The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

South_coast said:

I like the bit about assuming tax bands will increase with inflation each year 🤣

Agreed 😂! I kind of knew the tax thresholds had been frozen but I didn't realise it had first come in under the previous government in 2021.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

A new café has opened up locally. Lovely cakes, friendly owner and staff, nice coffee, clean and really well presented. There have been a number which have tried to make a go of it over the last couple of years but then seem to close. We are supporting this one and so have decided to go there for our post park run breakfast on Saturday. I want to be more mindful with where I spend money as much as I can.

I’m focused on paying off the last credit card debt. The goal is to clear it by November as follows:

August	£8676		£1200 (payment)
Sep	£7476		£3220
Oct	£4256		£3250
Nov	£1006		£1006

We both get paid at the end of next week. One more week and then we are both off for 3 weeks, can’t wait.

DS has planned an interrail trip from London all the way to Istanbul for the end of August, he is very excited. Its really good value as the 7 day rail ticket is Euro 286 for a youth. He just qualifies as a youth as he is 27.

savingholmes

Looking good. Thanks for sharing.

glass_half_full

Dear Diary and all,

Today is last day at work and finally have 3 weeks off which is super lucky. We have a week at home and then off to Scotland where we have rented a cottage for a week in the western isles.

End of month money juggling has been done following being paid. Credit card payment of £900 off Zero % balance so reduced from £8600 down to £7700. Slightly less than planned but slowly moving in the right direction. My credit rating has recovered a bit. It dropped in around March as I had to borrow to cover helping DS with unpaid tax. Its back up to 992 with Experian. I don’t intend to borrow any money again (touch wood) but still I want it to be good anyway. Still on track to have paid off the credit card by the end of the year. Trying to stay focused and keep spending down where possible.

Stock market has surged a bit leading to the DC fund rising to £442K mostly seems to be to do with the FTSE100 as UK fund has grown. This is now 10%+ above where it was during the drop in February/March following the US presidential election. 

Having a money chat with DS on Monday hoping to help him with his finances.

savingholmes

Enjoy your holiday. 

Glad your money has recovered.