Future Proofing my life: Deposit saving then MFW journey in under 13 years

LadyWithAPlan

Hoping everyone is keeping warm.... beautiful and crisp but v cold - so staying n today as I was out yesterday day and then evening  - my free Xmas tree with the £6 Mr T lights looks lovely .
I am keeping my eye on my elec meter usage - largely as I know I am waiting to be paid so. I can just put cash on My cc but am choosing to only spend cash I have  - however I refuse to be cold.. so snuggling under my heated throw and then switching the  heating on/off.

Voluntary Spending so far  - so easy using ynab to see these exact figures £112.80 (w the £40 from friend taken off)
Train to see friend £21
Ubers  £89 *firend paid £40 towards) I am challenging the £17 odd still
Drinks £17.50
Junk food - I am tracking sweets and crisps £1 - crisps  - we ate 3 packs but only paid for one..
'
Minimalism - on day 2 I did 4 things  so 6 things and I have yet to do my Dec 3 3 things.
I did add my first par of unworn shoes onto vinted - v easy

MSE wins
My subscription i saved £5 for applying for student version £4.99 instead of £9.99  £5 saved
Lets see if I get this £17 + off - at least I challenged it and have contacted bank as uber say they dont know what it is but it in my cc account clearly stating uber


Sunday food 
Slightly hungover  I made stock in my pressure cooker from my FR chicken carcass and then made beetroot soup. So yummy and good for you especially on a day I am not going outside. I will freeze one portion of stock or maybe soup... I get bored of too much but in this weather I may be eating it all donw v 
Only couple slices of GF bread left - I will make some - need some more eggs as I made GF pancakes as a sweet treat last couple nights 
Had some red pepper crudites with houmous 
I will also do the turkey mince chermoula rice  later - not difficult.

NSD - yes today is a NSD!  1/13 
I do have to get some more gifts etc but want to enjoy nsd after yesterday

YNAB thoughts
I am really liking it so far and I like the easy categorisation. I also like the fact it is making me v aware  of having to move money from pots which have cash in eg grocery into the uber fun pot! So it is giving me the clarity and visibility of my spending. Lets see how it changes my spending..
I am also finally refusing to out anything on the cc until I get paid and can cover it from new income rather than my hse deposit savings .. I will not be going cold and hungry but I want to really love on my current level of income.
I will definitely be looking to spend down my vouchers on groceries rather than give people cash...
I have a fabulous large purchase to make - a London flat 

Per month  - Dec 23 SPEND/SAVE
Track my Grocery spending  0/£200    grocery +   £24.29/£100bulk 
Track what I save in my hse deposit  Dec £20.69/£980.69
Cashflow EF  £0/£2000   - now 0 as drained it  so -£100 - I will add it when I get paid next week
Track extra income from ebay/free money/refunds etc    £15.86 (due dec 6th)
December Voluntary Spending   £112.80

My Dec streaks to track
Track Minimalist game  (Nov 310)   Dec  6 items (up to Dec 2nd) 
Gym streak  
YNAB Age of money :: Target 13 days - I day old
Track my NSD's - Target 13 days/month  1/13

PennysIntoPounds

That is so dodgy of Uber, fair enough if there are waiting charges if people are taking ages getting out to the cab, but how can they not know if there's a 'toll'?! And just whacking money out of your account with no explanation is literally stealing! Thanks for the heads up, will make sure we don't use Uber until they can clarify if the cost is actually the cost

beanielou

How on earth are they allowed to do that!! 

That’s extortion. 

skint_spice

That’s crazy, I can see Uber losing a lot of custom if they think they are being reasonable.

LadyWithAPlan

@beanielou  @skint_spice @PenniesIntoPounds    yes its worrying...  At least having to move the money aound ynab to pay everything in cash means I am super on top of everything I spend so could catch this ...

EDIT They have given me £8 credit in my uber I see  as I asked for it on the £48  charged v £40 bill but I am still trying to figure out the £17.52 and £1.50 random charges - they are saying its isnt them though it came at the same time as the other real charges and quotes UBER* TRIP  so I am discussing with my bank and therm still. 

EDIT £1.50 is to cover congestion charge though why I was only charged it one way given I returned back to where we started,....? The £17.52 they are saying they dont know .. but its your details ... 


Premium bonds won £25 I just checked.  
Thats £275 over the year and I have 15k approx in there so I am definitely behind the curve on them - I pay tax on my interest income though so
Still its another 1/8th (or 1/100th ) of tile in my kitchen to be 
Track what I save in my hse deposit  Dec £45.69/£980.69 goal

Minimalisam Game Dec 3rd 3 .....
found 2 things so far  - need to find a third as day 3  ..

.....In My MG decluttering I went through the fridge ...
I also chopped up some of the olde cooking apples from my family and pressure cooked them for 5 mins with sugar, cinnamon, DF butter - v lovely with DF yogurt..
The chermoula rice recipe worked well with turkey mince instead - it is better with the mint yogurt you serve with it - that elevates the dish 

savingholmes

LWAP - I managed to get an ISA at 5.2 fairly easily - is it worth looking for one for you too? You can put in up to £20K in a year. There are some with limited withdrawals so definitely look at the rules

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

LWAP - I managed to get an ISA at 5.2 fairly easily - is it worth looking for one for you too? You can put in up to £20K in a year. There are some with limited withdrawals so definitely look at the rules

Tx but I can only have one cash isa a year (til april 24) and i am just finishing my help to buy isa - max £200 monthly but get 25% up to £12k , I will hit 12k in March ,.. I started with the max £1200 in Dec 2019 on the last day you could open it ! and £200 a month since faithfully
So if I buy under £450k then I will get an extra free £3k on my 12k ...
So annoying they finally change the rules  (to be able to have more than one cash isa) - just when I dont need it!
I will  get a cash isa 6th April - but as planning to buy by then  I will need one that allows 2-3 withdrawals  

Oh by the way YNAB now has some decent forecasting tools - they have a google extension called Toolkit and some great charts in there ... I know you dont need to use it anyway but either way YNAB saved me £8 at least today on the uber thing....

Humdinger1

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan; I am now debating YNAB.  You are doing brilliantly on your house-buying journey love Humdinger xx 

LadyWithAPlan

Humdinger1 said:

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan; I am now debating YNAB.  You are doing brilliantly on your house-buying journey love Humdinger xx 

Honestly - even as a decades old budgeter and sinking pots - moving money as I spend it  + s/sheets queen - mse-er YNAB has taken my view on my budget to a higher level and given me real wisdom and new clarity on my financial goals and acheiving them - only 4 days in !
I had decided I didnt need to have more software to deal with but as an mse who loves tracking and focus - as we all do- its v easy useable tools and for my life right now where I want to buy a home its the right level of focus for me.. 

Just using some of the toolkit for ynab reports and seeing what I am saving for in pots plus essential spending vs income etc has given me a higher view of where I am at.
Partly of course as I have had to relook at budget from scratch  I can see clearly this  (v mathematical) equation ...

on current income   
Sinking funds + essential living + fun + sipp  = not much room left to save for my house deposit

Lifestyle creep definitely happened - I have had a high income (variable and lower at present) but as my rent went up over £500 and I have kept spending the same .. no wonder I can't make much traction on increasing the house savings. I am treading water and my cash float has disguised this and the fully paid off cc each month takes the slack.
Having stark linked to your bank accts reports of how much you have spent and you can get as specific as you want with as many categories as you want and historical  ..really shows you where you are vs what your plan for the month/year  was in a quick snapshot as opposed to updating your own s/sheets etc


I am doing more than fine - but this £400-£450k purchase is my choice for the next 50 years of my life so i have to make choices - and ynab makes you when actual  cash comes into your bank account assign it to certain categories 
And when you spend - if its more than you have in that category such as my cab fares Saturday night you have to take it out another pot/category that does have money  eg grocery or house savings so it instills next level of discipline and tracking.

I am not stopping going out entirely esp as December however I remember @caeler diary when she was going for 25 NSD a month and did nothing for a year plus as she strive to get her mortgage paid off - no vacations, going out - squeezed her budget so hard and so much so family members thought she had lost the plot but it was short term focus for a huge long term gain - and my mortgage is going to be £300k-£325k  and 4/5% rates on that are £1200+ in interest alone each month - so far better to get serious now about the biggest purchase of my life.

I also have added all my savings and SIPP accts  as tracking so I can see my NAV  at the EOM at a glance  when I log in


So my solutions for a 2024 fabulous home purchase that is beauty, benefit and good  for my life (so not huge  payments or stress) after my ynab 4 days in

A) increase standard monthly income - with a contract extra client who pays consistently. 2 days a week

B     side hustles     (my MB has been £1k a month  recently but thats not consistent - avgs £4-5k a year now many bookies stopped me  - I have made £3268 in 2023 on it so far - Dec to come - its tax free at least 
My Spring 24 side hustle  still looks promising  and could bring ££££'s 
 Summer 24 is happening but no guarantee on income

C) Decide which of my sinking funds need to shrink/pause given the larger 2024 purchase
- £100 in vacation pot would be better in house deposit if 2024 is the year to buy - so have pulled it down to £40 a month.
My future tech pot at £60 a month - yes its important but macbook is fine and I can bring it down to £30 instead - and that £30 can go to house deposit
Check on all subscriptions and see if student discount
 I can choose to cut my spending on fun or at least dont overblow my budgets every month on it. This is a short term push for a very long important lifetime gain

D) Spend more time making income than nickel and diming my expenses
- get the expenses and categories in line and then focus energy on earning more money 

E) look at my hobbies and side hustles and get clear which ones I can make money on now quickly
 - are they fun or are they side hustles that earn income. Get real about this and choose to spend my time better - its just a years focus to get in the right home.

Nick Tree Mapping out money youtube videos on ynab
I suggest you watch the Nick Tree Mapping out money youtube videos on ynab from set up to everything before trialling it  - I watched quite a few and then had the 2022 starters set up guide  going as I set up ynab as he answers all the questions much better than the official videos..
Also add on the TOOLKIT for YNAB Chrome extension as it gives an extra layer of amazing reports and data - he has a video on that as well. I can change a category of planned spending and it shows immediatlely cash I need to bring in each month to cover that outspend etc , forecast data etc
Plus being able to see in a permanent database all your spends gives you clarity - and easier/quicker than s/sheets for under £100 a year . There is a 34 day trial 

South_coast

LadyWithAPlan said:
D) Spend more time making income than nickel and diming my expenses

Definitely yes! You can only cut costs so far (although based on your November expenditure, I'd say you have more headroom for this than many 🤣!)