Hi Everyone!
SEALED POT SUNDAY GUEST SPOT
This week's Sealed Pot Sunday Guest Spot is Sue15cat at
http://ournewlifeinthecountry.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-2-house-keeping-challenge-for-2013.html
Here is her very pretty Sealed Pot:
(Do you get the joke, us Brits call money 'bread'?)
And Sue is a very special challenger. In her own words:
We started this Challenge halfway through 2011 to join in with SFT and her amazingly large team of 'Sealed Potters'.
Each year it is taped securely with double sided sticky tape so we cannot be tempted to get at the contents, and all nominated coins go into it.
See HERE for last years 'Grand Opening' and what we spent the money on.
This year we were going to 'splurge' it all on a fantastic Christmas, but we changed our minds, we have got out of the habit of mindless 'splurging' so instead a couple of months ago the seeds of a Challenge were sown. This year when we opened the pot on 3rd December it contained £480. A massive total and one which should see us well on the way for this Challenge.
The Challenge is to make this last as long as we possibly can as our housekeeping money for 2013.
I am not changing the coins at the bank into paper money as then it would be too easy to overspend, so it's all been piled into what was our car boot sale money tin, and rather weirdly it just fits right to the top.....fate do you think? I will make sure I carry around £20 of coins in my housekeeping purse and use them for anything we need. There will be no pressure to keep spending low, if there's something we need I will buy it. The Challenge is to see how little we do actually need.
Do pop over to Sue's blog and find out how she is making last year's sealed pot money stretch....
How long will it last her and pay for all her housekeeping?!!
MY SEALED POT WEEK
Well this week has been a challenge for me.
I've been feeling under the weather (still am).
It's been soooooo cold. Snow followed by ice.
The good news is that I haven't spent a bean!
1. I'VE EMPTIED £10ish FROM MY PURSE!
. 
2. AND I'VE RAIDED MR SFT'S POCKETS!
AND THAT'S IT I'M AFRAID......
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
IS THE END OF JANUARY PROVING A LEAN TIME FOR YOUR SEALED POT?
Sft x
It was a lean week here too. Just a couple $2 coins this week. We are spending little money at all right now so not much to raid. I am quite happy though as almost at the end of January and there are lots of coins and a couple of bills in the tin. Christmas 2013 shall be much easier this year! Get well soon - sorry you have been feeling under the weather.
ReplyDeleteThis has seemed like a very long month hasn't it?
DeleteThis last week is going to be especially lean for most of us.
Well done for managing a couple of $2 coins for your pot.
I think it is a good idea to reflect on how well we've all done this month! It's been a great start MONTH 2 for our challenge.
The sun is out today and I'm feeling better! Sft x
Although I'm not technically part of the challenge, I haven't added anything to my piggy this week. I have, however, just listed a bunch o' stuff on Amazon, so we'll see what happens there. Sometimes the cost of mailing items negates the sale cost, but it does help clean the place out a bit, too, so that's my silver lining of sorts. Hope you're feeling better soon! x
ReplyDeleteOh, I think you can join in with us all NLA! This challenge is really about just saving.
DeleteYou are so inspiring listing things on Amazon. I must do some of this over Half Term and try and raise a bit of cash for my pot.
As you say sometimes it pays, sometimes it doesn't but it is decluttering and ultimately, like you, I want to get rid of the clutter in my life.
The sun is out and I'm feeling much better. Thank you.
Sft x
I tend not to use cash because I find I'm the opposite to most people; I spend cash more freely than using my debit card! We've definitely been saving money though - The boyfriend has picked up frugal living in a big way since Christmas. We've already halved our food shopping costs!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that your boyfriend has 'bought' into frugal living. It is certainly the way to go!
DeleteCongrats on halving your food shopping costs. That's amazing!
Sft x
We've had a lean month too, and done the majority of spending on card when we have spent, so not too much has been put into our pot this month. I might try a more cash based February and see how that goes...
ReplyDeleteI use my cards mainly too! I do get my personal spending money and the grocery shopping money out in cash which does help.
DeleteSft x
My usual £1 per day, plus petrol money saved from not driving in to work, also my side of the food bill has been saved as I have not been on the boat! I also had 4 NSDs. So a pretty good week. I am sorry that you are still not feeling well, hopefully you will be your normally chirpy self soon xxx
ReplyDeleteHi Fran,
DeleteYou've done well-lots of saves not spends!
Isn't it great when you really do get a free lunch?
Sft x
Hi SFT, sorry to hear you are not well, get well wishes from Oz!
ReplyDeleteI had a better week with the pot this week.
$15.70 left over grocery money
$5 found in hub's pockets when doing the washing (finder's keepers and all that!)
$1 change from lottery ticket
So a much better week this week, yay!
Great pot Sue!
Cheers
Judy xx
Thanks Judy!
DeleteYou've had a fantastic week for the pot!
Great savings from the grocery money. I think I will have some left over too :)
LOVE finders keepers! Let's hope hub continues to be in too big a hurry to check his pockets.
Sft x
Sorry to hear you're unwell again - the down side of being a teacher I suppose...
ReplyDeleteWe've not been out much this week, though did spend on drinks in a Truro coffee shop - we met up with our eldest, so it was a nice thing to do!
We did receive some extra money through work & we've emptied our purses/wallets, so about £12 this week... January is definitely a leaner time for us, but half term will be upon us in no time & our season kicking in, so we're enjoying the quiet for now.
Hope you're feeling better soon!
Take care,
Kay :)
Hi Fran
DeleteI think it's lovely to have nice coffee out every now and again.Esp with your family.
And it's still cheaper than eating a meal.
Congrats on the extra work money..£12 is a great weekly total.
January is such a long month! Still we are nearly at the end.
Here's hoping half term with bring you lots of holiday bookings! Enjoy the rest until then.
Sft x
I hope you begin to feel better and soon. There are some nasty bugs around. Take care of your self.
ReplyDeleteThis week has seen some no spend days. I did use my debit/credit card twice. So some days there has been no change. Nice things mum gave me two coins so I could put some in each pot. My son wanted to see The Hobbit and he paid for dinner.
Since I have no idea how much goes into the pots I am going to weigh them....how OCD etc.
Big pot to take the girls to One Direction is 1.189 kilos
Little pot for Queen Mary trip is 319 grams.
Keep up the good work everyone.
Hi Suze,
DeleteThanks for your kind words. I feel much better today. The rain has washed away the snow and the sun came out!
Good news about your lovely mum giving you coins for your pot. Also that your son treated you to the Hobbit.
Weighing your pots-what fun! I'm now excited about how heavy they will be next week!
Everyone is doing so well, aren't they!
Sft x
Sorry to read you are not feeling 100%, get well soon.
ReplyDeleteMy sealed pot is on a diet at the present time, however, at my quilting guild meeting on Thursday last week, I was asked to make a label for a quilt made by one of our members. It's s gift and the maker wants the giver and receivers names and date on it, this is done by a lot of the quilters here. My sewing machine has embroidery letters which can be used to write almost anything, and I charge for this service, these $'s in the sealed pot.
Patricia
Hi Patricia,
DeleteGood to hear that you will be putting the cost of the embroidery letters into the pot!
Feeling better today. Thanks.
Sft x
$43 in coins as I had a few no spend days lately. I also found $120 while tidying my office so added that as well. One new behaviour I have started is for my coffees when I am away from home. I take in the exact amount for a refill with my own mug, $1.06, and that is all I spend. I live 40 miles one way from any shops and with our lovely climate of late in the -30s, I enjoy a hot coffee on the drive home.
ReplyDeleteHi Marjorie
DeleteCongrats on your no spend days! And wow, that's a LOT of money found from tidying your office!
I like your coffee idea. Compromises on treats can lead to quite a saving for the sealed pot and you don't miss out.
Sft x
Around $10 in coins this week, some from my purse & some random's lying about the house - all loose change is fair game when it comes to the challenge!
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling better soon. It looks as if you guys have had some wicked weather lately, which looks pretty on tv, but not so great when you are living with it.
Sx
Hi Sandra,
DeleteGood news about the change and randoms-yes, it's all fair game and great food for the pot!
The pouring rain last night has washed away our snow and the sun came out a bit today.
I feel so much better from seeing it.
Sft x
SFT Hope you feel better soon.I have put in 2x £2 coins change £2.50 and £1 for my 2 lb in weight loss this week.Not a great deal but as a lean month still acceptable we had snow and ice and cold so had hot coffee out after our walks this week.
ReplyDeleteHi Welsh Poppy,
DeleteGood news about your pot savings. I'm not going to look at the weighing scales until I feel ready to take up the challenge.
I think it's perfectly acceptable to have a few hot coffee treats in this weather.
I was so glad to see that the rain had washed away the snow this morning and the sun had come out!
Sft x
I am pleased with myself this week - on late shifts I get free parking at work but not early shifts: in return for a small 10 min detour driving home a colleague who walks and is on my late shift I have now got free parking on his drive on my early shift - saving me £5.40 per week public car park!
ReplyDeleteHi Betty,
DeleteYou have done brilliantly this week. I am so impressed with the money you've saved from parking.And all from doing a good turn.
Is this a long term situation-if it is it could be a great saver for you.
Sft x
No carbooting for me again so my virtual sealed pot will get £5. Having heard the wind and rain this morning I rolled over and went back to sleep. I'm currently watching the Australian Open tennis final and embroidering a cushion as I'm giving the attic room a makeover without spending a single penny.My shopping budget is being pared to the bone for February ( even less than the usual £100 !) as we think we've finally solved the problem of the staircase and need extra money to pay for materials to sort that out. I can see February being a very lean month for my pot.
ReplyDeleteHi Scarlet,
DeleteWell done on your carbooting saving! I don't blame you giving the car boot a miss this morning. I thought it was an indoor one! Brrr! for being outside at this time of year!
Good luck for your makeover. I know you will do a tremendous job, you are soooo talented.
Also your shopping budget. I know you will do it. But as you say, maybe not too much for the pot.
Don't be a stranger.
Sft x
Hi sft - it is an indoor one but even the thought of going out to the car and driving there in the wind and rain was enough to tempt me to roll over this morning! I don't need anything at the moment, and am busy using things up on the attic makeover so the temptation to go and see what I could find was much less. I'll keep popping by - it's nice to see how everyone else is doing.
DeleteThe end of the month's certainly been a lean time here but I've finally decided that my pot is primarily going to be fed 50p's as I looked at it and wondered about the size for a whole year of change! I've also (tentatively) decided that I will have driving lessons & test as my goal, having never got round to it before.
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better soon - it truly has been miserable recently!
Hi Ruthdigs,
Delete50ps are a good choice, as they soon mount up don't they?
What a great goal, I don't drive so I really admire you.
Sft x
Oooh....my Sealed Pot is famous!!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that you have been poorly too, this is really lingering for me as well. All I want is to feel 'normal' again, but that is obviously too much to ask for :-(
My sealed pot is on a bit of a diet, it's just had 91p this week, change from my miniscule shopping trip It's a shame LH's hair doesn't grow faster that earns me £2 a cut!!
Hope you're soon feeling better, although at this time of year as fast as you get over one thing you will be catching another from all the lovely germ ridden children in your class.
Sue xx
Hi Sue,
DeleteI hope you are feeling better and have enjoyed a bit of sun today. Our class is an infestation of germs.
I think you are doing brilliantly with your sealed pot earnings, considering how much you aren't spending.
Maybe you should add some 'fast grow' to LH's tea for his hair.
Thanks for featuring your pot in our guest slot!
Sft x
Hi SFT, I have a confession to make, that I had to temporarily raid my sealed pot last week for an emergency doctors visit. BUT - it turned out that the "Practice Fee" of €10 had been abolished, (that is what I needed the money for) and so I put the money back plus intrest. I also taped up the pot doubly well ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Gotthisfar,
DeleteAll is forgiven!
You do make me smile. :)
Sft x
Sorry you're sick :(
ReplyDeleteI've had a totally empty purse all week and so my pot hasn't been fed! Must do better in February.
Hi Laura,
DeleteIt's been a lean week!
Sft x
Hope you feel better soon !
ReplyDeleteWe put about £4 in this week. So not that great but as its January it could be a lot worse!!
I'm using my savings account as a virtual pot as well - there was only a penny in it at the beginning of the year, now there is £56.01 ! Any bills i manage to reduce and the extra goes in there. Its a semi-sealed pot though as we are going to have a rent increase of just over £60 a month from April, so while I will still put into it that's where the extra will come from!
Kay xx
Hi Kay,
DeleteWell done on putting £4 in your pot. That's a good amount.
And congrats on your virtual pot too. That's creeping up nicely.
How's the new pot?
Sft x
I'm sorry to hear you've not been so well. Nothing worse, and lots of bugs going round at the moment. Like you I only managed the change out of my purse on Friday, but as I'd cracked and had a coffee out I also put the same amount of money as the coffee cost in too! And I didn't lose any weight this week either so if it was a school report it would say "could try harder"!!
ReplyDeleteHi KatieJane
DeleteOh, don't worry about the weightloss. My challenge is on hold until the weather and my health improves.
To be honest, just emptying your purse is 'something' in the pot and it will add up nicely over the weeks and months.
You are doing fine.
Sft x
I did my first "real" shop since before Christmas, it was a staggering £52.72, but it refilled my cupboards and will supply dog food ( I cook it myself} for 2 weeks. I had 7 £2 coins and a handful of "shrapnel" so that all went into the pot. I bank online and on Friday I opened a new saving account and will transfer my unspent house keeping money into it every week, that way I will not be tempted to spend it. I started it off with £260, I was so pleased it has encouraged me to look at more ways to save.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam,
DeleteYou did so well with your low spend shops. I'm amazed.
Excellent news about those £2 coins too.
And £260, well that's just amazing. I just know you will make it to Australia.
Sft x
Nothing has gone in my pot this week and it's not for lack of £2 coins i got £8 worth of those this week. I am running a tight ship at the moment what with the accident and road tax due on the 31st i don't have a penny to spare. Hopefully when these are out of the way i might start feeding the pot. Posted a few items on ebay so hopefully someone is interested in my stuff.
ReplyDeleteHi New World,
DeleteSorry to hear things are tight at the mo. Hope things get better and you do well with your ebay sales.
Don't be a stranger, please pop in and let us know how you are doing.
Sft x
Hope you're feeling better very soon!
ReplyDeleteJanuary has been sort of lean, not so much because it is January – after Christmas – and all that, but because soooo many things have had to be replaced this month. Water heater, tires, and both of our eye glasses. OUCH!
I’m trying something I saw in Pinterest to augment my saving routine. The idea is to add a dollar amount according to the week number in the year. So on the 1st Sunday of Jan you add in $1, the next Sunday $2, the next $3 and so on. The idea is that it trains you to save more and more until you’ve gone from saving $10 for the month of Jan to saving $202 for the month of December. We’re not paid weekly so I will be dropping mine in at the end of each month.
Therefore I put in $10 for my January weekly sum.
Most unusual bits of found coins I’ve added in are .05c that came in the mail from some sort of scam trying to get me to donate to them. And we removed a bar in the former “man cave” that was in our house when we bought it (soon to be my creative studio!) and I found .05c under there.
And then there were the handful of coins from the bottom of my purse.
Not too shabby for the last Sunday of January!
Hi Teri,
DeleteSorry to hear you've had to replace lots of things!
I've seen that pinterest idea before. It sounds good!
Good news about your found coins. I love hearing where people have found them.
I think you've done really well.
Sft x
Well now, this is an interesting idea. I gave myself a very generous budget this January to help get through the worst of the grey and depressing (February isn't much better usually but at least it feels like it could be, if you know what I mean) but have been tossing various ideas around for something like this. I used to have a piggybank that I threw loose change into but when I moved to Germany a few years ago I forgot to take the key out of its hiding place in the house I was renting so it just sat there for the first year or so until I was very, very broke and took a screwdriver to it. Since I couldn't shut it up again I got out of the habit. If I find money lying around (not often as I usually know exactly where all of my money is and if I'm honest any money I find lying around is usually after I've had visitors!) at the moment it's going into the top of an oil burner that I never use anymore. But I seem to just as often fish the larger coins out of that for one reason or another so a sealed pot is definitely a good idea. I'll have a think this week about it and search out a suitable container and join in then. Will hopefully post an update next weekend to say I've made a start.
ReplyDeleteHi Moonwaves,
DeletePlease join us with the sealed pot challenge. Looking forward to hearing about your pot next weekend.
Let me know your goal and where your from and I'll add you to the list.
Sft x
Hi Sue,
DeleteI know I'm a day early but I've gotten my pot all ready and posted about it here: http://livingthesimplelifeiwant.blogspot.de/2013/02/sealed-pot-challenge-begins.html
Will join in on the Sunday updates starting next week.
Thanks.
Oh, and I live in Germany (for your list) :)
I'm glad you are on the mend, SFT. Hope you're getting some rest.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember what I put in the pot last week, but this week I did put in all my Mum's change (I have a little bag in my purse that is for her money, when I shop for her or for her share of the groceries, etc. ); I didn't 'raid' it, though; what I did was buy the change with some of my bills, then put the change into the pot. Over $10 , I think. I added $5 for the 2lb I gained this week (though I think it was mostly the salt from the popcorn at my sister's, where I was working for a couple of days. I cleaned out my change purse, too, but forgot to write down the amount. Oh, I went for supper with a friend last night, so I put in $5 as a penalty for overspending. So a good week for my pot, but not so much for me... ~ Linne
Hi Linne,
DeleteI hope you liked your 'guest spot' for your pot last week.
Good to hear you've been feeding the pot-in many ways!
Sft x
Hope you're feeling better and the fire is on!
ReplyDelete$10 went in this week. I took the money out to pay for transport, but got a lift instead, so no expense there.
Hi Matt,
DeleteWe used plenty of wood and coal last week. The temperature has risen now. Thank goodness.
Great news on saving that $10 from getting a lift. Fantastic save not spend!
Sft x
Sorry to hear you're under the weather. Hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo!
DeleteSft x
Blech! Feeling bad in January is a bad combination. Hope you feel better. I caught a cold and the weather was brutally cold (-20 deg. C) a couple days this past week, so spent a lot of time indoors. No driving since last Tues., so savings on gas. Only money spent was $10 on cold medicine, saved $4 employee discount so that into the pot. And the wallet cleanout was $1 and change and that was it. January has been a very frugal month. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Connie,
DeleteGood to hear you've been saving on gas, your discount and had a wallet cleanout. It all adds up.
January has been a lean time but we've all keep going and that's brilliant.
Sft x
Hi SFT,
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit late to the party, but have come to ask if I can join in your sealed pot challenge? I've been using our sealed pot for two weeks now, and we're going to be using our pot money to pay towards this coming Christmas -presents for the children :)
Love your snowy pictures :)