Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

seahorsey

Hi X spender - I’ve had to replace the battery on our dyson stick vacuum. Was really straight forward. There’s loads on YouTube that might help.......

apple_muncher

Finally, you know where you all stand with the childcare... Phew...


Thank you for writing it all down for us. You must have had such a maelstrom of thoughts/plans/possibilities/alternatives going through your head.


Have a wonderful holiday x

db2016

what the hell is a "fire extinguisher payment" lol

brizzlegirl

Sounds fab XS. Well done. these plans look tip top and onwards and upward are childcare etc..

A fire extinguisher payment is a fixed percentage of your income that like a fire hose you turn on your debt..first the consumer debt and then on your mortgage....it’s the Barefoot Investor way :rotfl:

Have a great holiday XS and hope the weather is good.

XSpender

Back from a fabulous holiday, probably one of our best We did overspend a bit after setting a slightly unrealistic low spending budget. Not by a huge amount though. We used M0nz0 when we were away and it was great, no fees at all

Feeling very flat on returning to work, my favorite colleague has resigned and I am again feeling twitchy about the longevity of my current role. There are more changes around what I actually do which is making the role as boring as hell. It could be worse, DH has returned to dismissal hearings for 2 staff

After some thought I am going to start actively looking for a new job and re-write my CV and linked in profile more in line with what I want to do rather than what my current role is supposed to be. This is more proactive than just waiting to see if I get the chop or not but I wont have to take a job if it is not the right one. I did calculate that I could afford to take a small drop in salary even having to fund a new car purchase (currently co car driver) and still be better off. I have found one interesting job to apply for today and don't have much on next week so will focus on job hunting. It will be weird working in an office 9-5 again but nice to be home every night and have more stability and security around my job.

DH has been paid today and as I have my payslip amount for the end of the month so I have been able to set our budget up in YNAB DH and I will need a meeting this week to review it as we both have eye tests this month and will definitely need reading glasses as a minimum and we have other expenses this month including DS rugby fees, kit and new boots and school shoes which all need purchasing on or before Sunday.:eek:

DH also has something else booked for which he paid £50 deposit but will cost £200. I have asked him to move it back a few weeks or cancel it and lose the £50 deposit as we can't afford it at the moment. He booked it impulsively which annoyed me as I then have to try and find the money for it :mad: He has agreed not to buy a new phone handset when he has paid for this one by the end of the year which will save another £26/month. DH is very hard on phones, this one has just had a new screen, so I am not sure how long it will last. He is also intending to go SIM only which should save another £20 or so.

Submitted the meter readings yesterday and the app said 'are you sure, they seem a bit low?' so even accounting for our holiday our efforts to reduce energy consumption are having an impact. I'm still looking for ways to cut our outgoings by £500/month by the end of the year compared against outgoings in July. Currently at £234/month and aiming to cut more by reducing food spending, always an area of overspending here.

Debt total is about £32,000. The plan is to clear this in full by December 2021 using the barefoot investor method and based on current salary and annual bonus so may change with a new job.

We have half our MoJo (emergency) fund saved and will complete this next month, not this month as originally planned as too many purchases this month to cover.

We have also booked our Easter holiday but they have a new way of paying installments over the next 7 months so I have opted for this. This is funded by the Barefoot Investor Smile fund (holidays, big purchases fund) with some leftover which will go towards spending money and our summer holiday.

DH is going to be at work late this week and there again on Saturday so we wont be going to a gig as planned on Friday (will save a few bob). We are watching a dog for a friend over the weekend (younger and bigger than ours so will need lots of longer walks:D), DS has training and some friends are popping over Sunday afternoon so will be a fun filled weekend.

apple_muncher

Glad you had a smashing holiday!


You do sound very much more in control of what is happening financially. Much more proactive than reactive.

XSpender

Expensive day today:eek:

Last cleaner visit
School shoes
School trainers
Rugby boots
Sausages, YS Yorkies, poo bags and dog biccies, beer for DH after a stressful week and a further dismissal to carry out tomorrow which may lead to criminal proceedings :eek:

Saturday DS needs a new term hair cut(or Monday if I can’t face the barber queue tomorrow).

Sunday is DS club fees and kit (shorts and socks as a minimum). WIll take tea to club and feed DH before we go so no cuppas and bacon sarnies will be bought

I have eaten well this week. DH bought me a new book with recipes in it (more than a cook book :rotfl:) for my birthday last month and I got the pinch of nom book which is really good too. I have made chicken with courgettes and a lovely bean side dish, chicken, SD tom, spinach and mushroom risotto, baked oats so far and have 3 more recipes on the list for this week. My cooking mojo is hopefully on it’s way back this week

DS and I are excited about our furry visitor coming tonight :D

XSpender

Meal planned, wrote a shopping list after price checking on line and went to Asdas. Forgot blooming dog food :mad: He has enough for the weekend and wont starve. I did spend more than my new weekly budget but had run out of some things like loo roll and oats and wraps. GF stuff is just so much more expensive . I use the wraps instead of pastry for pasties and wanted to try a pinch of nom apple strudel recipe that uses a wrap as pastry. Anyone who has ever tried to use GF pastry will know why I use wraps! Will aim for a well under budget spend next week.

I have also bought some bits to batch cook when DH is at work tomorrow/when I am at home next week. I am planning to make beef bolognaise, lentil bolognaise and vegan chilli. I am hoping DS will eat the beef bolognaise (he eats this shop/restaurant bought) as he won’t eat pulses or beans. I am also making a couple of pinch of nom bakes as we have friends coming over Sunday and guest dogs humans will be picking him up and staying for a cuppa.

As DS won’t be at DMIL for dinner after school now and will be fed at home I need to think of some things he will eat. He does get a light bite at after school club but it tends to be picky bits rather than a meal and he was starving when I picked him up. Mind he did nothing but run around in the sun for nearly 3 hours so no wonder. He also has school meals. Any suggestions? He could do with losing a little bit of weight too. I would love us to eat together but DH tends to get in too late most nights.

Nothing else spent today.

Arranged to swap my company car today (long term demo scheme) for something cheaper and petrol to reduce my tax. Will change again in November for something even more cost effective. May go down a model over winter as we don’t need the boot space then.

Smashed my steps today taking the guest dog and our fur ball on 2 long walks.

We didn’t manage to get to the gig tonight as DH was so late back and have agreed we won’t be buying tickets for anything or signing up for any sporting events next year unless we are successful with Glastonbury and that will be a family thing as we have had to miss a couple this year.

Honeysucklelou2

Glad you had a good holiday. It is an expensive time of year for parents...we've got most bits but still have the school shoes to get :eek:.

It's interesting to read the different phrases used by the Barefoot Investor, particularly the fire extinguisher. What a good analogy!

Suffolk_lass

You asked for suggestions for your DS's school-night suppers.

My go-to is beans on toast, with or without melted cheese. It was the first dish I taught our DS to make. He used to make his own, one night a week. We were also great fans of a jacket potato with beans and cheese. Highly nutritious!

There is no harm in giving him a pre-pared snack like a sandwich or some cheese and crackers if he is already eating a school cooked meal at lunch time. In fact it will help him to treat that as his main meal and the evening as a less significant meal.

You can also control the limited amounts of sweets, biscuits, cakes and crisps now so the weight should come off him - I used to give DS a fromage frais as a snack, if he was still hungry.