Head out of the sand. Saving for a shiny future

ForestBluebells

savingwannabe said:

Well done on your online job earnings. I hope you have a good day.

Thank you, I do it 7 days a week, only takes about 30 mins a day but helps top up my earnings to boost my pension.  I’m enjoying seeing my non existent pension slowly increase as I top it up weekly. I won’t have this only job forever as it’s a limited contract but whilst I’m able it’s all going straight in the pension. 

ForestBluebells

Well despite my absolutely terrible food spend this month I managed to boost savings/pension by over £1,700 this month so I’m pretty pleased with that. Won’t be so high next month though and I didn’t get a chance to earn any commission this month so won’t have any additional pay tomorrow  

I’m determined to get back on track with my food spend next month though and I’m going to try use up the bits I have in my cupboards however it’s hard to get the rest of the ingredients so I might end up with some weird meals to do that. 

I was trying to go through my budget to see it I could cut anything else back and I’m not sure I can. My dog insurance is expensive but I got a comparison quote and for the cover I wanted it cost more so maybe that’s worth keeping for now. Hopefully if I have another year of no claims I’ll get a reduced premium again next year although I only saved £5 a month this year. I’ll also have paid them £1,500 for the year 🙈

I don’t know if my £150 a month personal spending budget is too high or not.  Some months I have higher cost items I purchase so this budget covers everything. For example today I bought my dogs joint supplements which cost £55 but will last them ages.

i did decide to cut the £20 dog other budget next month and put that in my pension instead as I can buy the dogs things out of my £150 spending budget. 

I tried to open a bank account with HSBC last week as I wanted to open a regular saver with them but I haven’t heard anything back yet 🤷‍♀️ Might need to try another one if I don’t hear anything soon. 

Struggling a bit lately with isolation and loneliness as I live alone and I’m finding it hard having no one to talk to but thankful I’m still working at least. 

Finding it a bit hard to get motivated currently without having anything fun things to look forward to. Next month won’t be as high a savings month but I’m enjoying the journey and I do love a spreadsheet 😂

Skint_yet_Again

Well done on your savings. Food has gone up in price so much. Dog insurance is expensive but any pre-existing conditions are likely to not be covered by the new policy, so unless your dog has never had any problems be careful with changing insurers. 

I know what you mean about struggling with isolation & motivation. Could you find any fun things online ? There are lots of places to visit around the world & museums / art galleries broadcasting during lockdown. 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/team-blog/2020/03/paid-for-things-they-ve-made-free-boxsets--audiobooks--fitness-c/

ForestBluebells

My older dog has had several big preexisting conditions including cancer so it would be a risk for him, although everything he’s had done at a specialist I could have had done cheaper at the local vet it’s a risk for sure. I think I’ll keep the insurance yo for another year and see how things look then. It’s just so expensive, especially when his excess is £250 so I could only really claim for a referral now. My young dog is much healthier and only really has allergies although these have been ok for some time now but it’s still a risk they would find something to exclude. 😑 

yeah food is sparse too so you don’t get the choice of brands/offers anymore although I’ve over doubled my spend so I definitely need to cut back 😬 I don’t need more snacks 😂🙈

ive not looked at those sort of online activities to be honest I’ll checkout that link thanks 👍 I’m definitely bored with the lack of anything fun to look foreword to currently. 

savingwannabe

Huge congratulations on your savings Forestbluebells. I couldn't see anywhere where you could cut your spending. You are v switched on. Keep posting on here and you never feel alone. We are all united together with the same aims. Do you have a garden? that's a good way to pass free time? 

ForestBluebells

Thank you for the feedback. I don’t do things by halves and I get a bit obsessive about anything I’m interested in so I’m loving having a spreadsheet and updating it daily with my spend/saving figures 😂 I read a little bit about FIRE recently and it suggests saving a minimum of 40% of your salary to achieve it. I’m technically hitting that although some of my savings are to set aside for annual costs so really I’m only at 28%. Saying that I anticipate a lot of my saved up annual costs will not get used as I’ve been trying to use my monthly spending pot instead of dipping into my annual spend pot. I need to try earn some commission again next month at work as I didn’t earn any last month 🙈 I already have a temporary contract 2nd job on top of my full time job to try and boost my savings although it’s only around 30 minutes a day so I could fit in more potentially if I can find something else suitable. 

I do have a garden and I’m loving the fact that it’s starting to bloom! My wisteria is starting to produce a few buds which I’m excited about as I’ve heard it takes a few years to flower and this one was rescued out of a skip from a garden centre (with permission) and it’s only tiny but starting to bud. I’ve also got some beautiful clematis just starting to open up their buds. I spent some time this evening trimming back a rose as i decided one of mine had gotten very tall and hasnt thrown much needed growth yet so I cut it back a bit. I didn’t cut it right back as I’m not sure it’s the right time to do that. I’ve been struggling with black spot on my roses in the back garden but the rose at the front is healthy 🤷‍♀️ I’m trying to train the rose at the front to go over my front door but it’s only been in a year and I heard I need to let it just bush out and grow for a few years before trying to train it. I tied it up slightly but haven’t attached the trellis to the wall yet as it’s not tall enough to reach where I want the trellis yet. I’ve also got something planted (I forget what I’d have to go check the labels) and it’s supposed to have big tall flower stems yet its never flowered yet 🤦‍♀️ I might need to dig it out if it doesn’t do anything soon.  My garden is only small but I do enjoy looking after it. I would like to buy some more border plants to fill some gaps although my dogs do use it as a racetrack at times 🙈 my hebes are flattened as one of my dogs decided that’s where she wants to toilet and no matter how often I tell her to get out the border she keeps going back there. I’ve also got some hanging baskets on the go but I think I’ve used a different type of trailing lobelias as the first year they were absolutely stunning then I’ve never managed to replicate it.

savingwannabe

I love those FIRE guys and girls. I just saw Beat the Bush a few mins ago. He is so honest and feels like us stuck and scared! A giant slug has eaten the stem of one of my tomato plants. I was so upset. Im planting marigolds tomorrow in the greenhouse. 

ForestBluebells

Urgh I hate slugs! Mostly because my old dog eats them then I have to pick slug slime out his teeth which if you aren’t aware is the most disgusting thing in the world and soooooooo sticky and hard to remove 🤮 I wanted to have a go at growing some veg but I wasn’t sure I had enough room. I have some wasted grass round the side of my house I thought might work but wasn’t sure if it got enough sun to work 

ForestBluebells

I just looked up beat the bush and watched some of his videos. Really interesting. I think I’ll watch some more 😊

savingwannabe

He's very different. I watch him as an extra I like FrugalChicLife, and BudgetGirl, however 2 cents, NateO'brin are brilliant but they are quite quirky. I have moved the baby petunias into the greenhouse and surrounded them with slug pellets. lol. Weather is glorious today have a good day.