Giving every £ a job

foxgloves

I keep meaning to make elderflower cordial, Blackcats, as I know it is easy, have the recipe in two or three foraging books, but never seem to get round to it. I've made elderberry cordial a few times. That is good made up with boiling water in winter to soothe colds & sore throats.
F x

Blackcats

Purple fairy I can report that the elderflower cordial tasted very nice indeed with the fizz.  As foxgloves says it is very easy to make and actually smells and tastes like the expensive shop bought version that I like.  It's a good year for elderflowers apparently and my recipe only used 15 flower heads ..... it did use lots of sugar though but I guess that's why it's a cordial.  

I didn't get around to the mid month savings transfers during the week as work was very busy and so in the evening all I wanted to do was sit and knit with a cup of tea and a recorded episode of Foyles War.  I'm quite looking forward to doing the money shuffle today and updating the totals in the various pots.  

Blackcats

I'm really pleased to report that I have achieved "one month ahead" for my expenses.  I have enough left in my account to cover all of next month's bills.  

However, I'm not sure whether I'm meant to leave it there without topping up usual savings pots further or whether to put it into a separate savings account?  I know it's an aim for YNAB but realise that I haven't quite worked out what to do now that I've achieved it 🤷‍♀️🤣

joedenise

Any excess I would transfer to a savings account - YNAB doesn't care where you keep your money so you want it to be in the best account possible to gain interest.  Personally I have a regular saver for the bulk of my savings as they pay the most interest but anything over that is saved in premium bonds as interest rates are so appallingly low!  At least that way there's a chance of a win and you don't lose your capital and it's easy enough to get back in a few days if you need it for something which crops up.

Blackcats

Thank you JoeDenise.  As you can tell from my diary I'm still very much a work in progress with my finances .  I can probably remove my L plates but I think I still need my P plates for a while longer.
i did some shopping from home today, using Foxgloves' technique and hearing her imaginary voice in my head.  I wanted a string of lights for a project I am doing and so I instinctively went to Am*zon and found some I liked and I justified to myself that they were very good value for money 🥺.  That's when Foxgoves' spoke to me (even though I have never met her and she had no way of knowing that at 8 this morning I was happily browsing Am*zon with every intention of spending money 🤣) So I paused and remembered that I had a very pretty string of lights which is lurking at the back of a cupboard and that there is a matching lamp shoved at the back of the garage.  I'm so pleased as they will look lovely and they cost me nothing and also stopped me adding more "stuff" to the house.  

savingholmes

HI Blackcats - glad you got some pretty lights sorted. Fab to be one month in hand for your bills too. I am looking forward to that day for us. I need to hear the shop from home mantra more often as that isn't a strength of mine currently.

Blackcats

ah Savingholmes, I am absolutely no expert at shopping from home 😈.  However as part of early retirement plans I want to reduce the amount of "stuff" that I own.  So I'm more driven by the not bringing more stuff into the home rather than the virtuous money saving or re-cycling motivators, but I suppose all roads lead to the same place .... less money spent, less possessions acquired and more things re-cycled and re-purposed.  

Like others on the DFW board I'm hoping to get my grocery shopping back to a new normal over the next few weeks.  I've been using sainsbobs during lockdown as I've been shopping for my elderly relative and it is so expensive plus so hit and miss about what's available.  However, it's got us through and I'm grateful to have accessed delivery slots when others have found it nigh on impossible.  My freezer is jam packed with food and I need to start to feel confidence in the supply chain and start eating it instead of accumulating more.  I've tended to buy store cupboard items when available so I also have a significant but eclectic stash of food in the cupboards too.  Definitely enough for 14 days of isolation if needed so that surely counts as sufficient.  

foxgloves

Do you mean you heard my 'BOSSY' voice in your head, Blackcats? As in 'What are you doing looking at lights, Missis, you have a perfectly good set of lights sitting there doing frankly not a fat lot, so if you aren't using those, you can't very well require new ones, can you?'
Was it that sort of voice? I can be quite a bossyboots if the mood takes me.
Definitely not a no-spend day here. Just ordered 8m of curtain fabric. But in mitigation, it was reduced by about 40% and if I don't do something with our horrible old bedroom curtains soon, I will find myself playing something dramatic......something Wagnerian & operatic or maybe a bit of Black Sabbath & hacking them up with the bread knife! 
F x

Blackcats

Ha ha Foxgloves, you did sound quite bossy in my head but also disappointed.  Like a teacher who thought a pupil had grasped the concept of multiplying fractions only to discover that they got all their test questions wrong except one which was probably a lucky guess 🥺.  

I'm sure your old curtains must be very, very scared at the thought of you, Wagner and a bread knife.  New fabric sounds like a bargain.
i spent some money today but it will be reimbursed by elderly relative as it was an item for them.
I've also spent some of my personal spends money ..... yes, candles of course.  I get bored easily so I've bought several votives with different scents to give me variety and I also bought a candle from an independent candle maker I visited last year when on holiday.  The candle is very attractive and it's good to support a small business.  

Leftovers for dinner tonight - quick and very tasty.  

Off to do some knitting.  I'm up to a fiddly part now so I need to concentrate but I've had a Saturday night glass of wine.  What could possibly go wrong 😱

Blackcats

Well the knitting went ok so that's good.  It's an Xmas present so I've left myself plenty of time - even by my slow knitting standards. 😀 Pay day this week.  I remember not so long ago being desperate for pay day to come around but all I really did was pay bills and spend again  - it was a never ending cycle that I never thought I could break.