Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

PennysIntoPounds

The sky in London was an unusual purple colour too.

The wreath sounds lovely, and what a nice surprise to be £200 up!

Sun_Addict

Yes it was a beautiful sunset tonight. The back of our house is south west facing so we get some spectacular sunsets and the front faces east so we get to see some beautiful sunrises too. Helps that we’re at the top of a hill with unrestricted views. 

Not sure I can remember the expensive shop, I wouldn’t have gone in I don’t think as back in the 80s I had to buy most of my clothes from Tammy Girl as most shops those days didn’t cater for anyone below a size 10 although Top Shop and Miss Selfridge started doing the smaller sizes. I was the same with shoes although I remember Ravel doing a size 2 in their tall and small range. I think I stopped growing when I was about 10, I still have trouble now to be honest 😆 

Nice idea to remember your mum on her birthday rather than the date she passed. I still miss mine 23 years down the line. My daughter shares a birthday with her so definitely will never forget that date. 

milann

I’d forgotten about Tammy Girl…..I remember my Dd being so pleased when she found she could fit into the clothes from there 😂😂😂

ladyholly

I always buy flowers for my mum on January 1st (or at least a day or two earlier) as that was her birthday. Always yellow as she loved the spring but then I always bought her flowers for her birthday when she was still alive.

Blackcats

Im using up my mum's stash of Christmas cards this year.  I found one that she had started writing to my aunty - reduced me to tears but reminded me what a lovely, funny lady my mum was.

Baileys_Babe

Me and my sister go for afternoon tea on our Grandmothers birthday it is lovely to take time to remember her. She was very fond of tea and cake so it seems very fitting.

Moorviews

Goodness how the memories flooded back! Shopping in Tammy Girl and Ravel, my favourite pink suede, long pixie type boots and my cobalt blue coat. I would wear that combination again quite happily but my feet also wouldn’t like those very flat soles. I use marmalade, or any jam for coating and harvest the garden for my wreath. Yours sounds lovely! It’s fun making something different each year. We have entered a phase of life where we are enjoying using things up rather than buying in new. I am hoping that we can achieve just buying as much as we actually need/want instead of accumulating. 

Hope you have an enjoyable weekend and good memories of your mum whilst decorating. 

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Hello Foxgloves.  I am very new to posting and pondering my own diary.  I have followed you for a good while and am inspired by your journey.  I would like to ask you a question about personal spends.  How does it work for you and Mr F - how much do you allow and what does it cover.  No worries if you don’t want to share - we are thinking this would be a good plan for the new year but not sure where to start.   Many thanks and for the great diary.  

foxgloves

Hello @Less_Talk_and_More_Action, & welcome!
I don't mind you asking at all. Having monthly Personal Spends works really well for us. I budget £100 each per month. It was less when we were debt busting & increased to its current level once we paid off the last of our mortgage, but everyone will be different, depending on circumstances.There are only two rules where our Personal Spends are concerned. 1) We can spend it on whatever we like without judgement 2) When it's gone, it's gone (until the next month).
How it works: On my Big Budget Day, I assign £100 each to an Excel spreadsheet. It is very straightforward. If I buy a magazine & a nail polish, I'd just input the date, what I bought & the cost, so that I can keep a tally of what I have left. If I want some of my Personal Spends as cash, that's fine, I just withdraw what I want & update the spreadsheet. Anything left at the end of the month is carried over onto the next spreadsheet, which is useful for saving for more expensive treats. Anything earned from Prolific Academic surveys is also added to our Spends totals for that month.
What is covered by our Personal Spends? Purchases which support our hobbies & interests such as craft stuff, yarn, CDs, Blu-rays, piano music, toiletries & skincare, books, magazines, stationery, chocolate, some alcohol (a bottle of wine or a couple of bottles of beer would be part of our grocery budget, but one of us fancying a new bottle of gin or whisky generally wouldn't be), newspapers, coffee shop visits, lunches out (unless a special or planned occasion for which I have specifically budgeted). Also hobby subscriptions.
I must admit that as 2 past fritterers, I did initially wonder how we would get on with having a finite monthly allowance (esp Mr F) but it works really well because it makes us think whether we really do want to make a particular purchase, & also removes any sense of having to 'justify' unbudgeted purchases. That £100 a month is there to spend on whatever we like, but if it runs out halfway through, then tough, as no new Spends until next budget day on 27th of the month.
Hope this explanation is a bit helpful, anyway.
F

Less_Talk_and_More_Action

Thanks so much Foxgloves, that’s so helpful.  I appreciate the very detailed answer.  We are having our 2024  budget discussion this week so I will add this to the pile of topics as it feels like something that will benefit us.   I have gained a tremendous amount from this diary and your previous one so thank you.  I don’t think that you realise the impact you have.   I doubt I have so many pearls of wisdom to impart though 😁.  Having said that I think I am a similar age to you and have definitely lived some of your spendy years’ experiences (I too remember those cheques that you could use on a revolving credit - couldn’t see anything wrong with them at the time.  Makes me cringe to think about them now 😱).  

Thanks again 
LTMA