Giving every £ a job

savingholmes

Well done on the yellow sticker items. Sounds very tasty.
Glad you all enjoyed the cake. Have fun tonight.

Sun_Addict

I rarely find yellow sticker stuff but always pleased when I do. I had a stir fry last night to mark Chinese New Year, although it’s one of my favourite meals so tend to have one every week 😁

Blackcats

Thanks SA.  I really like a stir fry too  - such a lovely array of colours - like eating the rainbow.  I really enjoyed my Chinese feast and particularly the "special fried rice".  

A few months ago I was hankering after buying a teapot which also meant buying matching new mugs (obviously 😱) ).  Well I did resist and yesterday my elderly relative asked me to be custodian of a teapot that they no longer uses.  It's really pretty and it makes my cup of tea after dinner seem much more of a treat.  I honestly think lockdown has gone on too long when a highlight of the day is a pot of tea.  But there is a moral to the story because I didn't spend any money and have given a foster home to a vintage teapot that was sitting in a cupboard.  So as foxgloves would say I shopped from home, albeit it was someone else's home.  

There is money due into my bank on 18th so I shall skim the odd amount into my marginal gains savings pot and the rest is allocated to car pot and one month fund (this is the pot where I'm saving the equivalent of one month's pay for the first month after I retire,  no real reason why but it's motivating me and that's the main thing!).  

savingholmes

The teapot sounds lovely. Well done on resisting the urge to splurge. Retirement will be all the sweeter with having an extra cushion behind you.

Blackcats

Thanks SH - although the metaphorical extra cushion made me laugh as I've had a long term weakness for cushions so I've got plenty of the real thing.  I've been rotating them a bit lately and enjoying changing cushions to refresh the rooms.  Got a lot of side lamps too ..... and I used to wonder why I had so much debt 🤣
I've never bothered to try to manage my usage of gas/electricity and water.  I know that's ridiculous!  When my direct debits were increased I blamed the supplier and just paid the extra.  Well, the new me has been doing the bloomin obvious - turning off lights, adjusting the thermostat, not running taps unnecesarily.  And guess what?  My water bill has reduced by £18 per month and I'm £190 in credit for gas/electricity.  That's over £200 a year saving on water and the winter months will be the highest usage for gas/electricity.  Rather than beating myself up for the ridiculous wastage over the years I'm going to be happy and pleased with myself for making a positive change.  

 

Sun_Addict

I’m not on a water meter thank goodness because I love my baths but great news about the bills being lower, that is just fantastic 🥳

savingholmes

Well done on the savings

Blackcats

I love my bath too but shower mostly.  Funnily enough I've been on a water meter for quite a few years but never bothered being careful with my usage until recently.
I've got a few days off this week and I'm really enjoying pottering about catching up with admin, doing some baking and cooking, enjoying a leisurely walk.  I took a cup of tea upstairs this afternoon and lay on the bed listening to my audiobook - bliss.
It's payday on Thursday and I'm excited to pay my much reduced credit card bill for last month.  It means I'll have a nice chunk of money to move to savings this month.  Currently another low spending month - credit card bill is generated on 5th of the month so I'm planning to keep further spends to a minimum.  

I made a lovely bread and butter pudding tonight using up some hot cross buns that had past their best and some forgotten raisins found lurking at the back of the cupboard.  Feeling very full and lethargic now though.  

savingholmes

Baking sounds tasty and audio book relaxing.  My kind of treat

foxgloves

I love audiobooks, Blackcats. Am currently listening to 'The Flower Girls' & thinking there's maybe going to be a twist at the end. I enjoy pottering about doing jobs at my own pace too. Surprising how much can be achieved.
Enjoy your days off, 
F x