Last-Minute Teachers' Gifts

Last Friday morning, as I was dropping off my daughter, Ellen, at the school gate, I was in a bit of a panic trying to decide whether or not to give the girls' teachers a Christmas gift. Problem #1: I only had 3 1/2 hours to figure something out, wrap it and get it to their teachers. Problem #2: I would need to get 14 of the same thing for each of their teachers, not forgetting Ellen's head teacher and the office workers, since they also deserve thanks for their hard work. Problem #3: With what money?! I hadn't budgeted for this!  Oops!

So, off I went to the shop and decided we should give a gift no matter how small.  Eventually I came up with the theme of "relaxation" and images of chocolate and candles came to mind.  Ok, 14 boxes of chocolate would be too expensive and 14 candles, even at £1 each, would also add up, and I wasn't at the pound shop either.  I settled on a box of 30 Christmas-scented tea lights for £2.25, a large box of my favourite Lindor assorted truffles and packets of hot chocolate for 25p each.

Each teacher would receive 2 tea lights, 2 truffles and a pack of hot chocolate in snack bags that I already had at home, saving money on cellophane bags.  In lieu of gift tags (money saving), I simply wrote, "Dear (Teacher's Name), I hope you have a relaxing Christmas. Love from, Ellen/Brenna", with green Sharpie marker.

Each gift for the teacher cost 88p and, yes, somehow I was able to get all of the bags written and filled with a half an hour to spare before going to pick up Brenna from nursery.  Phew! In the end, my girls got to thank their teachers for their hard work.

Next year I will be better prepared.  Not only will I budget for teachers' gifts, but I'll involve the girls in the process, too.

What the Voss?!

Just as I said to the waitress that I didn't want Voss sparkling water to drink, I heard the crack of the seal and the release of the gas as she opened the bottle.  It was too late.  Yes, I had asked for sparkling water, but I didn't expect her to bring me a bottle of what I think is the most expensive water in the world!

My friend and I were celebrating her birthday early with a girly trip to Birmingham and afternoon tea at a Japanese restaurant.  Up until the Voss was brought to the table, I was patting myself on the back having saved £3.60 by choosing a train station to park at that has free parking as opposed to my usual train station.  There's no real way to save on the train tickets (at least to my knowledge!).  

So after a couple of stops for drinks and lunch and lots of walking, we found the Japanese restaurant for the afternoon tea that I purchased through Groupon, one of my favourite money-saving sites, with a discount code (yep! saved even more!) and even earned some cashback into my KidStart account (more on Kidstart in another blog).

Our Japanese afternoon tea was delicious, and I even managed to use chopsticks without sending the sushi across the restaurant!  But man o man was I annoyed when that water came out.  I had tried to be so savvy when booking this tea, not to cheapen the experience, but it's just the way I think.  I just knew that bottle would mean big money!  I had a bottle of Voss once or twice before years ago when I wasn't paying for my meal, so I knew that I was practically drinking liquid gold.  The bottle cost £4, not the end of the world, but still, I was annoyed. Come on... it's water with a bit of gas!    

Lesson learned: always specifically ask for tap water or know what water/drink you're buying if you're at a restaurant.  My husband and I usually share a larger, but less expensive bottle of sparkling water when we're having a meal in a restaurant, so it's not like I haven't paid for water before.

Hooked

I love using free things to organize, like shoe boxes and jam jars, but have you realized how awesome and totally useful clip hangers are?  "But where can I get these free, totally awesome and useful clip hangers, Lauren?" Answer: on shoes and boots that don't come in boxes!  So, I'm not suggesting you take these clips without permission (i.e. stealing), but if the next pair of shoes you buy comes on a clip hanger, ask politely to keep the hanger.

Soooo many letters come home with my daughter from school, and somehow, we are supposed to keep track of all of these papers in an organised fashion. I've come up with an almost free way: use a clip hanger to keep the papers together.

Now, the reason that it's an almost-free solution is that I use a Command Strip wire hook (that I bought!) hung on the inside of a kitchen cabinet next to important school dates and the school lunch menu.  Everything's in one place!  Nice and tidy... and inexpensive.

Another way I've used a clip hanger is to hang up my rubber gloves on the inside on my cleaning cabinet with the help of another Command Strip wire hook. This way they aren't just laying folded on top of the shelf somewhere.  They have a home... again, nice and tidy.

Have A Debt-Free Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! (Go on, sing it!)  The shops are already decorated, advertisements have been screaming "buy gifts for everyone in your life" for at least a month now, and I'm sure you've been looking up ideas on how to "make your Christmas the best one ever."

However, there's a lot of pressure to make sure your house is beautiful decorated (Pinterest!), to make sure your family has loads of presents under the tree on Christmas morning and your Christmas dinner is the best meal of the year.  It's easy to get caught up in all of the excitement and planning for Christmas day, and with it, we find ourselves justifying spending lots of money that we haven't planned for (budgeted) or we may not even have.  Perhaps you have a pot of money sitting in an envelope labelled "Christmas" or money stashed in your bank account eared-marked for Christmas.  Great.  Either way I want to give you some ideas to help you to stay on track this Christmas so that after all of the presents have been opened and the mountains of cheese and chocolates have been eaten, you're not dreading the credit card bill or overdraft fees but feeling good about your finances.

Let's Get Started:
1. How much can you afford? Perhaps you've been saving all year and you know exactly how much you can spend either by looking at the "Christmas Savings" category on your budget or in your "Christmas" envelope.  Great, you can proceed.  Maybe you don't know exactly what you can afford, so take an honest look at your bank account and ask yourself, if you take away X amount for Christmas expenditures, would you still be in the green come January 1st? Decide how much X amount is and stick to it. That is your budget for all gifts, all food and drinks and all decorations.

2. Take Stock Empty out your kitchen cupboards and freezer. Are there any foods that you can use for your Christmas meal, like frozen vegetables, a box of stuffing, a jar of cranberry sauce, or a bottle of wine? Next take a look at the boxes of Christmas decorations you already have.  Did you store away any new Christmas cards or decorations from the sales last year? You've likely forgotten about something you bought 11 months ago.  Lastly, your children are probably saying "I want that" to every toy advert they see on telly.  But do they already have similar toys to the ones they want so badly? Take a look through their toys and decide whether your child really needs another doll or action figure.

3. It's Your Christmas, not the Jones' This one may be the most difficult, yet effective strategy to avoid Christmas debt.  Don't compare your Christmas to everyone else's around you.  What makes your Christmas special is likely very different than theirs.  Ask yourself what really matters to you to make your Christmas a special day.  What doesn't carry as much significance to you?  You could add big expense to your Christmas budget by trying to decorate your house to impress your neighbours or family or fill your lounge with shiny, bow-wrapped presents.  It's not worth going over your Christmas budget or going into debt just to have a "wow" moment, because that's exactly what it is: a moment.  Memories last.

In my next blog, I'd like to give you some ideas about how to save money on gifts and food for Christmas.  I truly believe that you can have a beautiful, special Christmas and also stay within your budget.

A Budget: Your Road Map

Imagine you're about to start the engine of your car for a 4-hour journey to a place you're somewhat unfamiliar.  The car is packed, fuel tank full and your kids are excitedly strapped into their car seats in the back.  You're not entirely sure of every turn you're about to make, so you're a bit nervous that you'll miss that important exit/slip road off the motorway and that landmark that is "so obvious", let alone make it to your destination with before dark and with enough fuel to make it the whole journey. To your relief, you look up and see your new GPS is already programmed with your current location and final destination. Not only can you rely on this new piece of equipment to get you to your final destination, but you were super organised and have a map of the country in the glove compartment (just in case) and the phone numbers of the AA and that of your final destination already programmed into your mobile and written down (again, just in case).  You turn the key and start the engine confident you'll make it smoothly, with perhaps only a few minor "bumps in the road", to your destination before nightfall.

At the beginning of each month or just after your monthly salary is credited to your bank account how do you feel?  Are you excited to start the month (the journey) with a full tank but not sure whether it will last you the next 4 weeks (4 hours)?  What happens if you put the pedal to the metal and burn through your fuel in the beginning of the month rather than drive cautiously and carefully through the month to arrive on the 31st with a little still left in the tank?

What I am eluding to here is creating and following a monthly budget.  Before the month, your journey, begins, having a plan for where your hard-earned money will be going in the coming month is critical for confidently and successfully making it to your next payday and for saving for future expenses.  A budget provides you with guidelines to follow so you know where every penny is being spent.  It puts you in control of your finances rather than letting your money control you.  A budget helps you to spend confidently today so you can plan and save for tomorrow.

The idea of setting up and sticking to a budget may be daunting, but start simple. You may want to start by simply keeping track of what you spend on a daily basis for a month so you have a good idea of one month of expenses. Then at the end of the first month you can prepare a budget using this list of the expenses.  Or you may already have a good idea of your expenses and can either create your own budget using pen and paper or a programme like Excel, which I use.  Please feel free to contact me to request a file of a budget template to use.

Budgeting is the key to "finding the pennies".  Knowing where every penny is spent gives you better control on the road for the journey ahead.

End of Year Check-Up

Tomorrow is the last day of 2015, and we'll be ringing in the new year at midnight.  As the minute hand draws ever-nearer to midnight, let's do a quick check-up.  Ask yourself how you're feeling.  Are you feeling sluggish? Weighed down? A bit guilty?  Apathetic?  Looking forward to a fresh start? Excited to face the year ahead?  

I'm not talking about how much you've eaten over the past week, or two, or three.  I'm talking about how much you've spent.  How many things have you bought that you usually wouldn't have bought "because it's Christmas"?  How many meals out have you had "because it's Christmas"?  How many unnecessary decorations, or Christmas jumpers, or "festive" coffees have you bought "because it's Christmas"?  How do you feel now?  Was it worth it? 

So often we make resolutions to lose weight or get in shape or get more sleep or become more organized.  But what about creating financial security by creating and sticking to a budget?  Getting out of debt?  Saving £1000, or better yet, an "emergency fund"?  Contributing to retirement funds?  Starting to save for your children's college education?  Saving for a deposit on a house?  Or, paying off your mortgage?  What?  Do people actually do these things?!?!  YES!  And you can, too.

In 2016 I hope to inspire you to "find the pennies" in your life.  I want to help you to understand where your money is going and find creative ways to make the most out of your hard-earned cash.  I believe by making small changes to your spending habits, you can accomplish big financial goals.  You will learn to take charge of such a vital aspect of your life.

It's a Frame of Mind

Saving money is a frame of mind. Do you ever ask yourself how you can spend less, not just in general but in specific situations?  For example: Today a friend and her daughter met my girls and me at a cafe. When I first woke up this morning, I considered another money-free way we could meet up, feeling slightly guilty that I would be spending money at a cafe when there could be another option. My idea? To have a picnic in a local park complete with two flasks of tea and some homemade banana bread I baked last night (using up two VERY ripe bananas and some slightly soured plain yogurt) and feed some ducks with bread from home.  Yes, I'd probably have to pay for parking, which is almost £3, but it would likely be less than the cafe.  I then realised it wasn't exactly a bright, sunny morning. I looked at the weather forecast for the morning on my mobile... 30% chance of rain.  Hmm... perhaps the park isn't a good idea, especially in a country where you can't rely on the forecast.  And I was right, it rained on the way to the cafe, so it would have been a wet picnic... no good. At the cafe, there was a specials board that listed a cup of tea or coffee and a toasted tea cake for £3. Not too bad, but then I noticed that a small latte and a yummy looking scone would only be 38p more... hmm... dilemma!  I opted for the latte and scone.  Then there was another dilemma... what to buy Older Girly and my friend's daughter to share.  The cake that they wanted with pretty colors and sprinkles was a whopping £2.79!  Ouch! They shared the slice so it was only half the cost but I still thought it was quite dear. Luckily I brought a bowl of grapes for the girls to share and some juice boxes from home, so I wouldn't have to add another pound to our cafe meet up. 

Do you see how my mind works? It works like this almost every single day.  Does yours?  Do you contemplate every penny that leaves your wallet?  Do you try to find ways to scale back and use less, or do you buy whatever you fancy?  Would I have preferred for us to meet at either of our homes for a free get together? Yes! But it wasn't possible this time and that's okay.

You may be wondering whether I've always thought like this... the answer is no.  In general, the older I've become the smaller my disposable income has become.  I am a homemaker, so we live on my husband's income.  I've had to learn how to make fewer pounds stretch further.  I've had to teach myself the best way (for me) to keep a budget and try hard to stick to it.  I've had to find ways to stretch our money so we actually have some at the end of the month.  Spending less, finding the pennies is a frame of mind.  In fact all day I've been reeling at the £4.77 I spent on a very tiny latte (not worth it), a delicious scone (worth it) and half a piece of sprinkle-covered cake (debatable).  Nevermind, I can't do anything about it now, but it's recorded on my budget... that's the important part.