2023 Frugal Living Challenge

Auntycaz

@KajiKita and @Soontobeoap and anyone else who uses HRT they are bringing out a new prepayment certificate on April 1st which costs £18.70 and it covers all HRT prescriptions for a year. I know how much these can cost as some people pay 2 or 3 prescription charges per month for them. 

cw18

I heard that on the news yesterday.  Couldn't help thinking it was about time the did something to help.   It's bad that we females have to pay out for so many things that blokes don't, and yet we get no extra help/allowance for them.

I'm just thankful that all that is behind me - and that I breezed through without HRT, as I really wasn't keen on signing up for it even without considering the cost

Managed to get a GP appt this morning - but only because someone cancelled as I was being told there was nothing until next Thursday!!     Viral throat infection, so no antibiotics.   My manager isn't impressed though, as doctor signed me off until next Friday!   She ws going to sign me off Friday as well, and then I threw her by saying I work Saturdays too    We had a chat, and she's covering Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for now - but if I'm still feeling exhausted and run down on Wednesday (not eating much, and definitely not getting enough sleep) she'll extend it for me to include Fri & Sat.

Auntycaz

@cw18 I went through my menopause without HRT as at the time I had mine there was worry about cancer risks and as a single parent also caring for my elderly mother my doctor didn't think it was a good idea for me. However, it does have its benefits. I have severe osteoporosis(brittle bones) HRT would have given me some protection against this. It is also good for your heart.
I'm very pleased that women are being open and talking about the menopause and the effects it has on us and being given help and support now rather than it being something we all put up with in silence. 
 

willow_loulou

@cw18 U.K. glad you’re signed off, I hope the rest helps 

@Auntycaz I had similar worries as you, I’m disabled so not overly fit, a single mum and care for my parents at times. But the new patches are apparently much friendlier to those with a higher bmi and the blot clot risk isn’t there. So I’m happy to give it a go. And yeah it’s definitely better women are talking about how wretched it all is. 

I watched a video yesterday about money - saying about the order you pay things. So the theory is you pay yourself first (savings) then budget with the rest. I’m giving it a go this month. 20% is going away and I’m budgeting with the rest. It doesn’t leave any ‘fun’ money this month but I have a free coffee on my costa card so that will do! 

With any luck I’ll get enough olio foods to enable me to have a coffee out the month after. We shall see! 

Auntycaz

@willow_loulou I'm really pleased you're giving it a go. If my doctor had recommended it I would definitely have given it a try but I had suffered in silence for so long I was almost through my menopause when I went to see the doctor. It was nearly 20 years ago so hopefully things are much better now.  

cw18

willow_loulou said:

@cw18 U.K. glad you’re signed off, I hope the rest helps 

Manager's been OK with me all week even though I've had to update by text (as my speech ability was very limited), and that's not an approved method.   But she wasn't impressed when I phoned her to croak that I won't be back until Friday.   The doctor did offer to leave a note on my records that the Fitnote could be issued on Monday if I felt I needed longer off at that point, but she seemed pretty confident I would - and the more notice my manager has the more chance she has of covering my work.   

So I agreed to take it today (she was actually have problems creating it, so I'm about to go back and hopefully collect now she's had chance to get help - she's new to the practice), but it might be the fact that I've taken it 'in advance' that's not impressed my manager???   I guess I'll find out when I drop it off with her, as I'll walk up with it and mask up before going into the office.

I'm a little upset though, as this weekend is the 1-in-2 I'd normally see my OH.   But he takes meds which mean he has a compromised immune system, so it would be stupid for him to come over while we know I have a viral infection.   Looking on the bright side, he wasn't here last weekend,   If he had been, then I could have given it to him before knowing I had it (I woke up with the sore throat on Monday morning).

willow_loulou said:

I watched a video yesterday about money - saying about the order you pay things. So the theory is you pay yourself first (savings) then budget with the rest. I’m giving it a go this month. 20% is going away and I’m budgeting with the rest.

If I paid myself 20% before doing anything else, then I wouldn't cover my bills!   I'd be struggling to pay myself 5% for the next few months while I'm paying off the car repairs as quickly as possible (most of it had to go onto my emergency credit card).

Even once that's paid I doubt I could keep up as much as 5% which is why I don't have any significant savings to fall back on, though I can usually scrape £100 or so together from all my various accounts, especially if it's not a month with an annual bill going out.

As soon as the repairs are paid off, I need to start putting aside for the insurance renewal at the end of July - and that was just over £400 last year.   I guess that could be classed as 'saving', but not what I'd class as such as it's for a specific bill rather than a rainy day or a big treat.

ladyholly

cw18 said:

If I paid myself 20% before doing anything else, then I wouldn't cover my bills!   I'd be struggling to pay myself 5% for the next few months while I'm paying off the car repairs as quickly as possible (most of it had to go onto my emergency credit card).

Even once that's paid I doubt I could keep up as much as 5% which is why I don't have any significant savings to fall back on, though I can usually scrape £100 or so together from all my various accounts, especially if it's not a month with an annual bill going out.

Even a couple of pounds to savings will build up over time. You know the saying mighty oaks come from tiny acorns.

Bluegreen143

I do a combination of “pay yourself first” but I also like the approach (similar to Tilly tidies) of “skimming” budgets throughout the month if I’m coming under budget, to add to savings as I go. So I think both methods (savings first and saving what’s leftover) have advantages.

SecondStar

I’m another who can’t do ‘pay yourself first’.

Instead, I have a few different accounts and ‘pots’ in M0nzo, where I section off my pay for direct debit bills first, then variable spending (groceries, petrol, train, pet costs), and then sinking funds (big amounts that I have to save for - car insurance, Christmas).

What’s left after that goes into savings, and anything left in a variable spending pot at the end of the month gets saved, too.

2Scratters

@SecondStar @cw18 where you pay annually for some bills are those little pots of money in where they are making the most of some free pennies for you? (CW hope son is chipping in for the repairs with you, the expense of running a car even when he has little money too)
 I have a Chase account and their savings pots pay 3% interest with easy access. You can have quite a few pots too. It definitely is worth looking into.
I started just over a year ago of paying myself first. This was a revelation to savings and makes good sense to me. (started late in life I must confess) It has made a massive difference and the house bills are generally the ones we can control mostly. Good luck.

2 Scratters xx