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

South_coast

LadyWithAPlan said:

I was advised to check out https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/ for batch buying and I will try it later in the month.

I buy from them via ebay, then you get 1%ish TopCashBack too 

I also defrost/re-freeze things with gay abandon. Cheese is definitely fine, and I've never had any problem with batch-cooked meals that I've decided I didn't fancy that day after all

themadvix

Note that SC is vegetarian though, don’t go refreezing meat and fish! 😲

LadyWithAPlan

Thanks @themadvix and @South_coast -very useful  I have just looked online on the NHS website and found

You can refreeze cooked meat and fish once, as long as they have been cooled before going into the freezer.

I don't know how I did not know this!

Also checked to see you can freeze cooked rice as well - I always used to do the Chinese thing of high heating cooked rice the day after to kill all the microbes but at last now I can start freezing unused portions as I never get the amounts right.
Expect a large Tupperware spend on here in the next couple of weeks - I can really see a pathway to really changing how I cook, batch freeze  and  use my food budget better. Despite living on my own I always cook too much and then get bored with it after 2 meals so feeling like I may be growing up. It is quite exciting.

This money stuff is getting obsessive..

FIRE
My VAN*D SIPP amazingly received over £51 in dividends yesterday despite me largely owning  accumulation funds as opposed to income. I guess companies in some of my active funds are finally starting to pay plus my HL Sipp also paying odd dividend amounts now.
I do have the VHYL fund as well plus a very small % of bond funds. It feels like free money and gives me a glimpse of me in 20 years hopefully when I have really bulked up the SIPPs and are drawing down hopefully just dividends as opposed to the golden egg principal.

 As discussed I had massively slowed down my SIPP contributions and refocusing on the deposit growing this year (I am SE) but my pretty decent dividends today, alongside me thinking re FIRE,  has inspired me today to move £1000 of my EF into my V SIPP. I will get the £250 hmrc contrib and hopefully I will be a HR taxpayer again this year as well - I don't want to get  the way of my £80k deposit interim goal but the EF is there for the taking..

I had 6 months of bare bones expenses in my EF  so I have now bought it back to 4.5/5 months. I know once I buy a home my monthly expenses will double at least on my current rent portion plus any service charges and  CT so my first action post house buying will be to save to get the EF up but right now I have over £72k saved for my house deposit, £2.5k in sinking funds plus the now £4.5k EF as well as all my tax money saved elsewhere. So I really don't feel at risk at all. If I lose all my work tomorrow I will be fine, which is a very different place than I have been in the past. Once I buy the home it will be different but I am not there yet and will not be til early 2022. One could argue my sinking funds are part of my EF anyway but ...

Obviously we are all aware that the last 2 months the markets have been down and are now recovering  a little so I have drip fed 50% of the £1k into funds and will add the rest in 2 bites.

Right now - not including future DB pension and SP after the £1k move...

on £12k/year  (very lean fire ex home)             9.34% FIRE
on 16k/year  (e                                                 7.01% FIRE
On current spend  inc my rent                         8.01% FIRE already
Including £1700 future home pmt                    3.46% FIRE

This means to hit 100% FIRE exc rent/mortgage (So I have ignored my house savings and EF for this calc)  I need in the next 8 years to save £13,223 p.a on lean fire (10,578.4 + hmrc) or £25,723 p.a on more chilled FI £20,578 + hmrc). Of course possible additional HR hmrc contrib and mkt movements will make that less

Free Money - I am expecting my  Marcus interest tomorrow of about £14 as well.

NSD  not happened  today as spent on my nails/beauty stuff but thats ok.

LadyWithAPlan

Halfway through month goals check in

Happy Friday all!

Friday  - TT today up and move bits of cash  inc my one ebay £23 sale. £48.

Free money  £60.19/ £180
12.91 interest from Mar**s
My Hali rewards have not be paid for 2 months though no reason why not I will have to contact them

savings
 Home deposit  savings £72,170.11/£100K
Oct savings  £1989.60      of     Goal  £2,252,81pm   

SPENDING
NSD 6/13
Oct  Groceries Challenge  15th  £55.06 of £160

Income - extra

Start extra income on my normal main career £300 target - Yes at least £350 done and should be extra £80 + £75 at least to come this month 

Get to 4 days a week on high day rate for career 2 - NO

Gym - 5 times a week - NO    - cos of early morning focus on programme I have not gone to the gym first things which often means 0 gym. so only been 1 x week. And I love going to the gym for me time this is a new focus for the rest of the month

Programme Update
This morning I finished major first part of the programme fully - except round up and about me  so thats the aim for the weekend.
Then will write the sales page before re-edit/organise part B

Programme goals 
Part a - just needs checking of where I need to add links and pics and possible last time - DONE EXC beginning /end 

Part E  - sales page polished - reorder

Part b - will then need a final spell check and possible make less chapters
Part c - creating and checking the extras that are coming with programme
part D - I will do once a and b are done - recording the audio to go with it all

Part F is getting all the set up /webpages/adds up and on going
Part  G - marketing it

debtfreeoneday

You’re doing great!!

happymum37

Have a look at the special double zip lock bags you can get for food  I freezer a entire portion for 4 of bolognese or what ever and lamb it flat in my freezer.  Saves so so much room.  They don't leak and are reusable if you don't mind the staining  x

Sistergold

Program is coming up! Keep it up and you will be done soon! 

LadyWithAPlan

Hope  everyone reading this had a great  weekend. I managed to get down the gym twice  which is a miracle and enjoyed the clement weather. Saw friends but also had two lots who cancelled on me - we will reschedule but I used the time to clear up a bit. I did lots of MB as well.

@happymum37 thanks just saw this, they sound perfect as I only have a 2 shelf freezer on top of the fridge. I don't want to buy another as yet with current elec prices so space counts. 

@sistergold yes I have said no programme finished, no flat looking

Savings:
 Home deposit  savings £72,195.81/£100K
+£25+

Oct savings  £2015.30      of     Goal  £2,252,81pm 

This is going better than I expected, not sure where it is all coming from !
.  A bookie had closed my acct w/o telling me, I only found out when I could not log in at all. I thought there was £8 in (not logged in a few months) but turns out was £25 more (no doubt after a bet settled) so I have 'found' £25 +  TT which has been returned to me and gone into House savings. I do have entire systems set up to track my many  bookies bit there are 2 others I need to look in as similar issues. I may yet find more cash

SPENDING
NSD 8/13  (spent both Sat and Sunday but NSD T/F)

Oct  Groceries Challenge  15th  £95.56 of £160 + 65p of £10 bulk
Some of this was bulk/stores buying - I just started doing this month a £10 pm bulk food store ... but I have not as yet decided how to decide which goes into bulk and which groceries.

Now I have learned I can refreeze meat (that has been then cooked and cooled) I  did defrost some YS Waitrose organic tenderloin, made char sui pork out of it from the ingredients in my cupboards and now have 2 extra frozen meals of brown rice, char sui pork and the sauce so slowly my freezer is becoming my own ready meals section ! Everyone was right on the grocery challenge - you think you are doing well but then you start seeing new ways of saving time and money - This choosing to deliberately make extra and batch it up into freezable portions immediately is really working for me. 
Current list includes sweet potato coconut soup, apple, red cabbage and apple, char sui and rice plus coconut milk portions plus normal meat/veg

Was meant to have friend over Saturday before going out so bought extra food £32  after my gym trip but then he had a hangover so I had extra food in and of course I bought some sweets and crisps which I promptly ate!
Sunday I also after the gym bought some new silicon gloves and some Tupperware (will check out the ziplock bags next time) and did pick up a few extra bulk bits from lidl £9 as well plus £10 on a few  Xmas gift books from a charity  shop. Oh and a pk of sweets.. My sweets and crisps are in my 'treat budget' 

Free money  £60.19/ £180
I could count the £25 in here I found but it does not seem correct  

LadyWithAPlan

Good to see my SIPP  and ISA is bouncing  back after the last 6 weeks. I cant believe the peace I have gained just tightening up my finance spreadsheets on that FIRE idea and seeing I am morE on track than I knew. I know what I need to save now, £10k a year  extra will make my later life much easier even as a basic.
 I can see I luckily will have a basic enough income thanks to a DB  and eventually the SP but  it also makes me super aware that what I tuck away in terms of flat size/payments also will affect my FI retirement. 

I was up early to work on my programme, just left to do one tiny section to add to on my first part - added some notes just want to look back in morning and add. Then I am writing the sales page for a friend to look at and talk to the graphic designer on the cover before I edit the other section which is probably a weeks job. It is happening as I am making it my focus.

After some early morning work I stopped to cook up a huge batch of moong dal using green mung beans, it is so tasty - I am in heaven!  I have also got at least 3 if not 4 portions to freeze, depending on my 'I want it all now' levels. Mung Dal is  very comforting and good for digestion and health so I do make this on occasion, but in this case  thanks to you all I deliberately tripled the quantities and the cooking/soaking time is the same no matter the quantity.. I did not have all the ingredients but I made do and this might be my best version yet. As you can tell I make food from many different cuisines - I did cookery lessons for a while so I think once you understand the major ingredients and spices/herbs in a cuisine it helps the authenticity levels and willingness to have a  go.

A very different far richer dal, the  Dishoom house black dal is beyond tasty for those who have not tried it in their restaurants but I have not tried making it at home,  but there is a recipe here if anyone wants to try. I will have a go myself but need the 'deggi mirch chilli powder' whatever that is and the urad dal. So many different kinds of Indian pulses and I am not clear on them all.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/sep/07/four-classic-indian-recipes-dishoom-chaat-dal-salad-jackfruit-biyani-chicken-makhani-curry

I will also have a go at making some GF wraps and stuffing the dal into those...need to google recipes as GF bread and wraps are so expensive and full of goodness knows what - so again plan is to make a fair few and freeze some if they come out ok. 

Anyone know a decent Gluten free wrap or flatbread recipe? I am thinking using linseed.



NSD DAY planned and trip to gym definitely. I went Sat and Sun just for a bit and helps me so much mentally and well as physically.

debtfreeoneday

Have a lovely weekend!