LBM in 2003.. What have I been doing since??!

brizzledfw

Didn't get to do film of any description...local bar/restaurant for dinner for two....3 months since we've been out together..nice. Long overdue

beanielou

Glad you got out together :j :j

brizzledfw

Thanks beanie You're up early for a weekend? All good I hope?

Friends coming round for a proper Sunday roast today. Made a Nigella chestnut baked cheesecake yesterday for dessert - hope it's as delicious as the one we had at Xmas. Need to do some meal planning for next week too as a lot on with school performances etc. Can't have a chippy tea every night can we??!;)

MoneyMission

All up early today aren't we? The older I get the less I can lie in :cool:
That cheesecake sounds scrumptious!
Enjoy the day. Nearly Bank Holiday season - very exciting!

Igamogam

brizzledfw wrote: »

Set up SO for the council tax too. That wasn't such a hardship as am using my lovely local currency, makes it less painful thats for sure.

How do you use the Bristol Pound to pay for your council tax?? Is the BP worth the same as a UK £? Interesting stuff, local currency.

Hopefuljoy

Hi brizzeld. Am just reading your diary from the start. It's wonderful!!

brizzledfw

Oh Ig, I could wax lyrical for hours on the topic. Very close to my heart. But will try and keep it short

Yes it's a good well run local currency with over £600k in circulation from the last stats I saw. I pay in say £200 a month to pay for sundries and bills and this is then converted into £BP200. Pegged to the British pound and all that.

The local council is keen to support, in fact the current mayor takes his whole salary in £BPs, and last year was the first year you could pay council tax in £BPs. Which I did. Set up a scheduled payment for 10 months and they pay it like a standing order.

It's very easy to use, I mainly use my mobile, for the ad hoc transactions, as never seem to get around to using paper ones (they are beautiful designs though, we have some of them framed as artwork:) , where you effectively send a text to the bank and it then confirms to you and the trader that it has transferred the money from your account to the traders account. So all done more quickly than a chip and pin. More like contactless really.

The local credit union effectively administers it.

We also pay our utilities bills via them as we are not with the Big 6, and our supplier is based within the 50 miles radius of Bristol needed to be able to be a £BP trader.

I still reckon areas in Wales should think hard about it. Last summer I was talking to some friends about getting Cornish towns to join together and about doing a regional one. It is certainly a loyalty thing with us, it's our first 'go to' when we can, for example, when we went out last night, for the first time in ages , we made sure it was to a place that took £BPs. If you do it tho, invest in the electronic route, and robust but cutting edge payment technology. Paper pounds are a thing of the past.

The £BP team are keen to encourage others and build links with others, so if you know of anyone interested then drop me a PM.

Off to scrub veg now. And to start preparing an awesome rib of beef...better not screw it up as it's such an expensive joint. Looks lush though, organic, local and yes dear readers, paid for in my lovely local currency. Also, just worked out that substantially cheaper than the supermarkets (even non organic!) as we bought directly from the farm

brizzledfw

Have a great weekend MM...will tell you about the cheesecake

Hopeful joy...you're wonderful, thank you! :j

Been a few twists and turns though....but resilience gets you places I guess and getting OH on board made everything so much less stressful. Teamwork and all that.

Reading up today on the budget implications...but on balance still working on

- decluttering
- meal planning
- using YNAB faithfully
- paying into an ISA for kids for their 'fledgling fund'
- getting students in over summer and then a M-F lodger from October?
- paying into my SIPP on at least a bi-monthly basis
- business development for my business to keep options open
- being MF by 2021.. if interest rates stay low that will help loads.

So yes that's the plan for 2016, which hasn't changed - sorry George...but good to write it down every so often Keeps me focussed

dangers

I went to pick up my DH from a works do a couple of weeks back and his colleague was asking me about it as he had been told about it by his wife. The only thing is that DH's colleague is French!

DH hadn't heard of them and was somewhat surprised that I knew what they were. Mind, I'm not sure how they work. We don't have them here, just down the road......

brizzledfw

The cheesecake and roast was lush.. If we say so ourselves

Wood burner on and all is right with the world - the joy of simple things

£BPs are gaining some recognition - there was a French film crew over last summer which may have gained some wider recognition for them. You can use them within 50 miles of Bristol, it's just that most traders are in the city itself. Some like our veg box are in Chew Valley and our amazing meat is from a farm near Bridgewater. More info on the website, dangers, if you're interested in seeing who is near you

Have a great Sunday eve folks - here's to a nice short week