I am being upgraded from Mum to Nan - I need a plan!

beanielou

Good news on the debt & the benefit package 

Mum2Nan

It's almost been borderline hurricane weather here.  Several times I have been on my balcony to sort my pots out. and we had flash flooding this morning.

I have been a busy bee today.  Getting organised for work but also working on my budget for next year.  Where to start?  It's clearly a work in progress with the cost of living.  As I hadn't bothered to update my debt figures for the past couple of months, I am now in advance of tomorrow.

I am so thankful for keeping my spending diary this year.  I am definitely taking @KxMx advice and going to be upping my cats' pot from January.  It's demoralising keep going over budget and trying to incorporate it elsewhere.  My spending diary for the past 10 months (including litter and booster injections) tells me I need to up this to £70 a month.

I had a decent renewal figure for my car insurance but thought I would shop around anyway and have managed to get it for another £70 cheaper with warts and all so I think I will be changing again and get £35 cash back as well.  I took Martin Lewis advice about not locking into a fixed rate for gas & electricity as I have just come out of my fixed rate so am covered by the cap.

On a personal note, I am in serious danger of falling for one of the contractors who works for my client.  He is 3 years older than me, single and just lovely.  I look forward to our chats via Teams.  I am keeping it professional though as I am quite shy really.  Watch this space...

Mum2Nan

It's been a while since I last posted but it's been a very busy time.

2021 finished fairly well for me despite a bit of a bumpy ride.  

As our company had done very well over the past two years, all staff at all levels were awarded a bonus.  After usual payroll deductions it ended up at just under £1500.  This came in particularly handy as I overspent in December.  My car needed some work doing to it and had nowhere near enough in my car pot as I had only recently taxed, insured, serviced and MOT’d it so an unexpected expense of £495 but as some of it was brake-related I thought it best to just get it sorted.   This has gone on my 0% Halifax CC card for now.

I bought a freezer which is in addition to my fridge freezer as I got fed up with playing tetrus in the drawers.  It also means I am spending less in the grocery area as I am bulk buying negating the need for a top-up shop.

I have revised a couple of my pots for this year based on my spending diary last year, the cats’ pot being one of them.  I spent just shy of £1100 on them so have made it more realistic to avoid the disappointment of having to make up the money from somewhere else or dip into my emergency fund.

I have my final dental bills next month estimated at around £2900.  I had been sucking up some of the smaller costs, but I had to put the last appointment on the CC as well as the two upcoming payments once the final work has been undertaken.

I am back to work tomorrow after the Christmas break but it’s back to WfH so am hoping I can save a bit on train fares as I have budgeted an average monthly amount which I will adjust depending on when I am next back at the office.

Plans for this year…  I am hoping I will finally be debt free by the end of this year.  It’s doable but only if I keep focussed and keep to my budget every month.  I must admit I am getting a bit tired of it all as it seems like it’s been a long journey, but life has got in the way, and I have taken the scenic route at times.

Existing debt now at £2,600
New debt is currently £1460
Emergency fund is £4400

beanielou

If your EM is £4400 then technically you are debt neutrual

Baileys_Babe

beanielou said:

If your EM is £4400 then technically you are debt neutrual

I also was going to point out you are debt neutral and @beanielou beat me to it 😃
This is a brilliant start to 2022, hopefully, savings on commuting, fewer top-up shops and a more realistic pets budget will see the back of the debt in no time.

Keep posting so we can keep cheering.

Mum2Nan

Debt neutral but only for about a month!! 😊 I am still in a much better position than this time last year for sure.

Whilst it’s tedious, keeping a spending diary is an eye opener and well worth the time and effort.  Last year I had 199 NSDs.  I had a battle with myself on NYE, do I resist the urge to buy a bottle of wine or make it a nice round 200, the wine won.  Last January I had 15 so I am aiming to beat that this month.  I have got off to a good start as already have 4 under my belt.

I have upped my entertainment pot.  I had to split my grocery budget as I was buying a lot more wine than usual and it was inflating and distorting my food spends, so any wine now comes out of my entertainment pot as it did originally.  I am taking part in dry January again 😊 so hoping to roll this over to next month as have nothing much planned which I am grateful for as had an exceptionally busy December.

It feels mind blowing that I spent nearly £1100 on Laurel & Hardy last year.  This figure does include their annual boosters though.  I should have tweaked this well before now, but I saw it as a challenge each month to keep it down, but it was actually causing me a lot of anxiety as I have done everything I can to reduce this given they are fussy eaters.  I take advantage of all offers and bulk buy cat litter for the money off minimum spend vouchers and free delivery charges.  I was lucky a few weeks back as their cat food was one of my Nectar prices with £1 off.  I was so relieved I was using scan and go so I could bag them up discreetly as I bought 10 boxes.

My contents insurance is due for renewal next week so will shop around using Quidco to see if I can get a better deal.

Eon have requested my meter readings which I will sort out over the weekend.  I am nervous about how much my bill will be as it’s the first one since my fixed rate expired.  I have no idea if I have allocated enough each month to take into account rising prices so will monitor.  Once the price cap has been updated again in April, I will probably have to rejig my budget again.

Short terms plans are:

·     Update my diary more frequently to stay accountable

·     Stay off the booze.  This will save me both lbs and £s

·     Complete my dental treatment by the end of next month so I know what the final bill is.  Hopefully, my dental practice will not push any further appointments back. 

I am on target to pay off the remainder of my MBNA card by May / June, but this will be very much dependent on the additional utility costs.  The 0% doesn’t expire until October so there is wiggle room to reduce the monthly payments if need be but if I want to be debt free by the end of the year then I need to reach this target so I can snowball this to my Halifax CC.  This deal ends in February 2023.

I was very lucky in that I received money (parents) and some vouchers (work bosses) for Christmas.  I added the money to my EF and will use the vouchers only when I need to.  I have also accumulated another lot of Nectar points so will use these to keep my shopping bills down for the next couple of months. 

My DGS is the love of my life. 

Mum2Nan

I’m not sure why my signature has gone aloof since my last update so will update that shortly.

I have not done very well with keeping up with my diary but January was a very busy month again.  Lots of good news to report too.

I am going to be a Nan again.  My DGS has had her 12-week scan, and all is good so far.  I had no idea when I last posted.  Little one is due in June.  I am so thrilled for DGS and SIL after the ectopic pregnancy last year.

Shock, horror my BIL has secured a regular full-time job!  I could not believe it when my sister told me and to be fair I don’t think she believed it either but he has and has already started.  This is such a big relief, no doubt not just for my brother and I but also our parents.  It couldn’t have come at a better time with the cost of living increases but he seems to enjoy it so am hoping he will get used to the salary and will want to carry on with it.  He has even got off his butt and done a few jobs around the house so I am hoping my new improved BIL is here to stay. 

I beat last January’s NSDs by 5 so made it to 20. I had 20 for February last year but I don’t think I will beat that this year as I have only had 2 so far.  I had a problem with my shower which ended up being replaced which cost me nearly £375 including fitting but I took this out of my emergency fund rather than put it on my 0% credit card.  For once I used my emergency fund for just that rather than keep dipping into it to try and balance my budget which seems to be working so much better now I have made it much more reflective of day to day life.  I guess this will always be a work-in-progress.

I also spent another £300 on legal bills writing a will.  This was my new year’s resolution as I had been putting it off.  I am just waiting for the final document to come through and then it will be lodged in their safe until needed which I hope won’t be anytime soon! 

I had the last of my dental treatment for this particular work last week and it’s come in at £200 less than I budgeted for but the final work has been pushed back towards the end of March so for the second month in a row, I am debt neutral, just.

I am back to the office 2 days a week which is great.  To save money, I am going to try and book any leave to coincide with those days but I am at the behest of childcare so shall wait and see on that one.

I’ve got an optician’s appointment next week.  I don’t have to worry about the cost as I am reimbursed for this expense.  I have noticed a deterioration in my eyesight, especially driving at night so I think I will have to pay out there. 

It’s taken me a long time to get to this point.  A real working, proper budget is the only way to go, for me at least.  The cats’ pot has been a defining point I think.

Existing debt £2100 (snowballing)

New debt £1750

Emergency fund £4250

beanielou

All sounding good 

Mum2Nan

I am off work at the moment.  I have been poorly for almost 3 weeks and whilst I am improving, it's taking a while to fully recover.  I feel quite stressed as there is no-one to cover my workload so have tried to log on and do as much as I am able to just to keep the wolf from the door.  It comes to something when you can't even be ill in peace!  As a consequence of this, I have barely spent any money other than work expenses. 

I had lots of small spending days popping to the local shop and chemist for tablets, milk, cat food and other items so didn't beat last year's NSDs for February of 20.  With hindsight I could have done an online shop but didn't realise I would be ill for quite so long and at the time didn't think I would spend the minimum £40 required.   Am aiming to improve this month.

I can hardly believe I am down to under £2K of my old debt.  Such a nuisance about my dental work otherwise I would definitely have paid this off within the next 3 or 4 months. 

Mum2Nan

I am not doing very well NSD wise this month.  I have been paying daily my commuting costs so it's been difficult to achieve many.

I have had my council tax bill and my new water charges so have adjusted my budget as I always add on 5% to cover any increases.  Fortunately my water payment is staying the same even with the increase as I have a small credit on this account and now I am back to the office 2 days a week my usage should drop a little.  As my flat is in band D I shall qualify for the £150 rebate which is a blessing and will be added to my emergency fund.

I am still waiting for my gas and electric bill / DD to be amended which I guess will happen soon.  I have doubled both of these in my budget so hoping I will win there.  Thankfully, Spring is on it's way so lighter usage months are coming.

I have been a bit lax with food shopping in that I haven't been to Aldi or Lidl recently so my next shop will be from one of those to try and keep costs down. The rise in cost of cat food has been particularly noticable but I can't get their food from there but did stock up a while back.

Mother's day next week but we are having a family meal out and the deposit has already been paid.  Then I have 3 birthdays next month but have money in my pot for these, just.  I will be increasing the last few months funding for this as I struggle for the first quarter of the year as have 2 birithdays in January as well.  By doing that I am hoping to take the pressure off next year.

I am also going to visit a friend for a few drinks in a couple of weeks so will need to pay for a bottle of wine and taxi home but this will come out of my entertainment pot.  Been good with being alcohol free lately. 

My BIL is still working.  Am really hoping he keeps it up but all looking good so far.  He has now had his first pay so hoping he gets used to having this additional money.  The timing couldn't be more perfect.

Off to make a brew.  I fancy putting on my electric blanket and having an early night but it's a bit too early and if I fall asleep, I shall be awake far too early so going to force myself to stay up for at least another couple of hours.  I still don't feel my energy levels are back to what they were before I was ill.