2020: Becoming a Saver, Not a Spender

[Deleted User]

Thanks jwil and beanie - he is very cute indeed not so much when he was nibbling my toes to wake me up for his breakfast today, but I got some good cuddles afterwards whilst drinking my coffee in bed

SC2 was up and awake before I left for work this morning so sorted out her breakfast, put a wash on, on a delay timer for OH to peg out later and put our doorstop milk in the fridge. I was very excited this morning to spot a bud on my baby rose bush, and my strawberry plant seems to be faring better now that I have put in stakes to hold it a little more upright whilst it grows.

I had planned to take up my dress last night, but as soon as I got in from work I did OH's  hair (clippers and scissors) , trimmed SC1's hair and sorted out the matted mess at the back of SC2's hair before putting it in some nice braids, followed by trying (and failing) to learn to do cartwheels. By the time I'd watered the garden, I was knackered! My plan is to do it this evening

On the home stretch to payday, still need to send my complaints off to plusnet and the garage I bought my car from, plus my £130 TCB is still "waiting for retailer" 4 months later!

[Deleted User]

I can feel myself starting to slip into old habits again.... I think my worst habits at the moment are going over how much "spending money" I give myself a month, and having a shopping list all ready for when I get paid for things I decide I want to get "on payday".

There are a few easy things I can do to start being strict with myself again:
- Be meticulous with YNAB
- Use Monzo card only for spending money 
- Get a new bank card for my main bank - I know the card details off by heart so I can literally buy anything, at any time

I've only actually really noticed as I've been quite lazy with the SE work of late, but have still been getting myself "treats" as if I am still earning a good wage from that, so I just need to keep an eye on things. My new YNAB budget has the same name as the motto on my fridge, anything to motivate myself into action

I have also spoken to OH about wanting to sit down in the evenings where I can and do some more work. He's not stopping me doing it and has never objected, but it's been nice seeing more of him whilst he is furloughed and I don't want him to think I'm randomly hopping on the computer to get away from him

I want the majority of any 'spending money' to come from surveys and the like, so rather than ordering a whole host of stuff at the weekend when I get paid, I am going to go through my budget with a fine toothed comb and work out what I can afford to set aside, and  then once that is gone I can only order things made from the extra money. It's not even interesting stuff I want to order, at the moment it's lawn feed and some ways to maximise our kitchen storage  such is life....

DancingInTheRain

At least you've identified the issue and taken positive action to address it, you'll be fine. The current situation has knocked us all a little off kilter I think. I know I'm changing my mind daily as to how to approach finances, now I'm home more the temptation to buy new bits and pieces for the house is really strong at the moment 😬

jwil

It is really hard not to spend on little things to improve the house now that we are spending so much time here at the moment!

[Deleted User]

DancingInTheRain said:

At least you've identified the issue and taken positive action to address it, you'll be fine. The current situation has knocked us all a little off kilter I think. I know I'm changing my mind daily as to how to approach finances, now I'm home more the temptation to buy new bits and pieces for the house is really strong at the moment 😬

jwil said:

It is really hard not to spend on little things to improve the house now that we are spending so much time here at the moment!

Definitely! I will just have to be more patient x

[Deleted User]

So, the list of set purchases for next month are:
- Lawn feed (£11 Amazon but will shop around)
- A clip-on rack to store baking trays in (£3.50 Wilko)
- A 3 tier organiser for tins (£4.50 Wilko)
- A telescopic stand cupboard organiser (£3.00 Wilko)

So, nothing fancy. Our grass just needs a helping hand and our kitchen storage is limited. 

Did an extra hour of work this evening, then went to cut and pin my dress and couldn’t find the chalk so will wait for OH to find it tomorrow (the dress is black) 

There is still plenty of work available so should be able to get a good few hours in tomorrow morning - for now I just want to get showered and tint my eyebrows which I’ve been meaning to do for weeks!

FootyFanDan

I echo what others have said, I found that when everything was normal the garden got rejected but having this situation and i have kinda found the garden to be my happy place. I have loved nothing more than been able to relax in the garden whether that be reading in the sun lounger, or listening to music while relaxing. Exercise bike now has a place on the decking when its nice enough. I have started to put more money into the garden so i get the situation you find yourself in. I also still have the odd ooo lets buy this moment and i guarantee the old me would have gone right ahead and done it.

You have worked extremely hard to get to where you are and the fact you are spotting the signs before it spirals is a good thing  

[Deleted User]

Hey hey Dan! Good to "see" you

You're all right, of course, at least I've noticed and these are not normal times  

I couldn't find all of the receipts for my car repairs, but I emailed the garage who has done them and they very kindly emailed me back with PDF's of all of the work and I have finally gotten my complaint over to the garage where I purchased my car. £1700 it has cost me, the sale value was £3450 so I've spent nearly 50% of that on repairs! Definitely some of it could have been saved, either by them doing the work or adjusting the sale value, and the ABS fault one was a very dangerous one, so we shall see what they say. I'm not convinced I'll get anything back from them, so anything is a bonus.

I'm also going to type up the plusnet complaint and post that off to them this evening.

I have ordered a new card for Monzo as I can't find it (see, my life needs organising ) and will order a new main bank card once most of my main direct debits/payments have gone out so anything that comes out based on the card number doesn't bounce before I update it all.

savingholmes

Good luck with the car dealer. I relate on enjoying the garden more. We are using it so much more than before - and have therefore really been sorting it out.

[Deleted User]

savingholmes said:

Good luck with the car dealer. I relate on enjoying the garden more. We are using it so much more than before - and have therefore really been sorting it out.

Thank you - nothing yet, I will write to them if they don't respond to the email