"Sealed Pot Challenge 5"

BlueCow1975

In response to Ianis, I am a challenge newbie this year and made the conscious decision not to bank the money and keep it in the pot. The reason for me is quite simple. If I have £xxx sat in a bank account (particularly as it grew into 3 figures) I would find it much more difficult to resist dipping into it. If I have a pot I can't see into, largely made up from loose change then 1. I do not know how much is in there 2. I am more likely to forget about it 3. Dipping into it for larger amounts of money requires much more effort and I am much more likely not to do it.

Taking that into account versus the few pounds I would make in interest makes it a no brainer for me. Sealed pot it is!!

blue_eyed_girl

Kerfuffle wrote: »

Hi IanisAmazing,

Yep, this question has been asked before, at least twice each year.

Each person joins this challenge for their own personal reasons, and I'm sure most people are aware that they'll be missing out on some potential interest if the money was in an account rather than sat in a pot in the house. Having said that each person can do what they choose, some people only put the bear minimum in the pot and put the notes straight into the bank, some put everything into the pot and then take it out and periodically bank it (to gain interest but also so that the money is safe) and some people just throw everything into the pot and are quite happy for it to sit there so that they have the thrill of how much has accummulated over the year. Whichever method they choose it up to them, but ultimately the very fact that people choose to do this challenge because of the encouragement, banter, fun and incentives that this thread gives far out weighs the dire interest rates that are being offered.

Sue_UU and Sparky do a brilliant job looking after this thread and both put a lot of free time and effort into making sure every Newbie is welcomed and that their comments are noted and responsed to, something that a lot of other thread ops don't do. This is time that neither Sue_UU nor Sparky get paid for but they do purely for the enjoyment, in the same way that Newbies join the challenge, for the enjoyment and the optimism that the thread provides.

Thanks Kerfuffle - you summed it all up beautifully. :T

2 golden nuggets for the pot today from me.

Take care everyone.

b_e_g

jakes-mum

Grrr wheres my long post on the last SPC challenge about WHY we do this challenge so I could cut and paste it in :rotfl: As others have said, SPC is a personal choice, if you are fab with money and an avid saver then no this challenge is probably not for you, but the thing is, alot of us arn't. Its so easy to pop your card in the hole in the wall on a friday night and 'borrow' from your savings whilst down the pub or go in and use a bit out your ISA to cover the bit extra you spent on your credit card this month as you knew you had savings.
A sealed pot has a powerful hold over you, to actually take a tin opener and open your tin to remove the money early has a profound psychological effect, I should know I had to do it last year and I spent days agonising over doing it. You stand in front of things and think 'do I need it? or do I want it?' and you stop buying the frivoulous morning coffee or choccie bar so you can pot the money instead, you dont do this when you just transfer the money from your account. We saved such a huge total last year from people saying no to themselves, no I wont get the kids a choccie bar at the till, no I wont pop into asda as im passing the door, this challenge is about will power and altering peoples views on purchases and saving rather than credit card.
This works for me so I this is what I do, I like putting coins in a slot, I like the build up near the end of the year to grand opening day, its exciting to not know and a bit scary to see what I would have wasted over a year if I hadnt have done this challenge. You imagine opening a tin with £300 in £1 coins in it. THis is what my husband did last year after he gave up smoking in the summer and I made him pot the cost of his fags, it strengthened his resolve as he saw in real money what he was setting fire too and i'll be honest he was upset when he saw it and it rammed home how costly smoking is. Yes i could have got probably £4 interest if that, but it wouldn't have given DH the reality that his SP did.

jakes-mum

a lovely £2 coin in the pot today plus 4p after a mad milk dash this morning. The bloke behind the till was not impressed at my £20 note for a 96p pint of milk :rotfl:

Muppet_baby

£1.60 potted last night.

moonflower_2

I did not open my pot until the end of dec .Well really pleased as I didnt really put the change or other coins in everyday or even every week.

I had £65 wow.

Will be doing it properly this year if I can

Please count me in. Thanks

elfen

Put some money in the pot, dithering whether to put pound coins in a seperate one as a kind of back up plan...

rasp

Morning all. Not much spent as been on nights, but after shopping at Mr T's saved £5.19 on the bill so in the pot it goes :j

Sue-UU

You're most welcome to join us, moonflower! It's lovely to have you with us. Have fun saving. You'll find your number at the bottom of the list on post 4 of page 1. Please read through post 1as it'll let you know exactly what to do with the challenge.

* Please pop your number on your sig, it helps so very much.

clairelh wrote:

Evening all, I've not been anywhere other than my daughter's ballet class today so not much opportunity to find roadkill today. I can only say I'm a measly 1p up after finding it lost on the kitchen worktop. What I did realise though is that this may encourage me to use my cards less and cash more as there's no loose change after a shop with plastic, so I'll be far more aware of what I'm actually spending. Got to be a bonus.

Wonderful thinking, Claire, how better off we'd all be if we did that!

Hellloooo there, Kirsty!!!!! It's so good to see you back again, feeling better too! Congratulations on paying off your OD, you're right, it's massive!!

mfOu1098 wrote:

#482 £178.40
Added another £5.21 a couple of days ago! :j

Hi mfOu1098, is that your Total from last year??! If so could you be a love and pop it on the end of SPC 4 for me, the link is here

I'm so pleased you has such a good time, mumof3plusoh, and managed to write so well soon after too!

Definitely all done thanks, jilly dee.

Very well done, nanto3girls!!! As sparky's explained, it's not cheating at all!!!

TanisAmazing wrote:

Hi,

I imagine this question has been posted before - but, in the interest of saving money - is it not best to put all this money in to a bank account instead????????????? Gaining interest that you won't gain from leaving it in a pot in a house?

I read in the weekly e-mail that £40,000 was saved in last year's sealed pot challenge .... I got excited and thought this challenge sounded like one I should be taking part in, but, now having read the concept it sounds like moneysavers lost quite a bit of money last year from the lack of interest they were earning on their unused cash???

Am I missing something?

Hi TanisAmazing, there's not a lot I can add to what sparky, Kerfuffle, little_sweetie, BlueCow and jakes-mum (brilliant post explaining about the power our pots have over us, jakes-mum!!!) have written, but I will throw weight to what sparky said, that being that so many folk here have never once saved money on their lives and it's sensational here each year when they have opened and counted all the money THEY managed to save!!!! They are delighted and the atmosphere here, even though we can't see each other, is electric and, for as long as I'm able, I'll be so happy to share in their savings, their delight, their lives and ups and downs, illnesses and so much more. Yes, very many of them take out money part way through and put it in the bank, then that is kept note of until they tot up their savings at the end of the year. I leave mine in all year through because it gives me such a buzz! I love this thread and all the folk here are my friends, whether I see them or not, several of us have even likened it to family and in so many ways it is as there is such a bond (money) that ties us together! We take delight in the savings of others here. So, I think 1706 members would disagree with the majority of your thinking, Tanis, Martin too whio was delighted when he replied to me!! Unless you're a member Tanis then it maybe hard to comprehend, but - if you wish, you're most welcome to join and test us out.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Sue x

Anyone wishing to join, please just ask, you're more than welcome, it's never too late.

Please read the 1st post on Page 1 first so you know what's what

nanto3girls

jakes-mum wrote: »

Grrr wheres my long post on the last SPC challenge about WHY we do this challenge so I could cut and paste it in :rotfl: As others have said, SPC is a personal choice, if you are fab with money and an avid saver then no this challenge is probably not for you, but the thing is, alot of us arn't. Its so easy to pop your card in the hole in the wall on a friday night and 'borrow' from your savings whilst down the pub or go in and use a bit out your ISA to cover the bit extra you spent on your credit card this month as you knew you had savings.
A sealed pot has a powerful hold over you, to actually take a tin opener and open your tin to remove the money early has a profound psychological effect, I should know I had to do it last year and I spent days agonising over doing it. You stand in front of things and think 'do I need it? or do I want it?' and you stop buying the frivoulous morning coffee or choccie bar so you can pot the money instead, you dont do this when you just transfer the money from your account. We saved such a huge total last year from people saying no to themselves, no I wont get the kids a choccie bar at the till, no I wont pop into asda as im passing the door, this challenge is about will power and altering peoples views on purchases and saving rather than credit card.
This works for me so I this is what I do, I like putting coins in a slot, I like the build up near the end of the year to grand opening day, its exciting to not know and a bit scary to see what I would have wasted over a year if I hadnt have done this challenge. You imagine opening a tin with £300 in £1 coins in it. THis is what my husband did last year after he gave up smoking in the summer and I made him pot the cost of his fags, it strengthened his resolve as he saw in real money what he was setting fire too and i'll be honest he was upset when he saw it and it rammed home how costly smoking is. Yes i could have got probably £4 interest if that, but it wouldn't have given DH the reality that his SP did.

Very well put Jakes mum