The End May Actually Be in Sight...

Welshlassie

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa wrote: »

What is YNAB if you don't mind me asking.

You Need A Budget - an american piece of software and budgeting methodology. Found it last summer used the free 34 day trail and was hooked, managed to find it on Steam for £7.50 so didn't need to shell out of the full £40 (ish), but I would have done.

It comes with a desktop version and associated Smartphone apps so you can keep it up to date when out and about - spending diary style.

Crumpets

HI RT, how are the Easter holidays going? we're only on day 3 so far and the little ones have been driving me potty today. I think we're just all having one of those days.

I save all my coppers and small bits of silver in a tin and when it gets full I cash it in and op it, it's silly to not do something with it, it's money after all:D it soon mounts up too, I think I had about £40 last time. HSBC have a change counting machine in their branch so it meant it could go straight in the bank without me having to bag it up. unfortunately we have changed banks now so won't be able to do that next time:(

Good luck for finding the extra £160 op! luckily I'm not fussy about round numbers etc as one of my mortgages is only £28 away from going under £65k i could find it from somewhere but I'm not going to stress about it:D

C x

Goldiegirl

When we were saving up to get married, ( long time ago :rotfl:) we saved up all our 50p pieces, and managed to buy a duvet with the total, so it was well worth doing at the time.


This year I'm putting loose change into my 'sealed pot', as I signed up to the Sealed Pot challenge. But I find it easier to budget using my cards for payment, so don't often spend cash. I think my yearly total will be a bit pathetic!


I'm also doing the Virtual Sealed Pot challenge, where you round down your bank balance to the nearest £5, and put the odd pounds and pence into a little savings account. This is better for me. We are going away this Christmas ( first time I've ever holidayed at Christmas) and I'm going to use my Virtual Pot for some spending money


Just been catching up on your diary - sounds like you are doing well at the moment, both on the mortgage and enjoying life front

greent

We save our £2 coins and any coin less than 20p in a piggy bank I used to bag them up and pay them into the bank and then OP that but now what I do is use them to pay at the supermarket self service till. I don't count them, I just stand there pouring them into the tray (not good if your self service tills only have coin slots!) and then OP that amount Saves me counting it and I don't pay for the machine to count it, unlike if you use [EMAIL="coinst@r"]coinst@r[/EMAIL] or similar I get some funny looks, but I don't care!!

RoaringTwenties

Wow thanks all for coming on to my thread :T I always wonder if I'm like the parrot on the Marie Celeste, chattering away to no-one :rotfl:

Welshlassie I'm going to have to look into the things you mention! ClickSnap sounds good - I like free money! And EasyFundraising too, is that like TCB/Quidco but money for a cause/charity? I don't buy as much from Amazon since they introduced P&P under a tenner :mad: but it would still be worthwhile. You see, no matter how MSE you think you are there's always more to learn :money:

Rachel (think I'll have to stop calling you Mrs RT or I may get you confused with my OH ) glad you've got the good weather. It's been lovely here for a few days. Looking forward to the next Trelfa Twist

Crumpets the only reason my kids aren't driving me potty is that only one of them is here! DS is at Grandma's being spoilt rotten. DD was out all day yesterday with no nap :eek: By 7pm she was literally falling over. She'll probably be a pain in the proverbial today I wish I was as chilled out as you with numbers, like Welshlassie I am OCD & count things to the penny. I get narky if my bank statement is 1p out [STRIKE]maybe I need professional help[/STRIKE]

Goldiegirl thanks for joining me Yes we seem to be striking a good balance atm. We were both saying yesterday that we feel a bit guilty when we spend, comes from years of spending nothing I think! Because I write up all transactions in my old-fashioned ledger exercise book ( ) I've been trying to use more cash than card recently, it feels strange as I've always preferred cards, then the exact amount goes out, & I've never been one to overspend so no risk there, but using cash is cutting down on the admin! Am watching your thread with interest btw

greent, I reckon if people are staring it means we're doing something right on the MSE front! They should be taking notes :rotfl:

Thanks again all, now tablet pleassseee do NOT lose this long post [hits Submit Reply with trepidation]

Mrs_Rachel_Trelfa

Hi RT, yes I can see how it could get confusing. Sunshine is due to last until Sunday afternoon so not bad for British bank holiday weather. Feels ages since the last Trelfa twist and since I last updated my diary *makes mental note to do it tonight as I have a lot to put on*

Crumpets

Enjoy the peace and quiet of only having the one child while it lasts RT:D my Ds was the same yesterday, we went to the park late and on the way home he was so desperate to go to sleep but we hadn't had dinner, we had to sing at home and tickle him to keep him awake on the journey home:rotfl:

I also prefer paying with cash these days, I feel it helps me stay in control and it makes it seem more real. I take out £50 every week to spend on odds and sods and any left over at the end of the week gets put into a tin to op, not that there's usually very much left :cool:

Hope you've had a good day today

C x

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Morning RoaringTwenties

I hope your DD is OK today and not too tired. My two used to be a nightmare if they were over tired :eek:

I'm with Greent and you on using cash. Years ago I would never have taken coins to the shops - I saved them all up for the kids - nowadays every month I pop into our bank, which has a 'chuck your coins' in machine and then it's OPd .

Re cards, I like to use a cash back CC to make sure we benefit from any required spending. It does add up. Finally I pay our council tax by CC (we don't get charged for this but some councils do make a charge), meaning I earn cash back on that as well.

Anything to make our money work harder for us and you're right, there's always something new to learn. We are fortunate to have such a good community on the MF and DF forums.

Have a good weekend, Tilly x

RoaringTwenties

Crumpets wrote: »

Enjoy the peace and quiet of only having the one child while it lasts RT:D my Ds was the same yesterday, we went to the park late and on the way home he was so desperate to go to sleep but we hadn't had dinner, we had to sing at home and tickle him to keep him awake on the journey home:rotfl:

I also prefer paying with cash these days, I feel it helps me stay in control and it makes it seem more real. I take out £50 every week to spend on odds and sods and any left over at the end of the week gets put into a tin to op, not that there's usually very much left :cool:

Hope you've had a good day today

C x

Hi Crumpets, the peace is not set to last as DS is due home this morning! He's had a great time by all accounts, has been to the seaside and ridden on a donkey for the first time (his Autism means his balance is an issue, so this is quite a big thing for him.) I've so been there with the tickling and singing! My OH used to rather cheekily say it's a good job I have such an awful voice as neither of mine could possibly sleep through my caterwauling, it's a useful tool :rotfl:

Going to post on your thread shortly :T

RoaringTwenties

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Morning RoaringTwenties

I hope your DD is OK today and not too tired. My two used to be a nightmare if they were over tired :eek:

I'm with Greent and you on using cash. Years ago I would never have taken coins to the shops - I saved them all up for the kids - nowadays every month I pop into our bank, which has a 'chuck your coins' in machine and then it's OPd .

Re cards, I like to use a cash back CC to make sure we benefit from any required spending. It does add up. Finally I pay our council tax by CC (we don't get charged for this but some councils do make a charge), meaning I earn cash back on that as well.

Anything to make our money work harder for us and you're right, there's always something new to learn. We are fortunate to have such a good community on the MF and DF forums.

Have a good weekend, Tilly x

Hi Tilly, thanks for dropping by :T

DD isn't too bad thanks, she does get herself to sleep well in her cot so we've planned a couple of days at home for her to catch up on her rest in the afternoons. I think yours are teenagers now? That must be a whole other ball game don't tell me the details it's all too scary from where I am now :rotfl:

I have heard about cash back CCs, think I might need to get onto that. A friend always pays her Council Tax with her M&S card for the points! I have a charity card and the charity gets a fair bit of money from that. The only prob I foresee is that I might struggle to get another CC now with not having an income (I'm a SAHM) & if I get a second card on my OHs account I wouldn't be covered for distance purchases on the internet. Maybe this has changed but I once read (on here I think!) that the credit card guarantee only pertains to the account holder and not the card holder, in the event of a claim I'd have to prove that the account holder would have gained a benefit. And typically all the internet accounts are in my name!I suppose I could change all that too, but not sure I'd trust Mrs RT to be doing our internet shopping . The Council Tax is a good one though, I'm pretty certain they don't charge us a fee, so will look into that, thank you.

I've followed your thread with interest over the last 6 months or so, it was the one that got me hooked! I'm so pleased that things are working out for you and your DH. It seems you've got from facing an uphill struggle to having lots of fabulous possibilities open to you - hurrah!

I hope you have a lovely Easter, I know it's an important time of year for you as it is for lots of my Christian friends

Take care xx