Category: trEAsury

As my usual readers will know my blog is more or less about my daily life and homekeeping and a desire to live a simpler life. For me keeping a home running well involves keeping the finances running well too so I include them on my blog as they are part of my story and presently a large part of our new journey into retirement.

I have, for as long as I have been married, kept a weekly tally where I record all our spending – I used to do this in a cash book but now keep a record on the computer. It is something that has become second nature but stood us in good stead throughout our married life and when money has been tight (many times) I am able to see where cut backs can be made.

So as it is the end of the month here is a quick round up of the past few months.  For any new readers I will just mention that I am not exactly a frugal blog ( though I do like to learn from these); I prefer to be mindful of our spending and am on a mission to live simply – cutting down on any frivolous and unnecessary purchases that might lead to future waste. Since I left paid work last year we are trying to live more economically within our present meagre means of one state pension plus a small private pension of DH and so finances are a little tight at the moment.

I fall into the WASPI group of women who through being born at just the wrong time have to wait until I am 65 and 10 months to draw the state pension which until the recent changes took place I always thought I would be claiming at 60 – like the majority of my slightly older friends. I have only 9 more months to go now before I can draw it. Phew.

Not only am I curious to see how possible it is to live on a small pension but one of our aims is to survive without breaking into any of our savings each month to top us up. This is proving to be an almost impossible task as unexpected expenses crop up each month and it might only be something like having our Aussie cousin to stay (and entertain) that tips us over.

As one day we will be downsizing and maybe moving to live at the cottage (when it is sorted – see the Beach Cottage tab above for the flood story) we are committed to living a simpler and ‘stuff’ free life – we are both trying hard not to buy things we don’t need and my daily motto has become use up, use up, use up so we are not storing unloved and neglected toiletries or cleaners or finding out of date foodstuffs lurking in the cupboards.

As I continue to declutter our lives I am loving the clear spaces I am creating throughout our home but I cannot throw things away recklessly instead I am looking to recycle, reuse or repurpose them in some way or pass them on to good homes. We have also been able to sell some things on ebay which have helped us financially and I am looking to do a car boot sale soon.

Of course the best way to save money and keep the house contents to a minimum is not to buy it in the first place. At times this can be easier said than done and it is so easy to justify any purchase if you really want it. As one of the famous Minimalists said ‘ not buying something is your future self letting go of something’

For those following along you might have noticed the June and July tallies did not happen due to all the other pressures we faced at the time and if I remember clearly it was also the period I spent researching and going ad free on my blog.  As you might say ‘one cannot do everything’.

This year will have seen us relying entirely on our pension income as I left paid work a year ago now.  As I do not have an income I can give £1,250 of my personal tax allowance to DH so he can keep more of his pension before it is taxed – for anyone in the same boat check it out on the government website. I find that you really have to work hard at limiting your spending and keeping yourself buoyant each month when you have no paid work and no possibility of overtime as a backstop.  If you run out of the money from the pension income then it is capital and savings that you have to delve into to cover your costs.  Eating into next month’s pension is not a good idea.

So how did we do in the last three months?

Transport and fuel costs

June was the lowest spend on fuel of the past three months but July and August much higher due to the extra costs of going to Scotland and many trips up and down to North Yorkshire as well as driving around the countryside taking my mum and the Aussie cousin out and about.  We made good use of the Sainsbury’s petrol vouchers with 10p off a litre and the lower petrol prices at some garages but I am not sure September is going to be any less expensive.

In addition we had to have two new front tyres in June.  DH checked them every week for tread until they were worn down as far as they were still legal.  We took out the extra £20 tyre guarantee (which we did use last time when we got the puncture earlier this year and it was a big saving).

Health, wellbeing and beauty

I limit myself now to the number of skincare and toiletry products I buy. Where I can I buy in multiples when there is money off and they generally last a long time. In June I bought more Neal’s yard face cream because I had another 20% off voucher – they don’t always land in my inbox at the most favourable time but if I don’t use them when they do I would not be able to indulge in this one luxury at full price.  Together with the yoga costs and a few supplements I bought for both me and DH it was an expensive month.

I didn’t attend any regular Yoga in July as the teacher had to go into hospital but DH had some NHS dental work done to renew an old filling at the standard cost of £62.10.  We both had hair appointments to pay for and more supplements – mainly those probiotic ones for DH because the antibiotics he was given earlier this year for his dental abscess really made his stomach bad.

August was much better – I bought a mascara and a pot of basic day cream to be able to use the £10 off a £20 No7 spend  voucher – so the cream in effect came free.  DH had another course of the pro-biotics.  It can take up to 3 months to repopulate the gut once antibiotics have destroyed the good bacteria.  So although the antibiotic prescription was free it has ended up costing us a fortune to make him better! 

Utilities   

The reduction in our landline and broadband costs has been significant in the last few months.  The BT charges were heading towards £50 a month for our anytime calls with unlimited broadband and a discount for paying the rental upfront once a year.  They could not quite match the cheaper price quoted by Zen – not even close, though they tried a few times with their many best and final offers!

We are pleased with the switch to Zen – they have good customer service and our monthly bill for unlimited calls, faster broadband and line rental is £36.49 – the other advantage is we do not have the bother timing any calls to get the free hour as Zen calls are just free as long as they are not to those expensive numbers we all avoid.

The gas and electricity is now combined with SO Energy – we are well in credit due to the summer months – this may be needed to cover the winter months but if not we will get a refund.  I like their very clear monthly bills so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

Grocery and housekeeping costs

Over the last three months the grocery costs have remained higher than they probably need to be but then we have been feeding a lot of visitors from time to time.  It is quite right that when you get busy you don’t have as much time to shop around, plan meals and take advantage of the best offers. I know I could cut this down a lot if I shopped elsewhere and didn’t buy organic veg and groceries but organic food is important to us and I will continue to buy it for as long as I can because I like to support organic farmers – I strongly believe it is the way forward for sustainability and health.

The remaining housekeeping costs for things like cleaning products, basic toiletries, car parking, stationery and magazines are all quite low expenses now since I have made big changes to what and how much I buy in this area and have been flexing my will power with magazines!

Home and Garden purchases

Over the three months we have spent little bits here and there on small items for the home like a new chopping board, new drinking glasses and a picture frame to house a new photo of the latest grandchild. Each item has been no more than £5 but of course over time all these little bits add up and I now question whether we did really need them.  I also had to renew the pillows that were recalled from Sainsbury’s so that the double bed in the guest room was usable by our guests.  I ended up in Dunelm where we bought a pair of cheaper polyester pillows (though I feel this was a bad choice sustainability wise) but also two new duck down ones for our bed – which are heaven to sleep on. I think spending money on things like a good night’s sleep is vital and cost effective.

I also bought (after much deliberation) a quilted double mattress protector from IKEA as a spare because not having a dryer it has been hard work getting the one on our bed washed, dried and aired to put back on the bed in the same day especially in the winter.  I gave the spare one I used to have to my daughter when she moved house thinking I could manage without it but have regretted this ever since. It will however double up for the bed at the caravan if any of the family go to stay there and use the spare bedroom.

The new single bed mattress we have just bought (for our other spare room with the bed on the mezzanine and which will be used by the grandchildren when they stay) together with the unit bases for the pantry are not included in this months figures because we bought these using the interest free credit offer at IKEA and will be paying monthly for these from September. We don’t really need the credit but I prefer to keep my money where it is earning interest for as long as possible. The monthly payment will just be absorbed into our monthly bills so shouldn’t be noticed quite as much as taking a large sum from savings.

I admit to overspending on the garden this year. Being at home now I have spent a lot more time in the garden and started growing our own salad produce.  I need to use more of my time to take cuttings and grow annuals next year for the planters.

The bargain of the year though must be the two large wooden planters above that we bought in August from our local Wyevale garden centre originally priced at £39.99 each but had a sticker on saying 70% off – plus we got the 5% member discount and a £5 voucher making them £8.90 each – how could I walk away from them – not sure yet where we will put them but we will be growing more food in them next year.

Cards and Gifts

I really had no idea how much I might have spent on this category.  I remember birthdays coming and going during the three months but had little time to make cards or shop around for bargain presents.  However, the total spend for 3 rolls of gift wrap from IKEA and the cards was quite minimal considering the majority of these have been anniversaries and special birthdays. The only gifts were for my granddaughter’s birthday and a 60^th present. Making more cards and gifts would help – I certainly have enough craft supplies and really need to use them up.

Crafts and Hobbies and Books

The biggest expense was my blog upgrade to get rid of those pesky adverts.  I did get a discount and no I don’t regret it. We also bought some foam core for various uses and a cunning sheet of black card to put against the Velux window in the sunny spare room as a kind of blackout for when Little L slept in there to keep her asleep longer in the mornings. Bliss it worked!

Leisure and Entertainment

We paid entrance fees at the four different Open Garden events we attended @ £5 each –  £45 and worth every pleasurable penny especially as it doubles up as a donation to charity. We also paid for the little train and cliff lift rides at Saltburn…but it did make for an enjoyable day out.

Eating Out

I always have difficulty with this category – I ponder too much on what I could have bought with the money as often the majority of this spending is for café lunches and snacks and not altogether good ones – it is not as though we have gone out for a special restaurant meal.

Some of these costs are incurred because there is no other way to avoid them when you are out and hungry, but the larger expense is when we take my mum out and about for a few consecutive days; and of course in July we paid for food and drinks for our Aussie cousin whilst we entertained him and also bought drinks when we had a bit of a reunion with old friends in the local pub.

We are still quite good at packing up picnics and usually if mum comes to stay with us we can take a picnic for one of the meals but when we visit her we can’t and have to rely on café meals.

Clothing and Footwear

August was a good month with a zero spend on clothes and shoes. June and July saw us replacing worn shoes and slippers and I bought some harem joggers from Next and a couple of cheap t-shirts.

I will be doing an update of my wardrobe declutter soon in another post.

So that is the extent of our spending and my rambling – not all doom and gloom.  I made use of vouchers where I could and have cut down quite drastically on clothes, magazines and books. As always the eating out and fuel continue to cost us dearly and even though our spending on the home is higher than I would like there is at least something to show for it and they are more considered purchases rather than on the spot impulse buys.

I thought at the beginning of the year that I might be able to reduce our costs more and even be able to put some money into savings but that is probably not realistic. We have attended to all the utility bills and managed to reduce them, but there is little you can do with the council tax other than pay it or move.

We have so much stuff in the house but each month our tally shows we are still gathering more. I am trying hard to avoid those scenarios where you have a cupboard full of food yet there is nothing to eat, or a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear.

I want my purchases to count….to use it or love it. I love the space and freedom from having less stuff….and at all costs I do not want to find myself constantly decluttering….. throwing out or selling on purchases I make today at some time in the future.

I will be doing more posts on my decluttering and money saving activities but for now the garden calls as the cooler weather gets underway and we are facing autumn once again. x

Feel free to skip this post if reading about my financial exploits is not for you or boring as hell!

Each year in January I start off with some well-intentioned financial goals – they are usually along the lines of spend less, save more and economise. This is probably true for most of us.

I always begin with real enthusiasm….. nay….. real gusto… but by May my resolve to keep going has, by this time, usually got up and gone.  Keeping focused on our finances to the point where it becomes a daily obsession just cannot be continued when there are equally important things to attend to in other areas of my life.

This year is no different.  During April and May there have been many days when I have had no idea of our financial status.   Once I get busy everything else seems to break down and any habits I had nurtured to this point to help me keep on top of things just disintegrate. 

Let’s face it life is just too busy.  

This must mean that I have taken on too much – but how could I not do a party for my SIL or make a Christening dress for my granddaughter or look after my mum to give my sister some respite?

So here I am at the end of May and only just inputting receipts for April and totting up the totals to reveal just how badly we have done.  I know even before I get the all-important final figures that we have not done well, we will have overspent.

So how did we do?

Transport and fuel costs

After a few months now of monitoring our fuel consumption it appears that we always have to fill up twice in a month and this covers a trip to Scotland and another trip or two to see mum/sister/daughter in North Yorkshire. In May we had an extra visit to North Yorkshire and went down into Derbyshire for the day with mum so had a further tank of fuel but this will be the exception rather than the norm. Because the fuel is quite a stable amount I am going to move this into our bill account budget – after all it is a bit like paying a monthly bill. 

The MOT and car service for our estate car was another expense in April but it is more than allowed for in our ‘bill account’.

The puncture we got during May was repaired free under a tyre guarantee – how lucky was that.

Health, wellbeing and beauty

Because of the two family events we have had more hairdressing appointments closer together bringing forward the one I would have normally have had in June to May.

The yoga classes are well worth the £8 a week – it is pay as you go so the two I missed whilst in Scotland did not cost me anything. I have now signed up for an extra class on a Friday for the next 6 weeks (paid in advance) which is smaller and with individual attention so I can work on any problem areas.

I also had a voucher for 20% off Neal’s Yard products so I used mine to get another bottle of the Frankincense Intense Serum this is my one beauty luxury that I could never afford at full price but it suits my skin and I can feel it tightening those little wrinkly areas.

Utilities      

We switched our electricity provider from Scottish Power in March to a dual fuel contract with SO energy.  Our new combined payment is £115.00 (seems steep but it was a good deal as prices have risenagain). Unfortunately there is no breakdown of the payment between gas and electricity but you do get separate statements of the usage. I shall be monitoring it carefully. Switching has saved us quite a bit in the past with the rise in fuel prices and we usually accrue quite a bit of credit over the summer months so this monthly payment should reduce.

Until we have been with them for a full month it is hard to know if we have been excessive with either fuel – my guess is that with the cooler weather recently we may have used more gas for the heating even though I have been buried under a mound of throws in the evening, whilst wearing a woolly jumper, to avoid putting the heat on.

We also switched internet and landline provider from BT to Zen. They have good customer service and should save us a small fortune over the year. We have been loyal customers of BT for many years but we are not rewarded for this so the time had come for a change. As we have only made one payment up front so far I cannot really compare the costs this month.

Grocery and housekeeping costs

This is mostly food, general toiletries, cleaning, stationery items and magazines with a couple of cheap bunches of flowers here and there for a cheerful treat each month. I knew this category would not be good news – I have lurched from spending around the middle £300 a month to well over £400 for my housekeeping costs in April – probably because of the extra food for the party and being too busy to plan out the menus. 

I do have to confess to buying a Gardener’s World magazine in April but this was in order to obtain the free 2 for 1 gardens scheme card, which also came with some handy gloves and a few packets of seeds, some useful some less so; and a Homebuild and Renovating magazine which had a free spreadsheet and tickets to the exhibition.

Home and Garden purchases

I can see from my figures that it is that time of year when the garden needs more attention as the costs in the garden category have shot up immensely.

All those little purchases of potting compost, bedding plants, plant food and even a new broom start to add up.

We also bought another outdoor bench seat from B&M for the patio – £40. (Sadie – I notice you have bought the same one!).

The costs in May are more attributed to the fact that we bought a mini greenhouse, £24 for the tomato plants plus three pots, a trellis panel and stakes to replace a broken one at the side of the house and DH has finally bought the treated wood and made lids for the compost bins he made years ago.

Added to which we bought some bags of small beach pebbles to finish off some of the awkward spots at the change of level on our boundary with next door.

I had quite a lot of vouchers from Wyevale and got a large £10 bale of their better compost for only £4.50. Since becomming part of Dobbies their reward scheme has now ended and they have moved over to 5% discount and 10% on a Tuesday. I also got 4 packs of bedding plants for £6 from Wilkos.

I frivolously spent money on bits for the home, a smart grey linen waste bin for the office £5 from Wilko, to replace an old wicker one, some pretty outdoor garden festoon lighting from Sainsbury’s for the party £34, and absolutely gorgeous, and one of those things you just have to have – a metal tool caddy, reduced in Sainsbury’s to £12.75. They were all a temptation too far but my favourite buys of the year as well as the bench.

Cards and Gifts

This must be the year of the big birthday – you know the ones ending in a nought. I usually spend a bit more on a gift for the more major birthdays and especially for close family members such as daughters and their partners.

I had four or five majors this month (ouch) and bought some friends a theatre voucher each.  

Crafts and Hobbies and Books

The main costs in this category for April were for the bits I got for the Easter decorations and egg hunt as well as my son-in-law’s party decor.  The twiggy branches might have been free but all the little bits soon add up.

In May I had to buy extra cottons and lining for the Christening dress and a pack of new fine bridal pins, I couldn’t believe the price – how much – for pins – really?

I managed to steer clear of buying books – there was little time for reading and I made use of the library – so a good saving here – perhaps my only one!

Leisure and Entertainment

We paid £16 in total for the Open gardens of Little Ouseburn and York Gate Garden (which was on the 2 for 1 gardens scheme).  This money actually goes to the charities running them and could in theory go into my charitable donations category.  Whichever, in my mind it is always money well spent for the pleasure it brings.

Eating Out

Mum’s visits always come with a hefty price tag – she loves being out and about and eating out… cafes, pubs, fish and chip shops…she is not worried where and prefers it to us coming back home and eating home cooked meals. We are the opposite always prefering meals at home! We did manage a few picnics with her so this has helped keep the costs down but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find things she will eat – no fruit or veg or salad.  She did eat the soup we made so a win there.

When we are on our own we have become used to packing up and have saved quite a lot of money over the last few months – but then all our scrimping just disintegrates when mum comes to stay and we end up spending a small fortune. I am not complaining though as it keeps mum happy and she does contibute every now and again buying us all a drink or ice cream. It is more that it puts a heavy load on this part of our budgeting that we would not have otherwise. As we don’t see her every week we take her out and about as much as possible but these kind of costs for eating out and the extra fuel consumption are just not sustainable on a state pension, so lucky we have a bit of a back up with our savings.

Clothing and Footwear

In April I bought a hooded duvet jacket to wear at home in the garden.  I got one from Primark for £15 it was actually a man’s, size small –  but returned it for the roomier medium one a few days later by which time they had been reduced to £10 so I was given a £5 refund. Nice.

In May I took advantage of the Sainsbury’s 25% off all TU clothing offer and treated  myself to some new yoga leggings and a top as well as a grey stripey top to wear with jeans (but the jury’s out on this one and I may return).

The conclusion….

So a disappointing couple of months although I was under no illusion that it would be any different – like slimming you always know when you haven’t stuck strictly to the diet.  My aim is not so much about being frugal as being careful with the money and most of all I am trying to simplify everything so it is easier to keep tabs on things.

The old tea caddy system of long ago was a good system – you could see at an instant how much cash was in the tin and when it was gone it was gone.

Last week I rang and finally made the appointment with the financial advisor from Hargreaves Lansdown and this will take place in June so we should get our private pension sorted soon and in exactly a year from now I can draw my state pension too. Yeah!

I also found a way of making the 4 weekly payment of the state pension work for us.  No matter when the pension comes into our ‘holding’ account I have set up a standing order to transfer £500 of the pension on the 1^st of each month into the general housekeeping account.  This gets around trying to budget monthly when the payments come in on a different day every month.

Looking to June I will be guarding the purse strings once again. I have already spent a bit more on the garden yesterday – more on this later – but this should be the last – it is now all down to hard work.

The next big bills will be the insurances for the house and cottage but they are later in the year. All our big expenses for the yearly car maintenance are done and June and July are surprisingly free months with only the fixed price utility direct debits going out.

I intend to get back to some serious menu planning and grocery bill reducing, filling the freezer with meals and making some more cards. I will be so busy in the garden I shouldn’t have time to go near any shops.