Crunchy pays off the loan early, and other stories

CL21

What a positive way to end 2021! Looking forward to seeing your progress in 2022 🙂

Happy wrapping! 

remote_control

What a great post Crunchy, you've acheived so much and you do seem more settled than a few years ago.  I think with children there are a lot of expensive years as you have maternity leave, buying houses, doing them up etc. Now mine are in the juniors at school we have recovered financially from all of that.

Having said that the activities and money for things at school are killer - two children doing residential trips, loads of fundraising products in the lead up to Christmas at school. Plus out of school activities. 

Anyway, happy Christmas and happy new year. I'm excited about working towards my financial goals in 2022 (be debt free for first time since 2011 and save for a big trip) and also remortgaging. Short term, we are in our overdraft for the first time in years so I'm trying hard to be 0 spend for the rest of 2021. It's going fairly well actually, I've come up with some great money saving solutions to things in the last couple of weeks. I think as we've become more comfortable I've thrown money at things to make life easier e.g. buying something to take to a friends rather than making something. 

Take care

ohdearhowdidthathappen

That sounds like a very positive end to 2021

crunchy_time

CL21 said:

What a positive way to end 2021! Looking forward to seeing your progress in 2022 🙂

Happy wrapping! 

Thank you xx

crunchy_time

remote_control said:

What a great post Crunchy, you've acheived so much and you do seem more settled than a few years ago.  I think with children there are a lot of expensive years as you have maternity leave, buying houses, doing them up etc. Now mine are in the juniors at school we have recovered financially from all of that.

Having said that the activities and money for things at school are killer - two children doing residential trips, loads of fundraising products in the lead up to Christmas at school. Plus out of school activities. 

Anyway, happy Christmas and happy new year. I'm excited about working towards my financial goals in 2022 (be debt free for first time since 2011 and save for a big trip) and also remortgaging. Short term, we are in our overdraft for the first time in years so I'm trying hard to be 0 spend for the rest of 2021. It's going fairly well actually, I've come up with some great money saving solutions to things in the last couple of weeks. I think as we've become more comfortable I've thrown money at things to make life easier e.g. buying something to take to a friends rather than making something. 

Take care

@remote_control thanks!  You are right it being expensive.  My son has a residential trip next year that we are paying off in installments.  Well done for getting to a good place with your money.  I do read your diary but don't often have time to comment these days.  Making better choices is key.

Happy Christmas and here is to a great 2022 financially speaking!  xx

crunchy_time

ohdearhowdidthathappen said:

That sounds like a very positive end to 2021

Thank you! xx

crunchy_time

Afternoon all.

Had a lovely day at home today.  Went for a run, my first for about 3 months.  I'm going to build up to 2 miles consistently again over Christmas so I can get back to running just at weekends until it gets lighter in the evenings in March.  I'm also planning to start a new program on my exercise app - a barre workout for 6 weeks - just for a change.  

I had my booster on Friday and felt worse afterward, than when I had actual covid.  I had fatigue and then chills and a fever.  feel much better today and am glad I am fully vaxxed!!

Payday was Friday.  Got the extra bits paid off my credit card so it now stands at £0 although of course there is still the 0% amount on there and £90 of interest that I am going to chip away at.  So we just need to chip away at husbands card in the new year.

We have mostly completed our Christmas food shop and have mainly veg left to go.  Might have to do one last little shop for Christmas presents for me and husband but we shall see.  It would only be to fill up the stockings but the kids never look at ours anyway - too busy opening theirs!!

Husband usually gets a Christmas bonus and he is still waiting to hear whether or not this is happening this year.  It will be this week.

It is looking pretty bleak in the news.  I'm bracing myself for some sort of lockdown then if it doesn't happen it is a bonus.  We have made plans with people but nothing concrete.  I'm just going to take every day as it comes.  

Keeping positive and focusing on the things I can control.

Crunchy xx

crunchy_time

Morning all

Yesterday was a horrible day with the kids.  So hyper and argumentative. I ended up sending them to their rooms for a bit and then drinking half a bottle of wine in the evening.  It didn't make me feel better.  They are staying with family today so I get a bit of a break to recharge.  I'm about to take the dog for a long walk to get into nature but I have just been strategizing how to pay off husband's credit card next year and not be so reliant on it - especially for food.  But now I am getting distracted by the cheesy Christmas film on tv.

I've worked out what I am going to spend my personal spending money on next year.  I am going to do a clothes audit and then look what I actually need and plan it.  I have a few things that I can adjust as well or even refashion.  Only issue is my sewing machine has been broken by a child so I need to look and see what damage has actually been done and try and get it fixed.  I am not going to buy any more books until I have read the ones I have bought.  I worked it out and I have a whole shelf to read so I had better get cracking.

Back to food - I think we need some sort of strategy but I am not really sure what.  Will have to give it some thought.  I would et more veggie food but the kids would struggle with this - they would get used to it but it would be an initial  battle.  I really need to give what we eat an analysis.

Still waiting to hear about husbands bonus.  

Right going to take the dog for a walk now.

Crunchy xx

crunchy_time

Evening all

Bonus news is in - £4000 so after 40% tax £2400. Plus about £300 from a company wide bonus scheme. £400 plus the £300 will go towards some of husbands credit card. We are going to put the remaining £2k in his savings account to start the foundations to building our savings to pay off the loans in the loans before the terms end in the future. I don’t want to pay off the credit card as we need to not be using it and we need to learn how to do this first.

off to bed now!

Crunchy xx

crunchy_time

Morning all

Just got to get some wrapping paper, a loofah, deodorant and Christmas veg and we are done!!!

Most wrapping is done now.  Husband needs to check out the laptops tonight before we wrap those. We have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve so we can spend the whole day with the kids on Christmas day so our turkey is currently defrosting as we speak.  I cannot wait!!

I spent time yesterday organising the finances for the New year, setting up pots for planned expenses and planning how we are going to pay off the credit cards.

This is all at 0% until  November and next to it is my plan to pay it off.

Oil - £66 - I'm currently saving for next tank.  Have £50/£300 when saved for shall pay this last bit off before saving for next.
Interest - £200 - Goin to use minimum payment of £25 to pay this off.
Dentist - £240 - Dentist is every 9 months.  Due another in April.  Shall save £60 a month for next visit then pay this off.
Food - £440 - Have budgeted £50 a month to pay off food overpsends.  There is more on husbands card to tackle first.
Garden stuff - £125 - Shall use some of his bonus to pay this off next Friday/

£100 of interest - I shall tilly tidy this gradually.

I have also set myself up a savings plan for DS's first residential trip.  £179 is due by May 17th so I have put a line in my spreadsheet for this.

lastly, I have put a line on the Spreadsheet on husbands page for Christmas and birthdays for January 2022. At £100 a month.  Enough for £100 each for a present and then £600 for all the Christmas presents.

I still need to work out how to organise ourselves for the children's clothes.  I was bugeting £50 a month but it wasn't enough.  i think i need to look at what they may need in 2022 and then devise a budget.  I know they have enough school uniform and sports clothes so it will mainly be shoes and then seasonal bits.  DS is going through a real leggy phase now he is 9.  All of a sudden his jeans don't fit him.  DD gets a lot of hand me downs which is great but it is not usually what she needs.  We are not at the point where brands are important to them thank goodness.

So, hopefully no more issues next year that will take my eye off the ball for planned spends like the dentist and we can get rid of these credit cards.  By the middle of the year, I want to have a plan to tackle the £7k of loan that was for house renovations but the first step is to get the credit cards gone and sort out food spending.

I'm going to have a break for Christmas now.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Crunchy xx