New Grad DFW

ab_saver

Quick budget update:

Budgets left:

£21.25 Food
£85.75 Xmas/gifts
£20 dry cleaning
£20 travel
£30 railcard
£48.80 general/other spends
TOTAL: £225.80

Currently in credit in bank and still on CC - total amount in the black: £57.25 once pending transactions are accounted for.

TV license going out tomorrow (double amount as in first 6 months of DD) and still have phone and netflix also to go - so I will probably be back in the overdraft by the end of the week. I am however on track for my goal of being less than £200 overdrawn at the end of the month

ab_saver

A dilemma has arisen... there are some extra hours going at work that would amount to £250 after tax. They would mean working some of this weekend (making it 2 in a row) - and potentially plunging out of my depth as it'd be doing the same role in an unfamiliar department on another site out of hours.

I know there will be more overtime going in future when I'm more confident and experienced (I've been in post just over 3 months). It won't affect my DFD (end this month!) as overtime pay is notoriously slow, but the extra cash would be a boost....

ab_saver

I have been busy lurking (and trying to read Tilly's MFW diary from the start - I'm about 220 pages in so a fair way still to go.

On the personal money front - my account has inevitably dipped into the red - but that's ok as it was expected and I know it's for the last time.

Spends since last week:

£2.80 travel
£2.60 market
£40 down jacket (for me - watch me attempt to justify it in a moment)
£28 Christmas (goodies for hampers for parents and secret santa gift)
£13 wine glasses - officially a treat for me from OH as he paid me back by buying dinner out.
£4.40 tea and scone at JL (other half free with voucher)
Total: £ 78.80 :eek:

Currently just under £50 overdrawn and just over £50 on cc.

I have upcoming planned spends of £25 on a hair cut and finish (new customer offer) and £17.20 payment on collection for dry cleaned dress.

So... the spanner in the works is that I've found the perfect present for OH (a bit of a joke as it's a microwave - but we do need a new one as the one that came with our rented flat is useless). It was £199, now £79.99, can get it for £71.99 with a promo code. I'm tempted to say that's too good a deal to miss and that it's worth missing my goal by about £25 for.

The jacket was a bargain - was £100 reduced to £40. I have wanted one for ages and am glad to have it at this end of winter. OH offered to buy it for me as part of my Christmas present but we both agreed that missing out on the use of it for a few weeks seemed silly - and he wanted the element of surprise.

So... I've overspent a bit - but aside from my £40 coat - it's mostly been a matter of bringing the cost of Christmas forward so I have less to spend next month. OH also bought some gifts so we have made a really good start on that - and even the wrapping! All we have left is to finish off hampers for both sets of parents, a gift for his other sister (I have a 20% off voucher handy for this), and grandparents x3 to do.

I guess I think I still feel a healthy amount of guilt for missing my goal - but am pleased that almost all the gifts bought have been bargainous!

ab_saver

I have been quietly lurking for the past couple of days - even finished Tilly's diary!
I was tempted to post but I am now glad I waited as on Tuesday my planned annual leave basically fell through after someone said one thing and did another. It may be possible to rescue it if someone else can cover but we shall see. I was initially very upset and then it became quiet rage at the system as it turns out other people are having similar difficulty taking time for mandatory courses etc etc.

MSE wise it's been pretty good. FD called the person who signed my forms!! Very thorough. I did however get a text from them today so I'm expecting the paperwork soon. I also got a refund from pre-paid meals from uni - £5.85 to go to the EF when it arrives tomorrow

NSD yesterday but today went for a rare drink after work with colleagues - £4.60. Spent £3.18 on YS bargains on the way home - nothing more than 1/3 of it's original price

I realized today that tomorrow will be 10 days away from my DFD - a week on Monday :j :j :j

I know I've been very fortunate and taken a sprint rather than a marathon approach (and... erred along the way with a holiday!)

Although it's generally pretty quiet over here, I'm planning on continuing a diary to track my deposit savings and general frugality - and probably this one as I'm not sure it'd fit anywhere else.

Counting down the days and trying not to do anything too outrageous! I have been coming up with budget plans and savings goals, which I will share closer to / on the day - a bit more behind the scenes work to do first.

ab_saver

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10 days to my DFD!
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In other news:

- FD paperwork arrived today in THREE separate envelopes and I think there's still some missing
- NSD (except for a Children in Need donation, but I'm going to allow that)
- £5.85 refund arrived and sent straight to the EF
- I looked back at my financial goals for next year (alongside my spreadsheet) and it transpires that they are tough but do-able - and ready to announce to anyone who might accidentally click on my diary!
- Speaking of diaries - I think I'll stay here for the time being. I know there are a few people over on MFW who haven't bought yet, but I know OH and I won't be buying for about 2 years (for work-related reasons) and that seems like a long time to be an impostor for.

Reminded that I have a lot to be thankful for sat in front of Children in Need.
Plans/goals to follow.

ab_saver

Plans and goals for 2017

January 2017
-FD current account switched and up and running
-5% saver up and running
-main current account switched to club
-linked 3% saver up and running
- Help to Buy ISA up and running

April 2017
- £250 in car fund

July 2017
-£500 in Emergency fund
-KitchenAid bought (one of the big bowl lift professional ones )
-money allocated to KA fund to be divided between house/furniture and holiday fund

December 2017
- £1000 EF
-EF moved into ISA

So... a list of goals is all very well.... but how am I going to get there?

Monthly savings
-£200 to HTB
-£125 to 5% saver (£75 to house fund, £50 to wedding fund)
-£252 to 3% saver (includes monthly contribution to annual expenses, and funds I want to access e.g. car, holiday, gadget, Christmas)
-£20 plus TTs to EF
- Cashback and other unexpected monies to EF
Total monthly savings: AT LEAST £597/month

This gives me a projected discretionary spending of £270-300 per month for everything else including food... It'll be fine right? :cool:

ab_saver

Quick update to say I did spend some money on dry cleaning and milk - only planned spend until payday is a haircut on the day of the works do. I will take a bit of cash in case we end up buying more drinks. OH mentioned wanting to go and see Fantastic Beasts so that may also happen.

I rang up and activated the FD account today. I haven't set up the 5% saver as they take the first payment the same day. Will do that come payday though.

I have money off vouchers for Mr W that expire the day before payday so I may be extremely cheeky and do my shop the day before payday.

I'm very excited about having knocked the OD on the head and staying firmly in the black from here on in. Now to try not to spend any unnecessary money for the next week!

ab_saver

Just popping back in to say I've accomplished a couple of other MSE things today.
- My first attempt at darning went reasonably well - rescued a merino wool jumper. I need to get some black and some pale pink wool to do TWO more moth eaten jumpers. The lady at the dry cleaners said they have seen an increased number of moth holes and demand for moth-killing products this year. I'll be extra careful from now on.

- Perhaps not strictly MSE but I changed the belt on the hoover (first time - adult points for the new grad? ) and it's a completely different beast - it actually works!

- I managed to gain some extra meals as the stock I slow cooked my chicken in is so lovely I'm keeping it to use for noodle soups. Not sure why I didn't think of that before.

ab_saver

:j:j:j:j:j:j
ONE WEEK to payday / overdraft gone forever day
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Not much else to report really. FD account all sorted, will upgrade Ll0yds and sort out savers after payday. Probably after following payday for savers in all honesty as I need to book those flights (£400ish). I guess opening accounts earlier so they mature earlier and thus can get 5% interest and pay CC in full after early December payday counts as a mini-stooze. That's an appealing prospect but one to treat with *extreme* care.

My only remaining planned spends are my haircut on Friday (£25) and probably some drinks at/after ball.
Time for some quick scribbled budgeting to make this work!

ab_saver

Feels like I'm never out of here at the minute. I've had some adjustments to my meal plan, which now reads something like this (I'm trying to clear out my freezer so I can defrost it!!!):

Tues: lunch - green curry, dinner - chicken noodle soup
Weds: lunch - ????? dinner - ravioli
Thurs: lunch - ravioli, dinner - palakh paneer and potato, dal (presuming OH here - if not will save veggie curry extravaganza for Saturday)
Fri lunch - leftover curry , dinner - out at winter ball
Saturday lunch - toasties dinner - soup??
Sunday - will need to shop if haven't on Saturday (using threshold spend coupons, and cheekily will count towards new month's shopping budget!!)

In other news, I'm cancelling my pre-Christmas Mr W delivery as we plan to be with OH's family the week before Christmas and then I'm working Christmas Eve and Day.

I've been trying to organize leave to go and visit my parents (live abroad, and an international relocation on the cards soon) and the person responsible for all this is still a massive PITA :mad:
I'm really not too sure what to do about it as I can't really go later and book flights for when they might have already moved! Getting leave from normal job for mandatory courses etc is hard enough and requires increasingly complex and infuriating swaps e.g. I don't have to swap to go on a course but two of my colleagues do such that one would be freed up to cover my duties whilst I was on said course. As you can probably tell it's all driving me :mad: :mad: :mad:

I've done all I can with that so I need to leave it be. (pun intended :rotfl: )

I must not let it make me feel gloomy or sap me of energy. I am booked in for classes at the gym tomorrow which always leave me feeling energized

As I prepare for my new life of saving like fury, I keep budget fiddling. My issue at the moment is that I keep thinking of more categories and allocating money to them and the money for things like food is being gradually eroded :eek: - there wasn't much to start with. I might have to post an SOA :eek: :eek: :eek: