Money matters

Hello. My Saturday musings. It's very easy to get into bad habits. Lapses of concentration, following the crowd, taking your eye off the ball, daydreaming, and drifting along in a robotic way can cause you lose track of the many alternative ways of doing things. There is a thin line between going on automatic pilot, and becoming obsessed. with sticking to how you have always done it.

My money saving efforts have become routine over the years, they are embedded in my personality. Being mindful of how much I spend and what I spend it on comes naturally. It takes no effort at all to take care of my needs first, and if there is anything left over, I have money for a few wants. This is how I have always done it.

I have a few food items on my needs list, and thankfully they are also good for me, like coffee, eggs, bananas,  vegetables, and cheese. Everything else is what I would like to eat, but could manage without it. My eating habits are generally very good, steering clear of anything that might do me harm. My self control while out and about near shops is very strong, I ignore all advertising and don't do impulse shopping.

So, my money management skills have held me in good stead, I am at the point where I can relax a little. I can afford to move a few of the wants into the needs category. But this is where I'm struggling. This line down the middle is not moving. My good habits of spending frugally are blocking my way, and are in danger of becoming bad habits.

An example. I have been putting the heating on for an hour or so, just to take the chill off. But, I still sit here with a dressing gown on over my clothes. Then I get hot and instead of taking the dressing gown off I  turn the heating off. I have it in my head that I don't need to spend money to keep warm.

Another example, I still save my bath water for flushing the toilet. I don't need to because I can afford to pay my water bill. But it doesn't seem right to pull the plug out and let it all go down the drain when it could be put to better use. And it doesn't seem right to flush fresh water down the loo when there is an abundance of grey water available.

Another example. I could afford to eat out, but I can't see the point in paying over the odds to sit in a noisy place and eat god knows what with other people, when I have delicious healthy food at home.

So you can see that my good habits are becoming a little bit restrictive in a way, and are in danger of becoming bad habits. Maybe I ought to be working towards becoming more flexible.

Last month I had a letter from my small private pension provider. Basically they would like to get rid of me out of their system. They offered me a lump sum, quite a sizable lump sum, to pay me off. I have been receiving a bit from them for the last ten years and it has been a nice little top up. Before I retired it was what kept me going, along with a couple of small jobs. I have had a word with my financial adviser, aka my best friend Carol, and I have come to the conclusion that as I hope to be alive in twenty years time, I would be losing out if I was to take the money and run. Hmmmm, I could splash out on some luxuries, or one big luxury, but I can't think of anything I need. I could probably spend it on the house, but that has never been a priority with me. It's still standing, is weatherproof, and it doesn't have to look like a show house. So, for now I will carry on as I have been doing and in ten years I will be the winner as I carry on receiving the pension.

It's 'orrible outside, raining. I will do my three miles later but it's not worth going anywhere else. So on with the sewing. Thanks for popping in, enjoy your Saturday. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip