Bombardment

I noticed this yesterday in particular because poor old Morrison's seem to have a bug in their computer systems and someone has got hold of email addresses and is sending out hundreds of spam emails about Morrison's vouchers - I had more than 15 emails in my inbox from them again this morning!

We are constantly bombarded with advertisements and inducements to visit shops and websites to be parted from our cash - and the companies are working hard at it.....my Facebook feed is full of it as well - two T-shirts for £30 from FatFace for example - probably because they found out that I bought a £45 jumper in the sale for £12.50 last autumn.  I get emails weekly from places that I have made purchases from in the past - the Book People and Approved Foods are constantly sending offers on delivery too.

It feels like an uphill battle sometimes to keep my money in my purse and under my control.  All these companies are targeting us and trying to entice us to part with it, and on a whim.  Their advertising methods are very convincing and appeal to our selfish natures - "You're worth it!" they are constantly reminding us.  Well, actually, that is a matter for me to decide, and what I decide is "worth" it is a secure roof over our heads and cash in the bank for a rainy day.

I had a conversation the other night with a dear friend, and I was almost speechless when she said she had never set foot in either an Aldi or a Lidl and hadn't a clue what they were like inside, or what they offered.  She's "never needed to," she said.  In the next breath, when we moved on to filling in the forms for Tax credits, she confessed that she has no savings whatsoever.  As a single mum with several children, working hard, I would definitely be encouraging her to gather a few pounds together in an emergency fund.  And stepping into our local Lidl would be one way of starting that!

Anyway, at this end of the month, I am delighted to be able to say that the £1000 savings we made in February has managed to stay in the bank and has been joined by some more cash.  The total isn't as dramatic this month, but we are definitely well on the way to our second thousand.  The YFG is completely on board, and when I said we had £350 left for all our expenses this month, she encouraged me to save another £100 and live on just £250!  I did remind her that it is the Easter holidays and she wants to go to Bletchley Park, so we will have some expenses there......we are hoping to go next Saturday.  She got a voucher for 20% off an admission when she bought me "The Imitation Game" DVD for Mothering Sunday, so we will be making use of that too, to keep the costs down a little.  And we will take our own food.  And not be tempted by too many souvenirs.......