Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

WannabeFree

Hope all is well XSpender

x

XSpender

A bi later than planned here is an update on my February goals. I haven't even thought about my goal for March yet!

Finance

1) Reduce debt total by £1000 after interest added (Current Balance £53,997.55, aiming for £52ks) Done, helped by the tax rebate - £52,811.64
2) Come in under food budget - £407 for 5 weeks - Done
3) No credit card spending even if we see the bargain of the century Done
4) Sell dining suite, TV, sewing machine, 2 broken phones and unwanted DVDS, books and CDs - I hate selling stuff but needs must Only the table got sold
5) List contents of freezers and cupboards, meal plan and drink the wine/gin we have in the house before buying anymore booze to assist with no. 2 and no.6 Done
6) Recipe research, create meal plans etc. for a super low food spend challenge I am planning for March Done
7) Do at least 3 money saving/money making things every day this month with a hope of establishing frugal habits Done, sort of, but stopped posting them
8) Find £150 for deposit for summer camping trip Not done

House

1) Complete 12 small jobs in the house that we have materials for and don’t involve spending any further money - jobs completed below and lots of other jobs done on top
a. Oil kitchen worktops Done
b. Touch up kitchen walls Done and gloss on big door Not done
c. Paint skirting area in alcove in our room to disguise lack of skirting Done
d. Put up smoke alarms (already bought may need 1 battery) Done
e. Stain mat well trim and glue down Done, could do with another coat
f. Touch up small areas in hall and landing Not done
g. Clean the inside of all windows without replacing broker Karcher Done, but replaced Karcher with cheaper model
h. Strip wallpaper in guest room On hold
i. Remove ugly shelves from guest room and box up or sell DVDs/books and CDs that ere on them On hold
j. Clean interior of oven, fridge, dishwasher and washing machine Done
k. Sort out clothes (mainly DH) and box for storage in loft Not done
l. Fit DS wardrobe door knobs if DH already has some longer screws Not done
2) Use proceeds of sales to purchase a mirror for our bedroom (£55) Not done

Me and Family

1) Do my first park run with DH and DS - FREE Not done
2) Go swimming with DH and DS - £10 and budgeted forDone
3) Go to 2 gym classes with friend – FREE, already paid for with annual membership Not done
4) Go for a run on my own - FREE Not done
5) Spend some time on career development – FREE, colleague is supporting with some resources Not done
6) Read 3 books for pleasure and 1 linked to career development – FREE, have more than this on my kindle, the handmaid’s tale in paperback and an NLP book to read I’ve had for sometime -Read almost 4 for pleasure not read NLP book
7) Visit favourite NT place for a walk – FREE if we keep out of the cafe:o Not done
8) Re-start my bullet journal when I find the diary I bought Done but not using consistently
9) 2 meals out with 2 different sets of friends – from my personal spends 1 meal done, one was March and cancelled due to weather
10) Don’t stress about losing any weight this month (I need to shift a stone). If keeping the £s in the bank means keeping the lbs on my bod this month so be it[/QUOTE] Started using MFP again and lost 3lbs but have put most of it back on eating stodge

WannabeFree

Popping in to check everything is okay

x

Suffolk_lass

Me too. I can see from your storage and freezer thread that it is all going on at work for you. Do try and take a moment for yourself x

XSpender

Lloyds Loan #1……………….£9716.09….£275.11…..3.9% APR…….38 payments left
Lloyds Loan #2……………….£13,817.25….£265.98…..3.9% APR…….57 payments left
[STRIKE]Lloyds CC (Me) Part 1..........£664.14........£48.........17%[/STRIKE]
Lloyds CC (Me) Part 2………….£2999….….£0......…….0.0% APR…….until March 2019
Virgin (Me) Part 1…………..£627.42……..£25………0.0% APR…….until March 2018
Virgin (Me) Part 2…………..£1038.00……..£0.00….…….0.0% APR…….until Sept 2018
[STRIKE]Virgin (DH) Part 1……………£0……….£0…..0.0% APR…….until March 2018[/STRIKE]
Virgin (DH) Part 2……………£5754.66……..£102………0.0% APR…….until July 2018
Virgin (DH) Part 3……………£4372.97……..£0.00………0.0% APR…….until Sept 2018
MBNA…………………………….£8121.86……..£81.21…….0.0% APR….…until Sept 2019
Person 1…………………………£1275.79……..£0.00……….0.0% APR……………………………
Person 2…………………………£1362.18..…..£0.00……….0.0% APR……………………………
Hitachi…………………………...£1439.31……..£47.97……...0.0% APR…….BNPL payments start May 2018
[STRIKE]Creation........................£1691.90.......£70 .50.......0.0% 24 payments left[/STRIKE]

TOTAL £53,315.15 @ 16.12 TOTAL NOW £50,638.77

Balances have come down nicely this month and we have actually got money left in several pots on YNAB. We have just been too busy to spend!

Re-mortgage process will start next week. I am feeling a bit nervous about it as a lot has changed since our last mortgage application. Some for the better like DH job and some for the worse like the shed load of debt!

Looking forward to a couple of extra days off over Easter before another crazy month at work starts.

Hope everyone is happy and healthy x

Suffolk_lass

Well done! That Virgin (Me) Part 1 stands out as the 0% deal runs out now - could you borrow ahead of next month from your YNAB budget pots to clear it? it might mean min payments on everything else in April but it would be an interest-paying monkey off your back. At nearly 20% interest that would cost you roughly £100 extra if you don't clear it

XSpender

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Well done! That Virgin (Me) Part 1 stands out as the 0% deal runs out now - could you borrow ahead of next month from your YNAB budget pots to clear it? it might mean min payments on everything else in April but it would be an interest-paying monkey off your back. At nearly 20% interest that would cost you roughly £100 extra if you don't clear it

It should say May 2018, not March 2018. I copied an old list which didn't have the proper date on. I get a bonus at the end of April which will more than cover it and DH pay date has changed so he will start getting paid a week early so it will be cleared in full by the end of April. Otherwise I would do want you suggest and raid the pots to clear it as it is a very good idea.

My bonus changes from 1st April and will be monthly instead of 6 monthly and actually linked to KPIs for the first time ever. We need to make sure that we make the most of this and it gets paid to the debt not absorbed into general living costs.

I've paid £50 to person 2 out of this month's salary and an extra £3 off virgin to get under £600 but will only manage minimum payments to everything else this as we have a £65 repair bill plus an electrician bill for faulty wiring in 2 rooms and DS birthday to save for.

DS hasn't had a party for the last 2 years so we are taking 10 kids to a trampoline park and he is getting a new bike. His old bike is a very sought after brand and we should be able to cover almost the whole cost of the new one we have seen from the proceeds of the sale of the old one! We have some other items of his to sell which could really help towards covering his party costs but I am struggling with my work load at the moment to commit to getting this done.

I'm so looking forward to being in the £49k's

Suffolk_lass

I know what you mean about the workload. I finished yesterday for two weeks and finally let my emotions out - cried at Steve Smith's confession about ball tampering and at Indian Summer School - a TV programme about drop out kids. It was only then I realised how stressed I had been.

I mention this because I recognise that flat-out working style in you - the way you absolutely throw yourself at your deadlines.

So just remember you in all this and have a lovely Easter weekend with a bit of family time.

And well done re the plan for that card (steps back from being your financial conscience).

XSpender

Thanks Suffolk lass. Sorry to hear you are overloaded too. I have to keep telling myself to put work to the back of my mind and not to pick up the ipad just to check my emails until I go back to work on Thursday.

I was up at 6 this morning as DH goes to one of his weekly gym sessions at 6.45am so I can muck the house out before my Mum arrives. In 4 weeks DH has lost a stone, looks fantastic and feels great. If he loses a total of 20lbs he gets his money back and can invest it another 6 week plan or 12 weeks (I think it may be more) of an exercise and diet plan which includes 3 classes a week. We paid for the initial plan from the tax rebate on the understanding DH would pay this back from his personal spends which he can do over the next few months. I am already adding more money to the clothing pot as none of his work clothes are going to fit him soon at this rate. He will look like the little boy version of Tom Hanks in Big.

We may need to go and pick my Mum and Stepdad up this morning (an hour and a half away) as we woke to sleet and although she is a competent driver at almost 78 she does get a little nervous driving if it is dark or the weather isn't clear. I think this is the last year she will drive to us and we will have to go and pick them up when they want to visit which isn't a problem for us as we are so used to driving so much for work an hour and a half seems local!

I'm off to make a Victoria sponge to fill with cream and strawberries

Suffolk_lass

That sounds lovely. We now juggle my 88 year old Mum between my Sis and me by taking her to the railway station and collecting her and getting her assistance from Virgin - this year she got the one train from Glasgow that comes across to Edinburgh before coming on down the East Coast line and I collected her from Peterborough. A lift to a Station could be an option for your Mum in future years - mine always books early and goes first class and gets table service and a little meal. Depends on the geography but worth a look.

Cake sounds wonderful. Have a good one