guess about £300 a year!! EEK! :eek:

Have recieved my guide for the dailyclicks now and EagerLearner said her aim was to have a free Christmas with it and last year earned over £300; sounds like an excellent idea! :T

Youdontseeme- Will definitely speak to the landlord. I'm going to phone him anyway about changing our electricity company. I'm certain they're rip-off merchants. Might as well throw that it whilst I'm on a roll!

Stuff to do in London eh? good question... this might sound weird but, depending on what you do, could you call a few venues and pretend you need to host an event there? (bare with me!). I've had to do this for a genuine event and two of the venues I've called (and since declined due to cost) have sent me invites to their 'industry' event nights. The first one was at the Cavalry Museum and the one tonight is at the Sea Life Aquarium. Free drinks and food and interesting surroundings! Admittedly, this was just luck due to actual work requirements but, well, you never know.

Also look out for gallery openings for the same reason (I went to the Saatchi opening March last year and have never seen so much free drink in my life!):beer:. I got that from a 'competition' (except it was just email and be accepted) on a website called something like unique venues (it's got a dark purple layout)- found by searching for a venue for my best friend's hen night.

I just try and keep my eyes and ears open (on spend a lot of time on the internet) and... well, try to be as jammy as possible really!

Having said that, because I don't have a TV (waste of money), a good night for me is going to my friend's house and catching up on sky plus! What a luxury! :-) :rotfl:

Other than that: avoid Clapham at all costs (see black & soda experience!) but maybe the odd pub quiz: £1 can justify a fun night out and you might even win that back!

Erm... am rambling! And as cliched as it is, I had an awesome Saturday night on my own once at the Tate Modern. I was convinced I would hate it because it was all modern but it was the only free thing to do on a Saturday night... and i looooved it!

Will keep you updated if I find out any free events or anything.

psychopathbabble

I love going to the galleries, especially the V&A. I was hoping to get a job in London but haven't heard anything yet, I'd love to live there for a year.

Isn't there usually things on at the southbank? you can also probably get tickets for tv show recordings and things... you can just google for lots of sites or check the tv channel websites.

I only buy for those close too, and I've only just started to monthly save as obviously C wasn't that long ago.

I did sign up for the clicks thing but it takes a lot of patience and I couldn't stick at it.... but I guess you get out what you put in and all that!

kaz0705

That's a good point actually pschopathbabble; free tv recordings are normally after work and a fun evening out- I've got some tickets booked for Harry Hill in March!

I make use of dailycandy.com which occasionally has free stuff to do (although don't sign up if you're easily seduced by pretty things!) and Time Out London and The Loop (london transport).

I also make use of gumtree for tickets- if i know someone's playing who i'd quite like to see one evening, i'll check the night before or that morning and see if any desperate people are trying to get rid of tickets.

I guess it's just making use of the internet and the metro and things like that.

Kaz
x

Horace

kaz0705 wrote: »

Unfortunately, stuff like that is a bit 'lesson learned'; never order a soft drink in Clapham! :beer:

Nor anywhere in London for that matter - Lemonade & Lime is just as expensive:eek: Clapham does seem to be quite pricey anyway as I discovered when I was taken out for a meal there and not in a really posh restaurant either just an ordinary mexican place where I was conned into eating a raw chilli by my friend:eek:

When you go shopping write a list of what you need and stick to it - that helps. If you have a Wilkinsons/Wilkos nearby then try and get your household stuff from them as they are pretty reasonable.

Cut up your house of fraser card too - I had one so that I could use the special cardholders loo in Rackhams, Bham - their standards have dropped and there is no longer a special loo and I refuse to shop there so I have cut it up. Their interest rates are pretty high which is another disadvantage of them.

kaz0705

Bit of a swings and roundabouts weekend for me. I've had 3 NSDs over the past week which I was proud of AND i saved my parents £500 on their home insurance so that was good.

But having been so good over the week- and weekend- I feel from grace in spectactular fashion last night.

Having not been out all weekend, we thought we should reward ourselves with a drink in a local bar... which lead to over £30 being spent!! Which is over half my weekly budget!

So now I have a headache and am feeling a bit gutted with myself. :-(

On the plus side, I'm determined to do 4 NSDs this week and have already made £3 on topcashback getting quotes. I'm trying to look at it like a diet and am just going to have to be tighter with myself.

I'm also facing a challenge: last year, my friend won flights to NY. Our old housemate lives there so it was touted as, essentially, a free trip to NY so I was pretty pleased when she asked me to go.

However, since then, of course, I've had my lightbulb moment and now have to spend 6days (SIX!!) in New York on a strict budget.... I might need some strict words before I go away from other DFWs!

psychopathbabble

Don't feel too guilty, the main thing is you are back here today! I spent over a month off the wagon.... but am hopefully on it for a lot longer now.
I'm sure you will still have an amazing time in New York on a budget... just avoid Bloomingdales!

kaz0705

Thanks psychopathbabble. I managed a NSD yesterday so that helped...

However I may have hit a new low (or high, depending on how you look at it): Spent the night dreaming about topcashback!! Bad times!

Also spent sometime doing research on NY. The threads on here are great for food and hotels but less so for shopping... Which is understandable, i guess as most people go to NY for the shopping and I doubt many spend it hunting out thrift stores.

Will just have to do my own investigation and report back when i get back. Two weeks today! Am very excited!!!