In case of emergency
My relationship with money has changed a lot over the past 10 years. My sister has always been effortlessly careful with her dough, whereas I've never been much of a saver, and have been known to dip into my credit card on more than one occasion. I'm a fritterer, and while I don't have any debts to speak of, I don't have much of a savings buffer either.
^ image from weheartit
Since Frank and I got engaged we've been trying to squirrel away money wherever we can. You could say we're so committed to doing right by our finances that we're upending ourselves completely to move 200 miles north of London, because this city has become unsustainable for us to set down roots in. In December I finish my job and will have three solid weeks (over Christmas) when I will be officially unemployed. I've been tempted to stick my fingers in my ears and ignore the fact that I will inevitably be dipping into the wedding fund to buy food. The move is a long-term investment in our future, but that doesn't pay the electricity bill when you're not earning any money now does it?
Over the years I've been guilty of dipping into my savings or getting out my credit card for those 'emergency situations' we all love to justify. Ten or even five years ago this could have been an 'emergency massage' after a tough day at work, an 'emergency takeaway' when I'd forgotten to do the grocery shopping or even an 'emergency weekend away' to save an ailing relationship. Now though I'm trying to be much more careful with my money, and that 'emergency bottle of perfume to help me feel better after being poorly' is simply not something I'm willing to hand over my credit card for.
That said, this week I did have a true emergency (a £283 emergency in fact) - in the shape of this....
Since Frank and I got engaged we've been trying to squirrel away money wherever we can. You could say we're so committed to doing right by our finances that we're upending ourselves completely to move 200 miles north of London, because this city has become unsustainable for us to set down roots in. In December I finish my job and will have three solid weeks (over Christmas) when I will be officially unemployed. I've been tempted to stick my fingers in my ears and ignore the fact that I will inevitably be dipping into the wedding fund to buy food. The move is a long-term investment in our future, but that doesn't pay the electricity bill when you're not earning any money now does it?
Over the years I've been guilty of dipping into my savings or getting out my credit card for those 'emergency situations' we all love to justify. Ten or even five years ago this could have been an 'emergency massage' after a tough day at work, an 'emergency takeaway' when I'd forgotten to do the grocery shopping or even an 'emergency weekend away' to save an ailing relationship. Now though I'm trying to be much more careful with my money, and that 'emergency bottle of perfume to help me feel better after being poorly' is simply not something I'm willing to hand over my credit card for.
That said, this week I did have a true emergency (a £283 emergency in fact) - in the shape of this....
...a poorly cat who needed to go to the vet for some tests. Unforeseen costs are always going to spring up, whether it's a broken boiler, a slipped roof tile or a poorly animal, but my idea of what constitutes an emergency (and therefore justifies putting it on the plastic) is different to what it used to be.
Now that I have a savings plan in place and I can slowly watch the pounds build up, I also need to think about these three weeks of Christmas unemployment and think about how I might tackle that without it constituting an emergency. So, I've thought up four little goals that I'm going to try and achieve over the next month or so. They might not cover the whole deficit, but they'll hopefully stop me having to use a garden chair as a sofa!
01. I will keep a piggybank (or in my case 'elephant bank') next to the front door, and every time I walk in the house I will pop any £1 and £2 coins from my purse straight in.
02. I will declutter my house and sell unwanted items on eBay
03. I will create a budget and stick to it
04. I will transfer any freelance money I earn straight into my savings account
Do you have any saving tips? What do you class as an emergency that justifies the credit card?
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