XSpender - MFW in Training

XSpender

I am poorly in bed this week with a chest infection so have taken the time to sort my finances/savings pots, set up standing orders and to savings accounts and tweak my budget.

I have 4 savings accounts set up with my bank and have named them:

Christmas 2012 - £50/mnth rising to £100/mnth March
Holidays - £50/mnth rising to £150 in March
Emergency Savings/Settle Secured by 2013 - £100 rising to £300
My Personal Spends

DH likes a really big Christmas with lots of gifts for us 2 as we don't get much through the year so this needs to be saved for.

The personal spends is my Christmas money. If I don't seperate it from our current account it disappears.

At the moment the accounts are with my bank but as I get into the swing of saving I will open an ISA with another bank for the emergency savings and another savings account for Christmas.

I also have 3 sealed tins and a big piggy bank labeled up in the bottom of my wardrobe for:

£1/day Christmas savings
£2 coins
20 pences
Any 'shrapnel' from 10p to 1p

I have also begun a sweep of my current account every Friday to round down to the nearest fiver and this is going in the emergency savings pot too.

My budget for bills etc is ok, I just need to change utility supplier via TCB to my employer and I will get £100 worth of vouchers every year to spend at Christmas. I will put this in DH name to ensure I get the cash back.

My budget for spends is below. This is what I need to stick to if I am ever going to pay off the 2nd mortgage and get my forever home.

Budget (Based on a 5 week month)

Food, dog food, toiletries, cleaning, nappies, alcohol etc. 500
Diesel (£30/week) 150
MIL for watching DS 3 days a week 60
Personal Spends inc. hobbies, clothes 200
Haircuts and my colour 100
Miscellaneous purchases, family entertainment 100

Any money left over from each budget will be swept into emergency savings.

I am aiming to reduce my food budget to £80/week as DH and I have both agreed that we need to eat as well as we did before I went back to work FT. Due to lack of time this has slipped and we have become too reliant on processed food and takeaways and feel rubbish for it.:o

My haircut and colour is a lot and I have tried home dyes and cheaper places but I am never happy with it so DH has said I have to go to T0ny and Guy as I don't spend much on myself. I am not going to argue with that;) DH and DS (20 months) also have to have their hair cut every 4 weeks, DS has as much hair as DH and it grows twice as quick:eek:

One of my (many) plans for this year is to have enough money each month to do things as a family such as swimming, days out, keep our Nat Trust membership going, other family events as we hear about them and this, along with house purchases, meals and lunch out will come out of the misc budget.

I am hoping to post an update of my spends against these budgets, and the balances of my savings towards paying off the 2nd mortgage frequently throughout 2012. I will start from Jan pay as Dec/Jan is a funny month due to Christmas.

XSpender

Started as I mean to go on this morning with a sweep of the current account into the savings of £4 odd, £1 in the £1/day savings, £1 worth of 20s in the sealed tin and 14p in to the shrapnel pig:D

Picked up some baubles reduced by 70% in Mr S as ours took a hammering from DS this year and our tree is looking like a cat vomitted on it so needs a bit of titivating for next year. 12 baubles for £2.67 but I had a £2 till spit so 67p spent on baubles:D

I have meal planned until the end of the month and have been to Aldi and Mr S this morning. Really pleased with what I got for £46 especially since £5 of that was a steak for DH NYE dinner:eek::eek: That shop should keep us going until I do the next shop on the 9th. I have a veg box coming on the 6th and may need a bit more fruit and milk but hoping to spend no more than £5 extra.

I am really trying not to touch the money I have put into the savings this month for emergencies/secured settlement. It can be done, I know it can, I just need to keep out of the shops and say no to DH when he wants something now that can wait. He will be chuffed to bits if we get to the end of the month and I tell him we have saved £100+ but if I tell him now he will think we are flusher than we are.

XSpender

Happy New Year all:beer:

Nice quiet night in last night with DH and Jools Holland. I enjoyed our meal but didn't drink much. DH did and is still in bed as he did, one of us had to get up with DS at 6.45am!

We are meeting DBIL and GF for a few drinks this afternoon while DMIL babysits. Won't be a long one and have a couple of frozen pizzas in the freezer to avoid the takeaway DH will want when he has had a few beers. Still feeling a bit under the weather so won't be drinking much myself which will save on a few £s.

I have planned a few sewing and craft projects for the next 3 months to make use of the sewing machine and craft books I got for Christmas. 3 of these will be for Christmas but as a beginner I need to give myself plenty of time to finish them:rotfl:I also want to have a go at making my own cards, just not sure where to start.

Hurdler

XSpender wrote: »

Thank you both for your replies.

I have 4 e savings accounts with my bank and I used to have DDs going in to them, and more recently, transfered money over to them. What I find happens though is that I transfer the money back as we get short towards the end of the month so I really need to get to grips with the budget.

I think the best approach may be to have 'pot' accounts at a different bank as suggested, with limited access, as well as an easy access account at my bank.

I vouch for pots - that's exactly how I got myself out of debt - I locked away my credit cards and the worst lesson learned was not being able to go out when my "treat" pot had no money in it. In my twenties, that was a shocking lesson to learn, and I never have had to learn it since.

I think you are on the right track and I wish you well for you goals in 2012 :T

XSpender

I need to find a £1 coin to feed my £1/day pot as there is only a fiver and a tenner in my purse:eek: Could stick the fiver in for 5 days worth but it doesn't feel the same.:(

I ended up staying in yesterday and DH went out with the chaps from our cul de sac for a few beers and a couple of horse racing bets. A couple of the men won so treated the rest to a few drinks so DH doesn't think he spent much. As this money is out of our joint account I will see what the damage is and that can fund our day out/lunch out today.

I spent the afternoon pottering in the kitchen and have made 8 portions of qu0rn chilli and 4 of tomato and lentil soup for the freezer.

Decided to use some of the stash of old curtains in my loft to make DS some draw string bags to keep his lego and duplo in as the bits are small but the boxes it came in huge and getting battered allready. I have some lime green curtains (:eek: I know but I have had them since the 90s) that will work well. Just need some thread and to work out how to thread the machine.

XSpender

Got some change from DH this morning and put £2 in the £1/day tin for yesterday and today, stuck £1.80 of 20s in their tin and fed the shrapnel pig 14p. Every little helps:D I should name the pig, shrapnel pig doesn't sound very nice...how about Shirley the Shrapnel Pig?:rotfl:

Late for work this morning as DH went off to work with DS car seat in the back of his car (his car seat was left at work):mad: and I had to wait for DFIL to walk to ours with the buggy to collect DS. Good job they don't live very far from us.

This meant I had a 2nd cup of tea at home which saved the 51p I normally spend on one at work. I have to have 2 BIG cups in a morning to function and only ever have time to have one at home. Also had a cereal bar from home for breakfast so saved on buying cereal or toast from the canteen. It would be great if I could keep this up:)

Did the internet banking this morning and on checking my Diary realised my hair appointment isn't until after pay day :Tso a saving there out of this month's budget but my friend invited me out the week before pay day so I won't be able to save all of the money allocated to the cut and colour, maybe half, but it is better than zero. I just need to make sure I save it and it doesn't get spent on food shopping, the area I always over spend in.:(

DPIL are taking us out for lunch on Sunday and are insisting on paying for us as I made tea for them on Christmas Eve. Very kind, I am looking forward to it.:T

XSpender

Not much to report today. Must remember the £1/day tin tonight when I get in. £2.53 gone to savings today via the save the change facility on my bank account.

Next month looks like it will be a tight one. I was ill with a chest infection over Christmas and New Year so have lost 3 days pay and missed the deadline to get my expenses signed off as I was away from work. Thats about £300 in total :eek: It is also DH birthday at the beginning of Feb:eek:

The cash in hand money DH was getting is drying up a bit and I am unsure how long it will continue:(

I will be really fed up if I have to use the money I have managed to save this month towards our living costs next month.:mad: That gives me an incentive to manage the rest of this month's budget very tightly and to get my butt in to gear and stick some stuff on ebay, change energy supplier through TCB and request my little tax rebate from March last year and really get on top of my food shopping spends.

XSpender

Woo hoo got a £2 coin to add to my £2 pot but no £1 for the £1/day:( Will need to stick 2 quid in tomorrow. I only got the £2 coin by changing it for 2 £1 coins, sad/obsessed or what?:rotfl:

Stuck to my guns and no money spent on food and drink at work today:D £46 spent in Sains but stocked up on 4 x 72 washes of fairy for £40...hoping that will last the year as I never put in as much as they say you should do.

I have budgeted that we need £200 for food, diesel and my (very rare) night out and we have about £215 in the bank/cash without touching the money I have saved this month if I can stick to my food shopping budget:o. This is pretty good for us saving novices, especially just after Christmas.:D

XSpender

NSD today. Now owe £2 to the £/day pot. Will get a couple of £ off DH tomorrow or use cash when I go to Ald1 to do the food shop after work. Will also do a rounding down of the bank account to transfer a bit more into the savings pot.

Need to post 2 cards abroad and one UK on Saturday, pay a 75p book reservation fee at the library and buy a birthday card. On Sunday we are being trated to lunch but will offer to buy the drinks so £10 there. Not budgeted for it but my petrol gauge has hardly moved this week so I am probably overestimating the amount I need to spend before the 20th on fuel. I am at a site closer to home, drive on mainly minor roads to get there and get paid petrol expenses for going. Result:D

Gawd, my updates are boring. One day I will hopefully be posting 'paid £500 off the mortgage' today......bit of a wait before them days me thinks:rotfl:

XSpender

:jCame home to an unexpected £200 tax rebate cheque today woo hoo:j It's going traight in the saving/secured pot :T

All change pots and £1/day pot up to date, account sweep done and a huge amount of lovely food bought in Ald1 within budget, enought to last next week too:)

Can you tell that cheque has put me in a positive mood?:rotfl: