Giving every £ a job

Blackcats

I'm  so pleased with my end of month budget round up.  My month ends on 4th because of credit card statement date.  At the start of January I set a target of reducing spends by 21% (as a nod to moving into 2021). Well ..... my spending was 43% less than the average monthly spend in 2020.  This was helped by lower spends on petrol, not eating out, not needing any new clothes.  I stuck to budget on gifts and food.  This low level of spending isn't sustainable every month but for feb 5th to March 5th I'm going to aim for 30% less than 2020 average spends.  Feeling motivated to give it a go! 

Sun_Addict

That’s brilliant well done 👏 

savingholmes

43% less is brilliant! Well done you! Smashed your target. I've been gobsmacked this month at how little we've noticed cutting the budget back. As long as we have £ for food and allow a takeaway at least once a month we seem to be okay.

Blackcats

I agree SH - it didn't feel too hard to cut back at all.  Nowhere to go helps of course, as well as plenty of food/drink leftover from Christmas.  I won't be able to keep such low spends all the time as things need to get replaced etc but I am now trying to work out what on earth I used to buy every month.  

I've only got one birthday to buy for this month but November, December and January are full of birthdays plus Christmas so I'm going to keep the monthly pot topped up throughout the year.
I'm going to put a couple of items on e bay tomorrow to benefit from the £1 listing fee.  I had a good selling spree last year but there is still plenty of stuff to get rid of.  

Cold and snowy here - happy to be tucked up at home watching the glorious sunshine in Death in Paradise.  

savingholmes

Yes, we have lots of family birthdays Nov-Jan too. I'll be replenishing our gift pot post DFD. This pandemic has really shone a light on non-essential spending. It will be interesting to see if people really do go into a 'roaring twenties' type spendathon when it's all over. I can't make out whether that's just wishful thinking on the part of economists or whether we will all just be that forgetful... I think it's taught me that even my hair cut isn't sacrosanct... (as long as DD dyes my hair LOL) as I can at a push cut my own....

[Deleted User]

Wow - that's really impressive Blackcats.  Sorry I've not had time to read your entire diary but when are you planning on retiring?  Sounds like you are setting all the wheels in motion really well!

Blackcats

Hello SavingHolmes + I think a post lockdown spendathon is wishful thinking on the part of retailers, pubs, restaurants etc.  I think there will be an initial flurry of spending but so many people have lost their jobs or have insecure jobs that they won't feel comfortable spending, others will have re-evaluated their priorities and others just got out of the habit of spending.  

I've coloured my hair a couple of times and it turned out ok but I haven't dared cut it myself, plus all my scissors are so blunt they struggle to cut a piece of paper.  

Hello Rebecca - my diary helps keep me on track and keeps me positive when I write about my mini successes.  It's nice to be able to talk about money with anonymity but with supportive like minded people.  I've learned so much from other diaries.  My aspiration is to be ready to hand in my notice during 2022.  I will have some reduction in my pension as I will be retiring early but I've worked out that it will take 16 years of retirement for me to be worse off.  I'm comfortable with the reduction - my time is worth more to me.  

I made a disastrous cake today - embarrassed to say that it wasn't cooked all the way through 🥴.  I trimmed round the edges that were cooked and edible and gave the squelchy middle to the birds.  

Lots of snow here still.  I haven't been out other than to the dustbin - the weekly lockdown highlight of dustbin day 🤣

Sarahwithlove

If you are going to cut yourself make sure to get some hairdresser scissors and don't use normal ones it's not good for your hair. 

savingholmes

Cake sounds tasty even if it was just the edges. Hope the birds enjoyed their part of the treat.

Blackcats

Sarah - I would never dare try and cut my own hair - I'm so clumsy I think it would be a recipe for disaster but I can see that really sharp scissors would protect the hair. 

SH - the cooked edges of the cake were very nice and the next day we had some with custard.  No negative feedback from the birds either 👏.
I had a trip to As*a  to buy the expensive gourmet menu cat food of choice for my fussy cats.  Tuna and prawns in delicate gravy for their tea tonight !  I do my main shop fortnightly at lid*s but there are a few things that I can't get there so I get those at as*a.  I got some good yellow stickered bargains - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries at 40p per punnet.  I wouldn't usually buy them out of season but they are a nice treat.  I used the strawberries to make a quick pseudo jam to top a homemade rice pudding.  Also got lots of bargain salad bits too.  I'm never normally in the right place at the right time for yellow stickers so I feel pleased about my haul.
I've been for a walk but not very far as it was so cold.  Happy to be home in the warm without any major tasks to do.
making a Chinese fakeaway tonight to celebrate Chinese New Year which will be much less £ than a real takeaway.