The 2 Year Freedom Plan & 2015 Beat The Budget Challenge

I_want_a_baby

Thanks Bobarella :-)
Our emergency fund was used for exactly that, an emergency!
I am very thankful that is was there and proud too that we could deal with the situation without increasing our debt.
We hav bought a new car and a new fridge freezer in less than a month ananda added no more debt. I am really proud of that.

In other news toiletries and cleaning lists have been done, we have pretty much all we need for those so really pleased.

Will chip away at the rest of the list as and when I can.

The aim for next week is to save £10 from the weekly food budget of £50. Every little helps!

IWAB x

Bobarella

Good to have a strategy!

I_want_a_baby

Morning All,


Little update on my frugal plans...


Frugal plans for this weekend are:
Fridge/freezer list (as reload new one) DONE
Use it up list for things from food cupboard DONE
Meal plan - as many meals as possible. DONE
Shopping list of next weeks food - as small as poss and anything left to go in tin. DONE (Will do shop today)
Update banks/budgets & plan any spends for month now so no more surprises. DONE
See if any small savings can be made from any 'pots' on spreadsheet. DONE
£1.20 change into tin
£9.74 interest into emergency savings pot.
£2.43 in small savings from 'pots/budgets' on s/sheet
Toiletries list DONE
Cleaning product list DONE
Ebay - list at least 25 items - need to make some money pronto! WILL DO TODAY
Free frugal fun all weekend with the kids DONE (Grandparents took kids out and used kids moneybox for spends)


Current emergency fund balance is £182.36


Rough aims are:
AIM 1 -
Get emergency fund to £1000 (plumbers bill of unknown value to come out at some point). £817.64 needed - aim to save this by 30/09 (including 30th sept payday).
AIM 2 -
Save & pay for covered veranda/pergola out of the back of the bungalow. (in laws have paid approx. £1500 for retaining wooden sleepers & concrete instead of patio, we have agreed to pay for the covered bit - was expecting to pay half of the above as well so a big saving in long run). Approx £600? needed (hubby will work out a rough price) - save by 30/11.
Aim 3 -
Get emergency savings up to £3000 - we are reliant on the rental income to cover our £500 mortgage, ideally need emergency fund to be £3000 to cover 6 months rent or any big repairs. Save by 31.07.16
Aim 4 -
Get out of debt!!!
At 31.07.16 I estimate our debt will stand at £5565
(current debt £9531 less 12x300 (3600) less 2x183 (366))
I estimate that we could pay this off by 31.05.17
10 x reg savings £300 (£3000)
10 x extra savings £250 (£2500)


All this is obviously subject to no big one off spends (lets hope nothing else breaks!) I actually feel disheartened rather than motivated but I need to get my focus back and find the fun in saving and find the challenge in beating my aims!!


My husband is currently calculating the cost of the covered pergola thing - lets hope he doesn't stray too far from my finger in the air guess!


As always it is the little things the save the most £'s so this week to next sunday I pledge to:


Stick to my cash budgets (written in advance) - no unplanned spends.
Record ALL spends - hopefully barely any!
Stay away from shops & ebay.
Stick to food shop list no extra items at all - save the change into tin bar £5 for any food top ups (but try to save that!)
Save the pennies between budget & direct debits of any that come out this week.
Hopefully get some ebay profits to put into funds.
Stick to meal plan to use up what we have!
Start looking out for Christmas bits to put away (only if super cheap).


So at least I feel a bit more in control of my ship now, I know the route we need to head, now I just need to find the fun along the way!


IWAB x


Slow down & enjoy the simple things & watch the pennies add up.

I_want_a_baby

It's the little things....


Listed 13 things on ebay - 3 more things to go on. (now listed all 16)
Tea from meal plan - using up instant mash from stores, a sad looking broccoli & homegrown peas.
Kids came home from a local fete with two packets of free salad leaves.
Husband planning our covered pergola - will cost a lot but a lot less than paying someone to make it.
Will make sure it includes guttering & water butt to reduce metered water bill.


IWAB x


Slow down & enjoy the simple things & watch the pennies add up.

I_want_a_baby

Well our bad luck has continued in that our kettle decided to tip boiling water out of the bottom (narrowly missing my feet!).


New kettle purchased, my online budget pots are now pretty bare so I have to keep focused to make sure that they still have enough to pay the bills etc.


I found 10p which went into the tin and at the end of the week I managed to save £17 into the tin which was the leftover food budget for the week - I stuck to the list rigidly and only bought essentials to use up things in the cupboards so it was worth it!


Due to the kettle breaking etc and us needing to pay £80 approx. to cover screws, MDF & batten for various projects I decided to give the nursery fete a miss, it is a huge fundraiser for them and I feel so guilty but we just have to put ourselves first and keep saving.


We now have £199.46 in emergency fund and therefore need to save £800.54 to get to AIM1!


My little things aim this week is to save at least £1 more than last week from food budget to keep me using up our cupboards/freezer items. Also to convert meat in the freezer into meals so there is something quick and easy to grab.


Another couple of bids on ebay items - hopefully these will generate some funds!


IWAB x

Bobarella

IWAB - jeez that's really scary about your kettle. Was it not worth contacting the manufacturer to guilt them into a free new one?

roomontheend

I can't believe how precise your calculations are, you have all your figures right down to the penny. But you know what they say take care of the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves. I need to do this.
I have £199 to go to pay off one of the cc's and I am busy thinking of ways to pay more. OH thinks I'm getting a little obsessed but I just tell him that it can be a good thing. We have managed to transfer £8000 and pay an additional £4300 since April. I have just been throwing everything we've got at it as the interest was 24.9%. OMG
On the make do and mend side I made elderflower cordial yesterday and managed to find a blankcurrent bush in the garden that I didn't know we had ( it is rather a large garden). I thought it was just a shrub. So now I will be able to make blankcurrent jam to add to my little collection.
Hope you and your are well.