Giving every £ a job

Sun_Addict

I desperately need to declutter, I have far too much stuff it drives me insane, clothes especially - I don’t wear half the things I’ve got. I need to be ruthless. 

savingholmes

Well done on the sales and the voucher. Good MSE times 

Blackcats

@Cheery_Daff - vinted is easy to use.  I'd say that pricing wise it's a buyer's market rather than a seller's market.  Prices are quite low on there but my items have sold quite quickly   The buyer arranges and pays for their postage label and drop off points are quite local.  I've got another item to list this week and 2 bags have gone to the local charity shop.  Although it's a national charity, the hospital is very close to us so we like to support them through their shop and other fundraising events they have.  

@Sun_Addict - I'm not very ruthless yet.  I went through my 2 boxes of handbags today (yes 2 bog boxes of handbags) and hooked out 3 bags to take to the charity shop.  I hadn't used them for at least 3 years but a few more that could have/should have gone have slunk back into the box. 

The pension back pay has arrived in my account and I've used it to top up various pots and the rest is in my chase account for now.  It's easy access and earning 3,1% whilst I decide what to do with it.  

It was a beautiful day today - bed linen dried outside in the courtyard part of our garden where the pots of tulips are looking gorgeous.  I planted them back in October when I first started working part time and at the time I savoured the afternoon in the garden and looked forward to seeing the daffs and tulips at the end of winter.  

savingholmes

Tulips are so cheerful aren't they? I planted some yellow and some red ones last year too and they were looking gorgeous just as I went away. They should still be there when I get back. 

Glad you have the missing pension funds. Better in your hands than theirs. 

Well done on the donating and the sales. 

Blackcats

Thank you, as ever, @savingholmes for popping by.

I've decided to move from using our credit card for monthly spending to using our chase current account.  We do pay the credit card in full each month but I recognise for me that this way of spending builds up a balance and with a high credit limit it doesn't feel that there are implications for overspending.   I plan to put our monthly spending budget into the current account and spend it on a depleting basis and when it's gone it's gone.  I think it will make me more accountable and intentional with how I use the budget.  The account pays interest on the balance and cash back on spending so that feels like a win and it automatically rounds up to the nearest £ and moves it to the aptly named "round up" account.  I'm doing a partial changeover this month and will do it completely in May.  All direct debits are in another current account. 

savingholmes

Hi Blackcats

Sounds sensible on CCs - it's so easy to build up a balance isn't it?. I think it can reduce pressure - to just see how much is left more easily. I think I've over-complicated my accounts and need to work at simplifying them again.

Blackcats

Hi @savingholmes - I think there's tweaking and adapting to do along the way as we all get used to more saving and less spending.

Spending on my chase debit card makes sense as there's 1% interest on the balance and 1% cash back on the spends which seems like a win/win.

we had a nice weekend without spending too much.   For Friday night fakeaway and film night I made Singapore noodles and black bean chicken and we watched A Beautiful Mind.  I'd never seen the film and so we bought the DVD from the charity shop for £1,50.  It was really thought provoking and we really enjoyed it.  

On Saturday I took a pudding to a family lunch.  In the past I would have bought an expensive dessert but my homemade pineapple upside down cake and custard seems to have been enjoyed by everyone - not a crumb was left.  Then a chilly afternoon watching a grandson playing football where we spent £3 on two yummy hot chocolates from the coffee van.

we were tempted to get a takeaway chicken kebab last night but we're saved from ourselves because the shop was closed.  

It seems that the new tax year has made a difference to my pay and take home pay has increased.  It's definitely not a pay rise so I'm assuming it's related to tax.  I'm looking forward to getting overall tax position sorted but for now I'm happy that pay has gone up.  Time for the monthly money shuffle tomorrow and the topping up of savings pots 😇

lucielle

Sounds like you had a good weekend.  I had granddaughter cuddles as well this weekend, she's growing so quickly.  well done resisting the takeaways.
L

Blackcats

@lucielle - grandchild cuddles are so precious. 

Just to fess up that we didn't avoid the takeaway on Sunday - we drove past the shop and it was shut.  Actually it did us a favour as we made a good mix and match dinner at home. I made a biryani type rice which used up lots of bits and pieces from the fridge, we had an olio Dahl from the freezer, some flatbreads and MrBC made some air fryer bhajis.  There was enough for the next day too.

we had a long walk today to some local bluebell woods.  It's still slightly early but there were plenty of flowers to see and the scent in the woods was lovely.  We took our trusty flasks and some snacks and enjoyed sitting in the sun.  It was even ever so slightly warm - could spring finally be here?

savingholmes

Bluebell woods are so beautiful. I need to get out and about more now I'm back home too.