Two Pennies Left

A question about : Two Pennies Left

Hello fellow MSEs. I am a long-time lurker on the site and have been benefitting from all the sage advice and wisdom of others who post their diaries here - for which I thank you greatly. Inevitably I realised that keeping a diary myself would be a great tool in keeping focussed and on track with my own financial plans - so here I am .

Trying to think of an appropriate title for this thread, I came across a chinese proverb:

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

I thought this summed up my approach to money really well. My DH and I want to make good, sensible financial decisions so that we can live our lives well.

A little about me... I met Mr Fortunate relatively late in life (both in our 40's) and started married life pretty much from scratch. We're not rich but haven't had any real money worries and for this I am extremely grateful. We have, however, had a big change recently. I gave up full time work 18 months ago and this has meant a big adjustment for us financially. We also built a garage for which we had saved but it has effectively wiped out our savings and so I'm feeling much the poorer for that.

So, I am starting this diary to help me with the following:

clear Mr Fortunate's credit cards (run up recently and only just confessed to )
build our savings back up
continue with home maintenance/improvement plans
start to overpay on the mortgage
Not particularly SMART as goals go - but I will refine later when I've had a chance to work out the numbers. Any goal setting experts out there will have to avert their eyes for the moment .

So Step 1: 'Start an MSE diary' completed and I'm looking forward to being part of such a supportive and inspirational community.

Fortune x

Best answers:

• Welcome, and good luck! I like your use of Chinese proverbs.
• Thank you Sandstone. I thought it captured the balance I'm trying to strike. Well done - you've made great progress.
  Fortune x
• If you can buy a loaf of bread for a penny and a lily for a penny you should sell em for 50p a pop and you'd be able to retire in no time!
  Seriously though, that is a nice little opening post and I enjoyed reading it. You are right that your current objectives do not look that SMART, so why not try add a few timescales and specifics and flesh them out. Then you can really tick the progress off as you go.
  Good luck and well done in taking the big first step!
• Thank you somethingcorporate. I suspect it is a very old chinese proverb and many years of inflation have passed since!
  I definately will refine my goals. They are 'emerging' and Mr Fortunate has only just got on board so I suspect there are a few days of discussion to be had before we can get to specifics and timescales. My old team would be hanging me out to dry right now - I would never have let them get away with such vagaries.
  Fortune x
• Well, just a few hours after starting this thread - progress has been made!
  Even Mr Fortunate has been galvanised into action. On one of his "just going to sort things out in the attic" trips last week, he discovered the paperwork for the mortgage on a flat he owned before we met. Including a summary for Payment Protection Insurance! He was in the armed forces at the time so has just completed a claim on line.
  Other discoveries included PrЈmium B0nd$ and Nati0nal $avin9$ Certificates so I've started a search through the myl0$tacc0unt site on those. Any finds will be cashed because we all know what Mr Lewis thinks about those
  Mr F has also completed his tax return and it seems we are owed Ј1000 +. This is the 7th year they have miscalculated his tax. I'd much rather have the Ј100 per month than the refund at the end of the year. Could be used for OPing
  Another trip to the attic today uncovered many more Fleabay and car boot items. I've earmarked 4 for listing tonight (any more and I'll lose the will to live ). Mr F has also put some items on the 4x4 Forum.
  A home cooked supper and a NSD to boot so we are doing very well on the 'Bread' side of things. On the 'Lily' side, the wine rack is looking a bit desperate so my ebay sales will be put towards cheering that up. We are also going to a County Show tomorrow so will need some spends for that. Taking a packed lunch though - very MS but also I'm always disappointed with the food available at these things.
  So glad Mr F is being enthusiastic - long may it last. I'm also pleased that his trips to the attic have resulted in something more productive than re-assembling his childhood toys ($cal3xtric this time) and having a play
  Hope you all have a good evening
  Fortune x
• sounds as though you are making great progress
  Keeping a diary on here has certainly helped keep me motivated!
  Good luck x
• Thank you DawnW. I hope I make as much progress as you have - Wow!
  Fortune x
• As expected, today has been a 'Lilly' day. A very enjoyable day out at the County Show and not as expensive as it could have been I suppose . We took a packed lunch but ended up spending:
  Ј40 for entry tickets (is it just me or is that a lot for 2 people? )
  Ј10.85 on 4 drinks
  Ј7.99 on a new hose connector (ours is broken)
  Ј39.99 on a loft ladder
  The loft ladder was half price and on our list of things needed for the house. We have a mezzanine floor in the garage for storage and Mr Fortunate has been using a step ladder to get up there. Very wobbly and I have been a bit worred about him using it. We had a quick MS conversation before buying and decided that the 'safety' items should come before anything else and the sale was made. So Home Improvement Goal 1 has been duly amended and achieved . Home Improvment Goal 2 is to get a safety mirror for the drive so that we can see what's coming when we leave the house. We've decided HI Goals 3 and 4 too - but I don't want to get ahead of myself.
  Good job we went to the show today. They closed about lunch time because the car parks were so muddy they couldn't get people out. I hope they open for the weekend - I feel so sorry for the poor traders who have put so much into the event.
  On the 'Bread' side, I did manage to list 4 items on Fleabay last night and Mr F sold an item on the 4x4 Forum for Ј50. Also Mr F got a cheque for Ј120 today for some training he did a couple of weeks ago - so bye bye CC1 and work gets started on CC2. Mr F's task for tonight is to find out whether his mum and dad's PrЈmium B0nd$ were transferred when they died. There is an unclaimed prize of Ј25 on his dad's number so we think they may have been missed by the solicitors.
  As Mr Macawber says "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six. Result happiness."
• Mr Fortunate brought me breakfast in bed this morning - boiled egg and marmitey toast (something of a speciality of Mr F's). A rare event and a lovely surprise. "Is there something you'd like to confess?" I asked.
  Remember the loft ladder purchase of yesterday? Well the pre-buying conversation may resonate with some of you...
  Me - "Are you sure it won't stick out into the aperture too much?"
  Mr F - "No, it'll be fine."
  Me - "Are you sure it's going to be long enough?"
  Mr F - "Yes, yes."
  Me - "Certain?"
  Mr F - "Yes. Stop patronising me."
  The loft ladder is too short It will be an 80 mile round trip to return it unless Mr F can co-ordinate it with a work trip. I'll have to see whether it would make more sense to put it on Fleabay.
  On the up side, I transferred some money this morning to pay off CC1 . And the other good news is that Mr F's Landy will be getting a new battery for free. It hasn't been holding a charge fully and we thought we'd have to replace it. It's a special one so that would've been Ј200 . Anyway, Mr F discovered today that it is still covered under the 4 year warrantee (only 2 months to go) so he's gone off to the garage to get it replaced.
  I have a watcher on 3 of my Fleabay items. I always put things on for 10 days so wouldn't expect to see any activity until nearer the end time. Mr F is debating whether to sell a couple more relatively high value things which will be good (he's still showing enthusiasm ). We have lots of old 50p pieces which my in-laws collected for some reason when they were alive. It seems that people actually buy these for their collections so I might give those a go too. Today is looking to be a NSD too so on reflection...
  A torrential thunder storm has just passed. We heard on the news that the County Show has closed its car parks again. I feel so sorry for the traders. When I first met Mr F he was running his own business and we attended many, many shows. It's extremely hard work even in good weather and must be soul destroying in this economic climate. Best wishes and lots of luck to traders everwhere this year.
  I've realised that people are reading and subscribing to this thread . This is very exciting and unexpected so thank you all. I know my story is an ordinary one so it's very encouraging to get your support.
  My Tortellini and Vegetable Soup lunch is calling and I have plans to curl up on the sofa with the last Harry Potter film this afternoon so bye for now.
  Fortune x
• Yes, another NSD today . Also on the 'Bread' front:
• 17 items listed on Fleabay. Some are only titchy but all the Fleabay items are going towards replenshing the wine rack so every Ј2 earned is 1/3rd of a bottle of wine 1 item has sold already. An old Isle of Man 50p piece! Apparently people collect these and it's raised 99p so far (1 glass)
• the other half of last night's Sausage Goulash and Pear and Rhubarb Crumble for dinner tonight. Goulash was from this week's meal plan and the Crumble was made with Pears we brought back from holiday last week and needed using up with rhubarb from the garden. A lovely treat because we don't usually have puddings - tooooo calorific!
• Mr F has spent the day carrying out minor maintenance on the Landies. The new garage might even pay for itself... eventually
• I've put my work claim together. I do a few hours admin work for a local organisation. It's a zero hours contract but usually brings me in about Ј100 per month. I'm due about Ј150 this time which will help offset my car tax next month.

Other than that, a lazy day. Mr F is back at work tomorrow so normality should return.
This diary business really seems to be working for me. I'd never have managed 17 items on Fleabay in a weekend before. Thinking about each pound as a lovely glass of wine has really motivated me ( not sure that is a good thing). I love keeping up with everyone else's adventures too - from dancing bananas to chocolate cake eating cats. You're mad you lot.
Fortune x

• Just found your diary.. you've made some great progress already in bashing down your mortgage! Well done and keep going, you'll be rid of it in no time!
• Thanks for popping by shala_moo. We have a repayment mortage at 2.5% which makes things a bit easier. We've also had a couple of 'windfalls' over the last few years and have been really good at using most of those for OPing too. More windfalls wouldn't go amiss though
• Mr F went back to work today so it feels a bit more normal around here. On the MS front:
• bank and credit card statements reconciled
• coin bags picked up from the bank
• MarmitЈ jar coins counted and bagged - Ј17.85
• two hours admin work completed - Ј16.74
• claim form dropped into the office
• 5 Fleabay items have sold already. Only Ј7.00 but hey - that's a whole bottle!
• 'cupboard' lunch of baked potato with tuna mayonnaise, red onion and a rocket and tomato salad
• chorizo hash dinner from this week's meal plan
• forgot a family member owes us Ј128 and a cheque is in the post

I know you will all be shaking your heads sagely at me but I'm going to round the MarmitЈ money up to Ј20 and make an OP. Yes it should go off the credit card first aaaaand the savings are our next priority. But I just can't wait I await the wagging fingers.
I always try to have a 'cupboard' lunch when Mr F is at work rather than buy in anything specifically. Putting together a healthy, balanced meal by the end of week can get a bit challenging through
On the things to improve side, I forgot that Mr F was away this week so the meal plan has gone a little awry. Fortunately, some aren't perishable and can be carried over to next week.
Also, I realised that the chickens had run out of peck blocks and, because we had leftovers for dinner last night, there were no kitchen scraps for them either. Not usually a problem but it helps to keep them busy and happy when I can't let them out of their run. I couldn't let them out today so I felt compelled to buy them a cabbage from the Farm Shop whilst I was in the village. Ј1.10. If I'd been a bit more organised I could have got one for 85p from 0cad0 when I did my main shop. IT'S ONLY 25P! Is this what MSE does to you?
I did, however, manage to avoid buying a piece of MaltЈzЈr Tiffin whilst I was there. Very proud of myself because it is my very favourite. Looks like MSE is going to be good for my waist line too
Fortune x

• wow well done on fleabay!
  do your chickens have names
• Well done Fortune I too have only just started (a few months ago) and the diary is so helpful to keep me motivated. I will re-visit it yearly for ideas. Last week I counted our annual coppers and had Ј19 - topped it up to Ј20 and popped it in the savings
• Thanks for dropping by ammonite. Just caught up with your diary - wow! We have three target areas - home improvements, saving and OPs. Might be slow progress to start with I am alreading changing my habits though so going in the right direction.
  Fortune x
• Hello all. More MS behaviour from me today. This frantic activity can't last for much longer though - once the quick wins are out of the way, the marathon will commence So, today I have...
• set my mortgage provider up as a payee on my current account so I can OP little and often
• made an OP of Ј20. This is my very first OP since MSE
• got my mortgage provider to quote me for home and contents insurance whilst I was on. Cheapest quote yet and will save me Ј200. Need to check there are no penalties for leaving my current insurer though.
• Cupboard meals all day: spiced fruit compote with yoghurt, beans and cheese on toast, lemon pasta with tuna and broccoli.
• Sourced some J0hn L3wis lamps I've been after for ages at a fraction of the price through Amaz0n. Can't get Super Saver delivery on them but I'm due some survey vouchers soon so could save Ј38.28 on them. Really pleased with this because I would have just ordered them from JL without thinking before.
• Nearly forgot but my Fleabay sales are up to Ј10 now including 3 old pound notes and two old Isle of Man 50 pence pieces. Am I missing something? Is 'old' money the investment opportunity of the moment? My MS self is laughing her head off.

Won't be much MS from me tomorrow. Lunch with a friend and a browse round the local antique shops. I have printed off some restaurant vouchers though so at least there's some damage limitation
Have a good evening
Fortune x

• ... but sadly not for me . I did expect to spend more than save today but I did try to do some MS damage limitation too:
• Ordered the water harvesting tanks for the garage. These were a condition of the planning permission and helped to satisfy the Building Control requirements for surface water run off (we are on clay soil). Ј653.98 All budgeted for though in the garage fund so no impact on my signature.
• Met a friend for lunch in a lovely local village. I checked for restaurant vouchers first though. Not much available as it's quite a small place but PrЈzz0 had an offer of two courses for Ј10 so we ate there. Ј5 less to pay. Also I ate so much pizza and cheesecake I'm still too full to eat dinner
• Ran out of moisturiser this morning. I knew the bottom of the jar was threatening and had been looking around for discounts. It's a posh one so nothing doing through Јco, etc. However, we popped into the village chemists and found that they stocked the brand. They also had some gift packs (probably left over from Christmas) so I got the moisturer plus a cleanser and a toner thrown in. I will use the toner so that's a saving of Ј13 and the cleanser I'll put on Fleabay and might get Ј5 for that. It's an expensive luxury but not something I want to give up so getting a bit more for my money helps to compensate.
• Lots of MS discussions with my friend over lunch. She buys beer for her husband but only puts out 4 cans and hides the rest. Apparently, a husband's capacity for beer expands to accommodate the beer available. If 8 cans are available, 8 cans will be drunk etc. Having analysed my own husband's beer drinking habits I think this might be a scientific fact
• I've calculated that we will have Ј600 left over after pay day. However, we are waiting for our builder to quote for the guttering for the garage so might find there's not much change out of that .

Most exciting event of the day - I was asked to be a Marshall for the Olympic Torch tomorrow . I might even get on the telly - look out for me, I'll be the one in the orange jacket
Take care all
Fortune x