Diary of a "Frugal Saver"

Frugal_Saver

Never in a million years did I expect to be posting on here saying that I am now a home owner :j

Thanks to living a very MSE life I purchased a new build in August and I’m still pinching myself.

I was living in a bubble for the first month and a half, spending on CC but only for white goods etc and I have a plan to pay this off ASAP (used money transfer off which expires next month).

With Christmas fast approaching and my second big spend of the year to pay off (Disneyland Paris next Feb). I want to get back on track immediately.

I know I’ve taken long absences from my diary writing but using this forum has really helped me change my attitude towards money and I would never be where I am now without it.

Hoping to keep this updated more often but I’ll just see how I go.

Frugal_Saver

Whenever I feel that I’m not making progress I always come on here to remind myself how far I’ve come. 

I still can’t  believe I’m a house owner but I can’t stop comparing myself to other people and I spend too much time viewing perfect houses on Instagram.

My lovely neighbours have done so much to their house to make it more homely and lived in but we still have a blank canvas, only my daughter’s room has  been painted, every other room is still white.  This is mainly down to me being indecisive rather than saving money.  But now I’m spending more time at home I’ve made my mind up what I want to do and where so I’m back to my stumbling block being funds. Can’t do much right now anyway.

Debt wise I’m now down to £4,000 all on 0% finance until June 21, I’ve budgeted to pay off the balance by then which will be my biggest achievement ever as I’ve had credit card debt of varying amounts since I graduated uni 12 years ago. I only spend on credit card now if I already have the funds and it protects my (I.e holidays and large purchases).

Frugal_Saver

Hello Diary, sorry I don’t post much but I’m always thinking of you!

I have no confessions to make today, I’m still working my way out of debt rather than increasing it. Next month my savings pot will be greater than my credit card debt which will be a big milestone for me. I won’t be clearing the card just yet as it’s 0% until June 21 but it’s such a relief to finally be in that position as at one time I thought it would never happen.

My will power has been tested the last few days, I’ve seen lots of people posting on social media about the amazon prime deals. I don’t have prime but family
members do and they would order things on my behalf if I asked them to. I didn’t need anything I saw, some of it I had thought of buying before but I have no budget for them until the credit card is cleared. 

Current financial plan:
Clear credit card debt - on target
Savings of £5k by the end of next year - on target. 

I’m currently overpaying the mortgage but only by £50pm. When the credit card debt is cleared I will increase this to £100. I have thought of overpaying more but I‘m going to wait until I have a decent emergency fund before I do that.

I’ve been working from home since just before the start of lockdown which has had its advantages and disadvantages. This situation won’t be changing until at least the start of next year so last month my work allowed us to order office furniture which we could claim back so I took advantage of this. I’m so glad to finally have a proper office chair to sit at, it’s made such a difference. One problem with this was the only space we have for a desk is my daughters room so I’m feeling a bit guilty this week while she’s off school she can’t play in her room much during the day (I couldn’t get the week off work). Fortunately the weather hasn’t been too bad so she’s been out playing.  

I have lots more money saving plans in my head but I think that’s enough for today.

Frugal_Saver

Yesterday was a NSD. I only left the house to get my daughter in for dinner when she was playing outside.

I need to go and collect my daughters Halloween costume I ordered from Argos, I would prefer to get this out of the way this afternoon rather than visit the shops
at the weekend. There’s a new B&M store opened up next door to Argos, I need to get some cleaning products so if I do that today won’t be a NSD but I will only spend what is in my budget.

I get our food shopping delivered on a Sunday, this is one of the best ways of keeping spending down and sticking to a budget. Originally I did it because we lived in a flat and couldn’t park nearby plus I hated the time spent wondering around supermarkets without a clue. Now I have an ongoing shopping list I add to throughout the week and on a Saturday morning I meal plan for the week ahead. If I don’t stick to a budget one week I take it out of the budget for the following week. As well as saving money I find we waste less money. 

Frugal_Saver

9 days until pay day and I have £50 left for food budget (i.e. food shopping delivery next Sunday) and £4.77 for non food shopping. 

I’m hoping to make it to ikea tomorrow to return £30 worth of goods bought before lockdown. I also have £20 voucher to spend there as they messed up my office furniture delivery. I only plan on spending the £20 voucher as I’ll also be visiting some other shops near ikea for Christmas presents. Depending on how successful I am Christmas present shopping I could take this out of my savings or the £30 refund, I’m undecided just now. 

Frugal_Saver

I have just had the most frugal Christmas and I’ve been really good and not bought a single thing in the sales after Christmas. 

I’m feeling very pleased with myself as it’s taken a long time to get to this point. I saved and budgeted for Christmas and I’ve not left the house since Christmas Eve except to go for a walk. I have no patience for online sales shopping and I’ve also completely changed my mindset when it comes to spending money so I only buy things now if I need them or if I want to treat myself I think about whether it’s worth spending the money or if I would rather save the money. 

I’m up to nearly £5k in savings but hope to spend some of that this month investing in a shed for the garden as we desperately need this, my daughters bike and scooter are taking up valuable space in the house. 

I have long term and short term goals for the money I’m saving. I don’t see any point l having a pot of money for a ‘rainy day’ so my motivation form saving is to allocate the pot for different goals.

The pot is currently split 3 ways but I’m happy to adjust this if needed:
* Money to pay off credit card balance (0% until June 21 I should have enough to pay this off by then)
* Holiday fund- when things return to normal, (whenever that may be) I really want us to take a holiday so I’m building up a fund in advance rather than putting it on credit card and paying it off after
* emergency fund - probably the most important of all