Now or never

Its_time

Mucking out 2 stables again today at least I will be warm as it is flipping freezing here this morning.
Ham and chips for tea then the rest is going in the freezer.
Yesterday was a much better day work wise it really helped not travelling, the extra time at home  made a huge difference, I have more time for my business and am going to save around £100 every month on diesel, although the heating was on a lot more 🤔
 

enthusiasticsaver

Its_time said:

I wouldn't even have thought about that @joedenise how do you make smoked bacon?

Just a quick question we've had the renewal through for our house insurance in January if we put it on a monthly direct debt it is about £50 more, should I pay it outright or pay it monthly and put the money put aside for it towards other pots like Christmas pets etc. as they have not been budgeted for this year and only have a month of money in them? Wondered if it was best to keep the money and pay monthly? I'm not sure if I am happy doing this though.....

I would always pay the insurance annually as you pay a lot more by paying monthly.  How much as a percentage is that £50 of the total premium.  You have only just really started saving in pots so you will not have a lot in them for now and it will be a work in progress for year 1.  Presumably what you are saying is that you do not have enough in the insurance pot to pay annually this year so have to borrow from another pot?  Even if you have lower debt repayments for the first three months or so of using the pots system you do need to really overfund them for  the first year to get over the problem of the bill coming up in the early part of the year as is  the case with insurance.  It may well be that you have to borrow from another pot like Christmas maybe as you won't need to access that until next November and overfund until you get on to an even keel. How much is the insurance yearly premium and have you done a cost comparison? 

Its_time

@enthusiasticsaver thanks.  Yes it works out about £50 more over the year to pay it monthly, I think I will go with my gut which is telling me to pay it all in one go otherwise I suppose I am adding to credit.  I have the money budgeted for January I just wasn't sure whether it was sensible to keep the money and pay the insurance monthly.  The insurance pot doesn't begin being funded until January but that is separate to the full amount I have budgeted out of January's income.  Phew that was a headache!
I had another day off work in the end today, by the time I had finished mucking out I had such a headache and felt sick, I just laid on the settee till lunchtime then felt a bit better.  I might have to watch what I am eating as I think it might have something to do with it 🤔 
Tomorrow is a work day, I am off to sleep now and hopefully I will have a good night and feel much refreshed.  Puppy is already flat out between us ❤

joedenise

@Its_time I use a loin of pork to make the bacon.  It needs to be covered in a mix of sugar and salt and then left in the fridge for about 5 days draining off the water each day. It then gets cold smoked for about 8 hours.  We use a ProQ smoking basket in a tall BBQ.  Check out their website it is really helpful.

We never have bought bacon now.  It’s home smoked or we don’t have it!

Its_time

@joedenise wow that's amazing,  I've never heard of that, I will have a read.
Jobs for today:
Muck out
Washing x 4 or 5 loads
Clean through 
Hoover through 
Decluttter
Make bread x 2
Meal plan and shopping list
Balance bank and shopping account
Make time to sit down and relax.

Its_time

Mucked out
1.5 loads of washing done
Living room cleaned and hoovered
Tree up
2 loaves of bread made
Decluttered
Balanced bank and shopping account
Still need to:
Meal plan and do shopping list
then sit down and relax 

Its_time

To do:
Balance banks and reset!!!
Where does the time go?

Its_time

What a funny old week it has been.
I've been really unhappy a lot this week, DH has been lovely and has given me lots of cuddles.
I think I am coming down to earth with a bump after all the stress of travelling for job 1 thankfully it is now over and I just work from home which although is easier it is still horrid, I have had half a day off today from my business and I am not going to work on my business tomorrow just to give me a bit of a breather, I worked today and after 2 hours I was having a mini breakdown finding fault in almost everything in my life, DH sat and chatted to me and gave me another cuddle and I felt better, he reassured me that we are aiming to give up Job 1 as soon as financially possible, it felt so good to hear again that he is behind me all the way.  I've made myself happier by spending on some chocolates where I shouldn't have but DH and I are going to spend some time together just us over Christmas and eat them then.  I really need some relaxation time both physically and mentally.  I've taken them from the shopping budget.
So this week I have mucked out 2 stables everyday which DH says helps him no end.  I've cleaned the house and feel so much better for it especially seeing our bedroom clean and clutter free each evening, its so nice.  The washing is now up to date and I am able to put it on radiators and in the airing cupboard which means for the last 2 days I have not had to use the tumbler so much, I know it is early days but I am going to stick to it.  The electricity is horrifically high at the moment, what is going on??
I've had a look this evening at our shopping spends and I think we are ok for setting a £250 per month budget going into next year.  I have almost spent this months budget with a large Tesco order coming tomorrow but I really shouldn't need anything until January after that.  Christmas was not accounted for this year so the money had to come from somewhere.  Next year there will be a pot ready.
I've renewed our Electricity tariff which was a shock, the cost is astronomical.  I can't understand what is going on, our direct debit has gone up £100 a month which takes back all the diesel saves I am making working at home.  Hopefully the tumbler being on less will help.
I've also looked at the pet spends and I think £300 will be a bit much a month but I am going to stick with it for a bit as it is better to have more than less, I can always reduce it.
Going into January the pots will start to fill, i've set up transfers each month, it's still very much a work in progress but we are already in a better position than the end of October when we started.
I've had a sneaky look to see what the debt figures are and they are not great this month but most importantly they are less.  I am hoping to be under the £26,000 by the end of December.
DH said to me today it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as it doesn't go back up and it keeps on going down and we are happy, he said slowly but surely, he really has been absolutely lovely today.

enthusiasticsaver

So long as the debt is going down the main thing is to sort out a system and budget that works for you.  The energy market is astronomically expensive at the moment.  Our direct debit has doubled too but there are no decent fixed rates out there so no option other than staying put according to MSE.  It will be worse in April apparently when the cap is recalculated to account for rising wholesale prices. 

Good that the pots are starting to fill and your DH is supportive.  Sorry you had a tough week. 

Its_time

Thank you @enthusiasticsaver, I did try and do a swop for the electricity through top cash back but I am not sure whether they will say we are an existing customer 🤔
I forgot to mention that everything I have bought online has gone through top cash back, Matalan had a huge 30% deal so I bought items that are for a person I don't pay for, the cashback has tracked at £187 🤣🤣 I'm sure they will rectify that ASAP 😊