*sigh* this may take a while

ohdearhowdidthathappen

We're doing ok financially, no debt and we've been managing to save for holidays, house projects etc 
but we're still not saving for the longer term and it's something we need to work on.  
DH isn't overly fussed, but is fine to work to a budget if I set it up.  
Our finances have changed quite a bit over the last year or so (some good, some bad), but I need to go through them again and work out what should be 'free' and then do some research into what is best to do with it - and stick to it!!
Bit of homework for me  

savingholmes

Sounds a good call on the tickets. Good luck with re-doing the budget. Have you thought any more about moving elsewhere or is that now on the backburner again?

EssexHebridean

I’ve been thinking for a while that I really must do the SOA calculator again- it’s something I like to do from time to time to just check on what “should” be happening so I can see how close we can get. Ours will never be an exact science as things like commuting costs vary - particularly at the moment when MrEH’s work is split between office days and WFH days. Maybe a task for the week ahead. 

There is no question, knowing you have a cushion of long term savings is definitely reassuring. I think the trick is seeing that pot as “untouchable” though so you’re not tempted to dip in. 

savingholmes

EssexHebridean said:

There is no question, knowing you have a cushion of long term savings is definitely reassuring. I think the trick is seeing that pot as “untouchable” though so you’re not tempted to dip in. 

The untouchable bit is what I haven't yet mastered. I've just included mine in my signature in the hope it raises my accountability.

Drawingaline

ohdearhowdidthathappen said:

I decided to resell the tickets....  there were also overnight strikes on the jubilee and overground lines.  Basically meaning only the Metropolitan line would be running from Wembley that evening.... the logistics and risk of waiting hours for a tube meant I wasn't looking forward to the evening anymore.  I'll try and get tickets for another evening and failing that, will have to wait for another tour 

My girl was at Wembley stadium last night and her friend made her parents drive in to collect them becof the jubilee line strikes. I wasn't best pleased as I would have rather they ended up stranded at Waterloo than wander the streets around Wembley waiting to be picked up. 

They made it back in the end, but she said it was very stressful.

I am still planning on going our next Fri night, I have wanted to see Green Day since about 1995, and have had the tickets nearly three years. Getting there should be OK, if we get stranded I know there will be two trains an hour after half seven on the sat according to our local train service. Still super frustrating though.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

savingholmes said:

Sounds a good call on the tickets. Good luck with re-doing the budget. Have you thought any more about moving elsewhere or is that now on the backburner again?

I always find the 'should' budget quite easy, we have one account that everything goes in and out of and our fixed costs don't change much.  But we seem incapable of sticking to it, so there's never any left over!  I think if we take the savings out as soon as we get paid, treat them like another bill, we should behave ourselves.  

On my basic salary we 'should' have £1000 spare plus any extra shifts.  But we don't, so I need to go back to the good old days of seeing where the leaks are.  Extra shifts are additional money.  I'm going to spend this week, going over the last 2-3 months worth of banking.  We both get paid next Thursday/Friday, so that'll be the perfect time to start being stricter.

We're definitely still interested in moving, we're going on holiday to one of the potential areas in August and DH and I are trying to rope a friendly grandparent to babysit for a weekend so we can suss out another in September.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

EssexHebridean said:

I’ve been thinking for a while that I really must do the SOA calculator again- it’s something I like to do from time to time to just check on what “should” be happening so I can see how close we can get. Ours will never be an exact science as things like commuting costs vary - particularly at the moment when MrEH’s work is split between office days and WFH days. Maybe a task for the week ahead. 

There is no question, knowing you have a cushion of long term savings is definitely reassuring. I think the trick is seeing that pot as “untouchable” though so you’re not tempted to dip in. 

Our SOA calculator always looks like we should be swimming in spare cash, but we're not, so my figures are obviously wrong (or we're poo at keeping to them!).
I'm thinking if we are supposed to have £1000 spare, I might start saving £500 plus any extra shifts and then watch and see where the extra is going to and then fine tune from there.
I think sometimes it's 'oh lets go to the cinema'- £60 gone.  'Let's pop to the pub with friends' - £50 gone.  £10 to this child when they go out with friends, £30 for a school trip.... a constant drip drip drip that adds up to £1k over the month.  Eek.
Initially, we'd like to aim for 6 months of our direct debits as savings, which would be £20k

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Drawingaline said:

ohdearhowdidthathappen said:

I decided to resell the tickets....  there were also overnight strikes on the jubilee and overground lines.  Basically meaning only the Metropolitan line would be running from Wembley that evening.... the logistics and risk of waiting hours for a tube meant I wasn't looking forward to the evening anymore.  I'll try and get tickets for another evening and failing that, will have to wait for another tour 

My girl was at Wembley stadium last night and her friend made her parents drive in to collect them becof the jubilee line strikes. I wasn't best pleased as I would have rather they ended up stranded at Waterloo than wander the streets around Wembley waiting to be picked up. 

They made it back in the end, but she said it was very stressful.

I am still planning on going our next Fri night, I have wanted to see Green Day since about 1995, and have had the tickets nearly three years. Getting there should be OK, if we get stranded I know there will be two trains an hour after half seven on the sat according to our local train service. Still super frustrating though.

It is a worry when young people are stranded, glad they got home safe.  Was that Harry Styles she watched?  He's supposed to be amazing live.
If I didn't have my 2 teens with me and I wasn't working the next day, I'd have braved it out, but there were too many variables and it was starting to worry me.  I'm disappointed though.
I bet Green Day will be excellent!

savingholmes

There are regular savers you could do that are offering between 2.5 and 3.5 %. Some offer zero or limited withdrawals so that could help the money stay there. 

Do you need a pot per child - or a pot for different types of activities and then say that's the monthly limit? It's a good lesson for your kids to learn. I started giving my kids £75 a quarter clothing allowance as it stopped all the little extras I would otherwise spend on them. DD complained it never went up - I told her that was to incentivise her to earn her own £!

Drawingaline

ohdearhowdidthathappen said:

Drawingaline said:

ohdearhowdidthathappen said:

I decided to resell the tickets....  there were also overnight strikes on the jubilee and overground lines.  Basically meaning only the Metropolitan line would be running from Wembley that evening.... the logistics and risk of waiting hours for a tube meant I wasn't looking forward to the evening anymore.  I'll try and get tickets for another evening and failing that, will have to wait for another tour 

My girl was at Wembley stadium last night and her friend made her parents drive in to collect them becof the jubilee line strikes. I wasn't best pleased as I would have rather they ended up stranded at Waterloo than wander the streets around Wembley waiting to be picked up. 

They made it back in the end, but she said it was very stressful.

I am still planning on going our next Fri night, I have wanted to see Green Day since about 1995, and have had the tickets nearly three years. Getting there should be OK, if we get stranded I know there will be two trains an hour after half seven on the sat according to our local train service. Still super frustrating though.

It is a worry when young people are stranded, glad they got home safe.  Was that Harry Styles she watched?  He's supposed to be amazing live.
If I didn't have my 2 teens with me and I wasn't working the next day, I'd have braved it out, but there were too many variables and it was starting to worry me.  I'm disappointed though.
I bet Green Day will be excellent!

Yes, Harry Styles. She had expensive early access tickets and was very close to the front! Said it was amazing, but a lot of waiting around in the rain.