Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

XSpender

Suffolk_lass said:

Re weight loss, have you seen the research by Prof Roy Taylor at Newcastle Uni? He is the man behind the 800 calorie ultra low calorie diet to reverse diabetes. His is the research that Dr Michael Mosley (8-week low blood sugar diet) is based on. The clinical trials have shown that if you can keep off the sweet tastes (ie water instead of diet sweet tasting drinks) you can retrain your brain as well as your gut. And then your whole metabolism behaves differently. Paleo is very similar from what I see.

I can't believe how little I have craved anything sweet over the last 4 weeks, I expected this to be a problem but it hasn't been.  We can eat fruit but only limited amounts of high starch fruit like grapes, pineapple and bananas and high starch veg like carrots and potatoes.  We are due to have a cheat meal on Saturday, anything we have been craving before a week of low carbs and I can't think of anything I have really missed.  This week we are carb cycling/intermittent fasting swapping between 2 meals a day and 4 meals a day.  Today is a 4 meal day and I have had 2 boiled eggs and some strawberries for breakfast, leftover chicken fajhitas from last night (no wraps) with a few potato wedges, an apple and half a dozen grapes for lunch and we are having lemon chicken with sweet potatoes, cabbage and green beans for dinner.  I had a snack of brazil nuts, almonds and a few raisins mid morning.  I will probably have a few berries after dinner but stop eating at 8 as we then fast until midday tomorrow.

I have £4800 on a CC with a 0% deal ending in November so have been looking at my options to BT.  Most offers have been reduced to 12 months on the cards I have, one I don't have a balance on has cut 6 months off the length of the offer.  I have some others expiring between Jan and March and am considering doing them now and then looking for new deals at the end of next year or going for the life of the balance offer at 4.9%, no fee, on my CC with the biggest limit, and smallest balance (£1000 left on it), just in case I am really struggling for BT offers in 12 months time.  Total CC balances should be just under £29k at the end of the year and under £20k by the end of 2021.

Verbatim

I'm glad your job has worked out for you and that all is well under control. Congrats on the weight loss.
What does SIF stand for?

XSpender

Verbatim said:

I'm glad your job has worked out for you and that all is well under control. Congrats on the weight loss.
What does SIF stand for?

Settled in full.

Suffolk_lass

I'm about to make soup here - which is a good standby for lunch or supper with DH's homemade sourdough bread - I have bags of courgettes in the freezer but one plant is still going. And a sweet potato added to that makes sure it is filling and has a more rounded flavour

XSpender

XSpender said:

Inspired by newgirly on the MFW thread I am setting myself some goals for the rest of the year:

1) Achieve Christmas savings target (currently at 50%, should be done next month if DH bonus comes through)
2) Achieve £9,000 credit card debt paid off (original goal of £10k is now unachievable due to paying for boiler replacement)
3) SIF target debt - currently £844.82 (included in above total)
4) Achieve goal weight (not sure what this is, will know when I hit it. Somewhere between where I am now and another stone off. I should be back in the heathy weight range for my height, just, by next week.)
5) Maintain new way of eating (back on it this week after eating crisps and chocolate at the weekend! I blame TOTM!!)
6) Attend every one of the 24 PT sessions I have signed up for
6) Eat 12 frogs off the to do list (preferably the ones that don't cost any money)

After a long discussion with DH we have decided not to pay off the target debt in full with his bonus but go back to our original plan of saving 3 months mortgage payments on top of the mini emergency fund we have in place.  We have swung from paying money off debt, replacing the dodgy oven or worn out utility room floor, saving it or various other options and have settled on the saving it for emergencies and completing the Christmas savings goal which has been reduced a fair bit this year.  This will mean we will have paid off our debt somewhere between eight and nine thousand by the end of the year.  I could have achieved the savings and debt pay off goals if it wasn't for the pesky boiler dying.  We will focus on saving until we reach £5000 on top of the mini emergency fund.  I am aiming for June if I get my bonus in Jan and then we will switch back to overpaying the debt.  We should achieve a total debt reduction of around £7k next year.

DH received a replacement CC yesterday and a reminder of the credit limit which is quite high.  I will check the offers for BT on there and we will use that if they are any good for some of the balances that are falling due soon.

5 frogs have been eaten, none have cost any money, and I have a couple more to tackle this weekend.  DH is at work Saturday so I am planning a thorough clean of the house and have a good clear out and reorganise the 2 freezers.  I also need to do some meal prep if I am to stick to next week's meal plan.  Sunday DS is training and we have booked a time slot to visit a local NT site for a walk in the afternoon.

I am enjoying the new PT sessions although it took me 3 days to be able to move my legs properly after Monday!  The weight is dropping slowly and I have lost almost 12lb since I went back to work in July.  I feel slimmer but seem to be stuck half a pound on the wrong side of the stone I want to start with.  The plan is no starchy carbs next week so I should lose a little more than usual.  DH has been offered a good deal to do another 8 weeks which he is chuffed about as he is really enjoying the sessions.

Suffolk_lass

I am sure you are doing the right thing by building up a mortgage payment buffer. I was also reading an article in yesterday's money section of The Times and they are saying it is likely that existing mortgage holders could be offered IO mortgage switches with their existing lender if the the danger to jobs increases - to avoid repossession recession. It all feels rather precarious and our lives feel they are getting a little smaller, albeit born of necessity.

I am so pleased for you with the weight-loss - really well done. I know it is hard won and a recurring thing you do. As you know, we routinely eat a low carb diet if possible. Last week I made a pasta sauce with added red lentils and shredded carrot and instead of having it with pasta I layered some with courgette slices (poor-man's lasagne) and stuffed bell peppers with some more. With a little grated cheese and baked I can honestly say we don't really notice. I also always make soup and have gone back to adding some sweet potato as thickening and for a bit of added flavour now it is autumn. Any carbs (oats usually, or hm sourdough toast as a treat) are consumed for breakfast so our bodies burn them off by the end of the day. DH has lost a stone and a half in 15 months since he stopped work (mostly it is no cakes or sweet treats as he worked in the design and tech department of a high school and there were always food tech treats in the staff-room!!). 

Keep on keeping on and stay safe

XSpender

XSpender said:

XSpender said:

Inspired by newgirly on the MFW thread I am setting myself some goals for the rest of the year:

1) Achieve Christmas savings target (currently at 50%, should be done next month if DH bonus comes through) DONE WITH DH BONUS 🎄
2) Achieve £9,000 credit card debt paid off (original goal of £10k is now unachievable due to paying for boiler replacement) KEEPING AT IT
3) SIF target debt - currently £844.82 (included in above total) USING SOME SMALL BITS OF CASH TO KEEP CHIPPING AWAY AT THIS AS WOULD LIKE TO CLEAR IT BY END OF JAN IF I CAN WHILE STILL FOCUSSING ON SAVING
4) Achieve goal weight (not sure what this is, will know when I hit it. Somewhere between where I am now and another stone off. I should be back in the heathy weight range for my height, just, by next week.) WIP
5) Maintain new way of eating (back on it this week after eating crisps and chocolate at the weekend! I blame TOTM!!) NOT SO GOOD LAST WEEK OR SO OF OCTOBER AND PUT BACK ON THE SMALL AMOUNT I LOST LAST MONTH😡🐷 
6) Attend every one of the 24 PT sessions I have signed up for MISSED 1 AND LAST ONE TOMORROW WITH 10 TO CARRY OVER AFTER LOCKDOWN 🏋️‍♀️
6) Eat 12 frogs off the to do list (preferably the ones that don't cost any money) MANAGED 10 SO FAR AND NONE COST ANY MONEY 💰 

Quick update on my end of year goals. I’m still almost 2lb over the next stone in weight which would put me back in the healthy weight range. I’m struggling to shift it and need to up my game.  While my meals are still on plan and I have hardly drunk a drop too many crisps and sweeties have found their way back in.  Our food spending is still crazy and I need to find a way to reduce it.  Once we have finished the weight loss plan and start maintenance I will be reducing the amount of meat we are eating as it is expensive and I will start clucking if I keep eating this much chicken.  I don’t want to spend so much on food, I have better uses for that money 😉

Work have confirmed we won’t be furloughed this time and DH is also to remain at work although he is dreading it being with the skeleton staff he had last time as his stress levels were off the map!  Some of my clients are in Scotland so not under the same restrictions and I can keep working with them.  My boss has asked me to be involved in a really interesting piece of work next year so I have my fingers crossed the client agrees to go ahead with it 😀

We had booked a drive in firework displays for the weekend but this has been cancelled along with my hair appointment so will split the money between the card and the savings.

We have made a good start on Christmas shopping and I have some idea what DS wants and most of this can be ordered on line.  I had seen a great gift for DH but in store so will have to see if I can get it once shops open back up again.  We are not having any visitors for Christmas this year so it will be a quiet time for a change and I have 2 weeks off! We have booked an event at a local NT site the week before Christmas and lunch on the eve but who knows what will happen by then. 

Suffolk_lass

I know what you mean about the bit of weight sticking. I've just made soup (well, it is simmering before blending) to try and cut out the things like cheese on toast or crackers and something that have crept back in for lunches. I've bought no chocolate in this week's shopping trip in an effort to cut it out until the weekend before Christmas. I might give up alcohol for this month too (I have more than your 2lbs sticking) so that I have something positive to show for it.

Good idea redeploying the savings to pay down the card and add to savings. We have one out of area click and collect to do but otherwise all will be quiet and local here. Work for you sounds positive. Take care. 

XSpender

I am back on the soup this week Suffolk_lass as I have added a couple of extra pounds to the 2 that wasn’t shifting.  If I don’t rein it in it will be an extra half stone by New Year!

DH returns to work tomorrow after having to self isolate for 8 days as instructed by the app. Not sure where he has come into contact with anyone with it, must be work as he doesn’t go anywhere else except the gym and I go at the same time (small room) and have had no notifications.  Luckily he took paid holiday rather than get paid SSP so our income isn’t impacted.   I also think the break has done him good and he has done some jobs around the house and put the garden to bed for winter.  His week off has saved us about £60 in fuel too 👍

DH has also been offered a CC with our bank with a decent length BT offer so has applied for it and been offered a good credit limit which will take care of the balances coming out of their offer periods over the next couple of months.  It is good to think that when the offer ends on this new card we will be on the homeward straight to clearing our cc debt. 🙂 43 days and we won’t have have used a credit for a full year 😁

The remortgage went through last week and we have gone for a 3 year fixed as this was the best rate our current provider was offering at our current LTV and we didn’t want to pay for a new valuation even though we believe the value has gone up due to the work we have carried out.  Only a small monthly saving of £30 odd over the remaining 16 years.  The plan is to be completely debt free by the time we have to remortgage again with at least 3 months of living expenses saved.  We will have a new valuation done then and even with a conservative value our LTV should then be comfortably in the 60s.

Budgets are doing OK.  Except the food budget which is as horrific as usual.  I wish I knew what to do to rein this in, I want to spend this money on other things like paying off my debt and building my big emergency fund 🙁 We have stocked up on meat as Costco and have enough TP, tissues and kitchen roll to last 6 months.  I tend to use Morrison’s for our weekly shop as I don’t like Aldi or Lidl fresh produce.  I think we buy too much, too often and our new diet is more expensive.  There is definitely a lot of room for improvement even eating this way.  Meal prepping works well for us as we buy more and eat poorly when we don’t do it.  DS sports training is cancelled due to lockdown until December so guess what we will be doing on a Sunday going forward? 

I’m hoping to add a bit to the savings at the end of the month from a couple of refunds and coming under budget in some categories like haircuts and fuel.  I will be rolling some category balances over into next month, rather than sending to debt/savings, to build up a surplus where I know there will be further costs such as DS pot (sport kit ordered but still to pay for) and medical pot for prescriptions/dentist/glasses this year and next.

I’ve done the budgets for December and January and will be setting up a chunky standing order to the regular saver starting next month.  It might be a bit tight some months but I am paying ourselves first and will make it work.  Any other income and budget savings will go towards the debt each month. 

We have almost finished our Christmas gift shopping with just a few bits for DS and our gifts for each other still to buy.  I estimate we will have reduced our Christmas spending by half this year.  I also have bought quite a bit of our Christmas food (including the turkey, wine and some treats) too.

Dear me, I seem to have written an essay this evening!

Suffolk_lass

I don't know what to suggest about that food budget that you have not tried before - I think you did a post Christmas freezer and cupboard challenge a year or two back. Maybe a month of use-ups before Christmas supplies start arriving in your house?

We've also got the reverse meal planning challenge over on old-style, where we plan our meals from what is in, rather than shopping for ingredients for specific meals - it's still planning, but the other way round. I managed just one shop last month, plus a few deliveries in bulk (coffee, 6 months worth) and my doorstep milk and eggs. It is keeping ours down to much lower overall spend because I am shopping so infrequently. Fewer treats (and four pounds less on the scales). Lots of soup and egg rolls for lunches! - I like Morries too and always go for wonky veg when it is there - especially for things I peel (onions, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes!) and then there is always cabbage - who knew how nice a potato, onion and cabbage frittata was!?

Everything else is sounding super organised and positive!