Getting FIREd up 😀

South_coast

Ooh, this will help!!!

edinburgher

Well done, I'm back on the YouGov after an 8 year hiatus 

South_coast

Thanks Ed. In two years you too may have £50 🤣!

edinburgher

White guys in their late 30s are clearly in high demand - up to £1.60 in a week 

South_coast

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t28ZB1t6gg8

Knew I was going wrong somewhere 🤦‍♀️!

Well the money went into my bank yesterday, but hasn't actually "cleared" - which I didn't notice until I'd paid it off my credit card and left my balance at -£50. Cue rapid borrowing from savings before I got the "insufficient funds" text 🤦‍♀️!

South_coast

Caeler recently did a "Mortgage-free - One year on" update, so as today is the day I thought I would do the same!

Well, in all honesty, I haven't felt this skint in years! I've raided my EF, set myself an ever-more-punishing savings target, and just had to use my first ever YouGov payout to pay off my credit card 😮

However, in the past year I have spent a combined £19,612 on buying a car and home improvements, paid about £3k into my ISA and my bills are up by £99 a month since December - so perhaps it's not unexpected that I'm feeling the pinch!

Moving forward, my EF will be complete when I get paid in a few days, and I've just fixed my electricity for 12 months, so I think I'm probably done with price increases for a bit (on bills, anyway - we won't talk about petrol 😳). Plus we all get a pay rise of about £30/month when the NI threshold goes up soon, which will be a very welcome bit of breathing space.

What's changed since becoming MF? Well, nothing really. Because I went straight into saving mode (and am now in super-saving mode), I've never really "felt" it, as the money I'm not now paying off the mortgage has been going into savings. However, what I have appreciated is the feeling of flexibility it's given me and the possibilities which are now open to me because I don't have to pay a mortgage - so perhaps for me it's been a psychological benefit, rather than a financial one. 

I have also decided once and for all that I am a "snowballer" rather than a "multiple potter". It just fits much better with my pysche to see myself making quick progress, even if it's only on one thing at a time. So I shall be concentrating on filling the LISA by the end of the tax year, rather than a bit each month. Decision made!

debtfreeoneday

If anyone can get themselves back into neutral by the end of the month SC it’s you!

I can’t believe it’s a year since MF. I remember the day you paid it off!

South_coast

See, it feels like a really long time ago to me!!!

Limping on through the end of the month. I managed to get my grocery shopping done for under a fiver (partly because some things were sold out - hope they have loo roll next week 😳), which puts me at a current total of -£22.29. I've got £3.95 confirmed and £5.77 pending on Prolific, so there may yet be a bit more I can chip off that.

I've also had my wage slip, cue lots of head-scratching trying to balance achieving my new savings target, plus increase the petrol budget, plus maintain my charity donations, but I think I've got there! Keep your fingers crossed that the £20 I've got confirmed on TopCashBack goes to payable in the next few weeks, as that would be extremely handy! All transfers are set up ready to fill up the pots, which is always sad when I log in on payday and see the current account looking bare, but will save me time on the day when I'll be tired!

South_coast

In other news, I've just made a spreadsheet - on my phone!!! As predicted, having money in various places is stressing me out, and I'm feeling the need to keep adding it all up to see the total (while at the same time keeping it separate so I can see what it's for 🤦‍♀️) Now I can just pick up my phone and it will tell me straight away 😀!

(I realise this is not a revelation for most people, neither is it as sophisticated as the spreadsheet of most MSEr's - the only formula is, er, SUM - but I am very pleased with myself 🤣!)

QueenJess

I do love a good spreadsheet. Doesn’t have to be fancy as long as it does what it says on the tin!