The start of the new year is always a time for re-jigging the household finances . Lots of contracts come up for renewal in the first three months like car insurance, home insurance, BT line rental etc and we have numerous birthdays and anniversaries to cater for too. Every penny saved on each bill helps enormously and we've made a good start by bringing home insurance down from £253 to £227, shaving a healthy £26 off as well as getting more for our money because the new cover includes accidental damage which we didn't have before. Brilliant! I've paid for a year upfront with BT for the line rental as that works out cheaper but the broadband contract ends in March so I need to be prepared to negotiate or change provider for that ( I hate changing broadband though as it never goes smoothly) The next item for scrutiny will be the car insurance which is due in the middle of March. Now I know the prices are due for a hike this year so I'm expecting the worst. Has anyone found comparison websites useful or are they biased?
In the next two months we have six birthdays coming up, the most expensive of which will be DD's so I'm searching the house for things to sell on eBay. I want to raise about £50 to buy her something special as she had a rough year last year with both her and her hubby losing their jobs at the same time.
Donations taken to the CS yesterday:
2 knitted baby hats
11 handmade cards
2 unwanted items (not suitable for eBay)
It will soon be time for me to feed Puss once more. Her owner will be away for the month of February so I will need to get my ar*e into gear and get up earlier than usual to let her in for her breakfast! It's a surefire way of waking myself up......going out into the frosty air before I've even had a cuppa ;)
When I was shopping yesterday I found these in the pound shop....
They are Pentland Javelin and if I sow them into my big tub next month I should reap a few nice spuds in June/July. That's the theory anyway, although regular readers will know that my gardening skills are pants!
Thinking of food, my stockpiling strategy at the end of last year is paying dividends. My freezer is still full and I have enough tea, coffee, washing powder etc to last me at least another month leaving me cash from the weekly food budget to put aside for later in the year. I could shop monthly, I suppose, but I find I spend more that way. If I make a list each week and stick to it (in the main, at least) then I spend less.
Do you find it easier to shop monthly, weekly or just when you need something?
Cor, today is so dark that I need to put the light on to find my cereal :/ Have a lovely day wherever you are x
Bloody hell PP you are very organised, when it comes to finances I am a total buffoon with my impulsive by now worry later attitude running a tad riot last few years. This year I am determined to get a grip on it as I wish to retire well before the government would like me too, fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteLike you I think Ebay is going to be used to bolster finances, there was a time in my other life (BBD) that I used to scour car boot sales and the like to find stuff to sell upon the bay, perhaps I may start this again come the warmer weather.
Still at the shop as we need it stage though we are hoping to meal plan better and have less frequent trips to the shops.
I needed to get a grip on finances, John. Car boot sales are a great idea for the Spring, methinks ;)
DeleteI'm like you and prefer to shop weekly, perhaps it's my age but shopping weekly is like a friendly ritual each week and I enjoy going out and having a stroll round the shops something I couldn't do before I retired (stroll round shops - it was always a 5 minute run when I could get there!) But no shopping on a Sunday - for no other reason but that it just doesn't feel 'right'....told you - it's my age! xxx
ReplyDeleteOh I'm with you regarding Sunday shopping, Trudie, I can't face doing that, perhaps it IS an age thing but definitely not a BAD thing :0) xx
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