Beating Lifestyle Inflation and Staying Mortgage Free!

LadyWithAPlan

Sorry to hear about the cat - hope its fully recovered.

On HR tax - when I hit it whatever I earn over the basic rate I put into my SIPP as you get a huge tax advantage so if threshold is £50k and you earn £60k then put the £10k or as much as you can into the pension .. its the best tax advantage out there by far  as you then dont pay the 40% tax due on it.

On the GF issue - it is ridiculous that to test for cealiac you have to eat Gluten for 6 weeks  - its why I havent been tested. I can recommend the Panasoni* breadmaker that has a GF option - I have tried 3 other breadmakers with GF settings but they all take 3 hours and often loads extra ingredients  and not always great results - my sister has the Panasonic one - you just throw the ingredients in, stir once and 1hr later you have consistent amazing bread - it doesnt keep well but you can slice and freeze  - I worked out it cost about £1.30 for a small/medium loaf so about 1/3rd of the shop bought and so much nicer. It also does GF pizza dough - I havent bought myself one yet (as I have 2breadmakers in the house) but its on my list. 
They are about £150 

Panasonic SD-B2510 Automatic Breadmaker, with Gluten Free Programme - White

earthgirl2

Thanks lady with a plan! I looked at your diary and really enjoyed it - Ive not totally caught up yet. And also the frugal in 2023 thread you recommended. Thank you!

I don't think I could afford the £150 bread maker, but all the gf bread recipes I see are very complicated! I might try to make my own gf flat breads instead. 

So in money saving news:
1. My neighbour is going to have our single hen. We are not getting more hens as although they are lovely they don't save us money.
2. I found a big log on the beach and have brought it home for firewood, hoping to get more tomorrow. 
3. I've done my big mr L monthly shop, came in just over £100. I'm only going to top up each week with milk, fruit, bread and a few things I couldn't get at mr Ls. Ds1 helped me pack and carry it, so I finally found a benefit to having a hulking great teenager to feed 😆 

4. I've bought one of the £8.52 4litre air fryers, hoping that it will save us money over having the oven on. I do try to cook in slow cooker, slow cooker bag, microwave and on the hob, but a lot of things need an oven so I'm looking forward to this.
5. Ds2 changed football team, his choice, and a parent is taking him each week so no fuel expense for me. 
6. Requested some runners and plants when she  splits them, from my neighbour 
7. have made a packing list for my cheap RY@an air/hostel holiday to Porto in a few weeks. Confident I can get it all in the tiny backpack you are allowed. Love a challenge! 

8. I've been remembering to get loyalty points on all my shops. 

9. Made 2 cards and sent thank you message rather than thank you cards. The cost of stamps 😬 means a message is significantly cheaper rather than a card. 

money saving to do: 
1. Remember to check the cupboards before shopping (silly mistake, but will be cheaper next month!)
2. in the spirit of trying to use half, and not including socks and underwear, now things are cooler 🥶 can I wear clothes for 3 days rather than 2? And wash hair every 3 days rather than 2? 

3. When in a big town, use boots points to buy baby shampoo. Me and kids use this and I have points to use up. 

Money Making
1. Completed 5 hours of tutoring this week, 3 cancellations one of which I'll get paid for. 

Still quite a lot of money making to do
1. Do shop and scan 
2. do surveys again 
3. Apply for homestay position
4. complete work on spec so that I might get paid for it in the future. 

5. Make sure I get cashback from my airfyer purchase ( I used my gmail account which I don't often check). 

So I really made a huge improvement on money saving, but I really need to get on with money making if I want to retire early. 

South_coast

earthgirl2 said:

I don't think I could afford the £150 bread maker

Are you sure? You're MF and earning over £50k. This will save you precious time, even if it doesn't save you money in the long run (although having read your diary for a long time, you may well spend that time on projects to up your income, so it could end up earning you money!) Feel free to tell me to pipe down, but I do think you need to give yourself permission to relax a little and feel the benefit of all the hard work you've put in every now and then, rather than going at it 100 miles an hour all the time

themadvix

I agree with SC - unless you actually can’t afford it, which seems unlikely, think of the benefits this would offer.

savingholmes

That did jump out at me too...

earthgirl2

It's a hard one to call, as gf bread is so expensive to buy but so is bread maker (plus extra energy and cost of a bit more expensive gf ingredients). My last bread maker that died used to use so much energy.  Plus ds2 is fussy so might not eat it! but I have found gf bread and wraps that he likes, plus I can make some gf stuff myself. Then there's gf pasta salad and rice salad he will eat every so often. 

When I say I cant afford it, I suppose I mean I'm prioritising money for life changing experiences in the future, such as early retirement and extended travel. 

beanielou

Life is for living now. 

Tomorrow is promised for none of us. 

savingholmes

It's definitely a balance. If you have workable solutions you are comfortable with - then that's the real reason you are not 'investing' in a breadmaker - rather than necessarily money. We just didn't want to think of you living like Scrooge McDuff and denying yourself simple pleasures. Only you know what's right for you.

earthgirl2

Yes I agree Im about to spend £15,000 on some travel plans, so money saving/making going into this. And this is really want I want to spend on!

I'm going to try and work out my savings, spend the required money on travel, and then earn/save the money back in 2024, so I need to be quite focused on saving and earning. 

£8.52 airfyer looks good. I'm going to try it  tomorrow and monitor the smart meter! 

savingholmes

The travel plans sound very exciting.