Invoices and Paradigm Shifts

I have received my first childcare invoice and am in the process of having it reimbursed by Universal Credit. And apparently, I also have the option of a budgeting advance of £800. The world doesn't end if they say no, but it would feel good to have my maintenance arrears taken care of. It would help motivate me to get the flat ready for sale.

Along those lines I did a big shop at German Supermarket on UC day and while I was there I spotted paint for £13. In white. So I bought two. It was like cementing a major decision, yes, I'm now mentally committed to a very minor flat makeover. It's like putting lipstick on a pig, but first impressions matter, and it might mean £1,000 more on the sale price. 🙏

The grocery component came to £42, which is on the high side. It was intentional though... In my new mindset of not clinging to every object, I'm also relaxing the vice grip on penny-pinching. There's so many things I've denied myself and Little X which are beyond fair. This week she's had fruits and nuts she's never tried before. Party rings. Flavoured crisps. Orange squash. I know a toddler doesn't need all this every day, but it's well overdue for her to have a touch of normality. I don't want her to grow up terrified of spending every penny. I will still choose budget options, but no more basic denial of entire food groups.

Bought: £100 voucher for above-mentioned German Supermarket, then Everup had a 6.25% offer for Fave Mainstream Supermarket so I spent another £100 on that. Between them I got loads of points and played them through the games, ended up with £13 in the account for my next voucher. These vouchers also help steer me away from Nearby Less Cheap Supermarket. 👍

Routine

I always buy a supermarket gift card when TopCashBack has their bonus deal. This time it was a £2 bonus as usual but the minimum spend has gone up to £10. Still very worthwhile to me, so, done deal this week. I did also go to Food Club, an exercise becoming ever-more tedious because the prices have gone up, so the saving is lower. We did stay for lunch. 

I need to move more. I'm getting stiff and sore just sitting for a couple of hours on the sofa. Not to mention it's now pretty uncomfortable since its last repair (the first few times I replaced the support strapping, but that keeps failing within weeks, so I gave up and hammered wooden slats across instead). It sure isn't the sofa's fault that I'm unfit, though. 😳 I need to actually get off my butt. Little X could do with the air, sun and stimulation, too.

The mailbox is still remarkably empty. It feels odd not to have the banks really demanding their money. It means I just twiddle my thumbs until each Universal Credit pay day. That's the day I dole out the money (admittedly there are not very many bills to pay anymore) and otherwise my most productive money thoughts are "imagine if I did X" and "I need to buy bread and milk soon". 🤔 

I have two offers from German Supermarket: spend £25 to get £5 off (I need to do this by tomorrow) and a second one for a free fiver if I spend £30. Unfortunately they can't be combined. I'm definitely going to struggle to actually do the second one, I'd end up either buying junk or buying rarely-used items I could get from Food Club for much cheaper. 🤔 The big-ticket items are robot lawnmowers and picnic benches, so that's a no, thank you. I'll have to think about it.

Correspondence

The letters have begun arriving, creditors assuring me that interest and charges have been paused for two months of Breathing Space. I also received a huge Action Plan pack from the debt charity. So I found a stack of folders and I have begun filing each letter correctly to keep them ordered. I will need this paper trail for quite a long time. I also found a brand-new exercise book and I am planning to keep track of figures and debtors in there, for motivation. In ridiculous random colours, because I can, and because that makes it more fun. I may invest in stickers.

My Universal Credit money turned up early. It was an odd feeling to see it sat there in the account which nobody else can touch. For a moment I reflected on how this was "all I had" and then I realised, it's more loose cash than I actually had left available in credit last month. And there's several hundred more stashed over in the new savings account. And I didn't spend all of my grocery money either, despite going shopping yesterday.

I called Overdraft Bank today as I'm "supposed" to, trying to have the overdraft removed from my account and turned into a separate debt. This is intended to stop future fees and charges from eating into my money and allow me to control the rate that I repay that debt. They say they can't do it until the debt charity contacts them with a repayment offer. So that was annoying, it means I have to call several other places to move their direct debits away. 80 minutes on hold to the car finance company. 😑 And on Monday I will need to call the insurance.

£2 again from TopCashBack for buying a £5 Asda voucher, yes thanks! 

Even though this debt arrangement is taking up a lot of mental real estate, it's a good thing to have something to focus on. Apart from that my main goal was "escape this flat" which is not a very productive thought process while I have no means to do so. 😄 So I think I should figure out small things to achieve in the interim. Hmmm.

No Title Yet

I might keep that title, I think 😁

The stars aligned correctly with jobs both paying me on time. Along with me purchasing an item from the "middle aisle" and returning it straight away in order to move £70 from the credit card to my current account without paying a money transfer fee. It's really not my fault that (a) the credit card company won't let me pay for a money transfer right now, and (b) the shop doesn't check whether I put the refund onto the same card I paid with. The item is perfectly resellable, so? 🤷 That cash is going onto a more expensive card. Budget now balanced for another month. Bills all paid. 

This week I got a free £10 supermarket voucher for participating in the NHS's Our Future Health scheme, which was about supplying a blood sample and being warned that my cholesterol is elevated. Time for me to eat better.

I also got a £2 bonus from TopCashBack (again!), I love this recurring deal so much. I bought a five pound supermarket card to qualify, so that's £2.13 off it altogether. There was then a deal of £9 cashback for doing the Audible free trial, so I did that one too and set up a reminder to cancel before it takes the payment in a month. I also realised I'm getting enough cashback to justify the £5/year membership upgrade so I took that plunge. Miranda Hart's new book awaits me (you get one free book with the Audible subscription).

Finally, a post filled with actually frugal things. It's been so long. It's very related to me knowing bills are paid for the month. 💰

Oh, almost forgot, I have been blessed with an unexpected acknowledgement. I spend a fair bit of time on a frugality-related social media group and its owner decided to thank me - by replacing her referral code for Zing with my own. 😍 When I didn't get any referrals in the first week, I almost gave up hope... But two have just completed, meaning I'll get £60 next month. 😍 Definitely not shabby and very much appreciated right now.

Spendy McSpenderson: Little X's birthday present bought off Vinted (£5), plus Christmas gifts for Kid #1, Kid #2 and their dad. I still need Christmas gifts for Little X but I'm going to watch the baby bank and the nearby Cheap Charity Shop for those. I still need gifts for Neighbour #2a, Neighbours #8 and Work Bestie. 

Resist, Resist

I feel like I only post in here to complain about something. So, I will try to be more balanced in this update.

Little X became snotty during the week and it quickly escalated into a fever... which did not abate with Calpol. We ended up in the Emergency room at stupid o'clock and she spent five hours under observation. Naturally she cooled down slightly on the way, then hammed it up with the doctor, cuddled her like the traitor she is and thoughtfully wiped her snotty face all over her shirt. 😁 She finally gave up her partying at 3am, at which point they sent us home. Diagnosis was RSV and Bronchiolitis. Nasty in a baby of her age. We're staying close to home now and enduring the misery of having a blocked nose and not understanding why. This causes fun times during food, bottle, dummy, sleep. 😴 But she is slowly improving.

As for Little X, her current baby car seat is past its expiry date and the belts are worn on the sides. The  combi seat that I have for her is terribly unstable in the rear-facing position and she's really not safe facing forwards yet. I really, truly wanted a rear-facing seat, but they are horridly expensive and the affordable ones all seem to have the same disease as the combi (poorly anchored and wobbly). But today we got something awesome! A couple on Facebook have given away their rear-facing toddler seat, one that is actually designed to keep a child rear facing for longer. Little X meets the weight for it and they last until about 5 years of age 🥳 so this week I will clean it up and get it into place. This is better than I had hoped for. 😍

I am still doing the investing but I am nearing the end of the easy jobs, and it has been demoralising at times so it is hard to summon up the willpower to keep at it. One job is just absolutely refusing to pay me. Well I should say they are blaming my bank, which is not at fault incidentally. I have given up on them as cash earnings and I am trying to extract it as a gift card, so fingers crossed. The investing should get easier once I have built up a little bit of a pot of money and don't need to continually rush my profits out to move to the next job. Here's to the future.

I paid off the second-worst credit card using the advance from the worst one. I am hoping to coast through the three months and the balance stays at 0. Wish me luck. It wasn't costing me much in interest each month as it was a small balance, but it's a mental boost to kill that card.

Win: for the fourth time, TopCashBack has had a promotion, spend a certain amount anywhere and get cashback on top. Today it was spend £10, get a free £2 on top. So 25p back for the actual purchase (a supermarket gift card for £10) and £2 extra is now in my TCB account. 👍

Second win: I resubmitted to the council and it looks like I will now get the maximum discount for my council tax. 👍 So, something like £60 off what I used to pay. I'll take it.

Third win: Healthy Start has been approved, I had nearly forgotten. 👍 Every pound is helpful. 👍

My overall finances are still in the negative, at least in terms of permanent income, but it is really encouraging to be that much closer to equilibrium. I won't have to kill much of my debt before it edges back into green. I won't say I have been biting my nails of late but it's been on my mind more than it was, so this is a calming thought.

Must do some meditation more often.

The Sofa Saga

There seem to be a lot of sagas in my life, but whatever. I had to repair my last sofa and here we are again with the "new" one. I thought it just had saggy foam, but no, the support belting sucks and is almost dead. I've ordered upholstery belt and I'm going to attack it with a staple gun. £20 I didn't want to spend 😒

I also spent another £25 on a cube storage unit which needed assembling. In the spare time which I didn't have 😂 to be placed in the space I don't have. 😂 The only place for it is on top of my drawers, so I lose that surface, but considering it was covered in bags and boxes before, no loss. 

Little X has a monster cold and is miserable. I suppose the first one had to happen eventually! 

Good news for the bank account, I qualify for the £100 Nationwide bank bonus in June and also get £100 council support payment soon. £185 switch bonus too plus a £30 cashback bonus. Still waiting to hear about the £500 Sure Start Maternity grant, not sure if I'll get it. 🤞 

More money out: £20 on bedding and waterproof mattress cover for the cot. £5 on a great walker which can be kept stationary... Little X is a bit small yet as her toes don't reach the ground. 

Zoom-a-Zoom

I've had some unused frequent flier points since forever and all I ever seemed to do was ignore them... ✈ Well, based on a tip from Martin Lewis, I've just converted them to Nectar points and I now have enough for a free tank of fuel. Not shabby at all! ⛽ 🚗

I saw someone mention last year's member bonus for Nationwide. I didn't qualify without either a mortgage or savings account. 😒 This poster was hoping out loud for £100 again, so, long story short I've just opened a savings account that I've got no savings to put into. 😂

I've had another broker look into refinancing what I owe as a mortgage. This time looks slightly more positive, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. 🏡 They've been quiet two days so it's anyone's guess. 

JamDoughnut fun, I bought another gift voucher for one of my fave supermarkets to get 2.5% cashback. These little vouchers have the bonus of forcing me to go spend them rather than pulling into the nearest shop. 👍

Freebie: a fancy pushchair for Little X. The travel system pram was what I thought I needed (since they insist it must lie completely flat) but it's unwieldy in and out of the car. Turns out they make decent stroller types which would have done just fine. In any case, she can sit up now on an incline. The kind man who gave it to me will also have a cot bed soon and promised to get in touch 💕

Accounting

So my phone is driving me insane and after a year of battling, I quit. I simply need one with more memory (I have plenty of storage, but I've nearly gone bananas having to make space for app updates). 🍌

New phone has been chosen, £120 on offer, plus I have bought via a cashback site for ten quid in hand 👏 and I also did it with my work perks card. I discovered through the hellish purchase process that I can buy a virtual mastercard at a 7% discount which I can use online anywhere. The drawback to these is you can't top up later, so you need to purchase exactly the amount you need in order not to waste any. That's OK, I'll just use them for Amazon, eBay, Aliexpress.

Speaking of the latter, I've given the pram bag a go, but it's not big enough. I went to look second hand and saw what I think are brand new, from the same site, at double the price... So I did buy another and also nabbed a couple of other items that I'll list for resale. If it doesn't work, I've lost ten pounds. If it does, I've gained ten and I'll do it again. 🤷‍♀️

I was rejected for subsidised housing on stupid technicality. 🤦‍♀️ 🏡 I recalculated my expenses for post-June, and it will require creativity. Survival will require kicking the can down the road cash-flow-wise, but it is what it is. Little X is getting bigger and eventually there will be more working options to get the debt down. 

Currently eating yummy snacks that Poppet gifted to me 🍪

Mathing

I have several options for buying discounted supermarket gift cards (app, work perk, cashback sites) but none of them seemed worthwhile for different reasons. I almost bought at a 3% discount yesterday on the app until I realised they only take debit card... but this in theory ring-fences cash that could be paying off interest. The rabbit hole beckoned and long story short it's about 40p bonus for a £10 voucher if I spend it within a month, so I bought one, but not from the app 😁

Next day: £2 TopCashBack bonus on gift cards 🤦‍♀️ so I bought a £5 one too, to get the bonus. 

Big win: all three bank switches have completed and all three paid me the £200 bonus. 🎉 👏 😁 I ended up putting £100 onto my poison-ivy credit card and £500 is staying in my bills account to wipe off the overdraft. Technically I'd be better off maxing the overdraft and putting it all onto PI CC, but it's only pennies different and I think it'd be nice to have a small cash buffer, since I haven't had an emergency fund for a long time. 

Last week I snapped up a mini dehumidifier from a German supermarket for £35. I didn't expect miracles but I thought I would try. Unfortunately even though its stated capability was only 300ml per day, I emptied it after 24h and found... 100ml. Unimpressed. 😒 Promptly returned for a refund. As an aside, I bought this on credit and returned it to my debit card because nobody checks and so you can essentially do small money transfers for free. I might have to remember this trick.

Spendy McSpenderson: a pram baby bag, a baby bottle handle adapter, a harness for Little X's mini high chair, baby ear defenders, and a baby bag in a backpack. The last two are for our two concerts. They're not until June but I saw the backpack and ended up buying the other four items because I was tempted by the free delivery over £10. Never mind that it went over £20 (they always get you this way). All except the harness have arrived and I love both bags, the bed bag especially is fabulous and really a bargain. It was £13 and I got a £5 credit for being a new customer. Not bad.

Child not included. 

Currently procrastinating about food club or the supermarket. Every time I visit one or the other I buy too many snacks and then gorge on them. 😒 

Konniption Fit

So today I got notification of what my Universal Credit will be. I lose half of it thanks to my maternity pay and UC debt repayments. 😒 I've sent a grovelling note asking if the repayment part (£92) can be reduced... Watch this space.

Anyhoo, my new budgetary quackalations began, and I almost had a heart attack - thankfully I realised an enormous calculation error and was then able to breathe. By February, on an ordinary month I'll be only £100 shy of covering necessary bills. Very survivable via surveys. And if my fuel/food/extras stay under 170 per month from there, the bill costs will begin to reduce. Challenge accepted. 

MOT booked and the dealer is going to kindly collect and return the car for me 👍

Long, Long Ago

...I used to buy supermarket gift cards online at a discount. That website is long gone now, but this week, MoneySavingExpert told me to check my employer's rewards programme in case I can buy certain gift vouchers online. So I did. And I can, at a 7% discount, which is not shabby at all!

Unfortunately it has limited options but I can buy a physical card for one "discounter" supermarket that's local. It breaks even on just over £20 worth for the first purchase (£1.50 yearly fee), but if I wait until my C-word bonus goes in this week and spend the lot, I'll be getting a saving and spending "free money" to do it. Plan sorted. 👍

The new direct debits are still not showing in my new account. Ho hum. I know it takes a few days but I need them to appear so I can do my £175 switch. Patience.

Baby has been a bit of a monkey this week but I've been checked over and she seems fine. Just a waiting game now. £25 forked out for a weekly parking permit at the hospital, since I have to be there at least three times this week for more scans and monitoring. Stupid Universal Credit invited me to an in-person interview which lands right on top of an appointment, too. I've told them, but we will see whether they try to argue!

Check, Check, Check

✔ hospital bag finished

✔ checklist done for last minute baby stuffs

✔ car seat and pram in car ready

✔ kidlet corner finished and set up, moses basket ready, nappy changing station sorted

✔ large amounts of scented "fabric refresher" in use on somewhat unfragrant shampooed carpet

✔ bathroom cleaned

✔ kitchen mopped and mat washed

✔ surprise tax refund from job #2 of £20. Yes thanks, considering bills this week were tight

...and I must admit there's a sort of relief for most of these, although there are still random piles of "stuff" in my living space which I really don't have a place for, which is frustrating. Those, plus the necessary things (including my exercise ball, for the moment) take up pretty much the entire space. Ideally I need a second wardrobe for storage, which is money I shouldn't really spend - even if I do find one second-hand. We shall see.

Midwife did indeed brush off the baby's weight gain. She has also acknowledged that the current "negotiated" Plan of Attack™ by the hospital is too-little-too-late to actually meet my wants and needs, so she has added some things in to (cross fingers) try to get things going sooner rather than later. This is absolutely the best I could hope for, so, here's hoping.

Currently eating pineapple, which is supposed to be a good idea. Spendy: a small tripod for my phone (£3).

How to save money: Know vaguely that your windows are a huge heat loss area (last year you bought that small radiator to put right there, under your knees, because it was colder than the rest of the flat). Notice (during the huge storm this week) that your curtains are moving, and realise that the wind is coming through their probably-craptastic seals. Go to the Screwfix website (other hardware sites are available) and find a great price on a roll of replacement self-adhesive rubber window seals. Pat self on the back as you place it in your cart, then think, hey, I should just quickly check that I'll be able to fit this. Climb up on your pc desk (irresponsibly, since you're nine months pregnant) and yes, you can feel the wind coming in, an alarming amount of it. Open window, examine frame, think "yes", then latch it, and discover in annoyance that the stupid thing is able to be locked "shut" while open half an inch. Pulled properly, it closes just fine. Ditto on the other window. Smack forehead at own idiocy.

Trash your shopping cart, having spent nothing.

Shocker, Joe Cocker

I've been waiting for an easy/simple switching offer for another bank, to get the bonus, so today I opened a "throwaway" current account with an existing bank, to use for switching. The best switch bonus right now is from Lloyds, it's a £175 offer, but would cost me £3 a month (because I don't earn their minimum deposit requirement) so I'm still toying on whether I will then switch to them, or hold fire and wait for a better switch offer.

Lunch: a packet of cheap pre-cooked Peri Peri rice with some chicken thrown in (and I ate a handful of green beans while it was cooking). It was nice, it was fast, it made two portions, and I'll buy it again.

This evening I listened to The Martin Lewis podcast, which was quite interesting, and I might listen again next week if I remember. I'm always game to learn new money tips.

Booked in: two new tyres, and the other two will happen asap. In the meantime I'm driving as little as I can and making double duty of journeys - look at me adulting with my fuel spending! (Funny how "needing to watch your pennies" will do that for you. 😉) I will pop into Food Club after the tyres are fitted and also visit the supermarket for a few bits and pieces, and touch wood I can burn through some of the food already in my kitchen. I always seem to buy "easy" food instead of cooking from scratch with what I have!

New Microwave

So my previous lovely red number has bitten the dust. I know I am to blame, it rusted under the turntable because I just didn't wipe it out when I'd cooked really steamy food. I knew this was coming for a while, but yesterday it decided to start with the sparks, so that's it, unplugged and decommissioned. The lovely recycling men happily took it off my hands as they did their round through my street today 😀

I went out to buy one from Facebook Marketplace but it had the same tell-tale rust! So I'm not throwing cash at something which will do the same thing in a few months. In the end I've ordered one from Argos and used a free £10 voucher from SnapMyEats to lessen the blow a bit. Hey, not bad to get a few quid off for free right? I'm also going to get 50p or so from TopCashBack for the purchase. Win-win.

Drinks in the newly-cleared back garden with neighbours from #8. Including a butterfly which sat on my shoulder more than once! Lovely way to pass a few hours on a warm summer's night 😀

A Good Type of Day 😊

Upstairs neighbours gave me a bunch of flowers for keeping an eye on their flat 😊 absolutely unnecessary but a lovely gesture.

Nice dude on Olio told me that picking up free blueberry muffins, pink donuts, salads and bread rolls has made his day. 😊

I have successfully resisted four packets of Oreo donuts. 😊 There is no way I need to keep stashing so many pastries and junk food and I've decided that from now on I only get to select one treat a day!

I managed to swing some overtime shifts at new work for next week and also the week after that, and they're all marked "Till" so I'm very pleased. 😊 Tomorrow I will need to call Boss Man and arrange some hours somewhere for this week. I have an interview tomorrow for another position that I'm not even sure I want (at a holiday park), but I will go along and play nice and see what they have to say.

I got my £30 cash from Swagbucks for playing the silly Dragon game. 😊 Currently playing an absolute dumpster fire of a game for another £7, but here we are.

Sheeple, Lattes, Gym Memberships, Netflix and The Truth About Buying A Home

Down with this sort of thing!

Life is a choose-your-own-adventure. Nobody makes you turn to page 31.

But the way people are shouting about home ownership these days, you'd think someone held a gun to their heads. Kirstie Allsopp is in the news because she dared to suggest people give up small things to save for a deposit.

Cue the marching band and the people waving signs: shouting about average home prices, massive deposits needed, homes now costing 15x your salary, ownership being unaffordable. It's a huge, thronging, angry mob, stirred up by social media and even the traditional media, which repeats with glee ad nauseum how fast prices are rising and how impossible it is for first-time buyers these days.

The insane amount of people who've "done the sums" on Kirstie's advice have all missed the point. Kirstie wasn't providing a bespoke, step-by-step mathematical formula based on either the average house buyer or the exact person who happened to be reading it right at that moment. It's pointless doing the calculations based on averages, unless you happen to tick all the "average" boxes. And averages, let us remember, are pushed up by wealthy people. Averages include the Soho 18yo who was gifted half a million pounds by his rich parents. Averages are for school exams, a place where, I might remind you, Joe had 27 watermelons and ate four. Averages are not for real life, unless your name is Joe and you usually eat four watermelons.

If you work fulltime and have done all that mathematical working and concluded you can never afford to buy, have you tried challenging any of the assumptions? The averages assume that you're spending about £250k. Have you tried looking at cheaper properties? Maybe you already checked the areas you like, and there's nothing cheaper. Have you tried cheaper areas? Maybe you did, but you didn't find what you need. Maybe you assume you can't, because of work. Have you tried challenging what you need - could you cope with smaller? Uglier? Further? A change of job?

Or did you just assume that your entire list of what you need is not-negotiable and therefore it's hopeless? If you still think that, then this article is not for you. I wish you all the best and please drive though, do not pass "GO" and do not collect £200.

(Side note: If any of your mental comments for the last two paragraphs included the word "London", or really any expensive city, then you'll likely think none of this can apply to you, because this city is (insert excuse here). Special words for you: Living where you are is a choice. If you choose to live in Ripoff Town and you won't move out of Ripoff Town and you can't afford Ripoff Town then you haven't been the victim of the state of housing prices today - you have actively chosen not to buy a home. If you feel like you have no choice, then more than likely it's because of circumstances you created for yourself and choices you actively made. Life is a choose-your-own-adventure and you have chosen the path that leads to this. Again, please either change one of the items in your "needs" list or please drive through.)

Here's a list of what "average" people think that sacrifices mean giving up.

Takeaway coffee, McDonalds, gym membership, pay TV, nail and hair appointments, the week at Butlins or even in Spain, going to the football, nights out at the club, car washes and valets, the latest iPhones, the latest anything.

Here are ways which others have done - and you do not have to do it their way and nor should you - but here are so, so many ways to make up the "shortfall" in the angry-mob-calculations.

Rent a bedsit. Buy yellow stickers. Live in a share house. Get food for free (Olio) or at reduced prices (Too Good To Go app). Watch YouTube. Skip meat once a week for an omelette instead. Don't pay for parking, park free then walk a few blocks. Dumpster dive. Borrow things, don't buy. Delete your shopping apps. Join free groups on Facebook, and rehome the items other people don't need. Eat from your freezer. Sell your TV. Pack a sandwich for work. Collect points when you shop. Don't buy plastic bags. Charity shop. Ignore "best before" dates. Make coffee in a flask. Jacket potato with beans. Dry your clothes on an airer. Sell what you don't need. Say yes to overtime. Balance transfer your credit card. Make a shopping list and stick to it. Take a second job. Move locations. Jog around the park. Change careers to avoid needing to live in expensive areas. Do a no-spend month. Sniff your milk (don't bin it). Delay your vacation. Do Market Research. Skip the pub lunch or eat at home then just buy hot chips. Walk. Sell your old phone. Delay university. Pay in cash. Unsubscribe from your favourite online shops. Downgrade your internet plan. Say no to instant food and learn a new recipe or three. Take a water bottle when you leave the house. Put on extra clothing and turn down the heat. Leave your money at home. Do comparison shopping. Buy generic brands. Go to the library and borrow something. Find a cheaper phone plan. Switch off the lights. Use cashback sites. Do surveys. Check your bills are correct. Ask for a discount. 

Pick one or pick them all or pick your own instead. But pick something and keep at it because good things take effort.

Baaaa.

Distrust every single article, news report, social media post or whiny, defeatist comment that you hear from a friend, which says it's too hard these days - even if you do it silently. The biggest challenge to achieving a financial goal is letting anyone talk you into giving up. Others, or even telling yourself. Things are definitely hard - and harder than they ever were before. But you know what's a guaranteed fail? Blindly accepting someone saying: you can't do this.

Who wants to be a sheep, all they do is wander around saying "Baaaa!"? Sheep don't buy houses, have you noticed?

Nobody's setup is the same, because are are not all sheep who look identical and walk around the field eating grass. (Eating grass is not a money-saving tip that I can recommend.) So do all your maths again - including the parts that start like this: "So what about if I do this, and save this much each month... how does the maths look now? What if I change this need to something else... what if I change this part... what if I make this sacrifice... what if, what if, what if?

Repeat 100x. Change something different every time. Keep asking the questions. Do the maths again next month. Change more things, consider more changes. Eventually you will have your "answer" on how to do it and that's when you decide if you're willing to do it. Maybe the answer is no, and you won't move two hours away from your sister. Or maybe you'll zoom call her and visit once a month so that you can buy your ugly box in another town and finally be free of paying rent.

Haggling: It's More Than Pennies and Better Than Cashback

Cute.
Literally no other reason.

So my insurance renewal was coming up, for my home and contents. At first I was pleased that the renewal was cheaper than last year and they were happy to handle it all automatically. Easy right? And new laws say they aren't allowed to offer cheaper deals to new customers, so it's all a win-win.

But it niggled at me because one of my banks was throwing around a ridiculously low price for contents insurance. In the end I clicked through to the bank, and although it didn't apply to my circumstances, I figured it was worth doing a comparison quote somewhere just to reassure myself I was getting a decent deal where I was. I plucked Compare The Market out of thin air, partly because I've used it before and partly, because, well, meerkats are cute. 

Anyway, at first glance it looked like I'd get a £10 cheaper quote (hardly worth switching for) but also £25 cashback for switching (ok, now you have my attention). At this point I remembered a very important piece of information, which is, do not ever switch insurers without first going back to them and seeing what they can do - including, asking them to requote you while checking all your info is correct.

There's a really good reason for this, you might find you're paying for something that is now included for free, or that doesn't suit you anymore, or some of your details might have changed. We all spend so much time and effort trying to save ten flipping pence off a reduced packet of apples, why on earth don't we spend a little bit of time on the BIG TICKET items which cost us much more?

Ahem. I'm glad I overcame my laziness. While chatting about my needs, the lovely Saphira managed to quote me down by a whopping £84.04, without me needing to faff about or argue, or wait for cashback money. Because she asked the question correctly (and made me think!), I have given up the "gadget insurance" I was paying for as I realised that my premium plus my excess went over the entire value of my new phone, which is the only gadget I needed to cover outside the house.

Last year I paid by-the-month in the hope it would help my credit history. It didn't seem to make a difference and when I asked her the monthly-payment APR, it's 24.9% (OUCH!) so this year I've paid up-front all in one go. Why? Because although it's only a couple of pounds per month extra that you cough up for the monthly payment plan, I'm not paying anywhere near 24.9% on my current debts. So it doesn't make sense to do so. Also, I used the credit card that's in the black, so it's all a win.

I win. I'm tired of thinking now, but I'm calling it a win. I'm also going to run off to my expenses spreadsheet and note down the new details.

What I learned, and you should learn too: "Please could you tell me the APR on the monthly payment option?"

Cars, Ouch

So I love the freedom of a vehicle (while I don't mind busses, trying to get to & from work at 5am and 11pm, I'd be spending a fortune on taxis). But I don't much like Renewal Time. My current insurer, for the second year running, sent me an extortionate renewal quote. On the comparison sites they were way over the best quote... so that was a no-brainer. I called them but they couldn't quite beat the quote, and I was also promised a £75 credit from TopCashBack for switching. So, shrug, switch done, why wouldn't I?

Still a chunk out of my wallet but hey, it's done for another year. On the plus side I've driven far fewer miles than expected which is a win.

Work is... well work is work. Two steps forward, one step back. Cousin Store #2's manager visited during the week and invited me to move there with a view to progressing up to store manager myself. I am nowhere near ready just yet, but it's a nice feeling to know my network believes in me.

April Bonus Moneys

£5.00 ShopPrize (Amazon)

£5.00 SwagBucks

£0.42 Book Royalties

£0.20 StreetBees (for the life of me I don't understand how they cover the payout transaction costs)

£20.00 TopCashBack (Tesco voucher) most of this was from using the site to find my home insurance

£20.10 Prolific Academic - I forgot to cash it out last month

So fifty quid. Not bad.

The mammoth pile of unprocessed receipts finally made me feel guilty enough to start popping them in, and to my absolute disgust some of them were too old to go onto any of my cashback apps 😖 Bad, bad, bad. Throwing away money through laziness...

My power use has been higher than expected. I shouldn't be surprised, because when I do a realistic calculation in comparison to my old place, it's exactly what it should be. I think maybe I'd pretended that being in fulltime work would mean I use a lot less power. But it's still very cold without the heating on when I'm home, and I think I'd rather spend the money and not be cold!

Ten days after payday I had already spent my entire months' grocery money. Some of it went on cutting a spare key, some on a 12-pack of Coke, some on more nutritional stuffs that I needed, and some just on ready meals. I somehow managed to miss my £5 bank bonus too which I'm not happy about because it sure looks like I qualified, but I expect that the cut-off date was earlier than I thought. Anyway, forcing myself to put all additional groceries onto the credit card has been useful in making me think twice. (I have the money in my current account, but doing it this way and paying in full does tend to keep me in check.)

Where Am I?

Playing Fallout Shelter (free) and very much looking forward to my weekend, which thanks to an interesting rota shift, will be three days of bliss. It's even been an ok-week, since I had my first aid training online today and that meant I stayed home to do it - it was mentally taxing, but it's still nice to have a change.

I've been sort of cranky about my built-up Amazon gift card credit, sitting there unused because eBay is usually cheaper. But I've finally run through the last of my PayPal cash, so I decided to spend the Amazon credit. Well dear reader I went a bit silly and bought lots of items. None of them are truly frivolous purchases, at least. I've been taking a lunchbox to work and realised that grownups are allowed to have a lunch bag. What a revelation 😂 and I shall post a picture when my very-adult purple unicorn bag arrives...

Also bought a hair-straightener, as my Covid 'do is looking rather shabby. Plus there's a sink unblocker tool (probably not going to work, but worth a try). I also bought a digital room thermometer, confirming my suspicion that the fancy new heater's thermostat telling me it's 24 degrees is a lie. And a stapler as I'm getting annoyed at all the filling-up of "non-reusable" vacuum cleaner bags - I shall cut them, empty them and reseal them. 

Said weekend involves plans to clear the aforementioned bathroom sink (almost completely blocked, will probably need disassembly) and hopefully, muster up the motivation to get another wall moving forwards.

Also about the heater: Its wifi isn't working, a feature that I paid extra for. Their support team has offered a £50 refund, but because the heater has a standby mode rather than just turning "on" when you switch it on at the wall, I can't control it with a simple £10 plug timer, making it less functional for me than a £50 "dumb" heater. I've reached out to them, but if I can't make it work then the heater is going back. How sad that half price still isn't a good deal... but there we have it, sometimes that's life.