Learning to budget and taking control of my life.

Disney_Princess85

SuperFrank88 said:

Hi,

How are you getting on? 

Hi, thanks for asking. I'm really rubbish at keeping this thing updated!

I'll do a longer post with numbers later on, but the dmp is plodding on and I have just over £6000 remaining and I'm down to 3 accounts on it now.

The aim is to have it down to £5000 by the end of the year.

Disney_Princess85

Disney_Princess85 said:

So as it's the end of the year, I though I'd set some goals for next year both in terms of what I want to pay off my DMP and also what I want to save.

Current Debts:                                                                                                Target for end of 2021                                                  
DMP - £8410                                                                                                   DMP - £6000                            
Credit Card - £62                                                                                             Credit Card - £0 aim to not use
Simply be account £34.49                                                                               £0 - aim to not use.

Plan is to pay off the credit card and simply be account. My DMP has a standing order of £136 a month but I want to try and over pay this by £50 a month to take it down to £6000 by the end of next year. I've had a pay rise so that should be do able I've also stopped the payment to my parents for the car, so that money can go to the DMP to pay it down quicker.

Savings:
Help to Save -  £1200                                                                                      £1800
LISA -               £416.31                                                                                   £700
Start to Save AC - £270                                                                                   £870
Emergency Fund    £677                                                                                  £1204
This amounts are based on what I am currently paying into the accounts each month at the moment. So if I can managed the same each month in 2021 then the numbers on the right are what I should end up with. I know I could pay more money to my DMP each month but I feel so much happier having savings so that if anything does go wrong then I have something to fall back on.

So that's my plan, I'm hoping by having it up here it will help me to keep focussed and I'll have something to reflect on this time next year.

Happy New Year everyone!

So a quick update and a promise to be a bit more regular with my postings.

DMP is currently down to £6150 with an extra £100 being paid off at the end of next week.
My credit card balance is £0

My savings have taken a bit of a beating due to various reasons, but most recently my car needed an extra £215 work of work doing when I had it serviced and MOT'd. I'd already paid out just over £200 for the service and MOT I had an expensive start to August. So my short term aim is to build these back up .

LISA - £701.88
Help to Save - £1600
Emergency Fund - £217.02

So the savings are not looking too bad, but they could be better. I've also been saving for Christmas this year and I've already smashed my target of £365 so I'm aiming to up that too £400 to just give me a little bit more to play with.

Disney_Princess85

Had quite a chilled day today (I'm a teacher so currently on summer holidays) and DD is currently with her Dad for the week.

I managed to get a load of housework sorted and I even finally go round to cleaning the oven which was long overdue.

I did a small shop in Aldi today so hopefully I don't need to go to the supermarket again this week. I've got loads of food in I just need to stop being lazy and actually use what I have in. I've been following the frugal living challenge thread so I'm hoping some of it will rub off on me to try and lower my food spend each month.

WinterWarrior

Well done on cleaning the oven, that’s an awful messy job! 

I saw a Facebook post saying the me who buys the food shopping is a totally different person to the me who has to make meals out of the ingredients and that’s so true! 

Disney_Princess85

WinterWarrior said:

Well done on cleaning the oven, that’s an awful messy job! 

I saw a Facebook post saying the me who buys the food shopping is a totally different person to the me who has to make meals out of the ingredients and that’s so true! 

Thank! I hate doing it with a passion, but I feel better now that it's been done.

I love cooking , but I'm just really lazy so I start off with good intentions, but then these fall to the way side when I actually have to get my bum in gear to cook a meal!

Disney_Princess85

It's the summer holidays and I've realised how much I need the structure of work to stop me spending.I seem to constantly end up in a shop especially when I don't have DD with me!

I definitely need to work on that.

I managed to sort out my bedroom today and my desk area which I've been meaning to sort for a while so I've now got a more workable area. I need to crack on with some school work today really I've got a year 10 class this year so need to get to grips with the texts they are studying. I also found 2 bags of stuff to take to the charity shop so I'll take that down today to stop it cluttering up the landing. I've added a couple more bits to vinted in the hope that they'll sell.

Disney_Princess85

I took 3 bags of stuff to the charity shop this morning and I also did some school related reading so I feel like I've been semi productive.

I also have got back into doing surveys to earn extra cash and my prolific is up to £14.24 with an extra £5.31 waiting to be verified. I also cashed out on one of my receipt scanning app so I earned a £5 amazon voucher which I've got waiting in my account to go towards Xmas. I want to try and get into more of a routine with doing surveys as they are a great way to earn a little extra cash.

Disney_Princess85

Quick update.

I had a rebate from some pension contributions the other day so I decided to top up my emergency fund, so that's now sitting at £400 now, and I also put £50 into my house fund.

I'm planning to go abroad next year and I need to renew my passport. It's not due to run out til the October, but I need to have 6 months left on it to travel and when I am planning to go there won't be 6 months remaining on it. It's annoying but necessary.To help with this I've set up a savings pot in my startling account and plan to drip feed small bits in here and there so hopefully it'll add up quite quickly. I need £75.50 to renew it.

My Christmas fund is also at £390 so only £10 to go to meet my new target.

I definitely like having savings pots with specific names for specific things. If it all went in one account I'd end up wasting it as it would feel less like it has a purpose. The same with my current accounts, I have one for food, one for my car and one where all my money gets paid into and then all the direct debits come out of. If I just had the one account I'd spend money far quicker than I do now! It makes little difference as it's all used but mentally it helps me.

WinterWarrior

Well done on all the savings. Passports really are daylight robbery! 

I’m still getting to grips with pots and it’s taken a lot of mental training to stop pulling money back out. I really need to work on the Christmas fund! 

Disney_Princess85

WinterWarrior said:

Well done on all the savings. Passports really are daylight robbery! 

I’m still getting to grips with pots and it’s taken a lot of mental training to stop pulling money back out. I really need to work on the Christmas fund! 

I've found having a separate account helps as I physically have to log into the account to see what's in it. I also don't carry the card with me so I can't use it while I'm out.

I also move over very small amounts like the odd pence left and I've found I don't notice it but it does add up quite quickly.