Just had to sneak an extra post in today to mention a few things I’ve really appreciated over the past week…

Husband woke up at 2am on Christmas Day with horrendous toothache that kept him up for the rest of the night. NHS Direct gave us a phone number and we managed to get an emergency appointment on Christmas Day. We had to drive an hour each way but how amazing is that? For the tiny sum of £16.60 he had a filling done on the spot and we were back in time for lunch at my parents.

Two days ago we were out in our nearest city when Husband realised he had lost his keys (for home, his car and work). Major panic ensued and much traipsing around trying to retrace our footsteps. We phoned the police station an hour later and, hey presto, some lovely person had found them and taken the trouble to go and hand them in.

Not only have I had to hand back my company car this week but Husband’s car has died and the garage isn’t open until Monday. This is a bit of a nightmare as we both need to get to work not to mention the fact that my next scan is due in a couple of weeks time and will be taking place miles away. Not only did Dad drive me to see a car yesterday (it needs stuff doing to it alas) and came out again today to try and help Husband get his car going, but some friends of ours have offered to lend us their second car until we are sorted. They are currently trying to get us put on their insurance so we’ll have some transport for the next few weeks.

I hardly ever get to go to the butchers (it isn’t open when I’m at home and there isn’t one in the town where I work) but I popped down earlier today as I had forgotten to take some meat out of the freezer for dinner tonight. The butcher (and yes, he was jolly) charged me £2.74 for three minted lamb chops but said he’d throw in an extra one. When I got home I realised that he had given me not one extra chop but three! I popped half of them into a bag and into the freezer which will provide dinner another night for nothing, other than some veg or rice.

How blinkin’ lovely is all that?!

It sounds easy - obvious even. But really knowing what you’ve got is a quick way to help you spend less. Through several hard-core bouts of decluttering I’ve discovered a lot of things that I had simply forgotten about. By putting them all together and storing them properly I can see exactly what I’ve got. Through the year things have got a bit muddled so I’ll be going through my various drawers and storage boxes again as a reminder. I find that knowing how much I already have can nip any unplanned spending in the bud. There are only so many notepads, bags, earrings and so on that one person needs!

Here are some examples of what I mean – a bit random and disconnected as they might seem:

• Stationery: Having been a long term stationery junkie I discovered I had A LOT of supplies and wouldn’t need to replenish them for a long time. I cleared a couple of shelves in a (very small!) cupboard so I would be able to see what I had and know where to find things when I needed them. I was amazed by how many notepads, pens and cards I had. I’ve been keeping one notepad handy at a time instead of having several on the go. When it runs out I throw it away and fetch a new, or slightly used, one from the cupboard. I doubt I’ll need to buy a biro for 10 years or more! Here’s what I found when I did my first big stationery clear-up.
• Make-up: get it all together, clear out the junk and rotate it around to make sure you get the most out of what you’ve already invested in. More on this on a later post though…
• Clothes: I have got rid of six bin bags of clothes this year. Six! And I was never a massive clothes shopper in the first place. I took the unwanted stuff to chairty shops after letting my colleagues pick out what they wanted first. More organised/motivated people than me could easily have made some money by selling it all on ebay or at a car boot sale. Personally I just wanted it out of the house in a way that it wouldn’t go to waste. By clearing out all of the stuff I didn’t really like or feel comfortable in I now have a collection of clothes that are just right. It also means that, if I’m tempted to shop, I can see realistically what I might actually need and what I don’t.
• Accessories: I have lots. And lots. I’ve reorganised my accessory storage, which made me realise how many lovely things I already have – hence don’t need to go out and buy new things very often. I now have an entire drawer dedicated to scarves which I can sort through easily, a jewellery box and several little pots for earrings and so on. I have a rummage quite often to remind myself of what I’ve got.
• Food: Yes, that stuff lurking at the back of the cupboard and in the freezer. Bin out of date stuff and give away the things you bought on a whim but know you’ll never use. Get all of the stuff nearing its use by date on one shelf or somewhere where you can’t miss it and incorporate these items into your meal plans to make sure the money you’ve already spent on it doesn’t go to waste (and to save spending more than you need to on your food shopping).
• Books: I seem to buy books and then forget about them. I’ve got around this by reorganising my book collection (though this, like everything else, seems to be an ongoing proccess) so that I have a single shelf dedicated to books I own but haven’t actually read. This means I know exactly where to go when I want to read something ‘new’ and it isn’t a shop!
• DIY stuff: I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve bought new paint brushes and so on, only to discover usable ones in the back of cupboards. It is really worth getting a plastic storage box for all of this stuff so you can check it before deciding if you really need to go out and purchase something. I need to get a bit more organised on this.
• Play stuff: You know what I mean – cameras, ‘how to’ books, board games, craft supplies. All that stuff we accumulate to learn about or entertain ourselves with and then forget about. Over the next few days I’m going to clear out part of our sideboard (which I don’t use for a posh dinner service because, well, I don’t have one) and put it all together so I know where to find it all.
• Kitchen equipment: I got rid of a few gadgets that I was clearly never going to use. I also stripped down our collections of bowls, crockery and utensils to just those things I might realistically need. Stuff that only gets used occasionally lives at the back of the cupboards to make space at the front for the things that get used more often. I enjoy cooking and baking much more than I used to and I know this is largely down to how much easier my kitchen is to use now I can find everything!
• Bags: My bag collection was another victim of my decluttering this year. I got rid of loads. I still have, er, quite a few it seems. I have three that I rotate for work depending on the season or if I’m bored. I also have a couple of weekend bags (one casual, one smart) and several fabric bags that are great for trips to the shops or the library. I discovered quite a few forgotten items. Some I had forgotten because they weren’t that great (hence were taken promptly to the charity shop) but the bags that survived the cull now get used regularly.

I have found that, by knowing what I already have, I not only spend less (because I’ve realised I don’t need much more than I’ve already got) but I’m also using things more, hence making the most of my previous investments!

Budgeting for food is something I bang on about a lot. I am constantly amazed by how much people tell me they spend on their food shopping. I know a couple of people how profess to spend very little on food but this is really because they are away a lot and don’t really keep track of what they do spend when they are at home. I found that cutting my food budget was an easy way to save some money. While other bills, such as council tax, remain much the same from month to month, the food budget is something that can be adjusted from week to week. Comparing my 2009 weekly budget to that in 2008 I have spent at least £20 a week less. This means that, even on a conservative estimate, I have been able to save around £1000 during the year. No wonder my bank balance has been looking so much healthier! Believe it or not, we’ve actually eaten better this year too – much more fruit and veg and many more meals cooked from scratch. All it has cost is a bit of time to make a plan. Over the past year I’ve talked about how I’ve cut my food budget in half and so on but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to pool all of my ideas in one place for the sake of this series:

• Make packed lunches: Everyone says this is a good idea because, well, it really is. There are occasions where I run out of time, or my planning has gone off track and I pick up a sandwich, but it happens very rarely. Also, one of the things I asked for at Christmas was a flask. I’m really pleased with it and love the fact that I don’t have to pick up take-outs on the run. I know a few people who always manage to make sure that they have a snack in their bag (such as a small pack of dried fruit or nuts) so they don’t end up stopping at corner shops and buying junk food. This seems like a great idea to me though I’m not quite that organised yet!
• Make batches of food for the freezer: Sometimes I have cooking sessions specifically to stock up. Other times I make up 4 or 6 portions of whatever I am making (such as lasagne) so the rest can go in the freezer. Per portion, it costs a lot less to cook in bulk and also saves a lot of time in the long run.
• Make a meal plan: I say this a lot – with good reason. It stops things from going to waste and saves buying things that aren’t really needed. I  make a plan for a week at a time and check my diary while I’m doing it. There is no point planning a meal for each night if checking your diary reminds you that you aren’t going to be in. This is also handy if you realise you might need a packed snack as you’ll be on the move rather than sitting down to a proper meal. Since we often eat with friends, checking my diary when I’m meal planning also reminds me if I need to get things to make a dessert to take with us etc. I also check my cupboards to see if anything is coming towards the end of its use by date to make sure it gets used up in time.
• Make a store-cupboard list: I have a store-cupboard list of dry or tinned goods such as pasta, chopped tomatoes etc and also for non-food items such as binliners, tin foil, washing-up liquid. I do a big shop at a cheaper supermarket once a month to stock up on all of these things (to make sure I get the lowest price possible) after checking the contents of my cupbaords and freezer against this list.
• Set a budget: I adjust my food budget slightly each month depending on how much money I have and what my general plans are. While I can be flexible, I try to stick to this budget as much as possible. If I over-spend one week, I’ll try to cut back the next to make up for it. However, if I come in below budget then I might buy a few extra treats the next.
• Don’t pick up extras: This really is key. I’m not talking about the times where you run out of milk or realise you have forgotten to buy something essential for making a meal. I’m talking about nipping into a shop for a packet of biscuits or buying a ready meal because cooking something from scratch seems too much hassle. Speaking of which…
• Cook from scratch!: I’m no great cook – really. But I have made the effort to learn to cook or bake as much as I can. It is an ongoing thing. I have a gorgeous recipe folder and I try to regularly add new entries to it. When I’m stuck for ideas I know exactly where to turn. There are some things I just can’t seem to crack (like white sauce for the top of lasagne – I am resigned to buying it in a jar if I want the dish to taste any good) but I’ll give anything a go. 
• Left-overs: Find ways to use up left overs. Soup, stock, bubble and squeak are all easy things that spring to mind.
• Marked down food: I rarely seem to be in the supermarket at the right time to pick up marked down food but I do find the occasional bargain (yesterday I bought a quiche marked down to 40p!). Bread and baked goods, such as scones, are often marked down and can be popped into the freezer until they are required.

Everyone is going to have slightly different needs when it comes to food shopping, so no-one’s food budget is going to be exactly the same. I’ve struggled the past few months because, due to my pregnancy, I can’t really predict what I’m going to be able to eat and what will suddenly turn my stomach! Similarly, some people are on their own, some people have large families, some people have to spend more on some things due to food allergies etc. The one thing that I think is true to say of anyone is that a bit of planning should mean at least a few pounds can be saved!

My motto this year seems to have been ‘Spend Less, Save More’. On the whole I’ve stuck to it pretty well. Since there is a brand, spanking New Year just around the corner I thought it might be a good time to do a little series on this very theme. I’m doing this because, what with all of the pregnany, job changing and Christmas madness I feel like I need to refocus so that I stay on track.

Many of the things in my ‘Spend Less, Save More’  Top Ten will be a re-hash of things I’ve already talked about but it seems like a good idea to have all of my ideas down in one place so I know what I’m trying to do. I tend to think that everyone is so different that there can be no ‘one size fits all’ approach to anything. However, if anyone finds any of it useful too then so much the better!

‘Spend Less, Save More’ Part 1: Setting a monthly budget

I know it seems boring and and obvious and I also know that it is something every finance book and blog talks about, but setting a budget and sticking to it is the only way I know of keeping out of debt and trying to save.

When I’m working out my budget I sit down with my diary, a calculator and my trusty filofax and plan the following:

• Basic expenses: For me this includes my contribution to the joint account which has direct debits set up for all of our regular bills from the mortgage to the water bill. This is the same every month and is at the top of my list.
• Food: I’ll be posting on this subject later in the series but surfice it to say that I set a budget for the month depending on whether my wages need to stretch for 4 or 5 weeks.
• Fuel: I slightly over budget for this every month in case we end up going on a few unplanned trips (we usually do!).
• Spending money: I give myself £30 a week spending money for going out and bits and bobs.
• Contingency: I usually put back a small contingency fund of around £40 a month. This comes in handy if we get invited out somewhere or if a small, unexpected bill appears.
• Checking my diary: I always look at the month ahead to see if there are any birthdays, haircuts, planned outings and so on. There is always something going on and I find it best to budget for these things in advance to make sure I actually have the funds in place!
• Savings: I decide how much to put back straight-away (based on my other expenses for the month) and what I am going to be putting these savings towards. During 2009 I have had savings funds for Christmas, holidays, starting a family and emergencies. The savings funds will be different in 2010, but I find I am more motivated when I am saving towards something specific.

My food and spending budgets are set on a weekly basis and I usually take out cash for both. Each fund has its own purse. I like paying for these things in cash as I find it a good reminder of how much I have left. If I over spend one week then I cut back the next to make sure it lasts. At the end of the month, if there is anything left from my food, spending, fuel or contingency funds then I either add it to my savings or put it aside for a treat.

Once a week I do my online banking, check off all of my receipts and make any adjustments needed. I also use this time to update my budget for each thing so I know how much I have left to spend on food etc. From time to time I keep a spending journal and record exactly what I’ve spent down to the last penny. I only really do this if I notice I’ve been buying unncessesary odds and ends and it gets me back on track! I know a lot of people in blogland who do this is in one or another and it really is a good way to learn where money is being wasted.

I’m not on a small income and I don’t have to keep such a watchful eye on my finances. What I will say is that, by doing so, I have paid off any outstanding debt and saved more than I ever have. I also spend a lot less time dealing with clutter because I don’t buy things I don’t need or want. 2009 has been the first year of my adult life I’ve had real financial peace of mind. I didn’t panic over the change in jobs (and the dramatic cut in wages or the loss of my company car) because I knew that a) I was already living on a lot less than my income and b) I had some funds to back me up during the transition. A couple of years ago it occured to me that if I ever changed jobs I wouldn’t necessarily be going to a job that offered a company car. I decided to tuck some money away in an ISA and, ever since, I have pretended it doesn’t exist. If I’ve needed money for other things I have either saved up more or gone without. I was adamant, in my own mind, that the money was only ever for if I needed to buy a car and so it has never been touched. It isn’t a huge amount of money, and I’m going to have to use most of my emergency fund to get something halfway decent, but I’m so glad there is something there at all.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that money is the be all and end all because it isn’t. What I will say is that most of us have to go out and earn money to live so we might as well make the most of what we take home at the end of the month. I enjoy working in my industry, I’ve been doing it for years and I’ve got no intention of doing anything else. However, I wouldn’t do it for fun. I do it to earn a living - pure and simple. If I’m giving up my free time I’m not going to waste the wages I get in return! Earning a wage means I can pay my living expenses, have a few nice things from time to time, go out, go on holiday and also prepare for the future and the unexpected. If I don’t set a budget and then keep an eye on my spending it all seems to go out of the window.

2010 is going to be challenging financially – less money, new baby and maternity leave to mention just a few things – so I’ve really got to make sure I keep on top of my planning!

There seems to be quite a lot of debate about whether shopping in sales is a good idea or not. Some argue that it isn’t a good idea because all you are buying are left over items that no-one else wanted. Others argue that they will only buy during sales because it isn’t worth buying things at full price when you can wait a little while and get a good discount. I can see both sides of it. The main reason I tend to stay away is that I can’t stand the madness – trying to find parking, being jostled along pavements, not being able to get to various displays and then getting elbowed as soon as you get near! However, Shoestring lass that I am, I do like a sales bargain.

This morning, from the comfort of my own home, I ordered some things from the Next sale. I managed to get a pair of maternity jeans for £10, a half price maternity top (that will be nice in Spring) and a half price beanie hat since mine seems to have vanished and my ears keep getting cold. If they turn out to be okay I shall be very pleased as there are some genuine bargains in there. I mean, really, what is the point of buying maternity jeans at full price when you can get them on sale? Jeans are jeans are jeans. If you find a cut/colour that you’re happy with, they don’t change much from season to season. The maternity top looks very light and has 3/4 length sleeves so will be good for when I’m actually big enough to need it as it won’t be so cold by then. I still don’t need any special maternity clothes yet. Many folk have told me that their baby bumps suddenly got much bigger at around the 20 week mark. I still look like I’ve merely eaten a large roast dinner. Maybe followed by a big pudding. I haven’t had to put the belly band into service yet but I reckon I’ve only got a week or two left before I’ll have to.

As for other sale shopping…I was given some money for Christmas by my lovely Gran. Rather than buy something to have in time for Christmas Day I decided to hang on to it and see what I could get in the sales. For the past year I’ve been hankering after a new pair of heeled leather boots. Mine all seem to have decided to start looking distinctly tatty at the same time. I’m going to try to brave the crowds and see what I can get. Buying things like leather boots on sale always seems like a good idea to me as, if they are half price, there tends to be a massive saving. The only trouble is, my tolerance for any kind of clothes shopping is low at the best of times. During the January sales I only seem to be able to manage about half an hour, maybe 45 minutes at a push. I’ll do my best!

I’ll also be looking out for Christmas cards and wrapping paper. And a few little bits and pieces to go in my gift boxes. I’m going to be on my lowest budget ever this year (due to the huge cut in pay combined with maternity leave). I’m not complaining. I’ve got a job (when many do not) and I’m having my much longed for baby so I consider myself to also be in line for an amazing year. However, money will be tighter than usual which means I am going to have to be more organised with my spending than ever. Hence I will be making a bigger effort than ever to get some things now while a) I have some pennies to spend, b) things are available at a discount and c) leaving the house doesn’t require buggies/changing bags/general host of skills worthy of the Krypton Factor…

However you chose to celebrate – I hope you had a good one! xx

I’ve just about got everything done I wanted to do today. I had planned to go and do a big food shop tomorrow but the weather and driving reports are so awful I was kind of dreading it. Instead I popped into Co-op and managed to get everything I wanted. This cost a lot more than it would have done had I managed to make it to Tesco but I think, considering I don’t have to make a trip on the icy roads, it was worth it. Plus, I can get up and get on with all of the things I wanted to do tomorrow without having to do the shopping too. It’s a good enough compromise for me!

I’ve got a lot of ‘picky’ food instead of the usual kind of thing since we’re going to be in and out over the next few days. As planned, I bought extra treats that I don’t usually get such as some particularly nice fruit juice, pear cider for Husband, olives from the deli counter, ham, ritz biscuits, chocolate fingers and so on. Unfortunately it seems I can now add hot chocolate to my list of things that I have gone off. Oh well! The house looks clean and tidy, the (very small) Christmas tree is up and the lights are on and I’ve got a kitchen full of good food. I hardly have any chores left for tomorrow so I shall probably catch up with a couple of people and do a spot of baking. And reading. And eating…

The band had a gig last night and we managed to see lots of friends into the bargain which was great. Since Husband is working today and the roads are too icy to contemplate the supermarket I’ve decided to have a day at home sorting things out. I always enjoy Christmas more when I’m not surrounded by things I ought to have done! I’m taking things at a fairly leisurely pace (half hour sit down with a cuppa for every hour spent ‘doing’) but I’ve got through quite a lot. Here’s what on the agenda for today:

• A really good tidy up. As in not just making neat piles of things but actually putting everything away and giving everything a good clean
• Washing and ironing
• Sorting Christmas presents into bags to be distributed over the next few days
• Making a shopping list for groceries and trying to work out what I want to cook/bake for various gatherings
• Doing my online banking and working out how much I have left until the end of the month

I still don’t know exactly where I stand regarding work and money but I’m not too stressed about it. It does seem that I will be in work one way or another but exactly what money I’ll get from where (and when) is still a bit up in the air. This is good enough for me. I’m just going to be patient until it is all sorted out. Until then, I’m going to stick to my budget and accept that I can’t make any major financial plans for a month or so.

Spending the first day of the Christmas hols cleaning and sorting might not seem very festive. For me, I find that if everything at home is sorted out and organised it is much easier to keep on top of. If it is easy to keep on top of, then I have more time to enjoy doing other things. Our entrance hall is going to be looking like a bit of a war zone over the next week or so. Not only will we be looking after all of the band equipment but we’re also stacking up things that need to be taken to the dump. This is fine really. I’m just grateful that we have somewhere to put it all that keeps the main rooms clear!

Tea break thus over, I’m going to get on and tackle this cleaning so I can get on with the rest of the things on my list!

Yup. I feel much better today than I did yesterday and also better this afternoon than I did this morning. Clearly keeping active and getting up earlier is doing something good! I’ll have to give it more than one day to see if this is really the solution to the headches and sickness but so far so good. Today I have:

• Had a good tidy up
• Put two loads of washing on
• Sorted though my book collection and put 20 paperbacks into a bag to take to the charity shop tomorrow
• Been to band practice
• Delivered my local Christmas cards

I’ve also finished sorting out my crockery cupboard. I now have extras and only one or two odds and ends on the top shelf with the lower two shelves clean and tidy holding all of my new stuff. It is lovely to open the door and see a stripped down collection of essentials instead of all that clutter. The box of old stuff is in a box in the car waiting to go to the office tomorrow.

I’m going to need to do more book sorting. With the contents of the spare room having to be vacated soon I’m going to ahve to get serious about what books I really, really want to keep. This is like fighting my own nature. I love books and I love having a big collection of them. Plus I quite often re-read books so it isn’t wasted space. However, space is short and a lot of them are going to have to go. I’d say that through the course of the year I have taken well over 100 books to the chairty shop (and, no, that’s not a misprint). I’m glad I managed to put aside another 20 without too much dithering. I’ll see if I can clear out another 20 and take them up on Tuesday. It would be good to get some more out of the way before Christmas…

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on my last post. I’m not really in a major panic. I’ve been saving all year and I will hopefully still have a job which are the most important things in this situation. I am so glad I started this project nearly a year ago! I know how to live on less and I have some back-up so it won’t be as much of a shock as it would have been otherwise.

I’m not feeling quite as well as I would have liked, being now well into my second trimester. Yesterday I had an awful headache all day which got so bad it made me sick. This happened the other weekend too. Weirdly I don’t seem to feel as bad during the week so I’ve been trying to work out what I’m doing differently at weekends to try and break this pattern. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

• Sleep: During the week I get up at around 7.30am to get ready for work. At the weekends I usually stay in bed for a couple of extra hours to try and catch up with my sleep. I feel tired a lot so this is pretty hard to resist. However, I think staying in bed is giving me a headche and making me feel nauseous. Despite the fact you are advised to get rest if you don’t feel well, particularly during pregnancy, I don’t think this is working for me. I made myself get up at 8.30am today. I think I will have to make sure I am up by this time every weekend, no matter how tired I feel, because I just feel worse if I don’t.
• Food: Is still tricky. I want to eat healthily for the sake of the baby but every time I see or smell anything like meat or vegetables or a proper cooked meal it turns my stomach. If I try to make myself eat, it makes me sick. I am just about at the end of my ideas for what I can eat. Fruit, toast and crisps (which I don’t usually eat very often) seem to be the only food I can keep down properly.
• Coffee: I’ve been having one mug when I get to work (instant and with caffine) but I don’t do this at weekends. However, it seems to sort my stomach out and makes me feel better which seems like a contradiction! I might try having a coffee when I’ve been up for about an hour at weekends too.
• Bedtime: Is slightly earlier in the week. I haven’t been staying up that much later at weekends (maybe an hour or so) but going to bed earlier on a Friday and Saturday night has got to be worth having a go.
• Doing more: Obviously I get more done (and faster) during the week as I am going out to work and then coming home, cooking or doing chores etc. I’ve been trying to go easy at weekends – it feels right at the time –  but I actually think it isn’t doing me any favours. I wish it made me feel more rested, which it sort of does, but it also seems to give me headches and makes me sick. This is worse than feeling tired.
• Going outside: I drag myself out for a short walk every lunch break just to get a bit of fresh air. I also get outside on a Sunday because I go to band practice. However, Saturdays seem to have turned into a staying in sort of a day. I feel so rubbish by the time I get up that it takes me hours to try and eat something, have a wash and get dressed.  All I want to do is curl up and read a book or watch a film. But, like everything else, I think it is actually making me feel worse.

I am going to have to try and pay attention to the above as I am about to have nearly a week and a half off work. If I’m not careful, every day of my break could turn out to be like a saturday! What I feel like doing is staying in bed, getting lots of rest and wearing my PJs all day. Clearly what I need to do is go to bed early, get up early, go outside and keep busy even if I want to just sit down. I’d rather feel tired than ill and currently it seems to be a toss up between the two!

I am going to experiment with this today to see if I am right. I got up at a decent time and had a small bowl of fruit salad and a slice of toast for breakfast plus a big glass of water. Next I am going to spend half an hour tidying up, doing a few bits of ironing and putting some washing on. Then I’m going to sit down with a coffee and a book before getting dressed. Once I’m ready I’ll see if I can persuade Husband to come for a little walk with me to deliver some Christmas cards. Then band practice. If I get chance I really must see if I can get the Christmas decorations out sometime today. I’ll try, yet again, to have something decent to eat this evening and then go to bed early. I’ll report back if any of this actually seems to have worked!

Has anyone else found that they actually feel worse if they try to get more rest?!