An in-between phase

PennysIntoPounds

Today's mse activity:
Got the £10 am*zon voucher from signing up for the Kroo banking app. Will try to save that for Christmas shopping unless a need rather than a want occurs!

Got free exercise by going for a walk (when I really didn't want to and as usual felt much better for having done so)

Did some bits of work, who knows if they'll earn me money but got to keep on keeping on

Got paid back by a friend who needed a lend so she didn't get hit by extra debt charges. I trusted her entirely to pay me back so no worries there but always nice when your money is back with you. Rather than go back into my Kroo current account I've put that in Tandem which has 5% interest at the moment but as it's easy access I can transfer it over when I need it

Got Vinted money so that's gone in the 'Please let us have a place of our own one day' pot. I'm sure banks will be falling over themselves to give a working class freelancer a mortgage when they hear about my £11 from Vinted!

Leftovers for dinner. Not just money saving but pizza is always better as leftovers anyway so win-win 

foxgloves

@PennysIntoPounds - It's a good idea to be frugal so as to squirrel away what funds you can. Things like your £11 from Vinted & £10 voucher might not sound like much, but as we all know on these diary threads, they all add up. When the lightbulb finally pinged on in my head about my ridiculously long-lived endebtedness, one of the ways I paid off first my 24 year old overdraft, then the evil flexiloan was chucking every bit of extra money at them I could. I used vouchers & paid the equivalent money into my debts, used little bits & bobs of ebay sales, sold a few hand crafted items, did occasional knitting for people - I even saved all my 20p pieces into a tube which held £20's worth  - all these oddments were added to the bigger amounts I was by then repaying from my monthly salary. Now that we are thankfully debt-free, I have discovered that of course, it works the exact same way for saving. I never used to put money aside for a rainy day because as I told anyone who would listen (but mostly myself), I didn't earn enough to save which was rubbish, but we have to wake up to the truth in our own time, do we not? Now, if anybody spun me the same line, I'd say "Well look, this time next year, are you really telling me that an additional £120, £240, £360, etc, etc, or even an extra £1200 wouldn't be even a bit helpful or nice to have? Because that is the result of putting away just as little as £10 or £20 a month, up to £100..." & of course, once all the frittering is curtailed, many people can save a lot more. I still regard myself as a 'new' saver because for so many years I only spent money, never saved it. Having money in savings, particularly a viable emergency fund hasn't made me happier, but it has made me feel more secure. I think it's worth doing a few little side hustles like surveys, online selling, etc, as well as living to a monthly budget in order to keep funds trickling into what is really one's security fund. If it helps you with somewhere to live, then that's even better  - what a motivator that must be!
F

peb

Just joining in to say please don't think you can't be honest.   People need to know what others struggle with so they can react correctly and provide support.

I don't have a diary,  middle aged woman who is luckily mortgage free section also not available.

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks @foxgloves and yes you're absolutely right, these things do add up and your brilliant mse journey is proof of that. I think one of the main reasons I've started this diary is to be able to be proud of small wins and be inspired (or corrected) by others so I can remind myself it is a journey rather than feeling despondent because achieving financial security seems so out of reach. My main money aims atm are
-having a pot of a few hundred quid for next year's tax bill
-Having a pot to do our Lasting Power of Attorneys as it's the sort of thing that's easy to put off but you'd kick yourself it it was needed and you hadn't done it for the sake of a couple of hundred quid
- having a pot of minimum 600 but possibly in reality a couple of grand for some dental work it seems likely I'll need in the next half a decade
-erm, 750,000 to buy a flat near my mum. North London prices! 😭

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks @peb I appreciate you commenting and your comment. Feel free to chip in anytime with tales of how you became mortgaged and mortgage free, or how you manage your finances now you're in that enviable position! Extra points if you were sensible for many years but now you've got spare income in middle age you're out every night showing the Rolling Stones how it should be done 😁

PennysIntoPounds

Today's mse efforts:
Youg*v flash survey
P*nelbase screenout- has anyone ever won anything in their monthly draw?!
Entered some competitions
Co-*p survey
Had a client call
Went for a small walk around block but as with money, exercise all adds up
Eb*y has gone mad and irreversibly suspended my account due to suspicious patterns despite me not using it yet. Which is extremely annoying. But on the plus side I don't have to deal with listing things on Eb*y who everyone says are a pain in the backside
Requested a refund from the organiser of a street fair my friend and I were hoping to sell some bits at, after she sent an email saying we'd lose our spot if we didn't pay within 48 hours despite us having already paid. She then hadn't responded to any emails for a month. Don't know if she's useless or dodgy but she's not keeping our money! Just had an email through saying she's refunded it so I'll check that tomorrow, funny how she happened to check that email account after a month on the very same day I put my posh email voice on and said legal advice would be consulted if we didn't get a refund 🤔

WinterWarrior

Just having a quick catch up, are you sure you are priced out of home ownership? I couldn’t even afford to sniff London, but there are places that are a great deal more affordable. 

You do right chasing that refund 🌟

[Deleted User]

Not wishing to offend those who have mentioned ‘middle-aged etc…’ on here, but you may find this thread useful. Please feel free to wonder across.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6228191/how-much-to-live-on/p1

I also have this thread in that section
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6461984/the-senior-wonder-years/p1

Best wishes 

Blackcats

Hello!  I like being on the DFW diary board too even though I no longer have any debts (after years and years of continuous spending more than I earned)I'm pleased you have been granted PIP - perhaps your user name initials was a good omen.  I'm sure the payments will really help you.
Don't worry about king posts - it's how we all get to know each other.

PennysIntoPounds

Thanks @[Deleted User] I'll check those out soon, appreciate you coming by ☺