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Simple living in the country - back to basics
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Evening chums
Well, it's been a surprisingly restful evening! Made a stir fry, actually remembered to take the recycling out, made sure there was enough room in the car to go to the tip in the morning.
Mr Cheery and his pal have been engaged in 'rescuing fried computer' duties this evening - I don't think they're going to be successful, but they've been very engrossed for a considerable number of hours.
I've made some trail mix snack bar things, and a fruit cake for tomorrow's visitors (plus a couple of fairy cake sized ones - we've had one each tonight).
Also done the banking. Grand totals for August:
HW = £130
Prolific = £36.03 withdrawn and in the bank - the uncleared £3 odd can start September off
Mr Cheery's prolific = £9.06 - he doesn't have instant withdrawal yet so it will take a few days to arrive but I'm counting it as part of August's total since it's withdrawn
= £175.09 extra for August - pretty good going I reckon!
As for spending, well, that reflects the fact that I've been on holiday for a fair bit of the month... Around £300 on cafes/eating out/cinemaThat's pretty unusual though - does include treating friends to lunch a few times etc when we've been visting.
Don't know what's going on with diesel - only £154! We have a rolling monthly average of about £300, so I suspect we've topped up both cars just before the end of last month - one of them certainly needs doing again soon so I suspect September will be closer to normal levels.
Food & household thoughA completely OUTRAGEOUS £501
That does include five supermarket trips of about £50 (the normal weekly ish stock up, which usually includes some booze), plus I do throw sundry household stuff in here too, and we've had a bit of a Wilkos splurge, and bought all kinds of things like a new bathmat (breaking the bank at £6), I had to replace all makeup before a meeting if you remember and that went in here, toiletries including general medications etc (not prescriptions, but stuff you might buy in a supermarket).
Anyway, no point being horrified (although clearly I am) - best just not to do it again!
I did add £200 to savings though, along with the extra for August. I'm splitting savings between the holiday pot and replacement wages savings for now (oh, and I had to add an extra £129 to what I'd saved for the rendering) - holiday pot currently at £630.50, replacement wages at £1007.46.
I've put another £350 into the 'savings holding pot' - I do this before I allocate any money for the next month, but stick it into a separately YNAB pot, and if I need to pinch anything throughout the month, I pinch it from there, rather than the 'proper' savings pots. At the end of the month, I swing that over to the actual savings pots, and put a new amount in the holding pot. Quite possibly a waste of my timebut psychologically I prefer to save first, but then not have to pinch back from main savings pots - too depressing. Only started doing that this year, and I've not had to pinch it at all yet.
Need to work out what I'm aiming for with the holiday pot. We'd like to go and see our friends in Ireland at some point this year, so I'll sit and work out ferries, accommodation etc costs and aim for that. Then once that's over with, we might split savings between replacement wages & replacement windows for a while, then start the holiday pot up again ready for a trip to see other friends in Berlin in the spring. We'll see.
Right, probably nearing bed time for me! Next visitors due at 11am - I'm hoping I'll at least get half an hour between them, but not holding my breath...7 -
I have a savings buffer of £500 in a separate account from my ‘proper savings’ too! So glad I am not the only that does this! I thought I was being silly …. 😂
KKAs at 15.07.25:
- When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £233,521
- OPs to mortgage = £11,338 Interest saved £5225 to date
Fixed rate 3.85% ends January 2030
Read 39 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 27th July
Produce tracker: £227 of £300 in 2025
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.Watch your actions, they become your reality.4 -
Sounds sensible to me KK! I think I'm probably a bit silly transferring out of the pot at the end of the month, and then transferring a similar amount back in tat the start of the new month 😂 But I'm not transferring between actual accounts, not YNAB pots - and I tend to allocate the September pot when I'm paid in the middle of August, and allocate the September savings amount then, while the August saving amount is still sat in the August bit of the budget, so it makes sense really (in my head, at least 😂)
Two sets of visitors down, one to go. Mr Cheery largely took care of the first, an old friend from school, and for various reasons (not least two 3am bedtimes and some heavy going discussion) he's exhausted and has gone for a nap before he goes out to work tonight.
Second set helped with a spot of gardening which was very gratefully appreciated, and donated a large bag of seeds. I'll sort through those over the weekend, and whatever's not useful to me I'll put in the community seed drawers in town (if they're still there, otherwise I'll save them and donate in the spring).
Just having a tiny sit down before collecting the third visitor, who is staying overnight so we can do the parkrun tomorrow morning. I did consider getting out in the hay field for half an hour before I picked her up but quite frankly the sofa has won 😂6 -
Two 3am bedtimes?? Wow! I would need a nap after that too! Did they manage to sort out his laptop or is it actually dead?Goals for FebruaryDeclutter 2/50Money Made £0/£200Overpayments £0/£2004
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Enjoy the park run.I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.
Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.
***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb. ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.4 -
It is the complete antithesis of the YNAB philosophy but I have a "general savings" category that I take from for all unexpected expenses. I'm definitely not taking out of defined savings pots or emergency funds if I can help it!Start mortgage date: August 2022; Start mortgage amount: £240,999; Original mortgage free date: August 2056
Current mortgage amount: £226,957.97
Start student loan 2012: £29,750; current student loan: CLEARED July 20254 -
YNAB isn't bothered by what you call your catergories but think it's quite a good idea to have a "general savings" category. Maybe I ought to do that rather than keep moving money around the pots when things go pear shaped!
4 -
I think the only issue YNAB has with 'general' savings is that you shouldn't just have all your savings as general/miscellaneous ones - there's a risk of mentally allocating the same money several times over. Sounds like you've got separate pots for specific things, so I reckon having a pot that covers extra stuff you might need this month is fine! Not that you need approval from me 😂
Parkrun this morning with final visitor - I've only done my local one once so it will be nice to do it again! I anticipate a slow one after the weekend's excesses 🙄😂 Then maybe a potter round town, and when visitor goes home, I might have a lie down for a while 😂 Mr Cheery is out all day tomorrow and I am looking forward to a day in the garden 😊4 -
Enjoy the park run 😊
KKAs at 15.07.25:
- When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £233,521
- OPs to mortgage = £11,338 Interest saved £5225 to date
Fixed rate 3.85% ends January 2030
Read 39 books of target 52 in 2025, as @ 27th July
Produce tracker: £227 of £300 in 2025
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.Watch your actions, they become your reality.3 -
Thanks 😊 we had a lovely time at the parkrun, although I'm paying for it now - I've been having issues with my lady bits this week 🙄 and plodding around for 3 miles has not helped the situation 🙄 I've also twinged my back, and am now hobbling round as well 🙄 It was my slowest ever parkrun, and I might have been better stopping after the first lap, but hey ho 😂
Nice rest of the day, pottered about in a local town and had lunch with friend before she got the bus the rest of the way home, me and Mr Cheery did a quick supermarket stock up, I've got a load of washing out on the line, and have been sitting on the swing seat reading the first of my "3 for £1" issues of Country Living magazine, listening to the bees (of which there are rather a lot, and not on the usual bee tree, so goodness knows what they're up to).
A low effort evening is in order! I'm finishing off the last of the visitor cake so a return to healthy eating from tonight. I need a bath I think, to stop me holding my back too stiffly. And we watched half a film a few days ago so it's probably a good time to watch the other half! 😂
Tomorrow I've got the house to myself, and the sun is shining, so I'm hoping to feel supple enough for some garden pottering and yet more scything. Failing that, I shall be lounging around on this swing seat with a book 😂 And maybe doing some plotting and scheming for the remaining third of the year!
Oh, and an out of season charity shop purchase today - a lightweight and extremely cosy poncho, perfect for autumn in the house and garden, for £3.50 😁9
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