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

DrCarrie

Amazing and so inspirational! I am going to check out bulk coffee buying. 

LadyWithAPlan

DrCarrie said:

Amazing and so inspirational! I am going to check out bulk coffee buying. 

Seriously its changed my life I had a £5 off amazon voucher if I spent £15 the first time so I bought 2 x 1 kg Lavazza coffee beans for £20 This time its 10 x 250g ground Crema e gusta - I am very particular about my coffee (I tried the downgrading the brand test  and acidic coffee is a no  no for me) so getting v good coffee for £2.20-£2.60 v £4-£4.50 per 250g is a deal.
Plus I am not running out getting more coffee so extra food trips to brand stores as opposed to where I do my main shop at Lid*

Glad you are inspired - I am aiming to do one small diy job or fix each day as well

LadyWithAPlan

Premium bonds win £25  (that makes £225 in 2022 - on a balance that has gone  from 14k Jan 2022 to £17.75k now)

Am using my £150 sale yesterday 50/50 Hse deposit  and 50% sipp

Savings for house  £75  into baby van isa (I added £400 yesterday from my win) 

Sipp £475 (£75 + £400 added today - £400 from unspent win

Hse deposit now £102,633.46

savingholmes

You are doing really well. 

Keep chasing those invoices - be the one shouting loudest. 

Best of luck with the new side hustle.

On the house buying - hopefully the stamp duty thing will help you too.

DrCarrie

LadyWithAPlan said:

Premium bonds win £25  - 

Whoop! thats a great return in a year. 

LadyWithAPlan

Grocery Dec £29.53 in Mr L   £29.53/£205 (xmas food extra) + £0/£67
I have not been paid by anyone at end Nov - so I have not moved money into pots which is so annoying though I have done my Dec budget and I always make sure I had enough from last months to pay my rent on the 1st of the month.. More chasing of invoices Monday - i chased 2 companies today and two yesterday ..
I hate having empty pots...this is what happened earlier in the year and my spending drifted - so I have moved £50 from my EF into grocery pot to cover it


I went to the gym woohoo  -  I always find it super hard to go after work or in the dark but as I had to post the shirt sale and popped into my local hardware store £4 spent on hooks for hanging pics, some tacks to fix a drawer and I managed to break the toilet seat metal bit trying to screw it tighter... and my gym is next door so 30 mins weights and a swim.
I am determined not to completely collapse into winter/Dec gluttony and then wake up in January feeling unhealthy. I have been allowing too many crisps and harib* in my life and as I work largely from home  I dont burn so many calories travelling - the tube is 0.8miles away etc. So I already feel a few pounds heavy for me so they need to come off rather than being added to...
 Hence the healthy food today and yesterday and the gym and swim - it was cold coming out after. .. 
I have some fun nights and meals out planned plus Xmas itself will be a food blowout so I have decided to eat as healthy as possible and exercise in Dec on days I am not partying... It's like money - when you pay attention you don't get  or drift too far from your goals.

I needed DF milk - its heavy enough that I dont buy in bulk so I popped in after gym. However I bought a lovely piece of salmon 30% off - so 1kg for £8.xx and then the cashier said we have another 500g piece for 90p so 1.5kg salmon for just over £9 I have apportioned   it and froze most and left some for tomorrow's food. 
I also bought a FR chicken - not corn fed this time as they were smaller and as I roast the chicken and then make 4 meals plus chicken stock and chicken soup  I wanted the largest possible... 
Also I bought some turkey mince and no sausages  

Todays food was from the freezer a turkey chilli with mung beans and potatoes  plus some sausages I had defrosted and some organic tenderstem broccoli

Early to bed after dinner after my swim

savingholmes

Some nice bargains. 

Well done on the home cooking - that makes a huge difference to budgets. Well done too on the gym and diy even if it didn't all go to plan. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Cheery_Daff

Well done - I can't believe you've still not been paid yet! 😱

I've been watching Til Debt Do US Part -I was a bit annoyed by the first one, but you're right, it's addictive, and I've watched about 6 now 😂😂 Not sure how many tips I'm getting, but it's certainly getting me in the right frame of mind!

DrCarrie

@LadyWithAPlan - Aha...I stopped using Amazon a while ago, I didn't look there. I have a £25 voucher for Amazon, its been hanging around for ages now. I think it just found its use...Coffee. Top tip, thank you. 

I don't have a coffee out anymore, unless it is an 'event' I was very much a take-out coffee kinda woman,  on the commute especially. Taken a lot of training to get out of that one, have those coffee bags now for work, its not perfect but better than a takeout on my pocket, and instant on my tastebuds. 

Hope you get some of those outstanding invoices through soon, So annoying chasing them. 

LadyWithAPlan

Cheery_Daff said:

Well done - I can't believe you've still not been paid yet! 😱

I've been watching Til Debt Do US Part -I was a bit annoyed by the first one, but you're right, it's addictive, and I've watched about 6 now 😂😂 Not sure how many tips I'm getting, but it's certainly getting me in the right frame of mind!

I can’t believe I haven’t either .. since I started on the diary I was saying about getting more work or a new contract . But been waiting on my hobbies and this one company I used to do 5 days for each week and now it’s 2 .. they should be getting major investment but over a year later it’s not happened . Apparently next week .  
So CV needs updating 

on til debt to us part there are hundreds of episodes and it always is a WTH with spending 
it’s very salutary though when people don’t watch what they spend budgets go wild ..
Gail also does 2 seasons of princess - so mainly single women spending fortunes (often not theirs) on makeup spas etc wildly overspending .. it’s often even more car crash 

@DrCarrie what a result! Free coffee! What machine do you use at home? 

I am the same - loved my takeout coffees so ended up having a Nespress* machine, a stove pot and an aero press at home. 

The Nespress eventually made only very bitter coffee despite cleaning - after 7 years though so that’s gone now and the aeropress  makes great coffee. I really really want a Smeg red expresso machine the 50s style one but I am refusing to buy it at over £300 
I have said once I launch my programme and have some sales it can be my reward 

My aerochino milk boiler for my DF milk is still going after a decade . 

I still do have takeout coffees when I meet friends - better that than food out 

@savingholmes yes one step forward one back - I like the idea of fixing one thing each day now I feel more confident in the DIY after my class. 

I am  planning this weekend to
fix  my tight drawer as now bought tacks,
will put at least 2 more pics up
fix toilet seat now I killed it
look at putting curtains up for winter - I need to get (& drill in) a curtain rail or think I have one at my parents - I have a blind up now  but it’s flimsy and I already own some of my Mums old gorgeous velvet curtains that are in a box . 
Look at putting some shelves up in hall cupboard but need to measure and cut wood so they may have to wait for diy class next year - plus it’s into the external concrete wall so 
an hour each day on my study as it’s so packed 
I am also doing daily declutter so Dec 1 - 3 things decluttered, Dec 2 - 2, so today at least 3 things …

this weekend I am going to a trance dance thing where it’s alcohol free, we do a meditation then dance - so a mix of clubbing breath work and active meditation - sounds a bit bonkers but fun 

I am determined to eBay some pre Xmas stuff as I want to empty the study a bit 
plus lots of Mb and advent calendar comping - so far I have won a pack of M&S mince pies that I need  to pick up 

plus 2 x gym and swim 

my gear I am buying has a 2 month wait list (cos of chips issue) so they trying to find one for me to borrow whilst I wait for my own 

my credit card statement was issued today so I have paid in full immediately. As I spend throughout the month I take money from my relevant pots so grocery or treats and transfer to an account called CC so the
 money is out my main accts so I know I have spent it and see the dwindling resources - and when the bill comes I am ready to pay. 
I was transferring it immediately but the. It wasn’t hitting the month end statement and the only reason I gave the cc is to show I can deal with credit  for my credit score. 

The only thing I put on it that I don’t have a separate pot for is travel so tube trains cabs .  That I leave in my main acct even though I do have a budget for it.
So there is always more money needed than I think so this month I will have another bank acct side pot called travel so I have that excess. 

At least once someone has paid me .  

I will get £560 next Friday from extra work I did last month 
I am owed £1k over 2 old bills plus £2k plus £700 all from one client who having issues having always pays me on time.
plus another co owes me 20k plus - I will get but they promised some last week so Monday I will be chasing hard
I am also owed £400 from another . 

So it’s a lot of money which I could be putting in my house deposit, SIPP and waiting for agent millionaire 

luckily I haven’t bought a home yet so I do have a huge ef to keep me afloat - though if I had bought as I nearly did last Nov it would have forced me to go out and get new work - I have allowed myself to be a bit lazy as I am comfortable but comfortable doesn’t build a huge home deposit and pay off a mortgage  which is this decade’s main goal 

happy Saturday all - up to have a coffee, meditate , look at some mb trades before hitting the gym