taking responsibilty to get me where I want to be

efes_shareholder

good afternoon
Well tomorrow is payday , i'm slightly better off as i claimed the working from home tax allowance. Wasn't going to bother but it was straight forward and I figured it was better off in my pocket then theres.
this is my last month in my phone contract - there is nothing wrong with my S9 although i'd love to go back to iphone but I won't - I need to start shopping around for a data heavy sim only deal and possibly a bit of cashback from quidco in the deal too.
The nail will be put in the coffin of the very account this month - its too much of a lure with the ease of delivery and the BNPL so i'll be glad to have it finally clear and gone. I could do it now as i have enough left over from this months salary however I'm going to keep that aside as it will soon be time to start xmas shopping and i havent got seperate savings pots and want to preserve the money i have put away in my bonds.
i've accumulated 300 in my esavers which was intended to purchase more bonds however for now its going to be my back up xmas pot as I also have NM's birthday early December.
This evening I'm meeting my BF for dinner in a resturant whcih is still doing the eat out to help out , we don't do it often and i have some gifts for her from my daughters ladieswear employer( sadly they dont do my size) so I can hand those over.
Its not well planned though as she lives in the town I work in , this week I'm working from home and I've already been in and out of town this morning for my gym session and will drive back this evening to meet her ......................note to self for future reference.
NM has just told me that this weekend he is on grandad duty so we are taking his grandson out with us on saturday , its been a long time since I  have looked after 4 year olds - NM's intention is just to take him to the market with us and get him some lunch but I think we should put some "fun" in to the day too

efes_shareholder

So paydays here - have paid my daily expense credit card but  nothing else for now - I just want to look at my money and imagine what it feels like not to have to pay it out for historical purchases
lovely dinner last night but ended up going to bed much later then expected..............no gym visit this morning !
Must try harder to get back in focus with the visits but been really good with my eating choices so hopefully will continue to feel a shrink.

efes_shareholder

so the day out with the grandson is sorted , my neice works at our local zoo and has gifted me 3 free tickets and told me hopefully she will be working in the food courts - i've told her i'll increase her xmas present budget this year as the day out would have cost us over 70 pounds in entrance alone ,not that we would have gone there at that price.
this morning i've paid the balance of very gaining interest , I was going to wait but it hasn't passed the statement date yet and i concluded that if the intention is to pay it anyway I may aswell keep the small interest charged to as small as possible.

efes_shareholder

well after a fun filled day with the most energetic 3 year old ive ever met , i now have a head cold - blaming the rain although it did clear up.
Neice came up trumps with free tickets and loaded our food up at the food court so total spend for NM was 8pounds and 90 pence including a very small pressie from the gift shop.
Today is a step backwards , my warning light came on in the car and it transpires I have a problem with the throttle sensor/pedal and need to have this replaces , wont see much change from 250 pounds.
I have this set aside in my EF but I will try my best not to touch it however it does mean that potentially I won't be able to clear the very and make the usual c/card payment which i've currently got set to minimum but wanted to contribute more , Still the vehicle needs to be safe so it is what it is.
The money is there for me to dip too if I need too but I will try my best to mantain the funds I have.
Had a call from ex over weekend as his nut job GF wasnt about , he is dropping the price of the house , We do have a figure we both feel is reasonable and acheivable , although I would settle for less ,the more I get the more options I have so fingers crossed we get some movement soon.
Checked my Credit file today and my score is up 16 points , and I've cleared 10% of my debt in 3 months - I'm happy with that since the figures they have arent entirely up to date and the most important thing - ITS NOT RISING 

Kitten868

Glad you had somewhere to take the most energetic 3 year old. Its difficult when they don't stop. 
Sorry about the car. There's always something! 
As for the house as they say a bird in the hand x

efes_shareholder

i'm itching to see some movement on the house to be honest , i keep seeing properties that would suit me being listed and sold in days so at least i know that i will have to act quick when im in a position to do so.
im edging towards a bit of a fixer upper , Generally its a lower price tag and ultimately you always want to change things anyway.
recent listings would give me around 20k left in the budget to do bathroom/kitchen/decor and furniture which with a bit of smart shopping , i dont think is unacheivable.

Kitten868

That would be fantastic! £20k left over for a lovely new kitchen and bathroom. What are you looking at little house or a flat? Xxx

efes_shareholder

Kitten868 said:

That would be fantastic! £20k left over for a lovely new kitchen and bathroom. What are you looking at little house or a flat? Xxx

well if I stay in my local area where i have lived for 46 years I can afford a 2 bedroom flat but with that comes service charges and the like
If I move 7 miles or so I can stretch to a 2 bedroom house , its not my preferred area however it would mean I am also in the town where I work so could potentially keep my fuel costs down too.
All of my friends and most of my family live in my current town however its not too far and the lure of a garden and a set of stairs is very appealling although a flat with a balcony would be a compromise if i can't lure myself away 

Kitten868

Its hard isn't it. Social life vs home life. Trying to find the right balance. At least there's uber now. NM isn't in your town either is he? The good news is you only need to consider yourself. There's no one else's view to consider. 2 bedrooms and a garden means people can stay over though. But flat means you can always go to everything easily. You've got time to think it all through. But yea you'd think sooner rather than later on the house sale x

MidsHollie

Hey, 
just found your diary, you seem so organised and focused. I did have a little suggestion for you though, hope you don’t mind.....
Use your emergency fund for the car. Honour the effort you make each day with budgeting and paying off debt, and use the emergency fund for exactly the purpose that it is there for. You’ll also be able to use the other money for exactly what you intended to use that for - paying down debt. Then, with your next bit of income you can make the choice - top up EF, pay off debt or a combo of both. 

I find that I get into a mindset where I don’t want to use the money that I am putting aside for things. When I totalled things up recently I realised that I’d spent over £350 on things from my monthly budget money that I save in to an annual pot for. Effectively paying twice for those thing, which left my budget feeling tight. I paid myself back the £350 from the sinking fund, because that is what it’s there for. 

Do it, use the emergency fund!