Getting FIREd up 😀

South_coast

Fair enough. You need to pretend you're Ed for those last surveys - it appears to work 🤣!

South_coast

South_coast said:

Muesli (home-made, natch) is not really passing muster as a Friday night "Well done, you made it through the week" Dry January alcohol substitute 🤔 I have just been choking on some oats that had gone down the back of my throat. 

I have never choked on Asti. 

#Reasonswhyalcoholisbest#1

I may have never choked on Asti, but nor have I ever hurt my hand opening muesli....🤔

#Reasonswhymuesliisbest#1? 🤷‍♀️

South_coast

First of the month round--up....

• Cards minus savings: £28,458.11 (DOWN £3,978.30*)
• Savings for retirement: £129,450.59 (DOWN £330.93)
• 10.08 years to go

I've simplified the numbers above as it's all become a bit complicated with borrowing against other pots, so decided to only track what needs to be tracked!

Not a good month on the stock market! Even a regular pension contribution and a month's interest on the LISA couldn't keep me in the black. That said, I've in no way lost as much as I gained during January, so very much still up overall 👍

The other money news of the month is that I have switched bank accounts! The is maybe the 10th time I have done an account switch (the first was actually to Santander, the remainder were moving dummy accounts around to hoover up bonuses), but it's the first I recall where I received no communication at all from the old bank - not even an acknowledgement. They did however send me a message the day the switch completed to say that I was no longer entitled to the Edge saver as I no longer had an Edge account. I know these things are automated and it's not a comment on me personally, but it does feel somewhat like sour grapes 🤣!

* Not entirely sure this figure is accurate, however it's the only one I've got so I'm going with it!

South_coast

South_coast said:

* Not entirely sure this figure is accurate, however it's the only one I've got so I'm going with it!

It is correct, I've just realised why! My very expensive car insurance is set up to be paid on the M&S card (for vouchers 😀), but the payment hasn't been taken yet so the overall amount owing hasn't gone up. However, I have already paid the same amount off the April card (from the car pot, so it's not come out of the 0% neutral pot). So the amount owing has gone down, without the money having come from the 0% payoff fund. 

Very pleased to have worked that out - I was completely perplexed how the amount could have come down by so much more than I could have possibly paid off! April's figure is going to look cr*p in comparison 🤣

South_coast

Fab weekend! Great weather, lots of exercise, minimal money spent. Definitely living the Healthy, Happy, (Financially) Free life 😀!

(Of course, I still don't feel ready to go back to work tomorrow!)

Jessy103

South_coast said:

Fab weekend! Great weather, lots of exercise, minimal money spent. Definitely living the Healthy, Happy, (Financially) Free life 😀!

(Of course, I still don't feel ready to go back to work tomorrow!)

That's awesome SC and you deserve if after all the hard work you have put in x

(Weekends always seem to run at twice the speed, don't they?!) 

South_coast

Too many jobs to do, and none of them fun, that's why 🙄!

Moneygrabber1

South_coast said:

astrocytic_kitten said:

My nectar points were stolen earlier this year (apparently Nectar card fraud is widespread these days) so I've got a new card and sadly no round up of the year  I will no longer know if I continue to be top buyer of one very specific type of own brand cat food that my picky cat likes!

Nectar card fraud 😯 I've never heard of such a thing!

I'm not sure how I'd feel if I had to get a new card - I've had my account since I started Uni (in 2002 😱!) and there was a Sainsbury's in town that I used to walk to (hadn't learned to drive yet) - it feels like part of my identity!

Just had my Nectar points, totalling £40,stolen. Used in a Sainsburys Local, in Milton Keynes, when I live in Durham. Nectar 'card' is always zapped via the app, so no chance of getting into the wrong hands.

One wonders how the fraudsters have managed to get hold of my account number, if that's what they did. Do they use an enumerator program to generate random numbers and then create a barcode?

A useful lesson has been learned in that I have used the newly introduced points lock, which I feel hasn't been publicized that well. Just turn on in app or via your web account.

The good news was that the points were returned to a new 'card' within 24 hours. And don't worry, all of your purchase history etc. Is retained.

GET THAT POINTS LOCK ACTIVATED EVERYONE 

edinburgher

I have been historically robbed of my Nectar points as well. Like Moneygrabber1, they were very good at fixing it.

debtfreeoneday

I have my points locked as well. A friend of mine has £700 on their nectar card and said they don’t see the point of locking it!  It definitely works as I tried to but something using points and it wouldn’t go through. I’d forgot about the lock!