Pay for the future and not the past

MissRikkiC

Gosh it’s lovely now the temperature has dropped a little! 

Money update done this morning whilst youngest is sleeping, updated credit card minimum payments and tweaked a few pots between now and spring next year. 

Belts are to be tightened a little. I have reduced my expected income as I just don’t know what is going to happen with it given the car changes and maternity pay still not having been reflected on my payslips yet, as well as increasing energy bill DD. It’s astronomical how much it’s going to cost but since it’s so unavoidable but it is what it is. 

Can anyone advise who follows reading here, with an electric car and charge point at home (I’m certain there was a couple of people) how much it costs roughly to charge overnight? I appreciate it’s all variable but I’m just looking for a rough guide. Are we talking £10? £40? 

Just weighing up if to continue a weekly charge at the supermarkets etc (roughly £20-30) or if it’d be cheaper per charge to install a pod. 

joedenise

@MissRikkiC - the cost for charging up an EV will depend entirely on what tariff you are on.  I know of someone who has a really good deal and pays only about 5p per kWh so only about £5 for an overnight charge.  But if you're paying 20p per kWh it would be more like £20.  The first thing you need to do is check your energy tariff for costs and go from there.

I think it would certainly be cheaper to charge at home but of course you need to factor in the cost of the installation which would be at least a couple of hundred pounds I would have thought.  

Suffolk_lass

@themadvix will be able to help

MissRikkiC

Thanks @Suffolk_lass we’ve got a quote for the pod and install but curious as to how much it would cost to charge. I’m thinking £15 currently. 

MissRikkiC

Happy summer bank holiday all. We’ve had a nice weekend, but DH is working tomorrow so feels kinda like a normal weekend instead. 

I’ve been keeping on top of a few diaries and always feel inspired by something in them. I’m grateful that they’re very different types of posts to those I follow on groups on Facebook as those tend to make me want things I didn’t know existed like new sandals and new toys for the children. These diary posts keep me thinking what else I can do to be better and I love that. 

My salary went in last week and it’s wrong. I think my boss has forgotten I’m on maternity leave 😂 so I got paid in full but I have no idea by how much extra as I also got a rather large tax adjustment for the car changes so know I don’t know what my pay should’ve been! I’ve put a very large chunk to one side and will keep it there until it’s asked for. 

I’ve adjusted all minimum payments on my Cc’s and it’s nice to have the £300 difference vs the loan in my pocket. 

Christmas is completely saved for and a little tally of who we buy for and what we spend was done, we’ve even been able to have a budget for ourselves (so DH and I can exchange gifts) this year which is nice. We’ve only done this probably 3 times since we’ve been together (10 Christmases this time) as quite frankly we’re not huge on stuff. We’d rather a lovely dinner out but then don’t want to pay Christmas meal prices so don’t do either 😂
I’m so glad it’s already dealt with though. It’s a weight lifted that a few hundred pounds are saved, especially with 2 children now and we can maybe even start to pick bits up and hide them away (sorry for the mention of the C word and the idea of buying gifts already!) 

I’ve decided to change tact on my grocery spends this month for a few reasons. 1 is that I have found the quality of veg products reducing massively over the past few months and certain things I’ve ignored in the past have been bothering me more so that I put up with them. So things such as cheaper variety of tomatoes giving me ulcers, I don’t want to have to just suck it up. Quite literally. And the acidity in both cheaper crisps and houmous doing the same. So I’m buying more expensive items but enjoying them more instead. 

A friend who recently moved down to Sussex was very keen on organic produce and when we met up and shared a snack or two or the children did, I would quite often find myself really enjoying the organic pear or apple or whatever. There is also a farm nearby and I recently bought on a whim, some grass fed organic lamb mince and it was absolutely divine.

It’s not rocket science that the food of more expensive shops or brands will sometimes taste better but I’ve always been so reluctant to spend more. I still am to a degree where for example Friday I shopped at both Lidll and got 2 £1.50 veg boxes and then also M&S for the weekly items. I had some of the tomatoes from Aldi in a sandwich and they weren’t nice even, but then Friday night we had Chinese fake away and I purchased 2 sides from M&S and they were delicious further proving mt theory for now. So this month I’m going to enjoy eating slightly more expensive food as I actually think 9/10 it’ll taste better. And that’s hugely important in my house. 

Work starts back for me in a few weeks (late September) so need to figure a schedule for pumping and storing milk for when I go back. I’ll still be working from home but I really want to be able to just switch off from home life whilst working so need to find a solution. Pump is on order as I’ve not been getting on with the one I have too well and once again, glad I have savings put away for costly baby related items (including maternity pay shortages) 

There is likely to be some of my salary that needs to be returned to my employer however the windfall tax adjustment will hopefully fund the electric charge point for home, only time will tell. 

Off to bed. Phew

Blackcats

Hello MissRickiC - I always enjoy the variety of diaries too - lots to learn and lots to be inspired by.
Your cheaper food thoughts are interesting.  I think some cheaper foods are ok and there are others that I don't like and would rather go without.   I no longer like processed ready meals particularly the ones with chicken in. I've stopped buying processed breakfast cereals - I read a great article by The Escape Artist about breakfast which has changed my perspective.  

We are getting better at reducing food waste and planning our meals which means that our grocery bill is reducing but quality of meals is probably improving.  We also have a fakeaway at the weekend and I probably wouldn't bother with a proper takeaway anymore.  We enjoy cooking it rather than waiting for it to be delivered.

Suffolk_lass

It's a bit "some and some" here. Carrots are a good example. I buy wonky carrots that are not very carroty when cooked for 7 minutes on the hob in the steamer above potatoes. In the winter though, when the aga is on, I bring them to the boil, then drain off the water and cook them in the simmer oven for about 40 minutes (while potatoes or squashes are roasting) for extremely carroty tasting carrots.

So I go by look, more that categorisation. I do have about 6 brands I would not swap but I will try basic stuff (butter is acceptable but not as nice as certain premium brands), so unless there is a big thing, we stick with basic stuff. Oats have to be organic jumbo. End of! Can't bear gelatinous gloopy oats, even in cooking. Bought bread is a thing with us as we normally make our own in the winter, so I buy a basic (Hovis wheatgerm) and premium, artisan bread in summer. I do buy multiples when they are on offer to offset the cost of premium things.

"You pays yer money and makes yer choice" as someone once said

MissRikkiC

Some things i have no preference, cheaper or SM brand mayo for example, although i warn everyone off Lidls Salad cream as it was just pure awful. Im not a huge mustard fan but didnt know it was the base for salad cream until i bought this!

I prefer proper oats too so buy locally here although SM brand is a big saving, im not yet willing to ditch them. Chicken makes me a bit funny anyway sometimes, the texture and look of it... and i recently bought a gammon joint from ALdi which honestly looked like spam once it was cooked, so i want a few more certainties with the food im buying. 

Im also eating a LOT due to exercise and breastfeeding, and its hard work sometimes when i dont fancy the average tasting humous with crackers, or my mouth is sore from cheaper variety tomatoes, so again another reason to make sure im enjoying the food were spending hard earned money on buying.

MissRikkiC

Can i have opinions on what others would do in this situations? 

I have sold both items, old stuff like tables festering in the shed, duplicate items sent when we renovated the kitchen and my own clothes on ebay or vinted and feel guilty that i may want to pocket the cash and so i havent. Should i?

First of all, i manage all of our finances and allocate mine and DH spends. We each have £150 a month for our own stuff, thats not gym memberships, phone bills etc but just ours to spend as we wish. Weve had the same FOREVER. 

I photograph and list all items for sale regardless of what they are and ALWAYS put the money into a savings pot or some kind. Should i be keeping any of it, as i went to the efforts of thinking id try and sell it in the first place (Although it kind of already falls into my remit)

Do i just keep the items which i originally paid for? Everything else would just sit there otherwise without a purpose however appreciate that i didnt pay for it initially, he proceeds maybe shouldnt be mine either. 

I havent anything i need but for example i think i lost my watch at the weekend (G*rmin sports watch) and would like to replace it. I just sold a duplicate item from the kitchen reno that cost us nothing initially and would like to put that towards my new watch bt not sure if its right despite going to the initial efforts myself.

joedenise

If you're not sure why not discuss with your DH to see what he thinks.  Personally I can't see any reason why you shouldn't put the money towards something you want to replace but at the end of the day it's your decision which way to go.