Young And Dumb

Mx_Emmin

My last work shift was 11th March. They're trying to get a work laptop set up so I can do some (completly different) work from home but they're trying to get 2000 laptops set up simultaenously across the country so it's not going as smoothly as it usually does. 
I'm trying to get a will signed but I need two witnesses and I only have one housemate. I found out you can get simple wills free through Cancer Research UK (they like you to make a donation to them though, its polite). 
Reasons why I want a will:
    - I'm vulnerable, too vulnerable to go into work apparently
    - My ex is refusing to sign divorce papers
    - There's a deadly pandemic
I have all the paperwork ready to go, I just need to get it signed to make it legal.
Sigh.
~*~
I've been moving money about between categories - prioritising takeout and groceries and online shopping over social spends or haircuts - I bought clippers and have given myself a DIY haircut (the benefit of having short hair is that mistakes grow out quickly, but I didnt do anything too bad) - but I've also created two new categories. One is called Charities/Artists, it's for things like Pateron or the like. Like Takeout or Online Shopping in normal times, I'm not assigning money to it every month, it's just a handy category to have if I make a transaction. The other category is for my Aunt's wedding - it was meant to happen this month. I'll keep the money to one side for when they reschedule it. My other categories are all over the place. I'm not putting any money into my transport category and I'm letting my bus card expire, but I'm giving my landlord extra to the bills since I'm at home more. I did plan a Quarantine budget in case I get moved to 80% pay but currently they're keeping me at 100% pay.
~*~
I'm continuing with my temperatute blanket - it's easier to keep up with it right now. I even got to use some purple recently! I finished a baby blanket for one friend and started another baby blanket for a different friend. People got to stop having babies. Jeez. I still haven't finished my Pride blanket that I started in Nov '18!
I don't actually mind - it gives me a chance to play with different yarns. The big blankets are beautiful, but it's a lot of using the same wool for a long time.

Mx_Emmin

I paid my standard £100 off the credit card, bringing it to £390 and some pence
 
I've set aside another £100 for the card but I havent sent it yet. I dont know if I'll need it in the month. If I still have it next payday I'll do a double payment to the card. 
 
The work from home set up is not going well and I'm increasingly anxious they'll furlough me - if they do, the closer I am to finishing paying off my card, the better
 
Even if I have to dip into it a little, if I can keep at least £70 in this category I'm sure I can get the rest from somewhere next month 

Mx_Emmin

I did a thought experiment this morning. It started when I was looking briefly at a Furlogh Budget I have planned, just in case, and I thought - well if I can live on 80% salary for a little while, why don't I do some calculations and see if I could live on that permanently? And then see if I can put that 20% towards debt and/or savings?
Unfortunatly it didn't take long to realise that the things I had cut in my Furlough budget are only really things you can forgo in the short term, not the long term - for example, clothes. 
I also whipped up a quick Excel spreadsheet (I just find them fun, ok? :P ) and realised that currently (non-furloughed) I'm already saving about 25% of my money anyway. Much of that is for short term savings, to be used within a year (for example: Christmas Savings, this thing for my Dad's birthday, Debt-Free Whiskey, some subscriptions...) but I still feel like 25% set aside for non-immediate gratification is pretty good. I'd like to shift that % more when I get the chance but there's always something wanting money.
~*~
At the other end of the money spectrum, I've been looking to see if I can find wriggle in my budget for a guitar app. Pretty sure I can. Going to milk the free trial for all it's worth first though, you get stage 1 free and I'm not a fast learner. As always, buying a year subscription is cheaper but I don't know if I want to commit that much. I really should save up a chunk for Amazon Prime though so I can switch to a yearly subscription. 

Mx_Emmin

I've managed to hang onto that £100 I set aside for paying extra to the CC - if I still have it next Monday I can safely pay it to the CC (though I'll probably still wait until the day after the DD processes so it doesnt interfere) 
  
My goal is to drop the balance to a round number, so I'll pay off the £90 and change and send the rest to the Debt Free Whiskey savings pot. Every month after this, I'll send £103 to the CC - an odd number, but the card charges £3 each month so itll end up paying £100 off the card balance. It's still in the interest free period. This 100% my weirdo brain wanting a round number on the balance sheet, but it does also have the effect of knocking a month off the debt free date. 
   
I dont know if I'll be able to do this next month too. I might have to hang onto some funds for things like the tram card in case I end up going back to work in June. Who knows. 

Mx_Emmin

Payday!
I'm hoping to slowly shift mu budget back to a more "normal" set up - although I'm told there's no normal month. Still, some categories that I've ignored the last couple of months that I've starting to fill back up, most notably my tram card budget. 
I have managed to hang onto to my £100 I set aside for the credit card. I'm going to put £93.56 on the card to round it an even number, and put the rest in the debt free whiskey fund. This is on top of my regular direct debit, which won't go out for another week or so.
I've put money in the hobbies and charity funds as that will be for my crochet supplies and those online events. I've also had to start a new fitbit fund - although in 100% honesty, I'm not sure if I want a new fitbit when this one goes. But if I realise I do, when it goes, I'd rather have the money to hand. I'm not putting a set amount each month in it, just odds and ends, but I've set an overall goal of £130 as that's what the most expensive Fitbit seems to be. This month it has £24.76 in. 
~*~
Credit Card: Today it's at -£393.56 but I plan to pay off £193.56 this month
Fitbit: £24.76 
Aunt's Wedding: £100 (I don't know when it's going ahead but it's good to have the money set aside) (Hopefully I won't spend all of this, but this is to cover both the gift and the on-the-day expenses) 
Debt Free Whiskey: £56.44 
Pride Savings: £100 (I really don't know why I'm still putting money in here... I should stop for a few months)
YNAB Subscription: £45 (I need £90 by November)
Christmas Gifts Family: £60
Christmas Gifts Friends: £30
Christmas Misc: £30
Subscription: £22 (I need £50 by January)
Next Laptop: £90
Dad's Birthday: £225
FA Diploma: £150
Divorce: £410
H2B ISA: £634.20
Emergency Savings: £1725.38

Mx_Emmin

Forgot to say two things:
Firstly, I'm strongly considering cancelling my Amazon Prime subscription. In fact I'm going to go to do that after I finish this post.
Secondly, more importantly, I finished an 18 month crochet project. My pride blanket. Its bigger than a double duvet.

jusferbrowsing

Your blanket looks fantastic.

Mx_Emmin

jusferbrowsing said:

Your blanket looks fantastic.

Thank you  😊

Mx_Emmin

I've adjust two of my category goals on the YNAB app: Amazon Prime and Pride Savings.
  
For Amazon Prime I've just cancelled the goal entirely, so next  month it wont prompt me to put money in there. I've left the current £7.99 in there for now as I cancelled my subscription pretty close to the debit date.
   
For Pride Savings the goal used to be "contribute £10 every month" and so far I've saved £100. I've changed the goal to be "save £120 by June 2021" ... all the Prides I would have gone to this year are cancelled.
I've already put in £10 in May so from June it'll ask me to out in £1.54 each month. The advantage of this goal is that it will adjust itself if I have to borrow from the category for any reason. If I need to borrow £20 around Christmas time, for example, it will change the amount I need to contribute each month to have £120 by June 2021. 
I don't even know if £120 is the right amount - I didnt keep track of how much I spent last year - but I'd rather over save than under save, I'm sure I'll still have other categories I can move any excess money into next year. If I go to more than one Pride I could see myself spending £120 across multiple events.

Mx_Emmin

So I was working through my budget spreadsheet and saw some happy numbers today

   

Regarding my Dad's birthday flight - I promised my siblings that I'd have £225 by August, but I was intending to save about £275-£325 (hadn't decided exactly) in case of last minute charges or even just to gift as spending money, as the original plan was to book the holiday for approximately his next birthday (although obviously all plans uncertain now) 

   

Regarding my Divorce fund - I wanted to have £1000 by Feb '21, but I was falling a bit behind and was looking more at having it by March or April. I've been contributing £55 every month when I could have done with contributing £60 or £65, and every month the amount I was behind got a little higher

  

When I went over my spreadsheet today I realised I've hit my £225 goal for the holiday in the payday just gone 

   

I hadn't told my siblings about intending to save a little extra just in case, so at this point I've saved enough to fulfil my promises 

   

I was saving £25 each month for the holiday so I've decided to drop that to £10 (so I'm still saving a little for any unexpected) and put that extra £15 per month into the Divorce fund 

   

Which puts me right back on track to meet my goal by February 

   

It just made me really happy to feel back on track with that, and it was also kind of a lesson in how putting aside a little is better than putting aside nothing - if I hadn't been contributing £55 each month until now I would have needed more than £15pm to get me back on track 

  

These new figures dont kick in until June payday 

~*~

In slightly more disheartening news my Fitbit screen is increasingly erratic, but as long as the actual tracking part hangs in there I'll hang onto the device as long as I can 

  

From the Fitbit website I'll need somewhere between £60 and £130 depending on model, and unfortunately I am more inclined to the more expensive one 

   

I've decided to hang onto that £100 I was going to put onto my credit card and reserve it for the Fitbit instead. If I use the £100 for the credit card, and then my Fitbit breaks in the next few months, I'd have to buy the Fitbit with my credit card and then I'm right back at square one. Its disappointing not to use the money as intended but it makes more sense this way and I'm still due to pay it off in a few months.