It's May 2nd and last month's challenge is complete. The first Sainsbury's delivery has arrived for this month containing all the bulky, heavy stuff I ordered and the total cost in the end was £61.96 including £2 delivery. There was stuff for the freezer; fish portions, 3 bags of frozen fruit, ice cream and some sliced bread so that I can extract a slice or two as needed. I went over budget by £6.96 due to stocking up on a few tins and frozen goods in case of shortages ( did you know the shelves seem to be empty of baked beans? 😨) It would have been a bit counter productive to leave my stores empty of things I might not be able to get later on. Now I think it's the perfect opportunity to spend my Nectar points instead of cash and it will save another £2 on delivery each week 😀
I have £15 worth of spendable points and Gray also has £5 so a decent amount between us. They will probably be used to buy some form of protein and fresh veg. I'll share with you how we spend them.
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On the news last night, and all over social media, there have been reports of serious cyber attacks on big companies. Firstly, there was M & S, which is still struggling to contain it, then close shaves from Co-op and now Harrods. I also know of another big company which was put out of action for a couple of weeks and which has suffered serious financial damage. I am unable to say which one, but I have been personally affected by having some of my data stolen. I find it all very worrying. Actually, no....it's terrifying. I use both Co-op and M & S so my data could be at risk from there too. Personally, I think this is yet another reason to keep using cash. We all use online shopping for convenience, don't we, but we have to be aware of the risks involved. I draw my personal weekly 'frivolous spending ' in cash so there is always a little in my purse for emergencies such as power outages in shops. It has happened to me in the past and will surely happen again. If we become a cashless society how can we teach youngsters how to value money? As it is, a lot of them struggle to count actual coins....
The Government is now telling us once again to be prepared:
Keep a stock of bottled water
Stockpile tinned food
Have an FM radio with plenty of spare batteries.
Hang on... FM? Didn't the powers that be decide to ditch FM radio in favour of DAB? Our little radio is not FM so would be useless in an emergency to listen for Government announcements !
I have plenty of candles so wouldn't be in the dark 😌
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How do you feel about using cash? Do you use a card for everything?
Are you 'getting prepared' ?
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Tasks for today:
Return my library book
Drop a couple of toiletries off at the food bank collection point
Drop another batch of cards at the Hospice shop
Pop my Brother's birthday card in ( he will be 71 on Sunday 👀 How??)
Pick some rhubarb from the allotment for a Sunday crumble 😋
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Have a great weekend everyone 😎
Thanks so much for popping in and do stay safe and well wherever you happen to be,
Angie 💗
I still use cash as much as possible - and for car boot sales there's no alternative of course! It's not easy to go and get a bag of £1 coins for car park/ boot-sales nowadays so during the winter I put aside £1 and 50p coins that I get in change ready for summer.
ReplyDeleteThat's a jolly good idea, Sue, and one that I'll adopt from now on. I refuse to pay for parking with a card :(
DeleteOur local post office will let you withdraw £1 coins, but only as a £20 minimum. I keep some in the car for parking. I absolutely avoid car parks where just card is accepted, even more so if its the Ringo app as I was scammed whilst on holiday in Cornwall when I downloaded the Ringo app. Had to cancel my card, etc, etc, right at the start of our holiday!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, what a rotten start to your holiday. I hate downloading Apps for things like parking and have resisted so far. I do hope you didn't lose any money to the scam. I'll certainly keep an eye open for any Ringo car parks :/
DeleteWe always use cash in our village as transaction charges for small businesses eat into their profit, I take an amount out most weeks. We save £2 coins, so we would be OK for a while. We too ensure we have a good basic store cupboard, just in case, I don't keep bottle water, but we do have sparkling fruit flavoured miner water, which I drink instead of coke or lemonade.
ReplyDeleteThat is true, Marlene, I do pay cash at small businesses for that very reason. When I worked in retail the minimum spend for card payment was £5 but now they seem to take cards for any amount. It must not be worthwhile for small purchases. In our village the coffee shop have a big sign saying 'Cash Preferred'
DeleteIt's easy to go over budget when one is stocking up, isn't it? But, yes, it's good to be stocked up and prepared. I live in "earthquake country" and I try to be prepared for emergencies. At least 3 days worth of food and water (1 gallon per person per day plus extra for pets); flashlights(torches) if the power goes out - can't light candles after earthquakes to minimize risks of fire in case gas mains break and leak; extra cash on hand; trash bags to line the toilets if the water and sewer lines break and you can't flush the toilets; etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry your information was compromised due to a data breach. Mine was compromised when our phone company and at least one medical facility I used had data breaches.
I do try to use cash as much as possible, but, recently, the car park at one of the medical facilities I use converted to card only and if I order groceries to be picked up, then, that goes on a card, as well.
Oh golly, Bless, I wouldn't have thought about candles and gas leaks. Luckily, we only have earth tremors not quakes here, but I'll never forget your advice! And I wouldn't have thought about trash bags to line the toilet either! Thank you for that!
DeleteRe the car parks: I've resisted using a card so far. I avoid the ones which are card only and try to keep a little cash in the car for parking fees.
So sorry to hear you've had data stolen too. It's very worrying.
We use on-line shopping, usually click-and-collect, but always refuse to allow either passwords or card details to be saved. Yes, it's more effort, but that way we are less exposed should any problems occur.
ReplyDeleteIt is certainly a worry, Will. We don't let companies store card details either (whenever possible) because of the risks. It was my personal details which were taken but enough to be useful to the perpetrators :o/
DeleteI use cash for a lot of my purchases these days. Obviously I have to use my card online but for physical shopping it is nine times out of ten cash only. I am currently checking my food stores here in the lodge to see what I have available as I have cut my shopping right back to basics now that I am a 'pensioner' without a state pension. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is a worrying time with these cyber attacks and the potential to shut down large parts of normal society. It is good to be aware and to prepare for these things. I use a mixture of card and cash these days for purchases and always have a receipt.
ReplyDelete