Radical changes required

JackieRHE

I've recently taken voluntary redundancy, and will be starting to retrain in January with a part-time course which lasts a year.

My redundancy payout will clear my mortgage (when the company lets me know the amount) and pay for the training course, professional registration, books and travel.

I have a small pension from a previous employment and planned to work part time at pretty much anything while I studied.

I had a couple of interviews lined up with agencies and a job interview, all of which I cancelled when my father became ill just as I finished work. I spent the first few days looking after him, then he was taken into hospital.

I am looking into caring for him when he is discharged, but this may not be financially or medically viable (the subject of a thread elsewhere). It is also some way off.

In the meantime i have set myself a challenge to avoid going into debt and to get my life back the way i want it:

I will post my SOA tomorrow, but my challenge to myself is:

Stay out of debt and live comfortably but without wasting money.
Spend an hour outside every day - gardening, walking, perhaps cycling.
Lose my excess weight and get fit.
Spend more time with family and friends.
Spend time on crafting hobbies.
Extend my volunteer work.

I have no target times or amounts; I would just like to make a little progress every day.

I hope no-one minds that I've posted here as I'm not currently in debt. I read many of the diaries and find them very inspiring.

marathonic

JackieRHE wrote: »

My redundancy payout will clear my mortgage (when the company lets me know the amount) and pay for the training course, professional registration, books and travel.

I have a small pension from a previous employment and planned to work part time at pretty much anything while I studied.

Work out how long you'd survive if it wasn't possible to secure part time employment. If it's less than 6 months, I'd seriously reconsider clearing the mortgage entirely - instead, put the money in a savings account and just keep up with your payments.

Also, have you looked into renting a room - a possibly easier alternative to part-time employment whilst studying.

JackieRHE

Thank you Marathonic - it's another option to consider - my head is spinning with all the ifs and buts, which is why i wanted to get it written down.

This is my base SOA - obviously there is so much I can squeeze from it but having been in debt in the past I am now trying to put money by for contingencies.

If I don't repay the mortgage i won't have to work for a year which would help with the studying, but I'm not sure I'd cope without some kind of structure to my day. If nothing else i could get an early morning cleaning job to make sure I get out of bed.


Statement ofAffairs

Monthly ExpenseDetails

In Your Home

Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 5.00

TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 12.12

Internet/phone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 23.66

Garden Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .5.00

Household Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 5.00

Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 22.00

Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 12.00

Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 16.08

Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 77.00

Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .18.19

Plumbing/Boiler Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 0.00

Food and Household Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 200.00

396.05



Motoring & Public Transport

Petrol/public transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 150.00

Car Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 11.25

Car Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 27.02

Car Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 24.39

212.66



Pets

Pet Food. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 40.00

Pet Insurance and other vet bills. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 50.00

90.00



Health & Grooming

Laundry/Dry Cleaning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .5.00

Optical Bills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 20.00

Haircuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 20.00

Dentistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 20.00

Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .10.00

Private Medical Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 6.50

New Clothes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 10.00

91.50



Entertainment



Outings/meals etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 25.00

Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 25.00

IT/Computing (eg Anti-virus etc). . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .10.00

DVD Rental. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 7.95

Books/Magazines……………………………………………………15.00

Lottery 20.00

102.95



Education & Courses

Courses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 12.00



Big One Offs

Sofa/Kitchen/TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 10.00

Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 20.00

SummerHoliday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.00– now from 2p savings

Christmas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.00– now from £2 savings



Odds & Sods

Tax & NI Provisions (self-employed only). . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .0.00

Regular Charity Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 10.00

Coffees/Sandwiches/Snacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 10.00

112.00

Total monthlyoutgoings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005.16 – now £955.16

Monthly mortgage (ifI don’t pay off) - about £500

Savings & Investments

Mini Cash ISAs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 10.00

Regular Saving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 0.00

[Deleted User]

Hi Jackie,

Happy new diary

I have subcribed and wish you well on your journey x

JackieRHE

My mobile phone is nearer £25 this month as I've been calling family regarding father - this will go down to it's normal level as he is no longer critical.

Petrol is for hospital visiting (and parking) and checking his house and is an estimate of what i would pay if i were to take over his care full time. This would be offset by carers allowance of around £50 pcw.

I will be shopping with cash as of now.

Some expenses are to do with training - day courses, magazines are professional journals and dry-cleaning is for a uniform jacket. These won't be an issue until January, but I'd like to have the money in hand.

I hope to keep the utilities at roughly the same level by limiting how much i use them - batch cooking etc, line drying clothes when i can.

JackieRHE

Shopping:

Plan all meals and snacks
Walk to shop/market/car boot (for veg)
Buy only what I need for immediate use or store cupboard list.
Pay cash
Put all £2 coins and 20p coins into savings pots.

This way I'll get some fresh air and exercise as well as saving money and eating better.

JackieRHE

Yesterday I spent £16 of my £46 grocery allowance for the week,
It was mostly on food bags and tubs, some of which i used yesterday on freezing my batch cooking. Milk, yoghurt, curry pastes and a couple of bits for father completed the list.

Had to take some fruit bread and white rolls out of the freezer to fit in the meals, so fruit bread for breakfast:j and bread (++) for lunch. I may do croutons or crumb the rest. Waste not want not.

On the housework front I started Flylady yesterday - and continuing today.
Longish walk later.
Looking out some crafting materials for new project.
Sorting out my paperwork.
Pre-course reading.

Nothing very exciting and no decisions made.

JackieRHE

Didn't get much done yesterday - started to feel ill and worse today.

Headachy and bungedup - cold on it's way.:(.

Still, looking on the bright side, the weather was foul so i stayed snuggled up.

No spend day today (no anything day today)

JackieRHE

Been away a while due to bereavement. Since then I've done nothing of any use - I seem to sleep all the time and I'm so cold.

I need to get myself under control - took a short walk to the shops for milk this evening. Chilly out but I felt much warmer when i got back into the house.

Jobs to do this weekend (and next week):
Start tidying garden - I'd like to cut back some leggy shrubs and clear a patch for a vegetable bed for next year.
Catch up with laundry and line dry what I can to save money.
Sort meal plans for next week and perhaps up until Christmas. I also need to put a small ham joint in to cook with leeks and potatoes for soup and sandwiches.
Catch up with Christmas shopping, find cards and wrapping, put up decorations.
I must also clear a pile of washingup and clean my tiled, vinyl and laminate floors. I've vacced but they need a mop over.

I also need to decide what I'm going to do about working. I think I need to have something that i have to do each day. I will speak to the agencies after Christmas about part-time temp work in my area.

Well that's the plan - now i have to do it.

brizzledfw

Hi there

Just spotted your diary. Hope you're OK. Take it steady..baby steps. Seems like you have and have had a lot on your plate so don't make any hard and fast decisions too soon

Well done for posting. You'll get lots of support on these threads.

Brizzle

JackieRHE

Thank you Brizzle and everyone else.

The support on the forum is tremendous and keeps me going when i start to flag.

I've made a start today with the laundry - lovely line dried scent to it but it needs a quick finish off in the dryer. I will also make sure I put it all away so I don't have laundry clutter in the living room.

Washing up under way. I will get the sink area cleared and cleaned today.

Started my meal plans - I did a lot of bulk cooking a couple of weeks ago so i have lots of good food in the freezer. If I can decide what veggies to have with my meals I can get them prepped and frozen then get a pan of soup on.

Started a study plan. I have been doing lots of "starting" today, but my concentration is not so good so rather than give up, I've put each task aside to pick up later.

Planned my Christmas shopping - have set aside 2 days next week to do that.

Big bonus - I haven't had to have the heating on all day - sun has been streaming in my windows.:j:j
Well I have a bit more to do (had a nap earlier so I'm ready now)