Money Saving Mojo

a_silver_lining

After 10 years of saving (and to be quite honest stressing about saving rather then enjoying my 20's) I bought my first flat. The following year I relaxed and spent and spent and spent and squeezed every last penny of enjoyment out of it! Reality has now hit and I'm behind in repaying a family member back for some money they lent to help me buy. The timeframe I had agreed (10k repaid over 5 years) is ticking on, and having fallen out with them I am more keen to repay.

I want to try and be a bit more balanced now and repay them alongside saving a little, doing up the flat a bit more and enjoying my money. It's a fab idea but I'm not a high earner...This has been mostly spent away over the past year and a bit on what I can remember: adopting a cat (priceless), £80 earrings (I know!), £90 handbag (I knooow!), £80 har cut a dye 3 monthly, takeaways, £460 new bike, £400 course and lots of diy....

My goal is to repay £400pm and live off the rest of my salery. I already save £250pm and have £1550 in emergency fund so I'd like to keep building this up also. This leave me with £450+pm after mortgage and all bills. I realise this is a lot, and more then I had pre buying, but I still want to fnish doing the flat up.

Debt:
May 2016: 8250 owed (was 10k)

Savings:
May 2016: Regular saver £1550

Income:
Wage £1400 (vairies slighly but this is normal)
Partner £400

Outgoing:
Mortgage £453
CT £105 (I want to see if I can challenge this as I think we are a band too high)
Broadband £20
Mobile £5 (sim only)
Gas and Electric £26.50
Water £35.50 (meter, I have no idea why this is so high and am getting a water butt fitted for the garden)
Cat insurance £15
Savings £250
Debt repay £400
= £490ish

Goals for May:
Order last bits for the garden so that is finished.
Take packed lunch to Chelsea Flower Show.
Make first £400 payment.
Go through my last two areas of the house (I have almost kondo'd everywhere).
Take bags to charity shop.
Keep using my bike once a week to cycle to work (my bus pass runs out in August so I want to be biking fully by then to save me spending almost £600).

Thanks for listening and enjoy the sunshine x

Bobarella

Good luck with your aim.

a_silver_lining

Thank you Bobarella

Debt: 8000 owed / 10k.
Paid £250 today. I have set up a direct debit for that amount... I have decided to hold back from paying £400pm until I am used to my new budget and then will pay what is left over at the end of the month.

I also took the plunge and weighed myself and I'm a stone heavier then I thought... 10.13. Having looked at my spending for the past 10 months I have spent £630. That's me paying £63pm for around 1lb weight gain. Bargain? I think not.

a_silver_lining

So, I feel like in the past week I have made some progress. Since payday on the 25th I have had 5/8 NSD. That's pretty much unheard of as I will often grab a little something here and there. I have no plans to spend tomorrow or friday as doing a night shift so could reach 7/10!

I chose to go for an walk home, most of the way at least, on monday. It would have been about 3 miles. Yesterday my dad came to help with diy and we laid the bedroom floor. We got our custom takeaway pizza and I ate half rather then the whole. Believe it or not a big deal for me I dreamt about it last night!

All that said I'm off to eat a magnum icecream. I have the flat to myself so it is a tv day for me as technically my sunday as I work shifts

Maybe it's beginners confidence and I will falter if a challenge comes along, but I feel like I could aim to pay off £800pm to hit the 8k owed in ten months. The 4k feels attainable though!

a_silver_lining

After a lazy day yesterday I have tried to be a little more productive today. I threw away the last two sliçes of pizza in favour of healthier food and have packed some bits for my night shift, like almonds and soup. I managed to drag myself out to the allotment and did an hour there so I feel I have accomplished something for today fresh salad and radish again from my plot for lunch, yum.

I have decided to cycle to work today for the first time. It's only five miles and the map says it will take my half an hour so I'm giving myself and hour as I know I will get off and push at points and want to go along the seafront I think rather then the main roads. I don't drive and am terrified of the roads so this is going to be a big learning curve for me!!

I'm on track for a no spend day today but tomorrow I am finishing work early and have decided to ask the girlfriend to help me shift all the carpet and waste from the bedroom to the dump, return some unused flooring which should equal a nice refund, drop off several bags to charity and then pick up some compost for my seedlings and sand to finish paving this weekend. If I can get all that done and the paving done I will be super happy

I am amazed how far the diy on the flat has gone and feel close to having a very comfy home. Just need to put the same effort into this body and bank balance!

a_silver_lining

I made it to 7 NSD since payday and then the boiler packed in. I followed youtube and even bought a wrench to try and fix it and have now given in and have a company coming over tomorrow. £75 and then £12something a month for a year but hopefully there wont be any sneaky costs. I am proud I had a go myself Last time it packed in was a year ago and I had only just moved in. I got charged twice by a dodgy plumber and then realised he had ripped me off and taken some copper piping too!

Tomorrow I am returning the wrench and my flooring which should repay some of the £75. I bought compost today which will do the tomatoes and am planning on buying some sand tomorrow to finish the patio. Going to a free comedy night and planning to go for coffee rather then a drink so may be cheaper. Sunday will be a NSD for sure.

On the plus side I half cycled half walked to work yesterday and the same on the way home. I ate really well and turned down cake!! Tonight I'm being bought fish and chips and asked for a small not a large... little steps.

I'm feeling a bit deflated by some recent events and dating so hoping this weekend will be productive, fun and end with a working boiler. If it does I promise I will have a fair few NSD next week :A

a_silver_lining

Had a wobbly weekend. Most of my tasks done, charity shop and half the dump items removed. Sand bought, wrench returned and half the paving laid. Fab night out on saturday. I managed to spend a tenner on a takeaway lunch though (and eat two icecreams) annnd although I got a refund on my flooring I have realised he refunded it at the sale price not the price I paid leaving me £30 down. I was going to leave it but I think I'm going to email him today and face my embarrassment.

The £75 from the plumber has knocked my budget. I need to book my partners birthday gift, which is going to be about £70. I want to book another watersports weekend annnd a friend posted about a yoga retreat holiday she is planning on going on which normally I would have jumped at. It would be up to a grand thought with all costs and so I don't think I can justify it even if I do entirely stop the takeaways!

Off to walk to work and bringing a packed lunch. Hoping the shining sun will cheer me up!

a_silver_lining

Got up the nerve and challenged the £30 so they are sending a cheque.

I walked to work and back again so 495 calories burned. I don't count calories but that sounds good to me!

I have scheduled in some groupon groups. Currently trying to work out if I will get up early tomorrow. I would have to leave at 10 to do an 1130-1pm class and then stay in town to start work at 3. Or I can mooch in the house and leave at 2pm... I know what will win.

a_silver_lining

3 weekish update.


Walked home and ran home this week meaning I have now done at least 23 miles walking, running or cycling to work since the 1st of this month, probably more as I have pushed myself to get off the bus early and walk more, or walk if the bus is delayed. Looking forward to weighing myself in a few weeks to see if this is paying off.

I managed to get up the umpf to ask for the rest of the refund on the flooring and so that’s £90 all in refunded. That about covers the cost of the plumber and two months repayments so quite happy there.

I booked my partners Birthday and between a voucher and the women kindly giving me an extra 20% discount I saved £61.60. We will be going on a wakeboarding improvers course with two follow up practice sessions so fit and fun! I also scored a free bike as I had found it chucked in a bush and handed it into a police station and no one claimed it. I almost left it but was brave (I think I’m building up more courage to ask for things!) and picked it up. I had to walk it 6 miles home as it was broken. A friend helped me fix it mostly up so it works pretty well. I gave this as an additional birthday gift and it was very well received so I’m happy there free but thoughtful and hopefully will mean a few days out cycling together.

I’ve been carrying water and snacks around with me and so have cut down massively on impulse buying. My shopping is £31 and eating out £10 and it’s half way through the month, usually I spend £100pm on shopping and around £80 on eating out. Tonight we’re having roast chicken and I picked two large home grown lettuce and the first batch of strawberries from the garden to have with it

I’m umming and ahhing about whether to keep my allotment. I really enjoy my time there but have been struggling to get down there as my spare time has mostly been spent doing home improvements or exercise. I think I need to look at how I’m spending the hours of my day and whether I am doing as much as I think I am or could work in time to visit. It is meant to be raining this week so the patio won’t be finished (only three rows to do!) so I’m going to go to the plot and weed and plant out some squash. I’d love to try and clear a bit more of the overgrown areas and move my strawberries down there once they have finished fruiting in my garden. I’m thinking perhaps the plot could be more for fruit and veg which need little tlc, like rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries. This would keep it lower maintenance but still productive.

Apart from all this I'm trying to imagine what my life will feel like debt free and what will make me happy. Big questions to contemplate.


Even with the boiler and partner’s birthday I am on track to have the remaining £150 of the £400 debt repayments plus some extra left over. I know I should just repay this but I’m so tempted to save it, or buy the kitchen, or take the holiday… how do you get past this desire to spend on the big things! ?

a_silver_lining

I forgot to add that the £250 for my savings came out and so will increase my signature now. I'm also trying change direct debits to come out right after payday to help me see what money I am working with!

a_silver_lining

I spent £14 on plants. Beautiful plants, but not needed ones. I have managed to do a fair bit on gardening and have had a few harvests of lettuce and strawberries. I need to motivate myself to head out and plant some more radish and salad for next month and go do a bit of work on my allotment if I'm going to keep it. I think I'm worried that my procrastination will equal a very weedy and slug eaten space and I will be disheartened. Maybe that's true of procrastination in other aspects of my life... I've been a bit low over the last couple of days with minimal exercise and lots of sugar eating. I'm unsure how I feel about ploughing all into paying off my debt in the next 10 months. I think I need to go search this forum for some support...