Must try harder!

redofromstart

My unsolicited view goes: you can afford this spend but you haven't particularly enjoyed the spend this month due to your self imposed aspirational budget.  You want to be this uberfrugal person but really it doesn't reflect your current spending and it doesn't strike many notes of joy with you. Ease your way in.  maybe 10% more saved each month and build it up. I would suggest reducing your savings goal and upping your personal spend and enjoying it instead of feeling mildly guilty, I can never find anything I want when I have cash to spare so this may be reverse psychology, but be more reasonable with you if you don't have to be harsh.

milann

If you can’t get into saving - have you tried just sticking to the money you have available…..no saving but no dibbing into any other money. If there’s a surplus  at the end of the month you could save some and spend some. I’m convinced we put too much pressure on ourselves then rebel against what we’re trying to do.

Sun_Addict

I think £250 saved isn’t too shabby at all. I agree with redo, I think you need to work out a way where you can spend but still save. Then have a go at gradually reducing your spending and increase savings bit by bit. It’s like dieting if you’re too strict with yourself you set yourself up for a fail. 

PennysIntoPounds

WinterWarrior said:

Thank you @PennysIntoPounds. I do still have that bag….but what if I need to use a red one? 😅
I did have a big clear out of old radley picture bags last year on eBay , but I think this one wouldn’t make very much.
I haven’t ventured into vinted. Do you rate it? 

If you want to keep the red bag that's fine, it's your bag!

I do rate Vinted, they put your money in your account reasonably quickly, they transfer reasonably quickly, they don't have a minimum withdrawal amount, they suggest to you what a reasonable price is based on other similar sales, and I haven't had anyone on there being a*sey unlike horror stories I've heard about e-bleurgh. Also no seller fees!

On the other hand, items do not sell for much, unless it's a rare or expensive piece you have to expect probably just two or three pounds or so. Which is fine as it all adds up, and you're clearing things you won't use and helping the environment, but if I remember correctly you've mentioned you're quite rural so you'd have to factor in the convenience and petrol etc cost for you of dropping items off to the post office etc (you can choose which forms of delivery you accept but it obviously will limit your buyers).

I would say you might as well have a go and if it doesn't suit then you don't have to continue 

WinterWarrior

Lots of love for Vinted from my diary friends. Thank you, I will have a look into it. Yes, I am rural and normally get a Royal Mail pick up when I’m posting parcels. Not the cheapest, but very convenient. 

Thank you for all of your savings ideas. @redofromstart your advice is always solicited 😅 it goes without saying 😁. I worry if I don’t ‘pay myself first’ and just leave money in my current account I will see it as a target and definitely won’t have anything left at the end…but moving it backwards and forwards does give me failure vibes! @Sun_Addict it is like dieting and I just can’t get into that at the moment either! I feel like the boy from Matilda with the chocolate cake … Bruce bogtrotter? I could totally polish that cake off right now 😬

theoldmansmrs

My "tuppenceworth" (with it being an MSE site, it has to be cheap - right ). I used to pay myself monthly and some months, I could save most of it whereas other months it was "boom and bust". I now pay myself weekly - if it runs out, I am not able to borrow from the next week.  If what I my eye on has gone, then it was not meant to be. It has certainly made me more conscious of my spending.

After what you have been through, this may be a bit of a "release" for you in terms of not only having to fight for you job but no doubt having a lot of "what ifs" going through your mind. No doubt some of them will have been about how you will manage money wise.

I am just surmising but having been made redundant 5 time it is certainly what I felt like each time it happened. Ironically, 3 of those times were plant closures so, as I am a HR Manager, I essentially don't undergo the process but just walk out the door at the end of it all. The only positive I take from my redundancies are that it has given me more empathy - it is an awful time for all involved but knowing that your proposed "redundancy" was nothing of the sort, it would have made it even harder. I will happily apologise for those in my profession, and the way you were dealt with, if it helps in any way!

WinterWarrior

@theoldmansmrs thank you for spending your tuppence here, its most appreciated 😁 I have tried giving myself weekly pocket money in the past, but clearly wasn’t strict enough and kept creeping into the next week. It’s a good idea though, so I will try again in March.
And yes the threat to my job should have made me panic and save, save, save, but somehow it did the reverse and I fell into a ‘what’s the point’ trap. 5 times must have been terrible, I hope you never have a 6th. 

WinterWarrior

Good morning and happy Friday ⭐️
Work today and it is already looking to be a terrible one 😅 I have a customer call which will not be fun at all, along with suddenly urgent stuff all showering down on me because it’s Friday 😳 But, the good news is it’s Friday…hurrah. 

I have a grand plan to repot my dead hanging baskets this weekend with something that can weather the still winter weather. Maybe some narcissus (?) daffs. Something dinky and bright, but hardy too.
Do you all have nice plans? 

jwil

Hope your day wasn't too bad in the end!

PennysIntoPounds

Happy Friday Winter Warrior and friends

I love narcissus (and daffs), though I still absolutely refuse to believe they're not named after the myth!