Getting it together...one £ at a time!

Homegrown0

doingitanyway wrote: »

One payment left for the loan. Go you! :j
Funny you mention green tea as I'm just getting into it. Apparently green tea is loaded with antioxidants?

Yes, i believe so! I like to put some honey and lemon in mine occasionally. I also love peppermint tea, which is good for digestion. Trying to cut down on the coffee!

monz wrote: »

omg so much to look forward to !!!!

Hoping your wages surprises you and is more than expected

Also loan nearly begone! Are you going to put that money to CC?xx

I hope so too, Monz. Just don't know what will happen tax-wise so trying not to fix on an expected number in case it's lower. In any case, a rise is a rise so i'll be grateful no matter how it pans out!

I'm hoping to put the money to the CC for a couple of months, but we will be financing a large renovation early next year so funds will be redirected there. Once we know the financial workings for that, i'll likely up our CC payments to get rid of them quicker. And still try to save at the same time. It's a lot of unknowns and non-specifics which I find hard, but I'm looking forward to it all being final numbers set in stone.

teafor2 wrote: »

Morning HG Wow, those figures and payments left numbers are looking so good. What a cracking way to start a new year and a new decade :T

It's a very busy time for parents with school children. Sometimes it can feel like we just lurch from one thing to another, ticking events off the list so we can move on to the next one, so I hope you're managing to enjoy everything that's going on and as you say don't become too overwhelmed with it all.

Hope that bottom line on your payslip brings a big smile to your face. xx

Thanks Tea - yes, I'm delighted with progress so far. We've managed to pay down a lot, then put a small chunk back on because of bathroom-gate, but we'll be continuing to plough it down as much as possible.

I'm teetering on the edge of overwhelm right now, but it'll only be manic until Friday and then we can go at our own pace. I'm most of the way through the craziness now, just a few days to go. I'm exhausted just thinking about what we need to do in the next couple of days...:eek:

Homegrown0

Deleted_User wrote: »

Exciting that the loan is almost gone :j

Thanks Purplemum! It's great to see it so close

Homegrown0

Morning all - hope all is well? I've had a tension headache for the last few days - need everything to calm down in the hope that the headache disappears. I know it's a tension headache because I went to yoga yesterday and when i left, it had shifted, but returned later in the afternoon. Hmm... casualty of this time of year i think!

I've got a full to-do list today, all squeezed into a short space of time because my son finishes school early today because it's the last day before the holidays. Determined to get it all done so i can put the laptop away and just chill with the kids this weekend. Hoping for a movie night in pyjamas on Sunday and not a lot else!

All of the kids' Christmas gifts are now wrapped and hidden - just family gifts to go which i might get done tonight while my husband is at his work night out.

No change financially at the moment - it's just a lull between payday when all payments have been made for the month and just waiting on pay day. We don't get paid early before Christmas (which is a saving grace really) so still 10 days until pay day. But it means between Dec and Jan wage is a 31 day month, instead of 42 days like Monz just mentioned on her diary!

*Still itching to see my payslip*


Last year, we got an excellent Christmas bonus - without naming numbers, it paid for the travel and accommodation for two weeks abroad for the four of us. However, the company hasn't done so well this year so wasn't really expecting a bonus because of this. Just been informed that i'll have a bonus of a few hundred pounds in my wages at the end of this month. Well, that's before tax so likely be £200-something after tax. Nothing compared to last year, but i'm of the attitude that a bonus is a bonus so i'm happy to have something for sure.

Really need to think about upping my credit union savings - the Christmas savings that I got through this year covered about half of my spends, which is just not cutting it because the rest then needs to come from Nov/Dec spends and is leaving us short (thankfully we had some spare stashed away which means we're not dipping into credit). But i want to be more sure that it's covered next year so will have a rethink on that and have it start from January so that the increase kicks in sooner rather than later.

I'm looking forward to seeing what my take home pay should look like so that I can reflect that in my budget spreadsheet for the year ahead. I've made some tweaks to the budget already based on my predictions, allowing us a little extra per month in the spending account, ploughing the rest into the savings account (for the first few months) to build up a nice pot, then looking at where to hammer some more into the credit card balances. I do love overhauling the spreadsheet. It's quite therapeutic. But there's no point in doing it now until i see what I actually have available.

Although now i think about it, this month's payslip won't be an accurate month as it'll have my bonus in it. Ah well, i'll just need to do my best with the figures i have.

monz

Positive thinking a bonus is definitely a bonus ! Oh so lucky 31 days!!!

Have a brilliant Christmas and New Year xxx

Homegrown0

Ah thanks Monz - same to you and your boy.

I'll see you in the New Year for new goals/ challenges/ money saving goodness

teafor2

Hi HG Hope I've caught you before you switch the laptop off - I wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas just in case you don't come on here again before the BIG DAY!

A bonus is indeed a bonus and to get one that paid for a family holiday is fantastic. :T

Enjoy the run up to Christmas. Hope things calm down a little bit for you over the next few days. xx

doingitanyway

Bravo on the Christmas bonus. Well deserved.

Happy Christmas and looking forward to reading about your successes in the next decade!

Homegrown0

Thanks for the lovely Christmas wishes. We did indeed have a fantastic Christmas - the kids got far too much as expected, we overindulged quite a lot on both food and drink and we're now looking forward to relaxing with the kids for another week and getting back onto the band wagon.

I've been feeling terrible lately - sluggish, drained etc. And I know a lot is down to work stress, but it's mostly down to a terrible diet. My meals are mostly ok but snacking is beyond a joke. Particularly in front of the TV in the evenings. I think i need to rethink some habits to reform my ways and kick my health into touch. It's the only way i can see me doing all the things i need to do in 2020!

I just booked our summer holiday today which I'm really excited for. Same trip as we did last year, the kids are super excited.

And just for you DIA: 181 days until holiday

Must work on my 2020 budget and food planning, but that's not for tonight. Now, i'm going to crack open some cheese and crackers and watch the Call the Midwife Christmas Special!

Happy New Year when it comes!

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Homegrown0 wrote: »

I've been feeling terrible lately - sluggish, drained etc. And I know a lot is down to work stress, but it's mostly down to a terrible diet. My meals are mostly ok but snacking is beyond a joke. Particularly in front of the TV in the evenings. I think i need to rethink some habits to reform my ways and kick my health into touch. It's the only way i can see me doing all the things i need to do in 2020!

I could have written that myself... I eat really well during the day, but from 8pm it goes to pot, mindless snacking with a glass of wine. It's my way of unwinding, but not the most healthy way of doing so!

doingitanyway

Homegrown0 wrote: »

And just for you DIA: 181 days until holiday

I laugh at your countdowns but you have helped me see the value of having good things to look forward to.

Re eating rubbish. One thing that worked for me was breaking the connection between TV and snacks altogether (although you may not wish to do that) so I changed to only ever having tea when I watched TV. I did start getting very nice tea to make up for it. Might be worth a try?