TallGirl's getting back on track diary

TallGirl

Savings update as of 22/5/16

Santander ISA £7412 (rubbishy interest rate should be moved)
First Direct Regular saver 6% pay £300 p/m £1200
Fidelity Stocks and Shares ISA pay £250 a month into it £3684 (used to pay £50 a month gained £84 in 3 years.
Zopa £2875 gained £375 since 2012

So there you go grand total of £15,171 not fab but I'm now saving £550 a month and it's only in the last year my salary went back up to a higher amount. Also I had crippling rent the first 4 months in London and after that travel (this is where the personal bit comes in) so it's not until now I can really save.

My expenses are really low so should I be able to save more? Possible let's look at I&E I'm a money adviser after all.

Income £2502

Rent £436 incl all bills bar Internet
Gym £57 + £5 for locker
Pet insurance £20 (I pay half)
Cat food £20 ex dh should do it but I have to to make sure
Savings £550
Contact lenses £40 was £15 but after eye infection had to change
Mobile phone £23.99 contract ends early July love my iPhone 5c no need to upgrade but will look out for deals.
HP on bed £26
Home phone and broadband £4.50 (the others chipped in too)
Travel card £130
Food & petrol £300

£1592.50

So that leave £909.50 where does that go.

Some will be on coffee at work but I now get waitrose free and I also swapped nectar point for cafe Nero when it was 150 so got 30 cups for £15 and for every 10 you get a free one anyway so it's actually 33.

Lunch at work is another huge expense but no more I've bough a fancy lunch box with compartments and I take my healthily carb free lunch in at the beginning of the week (sat in the fridge ready). I lasts about 4 days so only 1 treat day with lunch out or Pret which is next door also sometimes local cafe if meeting someone.

Budget for extras:
Coffee £20
Lunch at work £40
Golf (range balls and green fee) £50
Presents £30
Christmas savings £40
Flights home £25 (2 a year)
Holiday likely to be Gambia again £85
Clothes £40 (I buy second hand but need long tall Sally for trousers)
Car £0 should be included in £300 but this year I had to pay MOT and insurance myself even though I shouldn't.
Entertainment £50

That lot is £380 that's still £529.50 unaccounted for.

I don't have strict savings pots I tend to use my Santander 123 credit card to make purchases and even with the fee I get about £6 a month back. The regular savings account mature in January so that pays for Christmas and this year it also paid off my final balance on the car. I used to pay £152 for the car a month.

I'll have a think and see if I have forgotten anything and maybe consider setting up a holiday savings account would make sense.

I don't pay anything for the old house but still look after the bills down graded the sky go extra we used to pay £5 p/m for but they offered £1 a month for a year so took that. I can still watch all sky programmes via the app as ex dh pays so very cheap for me. I need to read the meter next time so I can swap gas and electric fixed deal coming to an end.

TallGirl

Oh and hi Gallygirl and moneyfordreams thanks for popping in.off to read some diaries

TallGirl

This format looks better:


Savings
Santander Cash ISA £7412
Fidelity S&S Isa £ 3684 pay in £250
First Direct Regular Saver £1200 6% pay in £300
ZOPA £2875
Total 15171


Income
Wages 2502


Expenses
Rent incl bills 436
Gym & locker 62
Pet Insurance 20
Cat food 20
Regular savings 550
Contact Lenses 40
HP on Bed 26
Mobile phone 24
Home phone and broadband 4.5
Travel Card 124.5
Credit card fee 3
Food & petrol 300
Total 1610


Presents 30
Christmas Saving 40
Flights home 25
Holiday & weekends away 95
Total 190


Coffee at work20
Lunch at work 40
Golf 50
Clothes 50
Entertainment 50
Total 210l


Main expenses 1610
Monthly set asides 190
Fritter money 200
2000


Total spare 502


Ok this is really bad to look at I need to set up savings pots as I usually end of sticking loads on credit cards (to get points and cash back) but I do pay it off each month.


There is also some gambling still in there I would say £100 a month which is a lot better than it was but still not good if I am going to be focussed on saving better.


So a plan needs to happen like when I was paying off the mortgage so here it goes will start when I next gets paid 15th June.


Goals until next payday 15th June:

1. Credit cards to have a 0 balance by pay day (e.g. be paid off using Mays wages so start with clean slate for June)
2. Set up S/O for £190 for savings for holidays (just bought my flights home so can start in June)
3. No gambling

So there you go plan formed currently no balances on the credit cards will update on current account etc 1st June when all bills have come out.

TallGirl

Didn't get SO set up yesterday for the new budgeting for holiday and presents. Did look at a Gambia holiday £868 with a £50 off for being a prev. customer and a £120 free flight upgrade so £818. Last year we paid £600 but it was a late deal and this year we definitely want to upgrade the flights but they go quickly so dilemma if we should book now or wait until closer to Feb.


No spend at all yesterday being back here definitely focusses the mind.


We hear today at work if we have been successful in getting funding for a much needed advice project worth £125K so hope we get it I have been involved right from the start and it includes volunteering so could be ideally match to my new post as well.


Finally little non money related item we have a black and white cat come and visit the property I live in. Everyone there loves it and fusses it and its nice to have a cat around. She's started jumping through the window in my room so cant leave it open very much. We didn't know her name so called her Daisy. She's black and white and this morning she had a new collar on and it said PANDA. So cute had a cuddle on the bed this morning when she came in.

TallGirl

WOW WOW the week just get better and better we got our funding that's a really nice member of staff retained who was going to leave. So hard to get funding but we do have the best bid writer. Also will help as we can now deliver advise to people who couldn't cover before as they lived in the wrong borough.

No money spent at lunchtime free latte again 8 cups left to drink in 7 days should be doable and after that it is free cups from Waitrose I have stacks of there cups so don't need to buy anything.


Now a bit of work before my lovely volunteer comes in and then I shall head off to the gym. Put on 5 kilos that is what happens when you get content and happy.

TallGirl

No spend day yesterday very happy about that it helps I have this budget in my head what I can spend on lunches etc and it is very low really when lunch and a coffee in Pret is usually £8 for me. I have got 7 fee latte left with my Nectar points to have before 31st May. I also have two full Caf! Nero loyalty cards and £8 to spend in Costa Coffee.


Did make gym and going again this evening.


Got two meetings today so quite busy plus we have to do some prep work for a meeting in a couple of weeks with an important funder.


Feel like I have got my mojo back by coming on here certainly stop the crappy rubbish spending.

Take care all have a lovely day.

TallGirl

Meeting a bit of a nightmare went to wrong location so had to double back then walked to next one and ended up late as well due to first one but person I was meeting had got time wrong. All was fine in the end.

Managed gym and a no spend day :beer::money::j:rotfl::T

Need some mse smilies back in my life. Chilling this evening should really pack for the weekend but don't feel like it.

Have just set up a sweep from my current account to my savings account on the 3rd of each month as all bills should have been paid by then so that I'll transfer min £190 to start the budgeting pots but anything over £300 will go out too.

Let's see how I get on as I get paid on the 15th each month so should need more than £300 with no DD to come out.

So maybe I should update on personal life........

TallGirl

personal life etc

Ok here it goes warning absolutely nothing about money saving or mortgage freedom in here.

So you know I left my alcoholic husband after 25 years together and got a job in London leaving him and my beautiful much missed mainecoons back on the South Coast.

Well Christmas 2015 I had two close friends my manager and someone who was a volunteer but then got a job. We went drinking, camping, gym, well you name it lots of fun. As time went on it became a bit toxic and one friend who was also my manager became jealous of me and the other friend spending any time together.

I won't bore you will all the details but basically one very fraught week I got out of friend (not my manager) so let's call her B and the other one the manager A that she had a crush on me. Now she was with a man and had been since she was 18 but they weren't happy.

Well I was surprised and didn't quite understand it in the beginning tried to say it was a deep friendship etc. She has confidence issues and is quite overweight so didn't want to say anything nasty but honestly I didn't know what to do.

I was kind of in turmoil myself due to being so unhappy with my alcoholic husband and as you know (those who had followed my diary) I had thought of leaving him Christmas 2014 but I suffered a miscarriage. Anyway this is getting very gory but B and I decided to see what would happen and we carried on being friends and having lots of fun but then I went to Spain for three days with ex husband and I missed her so so much.

She was the same and after I had been to Oman we both knew there was more than friendship. She's 51 I'm 45 I'm 6.2 she's 5.2 we have little in common apart from our jobs but it st worked and neither of us had ever thought we would fall for each other.

Anyway I was in London she was on the south coast then she got a job in Dorset so I ended up travelling down to see her most weekends hence why no money saving. Then at Christmas she could no longer stand her job and bully of a boss so we agreed she could quit and look for a job up here. She was able to live rent free with me and in the end she was unemployed for 8 weeks although she did have a months gardening leave but no savings so I subbed the food etc for a couple of months. She pays a third of the rent as she's on a lower wage than me but we have a joint account for food etc.

We are really happy living together and it just works I do love her and I wouldn't want to be without her. It is hard as although it's 2016 some people are still strange our mutual friend A acted very wierd and has been since I got the job in London which she also applied for. So she's kind of an ex friend now. Anyway our families all know and close friends but not all in Denmark and ex dh and his family certainly don't know.

Anyway there you go I'm now minus a husband and without cats and my property but I've gained a lovely girlfriend who I love dearly and will from now on be DG (dearest girlfriend).

She's currently at golf practise and I'm chilling.

BISCUIT1

De-lurking to say I am really pleased for you re your last update. I followed your previous diary and you have certainly been through some tough times so you really deserve to be happy x

TallGirl

Thanks BISCUIT1 much appreciated.


Meeting ex BIL & ex SIL so that is quite good he is more likely to tell me what is really going on than ex FIL. Slight complication obviously as DG will be around but he does know her just not that we are a couple. She might be going to play golf and I can meet them and then briefly show them where I live. We shall see on that one just doesn't think it makes sense for him to know or worse his dad.


Going back down South tomorrow I have 1/2 day as I need to get cats to the vet as ex DH and ex FIL have not been able to do it. Ex FIL is down at the house from 3pm so fingers crossed they are in. I will go and see my friend next door so at least I don't have to stick around in the house until 5.30pm when I need to leave for the vets. DG will have to take the train straight from work she isn't too happy but a massive cat lover so understands.

We are staying in the guest room at her uncles sheltered block its £8 a night ensuite but doesn't have access to a shower but I can use the golf club so not a problem. Cheeky but very MSE way to stay 3 nights. Will be a bit of a spendy one as we need taxi to party (very local) and also meals out but we have access to a fridge so not too bad.


Will also see another friend of mine so should be a nice weekend if a little hectic. Not seeing A she is not going to the party but she might be up against another friend for a job on Friday so quite glad on that one.