Not a Newbie

ICDT123

Hi all

I've dipped in and out of the forums for many years & in the past have cleared debts successfully. I am here now because although I don't have debts, my salary has dropped massively & I am worried that if I don't keep an eye on things I will fall in to old habits.

The reason my salary has dropped is simple. I was in a job that was really well paid but unfortunately the company was liquidated in January 2020, then Covid happened and it became really difficult to find a job paying a similar amount. I did some temping for a few months last year and then started a permanent job in September. I'm grateful I was able to find a job in such a difficult year for everybody, but it is nothing like the job I had before and is paid a lot less. It means I'm down by almost £500 per month now. I'm still looking for a job that pays closer to my previous salary, but I have found that a lot of companies now are offering lower salaries for even more responsibility, presumably because they know people are desperate. One of the major benefits of my previous job was that it was really flexible and allowed me to be available to do school runs etc. Unfortunately when I have had interviews for similar jobs, they don't offer the flexibility that I need. So I've weighed it all up & just getting on with the job I've got for now.

I'm also in the early stages of setting up my own business. Luckily it's something that I can work on during evenings & weekends at the moment, so I can still work full time until it's built up enough to give me the freedom to quit the 9-5! That's the dream anyway

So here I am. I'll be jumping straight back into the things I used to do before, like meal planning, bulk buying to save money on the bigger things like washing powder etc, looking for deals on EVERYTHING, surveys, cashback and any other ways to make a bit of extra money.

My diary will just be me keeping track of the things I've done to save money so I can see what has worked for me & what hasn't.

ICDT123

Just realised I've posted this in DFW instead of the diaries, so have requested it to be moved

elbree

Hi @ICDT123, you've probably already found it but the frugal living thread is great for ideas on saving money. 

ICDT123

elbree said:

Hi @ICDT123, you've probably already found it but the frugal living thread is great for ideas on saving money. 

Thanks, I actually forgot about that thread so will have a look at it today. I've planned to spend the afternoon making a daily to do list of little money making or saving tasks, just simple ones that I can tick off & will hopefully add up quite quickly.

ICDT123

Very pleased with myself this past week!

I finally took my gas, electric & water meter readings because all of them were estimated! I've submitted all 3 readings & the amended bills have now come through looking much better I am hoping that they will reduce the monthly DD a bit now for all 3, because at the moment they are really high but I know the main reason for this is because of our estimated readings.

I also had my car insurance renewal letter through. I always shop around for insurance so was waiting for the renewal letter to come through so I could compare it to the quotes I get from other insurers. I am very pleased to be saving almost £20 per month on the new policy that starts next month. I have chosen to pay it annually because I had the total amount in my small savings account (we have a big house savings account specifically for some renovations & then a smaller penny savings account that I add to regularly). Now when it renews I will put the monthly payment back in to the savings account for next year's renewal.

And final money saving task I've done is rescued some food from being chucked, using the Olio app in my area. I managed to get some white baguettes, which is great because they'll be ideal for my OH's packed lunch & for me to have with my soup that I've got for my lunches this week I was going to buy bread anyway, so this just saves me a few pennies.