The "Save 12k in 2017" Thread!

Lolly88

slowlyfading wrote: »

Apologies for not updating; I had a baby three weeks early last week so we've been in hospital for almost a week and then settling in at home. Life with two is certainly interesting....!

I will update the spreadsheet soon, promise

Congratulations slowlyfading. :beer:

george4064

KeepOnKnitting wrote: »

Just poking my head in here to have a look as I have signed up for 2018. Congrats SF!

Welcome aboard! I promise you’ll love it round here.

[Deleted User]

Congratulations SF on the birth of your new baby. Merry Christmas to you and your family and huge thanks for running the thread:xmassmile

Gem-gem

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby SF x

Lolly88

Just realised I haven't declared my final total - I won't be saving anymore between now and the 31st so reporting my final saving of £1962.48 for December. This brings my total to £9104.67 overall for this year. I'm really happy with this, particularly because this month has been very spendy and expensive and also a tough year overall.

Thanks so much slowlyfading for running this thread and for everyone participating.

kev2009

Hi,

Apologies for delay, just submitted Oct-Dec savings, £500 each month.

Congrats SF!

Kev

Lomcevak

Many congratulations, SF!

Declaring £3,889.84 for December, making a total saved in 2017 of £35,099.66. Very happy with that, it was a bit of a slow start to the year but for the last 8 months we've been saving more than 50% of our joint (post-tax) income, so our long-term goal of escaping the two-income trap is starting to feel much more tangible. We're not there every month, but over the year we almost are.

This is my fifth full year in the save-£12k challenge (I was in 2012 as well, but had to pull out halfway through when building work became much more expensive than anticipated), and over that time we have saved £136,940.65. That's a pretty amazing amount, and although not quite a life-changing amount, it is well on its way to becoming one - for example, we've gone from having no S&S ISA savings in Jan 2014 to a six-figure sum now, and from no debts but a large mortgage and no real savings in mid-2012 to a place where the mortgage will be gone by 2020 and early retirement at 55 is a very real option should we chose it. Here's to the next five years

RichyRich

Well, as promised, an end of year update. As predicted I fell short by almost exactly a grand, having saved #11,003.70 this year. If it wasn't for a pesky legal bill of #1,200, I'd have made it (actually I have a bit more to pay, but I haven't received the final invoice yet, so am going to count that as next year's expenditure).

It's not all doom and gloom, though. I upped my retirement savings into my work pension plan to 10% (to be increased to 12% next year), plus employer contributions of 8% which will mean in effect I'm saving 20% of salary from next year onwards, and I've been overpaying considerably on my mortgage by about #700 per month. So I'm fairly philosophical about falling #1,000 short in actual savings this year.

I have already set up a new Nationwide Regular and FD Regular for next year, and have about #5k hanging about while I decide what to do with it. There's no point opening a new Bank of Scotland account as Tesco has killed that off, so I'll have #10k to think about in April too. Half of me is tempted to stick it into my Nutmeg ISA, which has performed well, and the other half to stick it into Premium Bonds. I really can't be bothered with a Post Office savings account at 1.3%. I might split the cash 50/50, but I'll decide in the new year.

Well done to everyone who achieved their goals this year. And apologies for the #s - my keyboard's gone all American on me.

Onwards and upwards!

sonas_baby

No 121 reporting in with December's total of £560. Didn't meet my target this year but life is defiantly better so hoping I'll smash it next year. ��

bobobski

Wowza, some fantastic savings being reported. Well done to everybody who's met their goals and, for those who didn't, I'll bet you saved loads more than you otherwise would have done because you took part in this challenge Certainly that was me last year - I missed my target by a lot but saved more than 3x what I'd saved the year before due to this challenge (and SF's efforts in keeping it going) and use of YNAB.


My final numbers are in and I can report savings of £692.96 for December, bringing my total for the year to £12,078.82, so I've beaten my target by a whopping 0.65%! This is after an extremely expensive and off-budget December, with my self-control over Christmas spending being lost somewhere in the snow - I blame the new boyfriend for me wanting to treat him! - and further spending on the house purchase.


Onwards to the new year. I've set a higher target because my track record in house purchases is 0-2 so far so I'm being rather glass half empty about property #3 which I'm currently trying to buy, so I'm working on the assumption that I won't complete. If by some miracle it goes through I'll drop my target substantially as I still want to take part even if my target is tiny


Wish me luck