Get a grip !

Skint_yet_Again

Current savings
bills account £200
xmas / birthdays £250
emergency fund £40

cc1 will be paid in full October £100
cc2 balance £1110 will pay £50 in October

I need to build up my emergency fund so anything spare at the end of the month will go into that account. Once the cc1 has been paid in full this should free up £100 in November onwards

The Christmas fund is on target this year to be £350 by end November and I have cards & wrapping paper left over from last year. Still to buy:

Presents = £225

sister £15, b-in-law £15 nephew £15
DF £15
niece £15
DS £135 (£150 - surveys amazon gift card £15)
DS gf £15

Xmas meals = £55 still to pay

work lunch £12.99 paid. Drinks daytime/driving(£10-£5 already saved in cash)= £5
girls sunday lunch meal/DJ is £30, already paid £10, drinks/taxis £30 = £50 to pay

savingwannabe

It's looking good. Well done on sorting out cc1. You are very organised for Christmas. I have £60 in my fund which will pay for my xmas food and a pressie for neighbours and everyone else will go without unless I pull myself together lol!!!

Skint_yet_Again

savingwannabe wrote: »

.. I am the best dressed person I know but I would rather retire with a decent amount of savings rather than retire with a nice clothes collection and live on Weetabix.

That's a sobering thought ! You have done so well with your extra job SW that you deserve some treats though. We don't want to live like a pauper before retirement, being miserable and doing nothing, we just need to get the balance right.


I feel a bit more organised and in control now I have written it all out earlier. Am just taking puppy for a walk. Weather looks ok so I will do some washing too. I have arranged to go out with a friend next Saturday we are looking for vouchers for a nice meal and I will use my entertainment budget.

savingwannabe

The problem is i spent an awful amount of money yesterday and i really need to be careful as it's only the start of the month.

I am going to stay focussed and not buy anything else. I cant believe you are out walking in this. It is so cold.

I have washing out on the line and hope it dries soon. Today i am going to eat healthily. i am reading on the internet and then i will do some work. Have a good day.

dont_use_vistaprint

Skint_yet_Again wrote: »

Current savings
bills account £200
xmas / birthdays £250
emergency fund £40

Still to buy:

Presents = £225

sister £15, b-in-law £15 nephew £15
DF £15
niece £15
DS £135 (£150 - surveys amazon gift card £15)
DS gf £15

Xmas meals = £55 still to pay

work lunch £12.99 paid. Drinks daytime/driving(£10-£5 already saved in cash)= £5
girls sunday lunch meal/DJ is £30, already paid £10, drinks/taxis £30 = £50 to pay

Hey you have so little income and savings yet spend so much on things like Christmas - why is that ?

One year myself and my two daughters bought some tea-lights, glass paint, a box of small small glasses from ikea, plain cards and did cards and presents for 20+ for around £15 total.

Looks you are doing well making savings in many areas, but are you actually doing anything at all about the job you hate or increasing your value as an employee / earning potential long term ?

My advice to you for 2019:
Option A) Quit your job, sell your house and get one way flight somewhere like Darwin. If you dont re-invent yourself or find your fortune, you can always come back and claim benefits and will likely be better off

Option Become a full time student and take the maximum £9K loan a year. Choose something vocational that leads directly into a skill shortage area like cyber security. You will have an amazing 3 years and if this plan doesn't work you wont have to pay it back and have some great memories. If it does you will be earning £100K pa within a few years

Skint_yet_Again

dont_use_vistaprint wrote: »

One year myself and my two daughters bought some tea-lights, glass paint, a box of small small glasses from ikea, plain cards and did cards and presents for 20+ for around £15 total.


I did home made gifts when DS was younger, we now enjoy giving token gifts to close relatives. I give DS £100 cash and the rest is token gifts / stocking fillers and clothes / underwear. He is not in a well paid job so I like to help him out at Christmas


My advice to you for 2019:
Option A) Quit your job, sell your house and get one way flight somewhere like Darwin. If you dont re-invent yourself or find your fortune, you can always come back and claim benefits and will likely be better off



You make it sound easy just buy a ticket and go. In the real world I have no skills / job wanted by Darwin and I would not swan off to another country and expect to come back and live off benefits. Losing my DM recently and the devastating effect this has had on DF and close family I would not want to emigrate.

Option Become a full time student and take the maximum £9K loan a year. Choose something vocational that leads directly into a skill shortage area like cyber security. You will have an amazing 3 years and if this plan doesn't work you wont have to pay it back and have some great memories. If it does you will be earning £100K pa within a few years

There are thousands of students struggling to get jobs and I don't want to live off less money than I have now. I have already done a further education course to improve my skills but at the moment the pay and benefits in my current company are worth sticking with. Long term I will sell up and move back up north with the equity in my home and look for a job there.

savingwannabe

That advice was a bit extreme something a young male with no commitments would say I'm guessing. I am afraid I didn't agree with any of it. We are the slow steady savers. Risk averse. Slow and steady is my motto.

The most important thing is that you get your health back, spend time with your son and dad and dear doggie. Nothing wrong with your present ideas either. It's your life and they are your family - do what feels right for you.


...And if you do end up in Darwin or Timbuctoo do make sure that you continue to post on here:rotfl::rotfl:

dont_use_vistaprint

savingwannabe wrote: »

That advice was a bit extreme something a young male with no commitments would say I'm guessing.

A bit extreme maybe but 100% incorrect on the latter :-) Been there and done it many times, had it , lost it, relocated, gone back and done it again, you wont get anywhere saving a few pence at Lidl and filling in surveys for £1 a go.

Upskillng and education is the one of the best investments you can ever make and getting out of your surroundings and safety nets forces you to adapt and grow, this is why so many immigrants come to to UK with nothing and within a few years have very successful businesses

Skint_yet_Again

We've all been there and done that. I moved across country in my 20's to find work I don't want to be doing it again in my 50's with ill health and recent bereavement.


I certainly don't want to live the roller coaster of "had it , lost it, relocated, gone back and done it again." If that sort of life brings you joy then great. At the moment I'm happy to not "get anywhere" shopping at aldi and doing surveys. I never said I wanted to earn a fortune and money is not everything in life. Everyone is different and has to live their own lives, but that sort of life is not for me thanks.

Skint_yet_Again

I took puppy to get weighed today and she has lost 3.5 lbs :j
She doesn't need to lose much only a couple of kg so almost reached goal After that she got really excited in Pets at Home and knocked over a big bowl of dog treats from the till, they were all over the floor and she was desperately trying to hoover them all up :rotfl: I managed to pick them all up and she was allowed one for leaving the store and going back to the car ! She usually lays on the carpet in the doorway and refuses to leave :rotfl:


We called off at the shore line on the way home and went for a walk, it was quite mild this afternoon but the tide was out so she couldn't go for a swim.


I called in at co op on the way home for milk and got some youngs fish cakes 4 for 99p and had fishcake and oven chips / garden peas from freezer for lunch nom nom