Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

WelshKitty85

Hi SH, I’ve just caught up on your diary again. Glad to see it full of positivity and beautiful pictures. That dress was stunning!

savingholmes

Thanks @WelshKitty85 for catching up! Hope it wasn't too herculean an effort. Thanks @ohdearhowdidthathappen MF jwil @Blackcats and @leftatthetrafficlights

Blackcats - I have given myself pocket £ but spent more than planned this month - despite allowing more than normal for my trip away etc. It's really hard to balance how much to spend on present me vs how much to put away for future me.

MF and Ohsh... I gave myself extra fuel £ this month but if I fill up (which seems likely as DD just asked me to take her food shopping) then I will overspend vs what I planned.  My car likes long journeys though so it has 'stretched' the mileage achieved with the same fuel but DD currently messes it up by asking for frequent short trips which have disproportionate impact. I imagine I did the same to my parents.

I'm slightly nervous about my car as I've asked the garage to check out a weird noise - this coming Tuesday. Hoping it's nothing but trying to be responsible. Worried in case I have to use my EF to fix something. Don't want to wipe it out... BIL is also coming over in the next few weeks to help fix things in the house. That might attract materials costs but will be worth it. Once DD gets a multi-meter which should be this week - I might even get my oven fixed.

All being well I should get backpay in July for my grade increase but still haven't had anything in writing. The person who needs to sign off - ironically the TU - still hasn't. I imagine it's workload rather than anything more sinister but it prolongs the feeling of being on tenterhooks.

I've been investigating AVCs  - however I was hoping I could do one off OPs but the forms don't support that. They want regular monthly amounts which I can start and stop by providing new forms but it would be cumbersome to do a one off OP. I am trying to balance a desire to grow my EF with a desire to secure my financial future - especially the mortgage through a future lump sum with tax relief and investment gains - so in theory the sooner I start the better - particularly given the market is currently depressed due to conflict, inflation etc. My AVCs would be £50-100 pcm unless I get P1P in which case they could be more substantial.

However I'm not sticking to my planned budgets - and am mindful of price rises etc - so debating how much to leave as a float but I also know myself - and worry that I will fritter away any 'gains'  if left in my main account(s). I have a regular saver now going out my account to help ringfence my EF - and I could potentially do other accounts if I had the spare £ but some are stricter on withdrawals so that feels like a tightrope.

In theory. DD is going to start giving me an extra £100 towards living here from her June payday - ie increasing from CT only of £50 (25% rate). I may save it rather than locking it away as I have no savings towards weddings or anything else like that despite DS now being 24 and DD 19. Alternatively I could use it to grow my EF or throw it at AVCs. Or I could put it straight into my gas account as an extra so that I'm not panicking later in the year. I've fixed my electricity rate for 12 months - it will kick in from July so increase my costs initially by another £20 a month but not as much as it was due to go up in October.

MovingForwards

What kind of noise is your car making and where do you think it's coming from?

How about paying into a SIPP or other pension as random payments, you could build up a few small pots and factor those into your retirement plans.

Use the extra money to build up a larger EF, you can always pull some out at the end of each year to pay off some of the mortgage, top up utilities etc. Earn some interest on it now.

savingholmes

On my car - I'm worried it is power steering / suspension related... I mentioned it a while back.

My AVC option is better than the SIPP as the whole amount can be taken tax free which is why I've paused my SIPP for now.

MovingForwards

The test I do for steering is see how much movement is in the steering wheel before it engages moving the tyres.

If the car isn't driving in a straight line, without you moving the steering, it could be the tracking, especially if you hit the tyres off the curb while parking. 

The simple check for broken suspension is pressing down on each corner of the car, if it goes back up and stays without bouncing down / up, then it's probably not suspension.

If the wheel(s) make a loud noise when driving along it points to wheel bearings, unless one brake isn't releasing when you lift your foot; put your hand on the wheels after a drive and if one is warm / hot, it's a stuck caliper.

I did wonder if that's why the AVCs were a better option.

savingholmes

It's making a weird noise when steering at low speed. I googled and there are about 9 things it could be ranging from fluid top up needed to more expensive.

SandyShores

Hope its one of the cheaper fixes for your car savingholmes. 

savingholmes

Money-wise I've lost it this month... and used more of my savings than planned. Grateful that it won't leave me in debt though. Overspent on food, clothes, days out, fuel, art, probably everything!! Ah well. I get paid next week and get a fresh start.

I filled up yesterday as it seems to be going up by the day still. I topped up my food today. I bought 3 art courses as part of a reduced price bundle. 

In better news I lost 4.5lbs on SW and was slimmer of the week - so 7.5lb in my first 2 weeks so happy with that. Next pay period I will hopefully be better - but SW is impacting my food budget... Need to work out how to rein that in. I did buy washing powder, meds for DD and some toiletries so not everything was for 'immediate' use but £50 gone. If I eat healthier though it should pay long term dividends.

beanielou

Great loss 
With you on the increase on the food budget while doing SW.
It is not sustainable.

MovingForwards

I've just looked at some of the recipes and can see why your food budget has increased. Is there a way of tweaking them to cut down on the ingredients? 

Impressive loss and a great achievement being SotW already.