Do I want it? No. Do I need it? No. Save it! #3

[rainbowlemon]

Just a heads up seeing as I have recommended the investing platform Vanguard. They're putting their fees up x3 for accounts less than £32k and if it's not a actively managed. It includes SIPPS too.

£4 a month is a lot.

Someone who has invested £500 and someone else with £31k invested will pay the same £48 a year.

 

[really_whythough]

That’s crazy! That was the whole point of going. With Vanguard. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[bottlewrapper]

However, this selling has stopped me buying. I do not want to buy something only to sore it in a cupboard for years only to sell it for about third of its original price.

Oof. This has hit home.

 

[Silverback]

We’ve been planning on downsizing for the past few years. We had one sale collapse near completion

I’ve had to bite the bullet on getting rid of the vast number of clothes and accessories I had.
I loved a bargain so none of it was super expensive. I’ve sold a lot on eBay and Vinted. Slow and steady sales.

My former self would have very disappointed with the amounts I received.

However, this selling has stopped me buying. I do not want to buy something only to sore it in a cupboard for years only to sell it for about third of its original price.

I plan on wearing all my clothes and using all my accessories till they fall apart.
Would recommend this if you have shopaholic tendencies.

We have been thinking of downsizing too. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but we would love to get rid of the mortgage and have a bit more disposable cash. It would mean going from a 3 bed house to a 2 bed house or flat though, and it’s tricky because it’s wonderfully quiet where we are now, so moving to a flat with potential noise problems would be awful.

 

[Curly Top]

We have been thinking of downsizing too. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but we would love to get rid of the mortgage and have a bit more disposable cash. It would mean going from a 3 bed house to a 2 bed house or flat though, and it’s tricky because it’s wonderfully quiet where we are now, so moving to a flat with potential noise problems would be awful.

Understand this totally. We have seen some lovely flats and sometimes they are bigger than houses for the same price. There are a lot of advantages but I just can't shake off the worry of other people close at hand, being noisy, nosy and potentially hostile. I also worry about the lack of control over service charges.

 

[Curiouscupcake]

Oof. This has hit home.

This is the reason I’ve really struggled with Christmas this year. We took a boot FULL to the charity shop today as I’ve been trying to declutter here and there and I’ve also sold a fair bit recently too. Got rid of a load of my daughters toys and am sickened at how much we have spent over the years just so she had gifts to open etc or we HAD to give people suggestions to get her something. this year I’ve cut right back, they do still have a few gifts each but nowhere near as much as normal. I’m also struggling with ideas, even experiences, for myself as I just see everything as a waste of money now. I’ve almost gone the other way. I’ve also realised how much excess so many of us have. My husband was talking to his mum about things to get me… handbags no, earrings no, pyjamas no. Partly because I am fussy but partly because I already have more than I really need or use. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have loads and loads of stuff but I rarely change my earrings for example and I have used the same handbag for 2 years and my purse I’ve had for 10 years and probably used for the last 6 or 7 years!

I almost hate how grinchy I’ve become as I see it all as a waste, I did a lovely workshop making something the other day. I rarely do these because I just think what am I going to do with the end result (painting or crochet item etc) so I don’t bother. I enjoyed it though and it was really lovely taking 2 hours out to do something just for me that isn’t doom scrolling.

I wish it meant we were not spending too much money but somehow we still do

 

[rainbowlemon]

That’s crazy! That was the whole point of going. With Vanguard. Thanks for the heads up.

It is against the ethos of the founder Bogle, who passed away in 2019.

It penalizes the small investors who haven't had the time to build up to the larger amounts yet. I didn't have lots invested with them and my fees were often less than £1 for three months.

You can buy vanguard products on other platforms. I already have an account with Investengine and will be moving to them. They have no fees on their SIPP.

I know that some might not trust the newer platforms, but they are also FSCS registered. So you do have protection up to 85k.

https://help.investengine.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4909991377437-Are-my-investments-and-money-protected

---
Also awkward but I've stuck with asking for money back from people. They're used to me being generous.

"Are you going to always be cheap when we go out?" Their contactless card wouldn't work, so I paid twice for her.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Are you going to always be cheap when we go out?" Their contactless card wouldn't work, so I paid twice for her.

Omg my love what a cheeky cow, next time she pipes up ask her if she’s gonna keep coming out with no money! Apple Pay always bleeping works, it even works underground, no excuses

 

[Ilaariaa]

You know how people say you shouldn't go to the store when you're hungry because you end up buying more food?
I accidentally discovered another tip today, and it's that if you go to the store when you need to pee you'll only buy the bare minimum to be out of there as soon as possible lol.

 

[mee43]

I need to participate in this thread more!
I’ve just totted up what I’ve spent on Christmas this year (we’re hosting on Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and I feel quite ill thinking about it!
No one contributes anything apart from one other family member, and we end up doing it every year.
That’s changing next year. It would honestly be cheaper to go out to Christmas dinner - for us anyway!

But it’s got me thinking about how much I overspend on food shopping in general.
Far too much on a weekly shop; there’s only two of us, I never have got the hang of working out a list and sticking to it. I end up buying all sorts of extras, and then I’ll pop to the shops for extra bits and bobs during the week as well.
I’m honestly ashamed and it has to stop.

 

[Notworthy]

I need to participate in this thread more!
I’ve just totted up what I’ve spent on Christmas this year (we’re hosting on Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and I feel quite ill thinking about it!
No one contributes anything apart from one other family member, and we end up doing it every year.
That’s changing next year. It would honestly be cheaper to go out to Christmas dinner - for us anyway!

But it’s got me thinking about how much I overspend on food shopping in general.
Far too much on a weekly shop; there’s only two of us, I never have got the hang of working out a list and sticking to it. I end up buying all sorts of extras, and then I’ll pop to the shops for extra bits and bobs during the week as well.
I’m honestly ashamed and it has to stop.

Cash is the answer for a few weeks atleast.
I started withdrawing £100 a week to pay for food, petrol and other day to day living expenses (over 10 years ago so it would be more now but not much more).
The 1st week I ran out of money on the Wednesday, mainly due to buying too many convenience foods, atleast half of which went in the bin because they went out of date before we ate them.
By week 4 I was actually having money left over. Depending on how much you drive I would say for us £130 is enough each week to buy food, put petrol in the car and buy the odd coffee (I only buy coffee to drink in, never to take away)

 

[mee43]

Cash is the answer for a few weeks atleast.
I started withdrawing £100 a week to pay for food, petrol and other day to day living expenses (over 10 years ago so it would be more now but not much more).
The 1st week I ran out of money on the Wednesday, mainly due to buying too many convenience foods, atleast half of which went in the bin because they went out of date before we ate them.
By week 4 I was actually having money left over. Depending on how much you drive I would say for us £130 is enough each week to buy food, put petrol in the car and buy the odd coffee (I only buy coffee to drink in, never to take away)

That’s good advice thank you.
Definitely I spend more through being able to tap everything! I reckon I’d get quite a shock if I was physically handing over money for everything I buy.

Something else I’ve woken up to is that everyone I spend time with is so much more careful with what they spend.
I’ve always been open handed; I’ll pay for coffee when I meet up with someone, always end up booking the cabs etc, and never like to ask for what I’m owed.
This needs to be reined in too.
I think I’m quite generous by nature but it won’t hurt me to let others pick up the tab now and again.

 

[Notworthy]

That’s good advice thank you.
Definitely I spend more through being able to tap everything! I reckon I’d get quite a shock if I was physically handing over money for everything I buy.

Something else I’ve woken up to is that everyone I spend time with is so much more careful with what they spend.
I’ve always been open handed; I’ll pay for coffee when I meet up with someone, always end up booking the cabs etc, and never like to ask for what I’m owed.
This needs to be reined in too.
I think I’m quite generous by nature but it won’t hurt me to let others pick up the tab now and again.

Supermarket websites are a good resources for quick, healthy recipes, I particularly like Waitrose recipes.
Part of our problem with overspending on food is lack of time so if you can build up a repertoire of meals that take under 30 mins from start to finish (actual 30 mins not Jamie Oliver 30mins) that will really help your budget. Sheet pan gnocchi recipes are great for quick, low maintenance meals.

 

[Kittylover2019]

That’s good advice thank you.
Definitely I spend more through being able to tap everything! I reckon I’d get quite a shock if I was physically handing over money for everything I buy.

Something else I’ve woken up to is that everyone I spend time with is so much more careful with what they spend.
I’ve always been open handed; I’ll pay for coffee when I meet up with someone, always end up booking the cabs etc, and never like to ask for what I’m owed.
This needs to be reined in too.
I think I’m quite generous by nature but it won’t hurt me to let others pick up the tab now and again.

Definitely go with the cash advice.

What I’ve started doing is looking in the freezer/fridge to see what is in there to be used up, pick a meat or veg source and just google a recipe. BBC Good Food has quite basic easy recipes as in usually don’t require obscure ingredients or I save instagram videos. I think if you start to have an idea of what you’re cooking through the week it gets easier. Say Monday is usually a quick pasta dish if we’ve had Sunday lunch the day before. I’ll do a fish dish if we’ve been heavy on meat, put the slow cooker on another day so it’s easy and done. If I do lasagna I’ll make 2 at the same time and split the other into portions for the freezer, same with bolognaise sauce.

Quick easy recipes are definitely they way to go to start with, if you enjoy cooking maybe a couple of new cookbooks could be useful?

Edit ** on the ‘tapping’ my child was calling at the shop on their way home from school and when I added all the £2/3’s it came to £60 in the month. They soon stopped that!

 

[carriebooboo]

https://chatgpt.com/ is good for recipes. Type in the ingredients you have and it will give you suggestions on what to make.

(They aren't all winners. )

 

[mee43]

https://chatgpt.com/ is good for recipes. Type in the ingredients you have and it will give you suggestions on what to make.
View attachment 3319270 q

(They aren't all winners. )

Thank you that’s scarily clever

 

[Notworthy]

Epicurious is another good site. The Co op magazine used to be amazing for quick meals maybe look at their site too.

 

[neverbeeninfluenced]

Does anybody use a Monza type of account for budgeting? Similar to the £100 cash a week I was thinking of getting this type of account to do it virtually.

And as somebody else said I’m far too keen to hand over my card to pay for things. At my work Xmas party I shared an uber with somebody senior who is probably on £15/£20k more than me and I paid £20 for the Uber each way!

 

[Ilaariaa]

I was struggling with meal planning recently, it felt like I always rotated the same recipes, so I opened a blank Word document and wrote out all of the dishes I could think of. I went by category, so I started with pasta and brainstormed all the different kinds of pasta that I make and that my mum and grandma used to make. Then moved on to rice, then meat, chicken, etc. I tried to think really hard about all the dishes I know how to make.
Then I went back and underlined recipes that I don't make very often, not because they're time consuming or anything, but because I just don't think about them when I'm meal planning. Stuff like my grandma's pasta with potatoes, it's delicious and the ingredients are always on hand but for some reason I never think about making it.
So now I have a nice list of all the recipes I can make to refer back to when I plan my meals. The recipes I should make more often are highlighted so I can include them in my meal plans for more variety.

 

[heretoreaditall2019]

Does anybody use a Monza type of account for budgeting? Similar to the £100 cash a week I was thinking of getting this type of account to do it virtually.

I use Monzo for my discretionary spending money, and sinking funds, and roundups! I really like it, but will flag that I use Monzo purely as I was part of that first wave of signups eons ago so they may not necessarily have the best functionality/rates/app anymore.

However I googled to see which bank has the best IFTTT (if this, then that) functionality and found this landing page for Monzo - so sounds as if you could set up some weekly rules around spending quite easily:

IFTTT

Automate your financial life with Monzo and IFTTT.

monzo.com