taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

enthusiasticsaver

Sorry about the cat. Heartbreaking to lose a much loved pet. Still at least she had a good life and 18 is really good for a cat.

Good news about the nationwide bt. £38 a month is a great saving. Will you clear the card within the deal period?

efes_shareholder

I am so upset about the cat and she will always be missed - she really was such a charachter and my kids adored her - I like to think cats don't reach 18 without being showered with love
We lost her companion male cat about three years ago and he was a similar age.

I have divided the balance by the amount of months and I should be able to clear the card in the time span - that being said as we know life also happens and there will be some months when payments maybe smaller or larger than I intended

However when I started trying to clear the decks these options weren't available to me so its a positive that I am now able to access the 0% transfer deals - Should there any balance remaining at the end of the 18 months hopefully I will be able to do another shift about to avoid interest charges , My aim is though to get rid of it

I am going to try and put together a new and more accurate budget in the next few days as I have much more idea where my spends are going now I have been keeping an eye on them more tightly

efes_shareholder

How hot !

Today started trying in vain to source a fan , my mum is really struggling with the heat
It seems its like locating rocking horse poop however I have managed to get one from a works supplier FOC which is always a plus

I have heard the JBL personal air conditioning units are very good and I think this may be a worthwhile investment for the mothership , she is very heavy handed though and nothing seems to last as long as it is supposed too !

Kids are over for dinner tonight , I am sure the sadly departed moggy and her antics will be the topic of conversation - I shall cook this evening rather then go to a weatherspoons , I need to bear in mind with budget that I spend more on entertainment when they are home from university as I do like to do bits and pieces with them

5 days until payday and my bank account is down to the bare bones , Having looked back every month on my bank account it appears there has never been a month for over 5 years ! when come the 25th of the month the overdraft facility hadn't been enabled.

If I can get to payday and receive a full wage without any repaying myself then its onwards and upwards and maybe just maybe I am getting a handle on this budgeting malarky

I was invited to a weekender in September and as tempted as I was I have said no as I have already got other obligations on the calender and have told myself this year I would not go ! I have said this for the last 4 years and always ended up jumping on to the plans so I am proud of myself for sticking to it this time and also acknowledging that I already have commitments and need to cut my cloth accordingly

efes_shareholder

Currently fuelled by caffeine - I can't remember the last time I had such a poor nights sleep. I am loving our BST this year but I do wish the humidity would let up a bit at night.
Kids came for dinner last night , a non fussy event of Chicken , salad and chips , we caught up on news and plan to do something cheap on Sunday but we are at a loss right now as to what that can be
They are in the midst of having their bedrooms at the house "adulted" which is something their dad has neglected , Its been me that has taken care of new bedding and any requirements for them personally over the years , sending a first large shop to their digs when they start uni , buying new coats and shoes when they need them and taking them out for days , whether to do something or visit family friends aswell as any holidays - My daughter relayed to me that their dads girlfriend had said to them whilst shopping that she thought I should contribute half the cost of their new beds !!!!
I may be being unreasonable but this got my goat - For one , what has it got to do with her !
He will happily pay over 2k on pushbikes and pay for 2 holidays a year with the GF but will make his objection at paying out for anything they need quite vocal !!
Then I start to feel guilty that maybe I should be covering some of the cost however when I compare what we contribute to them on a yearly basis I am way ahead of the stakes
He will not ask me and I am sure the GF mentioned it to my daughter hoping she would feel the same and feed this back to me - backfired slightly as my daughter said dont give him anything as its not like it happens often !! I kitted out an entire house when I left and I don't recall any financial assistance from him !

Balance from the nationwide was yesterday transferred over to Barclaycard so that is all historic credit card debt now on 0% - Something I didn't think possible a few months back and it is nice to know that everything I pay is now taking care of the actual debt rather then being swallowed by interest.
There was a transfer fee however this equated to around a month and half interest so over the course of the 18 months it more then pays for itself.

I have a quandry regarding my savings currently housed in my esavers account via Nationwide - I recieved the statement for this yesterday and the interest rate on the account is a paltry 0.10% , this seems absurd considering that Nationwide are currently offering interest of 5% in the flexdirect account which I hold

My question - Do I transfer my savings pot to my standard account ?

It feels financially that this is the correct route to take however obviously it will mean the eye has to be much more on the ball and I won't be able to segregate cash

I guess I could transfer my salary in to the esavers at the start of the month and feed my outgoings across so in theory reverse the nature of both accounts in order to have clear vision on funds available and still have some segregation - Could this work ?

efes_shareholder

Just checked my EE bill for July and due to me swapping to a SIM only deal its a grand total of £6.19 for this month

Great news as previously its been around £50 a month and going forward will be £22 but nice to have a cheap month

Going to pay the difference between the £6.00 and the £22 i had budgeted for off the last of the very balance as I'm keen to get rid of this and chipping away at it slowly

Also just seen Virgin have reduced the channels on their subscription , most are typically the ones my mum watches so I am going to chance my arm and see if I can get a credit for the loss of services

NelliePie

Well done with the phone bill - if you keep finding little wins like this they'll soon add up and you'll be debt free in no time!

efes_shareholder

Thanks Nellie Pie - Out of little acorns grow mighty oaks

Also , the more I think about it the more I am going to reverse the way my bank account currently operates
When I get paid I am going to put my savings in the current account so that they earn the monthly 5% and my salary in to the linked esavers which is 0.10%
I am then going to feed the current account from my salary as direct debits and spends are debited , I will replenish from the esavers mantaining my savings balance

efes_shareholder

1 day until pay day !!!

Not feeling particulary fantastic today - Have a head ache and feel like I could be sick at any moment but I am at work and I am soldiering on - part of me would like to be sick so I can ask to go home and go back to bed !!!!

As expected my account has dipped slightly in to the overdraft - I'm not yet in it but there are some pending transactions and I am hoping they won't get authorised until pay day tomorrow

Mentally for me it would be a great acheivement not to dip in to it at all however if I am honest then this month it is my own fault as I would have coasted the month had I not booked my holiday - That said , the holiday is now paid for !

I had a relatively quiet weekend and didnt feel great then either ! Did a costco and tesco visit for my mum and then ended up going back to bed feeling a little bit poorly
Made myself get up and go to my friends birthday celebration - Felt quite sorry for her as she was hosting a party and had catered and gone to a lot of effort but had probably only a dozen guests tops
This things are either a roaring success or a tragic failure

Yesterday I took my younger two out to eat ( hence the pending transaction) - I love doing this and usually we use a taste card and look for offers but they fancied harvester which made a nice change

We have decided that instead of buying lots of presents which they forget about this christmas I am going to treat them to a short break in 2019.
They have acquired a taste for city breaks and if you are savvy you can get some amazing deals - Easyjet launch fares in september/october so I will be on the look out then
The only problem will be deciding where , and finding somewhere that none of us have already been too ..............this rules out Prague, Budapest , Lisbon , Madrid , Barcelona , Berlin , Amsterdam , Paris , Brussels , Dublin and Athens
Dubrovnik for a weekend was a front runner as they are massive games of thrones fans however I've heard its around 6 Euro for a glass of wine !!!
All the italian cities will go down well and also in the running Tallin and Krakow - I do love researching trips so i'll be checking out airbnb and trivago ready to pounce when flights are available
I think the final destination will come down to the best deal but the kids have agreed they would rather have the memories and experience of a trip away then trainers and bath sets !!

efes_shareholder

Its payday !

Have allocated my debt payments and made a change to how I use my account - Currently my EF is in my Esavers and my salary is in my Flex account , Nationwide have a special at the moment where balances in your flex earn 5% APR as long as you are paying in £1000 a month.
The esavers in comparison pays a paltry 0.10%

So I have moved my savings in to the flex along with the majority of my salary - I do however need to have some segregation to keep a handle on things so I have allocated myself a "spends" budget which is basically any NON essential , so my sunbeds , nights out , fun with kids etc and I have put this back in to the esavers

As I spend and it is debited from the flex I will move the amount back in to the account from my esavers - I am hoping this will also give some clarity and a clearer vision of excatly what amount I am going through on "treats"

It also means I make use of the higher interest to the best I can.

There is no c/card payment due for my large balance on barclaycard this month however I do have £500 on Cap one which is only a 6 month period - I have decided I am going to focus on this one firstly and get it clear and then move on to the barclaycard which has 18 months.
my Very BNPL is also due for payment in Dec ( last years xmas presents) , This will be gone so the payments made her can also be thrown at the Barclaycard.

As I clear these accounts there will be more available for the barclaycard

We are also due a wage review at work and usually get an annual increase in our salary in August - I was in with my boss yesterday and caught sight of an email ( as you do ) from HR saying that this year the increase would be 2% , this should give me around another £50.00 in my salary so again this will be allocated to a payment and I will pretend I havent had it !!

efes_shareholder

Good morning

Last night I took to the kids to see a film using the meerkat 2 for 1. We went to the new Odeon Luxe and my word what an experience
I can take or leave the cinema but the reclining leather chairs and side tables are something else and I am newly converted , I jokingly asked the kids if we could go in our PJ's but I was partly serious - It was like being on your sofa.
Alot of the seats have been removed so there is much more personal space - Give it a go Guys , It is amazing


In other news most of my payments have been sent however a little surprise with the virgin bill which is usually around £50. This month its reached £75 ! I should have checked the bill before it was debited , When I have looked this morning it seems that whilst my mums computer has been out of service she has gone back to the old school ways of getting numbers from directory enquiries , My word that service is expensive £7.43 for 30 seconds
Its done now and I am sure she will get the get difference back to me and did not realise that old school services were not charged at new school prices , I always thought that you had to be advised of the cost of the call if it wasn't a standard rate but knowing my mum she probably wasn't paying attention.
I will be contacting virgin today seeking a bill reduction as they have lost UKTV and I will be doing that this weekend

CONFESSION TIME - I have in recent weeks slipped back to my smoking ways , annoyed and actually ashamed of myself. If I have any explaination then its purely that my willpower was not strong enough and I lost focus when tempted by the duty free prices on my recent travels
Those duty free supplies have now gone and the reality of full price nicotine purchases is staring me in the face so I have set myself a new smoke free day
This will be Monday 6th August
I have to do this for the benefit of my finances and not to mention my health , the toughest part is my mum is a chain smoker but as this time I have decided as I did in 2003 when I abstained for 10 years that I will not purchase another packet , whether it be with my money or someone elses she may have to follow suit as she doesn't like walking to the shop and no longer has a car !!!
My sister is also going to give up with me

Oh my gosh , what a long post for a wednesday xx