5 months to emerge as a butterfly

skint_spice

Happy new car!

benbenandme

Morning all, ds is working all day today, I'm off to meet a friend for a walk this morning and will do some blackberry picking along the way. This afternoon will be another footie watching one from the sofa, while I try to find some surveys and generally mooch online

benbenandme

Today I was back at work for summer school, I'm only doing two days but it has left me feeling pleasantly knackered tonight. I came home, did the food shopping and have just had a bath and am chilling on the sofa in my dressing gown ready to watch the football

The food shop was more of a stocking up shop, I didn't buy any meat, it was lots of basics like flour, salt, herbs/spices, dried yeast etc as well as refilling the toilet rolls / bleach type stuff. 

Tomorrow I am at work but I'm finishing by 12.30 and then having my hair done ready for back to school. 

Blackcats

Enjoy your new car - sounds like you got a good deal.

benbenandme

So finally today I have been to collect my car and have spent lots of the day pootling round locally, I'm frazzled from concentrating and trying to think what to do with my other foot and which gear I need etc Went round to show my Mum (hadn't told her about it), and she said she always wanted a Mini too. She gave me a cheque for £1000 towards it    I did try and talk her out of it but she was adamant. Its very much appreciated though It means I can pop that into one of my funds when I sit down and figure out what my new savings pots are for   

benbenandme

Not good news today about the latest energy price cap but nothing that wasn't already expected. It really is going to be a miserable winter isn't it and that's before the next huge increase in January  

Yesterday I popped out and got  few bits that were needed - food waste bags, a few bits from the local eco shop (take your own containers and fill). Its not really any cheaper than the supermarkets but I much prefer helping a local small business than the supermarket giants. I also picked up a chunky dark red cord mini skirt from a charity shop for £3.50, it was brand new and still had the labels on it. Today I have my nail appointment - again it is something that could perhaps go but as someone who has bitten my nails all my life I have stopped for nearly a year now and its due to having them done every 3 weeks, I'm not even tempted to bite them. I go to a ladies house and she does them there, its £20, it makes me happy and its helping her little business. It could be cut if things get that desperate but for now its staying. 

Tonight I'm out with a friend, no idea where we are going, she has organised something for my birthday and will tell me later

benbenandme

Nail done, now I'm on to my next bit of money saving ...

Been thinking about the winter of doom ahead and have read on here that Tesco are stopping their 3x reward for their delivery saver pass. So that got me thinking about whether its worth cashing in and buying a pass before the changes happen. I've calculated that it costs me £1 each way in petrol to get to Tesco (Sainsburys is nearer but more expensive, I've tried Aldi / Lidl but end up having to go to the main supermarket anyway to get the rest of the stuff I couldn't get in there). So ... £2 per journey (plus the time), x 52 weeks, works out at £104 a year. The delivery pass costs £47.88 up front for a year, but I can use my clubcard points currently and get 3 x their value. i have £8.50 worth at the moment, the next batch are due at the end of October. So £8.50 x 3 = £25.50 so I would need to pay £22.38 in total, or wait a couple of months and have another £3-£4 (x3 = £9-£12) to bring it down further. Its a no brainer isn't it?!

I did used to use my points for my mobile bill but they have stopped doing the x3 on that, other than using it for this I'm not sure there are many other deals left on the clubcard site that interest me. I need to go ahead don't I The sensible thing would be to wait until Octobers points are in, but that would also mean I am spending £2 a trip on petrol until then, £2 x 8 weeks = £16, so not really gaining a saving in the long-run that way. Decision made, I'm signing up ;0

benbenandme

Even better, I've just realised I can cash in my current points for a "faster voucher", so that's another £2.50 (x3) towards it, so in total I have £11 of points which is £33 when cashed in, so just £14.88 to pay for 12 months delivery, happy with that

benbenandme

Done Fingers crossed that will help me get myself a little more organised with the shopping and cut down the almost daily trips, popping in for a few bits and spending £10-£20 every time

benbenandme

This morning I am off to visit the Range and Dunelm - I need an tension rod to fix a curtain by the front door for the winter. I looked in Ikea and B&Q but they didn't have them so I'll pop over there this morning before the traffic gets busy. I've also got to post a parcel, I sold a couple of ds' t-shirts on Vinted last night, only £3 but it all helps

I was thinking about the energy bills last night (who isn't!) and have decided a vague plan. They reckon that they will leap up again in January and April next year, so I am reckoning that with the £400 from the government I will still be needing to find another £150 a month roughly - that's £5 a day I need to find. We've done  Make £5 a Day Challenges around here before, we'll just have to get back to that. Matched betting, surveys, Vinted and whatever other little sources I find along the way. Once I'm back from the shopping this morning I am going to start formulating my plan of action for the months ahead