Balancing not just the budget

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  • ZTD
    ZTD Posts: 24,327 Forumite
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    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    I know I could also go and look for an alternative package but I have so much else going on right now that I don't think I can be **sed with the additional hassle of learning a new budget app. I've emailed them to complain though, so let's see what happens there.

    Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    I've adjusted things and will essentially loan myself money from the buffer fund til next payday.

    Do you record that "borowing" in your budget app (if so, how?) or externally?
    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    I ought to do something about my food budget though...

    That caviar isn't cheap apparently...
    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    Although I've also had a letter about the electric, apparently companies can't discriminate due to unusual meters any more... so much read that properly.

    How is your meter unusual?
    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    Still wishing I could manage an escape north but not sure how it could happen...so just relaxing, enjoying the house and letting longer term plans brew :)

    Like..?
    EssexHebridean wrote: »
    Ahhhh...bearings gone on the old machine then I'm guessing - that was what killed our last one too, and yes the banging noise does rather make you fear the thing is going to leap out of the kitchen and get you! :rotfl: I wanted to get ours fixed but when I rang "a man" up about it he heard the symptoms, told me what was wrong, asked the make and when I said "Indesit" he just laughed and told me to buy a new one! :o

    Some brands essential bury the bearings so deep, they're not maintainable. AKA "brands to avoid"...
    "Follow the money!" - Deepthroat (AKA William Mark Felt Sr - Associate Director of the FBI)
    "We were born and raised in a summer haze." Adele 'Someone like you.'
    "Blowing your mind, 'cause you know what you'll find, when you're looking for things in the sky."     OMD 'Julia's Song'
  • RosaBernicia
    RosaBernicia Posts: 4,877 Forumite
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    edited 2 October 2017 at 8:30PM
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    EssexHebridean wrote: »
    Ahhhh...bearings gone on the old machine then I'm guessing - that was what killed our last one too, and yes the banging noise does rather make you fear the thing is going to leap out of the kitchen and get you! :rotfl: I wanted to get ours fixed but when I rang "a man" up about it he heard the symptoms, told me what was wrong, asked the make and when I said "Indesit" he just laughed and told me to buy a new one! :o


    The machine has been noisy ever since I moved in, and I don't think being shut in a small 'utility room' (ahem, porch) helps - next doors' sounds really loud too. But yes the clunking noises got too much, I think the drum was out of whack and just assumed it would be not worth the cost to repair. I ordered a new one before the wash was even finished but left it to go as long as it would rather than have totally soggy bedding hanging around!
    EssexHebridean wrote: »
    Missed your earlier comments about YNAB misbehaving - that's pretty poor really, thank goodness you had the buffer fund there to cover.
    ZTD wrote: »
    Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
    I emailed YNAB and did have a reply - they have offered to look into it if I confirm they can access the account, so I may allow that. It seems to be ok now, and I am double checking all the CC purchases show up where they should. My guess is that one of the updates froze something and another one fixed it. Probably not much to be done now, so will just be a little less trusting than before.

    ZTD wrote: »
    Do you record that "borrowing" in your budget app (if so, how?) or externally?

    Yes, it comes out of one budget category line as a minus allocation for this month, and gets reallocated to other lines. I've just reshuffled things today to make things clearer to myself so I now have a bunch of savings pots from the small things (vet bills) through to the buffer pot (rather larger), holidays are in fun stuff not savings anymore, and there's a Quality of Life Goals line called 'Paying off the mortgage'. YNAB allows you to set goals for each category line so I know how much I need to put back in to the buffer to get back to where I started - and I also use this feature for the annual costs categories, but as the 'target balance by date' so that it helps me work out how much needs to go aside each month for eg the house insurance. I keep those separate from savings pots that are kept for unforeseen events.
    ZTD wrote: »
    That caviar isn't cheap apparently...
    It's not caviar, it's buying fresh veg with the intention of cooking and being healthy, then finding I'm either out of the house or shattered for a few days by which time the veg is nearly compost!

    ZTD wrote: »
    How is your meter unusual?
    It's a multiple meter apparently - not two visible, but two circuits in the house.

    ZTD wrote: »
    Like..?
    Mostly escaping northwards and how to find a way of doing that while still paying a mortgage!


    Rosa xx
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  • ZTD
    ZTD Posts: 24,327 Forumite
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    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    It's not caviar, it's buying fresh veg with the intention of cooking and being healthy, then finding I'm either out of the house or shattered for a few days by which time the veg is nearly compost!

    Buy frozen. It should be "healthier" than "fresh" as it's frozen fairly quickly from picking as opposed to lurking in the distribution system for a couple of weeks/months/years. Also, you can just pour it into the steamer, wait 45 minutes for the "bing", and it's done.
    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    Mostly escaping northwards and how to find a way of doing that while still paying a mortgage!

    See, if you lived up north, you wouldn't have that. You'd dream of escaping southwards whilst still paying a mortgage... :rotfl:
    "Follow the money!" - Deepthroat (AKA William Mark Felt Sr - Associate Director of the FBI)
    "We were born and raised in a summer haze." Adele 'Someone like you.'
    "Blowing your mind, 'cause you know what you'll find, when you're looking for things in the sky."     OMD 'Julia's Song'
  • doingitanyway
    doingitanyway Posts: 8,764 Forumite
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    I agree re frozen veg. I use fresh but I also love frozen veggies, fish too :)
    If you have built castles in the air, your work should not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.

    Solicitor/survey savings 300/1700
    Emergency fund 0/1000
    Buffer fund 0/200
  • RosaBernicia
    RosaBernicia Posts: 4,877 Forumite
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    I used to keep a stock of frozen veg... you are both right, time to do that again. Now added to shopping list :)

    I have just applied for another current account to get the switch benefits, as the monthly reward period has expired on one of my present ones. I checked my CreditClub report to find the amount of outstanding mortgage and am ridiculously pleased to find that the number at the front will shortly change. Only a psychological barrier really, but it's good to see that my money really is paying off a debt and benefiting me rather than going into a landlord's pocket. So, very grateful to have been given this opportunity, and amused to find that now it only feels like another CC to be tackled... it may be bigger numbers, but I have some practice at doing this now :)


    Rosa xx
    Debt free May 2016... DFW#2 in progress
    Campervan paid off summer '21... MFW progress tbc
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,372 Forumite
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    ZTD wrote: »
    Buy frozen. It should be "healthier" than "fresh" as it's frozen fairly quickly from picking as opposed to lurking in the distribution system for a couple of weeks/months/years. Also, you can just pour it into the steamer, wait 45 minutes for the "bing", and it's done.



    See, if you lived up north, you wouldn't have that. You'd dream of escaping southwards whilst still paying a mortgage... :rotfl:

    Frozen veg rocks - but, Zed - 45 minutes?! Do you put your sprouts on for Christmas in March, too?! :rotfl: Another vote for frozen fish too - I love the bags of mixed seafood or "fish pie mix" as well for giving a bit more choice in a dish!

    Rosa you're looking at the mortgage in absolutely the right way IMO - and celebrating the milestones is definitely a good thing! The spreadsheet we used to track ours also enabled us to see things like when we reached the "tipping point" of paying off more capital than interest with each payment - that's one I remember specifically as feeling like a real "win"!
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
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  • ZTD
    ZTD Posts: 24,327 Forumite
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    EssexHebridean wrote: »
    Frozen veg rocks - but, Zed - 45 minutes?! Do you put your sprouts on for Christmas in March, too?! :rotfl:

    Unfortunately I have one of those electric self-contained units which operate by continually refluxing the steam. The water gets up to a temperature which would be ideal for naked Swedes to be slapping each other with birch branches - but no luck yet...
    "Follow the money!" - Deepthroat (AKA William Mark Felt Sr - Associate Director of the FBI)
    "We were born and raised in a summer haze." Adele 'Someone like you.'
    "Blowing your mind, 'cause you know what you'll find, when you're looking for things in the sky."     OMD 'Julia's Song'
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 21,372 Forumite
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    ZTD wrote: »
    Unfortunately I have one of those electric self-contained units which operate by continually refluxing the steam. The water gets up to a temperature which would be ideal for naked Swedes to be slapping each other with birch branches - but no luck yet...

    :rotfl::rotfl: Keep hoping! :D:D
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • RosaBernicia
    RosaBernicia Posts: 4,877 Forumite
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    edited 6 October 2017 at 10:26PM
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    EssexHebridean wrote: »
    :rotfl::rotfl: Keep hoping! :D:D

    Though be careful what you wish for
    latest?cb=20140420185451
    SWEDISH-CHEF-psd71677.png

    :eek: :rotfl:
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  • ZTD
    ZTD Posts: 24,327 Forumite
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    RosaBernicia wrote: »
    Though be careful what you wish for

    SWEDISH-CHEF-psd71677.png

    :eek: :rotfl:
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    Why? What should I be wishing for?
    "Follow the money!" - Deepthroat (AKA William Mark Felt Sr - Associate Director of the FBI)
    "We were born and raised in a summer haze." Adele 'Someone like you.'
    "Blowing your mind, 'cause you know what you'll find, when you're looking for things in the sky."     OMD 'Julia's Song'
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