Marginal Gains

badmemory

Does your local aquarioum shop not allow you to trade in new fish for fish food/thermometers etc?  That is how we managed to run over 20 tanks without going bankrupt.

Cornish_mum

Hi hi bad memory, wow 20 tanks! Alas not they have a strict policy of no fish being bought from domestic non-certified suppliers. 

Household news

MrCM had his birthday this week but it was a work day, alas, so festivities were postponed to Saturday. Our babysitter had to cancel because of a family emergency, so we had to change our plan for me to take him out for the day without the kids. Instead he met up with friends in the pub and had dinner with his brother. We made him breakfast in bed and a chocolate cake. 

The kids and I had a low key weekend, DS in particular has loads on at school this week, so we just wanted to get everything sorted for the week and relax. When MrCM was out, once I had the kids in bed, I treated myself to a nice bath (using a lovely Christmas gift spa set) and an early night. It was lovely and I am definitely going to try to do this monthly. 

Money stuff

I didn’t manage to do any money sorting this weekend but I have started listening to Your money or life on utube whilst doing the housework, it’s pretty interesting. 

I also reviewed our gas and electricity contract and spending. We are currently on the price cap and spent £255 in January (😩), I think we are just going to stick with the cap as I couldn’t see a comparable fixed rate (100% increase was the best I could find). I had a chat to the kids about hot water usage and I am going to have to be more careful using the oven and gas hobs. We already use minimal heating 17.5 C in the day 7am-9pm and 10 C overnight. As we are both working from home still ~3 days a week it’s not possible to cut back more without it being really unpleasant. We are just going to have to cut back on savings/OPs.

Spends

Groceries £88 (including beer for MrCM birthday)

Commuting costs £93.

MrCM birthday flowers £6.

DS sports equipment £15.

Mid-week takeaway for MrCM birthday £20.

Work lunches (failed to do packed lunch) £10.

Frugaling

This week MrCM fixed our dishwasher which wasn’t cleaning properly.

I mended a small hole in a jumper, so I could wear it to work.

We improvised sports equipment (rather than buying everything) so DS could practice for a school event to improve his confidence.

DD and I planted a few seeds in the garden (broad beans and saved sweet peas), as germination was very patchy.

I harvested some winter salad.

badmemory

Cornish_mum said:

Hi hi bad memory, wow 20 tanks! Alas not they have a strict policy of no fish being bought from domestic non-certified suppliers. 

What a pity as that was half the fun.  To see if you could do a good enough job so that they would breed & the next hurdle was to breed them big enough to actually sell.

Cornish_mum

Sneaks in quietly…

Month End totals (February and March combined)

Mortgage-£2000 outstanding balance  £164,000

AVC MrCM (no change £2500 paid in) 

AVC CM (£300 loss £2000 paid in).

Cash “improvement” minus £15,000

The last couple of months have been a bit of a blur; work was incredibly hectic for both of us and it’s left very little time for much else. I am in the office 2 days a week plus have had to re-started overnight work trips, I would really prefer to work from home but needs must. I have been on holiday this week, unfortunately our Easter plans have been scuppered as DS has covid again, DD has symptoms and I am feeling ropey. 

DS has a place at our preferred state secondary school, we are so pleased for him. He is very excited and happy to be going to the same school as his friends.

Spends February and March combined 

(only the big stuff as I have just been too busy to track everything)

Replacement fence and garden clearance £1200. Our back fence very dramatically collapsed into the lane behind our house during one of the storms, it was already damaged and on our to do list. We decided to get the area cleared by the landscaping company who replaced the fence and did similar work last year for us. They did a great job.

New (to us) car £18,500. Our old car developed a tyre issue, then an electrical component failed and it needed a lot of other maintenance (new cam belt etc). DH and DS were stranded in it one evening and it also broke down during a school run. Keeping it on the road was going to cost more than 3k plus servicing; not to mention all the stress associated with it continuing to break down. So we did the maths and decided it just wasn’t worth trying to keep it running, so we dipped into our EF to buy a new to us replacement - out-right. We knew this was a possibility and I had planned our finances ready for this but oh it’s so much money😬. I negotiated trading in the old car so we got quite a bit off the forecourt price.

MrCM made a family weekend trip overseas £400 all in; exhausting for him but appreciated by those he visited.

DS has a school residential trip £375.

New clothes for the kids £160 (including scout and rainbows uniforms). Used top cash bank where I could. 

Groceries were £700. I am pleased with this, I have downshifted (less expensive meat, fish and veggies), been using up stocks and all leftovers. Also haven’t purchased much booze, just some beer for MrCM.

Takeaways and family eating out £250. I want to cut the takeaways down; we are now having one almost every week because of my working back in the office and getting home late. I need to plan some freezer fake-aways. We had one restaurant meal as a family which was very nice.

Work lunches and flat whites £200, I am treating myself on the days I have to go in; as I am really not enjoying work currently. Not ideal need to work on this.

Childcare £1300, the price has really gone up, I have only managed to pay half term and Easter holiday club from vouchers, but needed to pay standard wrap around out of pocket.

Treats for CM £70, fancy bath oil, compost , Dahlia tubers and a heat pad for a propagator. 

Treats for MrCM £150 overnight trip for a friends birthday. 

DS birthday treat (trip with friends to the zoo) and present £250.

Frugaling

I negotiated £28 discount on our house insurance.

I finally did a bank switch £150.

Harvested kale, leeks (I thought these were all ruined but the were perfectly fine when I dug them up) and salad leaves from the garden (not much but it all helps)

Lined up a side job £120 after tax. 

Mended a jumper and turn up trousers for DS.

Sowed various veggie seeds outside and indoors, heat pad was definitely worth it as it really improved germination for some types of seeds. I also planted out strawberry plants we propagated last year. 

Cut DD’s hair myself.

Bought nice second hand books to gift to the kids (50p-£1.50) at the local cs. 

April Goals 

Book HP world trip and summer holiday, because of the car and fence etc we have decided to postpone our trip to Portugal until 2023, so I am aiming to organise a UK holiday again.

Save £1250 in April (overall aim is to replenish EF within 12 months).

Try not to worry about work issues outside of my control. 

Enjoy time off with the kids.

Tidy garden ready for summer (power wash patio, tidy pots, cut back and prune, clean and organise outdoor sofas) and plant as much veg, herbs and fruit as I can to offset cost increases.

Declutter dining room (currently also being used as MrCM home-office).

South_coast

Great work as always, CM 👍 So much going on! 

Are you able to re-purpose some of the education fund now that you know where DS will be going, or has the car already taken care of that?

Cornish_mum

Hi SC yes we have been mulling this over for a while, but haven’t made a proper decision. The Ed fund maxed out at 55k (then we bought the new car) we have stopped adding to it now (to be honest we eased off savings last year when we made the decision that DS/the family would be better off if he stayed in mainstream state school). It’s rather made me lose my focus to be honest as it was super motivating trying to do something for him. 

We are solely tempted to go for FIRE whilst also treating the kids to a bit more fun along the way. We are saying yes to all fun activities for them and I am trying to pack in as many experiences as we can. We also have a bunch of renovation projects on the house to do (garage removal and replacement, new windows, knock through and redo the kitchen).

MrCM upped his AVC contributions and I am thinking of upping my S&S ISA contribution to maximise flexibility. 

Feeling incredibly grateful to have these choices.

CM

Cornish_mum

It’s the long weekend and the sun is shining! MrCM has to work boo, his employer don’t do bank holidays 🙄. The little CMs have various birthday parties and play dates, so I need to get all the housework done this morning.

Looking forward to having some time tomorrow to organise our accounts, though it’s likely to be a bit of a mess because we both have to put in work expenses. Then spend some time on various frugaling projects in between ferrying the kids around.

I secured a side job yesterday 150 Euro (now need to work out French tax, and actually do the work). I also was asked to do a job in the US but the timings didn’t work, so I had to decline it. New money goal is bring home an extra £125 a month (side work, bank switching etc) and send it straight to my S&S ISA.  

I also was contacted by a head hunter this week, it’s not really a viable prospect but does make me feel more positive about my work prospects if my current contract is not renewed. 

savingholmes

Just caught up on your diary. Really interesting read. Good luck with the rest of your journey.

Cornish_mum

Thanks SH!

Cornish_mum

Month End Totals (April & May combined)

Mortgage-£2000 capital outstanding £162k

Cash improvement minus £700

(including modest loss on my S&S ISA)

CM AVC loss of £800.

MrCM AVC loss of £800.

Yikes well April and May didn’t go to plan; it turns out I was abit “optimistic” with my budget projections. I am owed £900 expenses and MrCM also has expenses owed from work but our every-day spending has really gone up. 

Looking at the numbers this is because of inflation and resuming pre-pandemic activities.  We are spending alot more on things related to the kids  (activities, clubs, clothes, birthday gifts for others and childcare). Also work related expenses have really increased (commuting, work related food and replacement smart clothes). Plus the increases in tax, food and gas & electric. 

I have just redone a more realistic budget (taking to account Christmas and our plans for holidays); taking into account MrCM extra pension contributions and tax changes. This our regular income is now covering our outgoings & my S&S regular payment (£250/ month). Savings and extra luxuries will need to come from my side income work and frugaling. 

DS had a great birthday outing with his friends and we also hosted a nice family party. Half term has been a bit rubbish alas, DS has been ill and both MrCM and I had to work over the bank holidays. I only managed to host one play date for DD. The next couple of months are really hectic at work for both MrCM and me. We are looking forward to having some leave in August.

Spends (both months) ignoring regular bills 

Groceries £700 pleased with this

Commuting £750

Childcare £600 (other spends from vouchers)

DS lunches £140

CMs lunches & coffees £120

DS chores and pocket money £80

Holiday deposit £700

CM university reunion £200 (hotel, entertainment and food)

DS zoo birthday treat ice creams £30

Take aways £120 (including wedding anniversary curry)

Haircuts DS & MrCM £35

Swimming new lessons £130.

New set of shoes (school and trainers) DS £97, as he had a growth spurt.

New work shoes and trousers MrCM £100

Petrol £150 (1 tanks a month)

Frugal fails

When I amended one MrS order I managed to delete one bottle of wine (was doing there 25% deal). Very annoyed with myself.

Frugaling

Have been doing better taking in packed lunch and keeping my spends on food out of the house down, including using MrW vouchers once a week. I have also been using flexible season tickets and split fare tickets for work commuting.

I did 2 side jobs in May and have put the claim in for one, the other one is being very slow to send me the information for claiming. 

Sowed beetroot, radish, salad, lettuce, kale and parsley. Potted on tomatoes and planted out, cucumbers, runner beans, sweet peas, lettuce, courgettes and extra broad beans.

Harvested strawberries and herbs.

Cut DDs hair.

Goals review 

Err well money wise it was a bit of a disaster but, we did book our summer holiday and had fun with the kids. MrCM decluttered the home office/dining room and cupboard with the kids art and school work. 

June Goals

Keep on top of everyday spending. 

Pay rest of holiday rental.

Book Legoland tickets and HP world.

Do a bank switch.

Buy DS new school uniform and school trip clothes.

Enjoy the garden and try to keep work issues in perspective.