Meeting Jordon.

Meeting Jordon.

budgeting shopping frugal money saving

Hello. Here we are, two money saving experts at opposite ends of our lives, and both of us striving to make our own lives the very best we can. I am bimbling along towards the close and have years of experience, and Jordon is starting out, with a very mature head on his shoulders and knows exactly where he is going. It's refreshing to meet someone so young and so positive. 

I really enjoyed talking to Jordon Cox last night at the Lincolnshire Groups W I meeting. The church was full to bursting and he presented an enlightening and entertaining talk. The ladies were scribbling their notes, it certainly gave them something to think about, and I learnt a few things as well.

The world of money saving and frugality is ever changing. I am getting left behind, relying on the old fashioned make do and mend methods, Jordon is forging ahead embracing new technology with couponing, cashback deals, and apps. There are many different ways and options available to manage personal finance, I stick with the tried and tested, Jordon is hungry for more knowledge to help him better manage his money. 

One thing I have learnt from Money Saving Expert is, there isn't one solution that fits all. Everyone has different needs depending on their family circumstances, individual needs, lifestyle choices, the influences around them, and the area in which they live. I never tell people what they should be doing, I suggest what they might think about, I say how I would do it, but ultimately it's down to the individual to do what they think is best. 

I've found this yooootoooob video of Jordon giving a Ted talk. It's similar to what he did last night, a slightly shorter version. It all started when he was about 15, using coupons to save money on the weekly food shopping to help his mum. Look where he is now, Martin Lewis offered him a job, he works every day, and jets off to America on assignments. This young man is going to go far, he has a great career ahead of him. 

Old habits die hard, ha ha. I couldn't resist popping into the Lincoln branch of Tesco last night, it's only a short distance from the bypass. It was 9.30pm so I didn't expect much to be left. But, hey, I found something. Pancakes 18p, single cream 9p, salad 40p. Every little saving helps. While I was there I picked up a few essentials so I don't have to go to town today. Heidi's cat food was on offer, I had six packs of that, also bananas and  milk. I had a chat with the ladies at the checkout, made me very late home. They gave me a coupon at the till, £10 off when I spend £75 or more on electrical and gaming. Perhaps I ought to send that to Jordan  :o)

My lunch yesterday, salad leaves, still ok from the yellow sticker shop last week. YS mushrooms with one egg scrambled into them, plus a YS potato zapped in the microwave. Cheap and healthy. 

That's all for now, the weather is a bit cooler. Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip

It's all relevant

It's all relevant

budgeting shopping frugal

Hello. I often think that there are connections between saving money, losing weight, stopping smoking, and not over indulging on alcohol, chocolate, and chips. It seems to me that as soon as you tell everyone that you are on a diet, the first thing you think of is, what can I eat. If you mention that you are on the wagon and someone asks you to go for a drink, you then have to give yourself a stern talking to. Similarly, when you start to limit your spending the first thing you think of is what can I buy that's cheap. The old habits that you want to move away from seem to always loom in the background to give you a little dig now and again, making the job a lot harder to turn over a new leaf and change your lifestyle. It is so easy to give up and go with the flow.

A new year is always a bad time to take stock and declare you are going to make changes, we all do it, make promises to ourselves, but the odds of achieving your goals and sticking to your new regime is unlikely to be at the forefront of your mind past the first three months. That's unless you've got me to nag you into keep on walking, ha ha.

For some people the idea of not spending any money is completely alien to them. The habit of popping into a shop and coming out with a lot more than what they went in for is accepted as normal. Anyone who tries to lose weight quickly by starving themselves will eventually cave in and binge on junk food. Comfort spending is similar to comfort eating. If you deprive yourself completely you will get to the point where life seems intolerable. Cutting back to the extent that is making you miserable will weaken your defenses.

So, short term fixes don't work, there will be relapses. Living a frugal and simple life needs a change of mindset. Living within your means doesn't need to be painful. Small changes are best at the start, making notes of how much things cost, keeping check of your spending by keeping a diary. Little tweaks here and there, a little trimming, build yourself up towards budgeting every penny that comes into the house and every penny that goes out.

There will be mistakes made, ooops, spent too much, learn from it, be more vigilant next time. Budgeting does not mean you have to deprive yourself, it means you need to work out what your priorities are. Cut costs on what isn't important to you, so you have money for what is important. If you are a couple sit down together, get out the bills, the bank statements, work out where you want to spend your money. It will be an uphill struggle if you are battling against a partner who is not singing from the same songsheet.

Rules about what you spend your money on. There are no rules, you make up your own. Just because the folks down the street change their car every year, doesn't mean you have to. Don't be a sheep. I don't care what other people do, jealousy is a destructive emotion.

I love the fact that having less gives me more freedom. I started seriously on my frugal journey just over ten years ago. My finances were pretty low, but I didn't care. The challenge was to survive no matter what. I cut the spending to an acceptable level, my treats were super cheap, and therefore I valued them more. Now ten years later I am in a good place. I am looking forward to the next ten years.

I'll be off to Tesco in an hour to see what I can get in the way of cheap food. Haven't been for a while, need to restock the fridge.

Good luck on your journey to a frugal and simple life. If you want it, take some time to work out how to get there. It's all down to you.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Getting more for your money.

Getting more for your money.

budgeting shopping frugal money saving

Hello. Isn't it amazing that a simple code can identify one little video on yooootoooob among the millions that are published every day. This has taken ages to upload, it's a bit too long really, I maybe ought to set a timer when I start talking because I do waffle on a bit.

I have had requests for more videos, I think people like my waffling. These money saving tips have already been covered in previous posts, but maybe a reminder is needed to keep you all on the road to frugal living.



Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Saving pennies means more for holidays

Saving pennies means more for holidays

arty stuff budgeting shopping crafty stuff frugal money saving

Hello. Wow, it's blustery outside, hope Storm Doris passes over by the end of the day. The lengths I go to, to save a few pennies, a lot of people would laugh and think I am bonkers. 

I'll tell you how I saved 34p by buying a dented tin of condensed milk. It was reduced from 55p to 25p, so I have saved already. But I look at this differently. I normally buy soya milk at 59p a litre carton. I always look for cheaper alternatives to keep my spending low, and I will sometimes buy a similar product to save money. I quite like condensed milk but I don't buy it at normal price. 

No fancy tin openers here, a bog standard stab it and lever it around the edge. These openers last hundreds of years, ha ha.

The measuring jug tells me it is almost half a litre. Now what, not much saving at 50p a litre. Aha, now here's the trick, I am going to dilute this with water, giving me double the quantity. I will keep it in the fridge, put half the amount I normally put on my cereals, and top it up with tap water. Bingo, saved 34p. I shall be spending some of my savings soon on a trip. I have a train ticket, and one night in a hotel booked.

Another look in the skip revealed a set of curtains, just need a wash, and a metal ornate lampshade. Good eh! I've had a word with the owner and she said I could have anything I wanted. The skip is full with mostly garden rubbish at the moment, it is due to be collected in the next few days. I do hope they bring it back empty because I shall be watching it if they do.

Progress report on the Woodland picture. Not giving much away at the moment, a lot more stitching to be done, but because it is a smaller picture it shouldn't take months like the big ones do.  

That's all for now, thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Let's go Down The Lane

Let's go Down The Lane

frugal personal finance

Hello. I'm going to be a bit busy today, so here is a little something to read to keep you going. You may not have seen it before. Down the Lane boss Richard, has written an article about me, it's on his web site. There are other articles about frugal living, links are on the sidebar to the left. You might want to take a look at those as well while you are there.

The Simple Life

I am taking part in his Frugal February project on the forum. It's in the form of diaries by various forum members. You already know about my frugal ways, but you might like to read how other people are tackling their bid to save money. You don't need to join to read, but if you want to go into the members section at the bottom of the main menu, you will have to join.

Frugal February

I'll leave you to it, have a nice day. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Money matters

Money matters

budgeting shopping frugal money saving

Hello. My Saturday musings. It's very easy to get into bad habits. Lapses of concentration, following the crowd, taking your eye off the ball, daydreaming, and drifting along in a robotic way can cause you lose track of the many alternative ways of doing things. There is a thin line between going on automatic pilot, and becoming obsessed. with sticking to how you have always done it.

My money saving efforts have become routine over the years, they are embedded in my personality. Being mindful of how much I spend and what I spend it on comes naturally. It takes no effort at all to take care of my needs first, and if there is anything left over, I have money for a few wants. This is how I have always done it.

I have a few food items on my needs list, and thankfully they are also good for me, like coffee, eggs, bananas,  vegetables, and cheese. Everything else is what I would like to eat, but could manage without it. My eating habits are generally very good, steering clear of anything that might do me harm. My self control while out and about near shops is very strong, I ignore all advertising and don't do impulse shopping.

So, my money management skills have held me in good stead, I am at the point where I can relax a little. I can afford to move a few of the wants into the needs category. But this is where I'm struggling. This line down the middle is not moving. My good habits of spending frugally are blocking my way, and are in danger of becoming bad habits.

An example. I have been putting the heating on for an hour or so, just to take the chill off. But, I still sit here with a dressing gown on over my clothes. Then I get hot and instead of taking the dressing gown off I  turn the heating off. I have it in my head that I don't need to spend money to keep warm.

Another example, I still save my bath water for flushing the toilet. I don't need to because I can afford to pay my water bill. But it doesn't seem right to pull the plug out and let it all go down the drain when it could be put to better use. And it doesn't seem right to flush fresh water down the loo when there is an abundance of grey water available.

Another example. I could afford to eat out, but I can't see the point in paying over the odds to sit in a noisy place and eat god knows what with other people, when I have delicious healthy food at home.

So you can see that my good habits are becoming a little bit restrictive in a way, and are in danger of becoming bad habits. Maybe I ought to be working towards becoming more flexible.

Last month I had a letter from my small private pension provider. Basically they would like to get rid of me out of their system. They offered me a lump sum, quite a sizable lump sum, to pay me off. I have been receiving a bit from them for the last ten years and it has been a nice little top up. Before I retired it was what kept me going, along with a couple of small jobs. I have had a word with my financial adviser, aka my best friend Carol, and I have come to the conclusion that as I hope to be alive in twenty years time, I would be losing out if I was to take the money and run. Hmmmm, I could splash out on some luxuries, or one big luxury, but I can't think of anything I need. I could probably spend it on the house, but that has never been a priority with me. It's still standing, is weatherproof, and it doesn't have to look like a show house. So, for now I will carry on as I have been doing and in ten years I will be the winner as I carry on receiving the pension.

It's 'orrible outside, raining. I will do my three miles later but it's not worth going anywhere else. So on with the sewing. Thanks for popping in, enjoy your Saturday. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip