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

SandyShores

Suffolk_lass said:

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...

Yummy, I like the idea for orange zest too

LadyWithAPlan

@badmemory luckily I dont really do takeaways eve through lockdown - I started getting weird allergic reactions   so I tend to be v careful. 

I do remember now making some home versions of those truffles rolled in nuts one year for Xmas..they went down well I will have to try them again and thanks @Suffolk_lass that recipe looks fabulous )

@SandyShores that sounds legendary and easy ! Finally I see a use for dessicated coconut

@kaycastle yes -  I guess boiled sweets are the original home cooked sweets - I will see if I can find any  homemade recipes for sweets and report back. This site has loads on 
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-5610/boiled-sweets-recipes.aspx

I have found this - how to make haribo gummy bears at home - I am going to buy the ingredients and mould ...
https://recipefairy.com/homemade-gummy-bears/

Did you know that gummy bears are almost 100 years old? They were invented in the 1920s in Germany, where they’re called Gummibar or Gummibarchen. The first gummy bears were made by Haribo, and that company’s gold bag and cute little bears are still the most iconic examples of the candy.

I also love sour sweets so it seems to be a bit more citric acid - 
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sour-Candy

I will report back on my sweet home making All my family love sweets so I will have a go and then can send some off for Xmas etc.

I made my chilli derivation - a huge pot as used all the veg in the fridge up. So will be batch freezing at least 3 portions.  This freezer of mine is a new joy  

Oct  Groceries Challenge  Oct 24th   £156.65 of £160 + 6.65 of £10 bulk   = £163.30
£8.65 spent yesterday 
I am still ill and not sleeping well, going to bed too late and getting up late so my will power is low - made worse by not going to the gym regularly which I enjoy - it  helps me sleep, gets rid of stress and makes me feel good. 
Therefore after a bad nights sleep and a long not v productive day,  on the way back last night at 10.50pm I went to my local still open Sainsburys and bought some groceries inc some sweets and tortilla chips and dip plus some DF milks.
I am still within budget but sleep has to be a new focus, my programme is also stalled cos of my illness and also lack of sleep. 
For Nov I am aiming for a £160 grocery budget which inc £10 of bulk spend - so stuff I will not consume in the next week at least. .. 

NSD 15/13
I did not spend today but will tomorrow as travelling to see family and also Sunday - probably  Sat may be a final NSD but we will see.

Chiglepig

I had no idea gummy bears were that old!  - I once (as a very skint student) made my Dad a whole Christmas pudding from chocolate truffle as a present - I have no idea how he got through it all. but it didn't see New Year! (then again my Dad will eat triffle for breakfast )

Poor sleep is a killer for hunting out quick fix 'bad food'. Hope you feel fully recovered soon.

Fortune_Smiles

Hope you feel better soon @LadyWithAPlan.

Fortune x

savingholmes

Just read your diary. Really enjoying it. Looking forward to hearing your next flat buying adventures. 

I hope you feel better soon. 

On the FIRE progress tracking - I have been good at pensions and bad at clearing the mortgage. Still time hopefully. I sympathise on the fear of taking on a large mortgage. I'm taking on a large mortgage to me as I'm getting divorced and swapping from interest only to repayment... 

Off to try and find the fireside chats thread

Suffolk_lass

Here it is @savingholmes

SandyShores

Hi LadywithaPlan, I found another recipe online - haven't tried it yet, so will need to do a test run - I won't be using the icing sugar though as I think coconut and chocolate are sweet enough https://uk.easiyo.com/blogs/recipes/no-bake-choc-coconut-bars

savingholmes

Suffolk_lass said:

Here it is @savingholmes

Thanks @Suffolk_lass . It turns out I'd read about 10 pages last year and then stopped for some reason. I'm now on page 40...

LadyWithAPlan

End Oct round up

This is late as though I have done my budget,  due to a (still) late paying client I have started paying bills out for Nov without being able to properly close the balance for end Oct. So I have done figures til Nov 3rd today..it is not 100% as I think there is an excess in my main bank of £70-100 I could save but will leave and wait til dust settles ..with all the early dd's and I get paid.
Luckily I keep a £1000 float in my current account - which is part my EF so I never let it drop below this bar the current across months late payments of invoices due - have 4 to be paid from 3 companies ,,, 

End Oct thoughts and end figures
I spent half of Oct being ill so I was not as focused on my programme and was going to bed too late, feeling awful and generally not being that productive. Having said that my  spending and budgeting went on regardless.

Goals for the month: October review 

OCT savings     £2,252,81 per month YES  - exceeded somehow £2613.16 

Oct  NSD 0/13            YES 15/13

Oct  Groceries Challenge      0 / £160  + £10 bulk YES £160/160 + £6.85/10

Get programme finished and out to sell – No finished one part though

7am to 9am  Mon to Fri -  work on programme first 2 hrs each morning YES for 2 weeks then got ill

Start extra income on my normal main career £300 target - YES £375

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

Gym 5 times a week, zero gym last 2 weeks as ill and only 2 x week before

Drop 1 kg – now ?? Flat

Sell on ebay + locally  £150 £30

Surveys but not to let them distract me from programme £10 income £0 

Free Money £180  target inc ebay        £77.20/ £180

MB income to rise back to normal levels now football is back  £300 target  Bad month on casino variance so not this much 

TT on Fridays NO

flat hunting I love and can afford – no flat hunting til finish programme YES - NO FLATS SEEN

MFW savings 11/08/21  £67,711.70   31/10/21  £72,793.98/£100K
I will be colouring in one more £500 square now and as soon as I get paid an invoice... a few ithers  

Oct savings  £2613.16      of     Goal  £2,252,81pm     - woohoo did better than expected 
In part this was due to a £500 + S&S ISA rebound (25% of savings in there but also sold a few bits and kept to my budget..
The miracle is I have a fair few invoices outstanding and I still smashed my savings goal

TT sweeps, closing and transferring excess from TT and my TRAVEL pot - there was  no excess in my grocery or Ent pots - but good news is I did not massively overspend the ent pot as last month, I was ill which menat I did not go out!! 
 I have upped Entertainment pot to £170 though that still a bit low for a single gal in London.
There may be a further £100 to move into savings but need to get cash in  first.

Batching and freezing food
My second full month of doing the grocery challenge - £160 + £10 bulk and I did stick to this, I came in under bar the last couple days of sweets .... Purposely started batch making more to freeze instantly and finding it fun.  

FIRE
In October I also did for the first time my FIRE calculations and it is better than expected despite my lack of focus. I am now tracking % as I have seen others do on here. The numbers are huge goals and of course wildly estimated but my spreadsheet also has the DB figures  at 60 and then the SP figures .. so this looks better and at least 70 year old +  me will have enough money for food The rent /house bit is to be sorted..


Current FIRE   exc home £12k p,a 9.57%, £16k pa 7.18%. Current spend inc current rent 8.20% FIRE, 
I am ignoring all my hiuse deposit savings in my FIRE Calculations

FIRE when I hit 60 & my DB   exc home £12k pa 21.46%, £16k pa 12.28%. Current spend inc rent 15.62% FIRE,

but I can celebrate that once I hit SP age in my spreadsheet I am already 

against FIRE % AT 67 ...

FIRE   exc home costs   12k pa    131.43% so already surpassed this low goal

FIRE   exc home costs   16k pa        98.57% This is next goal to 100%

Current inc rent   112.65%

FI on 24k p.a   65.71%

Inc Home of £1700/month inc CT   48.68%

SIPP               11/08/21     £26,644.38              03/11/21    £28,714.21  
Extra  Oct        investment £1,212   (1k EF move, rest additional savings) + £500+ mkt rebounce & £51+ dividends
Goal is £30k by end of year as mix of market growth and savings


So small upward movements on FIRE but all pointing right way as in slowly incrementally filling the gap despite most savings going to house deposit fund.

My Nov post is next ... easier to keep them separate 

LadyWithAPlan

NOVEMBER GOALS

Goals for the month: November

03/11/21 Nov           £72,793.98/£100K house savings 

Aim was £80k by Xmas - I may be able to do it if I get paid my overdue invoices  so ....

Nov savings     £3,603.01 per month  to hit £80k by end Dec - looks unlikely esp with Xmas but ...lets be massively positive. I am still saving into my normal pots as well.

Nov NSD 0/15           

Nov Groceries Challenge      0 / £140  + £100 bulk 

Get programme finished and out to sell by end Nov -

7am to 9am  Mon to Fri -  work on programme first 2 hrs each morning  to support programme goal 

Maintain my extra income on my normal main career £300 target - 

Gym 5 times a week,  as helps mental health so 22 days

Sell on ebay + locally  £50 - from what is already listed

Free Money £100  target inc ebay       

flat hunting  I love and can afford – start end Nov again when finished programme 

SIPP goal £643 this month  (£28,714.21  03/11 -  30k target end Dec) 

Grocery Challenge and new shiny bulk buying fund 

I am looking at the grocery challenge which is proving very useful and motivating to me and how I can also  successfully add in a bulk food stores fund as well. @Suffolk_lass has very helpfully explained she has an annual £400 bulk stores fund at the start of the year and then has a separate veg/milk/food etc grocery monthly fund of £200 plus Xmas extras. So bulk fund is all cupboard stuff and also covers those Amazon and Holland and Barrett subscribe and save purchases throughout the year as well.

I don't want to lose the challenge of the monthly grocery but I am going to start with a bulk fund of £100 this month and a grocery of £140 this month and see how it goes.The confusing thing is what I choose to argue is relevant in each of the 2 categories but I think if it is a tin of pulses it will be this month  grocery pot whereas if I buy reduced 10 tins  or a large bag of rice it can be seen as bulk...  I am thinking a further £100 bulk fund next month as well and then I can revisit it in 6 months or  when the bulk fund and the stores have worn down. It is just me so maybe I don't need a £400 annual but £300 seems realistic. It thus means I will actively look and see where I can bulk buy more on reduced items I use regularly.

I have household stuff and toiletries and alcohol separately.

SO FAR IN NOV

Free money £6.24 /£100  as Help to buy interest £6.24

Will get Mar* interest plus need to chase my hali £5 a month

Have added a few ebay things yesterday as had a £2 final listing fees max offer.

NSD 0/15 (M/T spend days hopefully Wed not)

Grocery  Nov Groceries Challenge      33 / £140  + £0/ £100 bulk 

Savings

House Deposit 03/11 £72,799.91/£100K

Nov  savings  £6.24   of     Goal  £3,603.01 pm 

SIPP  increase  on month in savings £18.75/£643

Gym 2/22 (M/T)