3-6 Month Emergency Fund Challenge!!

Savvy_sewing

wegle wrote: »

Sorry me again! Just done some quick fiddling with the budget and have managed to find £6.19 to move to the emergency fund, to give me a nice round starting figure of £500.

Welcome! Helen will be along no doubt to update things, but I thought I would say hello rather than read and run.
I wouldn't think about it taking 9 years.
I would celebrate every £100 achieved. Even if it is only a little dance around the kitchen when nobody is looking.
I have found that if I put 10% of every little income in before I do my bills, so paying myself first, I see huge changes ( even if my family has emergencies more than I do.
So when my £20.70 child benefit goes in, I put £2.07 into the pot.
I am lucky that my money is weekly so it doesn't seem like a huge amount to save.
Then I will jiggle a payment out of the budget if I am close to a big number, a bit like you did today.
When I followed my plans I would also meal plan for 8 days a week, incase we didn't fancy a certain meal one day. That would mean that occasionally I would be able to either miss a week shopping occasionally or that I could eat from the stores I had and use the weekly shopping money either for savings, bulk buying or treats for a day out. But I confess I have fallen off the bandwagon there a bit, and my mission today is to relight my fire, ramp up my positive vibes and resurrect the various methods again, so I can rebuild my funds after family has drained it.
Good luck

[Deleted User]

:hello: wegle and welcome to the challenge. Helen will be along when she can to give you a member number. If there's anything you'd like to know please just ask. We're a friendly and supportive bunch on here and know just how hard it can be to scrape together any emergency savings:). However little you manage to put by is more than you had before and, as Mr T was forever telling us, every penny counts;)


Good Luck:beer:

[Deleted User]

What a lovely welcoming and motivating post, Mooloo


Wishing you every success in getting your own EF built up again:beer:

wegle

Thank you Mooloo and Carbootcrazy. I really like you're 10% idea Mooloo. I get some weekly income as well, as I get Child Tax Credits, Child Benefit and housing benefit. 10% is probably a bit high for me that would be £190 a month. What's been working for me so far is as soon as I get my salary moving the £30 straight into my savings and treating it pretty much like any other bill payment. Once it's out of my account it's gone.

I use YNAB and have been using the weekly income I get for things like childcare, grocery shopping, entertainment and I'm currently working at cutting these costs down or building up a small category balance for them so then I can put what I would usually allocated weekly to them straight to savings.

Hillwalker17

Hi everyone. I'm new to all of this.

My plan hopefully includes initially saving together £500 for an emergency fund, topping this all the way up to £6000 (3 months wages). It won't be quick as I just took out a 2 year loan to consolidate other debts, but once i'm on the right track with paying everything off, this is my target. It will be a mix of saving for this and paying off the loan early.

I'm away to have a good read of the thread and see how everyone is doing. You all seem so friendly!

Savvy_sewing

When I first started it seemed very daunting but now I am better at it, when I stay focused!

Dobbibill

Welcome wegle and Hillwalker17 :hello: - Good observation Hillwalker, we are a friendly group and the more the merrier.

We all share our successes and challenges however big or small.

Helen will be along soon to pop your name, number & target on the first page. All you need to do then is plod along at your own pace. There's no time frame, no pressure and plenty of support and motivation along the way from us all.

Dobbi

abundant1972

Evening folks!

Welcome to HoneyBee83, Wegle and Hillwalker17

So I have a dilemma. I ran up the CCs a little at the end of last year and currently owe £1575.00. They are interest free until September, but am saving for a Mortgage. Am I better - using my EF fund to just clear/close them, and just keep the CC I have had for ages, and use/clear every month for shopping to keep my credit file looking healthy? By the time I apply for my mortgage later in the year they'll no doubt do a check...

It will free up £200 + repayments I am making each month, and that can go to my EF in addition to the £250 I already pay each month. It'll soon add up I'm sure... Did I just answer my own question? Lol

Dobbibill

If it's possible to clear ahead of the mortgage then that's always a positive from an affordability point.

Close - well I'm not so sure - all your CR will show is that it's been closed, not that it was a choice - how long have you had the card? it may be worth hanging on to it to evidence your long standing relationship with said credit card company......it's always a tricky one

HoneyBee83

Afternoon all,

Potted £50 to my emergency savings today, so that takes me to £115/£1000.