Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home

MillQueen

My morning work appointment has cancelled, meaning that I do get to enjoy a bit of the bank holiday after all. By “enjoy” I mean making the spreadsheet I need to do for work, interspersed with reading my book (for free on Borrowbox) and eating the food I already have. At least I can stay home, which saves on petrol. I am looking forward to payday on Sunday, so I can reset everything.

MillQueen

I was up early as I didn't sleep well in the heat, so I have done the bins and sorted the recycling and done a bit of tidying up. Having a read of my book now - for those that like book recommendations, it's "Just Like The Other Girls" by Claire Douglas. I have read a few of her books and enjoyed them. It's even managing to keep my attention from finances. Well not entirely, because I just had a look at my student loan account and it has gone below the next thousand, into the seven thousands now, so I will update that on my signature.

MillQueen

It’a been too hot to do much spending over the past few days.

MillQueen

Excitingly, I am finishing the month with my overdraft now paid off and a little left over, so I will put £100 from that into a new "repair and replace" fund to start saving for those things I need at home and domestic stuff, as it's demoralising when I have to use the EF for those things that are needed, so I will now prepare ahead.

I have managed to put away £715.40 into the tax account from my self-employed business, by not taking out any of the earnings to spend this month, and I also put £50 into a sinking fund that I have started for car costs (I am hoping to have enough in there to pay my car insurance upfront next year, or at least the MOT and service costs, rather than having to find them when the time comes). I really want to get that tax fund up to where it needs to be, as it's giving me anxiety that I don't have the right amount set aside already.

My goal for next month is to be more consistent at buying and cooking cheap food, as I struggle to keep doing that with fluctuating energy and motivation and I spend a fair bit of money in this way. As it's the only area where I could spend less it's not too bad, but still an area I'd like to think more about. The weetabix is going well 😂.

I'd also like to have more no spend days and try to see if I can have more days working at home to save on petrol. I need to make more use of the shopping trolley I bought to walk to the shops to look for yellow sticker bargains. I read that it's good to overpay the mortgage in the middle of the month, and I haven't been focused on that, but I am pulled towards wanting to. Someone at work who already paid off her mortgage told me that she used to look for ways to not spend cash and then if she didn't spend £10 on buying a coffee and cake, she would send the £10 to the mortgage and pay off bits here and there. I am thinking to do that for my loan.

in_need_of_direction

I used to transfer any coupon savings or any gained through using points to my savings.

foxgloves

I am with you on the endless workplace collections for gifts. While I was working, I always contributed at first, even though we had quite a lot of debt back then (pre-budgeting!), but then I decided on a more individual approach. Naturally I didn't announce this (!) but I decided in future I wouldn't contribute to collections for people that…. a) I didn't like & b) Had previously f****d me over in a work/job setting (I can't think of a better way to put that!) And of course in that particular Venn diagram, there were naturally some individuals who qualified for both categories! I thought this might make me feel a bit mean, but actually it didn't, as I felt I was being less of a hypocrite. I can recall one big retirement 'do' when I'd had a few drinks & while lurking in the staff kitchen making a start on the washing-up with a more senior colleague who was also keen to avoid the jolly japes, I admitted I had made a deliberate decision not to put in for the retiree's leaving gift. The person retiring was a very poor manager & always out to see herself right before her team of staff - I'm sure many of us have experienced these people who should have been dealt with years ago but it was easier for more senior managers to ignore the problem hoping it 'may retire'……which in this case, it did. But when it came to the collection pot, I thought that while I of course didn't wish the person any ill-will, I couldn't recall a single occasion when she had helped me in my career, put my needs before or even on a par with her own, or hadn't created loads more work for her professional team by being such a slacker, so I'm afraid that under my new Gift Contributions System, she didn't qualify for any of my cash! Funnily enough, the more senior colleague to whom I tipsily mentioned my lack of contribution said "Good for you, Foxgloves. Really, well done. I wish I'd done the same'. And we carried on doing the party washing up with the slight glee of a shared secret.

But of course a way around this is that everyone in a workplace decides not to do it, or to have the challenge of everyone putting in an agreed tiny amount, say £1, & buying a little fun thing or a nice edible instead of an item which requires much bigger contributions.

Chocolatefund

My work money bug bear is when we go for a work meal out, and the bill is split evenly…

No! I'll pay for what I bl***y ordered!

liselle

Ah yes, especially if you don’t drink.Someone will always say, well, you had a coffee….

Chocolatefund

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82014870#Comment_82014870

Maybe it's the diet coke they seem to think has Jack Daniels in it.

MillQueen

@in_need_of_direction, this is a good idea! Small frequent contributions may be quite motivating!

@foxgloves, I love your Gift Contribution System 😂 that must have been so satisfying. Mine so far has been based largely on a) how rich I feel at the time of the collection, and b) how special the person is to me (or not), where I mostly put in £10 if I know the person pretty well and get on with them and £5 if I don't know them all that well or simply don't enjoy the person much. But I always give £20 for the one or two special people there who I really care about. The feeling of your story reminds me of a previous job where I would have to plan out times for staff on a big chart and it required the use of multiple coloured pens to show the different staff. This one guy was really quite mean and a bit useless in his job, where everything he touched became a debacle and ended up needing others to solve. For him, I would always use the brown pen 😂.

I think it would be hard to get everyone to agree not to do collections at all, as we are a huge team, but maybe we can modify them a bit due to being poor in these current economic times.

@Chocolatefund and @liselle, one time near the start of my career I went out with colleagues and I was a bit skint so I had spaghetti and a diet coke as it was cheapest on the menu at £11.50. All the managers were having bottles of wine and steak and starters and sides etc and then insisted on splitting the bill and it was £75! I am still angry now, 20 years later!!! I avoid sharing drinks bills or getting into rounds because I don't drink alcohol and I am also oddly unable to consume large amounts of liquid, so I have 1 diet coke all night. I've ended up paying £40 before when all I had was a single soft drink that was meant to be a few quid.

I'm becoming so much more reluctant to part with my money for these things.