May Spending (ouchy!)

 

Oh dear, it's not been a good month spending wise 😱  I mean it's not terrible, I'm not in debt but I've been buying things to futureproof my retirement.  I've spent a lot on DIY stuff and on the garden.  Although I'm getting the garden and house ready for the party next month it all needed to be done any way.

I managed to cobble the damaged raised bed together with some metal brackets.  It's not that sturdy but it will last until I sell the house and then the next owners can decide what to do with the raised beds.  They might remove them altogether like the folk across the road from me did when they moved in.

Rhubarb from the plot this morning

So, to the details.  Supermarket spend was £269.73 which is the highest amount so far this year.  It did include plants from Waitrose (£10) and a denim jacket from Sainsbury's (£25) so around £235 was on food and household.  I've cut back even further on buying meat and I'm eating a lot more veggie meals.  Food is just expensive to buy so I'm working on growing more!!

Cucumber and 3 varieties of pumpkin seedlings

Pet spending was £251.71.  £206.65 of that was on Emma's painkillers and steroids!!  While she still has a good quality of life I'm happy to pay it but I'm painfully aware her health is deteriorating 😭

Youngest son in the garden in 2013

My lovely mum in the same spot 3 years ago today

Same spot this morning!

Amazon spending was £129.84 and Other Spending was (gulp!) £358.72!!  I bought 2 books, some Urban Fruit and went for coffee and a bacon roll with a friend.  Everything else was on  garden/plants/compost/paint and DIY supplies.  All things that will improve the appeal of my house and garden when it comes to sell next year.

I've also paid for new laminate flooring for my kitchen and utility room and the window repairs.  But they came out of a separate savings account.

I'm hoping next month will be less spendy!!!!

May Day/April Spending

 

I spent the morning on the plot on this fine May Day.  Well, it was fine for a wee while then it rained!  I managed to clear the long strip by the path of weeds, planted my red and brown onion sets, planted my wee blackcurrant bushes beside the originals and discovered that my echinacea survived the rabbit mauling in the tub.  I finally found where rabbits are getting in.  My gate has been nibbled and the wire pulled back.  Hopefully I can fix that next time I'm there.  We should be past the last frost date now but I'll wait another week or 2 before risking direct sowing seeds.  There was a frost last week and some of my potato shoots were damaged.  They'll bounce back though.

As yesterday was the end of the month, I did my end of months totals.  Bit of a mixed bag.

Food/supermarket spending was £161.74 which is lower than last month and I still have loads of food in the freezer.

Pet spending was even higher as I had to take Emma to the vet again for further tests and more drugs.  She's starting to become incontinent yet another sign of her old age 😢 She now takes 10 tablets throughout the day.  I always said I wouldn't keep a dog alive just for me and I fear the dreaded day is looming closer.  She seems happy enough although she is in some discomfort with arthritis.  Total for the month for dog and chicken £196.74.

I bought a few items on Amazon last month.  A couple of things for the allotment (inc hot spot tape for my polytunnel!) and I needed a cover for my new phone.  Total £85.24 for the month which is less than March.

In Other spending I needed petrol, I bought seed compost (although my Lovely Mum gave me cash for birthday to buy compost), I paid for my brown bin collection permit, we had a take away for my birthday tea, I bought a wee greenhouse and I had a dentist check up.  Total £263.45

Plus I paid £250 cash for the skip hire.

I'd like to get my spending down even more before I retire which is why I'm buying a few extra things here and there in preparation while I'm still getting a regular salary.

The huge declutter of the back room has begun.  My son and DIL managed to put all their boxes into the eaves and cupboards upstairs.  My friend took 3 full bags of stuff for school.  I've filled many other bags with books and textiles to be recycled or donated.  I've filled 3 black bags full of unrecyclable stuff and sorted out a ton of 'stuff' that seems to have multiplied since I brought it out of the upstairs cupboards.  It's getting harder to to dump/recycle things as there was a change in the law recently that I didn't know about.  It's taking me much longer than I hoped as it all needs to sorted/taken apart and taken to the right place!

I've set myself a deadline of the above room being empty by Friday!!! 😱

March Spending

 

I can't believe it's the end of March already and I've been off work for a couple of weeks now.  Yesterday was the first day I've actually felt physically well 😊 but I'm still in no rush to go back.  I've made an appt with the mental health practitioner at my GP surgery but it's not for another 2 weeks.  My colleagues sent me flowers and chocolates to say they were thinking about me.  Schools break up today for the Easter holiday.  I have a wee group chat with my work besties and this morning they all said they hate work right now.  Something is very wrong when good teachers say they hate their job 😞

Even though I've been at home most of the month (actually had time to bake a fruit loaf!) it's been a bit of a spendy one.

My March supermarket total was £207.96!  YIKES!! I did stock up on freezer items (veggies etc) and meat.  Some of it was cold/flu stuff plus many pouches of fruit pastilles as they soothed my sore throat and Lemsip type hot drink sachets. Even going for own brand medicines, it quickly adds up!  I also did a 'poor me' shop where I got a few ready made snacks 😳

My pet total of £139.08 was higher this month as Emma had a vet checkup because she's on daily steroids.  She'll need a 4 monthly checkup from now on.

My Amazon spend was lower at £91.64 which was a few DIY items.

And my miscellaneous 'other' spending was only £42.38.

Total for March £481.06

When I started my 4 year challenge the aim was to keep my spending under £500 so I guess I'm still on track. Selling the flat and incurring so many out of the ordinary costs has skewed my savings plan.  Although I did put my flat deposit money back into my savings.  I need to have a good think about how I progress now that my retirement is imminent! 

It's time to start off my seedlings so here's some tomatoes (Roma and Aurora) already up.  Plus there's some squash, sweetcorn and courgettes still propagating!

I've also started off my red onion sets in cells so that when they're planted it's harder for the birds to pull them out!!

The clocks going forward last weekend really knocked me for six again (bit like jet lag which is pretty common apparently) but it does feel a bit more Spring like here despite the rainy weather! ☔

Edited to add fruit loaf recipe so I can find it again as I donated that cookbook!!

Soak overnight:  350g mixed dried fruit, 30g brown sugar, 150ml hot strong tea, glug of whisky        Mix: 2 large eggs and 50ml water or milk and add to fruit mixture with 1 grated apple                          Sieve 225g of SR flour with 1 tsp mixed spice and add to mixture                                                      Bake in lined loaf tin for 1 hour at 170C or 150C fan or Gas 3

February Spending

 

Today was a strike day.  As a staff we decided not to man a picket line, mainly because we were tired/unwell and the thought of 2 long lies was irresistible!  But we attended a local rally outside the council HQ later in the morning.

Afterwards I walked into town as I had M&S vouchers worth £11.  I had thoughts of getting myself some treats but everything was so expensive.  So I went yellow sticker hunting instead and saw a few good deals.  As it was still before lunch time there weren't many.  But I got a great deal on some ewe's milk cheese, reduced from £4.25 to £1.32 and some jumbo sausages (gluten free) that had almost £1 off.  

But the main reason I went to M&S was because I wanted sushi for lunch.  That wee box cost £5.  It was a delicious but expensive treat.  I really should learn to make my own! 🍣 Total was £12.52 so really I got free meat and cheese then got the sushi for £1.52 😋

So here we are at the end of the month already!  My February spending was rather low 🎉

• Supermarket/groceries: £107.07
• Pets: £62.01
• Amazon inc monthly fee: £70.71
• Other misc: £56.85

I only bought 3 things on Amazon and none were school related!  I bought books for my new great niece, a finger splint for my injured pinky (tennis related incident on Staff Development day!!) and 4 table legs to turn an offcut worktop into a table for my craft room.

Total February spend (not already planned and budgeted for) was £296.64!  And some of that was on 2 separate pizza deliveries on HMI week!!! 😳

Again I'm not adding anything to my savings this month as I'm still paying the flat costs.  The proposed entry date of today has come and gone with the buyer and his lawyer not responding to calls.  I'm really really hoping the sale hasn't fallen through as the costs incurred to start over will most likely wipe out any profit and eat into my deposit.  Keep your fingers crossed for me! 🤞

January Spending (late!)

 

I'm a bit late with my January total, but better late than never!  Despite me saying I'm not buying anything for school(!) I did buy an age appropriate book to talk about religious head coverings.  I have a wee Sikh boy who wears a patka and we didn't have anything in school to help us talk about it.

I kept my supermarket spending to just under £160 for the whole month, so around £40 a week.  I wish I could spend less but food is expensive and I do have to eat.  I do have quite a few things in the freezer as a result of my bargains so here's hoping this month will be a lot less.

I had to pay an emergency electrician (£120) 🙄🙄🙄

I bought a dog gate to keep Emma out of the kitchen when we're cooking.  Because she's on steroids she is obsessed with food and keeps getting under our feet in the hope we've dropped a crumb!  I've tripped over her a few times, once with a boiling kettle in my hand!!  Safer for all of us but she's not happy about it! 😂

I filled up my car with petrol, £52.76 for a full tank.  Prices seem to have stabilised for a bit but could be lower.  That will probably see me through until Easter unless I go on a longer trip.

Total spend for the month excluding known bills was £482.10.  As I'm still paying for the flat with no rental income (mortgage/insurance/boiler care/energy) there isn't any spare money to put in my savings! Eeeeeek!!!  But the new owner takes over on the 28th of this month so once I get my capital back I'll put whatever is left after legal fees etc in my savings.

2023 Goals: A year of more

 

This year's goal was to survive and thrive and while I definitely survived, not too sure about the thriving bit!!  Going into 2023 I've thought really carefully about what my goals for the coming year will be.  I've decided it's to be a year of more.  More of the good stuff I started in this first year of my 4 year challenge and I want to take it even further than I thought I could at the start.

So, here are my 5 goals for 2023!

1.  Live more frugally and simply

While this year has seen me tighten my belt and save half my salary most months, I think I can do more.  After analysing my spending, I'm going to set a strict budget for each area and stick to it.  I think I can simplify my eating habits (saving more money) and in turn become a lot healthier.  I'm going to try ditch my Diet Coke habit!!  And no takeaways!  My health took a big hit this year and I don't want that to happen again.  Living more simply should help.

2.  Save more than £10k

I managed to save £10k in just 9 months of this year so if I can do the same again every month in 2023, I  should be able to save even more towards my retirement goal.

3.  Buy no more new clothes or house items

I have more than enough clothes and shoes even after my big declutter to move into the downstairs bedroom.  I definitely do not need to buy any more.  However, I'm setting myself a challenge to make/upcycle/buy second hand anything I might need.  For example, my jeans are a bit threadbare but I'm not buying 'new' ones if they burst.  

The same goes for house items although I have budgeted to repair or replace my leaking patio doors and repair/replace 3 'blown' double glazing units on 2 windows.  I do need flooring for the kitchen and utility room and will need a new carpet for the room that's to be my son and DIL's living room.  These things have already been budgeted for but I will seek out the most frugal options I can find.

4.  Grow more fruit and veg by improving my soil health

Thanks to being ill for a large part of the sowing and growing season my garden and allotment plot didn't yield as much as I'd hoped.  But I've done a lot research on permaculture this year and have realised that the health of my soil needs a huge improvement.  Commercial fertiliser is going to be expensive and in short supply so I need to be able to produce my own soil improvers.

5.  Spend more time at home and keep work at work!

This one is going to be hard but I need to stop bringing work home and doing extra/unpaid stuff at home.  When I'm at home I should be doing things I enjoy.  I think once I have my craft room up and running properly I'll be more productive at home.  I realised that this Christmas I didn't create a single home made item for gifting.  That's not like me at all.

Totally doable goals I think.  There are a few other challenges I'm going to set myself as well but these are the 5 big ones.  Have you set any goals for 2023?  Any plans?  

Financial Review of 2022

 

It's been a bit snowy the last few days.  It was a gentle start on Tuesday morning and by the end of the day we had a good few inches.  It hasn't lasted and is completely gone today.  I didn't leave the house so it's been the perfect time to take a long hard look at my finances 👀  

I have a simple pen and paper approach.  I start by going through the last 12 months' worth of bank and credit card statements to analyse my spending.  Even by doing this I quickly realised that I also need to look at my PayPal statements as some of my purchases weren't there.  My eBay account is linked to PayPal as are some of my takeaway purchases 🥡🍕😳

Then I write it all in my book and sort out the categories.  Main ones are food/supermarket, car, house, pets, school (as I discovered I've spent over £500 on toys and equipment for my class!!!), garden/allotment and one offs (like a wedding) 👰 Even just sorting out the categories was an eyeopener.  I mean, over £500 on school stuff!!!

One of my biggest expenses is my car as I'm still paying it monthly. This year it's cost me £3,907.  But once it's paid off in 2024 it should only cost me around £1,000 a year to run.  I only filled up with petrol 4 times this year (it's a hybrid) and I've still not done 5,000 miles yet!

Another big expense is my council tax.  It's a few pounds short of £3,000 and I have to pay it.  And don't even get me started on energy costs...

As I've said before I have a stable well paid public sector job (that I now hate!) so I have a guaranteed income every month.  I can meet these costs and save a decent amount as well.  Problem is if I retire now (or in a year or 2) I can't meet these costs on my teacher's pension.  And that's where I'm stuck.  Unless I sell my house and downsize.  And I'm not ready to do that yet!

But I challenged myself to save £10k this year and I did it!!  I pretty much managed to save half my salary each month.  Although I discovered that in April, November and December I didn't save anything!  So I saved £10k in just 9 months.  If I really really put my mind to it, I could save more next year (if I'm still teaching by December!!!)

November spending (late!)

 

I put up my Christmas tree yesterday.  Each decoration is a Santa so it's my Santa Tree!  My DIL helped me and she was amazed that every Santa was different.  It's taken years to collect this many, none are remotely expensive and it's definitely a bit tacky.  But I love it!! 🎅🎄

I realised that I hadn't done my November spending post.  Confession time, I didn't keep a track of my spending last month.  I could go through my statements and check but I'm suffering a bit from frugal fatigue.  I didn't go overboard but I just didn't keep track.  I think hitting my £10k target last month made me relax a bit.  Unfortunately I've had to call out a plumber (twice) and an electrician to fix things at the flat and at home.  So this month I can safely say my savings were ZERO!! 😳

It was our staff night out last night. a party night that cost £49 (paid for back in October.)  I wore a new sequin top that cost me £11.25 from Tesco with black trousers and silver glittery Vans that I already owned.  As I wasn't drinking alcohol my friend bought me some soft drinks and she drank my wine that came with the meal.  So I didn't spend any money last night.  I left before it started getting too wild but had a lovely time.

I have 13 and a half teaching days left until the Christmas break, if I last that long.  My job has become impossible to do with some children who simply should not be in mainstream school.  I will do my best for the other children in my class but I suspect my retirement from teaching is imminent.  

October Spending (Woohoo!)

 

I did it!!  I now have £10,022.60 in my savings account 🎉🎉🎉 When I set myself the target of saving £10k a year for 4 years I thought in theory it was possible.  But I'm still a little shocked I've actually managed the first £10k.

It's not been an easy month (in many ways) but my spending has all been on food/supermarket stuff or DIY/decor materials.  Total spend was £507.06.  With a few bits and bobs still outstanding technically for October, I put £529.66 into my account tonight to take it over the £10k.

That's equal to at least one year's retirement money.  I'm rather chuffed with myself 😊

September Spending

 

My pear tree grew a single pear.  I haven't eaten it yet as it hasn't ripened.  Pears don't ripen on the tree so it's a waiting game to choose the right moment to eat it at it's best! 😋

September flew by!  I can't believe we're into October already.  There's 1 week of school left (HOORAY!!) then we get a 2 week break.  But my 2 week break will be filled with decorating and moving furniture between my house and the flat. Ah well, it'll be good once it's all done.

September spending was very low.  I hadn't planned to have such a low spend month but it just worked out that way.  I mentioned previously that I've spent around £100 on stuff for school and I had to get petrol for my car.  Other than food, I haven't spent money on anything else.  Total spend for the month was £316.89!  That means I can put an incredible £1114.74 into my savings!!! 🤯

So after 9 months of saving I have £9492.52 in my savings account.  I'm almost at my £10k target for the year!!  I can't believe I've managed to get this far.  I used to think I was pretty frugal before I started this 4 year challenge but I've had to seriously up my game this year!

August spending

 

Another month has flown by and it's time for the end of the month totals!  I knew I'd failed miserably on sticking to the £120 food/supermarket budget before I got the calculator out 🙄

I spent £170.42 in supermarkets PLUS £53.26 in takeaways 🤯 No excuses, just a lack of planning and being too tired to batch cook.

I bought a pair of trousers for work.

I bought 3 more raised beds from B&Q (the £20 ones)  for the allotment.

I spent £49.17 on some stuff for my classroom.

And I got my hair cut ✀

Total spend for the month (excluding all the usual household bills already budgeted for) was £458.75!  I'm pleased with that and I'm not going to dwell on the fact that if I hadn't bought takeaways and stuff for school it would be around £100 less!!

So I can add £1042.39 to my savings this month.  WOOHOO!! 🙌

After eight months, my savings total now stands at £8377.78 which means I'm getting closer to my target 😊😊😊

Day 37: Jam, flowers and July Spending

 

I made more jam this week,  strawberry and blueberry.  I found some blueberries in the freezer from last year (I really must get a better system in place!!) and the strawberries were a Lidl bargain (at least they were local Scottish ones!)  They looked fab in the pan and smelled amazing!  

I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to jam but I have made a fair few jars in my time.  And I don't always get it right!  Look at this year's efforts as an example.  The strawberry/blueberry is in the middle (too runny), the blackcurrant is on the right (too thick) and the raspberry is on the left (perfect!) 😋 They all taste amazing despite their differing consistencies.  I could re do the ones that aren't quite right but that would be too much of a faff.  The runny one I can drizzle on pancakes/waffles and the thick blackcurrant one I could just spread on hot toast or use to make a hot soothing drink.  It's all good!

We finally tracked down an Old John rose 💖 They're difficult to buy!  My Lovely Mum bought one for me, my sister and one for herself.

It's a really vivid orangey pink colour 😊  I just need to decide where to plant it now.

I've also discovered another medicinal plant growing in my garden, a gorgeous yellow self seeded goldenrod.  It's another plant I can dry and use in a tea.  Like sage, it's also good for sore throats and colds (occupational hazard!!) so I'm thrilled at the discovery!  It's a perennial and spreads easily so I'll try to keep on top of it.  I'm loving the colour contrast with the Red Hot Poker crocosmia in front!

It's also the last day of July.  Sometimes I remember that this day was the day I got married and sometimes I don't.  It was a FB memory comment that reminded me this morning.  Really doesn't make me think anything other than 'Oh yeah I remember that day' now 😊

So, on to the end of the month totals with some of my more 'unusual' buys 😆

• I spent £25 on some kombucha equipment (large Kilner jar and water filter jug)
• I spent £60 on 3 raised beds for the allotment
• I spent £66.44 on fuel for the car, first time since April
• I spent £29.55 on jam equipment (lids, labels and jars)
• I spent just under £60 on storage boxes for my new craft room
• I also had to pay for my annual car tax £155 but that was already budgeted for back in January

Once all my usual costs and monthly bills were paid I've saved £871.88 this month.  That brings my savings up to £7335.39 😲  I'm really pleased with that, definitely still on target!

I go back to work in 2 weeks!  As always the Summer holidays fly by but I feel I've achieved a lot already. 

June Spending (and some bargains!)

 

I can't help rescuing plants in the bargain corner of my local Dobbies.  Usually all they need is water, dead heading and a bit of TLC.  I filled all my big pots and raised beds in my front garden last year with similar bargains and about 75% of them have survived 😊 Today I got 3 dahlias, a dianthus, a tray of 20 snapdragons (69p!!!) and 2 trailing brachyscomes (rock daisies) for a bargain total of £12.34.  The snapdragons are annuals that flower from now until October and the rest are all perennials that should last forever if I look after them.

They also have a Sainsbury's outlet so I picked a few food bargains as well.  The strawberries are Scottish ones from Perthshire, just up the road from me.

As much as I love strawberries, even I couldn't eat 2 punnets in one day so I chopped and froze one of them.  They'll be handy for smoothies, overnight oats, porridge etc when you just need a few to add colour and flavour.  And I'll enjoy snacking on the other ones today.

I popped over to the plot yesterday and cleared another area of weeds.  That one bed plus the area around it filled another 3 rubble sacks.  It's not perfect but already looks much better.  I'm beginning to see a difference every time I leave 😊

Today is the last day of June so it's time to look at this month's spending.  I received confirmation of my single occupant discount (25%) from the council for my council tax.  That's a saving of £636.55 a year that I hadn't budgeted for so I'll add that to my savings account.

Total spending this month was a whopping £696.83 😲 That's almost £200 over my monthly target!! 

The good thing about writing down every penny spent is that I can see where I've overspent.  Around £120 was on school related stuff like end of year gifts for the kids and the staff who work closely with me.  Our photocopier/printer at school has been broken for a month (it needs an obscure part replaced) so I was printing more things at home and needed to buy more ink than usual.  I've also paid to get some extra blood tests done to check my vitamin levels.  And I treated myself to a pair of comfy casual trousers.  So it's all accounted for I guess.

That means once I've paid all my monthly bills, I can add £195.99 to my savings.  Plus the over budgeted £636.55 from my council tax discount.  Plus the £509 kitchen and bathroom repayment from my inheritance money.  Making a total of £1341.54 this month to put into my account.  

Savings total at 30th June 2022 is £6463.51.  Still on target for the year so far 🤞

May Spending

 

And just like that it's the end of the month again.  I'm pleased to report that my spending was more controlled this month and I've stuck to my budget!  I did buy a few out of the ordinary things like more compost bins for the allotment (made from recycled plastic.)  I now have enough bins/space to properly turn the compost heap and hopefully get better quality compost!

I did end up going to the supermarket mainly to get fresh fruit and veg but it was still a low spend month.  Plus we got a bit of a pay raise last month.  After tax etc I got an extra £101 in my salary.  It wasn't budgeted for in the yearly plan I did in January so it was a nice bonus. It means I've added a decent amount to my savings account this month.

Savings account total: £5121.97

I think I'm still on track to save £10k this year, even taking into account all the stuff I need to do to the house.  Phew!!

I finally found out who my new stage partner will be for the next session.  I'm staying in P1 (4 and 5yos) and my partner in the other P1 class will be a young teacher with 2 years teaching experience.  She's lovely and said she hopes to learn from me.  I said I'd learn just as much from her!!  I think it's a big mistake to think you know it all even with 34(!) years experience 😱

I was doing a wee stocktake of toys and resources in my classroom and found this wee doll with terribly matted hair.  I brought her home and spent some time detangling her hair.  She looks brand new again!  Kids will love her and we've saved money by not needing to buy a new one.  She needs some new clothes but I'm sure I can run up some wee dresses or something over the holidays 👗

April Spending and health catch up

I'm a week late with April's spending analysis but I had a good reason last weekend!  As expected (and sort of planned for) it was a spendy month thanks to the wedding.  I haven't added up every single item as it was getting scary 😱 but items to note were increased food costs due to having my middle son home for a week and putting fuel in my car for the first time in 3 months.  I have a hybrid car so don't use much fuel.  And wedding 'stuff' is crazily expensive!

Me and my Lovely Mum

The short answer is I have nothing left to put in savings this month!  But I'm ok with that, this is a long term project and I'm back on track already.

Savings account at 30th April still has £3598.96.  

The week before the wedding I had my follow up doctor appt.  Unfortunately my own GP was off sick so it was with a different doctor.  I didn't have high hopes and was prepared to have to re book one with my own.  But she was amazing!  She checked out everything from my previous appt and updated all my prescriptions.  

I have a chest x-ray booked for next week (to check out the breathlessness) and I had bloods taken earlier this week.  I've already had the results back and everything is normal except for my cholesterol levels.  All I know is they're a 'bit high' but I'll find out more next week when I have a nurse appt.  It's not rocket science, I'll be told to exercise, lose weight and watch what I eat.  I am determined I will not go on statins (unless they're dangerously high right now!) and I'm pleased to report that my BP is completely back to normal! Phew!!

I've completed my 4 week phased return to work.  I've been summoned to an attendance meeting with HR (completely normal after a long term absence) to talk about my health and my work.  As I'm the union rep in my school I normally accompany other people to their meetings.  I get to have my union's  Local Secretary at mine!!  It's also being lead by the Head of HR and not an assistant!  It's normally just a box ticking formality but we're hoping to use this opportunity to raise our concerns about teachers (and others) feeling the pressure to return to work too quickly when they've been ill.  I wrote about it HERE

It's now the season of report writing, Parent Contact meetings and transition events for the Nursery children coming into P1.  School finishes here on 24th June so there's a lot to get done in the next 7 weeks!

March Spending

 

They're tiny but oh my goodness these wee asparagus spears did make me smile this morning! 😋 There was a hard frost last night, my road was even gritted by the gritter.  But they look so good in the stunning sunshine we have this morning.

This is a non work day on my phased return plan.  I've done 2 mornings this week and will be in school all day tomorrow.  So far it's been a smooth transition back.  I'm just very tired afterwards.  I slept 10 hours last night which is very unusual for me.  My body obviously needs it.  One more day then it's the school Easter break.

As it's the last day of the month, it's time to look at my spending in March.  Ooft!!  It's been a spendy month 😲  Biggest outgoing was my quarterly energy bills. £591.22 for gas and £276.93 for electricity.  This was for Dec/Jan/Feb so the coldest months of the year.  I've been off work for a large part of that time.  Plus my son's GF works from home 3 to 4 days a week.  I can't ask her sit in the freezing cold while she works for the NHS!  So the heating has been on all day.  They have given me a contribution towards it.  Luckily I had planned and budgeted for it so not (too big) a shock.  I usually switch the heating off in April and try not to turn it back on until September.  I remembered to take and submit my meter readings this morning.  If you're in the UK remember to do this as the energy prices go up from tomorrow.

I also had to pay my annual insurance on the flat my eldest son lives in.  Again planned and budgeted for so not a surprise .  It had gone up by about £40.  I can't really shop around as it's a specialist policy for a family landlord.

I found yet another subscription that slipped through my December clear out.  This one was a quarterly one.  I thought I'd cancelled it but apparently I hadn't checked the 'cancel auto renew' button on my account.  Very sneaky!!  It should be done now.

There were a few unplanned items like replacing my wee garden greenhouse that was damaged beyond repair in the storms, plus a takeaway meal to celebrate my son and his GF finally buying a house (just round the corner from me!)  I treated myself to a counter top compost caddy to remind me to put raw food in my own compost bin and not the council recycling bin.

I'm sticking to one big supermarket delivery at the start of the month and one other top up shop.  That seems to be working for me.  Food waste is minimal although my son and his GF (who do all their own food buying and cooking) aren't quite as good!  I regularly see stuff they've put in the bin that frankly I'd still eat or would feed to the chicken!!  I've gently hinted they check with me before throwing out stuff but it's taken me years to get to this point so I'm definitely not criticising.  I hope I've been showing them a good example while they've been living here.  They do meal plan and batch cook at weekends now.

Total spend for March (excluding known and budgeted for house and car costs) was £576.31 😲

Savings account total: £2071.96 but...

I realised that I didn't explain (or did I??) when I set up my challenge to save £10k in a year, that I'm paying for my new kitchen and bathroom in monthly repayments out of my salary account.  I already have the full amount for both sitting in another account (my inheritance from my uncle) so I'm going to move that monthly amount of £509 into my savings account as well.  That will give me a fuller picture of trying to save half of my actual take home salary and the inheritance money won't just get used up in other things.  So I'm adding £1527 (Jan/Feb/Mar payments 3 x £509) into my savings account.

Well done if you're still keeping up!!!  The actual numbers are boring for anyone else but I like to work out them out so I stay motivated!

So, savings account at 31st March now has £3598.96 😊  On target so far but it takes a lot of effort and planning to stay on track!!

Three months down, 45 to go! 👍

February Spending

 

If you've seen the footage of the brave and rightly furious woman in Ukraine telling a Russian soldier to put sunflower seeds in his pocket then you'll understand this message chalked on a NYC pavement. My thoughts are with the Ukrainian people and also the many Russian people who don't want this war either 🌻

I'm now in my third week of absence from school.  I have 2 days' worth of antibiotics left.  I've been feeling rather queasy after taking them and actually threw up on Saturday.  I don't have an appetite so I try to eat when it's a meal time rather than when I feel hungry.  My cough is just irritating now, not so much yucky stuff left I hope.  I'm still a bit breathless but working on building up my stamina now.  I've also got a nearly completed craft project 🧶✂🧵  I'm on a roll!

It's the last day of February (already!!) so time to look at what I've spent this month.  I'm noticing that writing everything down has really made me focus on what I spend my money on.  I've already mentioned the impulse spend in Te$co while waiting for my prescription 🙄 I bought floor tiles for my bathroom.  I put £10 into a retirement gift at school.  I had to replace my broken sock knitting needles.  I bought a paper sewing pattern (more on that another time.)  And I've found a subscription that I had cancelled but they've taken another payment.  I'm trying to sort that out.  Plus some food shopping too.

Total spend for February (excluding known house and car costs) was £319.53.

Savings account now has £1570.73.

That's 2 months of the challenge down, 46 to go! 💰

January Spending

 

It's time for me to take a final look at my spending for January and work out how much I've saved towards my 4 year challenge.  Here's Emma being cute playing with her dinosaur and costing me a small fortune this month!

I was married to an accountant for 24 years.  He took complete charge of all things financial (big mistake ladies!!) so it has taken me the last 11 years to fully understand how to budget and manage my own money.  I still have a few doh moments but on the whole I'm doing ok.

Last month I worked out how much I was spending on house and car costs.  For example, looking at my car costs.  I pay a monthly amount to the loan company (it includes servicing.) I need insurance.  I pay road tax and I pay for fuel.  I worked out how much that costs me per annum.  But what I didn't take into account was that while I pay my loan repayment monthly, I pay my road tax and insurance in annual payments to save money.  Meaning I hadn't averaged the monthly cost of having a car.  I had been thinking my car cost me £250 a month when it actually averages out at £329 per month! 💡

I'm trying to keep things as simple as I can so that I know exactly how much spare money I have over the year.  I don't want to be surprised in September when my house insurance renewal comes round and I have to use what I've thought are my savings 💰

So, on to January spending.  I'm not including the massive vet bill of £1038.50 as I'm taking that out of my savings account from last year.  But I am including all the meds and check up visits.  Emma has cost £144.28 including food!  Tuppence's bag of food cost £8.79 and in return she gives me eggs! The cost of having pets is my biggest luxury!

I had to buy a new kettle and mice repellent plugs.  I needed a black ink cartridge for my printer.  I did a small Sainsbury's delivery so my son could cook me simple meals while I was isolating.  I had a book box delivery that I forgot I had on a quarterly subscription (cancelled now!)  I needed to buy a baby shower gift for a colleague that was going on maternity leave.  And I took advantage of free delivery on my seeds.

Total spend for January (excluding known house and car costs) was £326.32.

Savings account now has £1012.72.

I won't bore you every month with details 🥱 but thought it was useful to number crunch for the first month.

It's a good start to the challenge.  One month down, 47 to go!!

Storms and back at work prep

 

Storm Malik had fun in my back garden.  My wee greenhouse (despite being tied to the chicken enclosure) got blown about and all the contents were scattered across the garden.  Emma is helping me sort it out!  I managed to save some of the plants but the wind is picking up again so I'm hoping they survive Storm Corrie tonight.  I did smile to see some snowdrops blooming already 😊

I went back to work on Friday 😞 I tested negative on Thursday night which was day 10.  In an ideal world I would taken a few more days to get back on my feet but since 5 teachers were off school last week I felt 'slightly pressured' to return.  There seems to be a culture of "It's only a mild version, you've been off for the whole 10 day isolation period so you should be back at work now."  Talking to my colleagues there seems to be a wide range of symptoms and after effects.  I still have ringing ears and I'm exhausted.  Hey ho, only 2 weeks to half term.

Over the weekend I've been cooking and using up stuff in the fridge.  While I was isolating I wasn't allowed in the kitchen as it's a shared space with my son and his girlfriend.  They kindly cooked all my meals but I did notice that they haven't got the hang of fully using the oven when it's on.  For example they cooked 1 baked potato and 3 sausages for 1 meal for me.  I gently suggested they could have done loads of potatoes and could have cooked all the sausages to use in other meals.  They hadn't thought of that!! 🙄  But they know now!

Yesterday I cooked a big pot of soup (7 portions for lunches) a vegetable lasagne (6 dinner portions) and a batch of sheet pancakes with last of the garden raspberries from the freezer.  I forgot to take a photo before I sliced and froze it.

Today I did a load of Linda McCartney sausages and baked potatoes.  Enough for my Sunday lunch and some for meals for the rest of the week.  I do love having my meals prepped for the work week ahead.

The onion gravy was made from the very last of my home grown onions.  These were the size of a golf ball or smaller!!  I'm impressed they lasted until January without any special storage.  They were just flung in a tray and kept in my wee greenhouse!!  A few had rotted but overall they kept well.  Annoyingly, I can't remember the varieties.

While it was fresh in my mind I ordered some onion sets, seed potatoes and beetroot seeds.  My vegetable planning is now complete.  I just need to sit on my hands for another month before I set up the heated propagator.  I'm in a few gardening/allotment groups on FB and some folk are already sowing seeds.  It's too early for my growing zone so I need to be patient.

In between doing some cooking I was being sensible and was resting.  I was looking at how much I've spent so far and trying to work out how much money I've saved in Month 1 of my 4 year challenge.  Tomorrow is the last day of January (already!!!) so I'll do a financial round up then.  I'm hoping I'm on track!! 

And so it begins

Happy New Year!  I hope this year is a better one for us all. I'm trying to be upbeat about the you-know-what despite several friends testing positive this week *sighs*

I came downstairs this morning to find that my kettle had leaked water all over the worktop.  It's the second time that's happened.  So first day of the new year and I've had to buy a new kettle.  I spent some time researching good deals and have ordered a lovely new one.  It was half the price it should have been (or so it said on the website!) so have saved some money I guess.  Not the start I would have wanted but a good reminder to think about every purchase.

Let the 4 year money saving challenge begin!