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Giving every £ a job
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A nice Bank Holiday weekend including hosting a multi -generational family gathering. It was quite expensive but lots of lovely memories made.
we ended up with more wine than we started with and enjoyed leftovers tonight meaning today's planned meal can move to tomorrow.we found a good supply of blackberries whilst out walking today and we have the first few apples from our tree so I think a crumble is going to be made tomorrow. I'm trying hard to not go grocery shopping until the start of September apart from milk.3 -
Glad you had a lovely time, and with only a few more days till September that sounds like a very achievable money saving plan. And if you have to live off of wine and fruit crumble for a day, you're basically living the dream 😁https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'self-blame can be as egotistical as self-praise... any work worth doing is greater than we are... we must not overrate our importance to it, either for good or ill' Margaret Kennedy Lucy Carmichael5 -
Spending the same money multiple times.....yes, that was also one of my superpowers back in the Spendy Era., especially birthday & Christmas money.
I was also tempted by that 20% off offer but decided I will wait & see if there is another one when I next visit the shop. It seemed like a compromise....I was saying 'later' instead of 'now'.
F2026's challenges: 1) To rebuild our Emergency Fund to at least £5k.
2) To read 50 books (12/50) 3) The Re-Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
Remember....if you have to put it on a credit card, extend your overdraft or take out a loan to buy whatever it is, you probably can't afford it, as that's not your money, it's somebody else's!2 -
Sounds like a lovely weekend. Mmmmm crumble and custard, what’s not to like?LTotal Debt Dec 07 £59875.83 Overdrafts £2900,New Debt Figure ZERO !!!!!!:j 08/06/2013
Lucielle's Daring Debt Free Journey
DFD Before we Die!!!! Long Haul Supporter #1242 -
Crumble...mmmmm!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her2 -
I am irritated for you about the kids expectations - however we somehow set them as we go. Perhaps you could gently suggest that now you are semi retired / retiring that budgets will be readjusted and it will no longer be possible to splash the cash in the same way.Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £169.8K Equity 37.1%
2) £2.4K Net savings after CCs March 26 (but owed £1.1K) so £3.5K
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £36.2K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.3K) = 42.1£127.5K target 33% 27/2/26 (If took bigger lump sum = 64K or 50.1%)
4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
5) SIPP £5.2K updated 16/1/261 -
Pleased to report that we made it through to the end of August with no trips to the grocery shop. Also pleased to report that the cupboards, fridge and freezer provided more balance to our meals than the initial fusion options of crumble and wine. It's amazing how much stuff there is available at home already in stock. We were lucky with olio today - new potatoes, asparagus, mushrooms, pears, grapes and a hovis seeded loaf - all from Waitrose too.
Spent the afternoon doing my budgets and beginning of the month money shuffle. I really enjoy divvying up the savings into my various pots. So my personal spends pot is full again but I no longer have the urgent "need" for the body shop items ...will have a further think and look at what I already have at home. I think there's still an unopened Christmas toiletries set that will be a nice treat to use.
@savingholmes - the ungrateful money spenders aren't the children - they are the same generation as me and obviously even slower than me to take up better money habits. They are very ungrateful and act with a sense of entitlement.
settling down this evening to continue to watch the original UK series of House of Cards. We found the 3 series DVD set for £1 in the charity shop. Whilst the fashion, cars and decor definitely look dated, some of the attitudes and behaviours of the politicians look very contemporary.
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That's an excellent Olio haul, and Waitrose too!
Well done on the no further grocery spend, and resisting the Body Shop items. Christmas toiletries sound nice, I love the satisfaction of shopping from home where possible!https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'self-blame can be as egotistical as self-praise... any work worth doing is greater than we are... we must not overrate our importance to it, either for good or ill' Margaret Kennedy Lucy Carmichael2 -
Excellent freebies there.
If it's siblings/cousins I'd definitely play the retirement budget cardAchieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £169.8K Equity 37.1%
2) £2.4K Net savings after CCs March 26 (but owed £1.1K) so £3.5K
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £36.2K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.3K) = 42.1£127.5K target 33% 27/2/26 (If took bigger lump sum = 64K or 50.1%)
4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
5) SIPP £5.2K updated 16/1/261 -
thanks @PennysIntoPounds - the shop from home toiletries turned out to be a Sanctuary set so a real win and personal spends budget remains intact (I know it's only 3 days into the month but it's still a victory)
@savingholmes - it's siblings-in-law and parent-in-law who seem to think I'm super wealthy when in reality I've worked hard for 35 years, spent recklessly for about 30 years but always paid my mortgage and bills. I will definitely emphasise that I'm now early retired and adjusting finances accordingly,During September I'm having a focus on tidying and organising kitchen cupboards and drawers. I've just counted up and there are 23 cupboards and 20 drawers so bragging about ticking one cupboard off the list is probably delusional.However, in my washing cupboard i found 2 full, 2 half full fabric conditioners, a box of washing capsules I didn't know I had and 3 bottles of ironing water. I hate ironing so the ironing water is my incentive. Pleased that i won't have to buy anything for that cupboard for a while. Looking forward to finding more supplies as I work my way round the room. I'm working clockwise in a methodical way otherwise I'll just flit from place to place or pick easy wins.4
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