Must try harder!

WinterWarrior

Here I am again after a few weeks off. I just felt like I’d lost my mojo. @redofromstart I was abysmal with the planner, truly dreadful! I kept spending and then having to cross amounts out, readjust targets, etc. I’m now at the rip it out stage 😅
I am back as a new and shiny WW! My terrible money decisions had followed me into October, but I have had a bit of a lightbulb moment…and hope to do much better. I had taken some more money out of pb’s, but moved a touch back into my stocks & shares isa, so I’m not as far down as I first thought. I have done a very, very honest review of what I was doing with my money and have signed up for a year of YNAB at £99. I had tried a free trial before and didn’t like it, but this time around it feels much better. I have set up every single category and have been happily playing with the numbers. Once the trial ends I will be able to plan a lot further ahead. I’ve been watching all of the tutorials and hope this will be a healthy money saving obsession. One of the good things from the tutorials is that if you save for every category you may need, then that negates the need for an emergency fund as you have everything covered. Hovering over my new budget in my spare time is stopping me spending 😬 It’s not that I want a parsimonious life and I can afford some treats, but equally I do want to build up a nice buffer for everything life throws at me, along with trying to build up my replacement car fund. I can’t carry on spending to pass the time and having nothing to show for it! 

I’m still slogging on with the steps and the calorie counting, other than that, I have nothing hugely exciting to report.
i hope you are all having a good day ☔️

pennywisepoundstupid

Good to see you back xx

Sun_Addict

Welcome back, you've been missed. You're a work in progress so as long as you're making progress, it doesn't matter how small. 

milann

Keep on plodding as dear Beanie says 👍 It’s all we can do…..what’s done is done - learn from it and look forward. 

jwil

Welcome back!

WinterWarrior

Happy Thursday everyone. This morning I went back up the pound I had lost, so I have had a salted caramel twin stick in protest 😬 To be fair, they are so small they could hide in a box of celebrations and no one would know they didn’t belong! 

I am still playing with YNAB and did a fresh start as I think I’d confused myself with some of my updates. It’s a learning curve and I think the hardest bit will be reconciling the overall amount in my accounts to the ynab totals for the categories. And remembering that the ynab category tells me what I can spend and not the overall amount in the bank. On the app it doesn’t give me the totalled up amounts, but I used my trusty calculator and added every bit together..my set DD’s, my sinking fund amounts, my monthly amounts for yearly bills, my spending money, my pet food, petrol, etc. And I should have £300 left to share between savings accounts. I’ve been very generous with my monthly spend and added a groceries line for the bits I always buy from Amazon in bulk, and a hobbies category and £100 unexpected category (which would normally come from my spending pot), so I’m hoping set out like this I can’t fail in November…and anything unspent can roll over. The aim is to get a month (or even 2) in front, so I will move away from the paycheck to paycheck feeling. Spell checker changed that to pay heck…which seems more appropriate 🤣
It feels strange that I won’t be trying to fire everything into savings, but as that didn’t work for me (because I kept taking it back), this may be the answer.
in spending news I did order some battery pumpkin fairy lights from amaz0n…just £5 something and they are so cute. I will string them up at the door for when the Halloweeners come 😁
I hope you are all having a good day ☔️

redofromstart

Budgets fascinate me, I love the idea of them but I just can't use them unless I have to. I probably should try again. I always blamed mr redo for our spending but looking at the last 4 weeks I am just as bad although it's mostly comfort spending or bulk pet stuff. 

I hope YNAB works for you - lots of people rave about it don't they? 

WinterWarrior

redofromstart said:

Budgets fascinate me, I love the idea of them but I just can't use them unless I have to. I probably should try again. I always blamed mr redo for our spending but looking at the last 4 weeks I am just as bad although it's mostly comfort spending or bulk pet stuff. 

I hope YNAB works for you - lots of people rave about it don't they? 

We have separate finances, so I can only blame myself (although mrWW spends on stuff that would give me the rage, which is why it works better for us 😅). I also spend a lot on bulk pet food and comfort spending. This month I bought a lot of unplanned pet food on the prime days. It works out so much cheaper, but I don’t tend to feel the benefit in the following months. With ynab I am budgeting my usual £300, but will only need about £100 for all dogs treats and snacks, so should be able to roll over the remainder to the following month….instead of just frittering it. I hated ynab when I had a trial before, but now something has clicked and I’m really enjoying tweaking it and updating. The only frustration is that it’s a month free trial and I can’t see more than one month in the future until I pay for the full thing (which it won’t let me do until the trial ends in mid November). I won’t get a true go at it until my wage lands at the end of the month. People do rave about it and I couldn’t understand why, but now I really do get it. I have already saved myself money mid month and have a much better outlook until payday. It’s weird as it’s all just the same resources! 

I had to get up at 5am as WW dog needed to go outside. Now she’s had a snack and a drink and is snoring happily and I’m wide awake 😖 At least mrWW made me coffee before he set off for work 😁 Normally he would take dog out, but her desperation kicked in just as he was in the shower before work. 

Sun_Addict

Happy Friday WW 😊

milann

If the app works for you then it’s worth every penny for you 👍