This week my Word of the Week is:
This past week has seen us tightening our belts a little when it comes to money. Stu has been paid weekly for the last 7 years or so but at the end of this month he goes on to monthly pay.
I know that getting paid monthly is the norm for some people but we have never had to deal with it. We've always had money coming in each week to cover the bills when they are due. Now we're going to have to budget a bit more.
It all started last week when it came to paying the water bill. We usually pay it twice yearly but this time they sent us a bill for the full amount due on the 1st of April. We could have paid it but it would have been a struggle with the change on to monthly pay. We gave them a ring and they were very helpful. We are now paying quarterly. So instead of paying the nearly £400 by they 1st of April we are only paying £90 something.
The second part of budgeting was when it came to doing the shopping. I cut out buying all the snacky food for the kids. Dairylea dunkers, cocktail sausages, chicken bits and sweet things. The reason I initially did this was to stop the kids just eating for the sake of eating but then I realised it cut over £20 off the shopping bill. I think I am going to be carrying this on. There is still fruit, yoghurts and crisps if they really need something to eat but this past week they haven't bothered and they have eaten all of their meals!
I was on a roll so had a look at the gas & electric tariffs and realised we were not on the best one. So I changed to one that won't save us a fortune but a few pounds a year is better in my pocket than theirs. hehehe
We have also been looking at the Sky packages. We were sent a letter a few weeks ago how the prices are going up. Ugh. We're in a contract at the moment but once it is finished we're planning on getting rid, getting a freeview box which records and faster internet for less than we are paying now.
We had parents evening on Wednesday and got to chat to all of Becky's teachers. They all said she is doing so well and basically said keep doing what she's doing and she'll do great in her exams. We also got the results for her mock GCSE's and for most of her subjects she got 4, 5's and 6's which are the new C and B grades. I am so proud of her and said if she did well I would buy her some of those airpod things that she's been raving about. They're just headphones without wires but they're the new in thing. Now I have to budget for them. lol
Well done Becky!! And well done you for all that budgeting. I had a Frugal February which helped keep things in check, once you start it does get easier to carry on. Thanks for linking up to #Wotw xx
ReplyDeleteGood luck with it all. I stopped buying snacky foods because my youngest son got into the habit of coming in from school and eating ridiculous amounts of it. Now I tell him to make a sandwich or eat some fruit. Budget wise it makes a big difference as well!
ReplyDeleteWell done on all the savings you have made this week, going onto monthly pay is hard at first to get used to but after the first couple of months it gets easier. We are dropping the SKY TV in October when our contract is up, we barely watch anything on there anymore preferring Netflix. Well done to Becky, she's doing amazing x
ReplyDeleteWow! That's some great money saving. Monthly pay is a lot harder to budget for when you are used to being paid weekly. I used to be paid monthly and had to really watch what was being spent at first, but once you get into the swing of things it becomes the norm.
ReplyDeleteWell done Becky! You must be so proud. x
I can imagine moving from weekly to monthly pay will take a little time to get used but it sounds like you've done a great job with the budgeting this week and making savings. We're considering changing our TV package too - it's one of those things that seems to just creep up and up and given we only watch a small handful of channels, I'm sure we could get a much better deal elsewhere too. A huge well done to Becky on doing so well on her mocks too x #WotW
ReplyDeleteGoing from weekly to monthly is a big jump. I can imagine you've had to put your thinking caps on. Glad to hear the water company made it easier for you. It's amazing how much you save by not buying snacks. You've made so many savings that moving to monthly may turn out to being a blessing. Well done Becky. I bet she's walking on air! #wotw
ReplyDeleteWell done Becky thats amazing news, we got rid of our sky over a year ago and got a free sat recordable box which pauses rewinds ect and have never looked back, I dont miss sky at all, the cost is ridiculous xx
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