Our Month in Review: February

Hi Friends! I hope everyone's staying warm in this freezing weather.  Looking out the window, you'd never guess it's the 1st of March tomorrow!  

Before we begin the next month, let's take a look back at February.  I'm asking myself the same questions I asked myself last month: what went well this month and where is there room for improvement?  Having concluded our February budget, I can easily reflect on these questions.

The only area of our budget that we really overspent on was our restaurant budget.  Any time we eat outside the home, it goes in to the restaurant budget (makes sense, right?!). This month we ate out twice: one was a planned meal out with the in-laws as their belated Christmas present and the other was not planned, but completely worth it when my sister-in-law visited.  No biggie but I had to move some funds around this evening while completing our February budget in preparation for March.

What went well?  I managed to sell £87 worth of the girls' toys and clothes which was put in their University fund.  We also sold a fan heater for £10 which was added to the House Expenditures Fund.  

Also, we came in about £27 under budget with groceries - another month under budget.  I'm quite chuffed with this!  I used to spend easily £400-£450 every single month when I was working at Sainsbury's, even with my 10% colleague discount.  Now that I don't work there, I'm spending about £100 per month(!!!) less because I'm shopping mostly at Aldi.  I may have said this last month, but I'm trying to make sure we have a meal made up of leftovers at least once a week and at least two meat-free suppers, too.  

"Lauren, do you ever treat yourself to anything?" Yep!  I bought myself to a small Yankee candle that was on sale for £4.49.  Also, Jeff and I got to see The Greatest Showman at the cinema last week thanks to having live-in babysitters (aka. Granny and Granda) and thanks to friends who let us use their Meerkat Movies BOGO voucher code.  By the way, if you haven't seen it, do... we were mesmerized every single second of the film.  

I shared a great quote from the film in the last post I wrote in 2017: "No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else" (although this may only be said in the trailer) Another one... and it could have so easily been missed... "Comfort: the enemy of progress." LOVE THIS!  You can only make progress when you move out of your comfort zone.  This quote can be applied to any area of life, but since this blog is focused on finances... the only way to achieve your financial goals is to examine your finances, find ways to save, save money, create and follow a budget, save money, plan, save money, make sacrifices and save money.  

I love talking money and personal finance.  Please, if there's anything you'd like to ask me about or that you'd like me to address on the blog, please let me know... like my friend did when she asked me about will writing... I'll write a blog on this when I get to it in the Baby Steps series.. but I've already answered her, because I wanted to help her sooner than later.  I want what's best for you, too.  Plan your budget for March. Save money, but also make sure to enjoy your money every now and then, too. Take care. xo  

BS 0.1 - Never Borrow Money Again

Hi Friends!  Last night, I introduced Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps with the aim of giving you hope that you can achieve your financial goals by following a proven step-by-step plan.  This is not an achieve-your-financial-dreams-in-30-days-type plan... no, no... sorry... not sorry... this is a you-decide-today-to-take-control-right-now-for-the-rest-of-your-life plan.  No, it won't likely be easy. Yes, you'll most likely have to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gain.  It will require some work and effort, but very worthwhile work and effort.

If you're ready to commit and make a change or if you're already familiar with Dave's Baby Steps and, like me, want to make sure you're still on track, let's get going.

Baby Step 0 isn't officially a Dave Ramsey Baby Step, but it is mentioned on his show and is just as important as the other steps.  The first penny-sized step in Baby Step 0 is to commit to NEVER borrow money for ANYTHING (except maybe a home) EVER again.  That means you only buy what you can pay for right now.  This includes everything from your morning takeaway coffee to paying for big ticket items with cash or in full at the end of the month with a credit card.  New smart devices, new or used cars, holidays... you will commit to saving for them BEFORE you purchase them.  I know, you want it now, but you're an adult. 

DR strongly encourages destroying credit cards so that they can't ever be used again.  There's a few reasons for this; Dave says, "Getting out of debt is 80% behaviour and 20% head knowledge. Credit card companies know this... you spend more with plastic than you do with cash."

I can imagine you gasping at this realisation!  Handing over cash when you pay for something equates to pain. If you pay cash for your purchases, you'll likely spend 22% less (according to Dave) than if you were to pay by card.  That's massive!  You tend to impulse buy when you know you're paying by card and it won't hurt... but if you keep in mind that you're going to have to part with cold hard cash at the checkout, you're more likely to only buy the necessary items on your list - you do shop with a list, right?! 

I'm going to go off on a tangent for a minute.  Aren't contactless credit cards so convenient?  I never have to carry cash.  I can buy little things here and there so effortlessly!  No! No! No!  Based on the idea that parting with cash induces painful emotions, contactless credit cards induce hardly any negative emotion at all!  Credit card companies think this is great!  Customers are spending willy nilly, not realising how much and how often they're spending money!  Then the credit card statement comes at the end of the month and customers are shocked at how much they've mindlessly spent!  Then they get mad a credit card companies for being evil and forcing them to pay back the money they've borrowed... and if it's not paid off IN FULL (in Martin Lewis' booming voice) this month, they're charged interest on these practically effortless, mindless purchases.  I'm going to have to write a full blog post on this with more statistics (*note to self!).

So what can you do?  Stop using credit cards.  Ahh! That's scary!  Well, not really, but admittedly, I've been trying to convince myself to do this for at least a couple of years.  I don't love to carry lots of cash on me, nor do I want to have to go to the cash point all the time; I could use our debit card, which Dave Ramsey does himself which would prevent any interest being charged on top of the purchase price as with a credit card.  Although I am very careful with what I spend due to following a budget, and perhaps I could spend even less by only spending cash... perhaps I'll challenge myself to do this for a couple months and let you know know how I get on. 

What you can do if you're not ready to cut up your credit cards is to simply stop and think before making a purchase.  Do you really need what you're about to buy?  Is there an alternative?  Pay off your credit cards IN FULL every month. 

Do you rely on your credit cards for emergencies?  Well, if you continue to follow this plan, you will be building an emergency fund, then later a fully-funded emergency fund to fall back on in the case of an emergency... or emergencies. 

So Baby Step 0.1 is to commit to never borrowing money again (except for a home).  How do you feel about this?   Please let me know.  The next penny-sized step is that I'll be examining in a few days is to get on the "same page" with your spouse.  Take care.

Let's Get Started: DR's Baby Steps

Happy Sunday evening, Friends. This is the moment I've been waiting for.  I have been wanting to share with you something that may just change your life forever.  Let me just ask you: Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Are you ready to take control of your finances?  If you are ready to make changes to your spending and saving habits that will not only impact you for the rest of your life, but will also have a lasting impact on your children, I want to invite you to join the millions around the world who are following Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps to financial freedom.  

I am sooooooo excited to share the plan with you that is making a HUGE impact on so many and which has made such a huge impact on my mindset and our finances.  Each week for the next month or so I will be taking an in-depth look at each of seven baby steps and breaking them down to the best of my knowledge for those living in the UK.  

Why the UK?  Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps is written for a US audience, and so far, isn't written for those living in the UK.  "But Lauren, I'm sure there are some big differences between the UK and the US in terms of taxes, savings and retirement."  There are some differences, but there are also similarities, especially when thinking of mindset.  No matter which country you live in, you must have a money-saving mindset. You must want to make a change.  You have to be committed.  But most importantly, this plan works... no matter which country you're in... as long as you do the work.

As I've said many times before, I am not a qualified professional.  I am simply a friend who wants to help you, no matter who you are and no matter where you are in your financial adventure.  I want to give you hope that you can get out of debt (if you have any), build wealth and reach your goals.  I truly, truly believe that by combining Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps, advice and guidance from Martin Lewis (and others) and penny-sized mindset changes that I share with you, you will be able to accomplish big things with your money.  

It's tough love time.  If you have been spending money like there's no tomorrow, it's time to stop doing that.  If you don't have a fully-funded emergency fund saved, it's time to save for one. If you haven't been saving for retirement and believe the money will simply be there when you retire or that you can rely on the government to support you - ha! - it's time to get your head out of the sand.  It is up to you - no one else - to get your finances in order.

I am here to share with you what I know to the best of my ability.  I invite you to message me with any questions you have or guidance you need, and I will do my best to guide you in the right direction.  If you don't feel you want to make a change, that's fine by me.  If you don't think this is worth your time and energy, that's fine, too.  But if you have that desire deep down that now is the right time and now you are ready to make a change or even just make sure you're going in the right direction, please keep reading.

Let's get started: Dave Ramsey has created these 7 Baby Steps as a guide to financial freedom.  What does financial freedom mean?  To most it means to live your best life without debt and finance-related stress and worry.  You can find Dave's Baby Steps on daveramsey.com by clicking here, and as follows: 

Baby Step 1: Save £1,000 for a beginner emergency fund

Baby Step 2: Pay off all debt, except your mortgage, using the debt snowball

Baby Step 3: Build a fully-funded emergency fund of 3 to 6 months of expenses

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into retirement

Baby Step 5: Start saving for your children's university

Baby Step 6: Pay off your home early

Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give generously

Oh yeah, and there's Baby Step 0: Commit

I will be breaking these baby steps down into smaller penny-sized sub-steps every Monday over the next 8 weeks, again, combining information from various UK-based sources.

Below is an animated, yet informative, overview of the Baby Steps on YouTube. 

There is also a great UK-based Facebook page called "Dave Ramsey UK Based Support Group" that I am a member of and encourage you to be a part of, too, to gain support from other followers of the DR plan.  

If you know a friend or family member who could benefit from these steps and the guidance I give, please invite them to subscribe to this blog and/or follow Finding the Pennies on Facebook.

Perhaps you're wondering where my husband and I are on this plan.  We're on Baby Steps 4, 5 and 6, which are done simultaneously; however, to be honest, we do owe family friends some money which will be paid back in full by May. We have a fully-funded emergency fund in our current account.  Although we do contribute a good chunk of money towards our pensions and extra retirement savings every month, we haven't actually checked whether this is 15% of our household income - we definitely need to do this!  We do save towards our girls' university fees - more on this in the next few weeks.  We would absolutely LOVE to pay off our mortgage early, which seems so far off at this point, but that is our goal.  We already give generously as part of our Christian beliefs every month - again, more on this another time.

As you can see, we also have some work to do on our finances... I often say that there's always room for improvement!  I truly hope you join me on this plan.  If I can support you in any way at any time, please let me know.

I hope you join me tomorrow evening to discuss Baby Step 0!

Pancakes and Shoppix

Happy Saturday evening All!  I must be almost back to my normal self after fighting a very bad cold or two over the past couple of weeks.  Geesh has my energy been swiped!  Pancake Day is Tuesday, so in preparation for that yummy day, I'm going to share the recipe I use every single time I make pancakes at home... oh yeah, they're the fluffy American version... and they're soooo good. I also want to introduce you to Shoppix - an app that earns you rewards when you snap pictures of your receipts. 

Many Saturdays begin with pancakes. Delicious... hot... yummy... pancakes.  So American, right?!  Every now and then we'll even enjoy them during the week for supper with some bacon and either a fruit salad or smoothie.  I'm not one for European-style flat pancakes or crepes... do nothing for me, tbh.  The shop shelves are prepped with all of the ingredients and skillets to make pancakes on Tuesday.  That's fine, but for inexpensive, fluffy pancakes, here's the recipe I follow:

Pancakes 
Recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook. Recipe for 6 pancakes; can be easily doubled.

1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose/plain or whole wheat flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Butter

1. Beat egg in medium bowl with whisk until fluffy.  Beat in remaining ingredients except butter until smooth (but don't over mix).

2. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Grease with butter to prevent sticking.

3. For each pancake, use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out equal-sized pancakes. Cook pancakes until bubbles rise to the top of the pancake then flip pancake to allow to cook for a minute on the other side. 

4. Serve with warmed maple syrup.

We use Costco's Kirkland 100% Pure Maple Syrup.  This 1L jug of syrup works out cheaper per 250ml than the maple syrup from Aldi.  

We sometimes enjoy pumpkin spice pancakes, banana pancakes, chocolate chip pancakes and oatmeal pancakes.  There are so many variations!  On Pancake Day, we'll probably have savoury pancakes, but I haven't decided what exactly.

I downloaded the Shoppix app last month with the aim of finding little ways of making money with little effort.  So far, it has been quite easy - I simply submit a picture of my receipts and collect tokens, which can be redeemed for gift cards from Amazon.co.uk, iTunes and Love2Shop.  I can also earn tokens by earning bonuses, taking short surveys and referring friends to Shoppix.  It's really not complicated or time consuming. I haven't redeemed any tokens yet, but they're adding up quickly.  

If you'd like to try Shoppix for yourself, feel free to use my referral code BWYWDADY when you download the app and sign up. We could both earn 200 tokens!  

Just a quick overview of our day - today was a "Home Day" for the Boltons, mainly because my in-laws are coming to visit at the end of the week and some major organising needed to happen today - some did, but we didn't get as far as I would have liked.  After pancakes this morning, I headed to Home Bargains for a few items:
Allinson's Plain Flour - 69p
Wild Bird Seed - 99p
Heinz mayo - 89p (a super buy for a 710ml jar)
Bag of Cadbury Picnic Bites - 49p
4x boxes of Tempo tissues - 99p each
Tyrrells crisps - 79p
Toilet bowl cleaner - 59p
Hills biscuits - 26p
Heart chocolates for the girls for Valentine's Day - 79p,
Microfibre dish cloths - 99p
Red lentils - 79p
Fig rolls - 39p
Aquafresh toothbrush for Ellen - 95p, which I saw a little while later at Tesco for £2! 
LOVE Home Bargains!

Then I went to Tesco - I won't go through everything I bought there, but one thing I really love are the FREE Tesco magazines that can be found at the checkouts.  I pick one up on the way in to look at the page of coupons in case there's something I can use in store.  Once home I made homemade ranch dressing mix to make a dip for veggies to have with lunch, then lunch, then dishes... boring.  I did, however, listen to the inspiring Retire Inspired Podcast while I was making lunch.  We spent the afternoon organising the girls' rooms; in attempt to de-clutter, I managed to give away a chalkboard easel that we had been given, but nothing else I posted on the Facebook selling pages sold yet... bummer. 

Something that frustrates me soooo much is the cost of soup at the grocery store... it's sooo expensive for what you get. Think about it! It's mostly water and vegetables!  So although I did buy a small container of carrot and coriander 😝 soup for £1 at Tesco for the girls for tomorrow's lunch, I made a huge pot of my favourite curried butternut squash and lentil soup this evening to last us a few days plus some for the freezer.  Here's the link to the recipe.

My super-exciting, envy-inducing day has concluded with submitting receipts on the Shoppix app, updating our budget and writing this blog while enjoying this super-amazing bar of HRH Highgrove Milk Chocolate... with the hubby, of course. This bar of chocolate was part of a Fortnum and Mason gift basket we received for Christmas (my friend, Pam, really truly knows the way to my heart), but out of curiosity, I perused the Highgrove website for said bar of chocolate.... £3.95!!! What?!  Sooo delicious.  And there's a salted almond chocolate bar, too.  Oh, yes! 

Pancakes, Home Bargains, Tesco, organising, soup, Shoppix and a bar of chocolate.. that's what dreams are made of, right?  Not exactly, but that was my day.  How was yours? 

Citrus-Scented Vinegar Spray

Cleaning products may not be the most expensive item in the house, but if there's a less expensive way of doing something, I'm all for trying it!  The use of vinegar for cleaning is certainly frugal and effective, plus it's natural and non-toxic.

I keep a spray bottle of half vinegar, half water on my window sill in the kitchen to wipe down the table and counter tops after use and use the same spray on fruit and vegetables as a quick produce wash.  I use distilled/white vinegar to descale the coffee maker and to clean and freshen the dishwasher every 2 months or so; however, it has been a while since I used vinegar to clean the bathrooms.

A month or so ago I was reading one of my favourite house keeping websites, One Good Thing by Jillee, which discussed making scented vinegar to clean with.  I loved this idea and the pictures on this website are so fantastic!  (I will learn how to take the same quality of pictures some day.)  

Simply fill a jar with leftover lemon or orange peels... I actually used clementine peels... fill with distilled/white vinegar and wait 1-2 weeks for the oils from the peels to be released into the vinegar.  Jillee recommends heating the vinegar which expedites the rate of this process, so I'll have to try this next time.  I poured the scented vinegar through a sieve into a jug, then poured it into the spray bottle. I did not dilute the vinegar with water as I wanted to maximize its germ-killing power for cleaning the bathrooms. 

Does vinegar actually kill germs? According to everything I read online, the answer is yes. According to this very interesting and informative article, the simple act of scrubbing effectively kills bacteria.  Add to it vinegar and hot soapy water and you have a germ-killing powerhouse in your hands. 

I use a microfiber cloth to clean with, which also picks up bacteria within its fibers.  The toilet bowl I scrub with a worn dish sponge, then discard it after use. 

Perhaps you're concerned your house will smell of pungent vinegar after using vinegar to clean with.  The scent does last about a half hour, but my girls didn't mention it, nor did my husband notice it when he came home from work a little while later, so it probably wasn't too bad.  I, however, noticed how very clean my bathrooms looked and am very pleased to say that I will continue to use vinegar - scented or not - to clean with.

How We "Spent" Our Weekend

I have to admit - it's been a challenging week.  First thing Monday morning at the gym, my weak side got the better of me which, in the end, has caused me to realise, once and for all, that I need to work hard to overcome this.  This weakness is affecting my loved ones, but with the Lord's strength, this "mountain" shall be moved.  I know this is completely vague, but please know that I've been struggling with this for as long as I can remember, but I have faith that the Lord can take this affliction away from me.  

Later Monday morning my sister-in-law said good-bye to her fiance, who she has been with for over 20 years.  His somewhat unexpected passing caused Jeff and me to think about "what if...?"  Though we have a will, is it up to date? We still need to get the appropriate amount of life insurance; though we have some, it's not enough to sustain us should something happen to one of us. Also our "Important Documents" folder hasn't been updated in at least 2 years.

Monday evening a bad cold came on suddenly leaving me feeling achy and having a deep cough on Tuesday.  Thankfully the achiness only lasted a day, but the tiredness and coughing continues.

Thankfully our weekend brightened despite the draining week we've had.  After taking 3 days off from the gym, I returned on Friday but only really had the strength and stamina to walk on the treadmill for half an hour.  I did the same on Saturday morning plus shoulder exercises while listening to The School of Greatness Podcast by Lewis Howes, who interviewed Tererai Trent.  I have never heard of her before, but she is an inspiration to achieve the impossible.  I'm so glad I got to the gym both mornings; each morning I asked myself what I CAN do, which was the treadmill, and better than having stayed in bed and not done anything. I'll be back to my usual spinning and abs classes tomorrow morning thankfully.

Oh, I did squeal silently with delight when I found £1 at the gym - just to add to the other two 5p coins I found earlier in the week! Ka-ching!

Saturday morning we headed to Enginuity, a science-based museum near Ironbridge.  Of course, I wouldn't pay the £32 entrance fee - no way!  Thankfully we were able to use the annual passes from Jeff's work which they ask a £5 contribution for.  Gladly!  Of course, there's the £3 parking fee to pay as well, but for an indoor family activity on a cold, rainy morning, £8 isn't too bad.  We went home after a couple of hours for lunch, but of course, driving into Ironbridge to one of the nice cafes or restaurants along the River Severn did cross my mind!   

Before I forget, we added £49 this week to the girls' university savings fund by selling our once-beloved Little People castle and princesses to our dear friends, a pair of boots and a large bundle of 2-year-old clothes.  There's still so much left to sell!  I'm still contemplating whether to spend the time and effort to tag items for the next NCT Nearly New Sale in March; I've done so many, many times before, but just not sure it's worth the time and effort.  The day I spend volunteering at the sale is always fun though!

Last night, Jeff and I hunkered down to watch a WONDERFUL movie called "Lion".  The DVD was kindly lent to me by my coworker, so cost me nothing.  It was another reminder of all the blessings in my life.  Have your tissue box ready for this one, but I HIGHLY recommend watching it.

This morning we went to church, came home for lunch, Skyped with my mom and step-dad, then took the girls to a fun birthday party at the school.  You may be wondering what we spend on presents for kids from school.  It varies, but somewhere in the region of £5 per gift, which may also include a bag of sweets.  We have a "gifts for others" section of our budget that we contribute a bit to each month.  

On the walk home from the party, Subway tempted us to come inside, but thankfully we didn't have any money on us and I knew we had leftover bolognese waiting for us at home.  (BOR-ING!)  Not really, but Subway sure sounded good! 

This evening I baked 6 chicken breasts to use for lunches and dinner on Tuesday evening, as well as a meatloaf to have with sweet potatoes tomorrow evening.  I wanted to not only get ahead with meal prep but also save electricity by baking them at the same time.  While these baked, Jeff and I compared our February budgets to make sure we're "on the same page" with our finances - it's sooo important to be working together!

One more frugally bit to leave you with this evening.  When I have tea left over in the tea pot from making cups of tea, I let it cool slightly and pour the remainder into a glass, top it up with a bit of water and chill it in the fridge for a cool iced tea the next day.  Delish!