My 5 year plan

fatrab · 3 January 2018 at 11:20AM

So, with this new motto "If it's not in the plan - don't do it!" (thanks doingitanyway), what exactly is "the plan"?

Here goes -

Cut out unnecessary spending, have little or no waste and put the money saved to the first target debt, then as each debt is cleared put the extra money to the next debt.

I'll be keeping a weekly spending diary and cost sheet. The cost sheet is easy enough as I already have a spread sheet of monthly income & outgoings so I can amend and add to that as necessary.

But what about the daily/weekly spending?

When I did this exercise a few weeks ago I just wrote everything I spent in my work diary, but is there a better way? Are there any apps available for logging expenditure or is a written pocket diary the way to go?

What do you do?

Thanks

Storm89 · 4 January 2018 at 10:53AM

Just searched for your diary after your comment on my thread. Sounds like a good solid plan - I like the idea of a 5 year plan actually . I never think of mortgage as debt but I suppose it is really , it's great that you're overpaying that might be what I look into doing once my debt from the cards is gone.

Honeysucklelou2 · 4 January 2018 at 7:20PM

I use a spending tracker app. It was free to download and allows me to track spending and note category of expenditure. It gives a running total of amount spent and amount remaining and presents all the info in a bar chart or pie chart whichever you prefer. I used to record spending in a notebook but this app is quicker and visually effective.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 January 2018 at 7:48PM

A 5 year plan is good but don’t ignore pension planning in that too.

I use clear checkbook app on my phone to record spends. I have used spending tracker too in the past but clear checkbook is better for keeping track of investments and lots of different accounts. Spending tracker just records spends.

fatrab · 5 January 2018 at 9:02AM

Thanks for those, I'll give spending tracker a try. Just need something for noting down spends.

Have a small pension deducted from salary but it won't be enough. My Wife has a good pension through her employer. We've decided to focus on our mortgages for now as my Wife also owns a house which generates a rental income.

Tax man wants just over £1000 from me which is most definitely not in the plan! It's really annoying as I'll be claiming back way more than that in April. Was trying to get them to amend my tax code and get it back that way, but they won't as it was an overpayment last year, apparently.

A minor hiccup.

fatrab · 6 January 2018 at 9:35AM

Come payday (25th) I'm in a position to clear my credit card balance (£1040) but my tax bill needs to be paid by 31/1/18.

Am I correct in assuming that if I pay the tax bill by credit card after I've cleared the balance then I won't pay any interest?

enthusiasticsaver · 6 January 2018 at 9:44AM

That’s right as the tax bill won’t show up until your next statement.

fatrab · 6 January 2018 at 11:26AM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

That’s right as the tax bill won’t show up until your next statement.

Thought so, thanks for confirming.

fatrab · 7 January 2018 at 9:35AM

Another little hiccup today. The microwave has decided to pack in. It's 12 years old so I suppose it's lasted ok.

We need it for sterilising the baby's bottles so an unavoidable expense. Suppose that's why we have an emergency fund! Otherwise it would have been put onto the CC.

Hopefully spot a bargain today at the sales.

fatrab · 8 January 2018 at 8:00AM

Back to work today - oooft...

Last nights left overs for lunch, dinner in the slow cooker, bacon and eggs for breaky.

My first conscious attempt at a no spend day. Let's do this.

My 5 year plan

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