Money Monday

Last year after Christmas the coffers were well and truly empty as after being a student for more than half the year and only a bit of supply work last term not a lot of money had come in! So this year I have decided to try and save up some bits and pieces as the year goes on so that on the 1st January 2017 I have decent nest egg.

I am following two different schemes to boost my savings potential:

1. Put in a penny to match the day of the year. So on January 1st it was 1p and on December 31st it will be £3.66 (with it being a leap year its an extra day..). This apparently should lead to over £600 by the end of the year!
2. I am rewarding my exercise by putting in
   £1 for every run
   50 p for a gym workout or long walk
   20 p for a trip to the swimming pool with the kids

Its looking good so far and I wonder how much I will have saved up by December 31st?

Reasons to be Cheerful XIV (#R2BC)

First week of the school holidays has been a roller coaster as those of you that know me on Facebook and Twitter are well aware! However I can still find reasons to smile:
1) Me time

I ran off down south for 36 hours without my kids to celebrate the last of my school chum's 40th birthdays. It was great to be able to relax (and have someone on Megabus mistake me for a 20 something!). Seeing good friends - some of whom I hadn't seen for over 8 years - in an adult only environment was a great way to unwind and recharge my batteries. 

2) The weather


Its been amazingly good since the kids broke up from school. This has meant that we've been able to enjoy lots of outside time. Living up here there are so many things to do outdoors and its so much better than being cooped up inside for days on end. So far we've been to Brockhole and Abbott Hall Park and we are hoping to do lots more if the weather holds.

3) Money


After nearly a month of stress over my benefits my persistent phone calls have finally resulted in them being restored with back-payments. Turns out my "rapid reclaim" a) been sent to wrong section b) been sat on by the Decisions Manager for over 2 weeks. Just need my Housing Benefit to be restored next week and then I can balance the books again. Nice to be able to spend time over the summer with kids and not have to worry about money for a while.


4) My garden


My mum came round yesterday and helped me make a big difference to my garden. We pulled out lots of weeds and she put in some spare bedding plants from her garden. Even the kids helped us. With my neighbour's father-in-law having mowed my front lawn on Tuesday (can you tell they are trying to sell their house!) the whole outside of my house is looking better to go with our stunning views:

Thrifty Tuesday

As a single parent I am now really feeling the pinch of a much reduced household income plus having to responsibility for all household outgoings. Unfortunately I've not been able to earn much recently and a lack of maintenance payments means I am coping on state benefits which aren't designed to fund a lavish lifestyle. So I am having to learn how to live a more thrifty life (not always successfully!) here are few ideas about how to make sure income isn't outstripped by expenditure.


Know what is coming in/out and when


I have written on the calendar when my various benefits and credits come in. Some are weekly, some fortnightly and some 4 weekly which makes life more complicated! Alongside these I have put when the bills and direct debits are paid. This way I don't get caught out and always have enough in my account to pay them. As the biggest expense is rent I have to make sure that I keep the Housing Benefit in the eSavings bit of my online account until the night before its due. That way it can't get taken up by anything else.


Planning ahead


With the help of my children we try and menu plan for the week ahead based upon what is on their schedules. This means that I can create an online supermarket order using this plan and what we have in the cupboards/freezer/fridge. If we are going to be out and about taking a snack pack with us saves on expensive emergency food/drink buys.


Planning ahead can also apply to travel and days out. Booking up to 12 weeks in advance can save a fortune in train tickets. Some attractions offer discounts if you book online before the day of your visit. Other places offer cheaper prices on certain days so its worth checking this out well in advance.