Life update.

The last time I posted on this blog was almost two months ago. I'm not sure even where to being, there has been so many changes in my life and so much happened.

I went home for Easter which wasn't entirely planned, but I loved every minute of it. It was relaxing, it was refreshing, it was energising. Since my stay only lasted one week, I didn't get sucked into the whirlwind of domestic drama, but could truly enjoy doing things that I love: baking, reading, playing with a dog.

On that note, I have almost got a dog last month. I was so, so close to getting a furry friend, but the brain won over the heart. It wouldn't be fair on the dog to leave it home for long periods of time while I'm working and it would hugely restrict our ability to travel. HOWEVER, I did find a way around it! I finally got my head round signing up to Borrow My Doggy and bought a membership for £12.99 and these were the best spent money ever as I found a beautiful dachshund in the area which I will be looking after on Fridays. It will be glorious.

Now, the reason why I can be a pet sitter on Fridays is that I have quit my job. I warned you that a lot has happened in the past two months. I was really unhappy at work for a long time and it has taken both a physical and a psychological toll on me, so the only sensible decision was to leave. I have to say it was a massive leap of faith on my part: I was leaving a secure, albeit extremely stressful, job and with it a secure stream of income. And even though money doesn't equal happiness, the mortgage needs to be paid and so do bills etc., so I was more than a little worried about the future.

But this feeling didn't last long. In the Gospel according to St Matthew, Jesus says "Do not worry about tomorrow." I was convinced that I have made the right choice and that everything will work out fince. And so far I was blessed with such an abundance of opportunities! I have several tutoring assignments through a teaching agency and I am beginning to build a client base for my own business. It is a little scary to be effectively self-employed and having such a huge responsibility for everything from finding clients, preparing materials, setting up finances and keeping an organised diary. At the same time, I have so much freedom and such a great balance between work and study, and life. I do have to work evenings and I don't earn quite as much as before, but it's totally worth it. I can decide to do some exercising in the middle of the day. I can cook a healthy lunch at home rather than eating cold past at my desk. I have time to write and read. And, as MM can confirm, I am visibly healthier.

There has been so much going on in the past couple of weeks. I hope to be able to slow down a little in the next few weeks, take more time to build up my weekly leisure schedule (look out for that post in the near future!). And to write more blog post, of course :)

Cash only.

I was so excited when I got my new bank card with contactless. A whole new world opened up before me: the world of quick purchases without entering my pin for minor spending.

Then I got a credit card to build up my credit score.

I thought that I was happily moving towards completely cashless living. No scrambling around for lose change anymore. Quick transactions only.

But recently, I've actually become increasingly reliant on cash. I would take out a specific amount each week and use to for paying for groceries, petrol, coffee, shoe repairs, hairdresser. Some purchases would still need to be done digitally, like most of my utility bills, mortgage repayments, council tax and an odd online purchase, but the vast majority of the time, I would just use the physical money in my wallet.

I do it for a number of reasons. First of all, it came about as a money management tool. I try to live frugally and it is much easier to do so when I'm using cash. I can literally see how money dwindles in my purse. Using cash makes me a more intentional spender, because I an only spend as much as I have in my purse. The budget is truly limited. A side benefit of this was less food waste as I bought less groceries. I also spend less, because I'm a much more savvy shopper, looking for deals and discounts on items I need to buy.

Secondly, using cash really kills impulse purchases and emotional spending. It literally hurts to part with physical money. Parting with hard-earned cash is much more difficult then tapping a card. I've discovered a completely different level of attachment to money while trying to use cash only. By this I mean a deeper understanding that I've worked for this money and I want to buy things that really enrich my life in some way. A cheap decorative item, a not so flattering shirt or a cream-filled doughnut won't do. Again, intentionality is the key here.

My next step on the journey of being better with money is to get to grips with the cash envelope system of a sort. At the moment I have just one pot of cash for all outgoings. I would like to divide my cash into specific categories of spending so that I can see clearly how much I spend on each of these and direct any potential spare change into my savings account. It's all very well to withdraw £50 for the weekend in London, but how much of it goes towards travel, how much towards drinks and how much towards eating out? I think it will be quite revealing and will lighten the burden of tracking individual purchases, something that I do at the moment. I'm not so much interested how much I spend in individual terms, but I am very much interested how much I spend in general terms on groceries, eating out or clothing.

Financial institutions want to sell us the idea that cards are the way forward, but I still see the benefits of using cash to become a more conscious consumer.