Ditching It

SpendingPennies

waterplate said:

I've opened a second current account with Virgin and set up a standing order from our existing current account for the amount of my salary over and above our bills and direct debit every month.  We'll use the debit cards from the new account, which comes with some handy budgeting tools, for food, petrol and day to day spending. DH's smaller salary will stay in the existing current account and if we need to top up the new account (which I'm sure we will most months until we get a hold of where we are fritters going cash) we can do it from that.
The new account also has a linked savings account with separate pots, so I'm setting those up for mortgage OPs, holidays, annual expenses like car insurance, and Christmas/birthday funds. It is amazing how good it feels to be getting on top of all this!

Thanks for sharing @waterplate, I am in the process of doing something similar. I’ve applied for an additional current account with our existing bank. Apparently it can take 2 to 3 weeks for them to run ID / anti fraud checks. Seems a bit excessive seeing as though we just want to send money between accounts with the same bank. But it gives me a bit of time to work on the budget.

SpendingPennies

So a new year calls for some new resolutions. And here we go:

1) Reduce the mortgage. Current balance is £181,305. I’ve set up a new savings account and will transfer £1000 a month and plan to pay £12000 off the mortgage balance in December. If we continue to overpay by £1000 a month we should nail the mortgage by 2028 instead of 2036.
2) Make regular savings. We need to build up an emergency fund (maybe £5000?). I’ve set up a separate savings account for this. We need to work out what else we might need to save for. The house has been a money pit since we moved in 10 years ago, we’ve had wet rot, dry rot, woodworm, leaks, and most things generally breaking off, crumbling away or falling down. Luckily we’ve completed most of the planned work. We would like to update the driveway and patio areas next, but we plan to take that slowly, one job at a time as and when we have some spare funds.
3) Keep on top of the finances and generally being more MSE. Our monthly outgoings could no doubt be less. I need to spend more time on this. I suspect we should be able to comfortably increase our over payment plans. My resolution is to check our outgoings, balances and the new spreadsheet on a daily basis. We also want to enjoy life of course, so will need to strike a balance. I hope to use this diary to keep track on progress and sense check how much we are spending and saving. First mortgage payment of the year will be on Monday, first savings payment Tuesday (sounds like a bad Craig David song) and I can’t wait to make a start. 

SpendingPennies

Also adding some non financial resolutions. All about being the best version of myself.
1) Lose weight. I have gained at least a stone in weight over the last few months, and I’m not liking  my COVID curves. I used to do 5 exercise classes a week at the gym, but sadly I’ve not been able to go since March. I’m going to do some online fitness classes and see how I get on. Also planning to start Veganuary (a little later in the week when we get our food delivery), will do it for at least a month and hopefully it will give me a bit of a boost, and a much needed detox from all those Christmas calories.
2) Get more organised. I will need to get up earlier on weekdays to do household chores and walk the dog, as well as do an exercise class before starting work on time. I work from home now so at least I no longer have to commute. If I am starting earlier, I need to go to bed earlier too. I am also going to set myself targets at home each month to get some jobs done, otherwise they will never happen. 
3) Do my best at work. I need to keep my job for the next 7 to 8 years in order to meet our overpayment targets. So I’m going to do all I can to make sure my employers want to keep hold of me when the next inevitable round of redundancies hit. 

As per the financial stuff, I hope to keep myself accountable in this diary. Will have to set some specific monthly goals to achieve. Tomorrow is the first day back at work so that’s when all the resolutions start too (I don’t want to peak too soon 😊) 

waterplate

SpendingPennies said:

Also adding some non financial resolutions. All about being the best version of myself.
1) Lose weight. I have gained at least a stone in weight over the last few months, and I’m not liking  my COVID curves. I used to do 5 exercise classes a week at the gym, but sadly I’ve not been able to go since March. I’m going to do some online fitness classes and see how I get on. Also planning to start Veganuary (a little later in the week when we get our food delivery), will do it for at least a month and hopefully it will give me a bit of a boost, and a much needed detox from all those Christmas calories.
2) Get more organised. I will need to get up earlier on weekdays to do household chores and walk the dog, as well as do an exercise class before starting work on time. I work from home now so at least I no longer have to commute. If I am starting earlier, I need to go to bed earlier too. I am also going to set myself targets at home each month to get some jobs done, otherwise they will never happen. 
3) Do my best at work. I need to keep my job for the next 7 to 8 years in order to meet our overpayment targets. So I’m going to do all I can to make sure my employers want to keep hold of me when the next inevitable round of redundancies hit. 

As per the financial stuff, I hope to keep myself accountable in this diary. Will have to set some specific monthly goals to achieve. Tomorrow is the first day back at work so that’s when all the resolutions start too (I don’t want to peak too soon 😊) 

I have similar resolutions to you on the weight loss and food fronts as well!  DH followed a fully vegan diet from early November until his dad arrived on 18th December.  He is going to go back to "mostly vegan" and I'll eat more or less the same as him as he does the cooking, though I don't plan to give up eggs which I have for breakfast twice a week.  I need to get sorted out with a plant milk I can have in tea - oat is fine for me in coffee but not tea!

I have signed up for a trial of Noom for weight loss - I only need to lose about 1 1/2 stone (I've lost double that in the past!). I need to be more mindful of what I'm eating so tracking with Noom and having a coach on there will help a lot.

I have started doing weights at home with a friend over WhatsApp and we've just agreed to do that two mornings a week at 6am before work.  I'll carry on with the trainer at the gym until we inevitably move to Tier 4 as well, and get some cardio exercise at weekends, probably run/walking until I get fit enough to run 5k again without stopping.

Looking forward to seeing how you get on!

SpendingPennies

Good luck on the diet front @waterplate, sounds like you have a great plan in place. Eggs are the part of veganuary that’s troubling me, we have our own chickens, so I know our girls are well treated, it seems a pity not to eat  their lovely eggs. I am hoping to do full on vegan for a month, but may be a bit more flexible after that. 

I will take a look at Noom, sounds like an interesting concept. I am starting my first online class on Tuesday, I used to be very fit but I think I am going to struggle. Exercising with a friend or at the gym is much more motivating, but I fear we will be in tier 4 for a long time yet. We are lucky to live by a forest so I have enjoyed a couple of chilly brisk dog walks this weekend. 😀

SpendingPennies

So back to work today after the Christmas break. Actually it was quite good being back. I have been full of positivity as it’s the first day of my new year resolutions. Pleased to say I am back in healthy eating mode, no longer eating my own body weight in chocolate, and not tempted to raid the alcohol collection, (even for medicinal reasons) either. I got up early, did some exercises, walked the dog, and was at my laptop in the study, cup of herbal tea in hand ready to start by 09:00. 
The normal mortgage payment went out today, leaving the new total at just a few pounds over £170k, very excited about going down  to the £160s very soon. 

SpendingPennies

First transfer into our overpayment account today. It no longer stands empty, but proudly contains £1050. ( the planned £1000 plus £50 paid by accident when trying to work out how to do the online transfer). Have really been looking forward to getting going on this journey, and now we have finally started, woo hoo.
Have to say I am feeling a bit deflated about going back into lockdown (aren’t we all!!). On the plus side, at least we probably won’t spend too much. But I am equally glad we took the decision to pay into an overpayment account initially rather than straight into the mortgage. At least we will have a safety net should we lose our jobs. Hope everyone else is coping ok and staying safe.

SpendingPennies

No money news today. So checking in to report on other resolutions. First week back after Christmas going well so far, already past hump day and hurtling towards the weekend. Fitness goals are off to a slower start, I had  physio on Monday and have been in pain since, so no online classes yet. I’ve walked further than usual to try and keep active. Today is my first day doing Veganuary, I’ve been using up the Christmas food but now have my Click and Collect order. Lots of lovely fresh veg and some dairy alternatives to try too. Ive written a meal plan for the first week, just got to make sure I stick to it. I’m hoping to see some health benefits after 1 month. 

waterplate

Great on all fronts by the sound of it. Well done!  We're eating up freezer food so not fully vegan until that's done. Done weights three times and some short runs to warm up, and now going for an evening walk to get my steps up. Noom has made me track my eating and set a goal to replace sweet snacks with fruit at work and when I get home.  Lockdown means work is easier, and I can actually get more exercise.  I have got to decide whether to do another overpayment of 10 per cent for the full year, or keep some back and overpay each month. Hmm.

SpendingPennies

Thanks for dropping by @waterplate. We’ve eaten most of the Christmas food now and I was so pleased to get some fresh food. Also we’ve been eating some weird combinations just to use things up. Sounds like you’ve been really active, I’m going to get back on it tomorrow. 

It’s difficult knowing whether to overpay or keep some back isn’t it? My DH is a little nervous about committing too much to an overpayment in case we need the money to fall back on, so we are going to save up some extra before overpaying at the end of the year. But of course that means we don’t get to see a reduction in term until December.