Making savings before it's too late

lessonlearned

I know.....it's a bit scary though. I'm stretching myself. Ok when you are in your 30s but at my age!!! :rotfl:

Yes I could have played safe, bought something smaller, cheaper but as my late husband used to say "where's the fun in that". :rotfl: I think he's right, sometimes you do have to push the boat out. It's a challenge but challenges can be fun.

This House is what I want, nice area, decent size, reasonable garden, somewhere I can finally put down roots and call home, somewhere I can be proud of.

Since I sold the family home in 2012, I have had 4 temporary moves, working hard and rebuilding my finances. But the last couple of years I have just been drifting. Being rootless doesn't suit me. I need this. It will give me focus and a springboard for what I hope will be a new and more rewarding life.

cuddlymarm

Hi LL
Once you put down roots it!!!8217;s a good feeling. We moved with promotions and better jobs but this is our forever home. Our little flat is future proof, our boys chuckle because although we are on the first floor, there is a ramp up to the entrance so we can manage when we start to struggle. No stairs if need be.
Cuddles

lessonlearned

Cuddles, Sounds like a perfect flat for you. You're right we do have to think about future proofing. I have chosen my new house with that in mind......hopefully I've got it right. I think so, I had years of practice when my husband was sick.

There are a couple of narrow doorways but they can be widened easily enough and I will probably "angle" the corridor in the hall at some point to make it wider. I have not made a final decision on that yet but I have already decided to knock out a couple of walls...to let in more light and make it feel more spacious and airy. I'm a devil for needing light. :rotfl:

I am afraid I'm greedy.....I want the Best of both worlds, light and airy during the day (especially in winter when it's naturally dark and gloomy) and then cosy at night. So with that in mind I will knock out the walls but add double doors. Not the cheapest option of course so I will probably have to wait until next year for that. In the meantime I will just slosh gallons of white paint around and have some strategically placed mirrors and brightly coloured artworks.

I'm not sure how much I will have for decorating and alterations, it all depends on how much remedial work is likely to be required. I will know more after the proper building survey. At any rate I don't intend spending more than necessary and I shall do as much work as I can myself to keep costs down.

The kitchen is particularly gloomy but the units are solid wood and still in good nick so I won't be replacing those. I shall paint them. That will save me thousands. I can see me having a paint brush welded to my hand for months.......oh well it will keep me out of mischief. :rotfl:

I was speaking about hobbies earlier. Luckily for me interior design is actually one of my passions so I'm going to enjoy rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck in. I have also decided that once I've moved I am going to enrol for a sewing course. I used to be quite good but it's years since I did any real sewing so I think a short refresher course might be a good idea.

Hopefully, It should save me a bit of money on soft furnishings.

[Deleted User]

light and airy and future proofed is my choice too, that is why I have not found a property yet. I don`t want an old money pit, am thinking that new would be good but don`t want a big shoddy builder and tiny garden. Yes I am being fussy but me too, this will be my forever home


I have paid off my cc in full and have a bit of excess in there now, so any spare cash will be destined for my safety net savings. Looking good on the savings front this month, I have achieved a lot, never thought I would but onwards and upwards now

[Deleted User]

I took dd to lunch today, bought organic veg and filled the car right to the top. cost me a total of £90 today and not a penny from any bank account or cc card, all from my cash wallet and I still have some left in there . I will start to top it up again at the end of next month, savings are priority but I will still get about £!00 back in there. Its a brilliant important reserve supply of money for me, which I forget about until I need it

edit 20 minutes later: oh drat, it isn`t that simple. I just logged onto m/s money and can see that I have rather a nasty pinch point in july, when I have a tax bill to pay. So no savings at least until I feel safe again, when I have excess above that pinch point, maybe around the 24th. Grhh, I will not be able to add to the cash wallet and will have to use what is in there for groceries, petrol, child birthday etc. Anything other than that will have to come out of actual savings and that, to me, is a retrograde step. It aint easy on fixed income


I was going to take two dgc out for a meal next sunday on the way to taking them home. I think I will buy frozen fingers, chips and a can of peas, sigh

lessonlearned

Kittie.....read your comments about money worries on the widows board and replied there. Sorry you have got this unexpected bill. Hopefully it's just a little blip and you can get back on track.

Re treating Your grandchildren.... how about feeding them yourself first and then maybe stopping off for an ice cream on the way home.

humptydumptybits

Kittie I often treat gc by looking out for offers and vouchers. I have been saving my nectar points and hoping they do an offer like last summer when you could exchange £5 of points for 2 cinema tickets or a meal for two at PizzaExpress. The four weeks I was doing free childcare all had a trip out for a meal or cinema trip which was free or with just a bit of money to find for icecreams and drinks at the cinema.


I also regularly get offers from Buy A gift, where you buy a voucher for an "experience" and I have put some money away for their next 25% off offer and will be buying some to put away.


My biggest headache is I seem to have at least one, sometimes two or three, birthdays every month. The joy of 4 children, their partners and children. It always eats into any savings I manage to make.

lessonlearned

Have been thinking about how I can make more savings.....:rotfl:

My new house will have a lot more storage space...I was wondering whether or not to stockpile some non perishables, such as cleaning materials, toiletries, stuff like tea bags, coffee etc.

I bought a bottle of shampoo last week Last time I bought it, admittedly about 3 months ago, it was £3. Last week it had jumped to £3.50. It occurred to me that with savings rates at such a pitiful level it might be worth investing a couple of hundred on some non perishable goods.

I used to be a member of Costco when I had a family to cater for and did quite a bit of bulk buying but since I now live alone I have let my membership expire.

I wouldn't need to buy nearly the sort of quantities I used to buy so I don't think I will renew my Membershio but I could stock up in places like Wilkinson, B&M, Aldi etc.

At the moment I still tend to shop weekly but I was thinking that if I bought in a decent supply of non perishables then I could maybe cut down in the number of shopping trips, and maybe save even more money (less temptation). Save time and petrol too.

I could probably stockpile at least a years worth without too much effort.

What do folk think. Is it a daft idea.

humptydumptybits

I don't think it is daft. In the snowy weather earlier this year I found it difficult to get to the shops and being out of a big city the supermarket soon started to run low on certain things.


I plan to have a stock of basics in this year, some bread in the freezer, some longlife milk (I know it isn't great but better than nothing which is how we were for a few days) and staples like pasta, rice, tins of tomatoes, some tins of things like tuna.



Not just money saving but that is an added bonus.

lessonlearned

Oh yeah....bad weather stocking up is a good idea too. I try and do that, usually stock up a bit in October. I like to start the winter with a full freezer and well stocked food cupboards and a supply of OTC comfort meds. It can still snow in April after all. :rotfl:

I guess I was shocked at a 50p rise on shampoo in just over 3 months, well above inflation. Cleaning materials, toiletries etc have a pretty long shelf life I would think. A couple of years at least I would imagine.

I wouldn't go mad with tinned food etc. Just a few staples like tin Toms etc I use in cooking. I used to buy things like baked beans, cans of tuna etc in cases or trays of 12 when I was feeding the five thousand.

Not an issue these days. :rotfl: