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

CRANKY40

Honestly, I wan't commenting on whether or not you've been officially tested. If you say you need gluten free that's good enough for me - I was just explaining why the dairy free thing runs alongside. Incidentally, always be careful of medication. My (coeliac and dairy free) cousin was prescribed some medication in hospital which turned out to have lactose in the coating and the pain after taking them was very real. You'd think you'd be safe enough in a hospital wouldn't you?

LadyWithAPlan

@kaycastle tx for stopping by - glad you managing to get  solo travelling despite your many responsibilities  and get a balance that makes sense for you and your kid(s) - I also think its good for children to learn from the adults about self care and dreams.
Not sure how well you know Paris but some of the French vintage clothes stores are v cheap  for often v well made clothes  and of course those wonderful old furniture markets they do .. plus the food yum With travelling by eurostar if you are ..... one can carry a lot more stuff. 

I think what was great about me tracking every voluntary spend on here for last quarter  - it became very clear I was making choices...(like RPDR Tatianna here) and if I also  want to build my hse deposit then the my short term spending choices only slow the hse purchase down.  

So far one week in the NY my voluntary spending is £24.98 hellfresh (only cos I have a £35 credit i can now access) and a tube ride home today as it was cold!  If I carry on like this I will be quids up
YNAB is saving me a fortune It literally channels Tatianna.. CHOICES

FOOD 
Hell* Fresh arrived  - I made up the chicken rice bowl dish today  .... I did not add the cheese (dairy) or the crispy onions (had gluten in)  and I will say it was incredibly salty and honestly not that great. lots of sauces (a bbq sauce, a cajun spice, tomato puree, chicken stock)  - I also had to add as per recipe some sugar. Looking at the ingredients in the sauces a lot of sugar and salt in each.... 
. I also added extra  spinach (mine was organic)  as  I am on my LaPlan mission to eat more greens  and the amount in the bag was tiny.. I also fried up some green beans, mushrooms, more spinach and red pepper as a side dish.
I also served on the brown rice I had cooked  2 days ago rather than the white rice they provided. I just dont think Hellfresh is that healthy, its doesnt have enough veg  - the small amount of spinach provided was pathetic, and its always white rice, or white buns ..
The veggie shepherds pie I am sure will be good but I may get some DF cheese to substitute.

Veg and Lentil Shepherd's Pie - I may add some YS mince to this

Cajun BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl with Spinach, Cheese and Crispy Onions -  3/10  

Korean Style Gochujang Beef Fried Rice with Pak Choi and Peanuts - I like this  Gochujang sauce almost as much as the Chermoula spice so hoping...

Food snacks include almonds, satsumas and an apple. I an feeling so much clearer in myself after a week off the xmas excess.

I am using the wrapping for HELLFRESH - as a draft excluder for one juliette balcony - its thick and insulated

............................

@South_coast @ skint_spice  Thanks for the back up !  I am  now officially waiting til Feb 2nd  though I will say I never liked carp especially in jelly  (traditional polish xmas fish) 

I should mention skint spice I once  was stood  behind Ginger spice at LAX in a queue -  I know I dont travel light - all my  matching shoes etc .. but she had a wonderfully large collection of suitcases and even those fabulous LV trunks.. I had complete luggage envy - she had like 3 huge trunks, 2 smaller and maybe 2 other giant suitcases.. Her luggage cost was probably more than my flight


Now waiting for 3 refunds on the CC - be about £68 in total 
I can see the flower refund pending 
I cant see the big river one yet and was promised to be today
 Plus another xmas gifts - one never arrived and I chased the week before xmas after I  had the initial ' we have got your order and we will post soon - they got back to me yesterday to say they dont have that one print in stock.. It took them 3.5 weeks to let me know that . I have asked for a refund .. 


Spending today £2.70 tube 
I went to see a friend but she picked up the tea bill as she was having food as well - I had just had a 4 egg yolk + 2 whole egg  scrambled egg  (excess yolks from breadmaking) on HM GF bread. with tomatoes  so just had some tea (no milk).... I walked to meet her  in the sunlight and to get some exercise but did get the tube home as it was super cold when it fell dark. 

I have cabs/train  voluntary travel as a category as well as essential transportation (and abroad travel) .. Largely as I  am trying to get an accurate figure for my essential spending I would in theory add the tube cost to social travel   but life is really too short ... and it was cold and dark. 
My friend did buy some things but used my beauty card for a store to get 25% off so I saved her money at least whilst she spent and I get some extra points. I do need some cleansing oil and some night moisturiser  but it can wait - I have some other bits to use up first. I really want to minimise my spend and declutter as much as possible. No interest in sales ..

Exercise Streak 2
leg day yesterday _ 25 min walk today as had a busy morning and also went to bed late so got up late,

Minimalism Game - I am happily using up toiletries to declutter bathroom so I scanned 2 items into the boots recycle app .. now between spending on there and 2 lots extra 500 points I have £42.17 worth of boots points
Day 7 so at 2 things so far but I will remove all xmas cards and get some extras in.

LadyWithAPlan

CRANKY40 said:

Honestly, I wan't commenting on whether or not you've been officially tested. If you say you need gluten free that's good enough for me - I was just explaining why the dairy free thing runs alongside. Incidentally, always be careful of medication. My (coeliac and dairy free) cousin was prescribed some medication in hospital which turned out to have lactose in the coating and the pain after taking them was very real. You'd think you'd be safe enough in a hospital wouldn't you?

No worries, I added it here as so many including nurses dont know that!  I do have friends who are GF on or off depending on the day  so I get there can be some confusion in some areas.. I on the other hand will not eat on long hail flights if the GF meal is not provided - I do always travel with snacks and I am sure that is why I often have sweets/gummies etc in my bag as its a quick easy allergy free fix to sugar levels/hunger.

I try to avoid hospitals  where possible but thanks for the heads up. 

savingholmes

Well done on the decluttering. 

I've left my lights up longer because I love them but have taken all the small portable stuff down other than the baubles outside which I'll probably ask my cleaner to do!

LadyWithAPlan

@savingholmes that makes sense given your hopeful move soon . 

Fingers crossed it all goes brilliantly! 

I didn’t put much up bar the (free to me faux Xmas tree) lights, one bauble and a battery lit  candle thing  and cards as I knew I was away - a lot of my Xmas stuff never came out so .. 
I may pop the tree away - need to find a box - and leave lights on 

I have a large trunk in my lounge I use as a table - bought at a car boot sale years ago and it’s half empty but does have some electronics in there - so may see if I can get the Xmas tree in there or an old box .
flat definitely looking better but I am still tripping over the shoes in my hall on my to be Vinted plan .. 

just starting a fitness nutrition 3 month plan - as feel that when I closely track I get more achieved  so .. was in bed by 11pm (early for me ) and now off to the gym before a wfh day 

MG - did 7 items yesterday at least so 63 items gone to Jan 7 
jan 8 - 1 so far 
i declutterred the limescale in my kettle ! Not sure how many points I can give myself - it was loads of limescale but I found an old Nespresso descaled kit left - and used the single one in my kettle - has worked brilliantly and now reboiled kettle 5 times 
I have been boiling a full kettle then adding extra to a flask which does save 5-6p a kettle boil .. 

happy real start to 2024 work week 

savingholmes

Well done on decluttering. Good luck with nutrition.

LadyWithAPlan

YNAB - cost of living per day .. 
There is a reddit ynab thread on peoples cost of living per day - given the ynab reports are so good they are all looking at the avg over the last year and they can also see any outliers such as big improvements etc - so when I finally buy I will ignore my house deposit being spent as that definitely will kill my averages . I am sure others on MFW have done this  cost per day/month as well. 
I only have Dec data  to go on which of course is skewed by Xmas . However its a good number to track and i plan to  do so each month and average.
In Dec I spent   £93.065/day  (have ignored savings, tax money  set aside and allowable use of home etc expenses,) so I include rent, food, xmas and all voluntary, fun  and essential spending

MORE IMPRESSIVELY - I also moved savings into hse deposit  and sipp  £37.47 a day  in Dec  - split between sipp and hse  - excluding what I put aside for taxes
Also  excluding  where I have left money sat in saving categories and not yet  sent over to sipp/hse deposit ahead of end of tax month.
This ynab is going to make me unfabulously frugal the way its going ... 

Food ....
Lunch - I  cooked my FR Corn fed chicken in the Halogen in an hour), along with sweet potatoes and onions and served with peas and so much kale and some tamari soy. I may  yet turn into a member of the Shrek family with all my greens

My chicken FR  £8.88 from Mr Lid - will make 4 meals plus a great soup stock (20 min in pressure cooker) plus a fried with brown rice/veg extra meal Or add to make chicken soup .. or for a curry ...

Dinner post gym - chicken thigh, wing, bit breast heated on HM GF brown bread with lemon olives, dijon mayo, guac plus salad of organic spinach, red pepper, cherry tomatoes... yep more greens... the HM Gf bread is lush toasted.

Snacks, salted peanuts (oops but post gym and was hungry - this is where I often buy crisps and sweets.. so at least there is some nutrition not just UPF) . satsumas, almonds , soya HM coffee

 I have the luxury of less cost  of feeding just myself  so I have more room in my budget (although DF GF) but still I dont see how HellFresh can be of any value beyond when you get a discount code or free box  - nutritionally the amount of chicken given in a meal for 2 dish 260g thighs yesterday and each (tiny no real veg) meal for 2 costs £8.32 with the £10 off   . I have had £10 off vouchers so my 3 meals of 2 are now £24.98 each inc delivery 
£8.32 for 2 tiny meals   - w.out voucher  £35  = £11.66 for 2 meals - and they are so small I normally eat 1.5 and then have the last half later in the day - if I was feeding a partner I would be embarassed to give out such tiny portions 
I have enjoyed trying a couple new recipes but it makes no sense for nutritional value  or cost unless you get a discount and even then.... Plus as you really need extra veg you have to shop or buy extra side dishes...  I guess i cook well and I did get the first 4 meal  box for free so that helps (if anyone wants a free box for free  plus £4.99 delivery let me know - just cancel it after or enjoy the £10 off after and then cancel ) 
I think for people who cant cook or need a break and too busy it may make sense on occasion but for me WFH and very conscious of the quality and cost of my food it doesnt. I always buy FR chickens .. yet I am eating battery  in the HellFresh boxes..
I am also having to replace  HELLFRSH items that have gluten in or make sure I order only a small few meals.



SNOW! we had snow in Central London today  but it didnt settle.. Cold though...
I  booked a circuit training class in the gym early evening so I will need to leave the nice warm flat to go out but at least it means I will train.
EDIT: Readers I went! ( a miracle)


2024 goals -  how to help myself achieve them
I have reviewed last year now and have pulled some lessons from last year so  as part of the 2024 goals implementation/winning I am adding some steps to help me hit my goals:
Going to bed before 10.30pm unless I am going out I think is v helpful as then I get up at a reasonable time
Programme in training /exercise so it happens eg this CT class. - They get upset if I cancel more than 2 hours before.
I failed today in the 'dont let yourself get distracted from doing what you chose' as once I get unfocused eg on MB, YT, reading diaries I find it hard to stop and start doing what I need. However I am a work in progress and can see where I need to change....


GYM - I went!  3 day streak
Snowing in London but didnt settle - however I did go to bed early last night but was slow getting focused this morning 
So i booked a gym class this eve and went
Cardio and weights 

Food shopping
Grocery £80.77/£175 + Bulk £10.24/50 + £24.98 HellFresh
£14.93
Grocery £9.79 
Bulk £3.05
Hsehold - kitchen rolls £2.09
I popped to Lid as near gym after - largely to get some  DF yogurt  and DF milk as will make a healthy df gf snack for Wed (Out all afternoon then straight to dinner party) and Thursday. (COLLEGE)
Inevitably I picked up more stuff especially with coupons..


MG On 6 items so far - I will make it to 8 before bed time.
I have stripped the bed so need to make that as well. 

Spending  £7.49 (+ £14.93 above) 
- I am trying to not spend in Jan much  however I did buy a usb as need for a work thing as a back up  for next week so this is work not voluntary  spend  - I have a £15 office basic tech/supplies  category so its all in budget and Big River had a good deal.

YNAB AGE OF MONEY - 13 days now 
Not been paid from one company some small invoices but due from end Oct ... chasing those up as well. 
 

Merlin's_Beard

I think the attraction of food boxes pretty much amounts to them being a cure for decision fatigue. You can sit down, choose your next 3-4 weeks meals in one go, and then it's done.

No checking the fridge to see what you've got, searching for recipes, then writing a list, then deciding which supermarket to go to, then spending time going there, then putting everything away, then pulling bits of from different cupboards, and repeating that every single week.

Just boom, it's at your door, you put the paper bags away, you pull em out when you need them.

They're not good value but sometimes after 11 hours away from home I just want convenience, and it's cheaper than a takeaway.

The YNAB toolkit used to tell you how much you spent daily, in its days of buffering feature but that seems to have disappeared for me at some point. (days of buffering - how long would your money last)

Watty1

I've been using M/Chef and I'm going to continue through the winter because, yes, they are expensive, but I've cut them to 3 meals a week and @Merlin's_Beard is right, it is just fatigue and general overwhelm. I know I need to cut these out and these "should" be one  I eliminate but the ease is just so attractive.    The rest of the meals I bulk cook but I'm feeling that a breadmaker would let me eat better quality bread and I could eat that with slow cooker stews so my plan is to phase the M/chef out in the spring when the days are longer and I have more energy.

LadyWithAPlan

@Merlin's_Beard yes I can see for convenience they do make sense if one is super busy. 

I have the YNAB toolkit but never seen a avg daily spend figure - will see what else they have