DFW to MFW before 40?

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I have decided I want to keep a DFW diary to help keep me motivated and to make me accountable.
I am 32 years old, single and I live with my mum and brother in the house I grew up in. I have a couple of thousand in a Lifetime ISA and First Home Saver account towards an eventual house deposit and various (virtual) pots of money for things like car tax and insurance, train season ticket, etc.
I currently owe £11,410.94 for car finance but have no other debts. The finance agreement is due to end in December 2021 but I’d like to pay it all off by the end of this year instead, hopefully saving a decent amount of interest. I have been saving up towards the “final lump sum” owed (around £5,800) over the last few months and should have that saved up by the middle of the year, I pay just over £250 direct debit each month and I’m hoping to save money to make additional payments.
I’ll do a further update tomorrow, explain how I’m doing and sort out my DFW plans for February.
B x
I am 32 years old, single and I live with my mum and brother in the house I grew up in. I have a couple of thousand in a Lifetime ISA and First Home Saver account towards an eventual house deposit and various (virtual) pots of money for things like car tax and insurance, train season ticket, etc.
I currently owe £11,410.94 for car finance but have no other debts. The finance agreement is due to end in December 2021 but I’d like to pay it all off by the end of this year instead, hopefully saving a decent amount of interest. I have been saving up towards the “final lump sum” owed (around £5,800) over the last few months and should have that saved up by the middle of the year, I pay just over £250 direct debit each month and I’m hoping to save money to make additional payments.
I’ll do a further update tomorrow, explain how I’m doing and sort out my DFW plans for February.
B x
Save £15K in 2021 #13 £ £13,518.67/£15,000 / £17,032.87 saved in 2020
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
2
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Sorry for the lack of updates over the last few days-I get really bad migraines and struggle to focus on what I’m doing and form coherent sentences so figured it would be best to leave it a few days. Still have the migraine but some of the fog is lifting so thought I’d make the most of it and do an update tonight.
I did a budget for February after my last post and should have enough to cover my bills and my intended savings for the month, with a little bit over for day-to-day spending. I have one large unusual expenditure this month which I’ve budgeted for by reducing money to one of my savings accounts for the month. This will be £100 for the synoptic exam in my AAT Advanced Diploma in Accounting. I started the level back in 2016 and due to ill health and work I keep on leaving it but I really want to get it finished now. Am intending to do the exam at the end of my week off at the beginning of next month.
I budgeted £40 for tube journeys to work for this month, but I’d like to have some left over at the end of the month so I’m trying to walk to and from work as much as possible.
My main plans for this month are to sort through as much of my stuff as possible, declutter where I can (am planning on doing some indoor boot fairs in March) and find cheap/free stuff to keep me occupied. Have got a gym membership so I’d like to make as much use of that as I can. Have got lots of crafty UFOs (unfinished objects) that I’d like to sort out and get some finished.
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Last week ended up rubbish-have had really severe migraine attack since last Thursday so been off sick from work. Therefore I’m planning on taking it fairly easy and not putting too much pressure on myself. So plans are:
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Good luck on your journey
My migraines had been pretty good up till the middle of 2019 and then they massively flared up and haven’t really improved since then.
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Sorry for the lack of updates over the last couple of months.
I ended up being signed off for a month and a half with my migraines and only started back last Wednesday (1/4). Am very lucky and thankful that I can work from home at the moment so really counting my blessings.
i had an appointment with the neurologist about my head at the end of February. She has requested that I have a blood test, MRI, lumbar puncture and an appointment with an Ophthalmologist and has taken me off one of my tablets and given me something else instead, as she thinks I may have something called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension. Will have to be patient with regards to getting these appointments with all the additional pressure that the NHS is under at the moment but I’m glad that the neurologist is taking it all seriously (my previous neurologist was no help at all
Finance-wise, not being at work in March really helped and I was able to stow away plenty of funds into my savings, including making extra payments to my emergency fund. This month should also be a good month financially, what with not being allowed to go out anywhere. Have also had a couple of accounts maturing over the last week so will be able to use that money to make an additional payment off my car finance. I am hoping to make a payment of around £400-500 in a couple of days after my ISA interest has also been added to my account. Should then be good to make additional payments of at least £250 each month for the rest of the year, so am very happy about that. With the additional payments, I’m hoping to maybe get it all paid off around October or November time, which means I could then focus all my efforts on building up deposit savings and my emergency fund.
Hope any readers are doing OK in current circumstances and hope you all follow the Government guidance and stay safe.
B x
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Sorry for another two month absence. Been working hard and still suffering with head so not really had the energy to do much. Am on annual leave this week, so aiming to catch up on everything.
So, the biggest news I have is that I’ve paid off my car finance in full so am now debt free! Had money in some savings accounts but, now that the interest rates have plummeted, I’m getting less interest than I was paying on the finance agreement, so figured it would pay me in the long run to clear it and replenish my savings.
Stay safe
B x
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
These three months have been fairly quiet to be honest. I’ve been replenishing funds that I withdrew to clear my car finance and will be fully up straight within the next couple of weeks. I’ve tried to be as frugal as I can and have been putting as much as I can into my savings.
The last week feels like it’s been a pretty good week for frugaling and money-saving:
- I bought hair cutting scissors a few months ago and my mum cut my hair with them
- I bought advance tickets for the train ahead of a trip to London for work
- I requested an opticians voucher from work as I work on computers, which will cover the cost of eye test and possibly part of the value of glasses if I need new ones. I have booked an appointment on Tuesday
- In the raffle at my Slimming World group, I won a 6 week countdown so I will save almost £30
- I spoke to a financial adviser (recommended by my brother) who did a free consultation and advised how much I could get mortgage-wise based on my current salary and outgoings. Unfortunately i live in southeast England so the mortgage amount is much less than a house would cost down here, but it gives me something to work towards 😕😕
I’m now on annual leave from work so I’ve had a very loose plan of things to do while managing my energy levels, which are pretty rubbish at the moment due to medication for my head. This weekend has been pretty quiet and I’m not planning much for next Sunday and Monday (to give me a couple of days to relax ahead of going back to work but have planned the following tasks for this week:
Monday - plant fruit trees, clear weeds, other gardening jobs
Tuesday - tidy bedroom
Wednesday - stocktake freezers and cupboards
Thursday - clean bathroom
Friday - studying
Saturday - go through clothes in drawers and wardrobe
Hopefully I will be able to do more than that but if I manage to just do those things this week, I’ll feel like it’s been a good week. I’m going to spend some time today and tomorrow writing out a full to-do list that I can hopefully get crossing off during this week. I’m going to try to post on this diary as much I can to start really getting benefit from it. I’m also going to try to keep posting on the “Small things” page as much as I can to stay as mindful as I can this week.
B x
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Am nearing the end of my week off and feel like it’s been a reasonably productive week. I’ve not been able to do all of the jobs I had planned, due to a couple of bad days with my head, but I’ve managed to do the following:
B x
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000
Whoops, I appear to have left it a month and a half between posts again 😱
I’ve had a rubbish few weeks health-wise and am signed off sick again, with a hospital appointment coming up next Thursday, so I’m hoping they may be able to advise what I can do to calm my head down. Will have to see what happens.
Finance-wise, I’ve had a reasonable few weeks. My budget for the rest of the year will allow me to reach my financial goals, including finally getting my emergency fund to £1K and decently increasing my house deposit savings. I’m hoping to really push on in 2021 with my deposit savings and other related cost savings and am intending to get a new regular saver in January to save into. I’ve also opened a notice account with YBS that I can put any other money I want to save towards the deposit beyond the regular saver and my Lifetime ISA. I will be subscribing the full £4K to my Lifetime ISA for the current tax year and have set up an appropriate standing order to fully subscribe next year. I’ve sold a couple of bits on Facebook Marketplace and I’m hoping to get more items on there over the next few weeks. I’ve sorted through a few books and CDs which I’ve sold to Ziffit and Music Magpie, so I’ll be getting a few pounds from them. I’ve also been going on Prolific when I think about it, usually once a day,and have already had a £10+ payout within a month, for not doing much.
I’m continuing to be as frugal as I can be day-to-day. I’m currently using up some of the craft things that I’ve previously bought so doing cross-stitch and knitting a little poncho using a pattern I found on the internet. I’m also knitting a pair of socks as part of the Xmas present for one of my neighbours. I’m also helping my mum scan her photos onto the computer, as she’s wanting to clear some pictures out as she has the pictures she’s taken, as well as my Nan’s pictures and my great-uncle’s pictures, so that is something else to do where I’m not spending anything.
I’m hoping to spend time over the next few months getting our garden straight. The garden has pretty much done it’s own thing over the last few years and it now feels pretty dull, as there is a lot of greenery but not much colour, and there’s a huge amount of weed. I’ve been thinking and talking with my mum and I’ve suggested that we have a good tidy up, make the outside borders a bit more low-maintenance, do a little bit of landscaping and having some raised beds with some fruit and vegetables. There will be a bit of an outlay but it will keep us all occupied and hopefully an outlay now might enable us to grow our own for the next few years for a minimal spend. We’re planning to sit down tomorrow and make a bit of a plan of action so hopefully we might have some lovely home-grown food for next year.
I’m hoping to spend some time between now and Xmas having a really good declutter, as I know there is more stuff to try to sell or to take to the charity shop. Hopefully I can do a little bit each day, or every couple of days and might have a tidier room and an extra few quid for savings.
B x
Make £2021 in 2021 #2 £1,162.46/£2.021 / £1,897.24 made in 2020
3-6 Month Emergency Fund £2,550.32/£5,000