11.1.18

New Year and some New Ideas

A new year makes a lot of people take stock of their life, they look at changing things and starting new things that they hope will improve their lot. I'm no different! and so far this year I've been doing the following things...I'm sharing them here so that I can remember and so that you might get a few ideas too - and of course, as always, do add any comments or ideas I've missed.
picture of money with text over suggesting new years savings

I have not joined a gym. Or pledged to run a marathon, or given myself a target of walking more. However, Fizz says I should remember that even when it's raining she likes to take, at the very least, a stroll around the block.

What have I done? 

Online stuff.

Well first I did a quick email tidy up. I looked at all of the emails waiting to be read and shuddered! I use Gmail and have set up lots of rules and filters to sort my mail but there is still a lot of it. So i looked first at the business emails I receive. Lots of companies sign you up for 'information about our offers' type emails when you buy from them or when you open an online account, so the first thing I did was to unsubscribe from all of those.
Then I looked at my filters and checked they were all still relevant, I deleted a few that had been set up for specific events that had now passed, and created a few new ones for 2018. With my inbox tidied, I moved on to Twitter and checked which apps and companies have access to my twitter, lots are necessary of course, the apps I use on my iPad and the news sites that allow sharing, Klout and a few others, but I deleted any I hadn't used in a while and then deleted all those I didn't recognise.
Having long been a fan of not listening/looking at nasty things I also checked I was still signed up to BlockTogether and that they still had the access they needed (by signing up there I have over 51000 people blocked on twitter - most are on the 'nazi' list - (message me on twitter if you'd like to know more) Twitter is a much nicer place since I started using BlockTogether.
I also checked that all the sites that could have 2 factor authorisation (2FA) set up, did have. security of online life has become as important as keeping your home safe, with more identity theft and online fraud, so if a site offers extra protection, I take it! I also renewed my yearly subscription to LastPass password manager. I have over 50 different passwords and using a password manager I can be sure they are all different, long, complicated and hard to crack!

Next I looked at some money saving;

not least because I need to find the money to connect to the Playstation 4 network so that I can go (virtual) fishing with my brother at the weekends. The PS4 network carries an annual charge of £49.99 so that was my target.
It was remarkably easy to hit because it seems that I've gradually (lazily) been hemorrhaging money!
First I bought some coffee bags so that I can make my own coffee at work. I have to have real coffee and a cafetiere is just too much mess but using coffee bags instead of a £1.70 a day coffee from the canteen I can save £5.50 a week!
Also by buying ready meals instead of using the canteen I can still have a hot meal (microwaved) but save £2 a day, so there's another £10 a week.
Much as I love Audible and audiobooks my £7.99 a month habit is pricey, so as a trial I've cancelled that. I intend to relisten to the 40 or so books I have bought from them over the years and then to look at using the library's free audiobook service. So there is a huge £96 a year saving too!
With just those few changes I have saved an amazing £822 a year! more than enough for my PS4 bill.

What have you been up to? Any savings this year or changes to your life that don't include exercise or diet (those are so old hat now surely? haha)

image of savings ideas listed

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