Geeking out with YNAB

Jigglebiz

Quick update as it's nearly the end of the month now.

I'm falling into the risky trap of spending based on projected income - I know that this is totally not YNAB's ethos. It's difficult when you've been scrimping so hard for months/years and finally the prospect of a little more money... new underwear! a heated propagator! Grass seed! I must keep myself focused.

As I have the third (and final) of this gruelling round of interviews coming up, the stress of it all led to an overspend in Home Bargains on garden lawn seed, fertiliser, and plastic boxes :rotfl: I have managed to adjust my categories accordingly, but stole money from the car insurance category which is very naughty.

I find meal planning very beneficial for economising but hate the process of planning it all. We're starting afresh with a Google sheet rather than paper (partner can't read my writing) and going to try on a monthly basis instead (reduces the frequency of doing the bloody thing and could save on bulk buying). First delivery is scheduled to arrive to coincide with payday next week but I need to fill and sort out my basket.

Busy week ahead so will try and get some baking done today. Trying to cut down eating vegetable oils at the moment and finding they turn up in all store bought foods really. :mad:

Jigglebiz

Payday update! :T
We've received income from our jobs and the rent has been paid.

This month my pay is significantly up from last month's. This is because I worked more hours and I have been refunded the tax deducted in error from last month. Using a spreadsheet, I've worked out a base level income of £940 per month and anything over that I will put aside for the leaner months. If I stick to this, it should mean that during the Summer I won't need to frantically look for additional freelance work.

Here's what I've allocated to each master category:

Total income received: £3,318.03

Debt Repayments: £371
Fixed Monthly Bills: £1217.44
Fixed Expenses Rental Flat: £314 (this includes tax saved this month)
Variable Monthly Expenses: £471.37
Fixed Non-Monthly Expenses: £133.47
Savings toward selling and buying properties: £284
Holiday: £170
Optional Expenses (Fun): £55
Long-term Savings Goals: £240

Future income

• I turned down one of the freelance jobs I'd been offered last month. It could have netted me an extra £700 but I no longer have time and there is a potential conflict of interest there that could be risky for me. I am grateful not to have to say yes to everything - this marks definite progress over the last 3-6 months

• I'm expecting around £250 for some work I'll do during March that is relevant to my career change, so it has benefits beyond the pay. I expect to receive pay for this in April or even May.

• I have just put in a pay claim for this month that will allow me to budget similarly to the above but also put around £700 towards the variable income fund :j

I'm not sure if it would be better thrown at the debt? At the moment neither are accumulating interest and I'm paying a fixed amount each month.

savingholmes

Congratulations. Great progress.

emergency fund sounds like a good plan if you are in a 0% deal anyway - no point overpaying other than to reduce temptation. Try to put it somewhere you can earn some interest...

Jigglebiz

Thanks savingholmes yes I’m keeping my variable income fund in an account that pays de
cent in-credit interest, and I get gift card top ups as long as I pay in a certain amount. :T

I have slipped up again lately, and I think this is due to my original plans being overly ambitious. I really find the emotional grind of restricting so much very difficult. I guess I got used to splurging often over the years - I grew up with pretty poor financial role models and its only in my twenties that I taught myself about th8ngs like interest, investments, etc. Still feel I have a long way to go.

I find one area particularly challenging - buying clothes for myself. I can happily eradicate almost all eating out and cafe spending, but for clothing it’s difficult to draw a line because obviously I do NEED some clothes, but I can never tell whether I’m being reasonable in terms of how much it costs. I lost some weight over the past few years and Marie Komdo’d my wardrobe. I was left with barely anything ! I tried on all possible combinations the other day and got to 13, but 4 of those are interview/funeral/wedding outfits,, :rotfl:

If I buy cheap stuff from primark it lasts no more than 3-6 months, so I prefer to get better quality stuff (not designer or branded, just better fabrics like wool) . I always buy in the sales or via secondhand or eBay, but even so I can find this racking into the hundreds at the start of the season. Is this normal??!! My job needs me to be well professionally dressed, I’m just not paid enough to reflect this in my wardrobe! :mad:

I would love a proper splurge without thinking about the cost implications. I’m just trying to identify what is a fair amount to put towards clothing. Find myself feeling really guilty when I spend anything at all these days, then it leads to a vicious cycle...:(

savingholmes

I suppose the question on clothes is what can you afford. I decided to allow each member of the family £25 per person per month - but only give it as an allowance quarterly - that way we had £75 to spend at once. I found compared to fritter spending on clothes I had to have for me or others it saved me money..... If I want more - I have to use my "pocket money" for the month. I allow myself and OH £50 each to spend guilt-free.

Jigglebiz

Yes, I!!!8217;ve realised that I need to treat clothes just like another (non-monthly) expense. I get a lot of pleasure from clothes so I!!!8217;m happy to spend my fun money on them too, so my renewed plan is similar to what you suggest B]savingholmes[/B]. Our fun money is currently only £10 a month each though, I need to cut the budget some slack and be more realistic...

Plans that still need attention:
- clear and list old laptop on eBay
- go through old clothes that have been put aside and decide what to sell and what to donate to charity
- photo and list for eBay
- exchange money in advance of holiday in April. Have already sorted a Revolut card and charged it with £10 so far

Good news...
- £29 extra income to allocate to categories with overspend (birthdays this month)
- £45 income to allocate to holiday spending
- monthly shop has gone well and we have only needed to buy the odd milk and a cheap ready meal for Friday night
- making own bread with bread maker
- bought very cheap seeds from Wilko and resisted heated propogator in favour of a DIY hot water bottle design using leftover kettle water after tea and coffee. Going to set this up tomorrow !

All going ok.

Jigglebiz

Oh dear ! Don’t know what happened to the formatting on my previous post. Have created a signature, let’s see if this works...

Jigglebiz

Quick update. Budget is going OK apart from a few slip ups, I have gone a little into the red on several categories (health and beauty, clothing) because I am definitely using buying stuff as a way to cope with an emotionally demanding job. I!!!8217;m waiting for news back about my interviews (all of the results will be released at the same time in early April). The outcome will have major implications for my finances:

- if successful, my income will rise to £1330 per month and payable every month of the year for 3 years. My outgoings will be higher as we will need to buy a second car and finance regular use with a potential commute of 2 hours daily. There may also be train travel costs or an overnight stay every week to cope with the long commute. In addition, we will have new childcare costs as I will increase my hours to full time from the 20 hours I currently work. However, after 3years of this I will be qualified in my field and on a starting salary of £35k+ which will increase quickly. My target is to earn £50k within 5 years of qualification by taking on a management position.

- if not successful, I will have more work to do to try and find a new role in my (very competitive) field. I am sick of my unsupported and draining position where I am treated very poorly and my annual income is around £12k - this is due to it being part time term time only. If I can!!!8217;t find a new role locally, a relocation is possible but would like to avoid it.

Can!!!8217;t wait for our holiday!

Drawingaline

Hi, just wondering how you were getting on?

Jigglebiz

Thanks for checking in drawingaline. I have been quiet lately as had a few things on- lots to be happy about !

Have had a lovely 2 week holiday, and aside from an unexpected car repair towards the end, stuck within planned spending. Really enjoyed being able to have the odd meal out and forget about budgeting for a while. It was a real treat.

My interviews were successful and I am now on course to start the next stage of training in my field. My income is going to increase slightly later this year but for more hours than I currently work. The payoff is that I will at least triple my income in a very secure profession in 3 years. I am delighted with this outcome!

I now need to find the money to buy a second car - unfortunately I will need to borrow more. After some thought I have decided to aim to put most of this on my 0% credit card - this is a new card with just under 3 years at this rate, then it reverts to a crazy 28%. I would set up a SO to pay off c.£150 per month to reduce this balance. This will be affordable once I have completed paying off my existing debt in the Summer. I wish I didn’t need to borrow again but unfortunately can’t see a way round this one.

Will be back with a more detailed post soon and payday category breakdowns!