1 brick at a time

longway2go

I have been working today but just managed to send over 15.46 which means my 500 target has been smashed (506.64 in total this month). I am incredibly shocked that I have been able to do it but motivation is high because of it. My next goals are to:
Reduce term by 16 months
Balance of 141, 242 (20k reduction from remortgage figure) 
Get under 140k (currently 142,250)
Build my EF
Next few weeks will be busy here so OPs may drop but may be able to get it to 142,200 although I'm not going to put to much pressure on myself. 
Onwards and downwards we go. 
Waving to anyone reading, hope you are safe and well. 

longway2go

So I have been having a little think today and am thinking more and more I am leaving myself a little exposed by lack of EF. I have 4k, bills alone come to around 2k a month so I need to build this up as a priority, yes OP the mortgage is a bit more fun but I need to adult a bit better and push what I can to build my EF up sooner rather than later. I am going to take a break from mortgage OPs until it is built up. The only thing is I am struggling to know what the right level is 3-6 months of expenses? Or wages? If expenses does that include things like food and petrol?
Any thoughts appreciated as I don't want to have not enough but also don't want to be sat on 2 much which could be diverted elsewhere.
Thank you for reading.

Grogged

I usually budget on take home pay if that helps.
That way I can cut back further if needed, but I definitely know I can cover everything if needed.
HTH,
G

longway2go

Thanks Grogged it does. Do you aim for 3 or 6 months? 

South_coast

I would go for expenses rather than wages, as that's what you'll have to pay out regardless. So bills, food, and whatever you'll need for petrol/diesel if you're not travelling to work. How many months to go for will depend on how quickly you could find alternative work. I was recently out of work for 3 months and it went by in a flash, so it might be longer than you think!

savingholmes

I would do bare expenses as a starting point to stay motivated - and then go up from there once you get in the swing of things if you want to. I would cut out the treats or at least halve them in the calculation too. 

South Coast - you have done amazing on your mortgage. Glad that's still on track.

Grogged

Before Covid (I guess that's a thing now...☹️) we budgeted for 3 months, now it's 6.

longway2go

Thank you so much everyone, I definitely feel more motivated to get this in place. It may not be much fun but once it's in place we will have a safety net. I have just moved 300 from a pot so my EF is currently 4192. First target 6k, which is 3 months bills and we will build from there in achievable chunks. 

MovingForwards

6 months outgoings is a good point to get to, takes a while.
Also be very critical about your current expenses and see what could be dropped / reduced if needed.
Add an extra item or two with your shopping to build up food reserves, provided you've space to keep it; tins, rice, lentils etc are long life items which can be used and replaced as time goes on.

You will find it motivational saving, any worries currently hidden or ignored will start to fade away as the EF goes up.

longway2go

I am looking forward to having those worries dispurse a bit as they are clearly there now. 
Thank you