Saving lots in pots!

~FlowerPot~

MovingForwards said:

First few months after Christmas people seem to tighten their belts and cut a few things out / extend periods between.  Is there any way you can look over your history, see what month's they are and save some money throughout the year to have an even monthly budget to work with?

Save your ISA as a payee, with reference, after you've got this sorted out. 

Budgets are looking good, you've got this sussed now 😊

MF ~ The dip is 6 weeks after xmas and 6 weeks after i take a holiday in the summer!! Otherwise my customers are generally very regular, they see their appointments as essential as most cannot reach their feet to do it themselves

THe ISA thing is annoying I did have a linked account set up but tried to change it when I changed my bank. but it is refusing to do it so I did it manually and stupidly forgot. Its still not there now! So your right I need tostore the reference number!!

~FlowerPot~

Made a nice MMOP today of £40. i moved £33.50 from Paypal across to my bank and then rounded it up to 40 and made the payment.

Gratefulls

I am very gratefull forfood on my plate. I had a lovely dinner of corn on the cob ~ delicious with butter and a bit of salt and pepper, pork chop, carrots and new potatoes

my car DH filled her up with petrol and paid ~ yey

to my gorgeous snowdrops in the garden. I love to see them flower and know that spring is on its way

~FlowerPot~

I applied for a credit card!! Not very MSE, well in some ways it is. I tried a few months a go to get one and was turned down. I suspect for 2 reasons, im self employed and also have no credit score because I dont have a credit card? Ayway It was suggested to try marble as they will except anyone, but on a low, couple of hundred credit limit. So i applied and now I have a card coming to me with the credit limit of £1200. Whihc is much more than expected. The plan it to use it during the month and then pay off. We'll have a go, and hopefully in a few months I can apply for a different one. I dont know are any of them any better than any others!!! I really havent looked so much at them. But I am hoping to make a large purchase at some point towards the end of the year or maybe into next year and I would need to pay on a credit card.

Im not expecting it too be a problem, Ive never had a debt problem before with cards as i dont see it as my money/ free money. I know it will bother me until it is paid off. But i think i might be able to set it up to pay at theast the mininmum? I will do some research!!

Gratefulls

snuggles with the dog on a grey and rainy afternoon

money in the bank to buy my shopping today

the internet ~ it is so easy to research and find out things ~ this afternoon I have been learning about frequency healing and rife machines, fascinating

Flowers x

MovingForwards

Do you have capacity to take a few more clients on, but with timings that would fill the gaps or do one offs? It may be worth approaching local care homes and see if they're looking for a regular foot person to go in and do a group the same day.

There's no credit score in the UK, lenders have their own algorithms. Please ensure you may M off in full after the statement has been produced as only paying the minimum is the trap that catches people and is the start of a slippery slope; I'm mindful of your income and apparent surplus money. 

Ideally you'd want a 0% APR on purchases over 12+ months as you can spread the repayment easier with a big purchase. A few of my banks indicate whether I'd be accepted for credit, if yours do too wait until it says then apply. The 'bonus' with my CC is I can 'fix' a repayment plan, opt for however many months and it's a lower APR than normal. I've used that perk a lot.

~FlowerPot~

thank you MFs

 As foir work. I do feet very part time. I have a clinic day on a monday as the salon is shut and its great because its quiet! But i cant use the room any other day and not found anywhere else. I do home visits on tues and weds but they have to fit around DDs lessons and its a right faff. Because we are nearing the GCSEs I will be needed to for taxi-ing and there will be more stress, plus fitting my existing work arouns the exam timetable So I definietly can take on any more work before June and I think I will wait until September comes and see how and if she manages college. Alongside the feet I also paint and also do my healing work ~ and ideally I would like to get boths of these up a notch or 2. So we will see . I am lucky in that DH brings home a good wage and we are able to get what we need and extras too. So my money goes towards the kids and extras.

I fully intend to pay off the CC in full. But hoping to set it up so the mininmum goes out to makes sure I dont get caught out. I dont think any of my current banks have offered my credit !! thinking about it b@rclays used too all the time, but Im not with them now!

~FlowerPot~

So it friday, so it must be time for a round up. I have been debating whether or not to change it to monlthy. But as Im self employed i get paid when I work and so do my weekly accounts on a thursday or Friday. So it does make sense to check in each week. And writing it up here does indeed make me check in and keep me focused

EF~ £1700

Car pot: £400 ~ ive added a bit more than usual to this i want to get it to 700

Health pot: £80

pension: £15 this week ~ transfered the growing amount actually into my pension. First time this year!

challenges: 

£1 a day ~ £91/366 £31 added For Mar, feels good to be ahead, at least at the moment

1p 365 challenge (XMAS savings) ~ £190

52 week envelope stuffing ~ £ 9/52   £7 ~ from scratch cards winnings from xmas and £2 and £4 added

MMOP ~ £40/ £60 FEB  i got to £33 on PA and withdrew and rounded it up to 40. now working on the next £20
ISA - i put £50 ~ still waiting for this to appear after my blunder!

Having the DLA for DD has made a huge difference, although Im saving the majority it means its there for things for her and to help with petrol costs driving backwards and forwards to her lessons and for her ballet lesson.

~FlowerPot~

how many pots is too many????

I had an email from the vets this morning sating the pupster is due for their annual vaccinations and check up. And I thought that it would be a good idea to have a pet pot. The food is seperate and we have pet insurance for anything big. but the excess is £170. So Ive set a starling pot with a goal for £300!! I had 2.15 in the main part of the starling and also rounded down my main account and add £9 something, so there £11 odd to kick it off! I will prob only add a tenner a week, unless i have a flush week!

I think I mentioned the pet insurance going up from 43 to 95 a year! ~ this would be partly due to the leg break pupster had last Summer. So ive looked about and found a much better deal still expensive, but nowhere near £95!! so thats a win plus DH caught me just before I clicked pay and found a code that means I get the first month free, so that was well worth doing! Thank you DH

~FlowerPot~

its the weekend. Yippeeee. I have just popped the sheets in the wash as it was sunny and its already raining pfff! The garden is SO soggy its ridicuous If it does stop raining I hope to go out and cut back some more of the dead box hedge. DS2 might help as well which would be good. We also need to look at buying the new hedging. DH reckons we will need over 200 plants (spaced at 25cm apart) But I think we will concentrate on the main boundary edge and in the other 3 ares we had the box hedge we might do something different. But need to get a shifty on to order it or it will be too late!

hmmmm, just checked the weather forcast and there less than 10% chance or rain this morning and then dropping to %5. So hopfully it will dry up v soon and I can get out there. Meanwhile ~ im off to look at hedging .....

debtfreewannabe321

~FlowerPot~ said:

how many pots is too many????

I once had 10 pots on the go Can't recall what they were all for but, bills, pet, clothes, EF, food, car, were all in there as well as Gawd knows what else lol. They were very handy all being separated though as I get confused when it's all lumped in together.

MovingForwards

Can never have enough pots and having one for pup makes a lot of sense. Great DH said about the code. Perhaps that's his forte, or could be developed by him.

Pots and challenges are looking good. Maybe use a cashback site for things like home and car insurance.

I forgot the kids ages and thought they were a bit older. Do you have the space in your garden to build a room to work from? Might be something to consider for the future.