First Frugalling month of 2018 almost done , so Forging forward into Feb we go

[Laska5772]

...and here we go !
Welcome all!

Sorry you had a bad night Seacow. Hope you have a good day.

Have to admit that rat is cute Fluffy!

Raspberries seem to be £2 a box everywhere here-Im not usually a Tesco fan but I do pop into the express to buy them -I eat at least 2 boxes a week.
We have several varieties plus blackberries in the garden.
Nothing like warm juicy raspberries straight from garden.
I also like frozen -Aldi do a box for £1 something and also blueberries which I put in my porridge as it cooks.
Seacow sympathies on the lack of sleep hopefully it will be sorted soon.
Porchetta for dinner .
Reading the veggie/vegan discussion with interest .
Am mostly veggie and eat local as much as possible and know that we are spoilt with the choice plus can grow our own .
I do need to start planning 🌱🍒🥒🥒🥒🥒
Thats the glut of bloody courgettes we always get !

My entire post was about food 🙈🙈🙈

It's UglyFive back, but I changed my username so you all didn't have to call me Ugly; it's a little more positive too now...

I need to read back, but I know someone asked me whether I knew the standing order trick for paying off credit cards; I don't please can you share it with me?

I have cancelled spotify and am considering cutting up my card, however, I am worried that I may need it in an emergency and not have it. There's about 6000 on there at the moment, and I have a small overdraft.

Looking forwards to the day when I have 6000 in savings and 0 overdraft. That's going to be my aim, although I doubt it will happen in 2018.

I had an income boost of 800 pounds this month and I am wondering whether I put it straight to credit card as it will be mean less interest?

AnotherShirtRuined Sorry to hear you are going through Union Reps after a redundancy, I'm scared I will be in the same position in a couple of months.

The standing order trick is to repay using a fixed amount standing order as opposed to a DD.

When they request the DD it decreases a little every month so it takes longer to repay.

If you've got an extra £800 totally put it all on the credit card & you'll repay in no time.

Morning all. I have messaged those that asked about theatre ticket club. Sorry it took so long.

I realised late last night that I had forgotten that I also bought myself 4 tops yesterday for work, from H&M, £9 each. I have been struggling a bit with the transition from business dress code to smart casual, hopefully now there with these smarter Blouse style soft jersey tops.

Today need to drop mum to hospital for a scan, DD1 to a party, collect mum and drive DD2 to a party about 1hour away, won't stay with DD2, will probably pop off with mum for a offere if anything nearby

Wilde I like your new name. I would absolutely put the money on the credit card.

@Wilde it may not be this year but you'll get there.
@Audit sounds like a busy day for you.

Got in from church and had bacon sandwiches. Off to dbil house for lunch this afternoon with his family and pils. Meal plan starts from tomorrow. Excited to stick with it.

@Fluffycloudland77 and @SunnyLikeThursday Thank you so much with the advice. I do do it by direct debit at the moment for the minimum payment. If I set up a standing order, will that be in addition to the direct debit or instead of the direct debit?

I was also wondering what happens if I have been taxed over the year, but I haven't reached my personal allowance yet (and I don't think I will). I haven't had a job for very long so will the tax be returned to me? The HRMC have returned a chunk of it already from when I was on an emergency tax code when I started work, but they have been taking tax even though the "Tax Year" on my payslip is under 11,500.

Apologies for all the questions, if I can try and get my head around this then I can budget more effectively I think.

@Auditangel - I'm also in a "smart casual" work environment - I find it a bit difficult as some people are in jeans and a hoody and others are in full business attire - I can never work out what the actual expectation is.

@MissingMoo - I will get there, just got to figure out how first! Really happy I was directed towards these threads though.

Spends so far £36 as our midweek delivery saver ran out. Toyed with the idea of going back to an anytime one, but meh, may as well save the money, it’s not that inconvenient really TBH. Our shopandscan gadget arrived yesterday too so will be trying that on Tuesday.

Sorry about your dad unescorted xx

I need to shift my lazy bum and get on with stuff now Cagletini has finished feeding. Although lunch is a more important priority right now.

It is instead of your dd wildebest as it is a fixed amount it pays off a little more each month, instead of basically covering the interest, which is what the minimum payment kind of does. If you set to what you paid last month (say £110) then you will always be able to afford it, as it's never more, but clears £110 a month instead of the dd which will go down a bit each month. Talkinpeace has great threads on this! I can't do standing orders as my money goes in all higgledy piggledy, so cannot guarantee x amount will be in on y day. Tis a pain.

Done another trip to my storage, taken the big rack shelving, all looking tight and neat in there. Two more days to go, then a clean down and keys back. Another £25 diesel, and £11 in sainsburys. Going to my sisters for tea. Will take a victoria sponge if I get my butt in gear and make it in time!

seacow mustard yarn!! It is the hardest colour to find. I have knitted lions and roast potatoes in the past, no-one ever seems to do the right shade! I do tend to buy any/all yarns in the yellowy/mustard/gold colourway I find, just to be on the safe side. I realise this is probably why I need a 10' shipping container to house my stash

I also like caron simply soft and the stylecraft special yarns for blankets, they wash and dry well, and aren't prohibitively expensive. Also a sucker for pure cotton if it's soft and kind of brushed.

Back from the trenches touchlines. Filthy, soaked and frozen stiff. My joints will be sore for the rest of the day I reckon. Soup for lunch. Then a quick trip to get some bread and cheese I think, and maybe a bun to see us through the afternoon.

Wilde I'm not sure, you could ring the tax office. Usually they refund over paid tax. You could join a free matched betting forum to get you through the debt faster. It's tax free income.

Well done cancelling Spotify. It's not easy to give up things you love.

Have you thought of switching current accounts to get the switching incentive? You can get £500 just by doing that. There's a guide on money saving expert.

Just had a look at my gas and electric account and I'm £248 in credit!!! Going to ask for that back as that will pay a little holiday I'm planning for may half term 😊 want to go to Dorset. For Christmas my dad got us vouchers to take some alpacas out for the afternoon 😂 the farm is in Dorset near monkey world so will make a holiday out of it.

I have been a busy bee this morning, done two lots of washing and baked a banana and chocolate cake and some oat cake, will freeze some portions for pack lunches.

Just sold dds old hamster cage for £4, every little helps 😉

That's wonderful Girlie. They should lower your DD too.

If they don't refund it all email the CEO.

Poor ds fell off of his bike and has really hurt himself. Split lip, big cut above the lip, knocked tooth, grave and bruise to chin and forehead. He was so brave. Dh wanted to take him to a&e I think he'll be fine though

Thread moves fast! Just analysed my Jan spend ( I put almost everything on one card so I can evaluate expenditure at the end of the month) Good news as grocery bill now in line with budget. I think this is due to only going to Sainsbury’s as a last resort. Bought a freezer of meat from Lidle/Asda. Only big bill is water/sewer & that is down thru tight management. Ditto heating/elec. Heating on a programme which I now never over-ride (as I sit at the mo in bed under electric blanket!) I got a new supplier last year with really easy to read bills, so cost -output much easier to monitor; I think this cost will also drop, & only two more months of high heating demand.
My next annual bill surge is May, when car/house insurance comes up, and I intend to look for deals. My DD is main driver on one car - my “gift” to her as it will, by May, give her a four year no claims bonus. She is now rarely around, so I will revert to sole driver, and she can then apply bonus to her current vehicle, a rather ancient horsebox( which is, strangely, much cheaper to insure than a car!)
I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Two more months of floating my living expenses on an interest-free credit card ; but then the long slog of paying it off.
I have begun to establish better spending habits, but constant vigilance is necessary. And I need to sort out my sciatica, which means unexpected expenditure at chiropractor & regular gym sessions to strengthen muscle groups. It is getting better, though.
Well done all you scrimpers; this thread has helped me massively.

Fluffy I don't think it's really a good idea to start people in matched betting unless you're sure they are really on top of their money. Betting can be addictive for some people, and I think that for someone already struggling with debt that could be a very slippery slope. (Eeeep!)

Wilde The idea really is to pay off as much as you can every month until you are paying off the full balance every month.

Credit cards often charge very high amounts of interest, like 15% or more. Do you understand how compound interest works? Because compound interest is very bad news for debt. We can explain if you don't.

If you have a direct debit and it is only paying the interest and not the capital sum (the original debt) so you will never clear the debt.

If you have a standing order then you can set the amount at any level you want. If it is even a little bit higher than you dd then it will gradually eat away at the actual debt, and eventually you will be debt free.

It really important that you understand compound interest though. If you don't, then let us know and we will explain.

Ouch! Hope he's OK Wreck.

Matched betting isn't really gambling, you know your profit before the bet is settled. It's a bit boring.

Moan Well done. It's not easy to turn things around like that.

Another Nsd here we seem to be doing really well on them full of cold and on the electric blanket with my back. Trying to kill this cold just with paracetamol is not helping I'm not allowed anything else due to meds but dgd is due any time and I need to be germ free for her.

Thanks snuggly he's ok but he's already worrying about what people will say at school! Poor monkey. He's also scared to get in the bath and has demanded I get in with him

Have you done your tax return @LonelyOversharer I am doing mine now. I hate forms but it’s not so bad. Somebody kick me in April to do 17-18 straight away please 😂

Cag I just finished mine too. I have no idea how I let it go so long. I will try to do mine in April this year too.