Free by Fifty

rising_from_the_ashes

Fab news on the OD :j - you should get a nice lump sum back dated for your change in job / hours in with your March salary?

freebyfifty wrote: »

I have been reading (lurking) in Rising's diary and all the latest talk of seperate accounts for different things has got me hooked. I am going to start that as soon as I have something spare to put in them Rising - you are an inspiration :A

Awwwwww shucks, I've gone all pink

I'm no expect and learning (and making mistakes ) along the way .... but I think I'm finally getting there & it's starting to make some sort of sense!

marmiterulesok

Great news about the OD!I really hope that you manage to stay on top of it.:)

All my 'saving pots' are lumped together in one account and I keep track of all the different totals in a jotter.I'm pretty good at noting down outgoings on the day.Personally I don't feel it's practical for me to have a seperate account for each pot,as I would need 29 accounts ,but I'm very well trained at not touching money that is meant for something else.I feel a bit embarrassed to say that I'm a spreadsheet virgin!

Good luck for Monday!

freebyfifty

Good Morning

I am bad I didn't manage to get on here yesterday Not that there is anything new to report but I am mad at myself for missing a day :mad: This diary really does help me to stay focused on my MSE ways.

I have nothing new going on really. The clothes for cash valuation came back at £8 so I am awaiting the cheque so I can get it into the bank. My XMIL was blethering on the other day about how she could fill 6 charity bags with the amount of clothes she's got and never wears so I told her to give it to me and I would get rid of it for her. I am not proud, I'll take it and send it off for some extra cash :rotfl:I was honest and told her what I was going to do with it and she was fine with it, so I don't feel guilty either.
Ebay sales are steady and there seems to be something selling most days It is not for very much but those not very muches will add up to a big much and I can get it transferred.
I have managed to stay out of the OD and it doesn't look as if I will be going back into it :T I am delighted with my little ole self. Now that the bank says a plus figure it seems much more difficult to spend any money, I am even loathed to start paying off my debts.........which is not the point of getting out of it :mad: I just like seeing the balance going up and spending anything at all feels wrong. But, if I want to be free by fifty I am seriously going to have to get at it...............maybe tomorrow
This weekend I am going to do some "pot work" :rotfl: I am going to go spreadsheet crazy and start allocating pots and working out how much I can afford to put in them every month, I am also going to look at opening a second bank account to put the "pot money" in. I blame Rising, she started me off I hope to start my new pots on payday (15 days to go) Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

So, like I said, not much to report, just the usual daily grind.

Have a great Friday eve (how did it get to be Thursday already???)

marmiterulesok

Hi freeby

My experience with saving pots started in November 2009 when I got my once yearly heating bill.I'd forgotten all about it and it was quite high.I managed to find the money from somewhere,can't remember exactly.I then decided to put money aside every month for that bill,and as time went on I added other things.Travel card,Christmas presents etc.

A lot of these pots are for bills that are paid once a year (travel card,TV licence,house insurance,fire insurance.).It's lovely to see these figures slowly build up and know that it's all there when the bill comes.One is a 3 year payment (for my rail card:400 francs for 3 years =13 francs /month,not a huge sum of money),others are monthly/every two months.

It's great that the cost of so many bills is broken down and spread out throughout the year.I've built this up slowly and it was only in 2012 that I ended up having budgets for 'everything'.

When I started the savings pots in 2009,I don't think that I would have managed to cover everything.You have to sit down and do lots of calculations and it depends on your priorities.I suppose if it's a bit tight at first and say you need to put aside £10 for house insurance,but you can only afford £5 then at least it's a 'cushion'.

I hope you find these ramblings of use to you and good luck for the weekend.I hope you don't end up with a headache!

freebyfifty

Good Morning

By jings, what a morning.

I have had to come on here at work to catch up It took me that long to get the NSD threads up to date that I didn't have time for anything else. I do love doing the NSD thread but when it comes to the end of one month and the beginning of another it all gets a little :eek:

Anyway, as it is my last day here I don't plan on doing very much so I feel no guilt at surfing the net.:)

I made two cc payments this morning, and one of them I over paid by £50 Not a lot I know but it will help when the interest is added. This month I have paid over 1% of my total debt off my debt .....if that makes sense?? So now to work on the second 1%....does anyone have a clue what I am talking about because I think I have even confused myself.

I applied to open a second bank account this morning. Here's hoping they don't turn me down :eek: Then I shall do some "pot work" this weekend. Thank you for all your advice marmite :A

So not a lot else has happened. Thank goodness it is Friday because I am shattered this week for some reason Feet up and some trashy telly for me tonight I think.

Have a great Friday.

beanielou

Here is to the next %

marmiterulesok

beanielou wrote: »

Here is to the next %

Hear,hear!:)

rising_from_the_ashes

Enjoy your weekend Freeby - have a little "me" time!

That's an order!!!!!

Best of luck with the new job on Monday

beanielou

What rising says from me too

freebyfifty

Good Morning

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments and your support, I don't know where I'd be without you lot cheering me on :A

Well, it's the weekend and time to go shopping :eek: I have my meal plan for the week and my shopping list all written. There is a fair bit on it but I am hoping I won't spend more than is on my Mr T money card, and if I am honest, I am hoping for a little bit left over too.
I am excited about an ebay sale for one of the more pricier items I am selling that I put on last weekend when it was free listing It has a bid and a couple more watchers so I know it is definitely going to sell. Just goes to show that relisting pays off in the end as I think this is the third time I have put it up for auction There is a bid for something else and watchers on quite a few things but they won't finish until mid-week. I have to say that if you put the effort in then ebay does pay off in the end. I managed to put over £100 in my bank account last month because of it :T
My second bank account is all set up, thank goodness, I had nightmares about being refused. So now I have to do some work on getting some cash in there and allocating it to different pots. Oh, and I have to decided on what my pots are going to be. I feel a spreadsheet frenzy coming on...I do love a good spreadsheet. I think I might be a bit of a money control freak. Which, if you look at my past history, is a very very good thing
I forgot to mention that I lost 5lbs at ww last week :j So I comfortably below my goal weight now but I am aiming to lose another little bit, just so I have a 10lb buffer. I know I have a couple of nights out coming up over the next month so I want to eat drink and be merry They will be very MSE :money:nights out too. One of them is my leaving do from the prison (yes, I used to work in a prison) and I have been informed I will be plied with lots of free drinks :beer: and the other is a family night out with DM and DF and they won't let me pay for anything although I do try to. Will be good fun but won't be good for the waistline :eek: I have kept up with my steps but have found somewhere else to keep a note of them so I don't bore you all to tears
I left my old place of work yesterday and spent most of the day in tears I loved that job but if I want to progress (and make more money) then I have to move on I made some friends for life there and will miss them so much but onwards and upwards. I'll make sure I stay in touch with them all

And that's about it for this morning, housework and Mr T beckon. It would be nice to actually have a day off wouldn't it?? A day where you really do nothing but slouch on the sofa and watch carp on the telly, being waited on hand and foot???

Well, we can all dream

I'll probably be back with more whitterings but in the meantime.....Have a great day