Janey's Journey to Becoming a MFW

Thank you for popping in :wave:

Renovation stuff is sooo expensive isn't it?! Unfortunately we pulled our house to pieces - we basically gutted the inside and built an extension - so we have no choice but to keep on spending until it's finished It's great to see things improve and gradually tick things off the list but the J£wsons invoice is always eye-watering when it arrives :eek:

Janey x

Hello again

First week back at work done :j Yes I know it was only three days... I am mighty relieved it is over though. I've had a nearly constant headache. I've got a bit of work to do tomorrow but otherwise the workload isn't going to be too bad this weekend.

Money update:
We are still plodding away with our £600 per month to our regular savers or 'future' savings. I'm also putting a bit into the emergency savings at the end of each month after buying the new car but there's still a way to go before it's back to the target.

We are going to a wedding in August and have arranged to take the dogs and go to Pembrokeshire for a week afterwards. We are really looking forward to some walking and probably lots of eating . All accommodation paid for but saving for spending money.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I will do a more in-depth financial update another time

It's DH's birthday today so we're going to get some chips and eat them on the beach :beer:

Janey xxx

Me again

I've updated my signature but it's a bit vague because we are in a sort of limbo with most things.

Building work is ongoing. Kitchen, bathroom and living room are mostly finished (which actually means there is a long list of jobs to do before they are complete but we can comfortably use them!). Bedrooms and upstairs WC are yet to be started. Our bedroom has working plug sockets but otherwise we are sort of camping. The other bedroom and WC are basically a shell awaiting electrics, plumbing, plastering and everything else you can think of. We are currently focusing on the outside and garden. We need a bigger shed so that the tools that are currently in the second bedroom can be stored outside allowing us to finish upstairs!
We are way over our original budget which I now realise was totally unrealistic, but have not reached the 'we must not spend more than x' amount that I have in mind

The future fund is ticking away quietly via our regular savers and is currently at £9000 (this doesn't go very far in the world of fertility treatment). We could save more but I'm determined to do other things with our time and money and not put every penny into this very frustrating 'area' of our lives.

The emergency fund is at 40% after we bought a new car last October. I'm gradually paying this in as and when we have a bit left over.

We put money into 'pots' for the car, presents and pets as these are expenses that are hard to predict and irregular.

Finally, the pot that is my current priority is the Holiday fund :j We have two weekends away in the big smoke planned in May and June and an actual holiday in August which we have tagged onto travelling for a wedding. All accommodation is booked and payed for except one of the London trips. We're now saving for spending money.

Next year we want to do a proper holiday somewhere exciting (depending on what happens in the fertility department). Possible destinations include two weeks in Croatia or Sri Lanka so mucho saving will be required

I'm looking forward to having something positive to look forward to and plan and plot It will also help to have a savings goal as we have drifted a bit recently.

Thanks for reading! It was most helpful to get my thoughts out on the page, Janey x