I have a dream...to be a money magnet!

Miss_Money_Magnet

So I, like half the country, am refocusing on my finances.
I need to start being more mindful again.
We have had a crazy year and I let my tesco credit card run up to about £4000 which was daft- 
in terms of the mortgage, we now owe £173000 and the house is worth around £430000 so its been a good investment. However the mortgage is going to be a barrier to me reducing my hours or having more flexibility so its still a focus.  We repay £200 pcm as a matter of course.  I will leave it at that until Ive paid the cc off which is going take me a while.

LadyWithAPlan

I am sure you will do it. Great progress though and a mortgage is always going to be a marathon not a sprint so you will occasionally verr off track.

 I know you used ynab before - I have just started over the last 2 months and it has made me get rid of that pesky cc float  - plus having to categorize so many Xmas gifts spending things over Dec definitely has made me realise I dont need to do any NY sales..

Miss_Money_Magnet

Hi lady with a plan, thanks for the encouragement!
I stopped using ynab in favour of my own excel tracker and also now use zopa for various saving pots which earn interest and hyperjar which I like for my day to day spending pots.  I have regretted a few times getting rid of ynab as I was on the cheap price but I never really did well updating it all the time- I just liked playing around with the budget figures. I still feel I end up dipping into various pots to survive each month but due to a pay rise recently, this is my first month of giving myself a more generous ‘fun money’ pot and have also started a bit of a buffer type pot to try to prevent the cc issues!!!
i do have quite a bit of savings and continue to put a bit in there each month so overall in a decent place but Im very aware that I am tied a bit due to the mortgage, and am now of an age where the thought of more flexibility is increasingly appealing!!
Im really trying to watch the pennies this month… 

Miss_Money_Magnet

Money saving activities-— went out with friends but stuck to lager
- made a shopping list and tried my best to stick to it
-spoke to other half about increasing the food budget as this is falling short every month now and Ive just kept absorbing it myself but its messing all my budgets up
-cashed out £12 from top cash back and paid off Credit card
- chose a cheaper family activity for tomorrow- looked at escape rooms but it was so dear so going do something different

Miss_Money_Magnet

Haven’t posted for ages but have continued with the regular £200 pcm mortgage overpayment.  I have now increased it to £300 pcm as of our next payment at start of Sept.  This will help me ensure I am where I want to be in the next 6-10 years time when I hope to retire before 60.  I anticipate a pension lump sum and in 6 years the remaining mortgage and the lump sum amount start to line up…so I could pay the mortgage off if I wanted.  Who knows what I will feel like by then but the idea that I will have more options is really my motivator.

Miss_Money_Magnet

Lovely weekend away- trying to think about what I spend as its a fresh month and Ive done a tight budget to pay off a few bits- so far so good, but do have some meals out booked in with various people so thats going to put a dent in the plans!!!!