taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

lucielle

It sounds like a good use of savings. 

L

efes_shareholder

I say things are well managed and then I complete an SOA and become aware of this black hole of money which I don't appear to be saving or spending  , to be fair its been a spendy few months with holidays and home improvements so its a tricky one to gauge

Below is the state of affairs as it stands , I do save , I save a minimum of £200 a month however often its around the £400 mark , I am prone to purchases that we don't need but were a bargain via sites like "hotukdeals" , have taken heed on this though and just look for items we need on a deal. 
Its a rough idea as I pay my car insurance and tax up front rather then monthly
Council tax is across 10 months which I like having the 2 clear months on 

Income	1955
NM contribution	750
Total	2705
Mortgage	770
council tax	173
Gas/Electric	100
Water	20
Life insurance	49
Buildings and contents	18
gym membership	32
mobile ( sim only)	5
car insurance ( paid annually)	40
car tax ( paid annually)	22
haircuts/nails/waxing	80
petrol	30
groceries	240
M&S card	100
next	20
Very	50
savings	200
work lunches	50
account fee	13
eating out/drinks	100
remainder	593
Mortgage	120000	4.17% 5 year fixed
Marks & Spencer c/card	800	0% Apr ends sep
Very	110	0% Apr expires July
Next	220	no idea of APR

efes_shareholder

My debts are very small and mostly interest free , I have £120 worth of gift cards that I am hoping I can pay towards the next balance.
Aside from the mortgage , they are all small and don't cause me any concern as i have enough in my EF to clear them at any time.

I do however need to look at where the money that is left over is going.........................potentially I have spends in areas i haven't even picked up on 

Good thing about doing the SOA is I am now aware of the black hole  , Ideally I'd like to start over paying the mortgage and get the term now so if I can answer this then this may manifest. 

Its potentially another expensive month but I am trying to keep it under control , I have 3 family birthdays this month ( just realised nothing in SOA for b'days and xmas) and also NM daughter is getting married

We then have another holiday first week of July , this is paid for and spending money is available in my savings pot , I do though need to add another suitcase to the booking as I am going to Turkey and I can't resist the shopping 

fantasyvsreality

I think you are doing really well, especially on the groceries front. I spent way too much on food yet I don't think I am particularly extravagant. I struggle to keep to your budget for one person!!! I like to eat good food and am guilty of going to Waitrose up the road, rather than travel further to Tesco   

efes_shareholder

fantasyvsreality said:

I think you are doing really well, especially on the groceries front. I spent way too much on food yet I don't think I am particularly extravagant. I struggle to keep to your budget for one person!!! I like to eat good food and am guilty of going to Waitrose up the road, rather than travel further to Tesco   

 To be fair we eat really well but the budget is more acheivable as I abuse the first shop codes from Morrisons and sainsburys. you need to spend around £70 on average to get £15 off but thats easy done if you stock up on things like toilet roll , tinned goods , olive oil.

efes_shareholder

so two weeks in to the month , im ok money wise - no unexpected surprises but lots of things need to take in to account. three birthdays in the family , NM daughter wedding and holiday at the end of the month.

did a morrisons shop this week , £17 off a £70 spend so shopping was around £53 , also have another hello fresh order on a 50% off but I won't be having any further boxes. I just like to use them when I am a little uninspired by what to cook but wont need another shop until late next week.
Did have my first aldi too good to go back which was pretty reasonable content for £3.30 included two boxes of eggs and a piece of sirlion.

have managed to get back in the routine of the gym but the scales is not reflecting my efforts , despite being relatively healthy on holiday and not over doing the alcohol and doing plenty of walking I have somehow gained 4lbs between weighing myself before i went and weighing myself when I got home , decided I would weigh myself last week and gained another 2lbs and today after at least 10k steps all week last week and 5 gym visits I have the addition of yet another 2lb on the scales
I don't understand it other then menopause but good job i am going gym i guess or the gains may be higher!!!!!

I don't snack , I eat min processed food and our main meals are chicken/fish intense along with veg and min carbs , i choose things like sweet potato , new potato or lentil dhals - seriously though this is consuming me more then money right now !!!!!!!! I just needed to vent 

efes_shareholder

oh in other news I have taken big strides to pack up vaping. Im finding it so hard so i have an allen carr book and two lots of patches on order and will try and apply the correct willpower

i read a news story that freaked me out a bit so it needs to be done

efes_shareholder

Today the nationwide share payment has hit , nice little bonus of £100 
Have put this straight in to the savings pot but i do intend to use it to clear the very payment at the end of the month.

Have managed to get a phone consultation as my stomach is still troublesome and its really starting to get me down !! not sure what they can do but I can't get a HRT repeat perscription either so hopefully kill both birds

Have cancelled the hello fresh subscription , I like the concept and I like the offers I don't however like Evri's deliveries
Got a part refund last week for a damaged box and last nights was late and just left on the doorstep. Its not very cost saving so I will stick to too good to go bags I think.

Didnt make the gym last night , have felt very tired and am a bit in the dumps after the recent weight gains - NM is encouraging me to stick with it , I will get back on the horse but its demoralising 

efes_shareholder

I've just set up a mortgage overpayment , its only £50 a month at the moment but I will look @ it again in September and see if I can increase this 

efes_shareholder

where did the weekend go?

Had a fairly relaxing one sorting the garden out , we were planning on being more productive but we ended up looking after NM grandsons friday night and saturday day time - we havent seen much of them since xmas when their mum caused drama so it was nice to get a bit of quality time with them.

we sorted out shoes and clothes yesterday , all distributed to the sally army boxes at the supermarket. Probably could have got a few quid if I had the patience or inclination to ebay it or put it on vinted , i have neither  6 bags of clothes and shoes removed from  the house and 2 large bags of unwanted bedding. 

I drank too much rum watching the football last night so today in the office feels like a struggle. I forgot I was also covering my supervisor