Getting FIREd up 😀

ruby_eskimo

No, I think they're fed up of people like me last year just badgering them about price increases 😆.  When our provider announced an increase this year, I went to the latest deals page and it basically let me pay the same for an upgraded package.

South_coast

Fair enough, I didn't realise it was a thing 🤣! I'm Plusnet as well. I suppose if they hadn't put it up by so much both years while still in contract, it wouldn't have felt like so much of a saving to go back down again 🤦‍♀️!

edinburgher

I have fought to keep our broadband costs the same (£16 for fibre broadband) for 3 years, fought being the operative word 

South_coast

Ooh, now I feel like I'm being ripped off at a "reduced" £24.99 (down from £27.44) 🤦‍♀️🤣! I will tell myself it's all down to regional anomalies and is still a good deal though
*sticks fingers in ears, la la not listening, etc*

(Incidentally, it does irk me somewhat that the bill is £26.53 for line rental - which I couldn't give two hoots about and don't even have a handset in the house - and 91p for broadband, which is the bit I actually want! If anyone from Plusnet is reading, I will happily just pay the 91p 😀😀😀😀😀)

South_coast

I have a big bill due at the end of next year, which I'd like to start putting money aside for now, so that next year really is the year of hardcore saving for the refurb. To that end, I've raided the current refurb pot to go into the big bill pot instead. No change to actual amount in savings, as just moving money from one row on the spreadsheet to another (although it does move it from "future" to "current", so it doesn't count towards The Future any more). While I was updating that, I decided it would be too annoying to have an accurate figure in those two sections, but still the 01/06 figures for everything else, so got up-to-date amounts for the rest....

....pensions and ISA all up! 11.82 years to go....

Not a bad result, when it should have made it go backwards 🤣!

South_coast

Ooh, my "My next £50" pot has earned 1p in interest 😀😀😀!

South_coast

OK, so I have progressed to ninja level 🤣!

I have an old credit card I haven't used for a few years and the account was due to be closed down at the end of the month when the card expires. Two days ago, I received an email from the provider offering 0% deals on balance transfers and money transfers until February 2025. After some pondering, I applied for a money transfer that evening. Overnight last night, £10,000 dropped into my bank account! First thing this morning, I opened a new fixed rate ISA at 4.25% which matures on 1 January 2025, and have transferred the money in. It'll now stay there for the next 18 months, earning me £637.50 in interest over that time, which even after deducting the £250.00 money transfer fee is still a tidy £387.50 free money profit for barely any effort 😀 (It would take a long time to earn that much on Prolific!)

It does make something of a mockery of the £474.23 stooze balance I've built up so far through my everyday spending though 🤣!

Jessy103

Oh wow! Well done SC, that's great! 🙂

South_coast

Yay, a positive reaction 😀! I thought you'd all be telling me I'm bonkers!

Thanks Jessy x

glass_half_full

Impressive! You have inspired me to consider my own bit of financial engineering to do with using up unused pension tax allowance over the last 3 years. Still working through the details to see if it can work.