Arrietty's Acorns

Arrietty

Good morning,

mainly grey here today with a sprinkling of sunshine but rain is due later and will continue for the next couple of days.

I went over to see DF on Friday evening and he treated me to a fish and chip supper which was lovely. He rings them up to order and then goes to collect 15 minutes later. During this time my job was to steam some green beans which led me to suggest that he treat himself to some new saucepans and kettle. I have to be careful with how I approach these suggestions but he did agree this would be a good idea along with a rack to hang them on so I can check up on the progress in a week or so. 

During the collection I also managed to do a lightning quick stealth clean of the fridge & freezer and cupboard doors!  He had a cleaner at one point before he downsized to current home but there was an occasion when he was  asked to borrow money for petrol to get to next job and this made him extremely uncomfortable and wary of having anyone in. When he moved to his current home he decided he could do it himself and on the whole he does keep the place clean and tidy and is on top of laundry etc ... it's just the kitchen which could do with a bit more attention and I'm not sure if that's an eyesight, age, gender or lack interest issue 

Yesterday was a super spendy Saturday and unsurprisingly, I'm over my budget. 
First off it was a saddle check for HRH and a bit of reflocking at £120.  This means his account is now down to £21 with the health plan payment of £15.99 due out next week.  Tight, but fine.  Yesterday I made up another 2 week's worth of feeds and we still have enough raw materials for another couple of weeks after that.  
£340 will be going into Horsery account next month ( this is after I've taken off the £20 I'm saving each month for YD) and there will be £285 going out with livery and farrier so I may need to supplement a bit in order to stock up on feed and supplements for the winter months as I don't think I'll get it all for £55! 

I then went to the garden centre to top up with bird seed and nuts. Also had to buy another couple of feeders as they're being knocked out of the trees when empty and someone is running away with them!  That was £32.96 spent and I don't have a garden budget but perhaps I need one if creatures are going to steal! I can see from the window that the Jackdaw community are already enjoying feasting 

After that it was a quick trip to Sainsbugs to find puddings; a request for fruit strudels had been made and I found these for just £1.55 each so I bought 2 flavours. I also bought some custard to go with for £3 and while I was there I decided to tup up with milk as that was 35p off a bottle and then crumpets were reduced by 30p a pack so I bought 3 packs - I LOVE crumpets   T

Total spend was £10.10p which means I'm over my monthly budget which is now - £9.38.

I'm now pondering as to whether I should reduce next month's budget by £9.38 or just start again?
Actually, if I'm being completely honest,  I should probably include the bird food  which would mean a deficit of
£42.34.   Hmmmmm.... I'm not going overdrawn in reality as there's always a slush fund in my current account which is where the scoopings to ERF comes from and as this is a new project and these final months of 2025 are a bit trial & error and preparation to see if it is a feasible budget before I get REALLY SERIOUS in 2026, I think I'll let it go. 

I did scoop £3.70 into the ERF on Thursday and then another £6.70 on Friday so that has increased again:

ERF = £8153.68
This is my primary focus and I need to remember that! A bit of extra spending here and there will always result in a bit of scooping here and there as long as my spending is considered and I'm not buying unnecessary tat.

Have a lovely day
x

Skint_yet_Again

Arrietty you made me laugh sneakily cleaning while your DF nipped out for f&c 😂 sort of thing I would have done! You are good having fresh cooked green beans with them too. 😇

I agree that you may need a wildlife pot, especially spending £32.96 on feeders and £42.34 (?) on bird food. ERF & HRH accounts look good. 

Arrietty

Hello hello,

I have finally made it back in to post after a busy couple of weeks.  I often sneak on to the Forum to catch up with threads I follow but rarely manage to post.

It has rained A LOT this last week but this morning there is some sunshine and I think there may be a few hours of it until the ridiculously early sunset!  I am enjoying the lighter mornings, especially seeing the sunrise again as I drive to work, but HRH's herd move to their winter field this coming week and I am not looking forward to the trek to the land of Far Far Away. I made the most of the dry weather yesterday morning and went for a morning hack.  

HRH was in one of his suspicious moods and very reluctant to go to a field through the woods one way, so we circled round another  field and he was happy to go in via another route. He stopped at the top of hill and was very reluctant to move forwards.  He then decided to turn around and go back and of course, he walked back through the woods the way he had refused to go on the way in!  

I've been given the day off work tomorrow by the manager due to equipment upgrades so whilst I'm aware I'll have a deluge of emails and voicemails to deal with on Tuesday, I'm not going to refuse that gift so I've decided to use the morning to go and stock up on feeds. HRH's account is running on empty after the saddle check, another 2 bales of hay, tub of glucosamine and farrier due this month, so I'll just have to fund it myself and repay myself when it's flush again.  This stock up should last for a good 2-3 months through winter and once they're in the winter field I won't need to be using so much hay. 

The new rug for HRH I ordered never materialised and it took far more time trying arrange re-deliveries ( and Royal Mail still failing after I'd given instructions) and a refund from the seller than it should have.  I won't be buying from that company again.  So, that'll be  £70 coming back, eventually. 

I'm not sure if it's my age, but I find it so irritating and draining having to constantly chase and request that people/departments/businesses/ organisations simply DO THEIR JOB and why when I find one that does actually behave properly, I praise their service and hold on to them like they're gold!  

I had to contact water company recently and I have to say that despite a fairly long wait to actually speak to human, the service was pretty good. All our road had water meters installed a couple of years ago but weren't switched on to them immediately as they said they would send us comparisons for a couple of years.  My first comparison bill seemed a lot - apparently I used water like a 3 person household with a garden and hose.  I was a bit shocked but as someone who likes both washing my clothes regularly and is partial to a long bath with a book, I thought it best I change my ways.  I now shower rather than have a bath and have been more conscious to use the eco setting on washing machine ... I don't have a dishwasher and only wash up once a day anyway and don't have a garden hose. The recent estimate showed very little change apart from a significant decrease in useage in June. Hmmmmm thats when my neighbours were away on holiday, I realised. I called the water company and after checking mine and my neighbours accounts, the customer service person agreed that she thought the meters had been allocated to the wrong houses!  
She organised for a technician to come out and check and he duly arrived on the day and within the time frame and with a half hour reminder text!  He carried out the check and yes, the installers had got them the wrong way round - apparently fairly common! All good.

Next thing I received an amended  payment schedule. Like most people, I pay from April through to January but this statement said that I was £166 in credit but not to worry because they were going to take that off my new schedule. I was not to worry and I wouldn't have to do a thing. This new schedule started with payments on 1st December and runs through to June 2026.  
Ummmm, why are you starting to charge me in December this year, for a bill that's not due until April, next year? Another phone call to a different customer service person who was very pleasant, but also confused as to why I wasn't happy with this arrangement.  The company made an error which  resulted in me overpaying for this year and now, rather than refund me the overpayment, you want me to start paying for next year ?  I think not! 
She had to speak to a supervisor but came back and said she would cancel the direct debit and they would send me a refund and then send the new bill when it's due.  Correct! 
I checked my bank and they hadn't cancelled the direct debit, so I did ! I won't hold my breath for the refund, but have decided that rather than sing up to a new monthly direct debit plan, I will save the money in MY account and then pay each bill when it's due.

Similar game played with energy company who noted that although I am £200 in credit on my account,  they think it would be a good idea to increase me monthly payments by £20? Again, I think not! As a gesture of good will I increased the payments by £5 and will review again at the end of this month.  

Like I say, it's an ongoing theme of organisations trying to relieve me of my money under the guise of being 'helpful'.  My bank 'noticed' that my current account recently dropped down to just £10 credit and wondered if an arranged overdraft might 'help' ?  No, transferring money from my savings account is what helped that situation.   Would I like to 'upgrade' my account to received such and such benefits ... all for £11 a month? No, I'd like to carry on as I am and not pay anything for my banking services thank you. Unless you're offering free monthly hay deliveries - I'm not your target customer! 

Enough waffling; lets get to business;

It was the youngest family member's birthday yesterday; we had a lovely tea party and games and of course my gift fund has been used.
Trips & Treats Fund: £1200

I got scared that I would forget to make the regular weekly payments to the monthly saver so I just paid in the maximum amount! I'm aware that I may not be able to make the maximum payments in December and January due to other costs this time of year. 
Monthly Saver: £1000

There have been a fair few payments rounded up to the regular saver this month, mainly due to too much spending. I get really bad spend fever in that twilight week between Payday and Billsday - especially with lunches and snack at work. 
Regular Saver: £1299.93

I have been really good at scooping untidy money from current account to my retirement account, in fact in October I paid in a total of £95.68p and this was all painless and actually quite fun. I have a special notebook where I record each transaction and I am disappointed if there's nothing to scoop.
I also received an interest payment of £24.61 on the 1st November.  Once the Monthly Saver matures, that will be added to this pot, but that's not for another 8 months so I'll keep ploughing on with the tidying up.
Early Retirment Fund: £8242.47


I'm happy with the progress made on savings in October; over £350 added in total and despite the overspend for   my first Monthly Budget attempt, I have started again in November and with no major purchases planned and no birthdays due, I'm hoping to stay within budget this month.

The budget is £350.00 for November and there have already been spendings:
Fuel = £61.47
Headlamp = £12.50
Prescription - £19.80
Grocery/Household shopping = £47.90
Sundries (gift wrap and cards) = £12.00

I know, it's only the 2nd! 

£196.33 and 24 days remaining 

 

Arrietty

Good morning,
and it is another beautiful sunny one despite the mist which is slowly dissipating.

Yesterday was just glorious and at one point during my five hours at the yard, I was wearing  just a t shirt with jodhs.  All the horses were enjoying the sun and there was much rolling and consequent muddiness.  HRH has been wrapped in a his old mainsheet  while the rug saga continued and the only protruding bits were his face and legs and rest assured, these had an extremely good coating of mud 
They're still in the winter field so he had a happy few hours with his hay net in the sun while I cleaned tack and pottered about.

The original rug I ordered was refunded and I've been  disappointed with the lightweight one I ordered from  a slightly cheaper brand. I can't be doing with all the chest buckles and straps and leg straps.... soooo I bit the bullet and decided to order 2 from my preferred brand of rugs which fit him beautifully and have simple surcingles and a tail strap.  
Yes, that was £173 I hadn't budgeted for and yes, there was another saga in getting them delivered 
I paid extra for 24 hour delivery and arranged for them to be delivered to local post office as a signature was required and I'd be at work,  Went too post office to collect them and the 'geezer' told me he'd refused them|!!

When I asked why he said that he didn't get paid to take in parcels, they were too big and he had to prioritise his shop!  I told him that I'd paid extra for 24 hour delivery and selected his shop from the locations available on the Royal Mail app. His response was "talk to Royal Mail then'.  I was FUMING, especially as he said he'd arranged for them to be returned to sender. The next day, the tracking was updated to show that they were being held at the local delivery office and I could collect them from there.

So, at 8:00am on Saturday morning I was there collecting HRH's rugs.  I mentioned the drama to friendly and helpful Post Office man and he said this had happened to other people and he'd already highlighted it to his manager and they thought that perhaps if the 'geezer' wasn't happy to take delivery of parcels then he shouldn't have a post office.  He also advised that I arrange for any  future orders to be delivered to them.  

The end result of nearly 3 weeks of frustration ( which has entertained my colleagues no end ) and a fair amount of time and money spent, HRH finally has his new rugs, he looks very smart in them and he is warm, dry and cosy. 
I have learned the valuable lesson that I should NOT always try to save money by choosing cheaper options!

To the money!

I won £125 on the Premium Bonds which has gone part way to repaying recent spends.
Trips and Treats Fund = £1325

No change to the regular saver as I paid in the full amount I could on the 1st.
Monthly Saver = £1000

There have been a few pennies rounded up and sent over to my linked savings account as well as a deliberate payment I made
Standard Saver - £ 1353.42

A few NSD's this week so not so many scoops to the ERF but the ones I did were of higher value so a respectable £25.59 in total. 
Early Retirement Fund =£8268.06


In other news, the water company have been in touch to confirm that they have now correctly allocated my meter and that they are sincerely apologetic for their mistake. No news about the credit on my account or future payments but I'm rating them a 10/10 for customer service and quick action taken once I'd highlighted the error. 

I pondered where to put the £50 I need to save each month towards future bills and after some deliberation I decided to just throw it into the linked saver as although I could earn 85p interest by adding it to the ERF, I really want to keep that account as one-way traffic only one at the moment. I am doing this to save me from myself!

As I was up and out of the house early yesterday I decided to whizz over to Sainsbugs and get a bit of shopping done.  I spent £39.29 on groceries and £28.75 on toiletries. Earlier in the week I paid £25.99 on a fitness app which has 15 minute sessions which I have been doing daily and quite enjoy.  It;s only for 3 months so I have set a reminder to cancel the subscription 2 weeks before it ends!! 

The £350 November budget is being whittled down rapidly, far more rapidly than I was expecting to be honest but it has certainly stopped me from buying any snacks or lunches at work! 

£71.72 and 21 days remaining   

Skint_yet_Again

It has been very mild so far! Sorry to hear about the saga with the rugs. 

I’m sure you will find ways to stretch that final £71.72. Especially if you are stocked up on toiletries and have a full freezer? 

Arrietty

Good morning,

thankfully, the rug saga is now behind me and HRH and his herd finally moved to their winter field yesterday 
A couple of them are susceptible to laminitis so won't be moving just yet and 6 are colic-prone so they're just going in for a few hours each day and coming out overnight until their tummies are used to grass. HRH looked very happy when I itched him yesterday and was quite content to just stand at the tie up for an hour without a hay net.
 I wasn't going to ride - we usually let him settle in to a new field for 24 hours - but yard manager suggested it might be good for him and help 'things keep moving' internally.  Decide to do a bit of gentle no stirrup work in the school and then potter around the closes field and I can confirm that 'things' did indeed move and were steaming when they hit the ground   
Put him in his new 50g rug to go back out and he looks very smart and cosy. I always give him a carrot after I've removed the head collar when I turn him back out Tand yesterday he just took one bit and then galloped off to his friends and the lush grass!  There were only 3 of them in there overnight and the 6 that weren't were standing looking longingly over the fence!  Hoping to spend a lot less on hay now for at least a couple of months and I still have one bale unused so I might even get to the end of December without needing a top up!

Work has been enjoyable this week; we're a small team of varying ages groups and all have slightly different work patterns but always have lunch together which is really nice and I feel very settled there. I still want to reduce my hours in a couple of years but it's nice to be part of a genuinely caring, supportive  and cohesive team 

To the money:


No birthdays or trips and no extra income so no changes:
Trips & Treats Fund = £1325 

No changes here either: 
Monthly Saver = £1000

A few pennies rounded up to the linked saver:
Standard Saver = £1354.99 

There have been 4 scoops over to the ERF this week of £5.21, £9.86, £8.872 and £6.38  - I only do these Monday to Friday as any spends over the weekend don't show until the following Monday - so a total of £30.17.
Early Retirement Fund = £8298.23

I honesty think that this has been the most effective method of saving that I've ever used!
It's more satisfying than just sending a lump sum at the beginning of each month as there's a regular flow of payments throughout the month and as the amounts are different each time I get a kick out of seeing how much it amounts to at the end of each week.  To be honest, I'm probably saving more than I would if I'd decided on a regular amount as well!  I admit to deciding to have lunch at work on one the days just so that it would mean I could make a payment the next day 

The monthly budget is taking a bit more getting used to but it has highlighted how much I can fritter away without even realising and also how often I stock up on an item which is on offer or reduced...  and then come home to realise that I already have a spare    This, of course, is exactly how supermarkets play into our scarcity complexes when they offer us reductions on items that we buy regularly. Which will be why I have enough toothbrushes for the next year!

I did have lunches at work three times and also succumbed to a breakfast but these only cost £8.70 in total so not bad for 4  meals and  I managed to avoid the sweet shop which is good because THAT is very overpriced and to make sure I don't succumb next week I 'invested' in a multi pack of mini Maltesers when I went shopping yesterday!  My entire shopping bill came to £57.45 and £2 of that was on toiletries.  £11 of that spend was on coffee!  The tin I buy is usually over £7 but it was on offer for £5.50 so I bought 2.  Yes, I did already have 2 at home from the last time there was an offer but, but, but... 

What this means is that I now have just £5.57 left of my monthly budget.
Another 10 days until payday, or more importantly, another 14 days to the end of the month 

I probably won't need anything other than milk so absolutely should be able to do this but I think there's a definite compulsion to spend at times which holds me back.  Or, there's a feeling that buying things when reduced or on offer is actually saving me money and so I succumb. Again and again and again. Sigh.

Definitely need to join the Frugal Challenge!

Have a lovely day
A x

Skint_yet_Again

Lol at the horses looking longingly over the fence 🐴🐴 … what is the saying about the grass being greener 😆 Good that you will save on hay costs. 

Your work team sound lovely. I know what you mean about succumbing to “bargain” offers. Can you take the coffee money out of the “treats” pot? 

Arrietty

Hello hello,

thank you for your  treats pot suggestions @Skint_yet_Again... I decided to just suck it up and learn to live on what I have but will be implementing regular payments to the Treats Pot as of next year so any future situations such as this will be covered  

I'm getting in to a routine now with my weekly round up and look forward to posting my updates! It helps to be accountable for my spending and also crystallise my thoughts. 

We have a bit of sunshine here this morning, the rain has stopped although I can hear dripping off the roof and tress but I quite like that and the temperature is well above freezing which is very welcome! 
Yesterday morning I met my sister for a walk in Windsor Great Park and it rained the whole time but we had the correct gear and we saw the most enormous gathering of deer I've ever seen.  We met at one of the gates on a public road so as not to have to pay the outrageous £9.60 parking charge. Again, I reiterate this is a public road and we discovered the council had installed Ringo parking.  The charge was £4 for 2 hours which is a lot better than car park prices, but again it's a public road!  I would imagine it's not doing any favours for the pub on that road as they don't have their own car park so any customers wanting a lunch or coffee or drink  now have to pay at least £4 on top! 

For some reason I was charged £4.24 and I'm not sure why but I'm wondering if its for the privilege of getting a  message (which used to be free) so I wasn't happy at that and will have to be very careful next time I use Ringo. 

It's been an expensive week car-wise... I received a notice of prosecution from the Met Police for driving at 24mph. I'd just come off the A3 which is a 50mph limit which goes straight in to a 30mph zone and then round the corner it goes to 20mph and I simply didn't slow down quick enough. I was really annoyed - we don't have 20mph zones where I live - the constant road works keep us all under the speed limit very nicely, thank you - but I've accepted my fate and will be partaking in a speed-awareness course for the princely sum of £96.20 ... which is a £3.80 saving on the fine with 3 points so in the spirit of all things money saving, that's the option I took! 

HRH is enjoying life in his new wild winter field and despite the distance from the yard I'm pleased too.  If he's at the far end ( where they tend to gather when they're avoiding being fetched in by their humans) it takes me 30 minutes to walk up there and back from the yard so my step count is looking very impressive!  They have 2 water troughs, natural shelter along 2 sides of the field and there are no public footpaths through the field so they can live a very horsey life with little human interference. He had the farrier on Friday and was so full of grass he pretty much dozed through the whole process which was a nice change for us all 

I chanced a quick ride after as it was sunny and can confirm that a grass and winter powered HRH is a very different animal than the one in lessons! I was glad to have a friend along with her retired horse being walked in hand. She opened gates in the correct manner rather than just hurling herself at them and getting annoyed when she can't barge them open which is HRH's usual method. He tries so hard to help but has zero tolerance for things which don't move out of hs way after the first attempt.

To the money:

I'm in full winter hermit mode now so no change to the Trips & Treats fund but once I've got the figures right in my head,  I'm considering making a regular payment as from January.
Trips & Treats Fund = £1325


Monthly Saver = £0000
I realised that I'll be saving for another 8 months in order to get a fairly insignificant interest payment at the end and that depends on me paying in the full amount each month sum of money and keeping it there. 
I need more flexibility and I think these accounts are more suited to those who already have a large amount of savings and are happy to just move that amount between various regular savers with payment limits to maximise interest.  It's not working for me so I've withdrawn what I had in there and transferred it to my ERF.  I can't seem to close the account either by app or web so it's just going to sit there until the end of the term.

There have been a few pennies scooped over to the linked saver this week so that's had a slight increase
Standard Saver = £ 1357.82


I sent  £33.41p of scoops to the ERF which is very pleasing and then added £1000 from the now defunct monthly saver. Not sure why I got swept along with the monthly saver plan other than I just opened a new one after my last one finished but with this account, I'm getting interest payments each and every month and can put in as much or as little as I require. I feel like this account is working alongside me rather than just showing up at the end after I've done all the work. 
Early Retirement Fund = £9331.64


The Budgeting account is now running on fresh air but other than the parking fee I haven't spent anything which I'm very pleased about. I still have food in the pantry and freezer but am very low on milk. Payday on Wednesday and I think I need to change the dates the budgeting account runs on to accommodate this. I'm also going to increase the budget to £400 for December and see how this works. 

Budget remaining £1.33.

 
Overall, I'm pleased with how my finances are progressing and how my mindset has change to saving mode. 
Having a space to waffle on really helps and reading what other people are doing is brilliant. 


Have a lovely day 
x

Arrietty

Hello,

I thought I'd do my own  Budget as I got paid today and have already scattered my pennies across various accounts 

First of all I have to say how relieved I am not having to throw £250 in to that regular monthly saver. 

I have however, thrown £200 into HRH's  account.
 Livery has actually gone up by £20 a month for the next 4 months as a " hay surcharge".  We're all confused by this as horses have only just moved to winter fields so stuffing their faces with grass and likely to carry on without needing any hay until well into January. No one has dared to ask for explanation though so we're all just quietly confused.

I sent £50 to the trips and treats pot, this has been ignored for far too long and I cannot rely on Premium Bond wins to sustain this account. What I should be doing with any wins, is adding them to my ERF. Thanks to @Skint_yet_Again  for reminding me if I actively contribute to this pot myself so there's no guilt if I want a treat 
Trips & Treats fund = £1375.00

There have been a couple of pennies scoops over to the linked savings account and today I sent over £50 towards the Water bill, when it materialises.
Standard Saver = £1409.04

Clearly, I have to compensate for not paying into the regular saver so I sent £100 to my Early Retirement Fund.
I would usually send £200 but there's a festive thing at the end of December and my car is due a service and MoT so I decided that £100 to this fund and £50 to the treats fund was enough for fixed payments and if the pattern of the past 3 months continues, I'll probably add another £90 ish in scoops.  This week's scoops have been £8.16, £4.56 and £6.58. 
Early Retirement Fund = £9450.94


I just about scraped through my £350 budget for the month with just £1.33 left and I really didn't live large or actually feel like I lived much at all.
Spent a small fortune on horse things but didn't include it in my budget and it didn't come from horse funds so it actually came from money sitting in my current account that otherwise could have gone into savings or pay for car service. Still, I found £350 a bit tight and I didn't do anything spendy other than go out for lunch once  and buy yet another stupid fitness app that I got bored with after 10 days ...so I'm increasing next month's (26th to 25th) budget to £400 and as long as I DO things rather than BUY things that's ok. Anything left over at the end of the month will go towards paying car insurance or into the ERF.

Roll on April 2028!

Arrietty

Hello,

what a miserable morning it is here today - wet and windy ugh. How very fortunate that I am not working today and consequently still in pyjamas with a large cup of coffee to keep me company. 

I actually felt like I was losing my mind a bit last week; lack of sleep, busy workload & general winter hard-horsiness all adding up to defeat me, so these few days off have come at just the right time. Clearly, Past Me knows that Current Me's mood and general wellbeing really dips this time of year so planned ahead - Clever Me!

Friday was a gorgeous sunny day here so after a gentle start and shopping trip to BigBugs, I headed to yard, retrieved HRH from his happy herd, gave him a good groom and polish and went for a lovely plod with a friend and horse. Emotional wellbeing restored  Saturday I did some sorting and tidying and took HRH for a walk in hand round one of the summer fields to re-familiarise him with it prior to attempting to ride. Spent the evening doing some batch cooking and freezing meals for the future - this really helps when I'm struggling with energy & motivation.  Cannot tell you how grateful I was to discover a chilli in the freezer last Thursday - I think it saved my life!

Yesterday I whipped to Waytrose to get a few other shopping bits in the morning, thought about getting my car cleaned but could not be bothered to empty it so it remains like a farm vehicle.  YD declared herself unfit to come and ride so I had another lovely hack in the sun with a different friend and her horse. Emotional wellbeing at an absolute peak! 

Today's pals are: pyjamas all morning and setting up the Christmas tree ( it's large and I toyed with buying another slimline version but that's SO wasteful so I shall just have to suck it up and rearrange living room!  This afternoon YD is due to come over and plans to clip His Royal Hairiness because he's only wearing a mainsheet and still sweating after a plod. And before you ask - no he cannot go naked this time of year !

To the money:


I'm keeping receipts for all my gift spending and will transfer over once the spending ends!
Trips & Treats Fund = £1375.00 


There has been a small amount rounded p and sent over.
Standard Saver = £1411.10


I scooped over a small amount and also received just over £30 interest this morning.  I've been advised that the interest rate is dropping to 4per cent in a couple of weeks but I'm happy with this organisation and their service works for me so I'm not looking to swap at the moment. 
Early Retirement Fund = £9495.53

I've been calculating and if I follow advice that end of March is the ideal time to retire or reduce hours, then I worked out that I have another 122 weeks until I drop a day   That is honestly one of the most depressing figures I've ever come up with  and I'm not sure I have another two 5 workday winters in me so I'm still absorbing that information before I come up with a plan.

My budget has been reset to £400 for a month - well, I've actually reorganised  it so that it goes from payday to day before payday. I have already spent the following:

Grocery shopping £125.51
Household items = £16.88
Gifts/Cards/Wrap = £20.90
Fuel = £59.84
Lunches at work = £4.80

Total spend = £227.93 / £400. 

£172.07  remaining


Aside from the work lunches, everything else has been by the Credit Card which I earn small amount of cash back for. I then realised that I've booked my car in for its service and MoT the day BEFORE I get my CC statement - not ideal. Had a quick look on the app and learned that I can request a new statement/due date but not the dates between 21-25 of the month.  Well, that's handy because I want the 26th which is payday!
So I've changed that and have given myself another couple of weeks until next payment due 

Right, I'm off to forage in the cupboard for a tree.

Have a lovely day
x