£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 90: Day 4

Hurrah, we made it to the beginning of a new month! :T :T :T

I have already been paid my October invoice, which upped my salary for November to £630. Still not quite up to the £775 I aim for, but better than the £180 it was at a few days ago. I have absolutely nothing in the pot for December yet though, which is concentrating the mind rather.

Feeling slightly stressed about money, particularly for the extension and Christmas - we've forked out £1,800 for the extension over the past month (building regs application and architect), with another £1,000 to come this month for the structural engineer, of which I only have £350 sitting in the bank. He has said he can't start for another 3 weeks though, so I'm hoping by the time he invoices we'll be into December and will have another £460 to put towards it.

Anyway, let's have a look at the numbers on the 1st of the month...

Savings totals
(last month in black, this month in pink):
£20 £40 annual insurances
£20 £20 school holiday kitty
£380 £430 holidays/weekends away
£61 £160 birthdays (went into negative last month for DC1's birthday, so quite low here)
£0 £95 car maintenance
£10 £20 football club
£19 £24 dentist
£9 £15 YNAB
£1,103 £349 extension :eek:
£54 £50 emergency fund (raided to repair DH's bike last month)
£93 £74 Christmas
£18 £23 National Trust membership
£90 £115 parental loan repayment pot
£45 £34 house maintenance - raided to make the budgets balance

I'm really pleased with those numbers, but they don't really tell the full story as the reason they've been able to grow is because we've spent on the CC.

Debt totals
£3,351.59 Barclaycard
£2,617.90 Virgin
£5,714.48 Santander
£1,445.26 Partnership (building regs application and Christmas spending)
£19,885 parental loan
33,014.23 total

Which means that for the first time since (I think) last November, our debt has actually increased rather than decreased. It's gone up by £1,149, which is mostly accounted for by building regs application, but also a £500 'business loan' I gave to my business account to set up the new income stream I want to put in place for my website (needed the £500 to buy initial stock). It's a real one time only thing (have literally never done that before), but I'm hoping it will prove worthwhile and will be repaid in the coming months. I actually have around £700 'available' in my business account to repay it right now, but I'm not sure yet how much my National Insurance/tax will be for the last tax year (I'm 99.9% sure I won't have to pay tax, but I'm leaving that fund in there until I do my tax return), so hopefully I'll be able to repay it quite soon.

The mortgage balance is £190,351.23, which means out 'net worth' (house value minus all debts) has reduced a bit, from £2,044.40 down to £1,519.54. Inevitable with the increase in debt unfortunately.

So a mixed bag this month - I'm frustrated that the CC debt has increased, but pleased that the savings pots have had a chance to grow. I'm reasonably optimistic that we'll be able to recover from the debt increase quite quickly as once the structural engineer is paid we'll put the monthly £460 extension savings pot towards the CC until we have paid back the £750 building regs fee.

I do feel the increase in debt each winter/year end is a sign that actually our budget doesn't genuinely balance, but I'm not completely sure what I can do to improve the situation. I don't feel that my mental health can take another major debt busting push with the serious cuts we made to food budgets, family fun kitty etc last year, it was so depressing. I guess I just need to keep reassessing and make sure we stick to things as well as we can, maybe with a reassessment in January.

To do this week
1. Contract work for next week.
2. Menu plan for the next fortnight.
3. Book food shopping delivery.
4. Batch cook packed lunch stuff for back to school.
5. Batch cook a couple of easy meals for the weekend so I don't spend the entire time cooking (we have friends visiting).
6. Pack orders for smaller business.
7. Work on website content for new business.
8. Have a look at our SOA/budget and see whether we can shave a bit off my earning requirements.

October money goals:
- £1.12/31 November rounding down pot.
- £4,157.49/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.
- £0/775 income for December. :eek:

Starmummy

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

Week 90: Day 2

DH is not managing particularly well with suddenly not being able to just say 'well I'm the parent so that's that' and instead having to negotiate with someone who has opinions and ideas.

.

I'm not quite sure how old DC1 is but I think he is a similar age to Star Child (9). We are also finding this stage of parenting particularly challenging.
SC is struggling to balance grasping on to being a little child and wanting some independence/pushing some boundaries. We want to encourage her to explore what she wants and likes but still want to keep her happy and safe. One minute she is waking up in the night requesting cuddles, the next she can't bare to walk down the street with me when she is with a friend. The mood swings are real too. So much sass!
I'm afraid I have no advice as I have no idea what I'm doing myself, every day is a new challenge, but just so you know you are not alone.

Take care

SM

Suffolk_lass

Starmummy wrote: »

I'm not quite sure how old DC1 is but I think he is a similar age to Star Child (9). We are also finding this stage of parenting particularly challenging.
SC is struggling to balance grasping on to being a little child and wanting some independence/pushing some boundaries. We want to encourage her to explore what she wants and likes but still want to keep her happy and safe. One minute she is waking up in the night requesting cuddles, the next she can't bare to walk down the street with me when she is with a friend. The mood swings are real too. So much sass!
I'm afraid I have no advice as I have no idea what I'm doing myself, every day is a new challenge, but just so you know you are not alone.

Take care

SM

My DS is 26 now and I assure you, we all just make it up as we go along. We all do what we think is best, cajoling, nagging, encouraging - none of it really helps. Every decision seems to have an unintended consequence that leaves us feeling we could have done better. Yet we have a sensitive, lovely young man of whom we are proud, and we love very much, irrespective of our parenting skills or lack of them.

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 90: Day 5

Starmummy and Suffolk lass - thanks for sharing. I'm so glad it's not just me who feels like every parenting decision could have been made better! DC1 is 10, but definitely beginning to get the odd spot and occasionally a bit sweaty, so I think there's a bit of hormonal impact! Might see if I can find a parenting book for pre-teens for DH and I to figure out what we're meant to be doing.

Had a great life coaching session yesterday. I'm in the position of feeling that my website business could be a really good solid profitable business within 12 months if I could really focus on it and spend the time, but also knowing that if I commit too much time to it and don't make money with my current paying work I can't actually meet our current outgoings. It's a really tricky situation. If we didn't have the build coming up I'd be very tempted to let the debt sit on absolute minimum payments for a year, consolidate as much as possible into the mortgage and really crack on with my business, but unfortunately the build adds both time and money pressures. The good thing is that I absolutely love the work I'm doing with my website, so when I am squeezing in extra bits of work here and there I'm not resentful of it, I love it! I am so stuffed full of ideas that incorporate all the things I love talking about, including the eco/frugal balance that I sometimes discuss on here, and I just want to crack on and do it!

Speaking of making money, I got paid for a small amount of client work yesterday, so I almost have December's business expenses covered now - just another £43 to find. Then I get to start trying to save my salary. I don't think DH is even going to get much/any overtime this month, so I can't even rely on that to prop us up.

Anyway, onto brighter things. I have a 'home' day today as we have friends and their children coming for the weekend so I need to make the house vaguely civilised, and do some cooking so I don't spend the entire weekend in the kitchen making food for 9. Hoping for a moderately cheap weekend, maybe a round of hot chocolates in the pub after a walk, but our friends are similarly budget conscious so won't press to do loads of stuff.

To do this week
1. Contract work for next week.
2. Menu plan for the next fortnight.
3. Book food shopping delivery.
4. Batch cook packed lunch stuff for back to school.
5. Batch cook a couple of easy meals for the weekend so I don't spend the entire time cooking (we have friends visiting).
6. Pack orders for smaller business.
7. Work on website content for new business.
8. Have a look at our SOA/budget and see whether we can shave a bit off my earning requirements.

October money goals:
- £1.42/31 November rounding down pot.
- £4,157.49/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.
- £0/775 income for December. :eek:

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 91: Day 1

Lordy, another week already. Suddenly we're counting down to the 100 week mark at this debt paying business. Still finding it dull, still terrible at it, but still going.

Feeling a bit ill this morning - have had a niggling sore throat/feeling rough thing for a week or more now, and it's just dragging on and on and on. I can't remember the last time I had such a poorly autumn, I feel like I've been ill more or less constantly since mid-September. And of course no chance of slowing down and taking it easy for a few weeks to let my immune system recover, as I need to plough on with earning money so we don't slip too far back into debt at the tail end of the year. Sometimes, being a grown up is just a bit rubbish.

I'm aware I've been grumpy on more or less every post I've done for a couple of weeks now - the knowledge that I'm paddling frantically just to stay still/slip further into debt over this period of the year has done absolutely nothing for my motivation or mood. Although the extension is a financial nightmare looming over us, it is just about the only thing stopping me hanging up my debt paying boots right now, as I know that the better we can keep our situation, the easier next year will be.

Oh gosh, I'm being a grump this morning. I'm going to go and crack on with my list.

To do this week
1. Contract work for next week.
2. Make something to build up the packed lunch supplies in the freezer.
3. Order the children some clothes (my amazing mum has said she will buy a new winter coat for the two who need them, and warm trousers for all three).
4. Finish first products for website.
5. Bake another batch of sourdough - the weekend cleared us out!
6. Make a couple of batches of flapjacks.
7. NO FOOD SHOPPING apart from fruit or things to complete a meal using the contents of the cupboards until the cupboards are significantly emptier.
8. Redo SOA.

October money goals:
- £1.74/31 November rounding down pot.
- £4,157.49/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal.
- £0/775 income for December (still working towards my minimum monthly costs, which is £138. Almost there now).

Treadingonplaymobil

I've revisited our SOA and made some cuts in order that I can reduce my required income. I'd hope to be bringing in more than this, but at the moment I'm not, and I need to work with the reality of our current situation. DH has been bringing in overtime which has covered the shortfall, but that will almost certainly stop now.

It makes for depressing reading, and a significant cut again (I've reduced my income from £775 to £500), but I think having it down in black and white will help us deal with the reality.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 500
Partners monthly income after tax....... 2893
Benefits................................ 192
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 3585

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 709
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Council tax............................. 147
Electricity & Gas............................. 80
Water rates............................. 75
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 71
TV Licence.............................. 13
Internet Services....................... 30 (landline too)
Groceries etc. ......................... 460
Petrol/diesel........................... 240
Road tax................................ 18
Car Insurance........................... 22
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 75
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 57
Buildings & contents insurance..................... 21
Life assurance ......................... 17
Haircuts................................ 28
Entertainment........................... 150
Holiday................................. 90
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Utilities shortfall..................... 15 (we think we have our DDs set slightly to low)
House maintenance....................... 25
House stuff............................. 25
National Trust.......................... 10
Christmas............................... 90
Extension............................... 350
YNAB subscription....................... 3
Dentist................................. 5
Football club........................... 10
Birthdays............................... 80
School holidays......................... 5
Annual insurances....................... 15
Pocket money............................ 10
School trips/activities etc............. 10
Children's clothes...................... 90
DH kitty................................ 40
My kitty................................ 40
Household supplies...................... 25
Tutor................................... 90
iCloud storage.......................... 3
Netflix................................. 6
Swimming lessons........................ 34
Cubs.................................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 3354


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 225000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 225500


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 190351...(709)......2.14
Total secured & HP debts...... 190351....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Barclaycard....................3352......90........0
Virgin.........................2618......28........0
Santander......................5714......60........0
Parental loan..................20000.....30........0
Partnership....................1445......20........0
Total unsecured debts..........33129.....228.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 3,585
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 3,354
Available for debt repayments........... 231
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 228
Amount left after debt repayments....... 3

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 225,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -190,351
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,129
Net Assets.............................. 2,020

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

PositiveBalance

At least you are being realistic, ToPM. Kudos for that.



I'm going to have a very tight month as well so I'll join you in playing tug of war with the purse strings; you grab one side I'll grab the other.

Honeybug

Hi TOPM,

Still reading and still very much enjoying your posts.
Just wanted to say that the other day I was also juggling pots and came to realise that I never quite get it right because life generally is so unpredictable. Just when I think I have it sussed something invariably happens (this weeks, is the plastic rim of the washing machine disintegrating.....oh the noise!). So, keep going, you are not alone in the frustrations of budgetting but doing well.

Take care.

Verbatim

I can see how depressing that is. Particularly as you're feeling under the weather.

Your water bill is huge. We have a large house in London and a bill based on rateable value which is almost £15 less a month. Is it correct?
Otherwise I can only suggest trying to be inventive, (you're exceptionally good at that!) with Xmas and to keep the spends down.
Is your entertainment budget mostly for visiting/hosting friends? I know that you and your oh don't go out for cinema, theatre, meals or drinks much. And your holiday budget looks great considering how much you squeeze out of it on camping trips.
Could your food bill come down a tad by using more veg rather than as much fruit? I know you hated bulking up with carbs which made you feel sluggish and led to weight gain but I mean say cauliflower rice and courgetti rather than/ (or as well as) the carb versions. Or just extra veg instead of fruit sometimes.
How is the Christmas planning coming on?

BalanceBy50

Just wanted to delurk and say how inspiring I find your diary. I am constantly juggling finances and feel that as soon as I think I am on top of them we get another curved ball thrown at us.

Sorry to hear you are not feeling too good - do you take echinacea? I find that taking it for about 6 weeks around now really helps with our immune system - must get some for DH - he took it last year and for the first time in years wasn't ill at Christmas.

xx