Put away your purse & become debt-averse

HairyHandofDartmoor

Your decisions with regard to savings pots sound very sensible. It's wise to be cautious about the future as who knows what state the economy will be in for a while.

I want to reduce our spending on food too, but at least we're spending less on other things like coffees out, etc. 

Baileys_Babe

I was thinking about our savings pots today. As our household income can vary dramatically each month (some months can easily be double others). I have calculated the minimum to put into each pot a month which will be increased in more lucrative months. Some pots like the car tax have a natural rhythm, we build-up savings over 12 months then buy the car tax and repeat. Other pots like car replacement have an unpredictable endpoint, do we:
1) pay in an amount per month, regardless of the total?
2) set a target, once reached stop future savings until we have spent in this category?
3) set a target, once reached reduce funds feeding pot but so the pot keeps up with inflation?

I'm finding setting a target for some categories very difficult.

PurpleFairy26

Interesting reading about saving pots. For annual bills I’ve always taken the annual amount and save 1/12th each payday +10% for increases that I can’t mitigate. For other things like dental, opticians etc... I worked out an number that was a combination of what we may have spent in a previous year with what I might need to cover ‘something’ in that category and paid that across. Obviously in the early days I’d not considered not paying in whilst building up but now some have reached a ‘years worth It so’ of funding and no imminent bills (not for annual ones) I have stopped some payments as foxgloves has and diverted the money elsewhere. 

I’ve also calculated how much ‘excess’ we may have in there that I can withdraw due
to some annual things we save for not requiring being paid during lockdown. 

marionmgcars

Feeling frugal today.  I knit my little grandson a cardigan (he is only a toddler) and when it was tried on it only just fastened and was very short in length.  Decided to pull it out and knit next size as I had spare wool that could be used.  Felt like my grandmother when she used to buy handknits at the jumble sale to pull out & crochet blankets. 🙂

Baileys_Babe

We do something similar for annual bills @PurpleFairy26 but I add 15% as on somethings I'm a pessimist. Health (options/dental/prescriptions) again we do something similar, based on previous need, perceived future need, annual increases, we are fortunate to have good NHS dentists, and some of OH option costs are paid for by work.

My Mum knits for the grandchildren. Often when ds outgrew one of her makes, instead of passing it along to the next grandchild, he would send it back and ask her to extend it, which she often did by undoing the bottom of the jumper or cardigan and then knitting down and extending the sleeves. She doesn't knit much for him and the other big grandchildren as they take too long to make and are heavy on her hands, the little grandchildren still get plenty. Ds has the ambition to learn to knit so he can make her lovely jumpers and cardigans

foxgloves

Marionmgcars & BaileysBabe - Yes, that was common practice in war time, according to my Nan, who saved every single scrap of spare yarn to knit rows of coloured spangles into her fairisle mittens. Instead of casting on the sleeves at the cuff end, which we would tend to do now except for some traditional patterns, such as fisherman ganseys, they would start at the top & knit downwards. Then the cuff could be unpiggled as the child grew & extra length knitted into the sleeve. Clever stuff. They knew a thing or two about money saving didn't they? My Nana used to say it was as a result of not having much money growing up & living through two world wars & a depression.
F x

foxgloves

Interesting comments about the savings pots & I must admit it was quite nice to find other people asking these same sort of questions, rather than it just being me overthinking things. I think it is because I AM overthinking that I am getting to my target sum in certain savings pots......the Meow Fund is a case in point.....then thinking 'But I might need more than that' and 'A vet bill for something serious could run to double that amount' etc, etc, but I think it is OK to stop at a reasonable amount which would help with most situations. For example, I have saved a certain amount into our 'Appliances replacement' pot. There is sufficient in there to cover buying a new cooker, which we have been putting off, but will probably need to do this year. The cautious bit of me is saying 'But the cooker isn't the only appliance, what if the washer, fridge or freezer were to cark it too?' but the rational part is countering that with 'Don't be daft, you only replaced the fridge & freezer last year and the washer the year before that'. So there'll be plenty of time to build that fund up again in time, but for now, I feel it is fine to close it. I don't allow anything officially for inflation. It's more casual than that.....kind of 'I would need X much to deal with this, this or that emergency so I'll allow that plus a little extra just in case'. 
I have some money saved towards when we next need to change our car.......last time we did this, we saved a decent deposit, did a part-ex & borrowed the rest on a standard bank loan (lower interest rates than these complicated car finance plans) which we then overpaid to shorten its term. This worked well for us but because a car is always a big purchase, it is well worth starting the saving very much in advance of the anticipated replacement year. So I think that while those 5 savings pots are temporarily closed, I will probably use their 'share' to boost car savings. I could add it to my ISA, but I can't see the point in doing that, if when car replacement time rolls around again, we then resort to borrowing because I don't want to break out ISA money which I think it is important to keep for our future security (I won't get a full company or state pension as took VR in the austerity cuts so the intention is that the ISA can help make up the shortfall) Oh dear, I'm boring myself with this now! I think with having come to budgeting late & to saving even later, it is just that thing of wanting to get it right, but that's the thing......we all have slightly different needs going forwards so we will all come to subtly different conclusions about the management of our savings pots.
F x

foxgloves

And now for today's post.
Greetings m'dears! Another hot one here. Mr F is too hot, cat is too hot......I am the last one standing & I have to trot down to the post box in a minute, so may add my sun baked self to the household tally of hot creatures when I return!
Up early & down the veggie garden by 8.30 am. Quite pleased with progress which only stopped because of the heat & needing lots of help clearing & turning over the last two beds which are needed for my remaining courgettes/squash, celeriac & sweetcorn. So today's progress..........I staked up my greenhouse tomatoes & fixed the canes to a string support, then side-shooted & tied in the outdoor ones (I have 6 indoor & 10 outdoor), then I weeded & raked the runner bean bed (we built the support frames a few weeks ago) & planted out my first lot of beans. I've temporarily fixed a large sheet of mesh around them because there is a lot of damage done in our garden by NAUGHTY BEAKS & I sometimes wonder why I buy them so much lovely bird seed, peanuts & fruity suet blocks! Then I sat on my pondside bench & made bird scarers from old CDs & recycled string. I hang these along the length of the bean frame every year as an additional warning to sparrows that unhelpful beak action is not welcome. They look quite pretty glinting & spinning in the sunshine & usually do the job. The problem is if there is a particularly brave sparrow, you know....leader material. He's been on the course, got the certificate, rates himself. It only takes THAT sparrow to cheep my dangly CD bird scarers to scorn & barge his way through the mesh while the beans are still small, for there to be potentially a lot of damage because the rest of the sparrow army will follow, beaks fixed, a finely honed charge for the beans. For anyone reading this & thinking 'Oh, I didn't know sparrows eat bean plants'.....they don't! They just peck them for the fun of it & spit the bits on the ground. It's infuriating, so I always go the extra mile with pinning mesh around the plants until they are bigger & stronger.
Other jobs today? Pegged out my early hours laundry.....might as well make use of the Economy 7 tariff while we still have it. Added a couple more plants to the new patio - shopped from home - I mustn't succumb to garden centre temptation for this, as I really do have plenty of stuff I can use. Oh, & I wrote a little letter to my nephew in German to help with his lockdown language school work. It isn't very exciting........i.e "Onkel ******** ist in Morrisons. Er kauft Bier, Kase, eine Gurke und Katzenfutter" is hardly edge of your seat stuff, but it is all good practice while he can't go to school & the idea is that he then practises his German by writing back to me. We'll see how it goes!
And now the sun is so high in the sky that I am going to sit in the shade & read my library book.......just as soon as I get back from my trot to the post box.
Stay safe, everyone. It's nice having a catch-up on here - sort of feels a bit normal.
Love F x

foxgloves

It's official. I am already too hot! Am about to start the ironing before it gets any hotter....... 
F x

Baileys_Babe

foxgloves said:

It's official. I am already too hot! Am about to start the ironing before it gets any hotter....... 
F x

Why do any ironing?
We only iron clothes for weddings, funerals and interviews, the last interview was over 18 years ago.

The iron lives in the craft cupboard and the ironing board is banished to the loft.

Free yourself from the tyranny of the iron. You will use less electricity, which is better for the environment