Freebies, Frugal Measures and Frugal Fails 14

This last week or so we've been back in London and getting back to our normal lives. Having been paid from the CS, I was feeling a little less broke than normal, but have still been trying to stick to my budget and pay off my overdraft as soon as I can.

Frugal Fails in recent weeks include the following:

1) I bought a pair of black jeans whilst we were away and I was sure they were my size, as the label attached stated they were.  I didn't try them on as I'd bought previous pairs and knew the fit but when I went to put them on, to wear them to work the other day, I realised that they were a size 12, which I haven't been able to wear for a decade.  I was a bit disappointed to say the least.  They didn't cost much, only £8, but I can't return them, as there's not a shop anywhere I know of in the south, so I may have to donate them.

2) I got access to my wage slip on returning to work and was slightly disappointed to see that I don't actually earn quite as much as I had been led to believe.  As I haven't actually received my contract yet, I don't know if there's been an error or I was just led to believe the pay was better than it actually is. I'm not too worried, as I'm just grateful for a paid job really, but it's always nice to earn a little bit more and see the overdraft go down a little quicker.

3) I did splurge a bit this week both on a few items in the H&M sale online and at Primark whilst picking up the H&M order.  One of the items I bought online at H&M was another school skirt for LB though, which was on my list of required purchases.

Freebies and Frugal measures on the other hand have included:

1) I received a few more vouchers from Tesco to use on my grocery shopping.  The first was a £4 off a £30 spend, which got used our first week back in London.  There were also lots of extra points vouchers for things that I regularly buy, so I used quite a few of those on this shop too to gain a couple of hundred extra Clubcard points, which will go towards renewing some of my free magazine subscriptions through the Clubcard scheme.

2) I moved some more savings into a savings bond this month to get a better rate of interest.  The sum is now for all intents and purposes committed for 3 years, to get the interest rate offered, but I can sell the bonds should I need the money out. I've been meaning to commit to this particular bond for a while, but was waiting to see if I needed the money for our new kitchen.  That project has now been put on hold for a while, so I've moved the money to get better returns over the next few years. This will increase my monthly passive income from investments a little bit more, which is always nice to know.

3) I also transferred some more funds into my share trading account and bought some more shares this week too.  The returns on them are better than the interest offered by the banks at the moment.  I know they are a bit riskier, but it's a risk I'm comfortable with, as I'm committed for the long term. Again, this is something I've wanted to do for a few months and I've had the shares I want to buy earmarked and have been watching them for a while. I don't think I'll be increasing my investments much more for the time being though.

4) Whilst looking for shares to purchase, I came across a list of shares that offer extra perks to shareholders and was pleased to see that some vouchers should be coming my way in January on account of my holding some M&S shares.  Not sure what value or how many I will receive, but anything is something.  The shares of one company on the list, that offer such perks, is now being watched with interest, as buying shares with them could save me extra money on something that I'm already paying out for every month.

5) I paid £1 instead of £2.50 for parking when I went to collect a parcel from our local Mall.  It involved a much longer walk to get to the shops, but it was worth it and cheaper than getting the parcel delivered to our home address (although I wouldn't have spent the money I did in Primark if I had done).

I hope you've had a frugal few weeks if that is what you have been aiming for.