From Nightmares to Dreams come true!

another_casualty

Keep going in the right direction me and the 2:)
That's one thing I found when I was temping many moons ago..the uncertainty and trying to balance things on a monthly basis when getting paid on a weekly basis( and less if you had a day off here and there ). If everything you got was at the same time it'd probably be easier . Still tough though as we never get paid enough

Best of luck

MeandThe2

Well now I’m back, form out of space…no wait that’s a song not real life!

Felt strange reading this (very shorty diary) back but I remember those days like they were (nearly) yesterday

I can remember exactly why I stopped the diary too, and what happened in life over the years that have passed it goes something like…. long legal battle for constructive dismissal at work, new job , Rat pants started school and his additional needs become so apparent and hard to manage he left school before the year was out and I had to give up my new job to care for him as they don’t do childcare for school age children!, divorce (after 6 years seperated), my mental health took a battering (recovered not too long ago but is on the wobble again with the current goings on), start legal fight with Local authority for Special Education plan….lots in between too

I’ll get to the reason I am back shortly but let’s look where we were when I started this diary and where we are now –

Life Then

“I’m a 33y young single mummy to a daughter who is 7 aka little miss and a son who is 3 aka rat pants. I work 3 days a week in the admin department at my local hospital. Little miss is at school and rat pants private nursery. Little miss suffers from CVS (undiagnosed but more on that later!) Rat pants has a list of additional needs by mainly autism and I have PMDD (it’s real, it’s horrible and it has almost claimed my life on several occasions, but I am still fighting the good fight!)”

Life Now

Well I am now 37 yikes! still single (happy about that one!) Little miss is 11 shortly, lockdown b’day here we come! Still has CVS but dormant rather than active. She has hit the pre-teen years running and boy is it difficult to navigate. Rat pants is 7 with a list of diagnosis’ longer than my arm managed to get him back into full time school last September (2019) after nearly a full school year out. And finally, after years of fighting I got my operation in January (before all this started) and I am PMDD free…whoop whoop

Debt Then

HB over payment £300 approx
Pay off CC 3449.56 by March 2018
Pay off Car Loan £3350 by Aug 2018

Debt Now

Paid the HB off July/Aug 2017

Paid the CC by end of 2018

Paid Car Loan off by mid 2019 becoming totally debt free!

 

I had zero savings though meaning in October 2019 when the washer went pop and I need to pay a solicitor to deal with the court tribunal for Rat Pants Education plan I had to loan money from my Aunt…..you can imagine how crappy that felt! Paid it off quickly and I am debt free again.

So why am I back you might be thinking? Well it’s that pesky again! I do not want to have to be debt free again….every again lol

I am ok ish at budgeting, I say ish because I only spend what I have and save a little for upcoming things (b’days, Christmas, car stuff) but I need to get better at it and save some proper money so when things pop up I don’t have to borrow. The car is now really really old, 16 years and although still a good little runner it really will need replacing sooner rather than later and I do not want to borrow money from family or use finance.

So here I am, not quite a shiny new diary but a new beginning to remaining debt free rather than out of debt

MeandThe2

Although starting with a good budget is usually the way to go we are in such unusual times that I am not sure how to approach this! May be a month by month budget rather than long term one for now?

You would think we were saving money with not going out but the truth is we are spending quite a lot with the majority of it going on food. We are doing shopping at small local places where they only do branded stuff at high prices or friends are picking bits up for us with the same issue. We are also ordering non food stuff online again mostly at higher prices and with the added delivery cost.

We are also not getting as much money coming in at the moment as child maintenance had stopped for now (mutually agreed with ex due to his situation, I know he will make it up through the rest of the year)

I am going to set myself a target of £5K savings for the car and £2k for an emergency fund, not to do by date yet...need to realistically work out how much we can save a month first

Spending coming up -
*Little Miss Birthday, I really feel like saying F it and going all out with gifts to make up for the terrible situation...much stop myself!
*Summer essential clothing, the little people don't have huge wardrobe of clothes as they are normally in uniform 5 days but as times are different they could do with some bits and I needs a few bits like leggings as mine have holes in
*Big Big food shop, hopefully at Aldi to last us as long as possible

MeandThe2

Well yesterday was a spendy day as we are now so low on a lot of food and other items, I m just glad we managed a trip to the local co-op though without a total meltdown from me or the kids (did have a slight panic mid way through the shop  )
£82.17 spent as follows -
£49.62 - Food, drink & household items for us (I am so mad as it would have cost way less at Aldi, also because I was a like a kid in a sweet shop and just bought loads of goodies to cheer us all up! This will get us through the week and then I have a plan to be able to go to Aldi early in the week after)
£11 - Birthday Gifts (wine - lady next door & chocolates - Little miss)
£21.55 - Things for other people

Note to self - make a list and stick to it, no more of the willy nilly shopping!

MeandThe2

April Round Up –

Normally I start with £150 in my account and end with £150 in my account, this is so any spending/bills before UC goes in on the 6th is covered.

 

Start                220                  - last month’s Gas/Elec didn’t come out, left extra £70 to cover

 

Spending -

Bills                 970.82             - Including the extra Gas/Elec

Everything!      489.76             -Quite low, probable due to current situation and I knew my income would be short so was careful.

                                                  Will start tracking exactly what this is being spent on in May

Fund Spending                        - I have saving funds to cover these

Car Tax            84

Kid's B'day       43.51

Xmas               18.58                 - Craft supplies, might as well make a start on some gifts I want to make

Other B’days    6

Savings            

Change Saver  7.51                 - a/c automatically rounds up purchases and put it in my !!!!!! a/c

Fund Savings   486                  -In to 4 savings accounts (more on this below)

Car Savings      200                  -Whoop first bit saved!

!!!!!! Savings     39.49               - (more in this below)

 

In

Money In           2124.65           - This is short due to no child maintenance because of the current situation

Savings In        151.02             - To Cover above fund spending

 

Total Out         2345.67

Total In            2275.67

End                  150.00

MeandThe2

Fund Savings is for all the things I know I will be spending money on during the year not long term savings. I have managed to put this away every month so far as the panic of finding money to cover these was so stress-full last year -

Events &Holidays £219 per month for School Holiday days out and added costs (we use more petrol and eat more at home), Going on holiday, Easter (gifts & meal), Kid’s B’days, Gifts for others and Xmas

 

Clothing & Uniform £112.5 per month for Kids Summer Clothing & Shoes, Kids Winter Clothing & Shoes, Uniforms (school & clubs) My Clothing/shoes.

(Rat pants goes through clothes extremely fast as he chews, pulls and rips them, the kid’s uniforms are so much money and needs replacing regularly for rat pants! Also, both children are still at the age where they grow out of everything each season)

 

Car £47.5 per month for Tax, MOT and Service

 

One Off’s £35 per month for Microsoft Office, Prime, Dentist and Glasses

 

Will break this down further and show how I came to these amount soon

 

Other Savings

!!!!!! Savings – This is for when !!!!!! happens in life that I wouldn’t class as an emergency but needs to be spent, such as small car repairs or the hairdryer goes pop and so on. My goal is to have £500 in this account

Money goes into this account automatically from the round up change savings my a/c does and then anything left in my account at the end of the month (hardly anything ever usually!)

 

Emergency Savings – For exactly what is says on the tin! big can’t live without it emergencies that can’t be covered by the !!!!!! happens fund. My goal is to have £2k in this account but there is no plan in the budget to build this up.

 

Car Savings – Hoping to get mine through the MOT this year and then have money for a new one ASAP

 

Will post at some point what is exactly in my savings account but that is enough thinking and typing for today!

savingholmes

Good luck on your journey. It sounds like you've been on a rollercoaster and haven't quite managed to get off. Well done for getting debt free. Great you are now focusing on your EF

MeandThe2

Thanks Savingholes! Not sure I would know what to do with a quiet life 

Not posting as regularly as I would have liked to keep me on track but then there is nothing regular about life at the moment! Me & the little people are slightly fed up with the situation but making the best of it. My house has never looked better though as I have joined the 'flylady' group on here and I am finding more time to do the odd jobs I have never got round too.

I realise I haven't posted a budget for this month so will do that in a mo with what we have spent so far this month

MeandThe2

May Budget/Spending

Food and Consumables  £250 / £200.45
House Stuff £40 / £0
Everything else £200 / £143.13
Kids £60 / £60
Petrol £60 / £0 (didn't put any in last month, don't see us needing any this month but you just never know)
Physio £35 / £0 (Couldn't have this last month praying by the end of this one I can or I may not be walking!)

Updated 22/05

beanielou

With you on the physio & the walking.
I usually have physio every week.