Cherry takes the reins

Cherryfudge

Thank you Seasidegal58.  

I've been at work since yesterday evening and am a bit short of sleep but that's partly because I stayed up talking to someone I keywork for and we made great progress, needed for paperwork. It was a worthwhile trade off. Today has been really quiet too: staff are starting to exclaim to each other about how much paperwork and online training we are accomplishing. The downside is that it looks bad in our statistics as we go from over-full to having a number of empty beds, but sometimes you need catch-up time.

I spent the rest of my EmandEs vouchers yesterday plus a few odds and ends. The vouchers paid for milk as well as treats as there wasn't really much else I wanted and was willing to pay their prices for. I did a till receipt feedback though just in case they want to give me £250.   I try to do the Mr T ones from time to time as you get the equivalent of 25p once a month for those and if ever I manage to do a whole year's worth, there's a whole £3. 

After shopping I went round to DFiL's flat and collected some bits and pieces and in the evening before work I waded my way through the ironing, though it's grown back since.

Spending (26th)
Medical £2.00
Household £2.49
Housekeeping £7.75 (paid for with voucher)
Gift £3.00 (of which £2.75 paid for by voucher)
MS
10th coins saved: 21p
I have noticed EmandEs gave me a £5 off £35 spend voucher to be used by tomorrow - how very sneaky of them! I don't think I can use it but I'll have a think.
Today is likely to be an NSD.
Decluttering
A couple of small items to charity.

Today I'm thankful for a tree covered in tiny white blossom. My faith in the return of spring looks to be justified, even if it's not quite here yet. And 27 little daffodils in the front garden. And DS2 deciding at about half past four that there's still enough light and warmth to go for a run.

Cherryfudge

The verdict so far on whether I can make a £5 off £35 discount at EmandEs worthwhile, is... probably not. They do have some cheaper lines, but not necessarily cheap by the standards of elsewhere. I didn't see much in my three recent visits that made me think 'I have to get some of that while I see it at that price'. Nothing, in fact.

I think it represents a 13% saving over the whole bill but my guesstimate has always been that I pay about 20% more if I shop there. That's a guesstimate, though, based on the discount we used to get when DD worked there. There's nothing scientific about it. I can't really do maths.

On the plus side, we had a glut of garlic about a month ago and the other day I put the cloves that were looking a bit wizened or truly too tiny to do anything with, into water. Already a lot of them have roots developing! I've stuck these happy adventurers into a plant pot with some soil and now the family will complain that the kitchen smells of garlic until I have them hardened off.

ETA: I've just looked it up and it needs cold so out it goes.

Seasidegal58

I never seem to use their £5 off £35 food offers as like you I find it expensive because I don't buy the bulk of my general grocery shopping there. I tend to take more advantage of the 20% off food vouchers that I get with my M&S credit card now and again and use it for the odd smaller purchases I may make. 

in_need_of_direction

I tend to use my vouchers with any I earn from sb and stock up on things like their 50p cans of soup and dh 2l bottles of sparkling water at 6 for £2.50.  The rest is vey easily absorbed though.  Alternatively I leave them at reception on the off chance someone can use them

Cherryfudge

Today's big news is one last mortgage payment has been made - we're mortgage free!
This ruins my run of NSDs.

Honeysucklelou2

Huge congratulations 🥳. Must be an amazing feeling.

Cherryfudge

In other news... I've stuck to the menu plan over the past few days so there is a little more room in the freezer and £9.32 left of my share of the housekeeping money.
Work was eventful, complete with an ambulance, but all's well that ends well and thankfully that's the case. It was also discovered at the last minute that there was no one on the sleep in tonight so I'm going back to do it. I'm doing tomorrow's anyway so I'll just leave my stuff there.
The lambing snows are here, but without the lambs or the snow so far, just bitterly cold rain. I've stayed in as much as possible today. DH has been out and about sorting things for his Dad's estate and looking into some more info sent by the pensions department at work. This is quite informative but it's becoming plain that they simply answer what we think to ask them: it's as well we delved deeper as it could have a considerably effect on our income later. Turns out that if he defers his pension till he's 60, the first eighteen or so years of contributions aren't affected by taking it early, though more recent years are. If he had just gone ahead and accepted the information he was given earlier, he might have started to use it straight away and lost nearly a third of the total. He's now saying we need to speak to a proper financial advisor: an initial expense but for long term benefits.
I've done some more of one of my courses - not the finance one as I need to get my head round compound interest. I understand the theory but I'm not sure I like the sound of working examples complete with lingo.
I've just time before work to nip over to the mortgage free wannabe and celebrate the mortgagelessness of Fudgedom.

Spending
Mortgage £68.41
MS
Dinner from the freezer.
Extra hours at work.
10th coins saved = 4p.
Decluttering
One mortgage ( did I mention this already?)
a packet of sausages from the freezer

Tonight I'm thankful for having the wherewithal to pay off the house, for signs of spring and for hearty comfort food while it's still cold.

in_need_of_direction

Brilliant news on the mortgage 

Onebrokelady

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉Congratulations on paying off your mortgage Cherry🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉it must be a lovely feeling 😊

maggiem

Congratulations on paying off the mortgage. It's a great feeling and I hope a huge relief for you. 

The pensions thing is a nightmare and I agree companies, HR departments etc are not good at giving the information. If it is possible to defer until 60, that will make a big difference I would think. My pension was reduced by about 5% per year for each year I took early, so for me around 13%. It's only a small pension though so did not make a lot of difference but on a pension accrued over a longer period it would make a big difference. 🤞you can sort this out. It might be worth asking the Pensions board what questions do they think / wish they had asked.