Sorting it all out... a 'got to start somewhere' diary

Skint_yet_Again

Welcome back kr! Wow life sounds full on with your job & do-er upper & a toddler now too! 😁 I’m glad to hear your job pays well which is good in these uncertain times & well done on the mortgage overpayments. 

Wow lots of big bills especially 2.2k on the chimney 😳 We had ours removed to just below the roofline as we don’t intend to use it & it would have cost lots to rebuild. Moving Forwards or Babs as we affectionately call her is the one with the chimney knowledge 😁

Irenadler

I haven't wandered in there myself, but I have spotted there is a DIY thread in the forums, it is probably more an 'ask a question' type for each project you might have? Might be worth a browse if someone has done a place up. There's bound to be some builders/tradesmen on there.....

Good luck, I have been there myself around 4 times, always bought fixer-upper's, always lived in a building site (cough, mutter), but it's always been the best/cheapest way to buy a home, & you know it's done properly when you renovate because you are doing it from scratch. Could you qualify for the new green homes grant too?

And the surprises - some good, some bad. Like finding a beautiful cast iron fireplace behind an old boiler (the kind for hot water with the big quilted jacket on), or, mice running riot, like the time I was in the bathroom doing my er, ablutions and one sat on the pipe under the sink staring at me, and I screamed but couldn't stop what I was doing! Ha! 

Lets hope all your surprises are good ones!  

kr147

Thanks for the encouragement Skint and Irenadler! I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the house recently so need to get back to it and crack on, as it won't do itself! I'll check out the DIY thread here for inspiration I've had a bit of an expensive month as all my family's birthdays are in October and son's in November (although he's only 2 so don't go overboard!) 
 I would love to collect some badges. What are easy ones to start off with? The top prize for me would be mortgage free one though!!! That's the dream....

Irenadler

You can do it! I did, many years back, my top tip though is that it's a marathon not a sprint. Really hard for me to get my head round at the time, worked 2 jobs, overtime, saved, overpaid, moaned, whinged, saved, whinged again.... but so worth it in the end, however I was a lot younger and fitter then. Really grateful to my 'past self' for slogging as it's a huge relief to my 'wobbly present self'.... Good luck! 

MovingForwards

Welcome back.
Fixer uppers are great as you can really put your mark on it.

With budgeting set up a spreadsheet. I do the months across the top of the page, the bills / outgoings down the side. It's then a case of filling it in and getting it to autocalculate it for you. That's the easy part done, the hard part is sticking to the budget each month.

When the budget is drawn up, analyse where every penny is going, identify the leaks and work on plugging them. It's a lot easier when written down to see where savings can be made.

If you want to share any of your budget with us, we can probably point out how to save money. The trade off is the saved money then goes towards your home expenses and your future.

The DIY section is good. There's a few people I would listen to if asking for help / guidance.

We are a tight group here, spend time nattering, supporting each other and also sharing hints and tips.

kr147

I hadn't thought to share my budget here. That's a great idea thanks! I do find that whilst I'm not great with money, my other half isn't either, and I cannot get him to get involved with money management at all... It's frustrating. 
I've started my budget and am saving receipts so I have an idea of what my outgoings are over a month or so. Probably will be frightening! 

MovingForwards

One always leads financially in a relationship, either by choice or default. You will get into the swing of it and after a while wonder why you never did it before!

My OH isn't interested in hearing about that side, all I'm expected to do is say the bills were paid, savings are going up. Once you accept he isn't interested, it doesn't become and issue, as long as he isn't wasting it.

Have a look at some of the diaries, especially from about the last 5 days of each month.  You will see how we share what we are up to and where we point out how to save money.

kr147

This morning I put a couple of things on ebay and Facebook marketplace that I've been meaning to for ages! I might set up a special pot of money just for things I've sold as I can see people have that in their signatures onward and upwards! 

Irenadler

Hi ke147

It's not the easiest thing to start with, trust me on that, I have had some ups & downs, but finally getting to grips with a budget is really working for me now. I would not have believed it possible that I am managing on my small income, and finally starting to save, you can do it! 

MovingForwards

Everyone needs a pocket money jar, perhaps the sales are a way of filling it 🤗