Sh*t creek - is now in my rear view mirror...!

MovingForwards

Sounds lovely and I would have baked banana bread as a default, well done for trying something different!

Your nut loaf sounds like the time I baked cornbread 😂

savingwannabe

I love your writing. You are making me laugh. I am too poor to do anything and too worried about covid to catch the bus so my holiday will be spent in the garden and house. Sharing our stories makes life fun. 

Irenadler

MovingForwards said:

Sounds lovely and I would have baked banana bread as a default, well done for trying something different!

Your nut loaf sounds like the time I baked cornbread 😂

It was nice,thank you, just thought it sounded easy and no real cooking involved, just let the freezer do the work...

Nut loaf, a total misnomer, there is nothing less like a fluffy, risen loaf in it.. My best description of it is that it is at least "nutritionally dense." And seems to land in my stomach like wallpaper paste....

MovingForwards

My cornbrick would have made a great door stop or lethal weapon 😂 but we learn from these experiments!

Irenadler

savingwannabe said:

I love your writing. You are making me laugh. I am too poor to do anything and too worried about covid to catch the bus so my holiday will be spent in the garden and house. Sharing our stories makes life fun. 

Hey Saving
You are very kind. Glad I cheered you up. Could be worse, you could've been trapped in your least favourite relative's house during lock down, and having to keep up a polite face, major strain... Like an article I think I saw on line somewhere... A young woman on a date got trapped with him for lock down. Let's just say they weren't compatible....

Irenadler

MovingForwards said:

My cornbrick would have made a great door stop or lethal weapon 😂 but we learn from these experiments!

Ha! Very handy for keeping in your handbag for self-defence! "Well, officer, I was just on my way to donate this to the food bank, and what do you know? I accidentally clobbered a mugger with it!" No pre-mediation, cannot be classed as a normal weapon, just don't drop it on the officer's foot..... he he...

Irenadler

In other news, as well as a council tax refund, and CTS, I have another letter from the local council.
Being as my brain is discombobulated, I instantly thought they were asking for their refund back, and replacing it with £150. Panicked a bit, went away, slept on it (not literally it would rustle too much), and forced myself to breathe slowly and read it again. By the third time I was able to take in that they were giving me an additional £150 from something called the hardship fund. I think it's because this is an exceptional year...  

I wish my first response to things wasn't to go into 'headless chicken' mode... ah well. Anyway, this is good news! I can finally get my head around putting this into a savings account, and start paying back the family loan, and have more breathing space.

I also forced myself to switch insurer's, even though my brain isn't fully in gear, and paid it in one annual fee! Thus reducing my direct debits... I thought that the CT refund could pay the insurance that way if I freak out and spend at least it's paid off.

Trying to figure it out:
£40 (emergency savings in stash jar, plus around £2.30)
£209 CT refund, plus £150 = £359 total, less £99.68 H&C insurance = £259.32 for saving account!

Been straining my brain trying to re-add my outgoings up, long post on the benefits thread which I messed up, but, basically my direct debits/bills add up to only £155.78, income £409.89, leaving £254.11. or, £63.52 per week! See, I knew I had come to the right place in this thread! I can save now!!   

MovingForwards

Fantastic on the hardship payment and paying your insurance in full 🤗

Your savings are going up nicely, tuck the jar away out of sight, but remember where your put it! You've come so far this year 😁

Now, the money you would have paid for the insurance each month must be saved, ready to pay in full next year. You're allowed £6k in savings before your money is affected, so have loads of wiggle room.

savingwannabe

Brilliant, brilliant news. So happy for you, breathing space for the future. Hurrah!

Irenadler

MovingForwards said:

Fantastic on the hardship payment and paying your insurance in full 🤗

Your savings are going up nicely, tuck the jar away out of sight, but remember where your put it! You've come so far this year 😁

Now, the money you would have paid for the insurance each month must be saved, ready to pay in full next year. You're allowed £6k in savings before your money is affected, so have loads of wiggle room.

Thanks MovingForwards!
Ha! Yes, my twitching fingers are banned from the stash jar, because of my mis-spends... Looking at the highest part of the room where I would need to get steps out to reach it, as the best deterrent. At least if I'm tempted, I would then have to drag the steps out, set up, climb up, by which time my nagging voice would hopefully be yelling 'no!' in my earhole, and 'remember why you need a stash!' Or, simply the thought of dragging the steps out might put me off, so I wouldn't bother....

Very good point, I was mulling over, between cleaning, weeding, pruning, and watering plants, what to actually start saving per month, and counting the 'set aside' money for the green waste and insurance as part of the existing direct debits. ...

I have been saving receipts from the local supermarkets to get an idea of what I am actually spending in there anyway,(about 6 months worth) and it has averaged between £50-80 a week, which is far too much. This last month, it's been more like £15-27, and that doesn't include the 2 weeks I was afraid to enter any shop, which is a lot better. 'Room for improvement' as it used to say on my annual school report...! Biggest cost is the dog's allergy food diet. Next was ready-meals/convenience and junk. Lots and lots of junk, chocolate, ice-cream, biscuits, crisps... Easy win to get rid of the junk as being bad for me as well as my wallet. So, fresh stuff being bought, used, cooked up, and extra portions frozen makes one heck of a difference...

£6K is like an impossible pipe-dream. Tried to work out my living expenses per month, and my first aim was to start saving one month's expenses, so if at any point the U.C., as apparently is their wont, decide not to pay me, I stand a fighting chance of not going overdrawn. Then, from checking my balance, I am in the happy position that the CTS, refund and hardship fund have actually already achieved that point for me! 

So, my next goal is to save 2 month's expenses, then 3 month's, and then I might actually really feel I have proper breathing space... the only way is up!