10 years to go .... maybe, with a fair wind

savingholmes

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year. 

Good luck with the money raising for the trip.

Lauraebrad

I’m enjoying a properly ‘twixtmas day of pottering and pondering for next year.  Went for a stroll and a cuppa with an old friend this afternoon and we dived deep into plans and goal setting which was interesting.

This evening the teenage-one is at the theatre so I’m free to relax by the twinkly Christmas tree lights and draw up spreadsheets for 2026.  As always there’s a balance to be had between living expansively now and building good foundations for the future.  I’m going to leave the mortgage investments at £150/month for the time being as I’m used to that going out of the bank now.  Also, at least to start with, I’m going to keep my cash OP ‘bits and bobs’ at an estimated £100/month.  I managed £1,800 this year, rather than the £1,200 I initially thought - and might be able to exceed my target this year too as my standard monthly payment will be going down in March.  BUT I don’t want to siphon every last spare penny off to the mortgage as there are other things that need paying for around here too. 

The holiday savings continue to be a priority, and as the not-so-small-one gets larger he continues to cost more … not least because he’s increasingly keen on not sharing a room with me whilst on holiday.  We’ve also done a fair bit to make his room a bit more functional and grown up recently, so I need to pay myself back about £400 for that over the next few months.  Eek - it feels worse when I write it down!

I seem to have also overspent on the Christmas budget although not really sure how, as I don’t feel like I buy for many people!  So maybe I need to delve a little more into that this evening….. Nonetheless it can be rectified.  Will increase the sinking fund by £10 a month to provide a better cushion for Christmas 2026.

Really enjoying reading everyone’s end of year reflections.  This one’s certainly had ups and downs, but we’re still here and I’m ready to tackle 2026….. Happy New Year all.

debtfreewannabe321

Well done on reaching your goals 😄 happy new year 🎊 hoping 2026 is a much easier one for us all. 

Lauraebrad

Not quite ready for a new year goals post ... but I just logged on to my mortgage account to check something and spotted my balance has just tipped below £40k... So my numbers now start with a £3.  Hurrah!

KajiKita

Yaay for the big milestone! 🤩🎉🥳🎊

KK 

debtfreewannabe321

Great news 😁!

beanielou

Fantastic news. 

Lauraebrad

March is springing so time for an update.  I’m feeling much more like myself with the return of the light (and probably more likely - being over the hump of a ridiculously busy period at work).  Feel like there’s been a lot of money going out recently - all reasonable - but still, a lot which always makes me a bit twitchy. 

In MSE news, the small one’s phone met its end.  We agreed I would pay for a replacement from a well known second hand phone marketplace.  He negotiated an upgrade on the proviso that he pays the difference (about £30), then we also traded in the old, broken one, so not too big a spend in the end, considering that’s where your life is stored when you’re nearly 14.  It happened on the same day I got paid a big chunk of overtime - so whilst that’s not exactly what I’d been planning to spend it on - it still helped.     

I went on a bit of a spree in February and changed my broadband and mobile supplier.  Got a £145 prepaid card for the broadband which I’m now using happily, and saving around a fiver a month on the phone which is a not too bad £60 per year more in my pocket.   Naturally it didn’t quite go to plan, and changeover day for the internet came around with no sign of the router in the post.  Meaning we had 3 and a bit days with no wifi - gadzooks!  Typically coincided with changing phone provider which for some reason didn’t seem strong enough to support a hotspot - so I ended up working at my friend’s kitchen table with her lovely dog for company!  Thank goodness for friends with functioning wifi. 

Finally, after what seems like a long time, my new mortgage product has kicked in.  4.10% as opposed to my previous 1.88% but hey ho.  I took advantage of a small window between products to make a £10k overpayment so my figure is now into (just) the £20k’s.  It was a lot of money to see go out of my accounts, but is the result of the last 3 or more years savings/investments for overpayments so that was always its intended job.  So my standard monthly required payment is now £90 less than what I actually pay - meaning a really easy £90 OP every month.  I’m super keen to get this mortgage gone now.  The not-very-small one has 4.5 years left at school (assuming he stays for 6th form) and if it could be gone around then I would be very happy indeed. 

In not very MSE news, March is incredibly busy - mostly with really nice things that just happen to have all been booked in for this month!  Had a night away in Manchester with friends and danced my feet off at Jo Whiley’s 90s anthems which was a lot of fun.  Also got a couple of theatre tickets booked - although they’re all paid for so just one train and probably some food/drink needed.  

Our food / household spending really seems to be creeping up.  I don’t really know what I think it should be but I’d say we’re spending around £270 a month for 1 adult and 1 teenage boy (5/7ths of the week) - including food, cleaning, toiletries etc.  I’m sure it was much closer to £200 even a year ago.  So I’m not sure whether this is me getting steadily less frugal (especially as we’ve been busy / the boy eats more) or whether it’s simply the inflationary effect.  Mostly cook from scratch, refill a lot of foods, don’t eat a lot of meat …. Definitely one to ponder some more I think.

Anyway, it’s a blue sky, windy day so better get some washing on the line.  Happy March all.

Humdinger1

Everything is more expensive @lauraebrad. I too am budgeting to the penny but I also think that inflation is hard to totally beat. I don't buy much but want to have good quality. You're doing brilliantly love Humdinger xx

savingholmes

Sympathies on the internet issues. I feel your pain having managed to cancel during my second 14 days notice period and switch to a provider who can actually deliver unlike the last one.