A Journey of Many Pounds Starts With a Single Penny

Busy_Mee

Lovely to see you back posting LG xx

LadyGnome

Hello Busy Mee. I was lurking but didn’t really have any news whilst I took a break from work. However, now that I am earning again I can move things forward. 

My first pay has arrived and been shuffled straight to the income buffer as I have already covered this month.  I have queried the amount as they are supposed to cover some expenses they haven’t and so I might get a bit more.  I am not complaining as I am being paid a very fair rate but they added this extra payment to the contract so it would be nice to have it. 

LadyGnome

Quite a bit of good news
I now had the details of the reduced school fees for this term which has allowed me to shuffle money. Along with some other amounts this means 

Goal 1 is completed
I also had £125 left for each of the other goals. 

Work have confirmed I am entitled to the extra contractual amount so I will be getting a bit of a top up which will go into the income buffer. 

I have identified some big bills that will be due in Dec/Jan that need saving up for so I have set up a plan for those.  I have also cleared this months CC bill and submitted meter readings.  I used an Aud1ble credit for 1 audiobook and have £20 in vouchers from surveys for a couple more. 

Mr Gnome is contentedly watering the garden not realising that next weekend we will be reviewing his pension and savings...

PurpleFairy26

Sounds good Lady Gnome. plus some good funds towards the other goals too. Thanks for the reminder about meter readings - meant to do this yesterday. 

LadyGnome

Mid month lull. Just waiting for payday... 
I have written all my financial goals down from very long term to this month as they were swirling around in my head.  I feel a lot clearer now.  I am now much more comfortable that what I am doing in the short term is feeding into my medium and long term aims. 

There were too many possibilities. No change to the short term goals I have set but I have pruned my long term aims down to a couple of things for now as I was over complicating things. 

LadyGnome

I paid myself out of the income buffer yesterday, swept the balance of my current account and tidied up some defunct pots where I had happily overestimated the amount needed.  Nearly £200 for each of the savings goals which means I have met my investment target. 

I split the money equally between the pots but I have interim goals to help keep up the momentum.  I made my standard mortgage OP too.  Tomorrow is the last day before the payment so I will record the balance as my May figure. I will only be in the 200k for a couple more days. 

(I record the last day of the mortgage month as my working balance for consistency so I can compare month on month). 

Also read the meters and put aside some money for my CC when the last transaction shows. 

I am quietly working on pr0lific so hopefully that will be a small boost to the pots. 

LadyGnome

May Goal Update
Goal 1
Finish saving for DS1’s university top up - Done
Goal 2
Mortgage below £200 000 - £769
Goal 3
Invest £300 in Stocks and Shares ISA (as the market is down I am using an investment goal not a value goal) - Done
Goal 4
School Fees buffer to £1000 - Done
Goal 5
Save £500 in DS2 Uni top up fund - £495/£500

May was a really good month for hitting the goals. June will be quieter as the financial tidying up is now done.  However, June will see the mortgage officially starting with a 1  
I will reset the goals towards the end of June. 

In other news, we have become beekeepers. We have been researching for some time and have attended courses and thought lockdown was a great time to get them because we are around all the time.  We are not expecting any honey this year as the colony needs to grow.  I have been spending silly amounts of time just watching them flying in and out. 

PurpleFairy26

3/5 goals nailed. Good work. And the mortgage starting with a 1 this month coming. Very exciting!!

hope your honey tastes amazing when it is finally made. Will you be able to sell any for a few extra ££££?

LadyGnome

I would love to sell some but with teenagers in the house I think it won’t survive long enough to be sold.     

LadyGnome

Good news. My contract has been extended so I can carry on working on the goals. 

I have about £10 on Pr0lific to cash out soon.   Lockdown has definitely helped keep costs down too. 

The bees are doing well too.