Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, late to the party but I'm another one enthusiastic about savings pots 😊 we have many - in fact I've never counted how many! 😂 I keep track in YNAB, so the actual dosh is mostly just across a single current account and one savings account. 

We have pots for all annual bills, with a goal for the amount/date and that tells me how much to add each month. That's for stuff that has a reasonably predictable annual bill, eg car/house insurance. MOT has a goal and date too, but car maintenance, house maintenance etc I add a certain amount to each month then stop when they're full, and add that dosh elsewhere (never thought of it as snowballing but I suppose it is!)

Christmas & birthdays have an 'I want this much over the year but can spend from it on the way' amount - it means I can buy presents through the year, and YNAB will stay green and not increase the monthly amount to add, if you see what I mean. 

Longer term pots just sit there in a list - I try to fill one and then move it to the end of the list, and start filling the next til that's full. So t the minute there's a fund to get the rendering done on the outside of the house, which is full and at the bottom. Car replacement and household emergency (eg septic tank, new boiler etc) are full (household emergency is separate to household maintenance, which covers more usual plumbers bills, paint, DIY etc).

I've started adding to an income replacement fund too - just aiming for a month of my income for now (I have 6 months full sick pay, six months half pay, and several months of redundancy if that should happen - obviously I might get sacked but you can't plan for everything at once 😱) Over half way now.

I do like having pots though! This rendering will cost £900 which feels eye watering (but there's water coming into the side of the house regularly which will cost more in the future if not sorted!) We're due an LPG bill of about £800, also feels eye-watering but it's sat in a pot waiting, and doesn't affect any other fund.

Gah, now I'm boring on about my savings pots, and not even on my own diary!! Sorry!!

foxgloves

@Cheery_Daff - Re the rendering. I agree that will cause even more of a spend if it isn't dealt with. Any problem which results in water ingress needs sorting out asap, as it's surprising how much damage a relatively small amount can cause. 
This year, we finally got a leak above our landing window sorted out. Mr F had tried sealing it 2 or 3 times from the inside, but to no avail. Asked a workman to look while he was here with his ladders for another job. Problem was a blocked length of guttering combined with a tiny gap above the window frame barely a fingernail's width..He dealt with these, problem solved. But that teeny tiny gap had let water in every time it rained, bubbled a small piece of plaster & seeped into fairly recently done wallpaper, leaving a noticeable tidemark we will need to paint over. Yet the gap was so small, it was barely visible to the naked eye. Definitely a lesson there for Mr F & I that any water ingress needs dealing with promptly & won't be 'wished away' by ignoring it!
F

foxgloves

Hello Sunday Savers,
Jobs finished for the day. Have retired to our reading bench at the back of the veg plot with a pint of orange juice & sparkling water. Glorious sunshine here in the murky midlands today.
Mixed bag in terms of money saving activity.
Small wins:
*Mr F was angling for a breakfast trip to the village farm shop cafe for bacon rolls & coffee....then we said 'Hang on, this is ridiculous, we've got home baked rolls at home, plus bacon & a very good coffee machine! £13 saved.
*Roast lamb for dinner tonight, thus using freezer supplies instead of buying a chicken as we originally intended.
*Another £ coin stashed into my little secret tin.
 *2nd sock of my lovely new dip-dyed purple pair cast on.
*Moved cucumber plants into their grow bag.
*Potted on chillies into their final.pots.
*Beans germinating already.
Not money-saving:
*Well, this is more of a budget neutral thing really - decided to do a load of laundry & put it on the airer (defo not switched on!) as today's forecast showery. And wouldn't you just know that there hasn't been a single drip of rain & it's now too late for pegging out. Grrrrr.
*Had to make a decision this morning about which of my tender vegetable plants were worth persevering with & which needed composting. Transplant shock seems to have been much more of a problem since I've been using peat-free compost (to which I am committed) & as it is now well into May, it was time to be realistic about which young plants were viable for producing a crop. Kept 6 of my home grown tomatoes & potted them up, then popped to village garden centre to buy 9 more. Same price as last year which was nice to see, with everything else just shooting up.in cost.
Well, time to read a few chapters of my book. Ash is rolling around at my feet. Soot is pestering Mr F trying to score an early dinner.
Honestly, that laundry would have dried twice over - what a stupid forecast. Little better than 'think of a random weather, add 5 apples & double it'. Tomorrow supposed to be a wash-out - don't know whether to trust it or not now.
Another 100% royal-free day.
F x

CRANKY40

The weather guess was still saying 100% chance of rain here when we looked at 3pm. This was during our 15 minute break from digging rocks and lumps of paving stone out of best friend's garden in the blazing sun. I love the sound of Soot, he's obviously a labrador dressed in a cat suit. Our grey pest miaowed that loudly to share my breakfast this morning (it was toast and a banana and she didn't want it) that she woke the HT up. 

Cheery_Daff

I'm quite vexed with the weather today - glorious sunshine while we've driven a five hour round trip to lay flooring at Mr Cheery's dad's house 🙄

Tomorrow, when my family are coming to visit us and it would be lovely to sit in the garden - the forecast is torrential rain 🙄

foxgloves

Agree, @CRANKY40 & @Cheery_Daff - The weekend weather forecasting has been quite inaccurate. Expecting a wash-out here today, but it's still dry atm.

Morning Campers,
Just a normal day planned here - aiming for a mixture of productivity & relaxation. On the money saving front, I intend to bake a loaf, divide up yesterday's roast lamb leftovers for further meals, including a curry for tonight & to do my usual Monday morning budget updates. I will also be checking for surveys as would like to earn a bit more from them than I did last month. I don't think I will get any gardening done with all the rain that is forecast, but next job is weeding the long very narrow front courtyard border & planting out calendula & echium blue bedder, so it can easily wait till Tuesday or Wednesday.
Wishing everyone a pleasant BH.
F x

Cheery_Daff

Already raining here sadly 🙄 But I'm hoping that once my family have gone this evening, I might FINALLY get some seeds planted out in the greenhouse! Not going to get any veg at all, the rate I'm going this year!

foxgloves

Yes, here too @Cheery_Daff. Seed sowing doesn't usually take too long, so you still might get some done later. I sometimes find it quite peaceful out in the greenhouse with the rain pattering on the roof.....a bit like camping, only drier.

Really pleased with this morning's rubber lamb efforts. It did our roast dinner yesterday & I've divvied up the leftover meat for Madhur Jaffrey's leftover meat curry tonight, & spicy filled pittas & salad tomorrow. I added some slices of meat to some leftover veg & gravy and that will be a hot lunch for Mr F to take in on his late shift. Last chunk of meat diced & frozen for making a pilau or couscous another time. Bone added to last lamb bone, which I'd stashed in the freezer, & is now simmering in the slow cooker with a pinch of peppercorns & a bayleaf for stock.
Have paused while Mr F makes us scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast (still doing TRE).
Then I'd better do the budget updates. It won't be a no spend day as I intend to order a glass water bottle to replace my elderly plastic one. I might order another couple of pairs of footless tights too, as I tend to live in those & dresses during summer. 
F x

2Scratters

An excited lady here as the water butts are almost full...
Also a bit of news - not so sure if good or bad. I had purchased a TGTG bag x2 from morries and the contents of each bag had 3 packets of jam donuts. Didn't see a sign to say if they were suitable for freezing or not. Any how 5 got wizzed into the freezer as a chance. Took a pack out to see how things were and they are absolutely fine.  Twill save us having to stuff our faces in future, nor do they need to be fed to the dogs 

2 Scratters xx

enthusiasticsaver

Blackcats said:

@Sun_Addict - in a fair blame culture (work jargon) I'd have to say that I'm pretty good at leading myself astray and it was the flowery tin that nearly got me.  I love the cards and paper from whistlefish - such good value and good quality.  

I picked up 10 lovely whistlefish cards for a fiver from a little shop in St Ives the other day which was my bargain for the day.  Normally the cards that Card Factory do in deals are horrible looking cards but these whistlefish ones are superb and normally cost a few pounds each.  

Lots of talk of savings pots which I am a fan of. When money was tighter we used separate ones but like @Humdinger1 we now just have one pot where all savings go to cover holidays, cars, house and gifts.