No April Fool !

 

Borrowed from Google

 

 

 

Good grief it's April 1st already!  Who stole March??  I was determined not to be a fool with my  our :/ money in March never mind April so I have spent some time (quite a lot of time actually) online, checking price comparison websites and haggling reductions as advocated by Martin Lewis and his team (SUPER chap!)

 

Successes as follows:

 

Main car Insurance:     renewal quote £329  Paid £260 (haggled it down)

Second car Insurance:                         £237          £167  (Confused.com)

Caravan Insurance :                            £260          £182   (rang around for quotes)

                                                           ---------------------

                                                            £826          £609

 

SAVED a WHOPPING   £217

 

In addition, I checked the bi-annual electricity bill and we had been overcharged by £90  I very quickly queried it before I paid the bill.  This is why I try not to set up DD s for some things unless it gives us a big saving.  It's easier than trying to get our money back once the DD has been paid. 

 

The first 3 months of the year are heavy on bills as most things seem to be due at once;

ground rent, rates, water & sewage charges, caravan parking spot, home insurance, LPG top up etc 

Thankfully, the money has been put aside week on week so although our account is pretty much depleted there is still a small balance in there.  The amount saved by haggling and shopping around will be left in the account towards the next round of bills.  Council tax has been pretty much frozen again this year, an increase of just £23 which isn't bad considering how strapped for cash the council seems to be.  We DO have a DD for that as we know in advance how much we will be charged.

 

I am so relieved to get it all sorted at last and to know exactly where we stand.  We have had loads of  birthdays to buy for too so I have been eBaying like a maniac and on Thursday last I sold a couple of pieces of scrap gold jewellery to a lovely dealer chap we know for £50, which was a bit more than I was expecting.  That has been put aside for emergencies. 

 

I'm now debating whether or not to suggest to friends and family that we cut down on gifts a bit more this year.  Already I tend to send the adults a handmade card with a scratchcard in for luck and the children get money to spend as they (or their parents) wish but we have 2 extra small children to buy for now so thinking ahead to Christmas do I suggest we don't buy for the adults at all ??  DD and her family will be the exception of course.  I stick to a budget but I enjoy choosing something special for them :)

 

Do you intend cutting down this year? And have you haggled to reduce your bills in any way?

 

The food budget will remain at £50 a week and will have to cover non-food items like loo rolls, cleaning stuff, toiletries, washing powder etc as well as feeding visitors at the weekend.  I am hoping for a small weekly surplus which will be saved in a pot for Christmas 2017.  Can I do it, I wonder?

 

A warm welcome to my new follower Pauline Williams, it's lovely to have you aboard :)

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone x