An interesting (well to a geek like me it is) exercise is to write down for a week what you actually spend your money on. It can be quite illuminating.
I have always known I have expensive tastes and that horses or boats for example are simply a more time consuming way of tearing up £50 notes while standing out in the rain. However, I didn’t know how much I spent on marmalade! I am a sucker for nice packaging and if Boyfriend and I are out on a Sunday somewhere nice with the Original Brown Dog then I am invariably lured into the local WI/Shiny things shop for the homemade marmalades with the gingham covers.
The point is that I now know that I probably fall into the “excessive spending on marmalade” category if there is such a thing. What I also discovered that I didn’t know, was that I was squirrelling away quite a lot of money each month in the pot on the shelf behind the cooker
I didn’t come to being sensible about money until my mid to late 30s and as a result I now have to play catch up. I have done the “normal” things and joined my work pension scheme and set up a regular monthly ISA saving amount and thought that was it; Tick, Job done, aren’t I Smug?
When the £2 coin was introduced I started to save them into a pot behind the cooker. When they were first introduced you didn’t get them in your change very often, so it didn’t feel like it was difficult and there was an element of excitement about getting a £2 coin in my change. (Yes, I know…). Now they seem to be more common although not yet mundane and my rate of saving has crept up and I had no idea I was saving nearly £30 a month like this and that I will soon need another pot on the shelf.
My point is that knowledge and understanding of your financial affairs is indeed the useful thing and every now and then to have a financial “spring clean” keeps you on track (and in nice marmalade).
If you would like to chat about retirement planning or any other financial topics please feel free to contact me, Jessamy Walker at Brown Dog Financial Planning Ltd on 01488 682890.
