How to fall in love with saving money

Eco_Miser

cathybird wrote: »

Eco Miser, very curious about something else you said, about 15 degrees feeling too hot. As an Australian living in Britain, who plans to stay here long-term, I am wondering about heating costs, which is a major expense, particularly for retirees - don't want to end up in the position of not being able to afford to keep warm, as many elderly people seem to do. Have you always preferred it on the cold side? Or is this something you acclimatised to? I am wondering if I can accustom myself to a lower preferred temperature. Which, as you have already pointed out, would also be better for the environment.

I think I've acclimatised over the years, or maybe it's my metabolic regulation - which is known to be faulty. I spent a good part of the summer wearing as little as reasonable in the prevailing circumstances; the day after my last day of paid employment, I walked over the North Sea in a snowstorm.:)

But actually the main reason I felt hot at 15 degrees was that I was dressed for a lower temperature. Not loads of cardigans, or even one, but a thermal undergarment, under normal clothes.

More generally, English houses are (were?) notoriously uninsulated and draughty, I don't know why. Having a well-insulated house, dressing sensibly, and using the heating only as required should keep your costs down. In the past year I used £320 worth of gas, (all for heating), and £210 worth of electricity, some of which heated water for showers, cleaning and cooking, and all of which contributed to heating my home eventually.

PippiShortsock

Hi Cathy

You're doing really well. Can't believe you've met your December goal already and we're not even in December yet!

I mentioned YNAB on this thread a few days ago and I've just been on their site and seen that they have a half-price sale all weekend. I have no connection with the company, I'm just a satisfied customer who will be purchasing the software having trialled it for a month. I really like the fact that I can allocate my savings to virtual pots which grow month after month until I can afford something substantial. I find it a very good incentive to save (well so far I do - it's early days)!

Anyway, whatever system you use, keep up the good work!

cathybird

atush wrote: »

Read it all now, and I can already see you are learning to love to save. Keep it up!!

atush, thanks for the time and trouble you've taken reading through my thread, and for your thoughts. I feel now as though I am well on the way.

cathybird

atush wrote: »

This is why new investors should never invest in single shares, but collective investments like funds. As they are lower in risk as they invest in many companies not just one.

I've never been so sure of this advice, in the sense that really people should not invest in a product that they have not thoroughly investigated and made sure they have understood, including (obviously) the level of risk that it represents, and that applies just as much to funds as it does individual stocks and shares. I agree that funds are unlikely to tank completely, in the way that a single stock can, but people can still do incredibly badly with them, particularly if they don't understand that you shouldn't sell just because the stock market is falling. There's no point blindly picking some fund manager in a big rush in the hope that whoever it is will make up for the investor's total ignorance of the market and how it works. I think often new investors think that - that putting their money in funds will save them the effort of thinking. But that's wrong.

cathybird

WantToBeSE wrote: »

Hi All

Had a funny sort of week. Had a huge (and painful) migraine, which resulted in having to get ant-sickness meds and extra strong painkillers after it carried on for 4 days..then just as i was getting better yesterday, my 9 yr old broke his ankle (again! 2nd time in 6 months!).

So, i am back! I havent been able to go to work all week, which has resulted in a loss of £118 this week

NOT GOOD! But alas, it couldnt be helped. I am back to work on Monday morning.

Have spent a fortune on petrol getting to various doctors and hospitals, so havent been able to save ANYTHING this week.
However, i am determined to have £600 in savings my the end of this year, so very close to beating that target!

Will catch up on the thread

It's a real shame you have been unwell, WantToBeSE, but as you say it can't be helped. I like your determination to beat your target though I bet you do

cathybird

PippiShortsock wrote: »

Hi Cathy

You're doing really well. Can't believe you've met your December goal already and we're not even in December yet!

I mentioned YNAB on this thread a few days ago and I've just been on their site and seen that they have a half-price sale all weekend. I have no connection with the company, I'm just a satisfied customer who will be purchasing the software having trialled it for a month. I really like the fact that I can allocate my savings to virtual pots which grow month after month until I can afford something substantial. I find it a very good incentive to save (well so far I do - it's early days)!

Anyway, whatever system you use, keep up the good work!

Thanks for the tipoff about the sale, PippiShortSock I did in fact download the trial version of YNAB but have not had enough time to thoroughly check out how it works. I'll have a closer look today or tomorrow to decide whether I want it.

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

I think I've acclimatised over the years, or maybe it's my metabolic regulation - which is known to be faulty. I spent a good part of the summer wearing as little as reasonable in the prevailing circumstances; the day after my last day of paid employment, I walked over the North Sea in a snowstorm.:)

But actually the main reason I felt hot at 15 degrees was that I was dressed for a lower temperature. Not loads of cardigans, or even one, but a thermal undergarment, under normal clothes.

More generally, English houses are (were?) notoriously uninsulated and draughty, I don't know why. Having a well-insulated house, dressing sensibly, and using the heating only as required should keep your costs down. In the past year I used £320 worth of gas, (all for heating), and £210 worth of electricity, some of which heated water for showers, cleaning and cooking, and all of which contributed to heating my home eventually.

I wear the thermals and still want the heating on. :(:( The insulation is something I should look carefully at - I know I have it in the loft but I could have a think about draughts etc.

cathybird

Eco_Miser wrote: »

... the day after my last day of paid employment, I walked over the North Sea in a snowstorm.:)

You walked over the North Sea? ... Are your real initials JC? ...

115K

I don't know if I'm repeating myself on here but I've been doing some sums and I think I might be able to hit £6,000 in savings by the end of 2013.

I'm at £5,100 now and making it to £6k will seem like the target of £12k by the end of 2014 more realistic I think. I am planning on having a frugal Christmas anyway but I think I can reduce my grocery bills and save a bit more.

Fingers crossed anyway.:D

Eco_Miser wrote: »

More generally, English houses are (were?) notoriously uninsulated and draughty, I don't know why. Having a well-insulated house, dressing sensibly, and using the heating only as required should keep your costs down. In the past year I used £320 worth of gas, (all for heating), and £210 worth of electricity, some of which heated water for showers, cleaning and cooking, and all of which contributed to heating my home eventually.

Whoa, that is very cheap.:T We use about £65 a month on average and I thought we were doing well.;)

cathybird

115K wrote: »

Whoa, that is very cheap.:T We use about £65 a month on average and I thought we were doing well.;)

It is remarkably cheap, but Eco Miser has let slip that he may have divine connections, or at the very least superpowers