Rennovations and the price to pay..

Sarahwithlove

Sorry to hear you have had to go private but I imagine it's a great relief to know it will be done. 

Pengwern

Yes such a relief to be able to have enough credit to fund such an important thing.  I realise lots of others would not be in the same position.  Food shops continue to come in under £100/week and that is helping meet our day to day expenses.  Other than that no other progress as lockdown #3 has put a stop to any spending outside the home.  I’ve also been very good and not brought any sale items, I have also returned some Xmas presents I thought were too much for my daughter.  I’m glad I did it as she had plenty gifted from friends and family.  Just awaiting those returns to hit the account. 

remote_control

I had to give up on the £100 shop for three shops in December, I just couldn't do it! 
And yet my first one in Jan was so easily under £100 I managed to get a £4 present for a friend, stock up on tinned goods and get some cleaning products. Hopefully if I can do all but 3 shops a year at under £100 then that is pretty good. I found I was just stressing myself out with that limit, I'd run my cupboards down so much in November by adding gifts to the shop and still being under £100. I think next year I might exclude gifts from the £100 and that will make it easier to do. 
Sorry that was a long post on your diary!!
We are also enjoying the enforced lack of spending due to lockdown! We have (for some inexplicable reason) not been able to get a good 0% deal when looking at the eligibility calculators. One of the cards is up in Feb so we used our lockdown savings to pay it off, which was £7.5k.  It is very exciting to owe so much less but I do feel uneasy to have only £2k of savings now. But we only had such a lot of savings due to coronavirus so it is a weird situation! We have benefited so much financially from coronavirus! No going out, no petrol, oyster, children's activities, very little clothes, like you say no sale shopping. 

Pengwern

That is impressive remote control especially if you have been including presents in the £100. I have £220 left for 2 food shops which should be more than ok. I need any extra as there are a few birthdays in jan I need to budget for.  Another lockdown weekend doing jobs to keep the home clean and cosy but no spends today.  I did however take the car out for a drive as it’s not moved in a few weeks and I get nervous it won’t start when I need it. Tomorrow the same but planning out veg patch for this year so we are ready when the seeds arrive 

remote_control

Good idea about planning the garden but it seems too cold out to me to even contemplate it! I was given some vouchers which I will use at a garden centre for seeds this year, presuming they are open in Feb/March.
So far I am enjoying our first lock down weekend but I am running out of ideas to feed the children, they're basically having the same lunch every day now. 

Pengwern

Hello I’m on a five week shopping month so £80/weekly food shop is my goal this month. Two down and on track so far. I’ve also reviewed my renovations budget from last yr and started 2021 version. I was having a low day yesterday and felt like we were getting no where, but it turns out I was wrong. In 2020 we’ve saved the best part of £5k paid off £10k of cc debt and managed to cover the renovation costs. 

We have £18k of cc debt left and £5k of that ends it’s  0% deal in Aug so I plan to pay that off with savings. The remaining amount I hope to pay off as quickly as I can but also put away money for emergencies.  The buy now pay later 0% deal gets paid off next month when we officially own our downstairs loo! So good to see another monthly payment end.  I will be sending that monthly payment to another cc. I’m aiming to save £300/month. It will be a challenge and one I’ve failed in jan so fingers crossed for Feb 

remote_control

All sounds really good! What is your dfd?

Pengwern

I’m hoping for Dec 21 but more like June 22

Pengwern

Hi
In other news I got great satisfaction from using up 3 toiletry items today.  I hate having little bits of product left in bottles and it always takes an age to finally use them.  I hope I’m not the only one who thinks like this but I may be!  It means I need to do another toiletry stock take and make sure I’m not buying more than I need.  It’s been 2 weeks and all I have spent is money on the food shop.  It feels strange and amazing all at the same time.  I really need some more jeans as I have holes in the knees but I have decided to wait till next month.  If I keep on track I will be able to save £600 which I am putting into an account to them pay off the cc at the end of the 0% deal. 

Pengwern

Do I or don’t I use the £5k savings to pay off 1 cc? I’m getting impatient with it all, the 0% deal expires in Aug and I’m planning on pay it off then but that’s 6 months away. I just feel that it’s the affect of the weather and spring feeling so far away but I just want to see faster debt progress.  I’m trying to spruce up the back stairs this weekend with items in the shed as I am determined not to spend any money outside the food shop this month.