Getting shot of the mortgage sooner than 2049!

Bluegreen143

What a dramatic morning we had today 😂 long story short due to being snowed in I ended up paying £30(!) on a ridiculously overpriced Uber to get Monkey to school so he could be part of the nativity (bus and walking not an option at the time due to distance and timetables, normal cheap taxis all busy - taxis to school usually cost about £7!). 

Got him to school at 9.25 immediately before the first performance at 9.30 😂 Then I had ages to hang around as parents were only invited to the second one so £6.50 spent in a cafe with Bambi, mainly to keep her warm. 

So not at all MSE but money well spent IMO, his wee happy proud face when he spotted us in the audience later! 😍 and he delivered his one line so confidently bless him and did all the songs and actions. Thankfully another mum then gave us a lift home. (We were able to walk down to the school bus stop for hometime pick up later so didn’t need to stay in the area). 

Also got our weekend Tesco delivery, £43 but £3.50 was a Christmas present and £1.50 was balloons Monkey asked for (to come from his pocket money) so £38 in total. However I may need to make lunch on Sunday when my papa visits, we’ve decided to stay home instead of eating out. So not sure if I have enough food as my sister is coming too. Will raid the freezer and see what we have! 

Hoping the snow all melts overnight as it’s meant to be above freezing 🤞🏼 

Bluegreen143

Well the snow is all gone but it’s all turned to ice so it’s like a skating rink outside! 

We’ve taken the executive decision to have an at home pyjama weekend (my papa isn’t coming now) and it feels amazing after such a busy few weeks. 

Red did take the car to the garage this morning, but we have it back already - the fault was very minor (a setting had gone wrong when we jumped started it previously, making the fan run all the time). £78 spent but obviously necessary. 

So far this morning (after a lie in) I’ve tidied and hoovered everywhere, done a washing and totally reorganised the kids books plus read to Bambi for ages and made lunch (not very gourmet, beans & cheese on toast!). Plan for this afternoon is making Christmas cards and decorating mugs with the kids (the decorated mugs are for them to give to grandparents and teachers). 

Apart from dealing with the car, Red spent 40 minutes(!) helping the postman who got his van stuck on the icy hill - happily he did eventually get him on his way in the end! 

And he’s spent the rest of the morning doing a Lego set with Monkey which is a bit too hard for him to do alone. It was lovely sitting with the twinkling lights on, reading snuggled up with a bambi under a blanket and with the boys lying on the floor building ❤️🥰 feels like a little practise run for the week between Christmas and New Year - except better as Red needs to work some of that. 

The only exception to lazing at home doing Christmas crafts this weekend is I’m out for dinner and the ballet tonight with my mum and sister, which will be lovely 🥰 though that will involve spending some £££ of course. I’ve got money aside though and will stick to just a couple of drinks.

Bluegreen143

@KajiKita as promised, screenshots from my YNAB budget. If the organisation doesn’t make sense feel free to ask any questions! 

I need to remove “air fryer” from the list as my mum has picked me one up on a bartering site, I just need to refund her the beer she bartered for it 😁

beanielou

Late to your diary!
The birthday cakes looked amazing

KajiKita

Thank you so much @Bluegreen143 !! Absolutely brilliant 🤩 Answers a lot of my questions on level of details and format. Can I ask about food being £500, £493.64 as ‘attributed’ and then £249.62 in amber as ‘available’? What does attributed mean in this context? And ‘available’ is what’s left to the end of the month? KK

Bluegreen143

@KajiKita so the attributed is what you’ve budgeted! It’s just a bit less than the £500 I planned to budget (which I include in the pot name as a reminder) as I nicked £7ish at some point to top up another pot 😂 YNAB is super flexible and encourages adapting your budget as you go!

£249 “available” is what’s left to spend out of the £493 budgeted (until end Dec). 

It’s in amber because that category counts as underfunded as I nicked that £7 but it’s no big deal. It would be green if I’d budgeted £500 or more as that’s what I’ve set as the target amount to budget each month.

If I spent more than was in the pot it turns red and that IS a big deal which you need to fix (by taking money from elsewhere, which reflects real life - overspends mean you can’t afford so much in another area, or you put it on a credit card!). Amber you can just leave. 

Bluegreen143

Lovely evening tonight seeing Snow Queen at the ballet. Beautiful performance and my sister got my ticket for my Christmas two years ago (rescheduled last year due to covid) so it felt like a freebie. 

I did spend £55 on dinner (very nice and expensive Thai restaurant and I got a cocktail) but my mum picked me up and dropped me off as she was driving in, so I saved on taxis. I’d budgeted £50 so not too bad an overspend. 

KajiKita

Bluegreen143 said:

@KajiKita so the attributed is what you’ve budgeted! It’s just a bit less than the £500 I planned to budget (which I include in the pot name as a reminder) as I nicked £7ish at some point to top up another pot 😂 YNAB is super flexible and encourages adapting your budget as you go!

£249 “available” is what’s left to spend out of the £493 budgeted (until end Dec). 

It’s in amber because that category counts as underfunded as I nicked that £7 but it’s no big deal. It would be green if I’d budgeted £500 or more as that’s what I’ve set as the target amount to budget each month.

If I spent more than was in the pot it turns red and that IS a big deal which you need to fix (by taking money from elsewhere, which reflects real life - overspends mean you can’t afford so much in another area, or you put it on a credit card!). Amber you can just leave. 

Brilliant 🤩 Thank you. 

In effect, after you get paid you top up all your standard pots (food, petrol, council tax etc.) and then track them as they go down through the month? And the nonstandard, long term things like car insurance renewal or DIY projects you steadily top up each month and then empty them as needed?

KK

Bluegreen143

@KajiKita yes, but again YNAB is super flexible. So I’m tinkering with the budget weekly. Maybe I spend too much in petrol because we unexpectedly drive more. So if I empty petrol and it goes red, I will reassign money from groceries or misc or something. And be more frugal in our shopping that month. 

At the end of the month any money left in groceries, misc or petrol (or my personal spending) gets wiped - moved to savings. But pots like annual insurance or savings or projects keep their funds of course as you need them to fill up over time. 

KajiKita

Thanks @Bluegreen143, I think I’ve got it now 😊

I will head off and set up a template. I may even do it today, after wrangling new car insurance as the forecast is so grim for today. 

KK