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

LadyWithAPlan

Oct  Groceries Challenge  Oct 22nd  £134.75 of £160 + 65p of £10 bulk

£23.19 spent across lidl and a sainsbury shop on some reduced bulk items in there  (rice flour, GF bread, coffee) but have decided its too awkward to have to go through it all and check off what is bulk.
. I will continue to have a bulk pot  but have it as part the main grocery spend next month - think to aim for a £160 inc bulk next month.
I think I  need to add my 'spare cash/treat cash pot' which I have been spending on crisps and sweets all this month to my grocery budget ... so £17 from that. What is left I will keep as a treat pot for myself.

Still loads veg and food in, was meant to visit family this weekend but am not feeling very well so I am resting instead. I definitely need some more sleep.

Just batch baked some chocolate muffins so most going in the freezer, they are super rich (used organic cocoa powder, chocolate protein shake and coconut flour) and I had ran out of stevia and sugar - I normally add stevia to these, so this batch are tasty but very rich  but not so sweet that I wont eat all of them at one sitting. I am eating them with DF yogurt. So can add the xtra to my freezer delights - I even have a list of frozen ready meals and one of the moong dal i made  earlier in the week has come out for tomorrow,.

NSD 11/13

Did some extra work this week so that will add to my savings come the end of the month and my pension/isa have now regained at least  2/3rds of the losses from the last 6 weeks which is good so my EOM review will look better.

LadyWithAPlan

Oct  Groceries Challenge  Oct 24th   £148 of £160 + 6.65 of £10 bulk  - just £3.35 left for the month..

I have not been very well the last few days but I did pop out today to get some bits to various shops today  so I have practically spent my Oct grocery money but I do have a lot of food in the fridge and freezer for the next few weeks. My small 2 shelf freezer is stuffed full and my pretty large tall fridge for one is full.. Not planning to buy an extra  freezer til I move and see what that kitchen looks like but I do understand why my parents have 4 freezers. The minute you start batching or where they grow veg etc .. you need the room. So even though it is just me I definitely want an extra freezer. I have the room now but it is a space for a dishwasher .. very tempting but I dont need one, especially as may already be one once I move.

Popped into Lidl and then past M+S about 4.50 today and picked up lots of YS items, I have started splitting the packs up  asap so  for example I got some lovely M+S salmon fillets but have re-bagged as 2 x 2 portions rather than having to de freeze all 4.  This is saving me loads and giving me more choice - I love the Gressingham Turkey Burgers which come in packs of 4 but again I have started freezing 2 at a time.  It is really helping with choice and wastage, I get bored of my meals. 

Plus had a TOO Good to Go 'exotic  fruit'  magic bag of plantains (thought they'd be a veg..), pineapple and  also 2 different fruits I am not sure what they are called.  I love plantains and rarely buy them - Like to dry fry them with paprika.. It cost £4 instead of £12 - it was an expensive stall  but I am not convinced for once my goods were that reduced - maybe £6 or £7 max but at least I can try some new things and I've not had a pineapple in ages, so it feels like a fruit/veg box instead

I keep hearing of lidl veg boxes but I have never seen one... are they normally in the veg section? or by the tills?

 I also bought some Holland and Barrett  green powder mixes as they were in penny sale  - hoping they will help me get better and I had ran out.. They are very alkaline but they not really food  .. but as I have spent my beauty and toiletries money this  month I am  not sure where the cash  comes out of - maybe household... Next month  I will up my beauty and toiletries pots  -I dont spend much but  as my items are not cheap but they last months eg my Mac cleanse off stuff - £24 but lasts easily 6 months even with 2 x daily use, equally shampoos etc.  So I need to start thinking of bulking these pots up as I hate to ever touch my emergency fund.

NSD 12/13

Free money  £64.03/ £180
Being a good MSE-er I needed to buy some stuff from Boots but before paying for it via the app I googled boots discount codes and got 10% off so saved £3.84 so figure that is free money

Flat
No flat hunting to report - but it looks like I can stay here for a couple more years at least.. it is very reasonable and i love the flat, neighbours and area - I will have to move further out when I buy.
Current Cost of rent inc service charge and CT equals what my probable mortgage interest, CT and a small service charge  will be, so I am at least flat on this. . By not buying though I am missing the property market movement.. So I do need to keep saving hard and ensure I can save a decent amount to outmatch the market movement. My £100k goal for next spring is still a focus. but trying to hit £80k by year end which maybe a bit of a push ... £72k + now especially with Xmas coming.

The rebound on my isa - 25% of my house savings are in  there as a S&S so got an extra £280 approx in there as well due to mkt prices - so by end of month will hit the £72.5k mark  just on this so an extra box to colour in on my house deposit chart  if not 2 by the 31st   (each box is £500). I am up over £2.5k on my s&s  16.7% plus actually it is more as I moved some funds over from a HL isa due to costs. 

MB/Casino - Done quite a lot especially as I have been ill and had to cancel some other work. Having said that with casino I am probably down this month - I used to track casino EV and also  every single Mb and casino trade for profit/loss but now, 2yrs plus in,  I just add up all the bookies at the end of each month. I have mathematical faith in EV so I no longer worry so much as the swings and roundabouts... What is nice is that all my bookies funds is all from MB/casino over £5k plus I have other income from it in my pension and savings. 
I am tracking horse Extra places P+L  though as I do not do enough of them and want the maths to see where I must  improve and if I am actually making money. Always fun to yell at the TV -'Come 4th, dont win - argh!".

Programme - Still need to move on my programme after finishing one major bit  - got so far and being ill I stopped again. Trusting I feel better tomorrow and get it moving forward..

Pensions 
I don't officially track the balances til the end of each month what with all the volatility  but at current writing we on £28,381 - as market rebound after the fall of the last 2 months  - so be nice to aim for £30k by Xmas anyway - this not my main focus but I do want to keep adding to it for FIRE.

LadyWithAPlan

Free money  £77.20/ £180
Ebay - £13.17 - not added anything on ebay for ages but something that was on permanent relist got sold - been on for 2 months at least . I will add some extra stuff this week ahead of Xmas. I am really liking these INPOST lockers - saves so much time and cheaper as well plus no need to queue or engage with everyone.

Starting to feel better  so doing some work today and also this eve. i had to cancel some work last week. Somehow month end has crept up on me quick - definitely not earnt as much this month as normal so need to do loads over the next few days to get my EOM invoices up  - got some things to do so ...


I am really enjoying this switch to deliberately batch cooking and knowing whatever I make I will freeze some immediately. I am surprised at how more fun this makes it - I am a good cook - I studied some - but I dont always make a huge effort for myself so now its good to think I can make more of an effort but it is for future meals as well. Having those chocolate muffins as well as frozen batch meals  means that my afternoo freezer raid fo the next day food is way more interesting.

Balthazar my robot vacuum is working as I type. Cos of being ill I have got behind on my household chores, but having someone else vacuum and mop is fabulous. Clean floors are such a boost

Do I need/want to treat myself to a dishwasher?
On the automated household goods note I am really thinking I would like a dishwasher to help keep kitchen tidier and as discussed there is a space in my current kitchen - need to check the plumbing though but given I will be probably moving in  next 6 months  it seems a pointless expense... I may see if I can see a reduced one in Jan sales or indeed Black Friday  and save  some cash for it in a pot and maybe get some Xmas gift money towards it. I have not lived in a place with a dishwasher for years including this flat .. it is just me so not that much washing up but it feels like a good luxury to have and mentally it will help me keep my kitchen tidier. I still have £118 from birthday money left over .. as a starter.
EDIT: Realised the plumbing is all the other side of the kitchen so I would have to get some water lines in, the space I have is for a freezer..  This will probably cost too much. I will google.
Although I rent I have a fridge/freezer, oven, washing machine plus all my own furniture ... every time I move there is more stuff but at least when I buy I have it all. 


NSD 13/13 up to Oct 25th - hopefully today and tomorrow will be as well

themadvix

I am the world's biggest fan of dishwashers and I wouldn't be without one, but if you're going to be moving, wouldn't it be better to wait than pay out for the plumbing to be adjusted (which may take a while anyway, given how busy trades are at the moment). You may buy something with an integrated dishwasher anyway!

The batch cooking sounds really good - totally get what you mean about bothering to cook for yourself - if I'm on my own for the evening I rarely make the effort to make a proper meal.

Chiglepig

I'd echo what @themadvix said, you don't know what space a new place will have, there might be one built in already, and it would be another thing to have to get one the removals lorry. (But I would be without one either!)

Glad you're beginning to feel better.

LadyWithAPlan

@themadvix @Chiglepig Great to know such (in)famous Mse-ers are on board with my dishwasher dream and not telling me its a waste I think you are both right in terms of the plumbing issues means I need to wait til next year /when I move though I will ask my neighbour as she had hers done recently.
My robot vacuum/floor washer  Balthazar  is  a complete treat and so worth it, and I got it for a bargain what with discount code, a MSE pointed out Amazon offer, plus I used what was left on a won gift card and it was 1/3rd of its original price anyway. I don't know how I managed without him tbh

Has anyone tried making sweets and got a recipe that works without loads of sugar?. Think me batching and freezing  the muffins is a great idea  as I always have a healthy treat on hand (they defrost quickly) instead of buying haribo or crisps with all the dubious ingredients- I make a keto version, GF, DF and use coconut flour and chocolate vegan protein powder so they are super high in protein for a muffin. I also do a oat GF DF bake  I travel with so I will have a go today and make a bigger batch of that blueberry one as well to freeze. Maybe I should try and make sweets ..except I may have a heart attack at the amount of sugar used in the recipe. I am not keto but I do like to keep my protein levels up.

NSD 14/13 - I managed to not spend yesterday and was about to pop to shops on way home for some 'treats' but somehow had the willpower not to, partially as I turned right instead of left where I got off the bus  and could not be bothered to track back. Hopefully today the same, but then away for the weekend so will be 4/4 or 3/4 spend days til end of month


I have defrosted some boneless pork loin chops so I  am going to try and make a GF cutlet with them - my first attempt  but realised I have no GF breadcrumbs in so will be GF flour crust only- I only defrosted 3 though  so I can imagine I will be eating all and not refreezing one.
Got some YS beef mince out the freezer as well to make a slow cook chilli tomorrow/later - got extra veg in and away for weekend so rather than waste veg - I will cook up and immediately  batch some of it. No kidney beans in but may use mung beans or chickpeas instead.. I do need some serous pulses stock in but my freezer is full to bursting ... As a single person I have not been to costco but maybe the local ethnic shops have got some good deals.

GOAL Oct - Oct savings  £2028.47      of     Goal  £2,252,81pm   as of 20/10/21
MFW savings 11/08/21  £67,711.70   17/10/21  ££72,209.98/£100K

Added my ebay £13.17 on this now  -  Have yet to add my TT,  and month ends where I move over what I havent spent from entertainment, grocery, travel - I have done better on this as I have not overspent but still a few days to go til month end and I have a birthday dinner I am paying for, plus travel. So really trying hard to not spend more on groceries at all.

Plus I will have an extra £335 of income paid on Friday from my new side job (to add to savings once it arrives minus 20% for SIPP + 20% tax). I will count this as Oct savings as paid within the month.
I can see my S&S ISA is £300 up from last EOM so far, so even if I do not get paid a couple invoices I will still have hit my next £500 in house dep savings  goal to £72500. I won't colour in my squares yet - I will wait to add up my MB income as well on Sunday - casino bounced back yesterday after a few losses but I may well still be flat on the month for MB we will see.

Always nice to look forward to doing the EOM budget each month as I squirrel away my nuts and I have kept more receipts this month so hopefully I can track better my expenditure for the month. Given I have a loose eye on FIRE, despite budgeting monthly for over a decade I have rarely  gone back and actually fully reviewed at the end of each month - I normally add my grocery, travel etc spends into separate pots and draw them down during the month but I don't keep a full record of spends/overspends etc. However I do want a clearer annual expenditure that is accurate so starting to build the data on that now.
I know I need to up my utilities sinking fund, I want to add a odds and sods pot as well - just £25 a month to keep my budget to zero as things always crop up in the month of needed expenditure. I need to have a bigger bulk buy and bulk toiletries as I always draw that last one down each month.

badmemory

I think it is an excellent idea to make your own treats. (Even if they have a lot of sugar although you may be able to cut the amount down).  Some of the rubbish (chemicals etc) that is in the stuff we buy off the shelf is not good for you.  I've found the older I get the more negative reactions I have to bought foods.  At least when you make them yourself you know exactly what went into them.

Did you read the article about the hormones etc in some US takeaway foods. Horrifying!!  And some appear to be on sale here.

kaycastle

Dishwashers are great. I'm sure I read somewhere that they use less water so good for environment too

I'm intrigued about the sweet making. I love baking lots but haven't tried making sweets yet

SandyShores

I've got a recipe for coconut bites.  Desiccated coconut, plus coconut oil, molded then dipped in dark chocolate.

Suffolk_lass

My go-to truffles recipe is really easy and the sugar content is dependant on the chocolate you use as no other sweetening is added. I can vouch for adding orange zest and rolling in cocoa powder. I give these away at Christmas...