Poppy Patchwork


My little bit of this big World

Sunday, 6 December 2020

Small change

It's that time of year when we look at saving pots, this lovey German beer bottle is our small change bottle, we can't put 50p's in there but all other change fits through the slim neck. We have not been out spending much, so very few coins in there, it's not worth counting them, the bottle will be left to next year.
We started saving pound coins as our Co-op in the village closed and we could not save any cash back amounts, this being from the national chain, again we have not been out much and have very little change, even so we had £48. £50 of vouchers came from hubby's pension scheme, which will be used in our local Co-op. Both of these we use to stay local through the busy Christmas times, avoiding the bigger supermarkets. 
In our last savings we have £168.00, but most of that are notes, from gifts we have been given, (last Christmas and wedding anniversary), we always save money along with £2 coins towards short city breaks, but we have not been anywhere for just over a year. We will add any cash given as Christmas gifts, so hopefully a good trip or 2 can be planned for next year.

I am a saver, my parents had no spare money as we were growing up, and it was much the same as our girls were small, we always managed a holiday and a few treats, but we never had savings. I always have some notes tucked away in my purse, it's my just in case money, I can't ever see me stopping. We now save monthly, not huge amounts, but enough to cover any surprises, and I do like to save coins, the only strict saving is £2 coins, we never spend them, all the other coins we sort out once or twice a week.

Its a very early start 5.30am, Will has been on a sleepover, he wakes early most days and wakes baby George up, which unsettles him, so for a break we have Will. Its within the rules as a family with a disabled child under 5 can bubble with another family for support. We have not had this rule for most of the year, but now happy we can help and support and feel blessed we can see more of the boys and our daughter. I have offered to have George on his first sleepover in the coming week, just to see if he's happy then next year we can start to have them both to give mum and dad a break. 


13 comments:

  1. I rarely use cash anymore as we do most of our shopping online and if we do need to pay for something when out I use a debit card. I only pay our window cleaner in cash so do occasionally have to draw money from the cash machine. I wouldn't like a cashless society though, it would be difficult for some people. Nice that you can have your grandson for a sleepover he must enjoy that.

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  2. I still use cash in the village, often my purchases are only small, plus if I shop using my card it's very easy to spend more than you intended.

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  3. It's amazing how much can be saved like that. I have a guinea pig piggy band that I put small change in and I was amazed at how much was in there.
    Briony
    x

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  4. I'm pleased you're allowing me to comment as I don't have a blog. Anyway, I've always saved bits of coins, started with the new 5p pieces and has progressed from there over the years. At the moment we are saving anything under 50p in a coffee jar and I am saving £2 coins in a novelty plastic bottle. I 'pay' my husband if he gets any and at the last count I have £378 and they aren't even half-way up the bottle. I want to see how much the bottle holds before I empty it.

    Grandchildren are a joy aren't they? We have time to appreciate them so much more than our own children.

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  5. I use Lloyd bank's 'save the change scheme'. They round up every card payment to the nearest pound and pay the difference into your nominated account. It soon mounts up.

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  6. We use very little cash these days as most shops prefer you to use a card, even for small amounts. We're savers, we've passed it on to Daniel and Eleanor too, they're really good savers.

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  7. I'd better have a look in my 5p tin and pay it into my bank - that will pay for something edible.
    Savings have proved very important over the last 3 years, without them I'd have needed to move much sooner and before I was ready

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  8. Well done on helping out your daughter, having young children is exhausting for sure and Covid has definitely put an additional strain on families.

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  9. I save my coins in a special tin and it is amazing how fast they can add up. This last year however most of my shopping has been online or by card so there is not much in my tin at the moment.
    Great that you can now see more of the grandies :)

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  10. I forgot to say earlier, that I love your new Christmas header :)

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  11. I haven't looked at my tins yet, like you I save coins but when we were first in lockdown I paid by card for everything so my tin will be lighter this time too.
    I still have my grandchildren too. To be honest if you are all being careful and not going where there are crowds of people all the time I see no harm, In the long run it would probably do more harm not to see them. We have to do what Is right for us.

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    1. We have tried to be good through both lockdowns, but as George gets older daughter needs more help, the new rules to help families with disabled children under 5 has opened the way. You are right keeping children from their grandparents is harmful to everyone. Lets hope we have a way out of isolation with the vaccine.

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  12. I save all coins here as well. Those little bits can sure add up over time.

    So nice that you can help out with Will and George now. I can just see all the cuddles.

    God bless.

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