Six year retirement plan

springdreams

Have a lovely holiday

Ninno820

Thank you springdreams - I am now back after a fantastic holiday. The other good news is that I have come back with Euros to spare plus no use of the credit card. I had never been on a cruise before and could see how easy it was to rack up an onboard bill. However I managed to pay the bill off with the euros that I had saved up - thereby releasing some of the cash sitting in my account to offset the od.


On my return I also found a cheque for £150 that I was waiting for from my consultancy work. This Friday is payday and I am looking forward to calculating the overall effect on the debt mountain!

Ninno820

So - today has been work, work work! But, on the mse front, I have just bought a bottle of milk, have reconciled my accounts ready for pay day on Friday, am working my way through some rather rubbery veg and have sorted out the bathroom basket. The basket is full of trial sizes of shampoo and shower gel etc so I am going to try and not buy any until these are used up. My main shampoo is running out and I have a hair appointment on the 12th September so that's my target date.


Rumour has it that there might be another money off coupon in the sun tomorrow for morrisons so am planning my weekly shop on Friday to make use of this. I have also planned my meals for the week around the food that I have in so am trying to stick to the shopping list.


Meanwhile I am planning, weather permitting, to do a car boot sale on sunday so need to go around the house gathering stuff! Me thinks a trip to the shed might be in order!

Goldiegirl

Welcome bank from your holiday.

Glad you enjoyed it - cruising can get addictive!

Ninno820

Absolutely Goldiegirl - just not very mse to splash out every year!

Today, in terms of mse, I have had a low spend day just buying a couple of yoghurts - still eating from the freezer! I have also drawn up some objectives for the next four months which should help with both the finances and the health situation.

Tomorrow is the end of my first YNAB month and I am really pleased with the way that it has gone. I always knew that it would be an expensive month but using YNAB makes me feel in charge of my budgeting.

Ninno820

Not much to report today - but I promised that I would post every day with some kind of action that I've taken towards the debt.

Today I have sorted out the wardrobe to find out what fits and what can be sold / packed away. I've allocated £100 to clothing this month but am hoping that this figure can be reduced when I realise what I actually have!

Elsewhere I've done this weeks shop and have come in under budget - it's all good!

liltdiddylilt

Hi Ninno!!

I wondered where you had been then saw your diary and had a good read!! I expected yesterday to be full of the joys of payday and YNAB ending for the first month! How did it go?! How is the budget looking?

Well done on all of your efforts, you will be amazed using YNAB how fast the OD goes. It guilts you into spending much less!

Hope your holiday was great! Well done on bringing money back, there are some true MSE ways are you going to exchange it back to cash?

I am not a receipt keeper really, but would if it was worth it... hmmm. I may be using your referral!

Subscribing!

Ninno820

Sorry - I was just too tired to post yesterday! My overall debt mountain has been reduced by just over £1000 so far which I am fantastically pleased with. All helped by some Ppi money and additional earnings. As I said before august was always going to be an expensive month for me but I have come out of it without touching the credit cards, reducing the debt and with some funds put by for an oil purchase next week. I love YNAB and would attribute this success to the budgeting program.

Next week I am going to a car boot sale with a friend - weather permitting- so need to spend some time today gathering the goods together. I am also going out this afternoon to a craft show and love that my budgeted "fun money" with YNAB allows me to go guilt free. This morning I have made some cake which I will take to reduce the temptation!

Ninno820

Morning all - a little chilly here but its lovely to see the sunshine.


So what am I doing MSE wise today? I know that its early to be thinking of Christmas but we are a strange family and, every year, decide on a theme. This year its very MSE - its upcycling / making - ie using up that stash! I have bought some bins from IKEA, which was on offer at 75p for two, and plan to label them with names and start to sort out my stash. This will then give me an idea as to what needs to be made. I will be seeing most of my family in the autumn so plan to take the presents down wrapped - job done and cost free! I am also planning to list some items on ebay / facebook. They wont bring in much but it all adds up.


Elsewhere at chez nous its generally tidying and sorting. Apart from the car boot sale next week its amazing how a tidy home can lift my spirits and make me feel more in charge - that and gazing at my YNAB budget of course!! I've just ordered some oil for the winter - this time I had £150 put by towards the bill - rather than paying the £250 bill on my cc and then racking up additional charges! Instead I will use some of the rainy day funds towards the additional £100. Result!

in_need_of_direction

great news about paying for the oil. will ordering it now also mean that you get it for a bit less?