The Ups and Downs of my Emergency Fund 17 May 2021 at 9:04AM in Debt free diaries 25 replies 1.3K views

millymolly22

After many years of being in debt, from my early twenties to my early fifties I (well we) managed to get out of debt, including paying off our Mortgage.  But I still can't manage to get a decent Emergency Fund under our belt.  Each times we get a half reasonable sum ie. £500 some expense comes along and we are back down to zero again.  We live on quite a low income, DH is retired and I work part time and we still have a dependent teenager at home, so we try to save £80 to £100 per month for emergencies, along with other little savings pots for holidays, birthdays, Christmas etc.  Anyway after a leak in our roof in March, our Emergency Fund was back down to zero,  payday in April topped it back up to £100 and then our tv aerial decided to depart ways with our chimney and today the £100 and a little bit more is gone again.  On top of that the aerial man said our chimney wasn't in a good state of repair (something my DH had already noticed) and our roofer has quoted £300 to take it down into the roof and replace the roof area (its unused) so now we need to save all over again, knowing in a couple of months it will all disappear again.
I know every home owner has the same problems but its do disheartening when its two steps forward and three steps back.
My only other debt is on a 0% credit card of around £400 which I have been paying £100 pm off and the annoying thing is without looking at my bank account I don't really know where that money has been spent.
So its time to be more stricter with our spending and put away as much money as we can for the next couple of months to pay off the card, pay for the removal of the chimney stack and build up an reasonable emergency fund, alongside saving for birthdays, Christmas and our contribution to my daughter's wedding next year.  Think I have been robbing Peter to save Paul too many times and its backfiring on us now.  Its a good job we have no holidays booked for this year (we have had three short breaks cancelled due to Covid up to now and have given up thinking about holidays for this year - just having some good days out - the cheaper the better)
So now I have a diary in place I should feel more accountable for our spending and saving.
Onwards and upwards !!

Purplemumof2

Good luck on your journey x

WinterWarrior

Good luck ⭐️

millymolly22

Thanks Purplemumof2
Money job today was cutting back my little savings pot bank accounts.  I had quite a few open but I think I am spreading my income a little too thinly, then having to dip into the little accounts towards the end of the month.  It may work for some, but I have tried it and it doesn't work for me.  So now I am down to my main current account for income and bills then one account for Christmas & birthdays, one for holidays and an emergency fund.  I want to get my emergency fund up to at least £1000, so any emergency expenditure hopefully doesn't drain all the account each time something major comes up.
Fingers crossed we have a break from the rain and I can get a good dog walk this afternoon.....not holding my breath though 

anjyeah

Good luck! ⭐️ 

Four_Seasons

Welcome and good luck, I will be cheering you on.

millymolly22

Thanks everyone for your support.  Tuesday is Mr T's delivery day.  Full fridge and cupboards that won't last long with a growing teenage son and DH who are both picky eaters.  I can never seem to reduce my food bill, although I am a lazy food shopper whose guilty pleasure is having the shopping delivered.  I have tried cheaper supermarkets but can never seem to get a week's shopping from there that suits everyone so I end up topping up at other shops which doesn't save me any more money.  To be fair we don't go out much to eat and we probably have a takeaway once or twice a month so we can afford to spend a little more on the food shop.  I just need to spend more time on my online shop looking for offers on products, rather than buying the same brands each time.  One more weekend and another weekly shop before payday and not much money left in the Bank so need a few NSDs to stop me from dipping into other savings (the reason I'm in this situation 

WinterWarrior

We use Mr T delivery too. Once a week and never any top ups, so it kind of works! To be honest we could probably survive out of the freezer and cupboards for a fortnight, but it would be very dull!
I really admire the meal planners and batch cookers, but I just can’t get to grips with it! If I cook more we just eat it 😬

millymolly22

Thanks WinterWarrior yes I don't really top up except for fresh bread and milk.  I think we go through a huge amount of milk for three of us, but its healthy so I can't complain.  I do, however, meal plan for the week, but its the little extras that everyone wants/needs which seem to add up, but we have to have some treats lol  
Received renewal notice for our car insurance today.  Had a quick look on the comparison sites and can get it at least £20 a month cheaper, so will make the phone call to the insurance company this weekend to see if they can reduce the renewal price or we will be changing companies and saving some money for a change

millymolly22

DS football training is cancelled tonight due to the weather so have a chilled evening in front of the tv planned now.  When is this weather going to improve?   We still have the heating on and using the tumble drier like it was the middle of winter.  I want to hang my washing out now.   Its the middle of May not November !!!  Anyway another NSD for me and its Friday tomorrow ...roll on weekend

anjyeah

millymolly22 said:

When is this weather going to improve?   We still have the heating on and using the tumble drier like it was the middle of winter.  I want to hang my washing out now.   Its the middle of May not November !!!  Anyway another NSD for me and its Friday tomorrow ...roll on weekend

I know! I still haven't transitioned into my lighter coats. In May. I keep on hoping we will have an extended summer instead. 
Come to think of it, I think I was successful with my first NSD yesterday mainly because it was better to stay indoors than go out. Win!