Wednesday 18 January 2012

NSD, and Another Frugal Five

Today, I achieved an NSD. What is an NSD you might ask? Well it is a No Spend Day. Which means no money got handed over to anyone during the course of the day. That is a SUCCESS! Yay me!

So halfway through the week and I still have £3.80 in cash in my purse. Hope I can make it until Friday without getting more cash.

I am really trying to get more financially organised and as part of that, my new credit card arrived, so officially I have only one credit card and the overdraft costing me any money in interest.

Had a quiet evening last night, I was supposed to go to my evening class, but as I felt so ill as I am still nursing this cold. I decided to go home. Grabbed a bath, then turned off the heating (remember target of £250 for next quarters utilities) and started cooking. Bumped the eggs dish for the fish fingers, and ate it with boiled cabbage and some frozen home made cauliflower cheese, very tasty and just what i faniced as a bit of "soul food" when feeling under par.

I have started thinking about upcoming expenditure and gave myself a shock about April. It suddenly came to me in April I will need to pay the Utilities again, pay my car tax, buy a present for The Chap's milestone birthday and the service charge on W Towers will be going up. So I need to start planning now.

I also came to the conclusion yesterday after putting £30 of petrol in the car that the money left in my current account will not last until the beginning of February when I get paid next. I was being a little optimistic, I think, as at the beginning of Jan (if you remember) I put £300 away into savings to pay for the gas and electricity. When that bill arrived I actually did not go into savings to pay it. So if I do end up taking some cash say £50 or £100 from my savings to help me through the next 2 week, then I really think that it will still be a win for January, some money put aside in savings and over 8% off my debt.

ANOTHER FRUGAL FIVE FOR YOU
  1. Did you know your freezer is most energy efficient when full, as it takes less energy to keep the drawers at the required temperature. Lesson: keep it full. When cooking make too much and freeze the rest into portion sizes. The same is true of your oven. When baking, fill up the spare space with baking trays and tins. More energy efficient, better for the environment and lowering your utilities bill.
  2. Always look for alternatives, a case in point. I belong to a book club and need to read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. My local library did not have it, so I posted a Wanted on Freecycle, Within 12 hours I had received an email offering a 1970s copy of the book. From a lady half a mile from my home. All free. Great!
  3. Mend it! Always, look at the option of mending an item, even in todays throw away society, big money can be saved. A man 10 miles from me mends Dysons for £35, and The Chap recently got his xbox mended for £25. But this month’s award goes to my sister. My nephew dropped her iphone about a week ago smashing the glass back. Apple wanted £200 to repair it. She googled her problem and found a “You Tube” clip on repairing her phone. She then had to buy the special screwdriver and a new back, which came in at £25. It took her 5 minutes to do it herself. Now that is a great saving!
  4. Shopping, do not get tempted with "buy one, get one half price" deals in the supermarkets. Ask yourself, "Do I need another?" As when you buy these deals then you are SPENDING more money, not saving yourself money. This is a good lesson also in any sale. You are NEVER saving money at a sale but spending less.
  5. If you live in the UK, join Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert website and sign up for his weekly emails. I have had free pizzas, cheap shoes and countless deals because of this man. Well worth the 2minutes it takes. Plus you only get 1 email per week and no spam.
Off to see The Chap tonight as been a week since I saw him last. Really looking forward to it!

Frugally yours
Abigail
x

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I really love reading all comments. So please tell me what you think. Abigail