Arrietty's Acorns

Skint_yet_Again

Hi Arrietty how are you and HRH. October already, any news on the new job opportunity? 

Was it your sisters wedding this weekend just gone? Hope she had a wonderful day 

Arrietty

Well hello!

I never intended to be away this long but somehow, the best part of a year has slipped by.
This post is to bring everything up to date: 

There has been a lot of family stuff going on which is partly why I've been absent. 

Thank you for your comment SKYA and I apologise for the very delayed response; my sister's wedding was an absolutely lovely event and a great time was had by all.

Sadly, it was soon followed by the death of the poorly relative and obviously, support was necessary.

Then Baby Moo finally appeared and I spent a few weeks offering whatever support was required there (and got a good amount of cuddles in too) She is now a healthy, happy 8 months old and on the verge of mobilising herself.

Not long after that, my recently widowed relative  had a TIA and scared the pants of us all.  They live an hour and a half drive away and that felt quite a challenge at times while seeing to HRH and still trying do my best at a job I came to dread daily and despise.

I had a week off over New Year and decided that if I still felt the same when I returned to work that I would hand in my notice and just take a leap of faith that 'something would turn up'.

I felt the same when I returned, I handed my notice in at the end of January, giving 2 months and I started my new role at the beginning of April and all is going well so far. A nice team, I have a decent space to work in and it's at the pay band I was on previously. I still see some of the colleagues from previous role but interestingly, 2 other people have also left since I did...

Up to the present there has been considerable spending;  some of which was planned for -  replacing or updating items at home which has created a more pleasant environment and some of which wasn't like the new glasses Ive had to buy.

Anyway, I'm still solvent and have been streamlining and simplifying my savings accounts. There were too many and their purposes had become confused. 

I'll update the balances in another post so this is to get it all clear in my head and keep me motivated.

I closed HRH's saving account because the interest earned amounted to about £1.68 or something and I was forever having to transfer money in and out every time I spent something. Too much faff for too little reward.
There's just a current account for him now and that works fine. 

I continued paying into my monthly saver account up to the full amount of £3,000 and that matured yesterday and I earned just £82.40 interest which was about half what I was expecting so I shall not bother opening another one.

£1000 of that was sent to Youngest Daughter as  I'd secretly held it or her for the last year and as she moved into a new place with her BF yesterday it was perfect timing to hand that over; she was so delighted.

Eldest Daughter is getting married next year and I'd promised to help with buying a dress so I sent her £1000 and she was also delighted  although I wouldn't be surprised if she has a holiday instead!

I decided to change my car savings account into a FUTURE FUN for ME savings account and hopefully that will teach me not to spend all my income each month so I can afford car servicing, insurance etc. at the end of the year.  Had a lot of drama over the weekend with my car being subject to a "stop-drive safety recall " but thankfully that's all sorted now and it only cost me an uber to work and some flowers for the brilliant woman who coordinated it all around me being at work.

I cashed in my old workplace pension which was worth about £3.75 and that has gone in to the FUTURE FUN acct.

I still have the account I pay cash back or Premium Bond winnings into and as this is essentially 'free money' it is what funds my splurges or treats.

I think that's everything up to date and I'll be back soon with numbers,  news of HRH and a round trip to visit everyone else's threads.

If someone would please turn down the heat, that would be much appreciated,
Thank you! 

A 
x





 

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks for the update Arrietty. Sorry to hear about your poorly relatives but lovely to hear about baby Moo, the circle of life continues. ❤️

Good to hear about your new job and nice team and that you have been able to help your daughters out financially. 

Less heat here today. Hope it’s cooler for you too 😊

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

Thank you for the detailed and very interesting update.
Looking forward to more of them!

Arrietty

Good morning 
... or most likely afternoon by the time I hit post but right now there's still half an hour of it left! 

I have taken the very deliberate decision to NOT look back at how much money I had in all the various accounts when I was previously here. That was then and this is now.

It hasn't been the cheapest of weeks and not a very thrifty start to the month and my new financial diet  but hey... all necessary.

Had a little paddy splurge stocking up on beauty products (& future gifts) £85.29 used TCB of course 

Yesterday I went to do a 'big shop' at Sainsbugs and spent £105.72
Hideous amount of money but that was mainly stocking up of tinned and dried goods such as tuna, sweetcorn, pasta, juice, laundry and cleaning bits and some basic toiletries. 

This morning I went to pick up my 2 new pairs of glasses for £435 (eeeghh but that's it for a couple of years now and I used my cash back CC and will pay it straight back before bill due)

I had to spend £2.20 on parking which is outrageous as I was in and out in 45 minutes

I then collected my prescription which was another £19.80 

Needless to say I'm pretty much skint now for the rest of the month which is fantastic because who do you think booked a week's annual leave for the week BEFORE payday 
I can of course, dip into my trips, treats & gifts fund which is its main purpose but I shall use it sparingly.

This is probably a good time to declare those finds I think:

HRH fund = £471.47
This is after livery has been paid and NOT having to keep shuffling money between savings is great.
I'm currently in talks with yard manager to rent a stable for HRH ( been on the waiting list for 4 years and other people who arrived after us have been allocated them Grrrr) so I've gone in with a low offer as it's very dilapidated and Manager said she'll have to think about it ...
I am no longer paying for lessons up front, I just pay in cash when I have one which means instructor isn't sitting on my money - I am!

Future Fun Fund = £3,400.25
This was my car spares and servicing fund mainly because I can only make 3 withdrawals a year without incurring a reduced interest penalty.  It works because I have never taken anything out of there  so I thought it would be the perfect place to put money I want to store for longer term savings which will be used to pay for holidays and trips and such once I'm no longer working full time. I put the cashed-in pension money in here and am also paying in £100 from my salary each month.

Trips & Treats Fund = £1755.00
Any Premium Bond winnings, cash back or interest earned from other accounts goes in here. It's essentially a self-funding account for when I want to have a little splurge and is probably much reduced from last year due to my New Year furnishings spendfest. I will also dip in here if there's an event or occasion or gift I don't have enough in my current account for. Not much of that expected this year as I'm focused on making home a pleasant place to be ( no, I haven't painted anything yet  ) I'm kinda done with dynamic pricing for gig tickets and definitely done with going to events and being around people who are not not living in the moment as they're too busy watching with their phones up in the air. 

Current Savings Fund = £1350.25
This is linked to my current account and has a paltry interest rate but it's where my CC cash-back goes, rounded up pennies go in there and it's useful to have something alongside my current account in case I miscalculate and need to top up my account towards the end of the month, I once had vague plans to to get 3 months of income/outgoings in in there but now realise that's a terrible idea due to the interest rate and most emergencies can be covered by either a CC or I could raid the the other savings funds. 

So, the savings are much simplified, all with clear purposes and far more manageable.  
I intend to increase contributions to all the savings funds in the future; I just need to settle into my new income/outgiong budget as I've only had 3 paydays and some unexpected expenses during that time.


In other news... HRH is now 16 and getting spookier and more terrified with age 
 Last year we were hacking out on our own around all the tracks and fields... this year he won't go anywhere unless there's either a human or horse ahead - smart boy, lets them get eaten by the monsters while he spins and runs. I have to say that usually the monsters are imaginary or something as terrifying as the grass having been cut  or most recently, a fox. He literally leapt in the air when we came across one yesterday.  Thankfully I was leading him in hand.
Such spooks have resulted in me coming off a couple of times this year and the last one was at a gallop when the ground was rock hard and I HURT.  Could barely breathe but managed to get up, chase him down ( he bolts - rude git ) and get back on to ride him back down to the yard.  My ribs were sore for about 6 weeks, no I didn't go to get them checked out, I could breathe ok and had no other symptoms.
I could just feel a bit of movement and cried or swore a bit when I coughed or sneezed unless I held them so I invested in a body protector and despite the recent searing heat I wear it EVERY time we hack. I hated it at first but it's moulding to my shape now and I sit better and definitely feel a lot safer.

They've been in their summer fields for a few weeks now and he's been as fat as pig and jet propelled by his own gas releases when ridden but they've eaten all the grass and the fields are now parched as there's been no rain so he'll be slimming down again soon I reckon. The pollen count is very high most days and it's just dry and dusty everywhere so we're chomping through his allergy supplements like nobody's business.  

How very typical that I have a horse who flourishes in the cold wet weather when I least want to ride. I'm starting to wonder if he's learned how to cough / sneeze on demand as I rarely hear it in the field but he has a fit of it as soon as I come out of tack room ...

It is now afternoon so I shall away and return once I have more savings updates.

A x

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

A fantastic update! You are very well organised with some well thought out plans and objectives.

Skint_yet_Again

Your savings funds are looking great. Fall from HRH sounds painful. Good idea to wear a body protector in future. When I was younger I would bounce. Definitely would not want to fall off a horse these days.