Third Time’s The Charm

blue_eyed_girl123

Have just read your diary , noticed a spend of £10 for your daughters phone insurance - we pay £13 a month for packaged bank account and get mobile phone insurance for everyone in the household, travel insurance (constantly there so no faffing with renewals etc) and breakdown cover - might be worth looking at if you're paying £10 just to insure one mobile phone  

Narola1976

blue_eyed_girl123 said:

Have just read your diary , noticed a spend of £10 for your daughters phone insurance - we pay £13 a month for packaged bank account and get mobile phone insurance for everyone in the household, travel insurance (constantly there so no faffing with renewals etc) and breakdown cover - might be worth looking at if you're paying £10 just to insure one mobile phone  

Thank you very much for the suggestion. I don’t need another bank account as I already have 2 but like the idea. I shall look into this more, especially as I do not have breakdown cover and need to get some now that my car is out of warranty.

Narola1976

So as I do every morning I checked my bank account and can see my salary is pending. Yippee! I was pleased to see it was slightly more than I expected for the second month in a row and I am wondering if it is due to a tax adjustment. So an extra £23.16 to budget. It was a very exciting morning updating my YNAB categories at 5p increments 

I dithered if the extra money should go directly to debt or my true expenses. In the end I did both.  One of the things which I have learned from YNAB is that it is essential to budget for your true expenses before paying all your extra money to debt because if for some reason you need to pay for something and you haven’t allowed for it, you could end up having to use the credit card to pay for it. So while it seems counter intuitive to not throw every spare penny at debt, it makes a lot of sense to me. For example, I am saving for my daughter’s 18th in July. If I didn’t, I would end up buying her gifts on credit and I really, really don’t want to do that. It would give me enormous satisfaction to pay in cash and not add to the debt. Right now all my pots are tiny, but its better than nothing.

Also expecting a £27 payment tomorrow - reimbursement of work expenses so I have redirected the money for the printer ink back into the work expenses category as I am sure I will have to buy ink again, and the £10 I have added to the birthday fund.

Hopefully a slow day at work today as I stayed late finishing off a piece of work. I really do enjoy working from home. I am not sure I could ever go back to an office based job. With Corona, I heard from Martin Lewis that one could claim for WFH from HMRC. I did not know this and I have worked from home for 10 years now. I have been wondering whether I should make a claim.  

Well off for some breakfast - was doing well with the diet since Monday but caved last night and had bread and cake! Oh the shame

Chrystal

Check out online what you can claim for, as there are other things including gas and electric.  Definitely claim it, as it can make quite a difference to your tax payment.  Better in your pocket than theirs, and you may be able to backdate it for some of  the years.

Narola1976

Thanks @Chrystal.  I will certainly look. Into it.

So it’s payday! It felt like it would never get here. A great start to the morning looking at the budget and making a few payments as per the snowball. I am pleased to report that I have paid off my Argos BNPL plan. It’s a small win, but really pleased. My next small debt will be paid in 2 months and from there, it’s the hard slog with massive balances which is going to take a long time. But I am geared up for it. Also sent some money for my mum, as I do every month. She hasn’t got much and is not well so I do need to keep sending money to her. And at least the £ is stronger than her currency so even though I can’t send much it’s a decent amount to supplement her meagre pension.

My plan for today, apart from work, is to do a full pantry and freezer inventory, then plan the meals for the week,  and finally create the shopping list for the week. The food budget is tiny, so will need to be very careful and spend wisely. I shall be visiting Aldee / L*dl for most things, but have £4 in T3sco vouchers so will get a couple of bits from there. 

After much debate, and discussion with DD, we have decided to cancel her birthday party, partly due to cost and partly due to a desire to still shield as much as possible. It wasn’t going to be massive, just a BBQ, but it would have still been pricey. So will just pay for her to have a meal with friends. And we will do something together. She wanted to go to Harry Potter world as her gift but with Corona they have decided not to sell tickets for the rest of this year, so it will have to be a gift for next year. So I have time to save up for that. The party was important to me as we have no family in this country at all but it doesn’t seem right for now. This is disappointing to me and I feel like a failure as a mum. She is a really good girl and so understanding, and she was the one saying she didn’t want us to spend so much money. It breaks my heart that I have made such a mess of my life that it affects her so. Sorry it’s so negative, but I have no one else to tell. 

CreditCardJunkie

Hey Narola, you're doing a great job. I read a really great quote recently "you can do anything, but you can't do everything" (definitely helps with my mum guilt). Please be kind to yourself you are doing so well! The party was important to you and I totally understand, your daughter is fine with it so don't beat yourself up over it! It is crazy times right now and children are much more resilient than ourselves. 

Narola1976

@CreditCardJunkie thank you very much for your kind words. I do appreciate it. I know that she appreciates me and everything I do for her. I am lucky to have such a caring daughter. We had a really good chat in the car today - rather I talked and she listened while putting on her makeup - for work. We talked about retirement pots and what I had recently read about what the current school of thought was around how much one needed for a basic/comfortable/luxury lifestyle and why it was crucial to start this early. I shared that I haven’t really got much of a pension and how as soon as I am debt free this will be my focus. We talked about the mortgage interest rates and how me overpaying has resulted in a chance for us to be mortgage free in about 5 years and how freeing that would be. I am really proud of how she takes these things on board. She got a help to buy ISA just before they were disbanded and she pays £30 from her supermarket job into that. Her dad and I pay £50. I pay £10, he pays £40. It’s not much but it is something. 

Had to go and do a food shop today. Spent £166.69 of my £220 monthly budget at 4 different shops. We need to be more frugal in the volume we cook, we are a carnivorous lot and need to reduce this. So have a YS roast chicken in the oven, marked down from £6 to £2.99 plus further 25% staff discount thanks to DD. I would have preferred to freeze it for a Sunday roast, but it’s one of those chicken in a bag type things which does not freeze. So need to use straight away. This will be served with a green salad. We don’t normally have dessert but I picked up a butterscotch pudding mix for 29p at L*dl. Not tried before, hopefully it will be nice. 

Bank account looks very healthy at the moment  - at least until Monday when all the direct debits go out and it will drop fast  Can’t wait for the credit card payments to go out so I can update the snowball. I must say I really like this app, I was having no joy for months and months logging onto What’s the Cost website. But as it happens I much prefer an app I must stare at the snowball several times a day. Looking at those figures helps to keep me focused. 

The house is so quiet. I have missed being on my own on a Saturday afternoon. DD is usually at work and OH the same now lockdown has eased. It is heaven to have time to myself, I feel guilty for saying it, but its so pleasant. Just me and my cat, who has just come to see what I am doing. Her ladyship is a thoroughly spoiled young lady. 

Well I must go and get on with a few bits. Bye for now

Moneywhizz

You sound like a great mum and that you have brought up a lovely daughter. That doesn't sound like a failure to me. Also to be helping out your own mum when you are struggling so much to balance your own budget shows what a kind and caring person you are. You should take credit for what you have achieved and for the good things you are doing for others. Also to continue to proved food for your husband who doesn't contribute any money is remarkable. I didn't realise that he works and earns his own money. You sound a much better person than me, I would be inclined to only buy enough food for myself and daughter. Still there are obviously reasons for this situation that is no one's business but your own and I think you are doing really well sticking to your budget while continuing to help those around you. 

Narola1976

Thank you Moneywhizz, I think I needed to hear that. I don’t want people to think my OH has no redeeming qualities nor do I want to be unfair to him. He is an incredibly hardworking person, the most disciplined person I have met. He works 7 days a week. It’s taken a while to find his feet work wise but now he has his own business. It’s not making massive amounts but overheads are low as he also works from home. He helps around the house, so for example, he does most of the laundry and will mop the floors. And he washes the dishes a heck of a lot more than me. He is not a man to lay about watching TV and is always home if not working. He doesn’t waste a penny of money, not even on himself. And of late he has given some money towards food, granted its odd amounts here and there, but its better than before. But this does not excuse that he should be giving money towards all the bills, I know. 

Today I very much want to rest, but do have to get on with a few bits. I need to clean the kitchen, the counters, reorganise pantry cupboard and do a bit of baking. I am really enjoying the baking and even though I can only make biscuits I am quite proud of myself. There is an apple and cinnamon cake I really want to try but I wonder if I am ready for such a challenge? One of the posters was saying they never buy any biscuits or cakes as she makes her own and I want to try and do the same. 

Well that’s it for now. I will pop by later if I have time.

enthusiasticsaver

Good news on the first debt going. I think the tax allowance changed in April so that is probably why your salary is slightly higher. Definitely investigate claiming for working from home expenses. Good that the mortgage has also gone down and you are instilling good financial habits in your DD. We never pay phone insurance but then we have savings to replace one if broken or stolen or lost. When our DDs first got one if they lost or broke them they got a cheap bog standard one to replace it and they were then very careful with their phones as they knew it would not be replaced with an expensive one. I would not recommend bank packaged accounts either. If you are worried about your DD losing or breaking her phone and not having the money to replace it investigate putting it on your contents insurance.