Get a grip woman!

enthusiasticsaver

Yes I think the government cap dissuaded many from claiming CB and it was not made clear that for SAHM this is imperative to gain the NI credits. There was no such cap when my kids were small, not that my DH was earning anywhere near £50k. I always envied people who were able to save their child benefit and give it to them at age 18. I was not working as my girls were just 17 months apart and double childcare would have crippled us as no tax credits then. I needed the child benefit though to buy nappies, childrens shoes and clothes and equipment and later on school trips and swimming lessons etc etc.

Suffolk_lass

Well I finally bit the bullet and went through many many items of clothing, trying things on and getting rid of anything now too big (most) or work clothes (many) or just realised they are not me. Then I washed a load with no detergent (things like linen shirts that were all stiff) and offered these to DH and DS. DH has six new shirts and DS has a new cardigan. Apparently quite a lot of my shirts were men's ones! I suppose I was trying to hide how much weight I was carrying. I checked with the local thrift shop and they would be happy to take them all. I might try 3-4 on Etray - things like Berkertex or Windsmoor. How much money have I spent on clothes over the years?! :eek:

enthusiasticsaver

Almost everyone I know, including me went through their wardrobe after retiring. I got rid of so many black pairs of trousers which was my normal work attire. All that space you have now for clothes for the next chapter of your life.

Suffolk_lass

I'm embarrassed to admit but I have only done the tops so far (and not all of those yet). I had started a while ago and had twelve (yes 12!) pairs of jeans in a bag ready to go - in 3 sizes, four colours and several styles. I still have a whole rail of skirts and trousers to go through - at least one skirt has never been worn (yet!).

We have both resumed our sensible eating as of yesterday as DH wants to lose another stone by Easter. It isn't like I could not lose a stone without looking better too so we are doing it together. Not quite the 8-week low blood sugar diet rigour, but like that with larger portions and the occasional relaxation (yesterday we had cauliflower cheese for supper and so there was a tablespoon of flour between us). Anyway, the point is that it gave me the confidence to get rid of more of the larger clothes. Only 2 "work tops" kept from that first batch.

Suffolk_lass

I really must stop fiddling. I have just opened a 5% Regular Saver with HSBC (works out at 3% over the year as it is £250 a month from March, but opened with £250 today - took about 30 seconds! Then I topped it off with another OP of the Mortgage, just to tidy things down to a nice round figure in the CA

Karmacat

None of that sounds like fiddling! Some good jobs done there

Suffolk_lass

Well I have been into the ISA accounts and made some purchases of things this morning. For both DH and I. I am trying to diversify across multiple companies, investment trusts, unit trusts, shares and bonds, while also trying to keep a view on performance and charges. Some are very pricey. I appreciate we are paying for expertise but it should not take half of the return imho.

So in addition to all the things I listed before I have bought into a couple of Vanguard funds - global income for DH and 40%Lifestrategy for me. I like them. They never get recommended in the financial pages because they are mostly passive tracker funds (hence low cost) but they are clear and transparent and I'm happy.

On the diet front DH is already dropping on the scales 1.5lbs since Sunday but I am still sort of sticky. We had a jar of ready made curry sauce with beef, chick peas, frozen spinach, onion, garlic and chillies. My word it was hot - I suppose 5 chillies added might have been a tad excessive. When DH asked about the garlic I said we needed to eat more as it helps fend off colds ("and vampires", he helpfully added :rotfl:)

enthusiasticsaver

I like the Vanguard funds too. Low cost, well diversified and no need to keep rebalancing. Lifestrategy60 forms core of both DH and my portfolio. The cost of some of the managed funds is extortionate and I am not convinced they add value. Age old argument I guess of whether active or passive is best.

I put garlic in loads of our meals but we keep getting colds courtesy of grandchildren. I have therefore moved to daily vitamin tablets instead. Just the time of year really I guess.

Suffolk_lass

Re the costs of active vs passive management I have been reading all the Key Information for Investor Sheets for all the candidate funds this morning and in the standard projections, I ruled out anything where the management costs took the most favourable projection much below £6000 on a £5000 investment over five years, as this really highlights the costs of holding these funds. I am probably a bit too much in equities and too little in bonds and gilts but I have yet to fully research these - and Vanguard offer some in this space too. DH already has a small investment VLS60% based on the UK FTSE - I wanted to go more global with the Vanguard funds I went for today, just to diversify and spread the risk a bit more.

Suffolk_lass

I do so hate the plodding stage of the month. All the direct debits and standing orders have gone and nothing is happening. So dull. I must go and see what runner beans the nursery has - looking for two particular kinds. I do have some from last year but somehow, they are so much less certain to grow.