Saturday 23 December 2017

Even more inspiration from Marigold

Hello. And now for the third and final part of Marigold's email. I see her words of wisdom have prompted a lot of readers to share their own experiences of money saving and simple living. Thank you for your comments so far.

So what's this post about? In her first sentence she talks about the fear of being without. It's a natural feeling that most people have at some point in their life. What would happen if my house burnt down, how would I take care of myself if I had no income? We all hope that these disasters don't crop up in our lives, but they could happen to any of us.

So, we take out insurances, and stockpile just in case, because it gives us a cushion if we need it. How many people have gone through the whole of their lives and never claimed off their insurance? How many people have lost food at the back of their cupboards and in the bottom of the freezer, for it to become inedible and have to be thrown away? Be brave, I say. I have house insurance for the fabric of the house, sensible, because I couldn't afford to pay for repairs should a disaster strike. I don't have contents insurance because I can afford to replace things, second hand if needed. I have car insurance because it's a legal requirement. I have breakdown cover because I don't want to leave myself vulnerable in case I break down in the middle of nowhere. I keep minimum food in my cupboards and freezer, nothing gets lost at the back in this house. 

Marigold talks about her credit card trapping her, I bet not many people realize this is happening to them. It's a yoyo way of living. If you take your credit up to the max, and then find you have to empty your bank account to pay it off each month, what's the point? You are living beyond your means and you are trapped. My credit limit is £3,100. I never take it up to that limit, with one exception, when I change my car, every three or four years. And even then I have the cash to pay it off in full.

Marigold mentions her credit rating. In the UK a credit rating is just a number, it means nothing. What lenders look at is your CREDIT HISTORY, how you have been managing your finances over a period of time. I have no idea what my credit rating or history says about me, I don't care. All I know is that I don't owe anyone anything.

I've been rabbiting on a bit here, so I'll shut up and paste the last part of Marigold's email. I have just remembered she has sent a second email and after checking it again I see there are also some important points in there as well. So, tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and to finish off this series I shall post some more of Marigolds wise words from this second email.

Your viewpoint has helped me to face my fear of being without.  My Mum was raised in the Depression and I inherited a lot of her ideas being a Post WW2 baby also.   My cupboards are overstocked (in case of an emergency) and I loose things at the back. Now we are eating through this reserve.  

Also I faced up to the way my credit card use was trapping me.  I would work for ages to get my balance down and then within a week I'd take it back up to the original level.  Then I would try to pay off a bulk amount from saving and again repeat the behaviour.   I faced that I am no good with a Credit Card, I took money out of my saving and closed it and cut the card up.   I am trying to finish my preparations for Christmas and I am making do with a very small budget....usually I realise I would cope by going into debt on the Credit Card.  I'm trying to keep my fear that I will not have a good credit rating now under control...ridiculous as banks will not give me loans now i am 65...not that I need one now!  And also the fear that in an emergency I will not have any rescue resources keeps playing out but is beginning to quieten down.  Without the card I am more prosperous.

Come back tomorrow, even though it's Christmas, the money saving, simple living, whatever you like to call it, still goes on. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

10 comments:

  1. Very wise comments about credit cards. Thanks, Marigold.
    J x

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  2. Love reading both Marigolds comments and your own. I have got into debt this year with credit cards etc but my New Year resolution is to get better next year. I hope you have a happy Xmas and wish you health and happiness for 2018.

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    1. Goodluck with that Pauline; stay focused on clearing it and you'll get there. all the best Marigold

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  3. Never owed anyone a penny in my life except mortgage that is now paid off; and I brought my daughter up alone (arsehole husband) moving fast forward am alone now and mostly housebound and partner of 30 years left to live with his sister after her husband died suddenly (she lives in a mansion with a swimming pool etc and owns many houses and has had a luxury lifestyle and traveled the world)but could not pay for her husbands funeral and my partner paid for it out of our savings (never saw the money again) I am dept free but alone and very ill and wonder now if I should have went the way of other as they have ended up better off than me living a life of riley.

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  4. I'm so sorry that you are not well Maureen-but you are best without those people in your life.They clearly are shallow & have no morals.I feel pity for people who lack them-they are empty inside themselves.Money cannot buy that x

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  5. Marigold’s comment about her Mum having fullcupboards in an emergency transported me back to my Mum - my Mum always had well filled cupboards because her Mum in the war had an empty pantry/cupboard due to war time privations. Natalie

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  6. KateOnTheCoast here - hi Ilona and everyone, for some reason I can no longer post comments on the blog on my tablet computer, so on my desktop tonight and hoping this will go through. I think there is an issue with something called "third party cookies" and google, but it's beyond me to sort it out. Anyway, to the point in hand, have been reading every day and enjoying you posts as usual Ilona. Marigold has some great ideas too. It's good to try and keep on top of things etc though this can be more difficult at Christmas time as there are expectations from families and friends and so on. I think I've overspent on food myself, I am not very good at managing my stores and often seem to buy too much, maybe I could think about this in the new year. I do have a credit card and I'm ok with it, I never go beyond my limit and rarely even reach half of it and I pay it off in full every month. I find it very useful for things like theatre tickets and stuff I might buy online. I think they are fine but have to be used carefully or a lot of worry can result. Contactless cards are another issue, I think it is so easy for people to completely lose track of what they are spending and of course banks are very happy about that. I tried using mine for a couple of weeks but went back to using my pin as I had the horrible experience of forgetting my pin at a till one day - I simply can't remember it unless I use it regularly it seems (the joys of old age!!). I commend all of you who are such good money managers, I'm on top of things but I do have lapses now and then, I like treats!

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  7. Never had a credit card in my life!. Never intend to!. They are evil poverty traps. Watch so many people at work buy crap on pay day then live on credit cards!. Creates a never ending cycle of poverty.

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  8. Hello from southern California. I always enjoy reading your blog and seeing the comments that people leave. However, I don't mean to be impolite in any way but I do disagree with your saying that you don't care about your credit rating or credit history. Everyone needs to be aware of their credit history/rating. In this day and age of identify theft, many unaware people are having their credit used by someone else! It's a huge program and I know from my dear friend, that this happens in your country too. I highly recommend that people check their credit history on a regular basis. There are many sites that offer free credit monitoring. The last thing anyone needs is to get their identity stolen! Merry Christmas, Pat

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