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

LadyWithAPlan

Hope everyone is happy at the end of Jan to get into early spring 


Jan round up and my stats are so much clearer and far less spending thanks to January, YNAB and eyeing up a house.


SIPP END JAN £330  today (tx MB)      £455 this month added by me  of Jan  £51,029.58 
Mkts fairly flat
First time I have gone over the £51k SIPP  savings
Lean fire £12k pa 17.01%
Fire £24pa   8.5%

House deposit savings £114,500   - not exact as I am still juggling tax/pb paying but looks like this is correct if not £115k  
Hse deposit savings £1154 this month!
thanks largely to the MB win... my goal was £1000 per month extra to save  as this will be the mortgage difference and I want to see if I can make it - not been paid properly so this is pretty good but I cant of course rely on MB/Happy wheel profits of this magnitude.
However if I dont get paid I will be using some of these savings to cover bills. til I do.

Extra cash

Cashback monies   £21.97

Interest Income paid    £24.02

Mortgage Pig & Found Cash  £12.50

Premium Bond win £50.00

Supermkt voucher   £3.65

£1609.44  MB profit Jan 
£330  into my SIPP  so just over 20% leaving rest  for extra hse deposit savings including    £200 going to my H2buy  Isa    plus    £250 to my Regular saver

Learnings this month 
YNAB poor Feeling  due to the unexpected dd 
Due to the  £155 charge I am trying to get cancelled ...  and the way YNAB works  I have  had to move a lot of my spare unspent  Jan money and had to take money out of long termer categories to cover this £155 - so annoying!! .
It is actually a great lesson as I tried to cancel it before it came out over the weekend  and thought it be fine due to bank card changes - but not. So all my Jan  savings on coffees out I didnt buy, etc etc were all drained onto this now unwanted work  item.. so my lack of focus (yes I have been busy but ..)  has cost me
Plus I had to drain some long term pots such as toiletries and home insurance which will need replenishing 

 No invoices paid today so I cant allocate monies - YNAB poor feeling 2.0 
I did get a small invoice paid mid month but nothing at the end of month despite  me chasing 2 lots of companies. Yes I made £1609 in MB income but that I always use as my hse depsit and sipp extra money ...
So YNab is making it extra clear I need some new clients - 3.5 years ago I thought I might as I was down to 2-3 days a week but I am really seeing the truth v clearly - I need ,more regular paid on time income if I want to buy a home.

Lesson 3 - 
So glad I  budgeted all my taxes as I went and even though I have not been paid yet I do have some cash ready to assign tomorrow - my rent will be covered by excess in the banks waiting to go for tax in March etc .. I am sure I will get paid this week by somebody

NSD 16/13 - v impressed with myself


SPENDING In Jan

Groceries -£139.82

Bulk -£24.49
Mealboxes £35.28 

Non essential  spending is incredibly down   £177.27  over the month so a fraction  of last 3 months  plus the £155 work related but non essential I didnt cancel on time
Fun spending £51.90
Social £38.37   plus tube/bus  costs I am ignoring
Some essentials that probably arent - hairdresser  £87
This is in part to do with ynab focus and not buying gifts .. plus I am looking at foinally getting this home bought

Age of money  38 days 

Minimalism Game - failed on this  as crazy month - started ok but I now have my large wall calendar so

Lessons  from Jan
Go to bed at a reasonable hour or I dont go to the gym
Gym I went maybe 3-4 times max - I want to improve here 
I have no junk sweets etc
4 lots of crisps 
Only drank 3  max 4 times this month 
I was DF apart from one evening  out and regretted it
Saw a fabulous home to buy  I would have been happy in so now inspired to look and buy
I need new sources of income
My side hustle went v well in Jan now need to get some regular work.
I stayed in too much = partly work, part frugal part weather  and not great for my MH -  so daily walk, gym will really help
I know I can file my own ltd company accts and am clear on that
Food was v good, cooked a lot - had a HF fresh box plus have another coming but I do like to eat my own recipes and get back into buying a weekly  FR chicken

LadyWithAPlan

pebbles01 said:

I've been reading through the last 5 pages or so of your diary.  It's good you are so positive about not getting the flat and have a better idea of what you want.  

Also well done on the sweets!  The wall chart sounds a fab idea.  I've got myself a budgeting book, which I actually need to start using!

Tx Pebbles - I did love it but it isn't over and I refuse to allow EA's to get me into a state of 'need' or crazy - what is crazy is they showed it me on Tuesday and it was gone by Wed morning without a notice apart from saying  'there is interest..'
Now I have seen my ladybird I am on the look out for lots of good fortune  in all areas.

I do chant and am a practising Buddhist  so it helps me be more balanced and allows me to have my drama queen sensibilities  but not let them take over. We talk about honzon's 'object of worship'  where one can all too easily  worship those things that are impermanent by nature, our beauty, a lifestyle, a partner, a football team, a sport, a home or a job .... and how its important to not be too swayed by them 
There is always another house, there is always another job, another fun night out 

I feel so much less in need of late night sugar treats since I have gone cold turkey on the sweets  - I am eating lots of brown rice and sweet potatoes etc but at least there is fibre and nutrition in those vs harib*

Yes do use the budgeting book especially if it helps you review your spends at the end as that is where my decades of budgeting failed. I needed a stricter framework to stop me pushing the edges of my budget eg draining saving pots without a trace and allowing extra spend on the CC and a easy way to review. Let me know how it goes  and helps you.

 I may need when I actually buy a home  to start a new diary as this is long and wieldy.. 148 pages ! and I have not yet bought ... though there is something nice in the 3plus years of journalling a journey ... and seeing where I have become a little stuck or distracted  by the big goal

DrCarrie

You are so inspirational LaPlan! what a fabulous start to the year. 

Watty1

Super helpful on the DLA and got me thinking.  For years I've just left money in my company and paid the corporation tax because I've no idea what was happening in my life. Probably time to think about a SIPP or similar and transfer excess profits there to lower the corporation tax.  So all a plan for this year to consider.

Thank you for finding a box.  Looking forward to that

Sistergold

House saving of £1154! That’s really impressive. £115k in total so far! Wow. I see you on £150k soon! 

LadyWithAPlan

Sistergold said:

House saving of £1154! That’s really impressive. £115k in total so far! Wow. I see you on £150k soon! 

£150,000 wow that feels huge ! However if I keep spending like this in the low hundreds v the thousands each month it will get there quicker   
tx ! 

Hoping to speak to mortgage broker today to get my mip
sorted 


@Watty1 yes vanguard (& most others but I use vanguard mainly cos costs are so much better) 
allows you to add into a SIPP yourself as self employed and also thru your company 
- suggest tou set up as you first - then you have to set your company up - it takes a couple days to check 
initially you need to add £500 in then after that it can be £10 or other small amounts 
you pay via your company card to the SIPP 
this way what you pay into your SIPP is without tax or ni so a huge savings even if you are a Br tax payer .. when it comes to being HR then you are really flying 

on the corp tax saving as I go I like to get it out of my main accts - hence me using PB as a safe but possibly fabulous extra win 

it’s my neighbour who found the box - I am not buying anything really cos of frugality so .. will go to post office tomorrow 

DrCarrie said:

You are so inspirational LaPlan! what a fabulous start to the year. 

I am ?? Thanks!  I am not  sure in what context I am inspiring you but it’s good if that is what is happening! 

Monies and more lessons 

Small invoice paid this morning (of 3 overdue) but not before I had to shuffle money out my 22 23 corp tax savings, bit of home  savings and my  tiny now zero  EF to cover the bills going out today on the first eg rent .. so annoying not being paid properly. 

YNAB  strict dashboard means you have to cover outgoings with actual cash in your banks - it’s the 25 Lazari  alarm bells ringing at me - GO reference - you can’t realistically buy a home without regular income … my large house deposit has had me feeling way too comfortable and has hidden how I am not moving forward with savings 
it’s had me feeling rich whereas concerning my income and my big goals - home buying SIPP high saving rate I am massively underperforming
i have always managed to pay my rent on time - I have got extra shifts where necessary to cover this  so .. 

where I live now I can see they are starting the build this week of the flats - flattening the ground now - I can see from my window - once they done - I have to move on - could be 18-24 months but it unsettles me and makes me more focused to buy this year 

I have managed to use the small invoice to cover basic food travel utilities categories plus 15% aside for both. SIPP and 23/24 tax - but so many more real expenses to cover including all the annual bills pots .. feeling YNAB poor even though at least all my bank accts are in credit Ahd my CC bill is only £30! A massive difference from the 2023 where I was also adding food on even though I was paying in full - helps my credit score too 

Happy feb 1st all  and hope we all win bigly on PB’s (another GO ref) 
college today 

AGE OF MONEY 40 DAYS!!

I will  do a Feb goals list this weekend and also properly look at my Jan list 
Get corp tax filed and paid off is one of them  for Feb though not due til March 

savingholmes

Great win this week.

Lots of positive actions. Good that ynab is helping you understand your need to sell more etc. I wonder if your MB disguised some of that normally.

Good luck with saving and healthier eating. Totally agree there is more than one of whatever your dream is... They've done psychology experiments with paintings that back that up scientifically too.

There is also the whole 'when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Currently that's ynab. If you get clearer on the house you want it becomes easier for your subconscious to help you match to it.

pebbles01

There's definitely more than one of whatever your dream is (I say sat her moping about a bloke that was totally unsuitable).  

When I looked at houses, I only looked at 2.  One was further down this street, and did have a lot going for it.  They didn't accept my offer, even though it was the highest and I was chain free.  Anyway, they ended up pulling out of selling (live in a village and you get to find all this out).  However this house, although a little more expensive is so much better.  There were more compromises on house number 1 even though I was gutted at the time.  You definitely have the right approach.  

I reckon it will be next month that I start with my budgeting book - This month is a bit all over the place in terms of cashflow due to remortgage.  

I'm sure I read you have premium bonds.  Good luck for tomorrow!  I'm not expecting anything but even a £25 win makes me smile!

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

Good luck with saving and healthier eating. Totally agree there is more than one of whatever your dream is... They've done psychology experiments with paintings that back that up scientifically too.

Do you have a link to the research at all please?

savingholmes said:

There is also the whole 'when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Currently that's ynab. If you get clearer on the house you want it becomes easier for your subconscious to help you match to it.

Yes I ignored YNAB for ages as I didnt want the extra work on reconciliations plus I thought my budgeting, ssheets and virtual pots were just as good. They werent as the reporting and the dashboard strictness gives me a extra understanding and thus natural discipline.

pebbles01 said:

There's definitely more than one of whatever your dream is (I say sat her moping about a bloke that was totally unsuitable).  

So sorry re that - hopefully you will recover soon - we all do it.. and often the more unsuitable the more we mope Or we remember the beginning when they seemed fabulous and without flaws..... the man behaving like a boy who dumped me by text last year 2+ weeks after telling me he was falling in love with me still occasionally crosses my mind - however his exit strategy was so appalling I could never have him back in reality.

pebbles01 said:

When I looked at houses, I only looked at 2.  One was further down this street, and did have a lot going for it.  They didn't accept my offer, even though it was the highest and I was chain free.  Anyway, they ended up pulling out of selling (live in a village and you get to find all this out).  However this house, although a little more expensive is so much better.  There were more compromises on house number 1 even though I was gutted at the time.  You definitely have the right approach.  

I reckon it will be next month that I start with my budgeting book - This month is a bit all over the place in terms of cashflow due to remortgage.  

I'm sure I read you have premium bonds.  Good luck for tomorrow!  I'm not expecting anything but even a £25 win makes me smile!

Always good to hear real life stories on house buying ... enjoy the budgeting book
Fingers crossed for all us MSEers with Pb's tomorrow - I have about  £16k+

dawnybabes

Tomorrow ! I stay awake to check before I go to sleep 🤣🤣🤣