Currently clueless...aiming for awareness

[Deleted User]

Your message made me smile for various different reasons!

A good day indeed. Keep on 'going' 😉 xxx

canvascamper

Oh! I wrote a long post and it's disappeared...anyway it was mostly a ramble about this doll 7yo wants for her birthday and how expensive toys are...

I've just been digesting the recent projections on energy prices in October and TBH I'm pretty worried. Our current payment is £262, that's for a 3 floor, 5 bed house, with lots.of gadgets and working from home etc. The heating is off and I hardly use the dryer from May to September. I had an email from our supplier saying we were due to have a credit balance of £550 by next June and so I could reduce our direct debit to £216, but I'm thinking actually to keep it at £262 as it might give us a bit of a buffer. On the projections our bill is going to be over £400 a month!!! Our current fix offer (which is not a good deal) is for £570 a month. Just crazy amounts of money. 

savingholmes

I too am paying higher than necessary during summer to try and give myself a buffer in winter. I've managed to fix my elec but not my gas.

canvascamper

Counting down to payday...5 days to go! 

Had a couple of unplanned expenses this week so far - 7yo got put in for her karate grading next week which is £20, plus I realised I have no clothes that fit me suitable for the heat AND I wore through the knee of my favourite (and only!) leggings on Saturday 😭.

Thankfully we have a great shop in our local shopping centre that sells brand new clothes from Matalan/next/F&F etc for ridiculous cheap prices, and 2 great charity shops, so I got new leggings, 2 dresses and a pair of shorts for £21. 

Paid for it all out of the slush fund as it wasn't accounted for in any of my pots (clothes pot was at £0 as 10yo needed new trainers) but still in budget - I just have absolutely no spare at all now.

OH has bought the remainder of 7yo birthday gifts via Prime Day and also a new battery for the hoover that died 18 months ago. He's also bought a new cool box - we've got a really crap one which is not cost effective as when we go camping we can't keep anything cold so end up binning stuff or eating junk that doesn't need keeping cold. So I'm very excited about the idea of fresh fruit and salad on holiday 😁

savingholmes

Sounds like you got some much needed essentials there. Perhaps you need to look at how to eke out a regular clothing fund. It sounds like you need to invest in yourself more. I have been correcting years of clothing underspend recently with new bras, trainers etc and the difference they make is phenomenal. Don't worry I don't give that advice to everyone!

twiggy86

Just an idea re clothes... My mum used to "give" us each £x for clothes a week (really it was written on a scrap of paper!) - think it was something like £4 a week. So if we wanted to something (although don't think school clothes came out of it) we had to save. That way it would mean you had your own pot so wouldn't be left with nothing for yourself! (Although I confess that my dad used to give me some of his if I was going shopping!) 

canvascamper

@savingholmes yes I am definitely lacking in good basics although trying to rectify this via charity shops and the occasional purchase in the sales. To be honest I dislike shopping for myself and get very flustered by sizing and what looks "good" so I just avoid it. I mostly buy black shapeless stuff 🙃

@twiggy86 that's a lovely idea. My oldest isn't interested in clothes at all so he would never spend his, and just look more and more neglected until I swapped his old clothes for new ones 🤣. 7yo and 3yo mostly wear hand-me-downs anyway. It's just uniform, sports kit, underwear and shoes that I buy new.

savingholmes

If you can manage it perhaps given yourself  £75 a quarter and gradually replace your stuff. I did £75 a quarter while getting out of debt - per person for adults and teens. I didn't need much for the kids other than uniform and shoes before age 10 as I got most of their stuff as hand me downs.

savingholmes

Look at Tr1nny & Suz for ideas on what to wear or as importantly what not to.... Black, shapeless stuff doesn't boost confidence. That's where I started too...

canvascamper

Oh my goodness...I got paid today and I have So. Much. Money in my account!! I know it's all going into pots but I feel so much more in control. Amazing!