Small steps lead to big changes...

jwil

doingitanyway said:

Great PADs!!
An escape plan is a good idea, but as you say it needs to balance with conflicting demands so not easy. But you seem to do not easy on a regular basis 

Thank you, that made me chuckle.  I do find things difficult a lot, but most of it is 'first world problems' usually.  I'm lucky in that sense.

WinterWarrior said:

I like my pb’s for the same reason. I keep the most in there as it feels inaccessible even though I could get it back out in an emergency. I think asking for it back would feel like asking my dad for extra pocket money…scary, embarrassing and expecting an interrogation on why I need it 😁
I keep thinking I ought to educate myself on investing, but I just can’t get my head around the risk. 

I'm the same.  I did withdraw from mine to pay for the electrics, and it was really easy and took a couple of days.  But in my head there is this barrier there that it will be hard, and to be honest that's a good thing really as it's so easy to dip into the other pots.
I keep thinking about investing as well, but I know nothing about it and I worry that I'd lose money.  My AVCs are invested so that's at least something.

Sun_Addict said:

I like the regular savers for good interest rates. The money is tied up for 12 months but no doubt you could get to it in an emergency but forfeit the interest. 

I have two of those, but only put in £25 to one and £50 to another (and this is the first year I've had them).  Those are where I think I should consider trying to put in more.

in_need_of_direction said:

I’m very protective of my pb. It’s a good safety check as I’m more cautious of cashing those in than withdrawing from a savings account 

I'm the same.  It's good really, but funny how many of us are the same about it.

jwil

Today's PAD £2

Jan - £141
Feb - £139
March - £89
April £149
May - £79
June - £232

jwil

The kids didn't want to do anything today so I've been combining a bit of tidying with decluttering a book.

I've heard back from the dentist and they have not only said they won't add the kids to an NHS waiting list (despite it saying they could in the letter), but they have also cancelled our existing appointments saying they need to be rescheduled.  I'm not sure whether to reschedule with them or just go elsewhere.

jwil

Today's PAD £2

Jan - £141
Feb - £139
March - £89
April £149
May - £79
June - £234

jwil

We've been to the beach today, it was lovely!  Refreshing to have a dip in the sea.    On the way home we stopped at a couple of garden centres.  I had finally decided on a few specific plants for areas of the garden so we went to have a look.

I bought a dwarf buddleia, so it won't grow huge, and DH picked a rose bush with a gazillion buds on it.  It's going to go where the annoying neighbour has his trellis, so it probably won't cover it, but it will be nice and cheerful to look at when I'm in my favourite spot.  I've come to the conclusion he's on a bit of a mission at the moment, rejigging his garden, and he'll probably ease off to normal habits when he's done.  I wanted some lavender too, but DH told me someone in the road was selling some for £1 a pot, so we stopped off and got some of that on the way home.

I might try and put all of them in tomorrow morning if it's a bit cooler.  I'm pleased with them though.  I was going to get some bedding plants too, but it was so hot I just couldn't think, so that can wait for another time.  Once we've dug the bit of ground behind the house (that I started doing during the first lockdown 🙄), I want to plant a clover lawn there.  We are reusing a load of rock that was in the house as cladding, so part is to build a wall around our tyre planters which will be filled with wildflowers, and the rest I am using to make a sort of crazy paved patio area, so the clover can go between the gaps in the rocks.  It should hopefully be insect friendly, good for the soil, cover to crowd out the weeds, and be low maintenance.    I'm hopeful it will look like it does in my head if I ever get it finished    It's very unlevel so we want to steal some of the soil to fill the tyres.

badmemory

You have to watch those dwarf things.  I used to have a dwarf fir that they said would only grown to about 5 feet.  For many years that is all it did.  Then next door removed their hedge.  Within the year my dwarf fir was 10 foot tall, so sadly it is no more.

WinterWarrior

It sounds like you had a lovely day. 

savingholmes

Beach and garden sounds a great combo of activities 

jwil

badmemory said:

You have to watch those dwarf things.  I used to have a dwarf fir that they said would only grown to about 5 feet.  For many years that is all it did.  Then next door removed their hedge.  Within the year my dwarf fir was 10 foot tall, so sadly it is no more.

Thank you   I think you cut these back each year so it should be manageable.  That's a big growth spurt!

WinterWarrior said:

It sounds like you had a lovely day. 

Thank you  

savingholmes said:

Beach and garden sounds a great combo of activities 

Thank you

jwil

Today's PAD £2

Jan - £141
Feb - £139
March - £89
April £149
May - £79
June - £236