Marginal Gains

PurpleFairy26

All sounding very productive. Some times money just needs to be spent on essentials.

Bennettxoxo

Great 2020 goals cornish_mum.

Really enjoying your diary. Looking forward to following your journey

Cornish_mum

Thanks both for dropping by, good luck with your own journeys too.
CM

Cornish_mum

Month End Update
Numbers are all abit strange this month because of allocating the windfall money.

Mortgage 194,447 (£1992 capital reduction). Interest was £200. OP of 1100 from windfall.

Education fund £23,357 (+£5961).
Kids savings £26,809 (+£3346, £3000 from windfall £346 interest).
Total increase in cash £10596 mostly from the windfall.

Pension AVCs CM £624; MrCM ~£2200 (this meant DH salary was £1289 less than normal).

In total I think we saved £4520 towards our long term financial goals in January (MOPs, cash savings and pension AVCs) in addition to the windfall money.:j

Next month stretch goal is £1100 into cash savings plus keep DHs higher AVCs going for an extra month. My take home will be down next month to pay back my season ticket loan.

PurpleFairy26

That’s an impressive January, even without the windfall money. Well done

edinburgher

Wow - those are some BIG numbers! :beer:

Cornish_mum

Thanks Ed and purple I appreciate you stopping by. Your diaries have really inspired me.

January is always a cheap month for us as there aren’t any big bills due and I get a breather from my season ticket loan repayments. I work on a paying big annual bills from cash flow system rather than separate pots for these so our monthly savings rate is rather erratic. In an expensive month I just cut back on savings and fun money spending and have a cushion in our current account; just in case. I don’t think it’s really a very good system.

Also I completely forgot to allocate our February fun money for DHs birthday bash, so February cash savings target is now £400.

Cornish_mum

Work for both DH and me has been rather all consuming so I have lost track of posting.  I think last week I managed one packed lunch, one work at home lunch  and a free lunch and only one coffee out during the week but bought dinner on the way home on Friday (£10).  

I picked up DS and dropped him off a couple of times by bus/walking. Our babysitter picked up the kids twice (£60 total) so both DH and I could both work late.

This week I have already had 2 coffees out of the house and managed no packed lunches.

Fun money 

DH’s big birthday bash came in at £650, plus £70 on extra meals out for the 2 of us over the weekend while we were away 

and £24 train fare. We had a really super time and were so pleased we organised this celebration. I need to book our Easter trip next. 

Normal spends

Groceries were low this week, as I didn’t batch cook; total £47. I will need to top this up today as we are low on bread and cereal.

Frugal money 

I mended a pair of DS trousers, DDs PJs, my slippers again and a teddy of DDs.

Polished DS and DD’s shoes (I am counting this as frugal shoe life-prolongation).

Used the councils environmental health rather than private pest control (for a rat that was spotted in our back garden... and in our neighbors too; yuck yuck).

Long-term goals

I visited a possible school for DS on Saturday it was quite good and very child centred rather than exam results focused which I liked a great deal. It is extremely old fashioned and hugely sporty (3 afternoons a week x  2 hours of sports); which is not DS thing but is what his assessment recommended he do more of.  It’s very inward looking which isn’t great and quite institutional; the kids there don’t seem to do much outside school and I imagine leaving must be a massive shock. 

Anyway. I have just run the numbers and we are on track to be able to afford it for both kids, if we maintain our current savings rate. (This will mean keeping spending down, so no substantial spending on house maintenance or holidays for the next 15 years).  

I am waiting to talk with the SENCO. I think a return visit after we have seen the state alternatives is the next step. 

Cornish_mum

Work remains a bit busy,  last weekend I had to put quite a few extra hours (about 8) to make a deadline,  and we are all ill with a cold boo.  DS is on half term and has been spoilt by his grandparents. Really looking forward to a low-key weekend.

Normal spends/Frugal things (as I have had to spend quite a lot on long term frugality or necessary things.

Last weekend groceries were around £50, as I didn’t buy much meat.  I batched cooked tuna pasta sauce, veggie pasta sauce with roasted veg, bolognese, and chorizo and white beans (chorizo was a gift). My parents are visiting for half term to help with kids and they brought cake so I didn’t need to bake. 

One packed lunch.  One coffee out of the house.

We are hosting 2 play dates on Saturday, so I won’t have time to batch cook very much; so groceries cost £53. But I spent £13 at MrW to provide my parents with some decent food, while they are at home this week with DS.  

The clothes moths have resurfaced, now it’s slightly warmer, so DH and I deep-cleaned the lounge on Sunday and I spent (£17 on 20 moth pheromone traps).  I will not let the moths eat anymore of our jumpers.  

I also spent £13 on sewing threads as I had run out of several essential colours it’s worth having this sorted so I can repair clothes properly.  

I spent £12 for DN birthday gift but didn’t organise in time to send with MIL so will need to post it. 

£39.50 on the cleaner and £20 on taxi, as our babysitter cancelled on Friday and I did the pickups.

DH and I went to the Dentist last Saturday, it was £130 combined; we couldn’t get an NHS place and are getting too old to skip this.

Managed to just pay DS after school club bill using vouchers but it was a bit tight.

DS flooded the bathroom last week because the shower drain was blocked. Water was dripping through the ceiling. So DH tried to clear the drain, then I Hinched it with soda crystals and vinegar (god knows what chemical reaction that was) but my lord it was effective!  So I did all the other drains whilst I was at it. Then I deep cleaned the bathroom sink, washing machine and dishwasher. 

I trimmed DDs and DSs hair to delay a visit to the hairdresser.

Kids have visited the library several times but we managed to get fined 80p for missing books that should have been returned oops.

I put in 2 delay repay requests for me and one for DH.

DH’s cargo bike needed a repair, he couldn’t do at home, £120 for this.

Money update 

DH’s January AVCs has now been invested and was £2419.78.

Cornish_mum

This week (including spends)

Normality has returned after the half term break. I made use of my flexible working hours to leave early last week to pickup DS on Tuesday so he could go to a cubs event and attend a parent teacher meeting on Wednesday.  This meant working in the evenings and an early start on Wednesday but I am lucky to have this flexibility. Had a work lunch on Wednesday, so had to buy cafe food £7. Thursday was an off-site day; early start but not a late finish and a free lunch but bought a coffee £2.80.  Free work lunch on Friday but bought a coffee £2.25, worked on Friday night.

A bit worried about Covid-19 disruption affecting the food supply chain; so bought some extra bits in the food shop for freezer and store cupboard £76 and will do the same this week. Also took some cash out to stash at home.

Our AVC funds are going to be affected by the ‘dip’. I think it’s a good time to open my S&S ISA, will put on the to do list. Annoyingly DH work didn’t take his extra AVC payment just the regular one; so I am going to have to try to get that organised again. 

Cleaner cancelled last so that saved £40, but meant quite a bit of Saturday was spent cleaning. DH got into the decluttering and sorted out the costs/shoes. One item to gumtree, 4 pairs of shoes binned (I hate sending to landfill but they were beyond rescuing), one pair to be cleaned for charity shop, 2 coats for hand me down storage and 5 coats to wash and give to charity. I found additional 5 items donated to the charity shop. 

Additional I spent £7.50 on bus fares, about £7 on work snacks and £3.15 on posh hot chocolate this week. I needed new work t-shirts, trousers and a bag; on account of holes that I can’t repair any further in the T-shirts and bag, and the need for me to be smart 5 days a week currently; so only having one pair of work trousers isn’t working very well. I managed to buy 2 tee-shirts and a work Shirt at the C/S for £9; but had to resort to MrJL for the rest. (1 smart backpack, 2 smart trousers (machine washable), a-set of socks and undies for DS = £257). I used my loyalty card and will be able to claim £30 discount. DH bought 2 work jumpers.

Frugal things

Mended a cuddly toy of DDs, remended DS school trousers and got him to tell me what he was doing (some sort of crazy splits dance move) to keep splitting the seams.  

Made banana cake, batch cooked mac n cheese, butternut squash and carrot soup, roasted a chicken and resisted take away. 

Month End Total 

Education savings total £24,400 +£1040.

ACV CM £620 and MrCM £940.

Mortgage 193,533, capital reduction £913, no OPs this month.

Target was £400 cash plus MrCMs top up AVC - so I was under by £350, this was because of a mess up with my work expenses £250 owed and an overspend on DHs birthday.  Ho-hum...