Frugal Living 2011 - the preparation stage

Kerfuffle

cw18 wrote: »

2011 thread is now up and running - here

I know I stil have some links to add into the first post (to sections of the 2010 challenge), but the fireworks are about start which means I'll have a god going nuts on me. Will try and finish it off over the weekend



Have a Happy (and Frugal) New Year everyone

(and there go the first of the fireworks - 5 minutes early :mad:)

Well we wouldn't want to upset him would we

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY, I HOPE YOUR YEAR IS EVERYTHING YOU WISH IT TO BE.

Toodles

Kerfuffle

redglass wrote: »

Happy New Year everyone! _party_
*snip

toiletries 25.00 (got lots stockpiled)
cleaning stuff 20.00
allotment seeds 20.00
groceries 500.00 lots stockpiled
*snip

Wow redglass, I'm really impressed with your budgeted 500.00 for groceries.

Someday, this could be me!:rotfl:

Toodles

cw18

Kerfuffle wrote: »

Well we wouldn't want to upset him would we

Whoooops!! Apologies to anyone my typo may have upset
(have corrected it in my original post!)

I normally proof read twice before posting, but the fireworks starting early clearly stopped me doing so last night :eek:

never_too_old

:(Morning and Happy New year to everyone.
my frugal resolve seems to have gone pear shaped already and im in need of advice.
I checked my online banking this morning( natwest) and a cheque and a couple of direct debits are listed as coming out on the 4th, these amounts have been taken off my balance already and my account is now showing as overdrawn,a payment (cleared) is due to go into my account as cleared on the 4th which was due to cover the dd. is this normal.
hope people can understand this and advise as this has started my new year on a downer

sparkle76

Hi LMH and happy new year - that should be fine, it may just be that it takes couple of days for the cheque going in to clear, if it's not showing on your statement now, it will by Tues I expect.

never_too_old

sparkle76 wrote: »

Hi LMH and happy new year - that should be fine, it may just be that it takes couple of days for the cheque going in to clear, if it's not showing on your statement now, it will by Tues I expect.

thanks for that, do you have any idea why it takes it off your balance before its due out and why it leaves you unable to access money that would have been cleared for payments that arent due for 3 to 4 days

mooomin

l.m.hart wrote: »

I checked my online banking this morning( natwest) and a cheque and a couple of direct debits are listed as coming out on the 4th, these amounts have been taken off my balance already and my account is now showing as overdrawn,a payment (cleared) is due to go into my account as cleared on the 4th which was due to cover the dd. is this normal.
hope people can understand this and advise as this has started my new year on a downer

The bank I'm with processes debits (money out) before credits (money in) and would charge me for this as I didn't have the money in prior to the debit being taken to cover it.

I would call phone banking and ask them to explain it to be on the safe side.

Dawning

NSD for me - good start to a New Year:j

Got a shock when I got a CC bill yesterday..I'd guesstimated it to be about £500-600. It was £1200 :eek::eek: That's what I mean about having my head in the sand. I have got a little notebook to keep in my bag so I can track my spending each day - its the 'ad hoc' purchases that are a big drain on my finances.

Happy New Year to all FL'ers :beer:

Aesop

l.m.hart wrote: »

thanks for that, do you have any idea why it takes it off your balance before its due out and why it leaves you unable to access money that would have been cleared for payments that arent due for 3 to 4 days

depending who you bank with, they do this, so that the funds are available for your direct debits, so they are honoured, rather than you taking the money out and having nothing to pay the DDs with.

Also, depending who you bank with, some cheques take 7 days to clear, and because of the bank holidays last week and next week, this might have delayed your cheque further.

itsallinthemind

l.m.hart wrote: »

I checked my online banking this morning( natwest) and a cheque and a couple of direct debits are listed as coming out on the 4th, these amounts have been taken off my balance already and my account is now showing as overdrawn,a payment (cleared) is due to go into my account as cleared on the 4th which was due to cover the dd. is this normal

My main bank online is Natwest. The way they do things visually is confusing. On log in you see you have say £1,000. When viewing the last week you see that actually you have £500 as despite it being the 25th it is showing a credit that is due, yes due, to be paid from say LHA, as it is already on their system but not recieved yet. But then you look again......10 small online transactions, all showing, money has been 'claimed' but not yet paid(shown on darker lines), so actually you do not have £1,000 you have £300. That alone is enough to confuse anyone. I have known Natwest to earmark a standing order ten whole days before paying. Now if you were to get LHA every two weeks at £500 and you have £1,000 rent to pay, the £1,000 may be earmarked before the second £500 is recieved, let alone cleared. This can cause big issues and fees.

The upside is, last year the way Natwests system works caused me a fee, I felt it quite unfair as I set up a sanding order for a specific date and had budgeted to that date. I called their telephone services and they cancelled the fee without argument. So if their system causes fees, not your mismanagement, give them a call