January PMS Challenge 2007

Queenie

:hello: Welcome to January's Pin Money Savings Challenge 2007

Bit of a late start in posting but better late than never
Depending on how well organised you've been (financially) this could either be a very difficult month to squirrel away any pin money, or, it could be a fabulous month if taking advantage of the sales. Either way, best of luck for those who continue to pinch those pennies and squeeze those pounds in all the many different ways to see their PMS pot grow

Good luck for January everyone! :beer:

Queenie wrote:

This is our "Pin Money Savings 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)

There's a danger that those "savings" are being swallowed up elsewhere and never really knowing just how beneficial those nips and tucks have been in reality or benefitting from them. This is pin money and we should know how much we're accumilating; We should be able to tap into that money and benefit from it; we've earned it by making cost cutting choices!

First, choose a goal. 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 Dropand Quick Grabbit While You Canforums 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.

FRUGALPIE_2

I'm going to give this a go this month....my target will be £50.00.

Frugalpie
xx

Kazonline

Hi Queenie - new year, new me, and I'm going to give this a go (if I can stay organised enough to tot it up) to give me extra motivation with my budget. I'm hoping it'll allow me to get a few things that aren't in my budget - and of course save for next Christmas!!! (not all in one month, lol)
Kaz x

loumac

Hey Queenie,

Quick question to check I understand this properly!
I've been to Sainsbury's this afternoon and used £2.50 off my Nectar balance towards my shopping. (Good job too as I was short on the cash to cover the balance!) Would that be considered pin money then?

Thanks!

cha97michelle

I'm in again. I really need to tighten the purse strings now as i don't think i am going to get paid any more maternity pay due to a stuff up last month.

total for december was £61.42 as i did a bit of shopping while away, but my target for January is £30.

Loumac- i would count the nectar points, as it is a perk you haven't had to spend from your normal budget.

Good luck everyone for what must be the leanest month of the year.

Michelle

LJM

im in im hoping to aim for £40 pin money savings to pop away in my xmas 2007 fund (does that count)

squeaky

Hi everyone

Just a reminder that I'll be unsticking this thread some time late today - by which time it'll be the featured challenge in our Monthly Challenges sticky.

You can find the challenges via the link in my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Monthly Challenges link in the Start Here Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

fairy3

Hi all,

I am going to join in this challenge too along with the grocery and store cupboard challenges! Hoping to add something to the bathroom fund which is looking dire at the moment. Have been checking the coupon thread and will be building up to my first shop at the weekend, no spend so far all going well, yes I know it's only day 2!

Good luck all

J
x

inkie

I need to get organised and start keep a track of all the savings made and so will join in this thread (will do it virtually though, not actual cash). Will us the savings to accumulate enough to take DH on a trip next yr for his 4oth - hoping for a city break to NY - wish me luck!

Aril

Hello there!
I'd like to hop on board again this month as seemed to have hopped off during the autumn as our saving arrangements have altered and we now have an online account rather than the separate pin money one I was running previously. However, I find it does keep me motivated to streeetcchh my money that bit further. Shall aim for a £10 this month which is a realistic goal for me...started yesterday by finding 1p so only 999 pennies to go!
Aril

Queenie

Lovely to see some returners as well as new faces to our PMS Challenge

LJM - yes, you can count your Christmas Fund as PMS if that is how you choose to use it. Personally, I budget a certain amount to cover annual expenses such as birthdays/Christmas/gifts as part and parcel of the regular accounts, so in my own case, the savings I've made recently from buying gifts in the sales were budgeted for and any savings I've made from within that are then being calculated as PMS.

I've added up one set of savings I've made through sale purchases and have so far added £90 to my pot. I have another set of receipts that need careful calculations because not only were the goods sale price, but I was given a further 10% off for being a cardholder of the store and then a further 10% off again for opening a "new account". The "new account" card will be cut up the moment it arrives as it will have served it's purpose, but it was a nice little bonus at that time :T In a couple of instances, it netted me a few 5p's but they all add up!

So, I'm well ahead now with gifts for throughout the year, plus some lovely clothing for the lads which will also carry them through next winter :T :T

Not much food shopping going on in our house because I'm trying to run down the freezer and pantry for restocking to reflect our changing eating habits, but in that instance, I shall use the savings to reinvest when restocking; very much swings and roundabouts on that one.

Best of luck to one and all :T