The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

OH is ill with a virus of some kind, so we have had to cancel most of our usual Saturday activities. Its no bad thing to have a clear day as it means being able to catch up on all those little jobs that need doing. There are a few house related matters that need attending to. The roof and the gutters of the house need attention. There have been a number of minor leaks in the roof that are to do with cracks in some guttering in the sides of a ‘dormer’ (I have been educating myself in roof vocabulary). Over the years these leaks have damaged the ceiling in two rooms, and recently happened during heavy rain just before we had some friends staying for the weekend which was a bit of a nightmare. I have previously done fixes in the loft which basically means taping cracks in the plastic guttering from the inside. Then recently I had someone out to clean and clear the gutters at the top of the house. He pointed out to me some problems and repairs that need to be done. So I need to get a roofer/gutter person out to effect some longer term repairs. I will then need to get someone out to repair the ceiling on one of the upstairs rooms since it is damaged. The main problem is finding someone reliable. I called a local firm which looked reputable, it has a website and good reviews, but I arranged a visit and then they didn’t turn up. I’m consulting FIL since he has lived here all his life and seems to know a reliable tradesman for every job. Then I need to trim the hedge on one side of the garden since it overhangs the fence and is getting heavier and I am concerned it might bring the fence down at some point. I need to replace the fence, this will be a job for the spring of next year.

I decided not to apply for the job I am currently doing on an interim basis. I got part way through filling in the form, I asked two people for references. If shortlisted you would be called for an interview and a presentation etc. I realised at some point that I didn’t want the job enough to go through all this, and so I didn’t submit the application. I know I have made the right decisions since I feel right about it now so that’s a relief, it would have been bad if I had felt that I had made the wrong call. I’m still going for the other role so lets see.

I better get on with some jobs now!

LadyWithAPlan

I have just finished reading through both your debt diary and this MFW one. Very inspiring and lots of great focus and thoughts. So great to see your successes.
I am sure you will make the right decision for you and your family's life.

I had discounted YNAB as I do have my own excels and run pots and use accting software for my business so not sure I want yet another software to have to reconcile for personal and saving  etc. However you are making me think again on YNAB  for tracking my overspends (I am saving for house deposit and nearly there so its easy to overspend more and save less as I have no real immediate visual  consequences which ynab might give.
Any thoughts on this appreciated.

Do you add your pension/sipp savings into YNAB as well as I am HR tax payer and self employed  so I am adding to mine though  at a far less rate than your 83%  

glass_half_full

Hi @LadyWithAPlan,

Thanks for your kind comment re. my diary.

Regarding YNAB, I have found it useful in the following ways.

For tracking spending versus budget.

I found this particularly useful in the early days of debt busting where income was not a great deal above outgoings and so every penny counted. In those days, I tracked every single spend every day so that I knew exactly where my money was going. I still do that to this day, it takes 5-10 minutes each day to record the transactions from the banking app into YNAB. We have a joint account so pretty much all transactions go through the current account these days. I know that there is a feature where you can link YNAB to your bank, but I was never comfortable with giving that access. I also think that there is something good about doing it yourself every day. I know that isn’t for everyone, but I have found it essential. Now it helps me to set more aggressive savings targets for my pension and achieve them.

For forecasting the next 6 months

I like the way that YNAB allows me to put costs into the future when I will incur them, eg holidays, car expenses etc. This means that I can see that income will exceed outgoings over the longer term. It used to be six months in the future but I just had a look and it seems that there is no limit now.

I guess either of these functions is possible with spreadsheets, but I don’t want to build a spreadsheet and if someone else has already figured it out in an app then that works for me.

I don’t track my pension contributions on YNAB since it is quite simple as it is the same amount going in each month.

There is a cost to YNAB, I pay it annually as it is cheaper. I guess the acid test is that I am still using it after starting out with it in 2018.

You seem to be really organised and on it with the spreadsheets etc so not sure if it would add value to you or whether you want as you say yet another piece of software to have to deal with. Perhaps as I don’t really deal with this kind of thing in my day job it fills a gap for me in my skills etc.

Hope this helps!

LadyWithAPlan

Thanks for the detailed feedback, much appreciated.

So I think  you have persuaded me
Once I have done my 22/23 tax returns I will have a full 2024 go at it as I am doing the 10 mins a day anyway when I spend + bank pot movement + spreadsheet/category tracking 
 I will do a slimmed down budget section so leave some bank accts out of it etc 

I want to have a years full accurate spending via category  as so many on here eg @SuperSecretSquirrel as well as yourself have said it helps so much in overall goals.

savingholmes

Hope your DH is recovering.

Sounds like you need to get those tradesman in asap. I always ring a few people to quote - and that way if some don't turn up all is not lost.

Your example is also motivating me to put more into pension in the new year.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Pension has crept up to £315K thanks to a November saving of £4k. It goes out of the November payroll but only appears in early December. Performance of funds is still pretty static.

I have been called for interview for the more strategic job. There will be a panel of 5 people. I haven’t had a panel interview for several years. I have prepared for it so let’s see what happens. It is for an initial period of 2 years so it could well be the last job I interview for since I plan to finish in less than that time! It comes with a bit more money. If I get it, it will at least make the next year or so interesting if nothing else. If I don't get it then no worries, it wasn't meant to be.

We have done our first round of Christmas shopping and just a bit more to go. It looks like DS and his GF will be going to her mum on Christmas Day and we will see them in the evening which will be nice.

savingholmes

That sounds a good balance for Xmas Day - potentially more relaxing if weird the first time in terms of getting used to DS not being there (if it is a first).

Congrats and all the best on the interview. Sounds like a positive approach.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

So I got the job. I must have done enough at the panel interview to convince them that I could do it. I needed to do quite a lot of preparation and give a presentation without slides. My coach was an incredible help to me in this period. She really believes in me more than I believe in myself. It was quite interesting doing the research for it and I’m quite looking forward doing it in the New Year. I’m pleased, but of course now I have to deliver.

At the same time, I will be glad when I get to the end of next week and I can break for a couple of weeks as it has been quite hectic recently.

Pension fund has reached £319K. The stock market seemed to surge this week when the US Fed left the interest rate unchanged but then it fell back afterwards. I was really pleased when the total passed £300K in September so for it to be £319K just 3 months later is really good. At this rate I think that the £400K target could be achievable in 15-20 months.

DS and his GF are now coming on Boxing Day and will stay over which will be nice.

savingholmes

Huge congratulations 🎉🎉🎉 on the job. Great news on your pension too. So pleased for you over your 🎄🎁 plans. Things are looking up.

South_coast

Ooh, well done you! I bet the time will fly by now with a new challenge to get stuck into