An unexpected windfall!!

 What would you do if you received £1000 you weren't expecting?

A legal £1000, not a scam.

No, money you were entitled to, you just didn't realise quite how much or that it was going to appear right now.  Without announcement.  Just there in the bank account.

When I say what would you do, I don't mean things like phone the bank or check for the CIA on a tapped phone line or anything...no, I mean what would you do with a sudden £1000.

I like that phrase.

A sudden £1000.

It doesn't sound quite right, does it.  Not like a sudden ray of sunshine, or a sudden fart or anything.

A sudden windfall of real cash.

Well, we got a sudden load of dosh this week.

It heralded much celebration in our little house, I can tell you!

Then, after a celebratory mug of coffee was made (decaf, oat milk, spoonful of maple syrup for me - black and strong for MW, in case you were wondering..) we sat at the kitchen table with pencil and paper to decide what we should do with this unexpected windfall.

1. We could put it in our emergency fund.  

Yes, but actually our emergency fund is very healthy, thank you very much.  In fact as we haven't been on holiday (not bothered at all, we love being where we are) or had huge bills on the car (it's a motability car, so all we have to pay for is fuel), our emergency fund is as good as it's been for years.  (Imaginary pat on the back.)

2. We could use it to pay off the credit card.

Well yes, but we don't actually have any credit cards.  Not one.  Nope.  I know, we don't follow society and that feels pretty good too!  We used to use credit cards - up until 2012 when we decided it felt daft borrowing short term small amounts then paying the cash back with interest, which is what they are in essence.

3. We could book a lovely break away, just the two of us.

Well, as this Covid-19 business is ongoing I don't feel particularly safe even going out to the local chippy, so the thought of staying overnight somewhere gives me visions of cleaning and wiping everything in sight with my anti-bac wet wipes, sitting on a freshly wiped chair in a quiet, pristine restaurant at a freshly wiped table, wearing latex gloves, a facemask and a hazmat suit (ok I'm exaggerating with the suit...).  No.

4. We could buy a new sofa.

We have two sofas in our little lounge.  No chairs, not cosy enough!  One sofa cost me £35, the other was free to collect.  One was almost new and from NEXT (the free one, actually) and came from a rather posh house where it had been in their second lounge and the lady was changing the decor in that room.  The £35 one -  which is the one we tend to snuggle on - had some wear and tear but was sturdily made and almost matched the other.  SO why do we need a new sofa?  Well, to be very honest there are two reasons.  One, because we have a springy problem on the one we snuggle on in that when I plonk my arse down I have started to 'disappear' into the corner of the frame.  And two, because despite the big back and seat cushions having been through the wash a few times and not faded (dry clean only - yeah ok!) the frame and arms in particular have worn through.  OK, it is as bald as Yul Brenner in places.

5. We could buy something NEW for a change.

The last suggestion was from Gorgeous Daughter, who mentioned that we have furnished our home - and live happily buying essentials from - second-hand supplies.  I love it to be honest.  When we moved in here we needed a washing machine.  I bought one from a local online selling group for £40. It worked perfectly for over 2 years.  When it broke we looked online for tips to fix it and it was only when we couldn't repair it that we purchased a new one.  The same goes for the coffee machine used by Man Wonderful (free), our bed frame (£30 but we did buy a new mattress for it - from a shop!!), the kitchen table and chairs (free to collect) the desk in my craft room (£10) and our printer (free).  Ooh and our telly - that was free too..I did a sewing task for a friend who, when she came to collect the sewing commented, "Is that your telly? How do you manage to watch anything on that screen it's so tiny!"  She was referring to the fact that we had a 12" screen TV. It had been great in the caravan, but I accept it was a little small in tha house..

I said it was fine - although reading subtitles was a little tricky - and we said our goodnights.  About half an hour later there was a knock at the door and it was the friend's husband holding a flat screen TV - a 32" one  - apparently she'd mentioned our teeny TV when she'd got home and he'd said why not give us one of their 'spares'.  So that was that!  

6. We could stock up the store cupboards in case of another lockdown?

Already done.  Every time MW goes to the shop, or Mr Tesco delivers to us, I add two or three 'future' items to the list - this week we bought a bag of plain flour, a bottle of olive oil and a bag of cumin. I've shopped like this for years - since I was a single mother, so that in months with less income the store cupboard always has stores.

Crikey, nope, out of more ideas then.

So.

What did we choose to do?

You'll be amazed.

Regular readers will be astounded.

What did the careful lady decide to do? (For careful read 'tighter than a badger's butt'..)

Well, I had almost decided on a new sofa when Man Wonderful came back from the dentist to say he needed to get a new crown in October, and it would be £245.  So that brought it down to £755.

Then I decided to buy the grand-kidlets their proper school shoes for the start back to school and that was £90.  So that brought it down to £665.

And I wanted to treat GD and the little ones to some new clothes, which brought it down to £545.

Oh and I thought about a couple of nice things to get and put away for Christmas gifts.  £495.

And the dog's next vet trip could be paid in advance, which is sensible.  That brought it down to £345.

I did splurge some of the cash though - I bought Man Wonderful a box of wines from an online retailer, which was £90. (Down to £255 if you are still following.)

And I put £200 into an envelope to pay for the fuel costs this winter.  (Oh god sometimes I'm so sensible it hurts.)

And talking about hurting, I 'blew' the rest on a physiotherapist appointment for my bloody back, as I tore a muscle about 6 weeks ago and it's been bloody agony..)

So an unexpected windfall.

What would you do with yours?

Tracey xx