From £6000 ----> £9000 in 2023.

~FlowerPot~

Brilliant well done on you 6000, that's a great achievement, you must feel very happy. Good to increase your pension contribution too
Flowers x

NinjaSavingKat

Thank you everybody... yes the pension is important to me now. I have a private civil service one but that was short lived (7 years) and will never be enough. I have over looked this a little too long now and am in panic/damage control mode. 

Anyone watch Caleb Hammer on YouTube..?

I need to pay in a nice rounded figure (for the sake of my own brain!!) so will aim to collect as per normal up to £1400 and dump that in. That will be up to and including the 7th Junes payday.

I will talk on the dream tonight. I just might need more brains on this one. 

NinjaSavingKat

Good Morning all... 

A bit of news. 

I have been offered a new contract at work. They are upping my weekly hours from 37.5 to the original 40 (it was removed off my contract without my knowledge) if I am happy to go salaried. Is it a trick?

This means OT is paid as TIL and not £££. 

It works out as pre-tax £146.50 extra a month and is stupid to refuse. It means an extra 30 minutes a day on to my current shift - whoop-di-do - I can manage that. 

It also mean I am getting the same amount each month despite my increase from 5% to 12% pension contribution. 

I have done research also - and I think I have to pay 35% into savings/pension to catch up with the dire situation I am in regarding pension/savings/net worth vs age.
.... oh dear!

Anyway this is all a lot of figures and boring-ness..

It put me in better stead to face the prospect of the dream as the payments to save for that is £146 a month - co-incidence. I dunno.

More on that tonight or tomorrow. I am scared to talking it into existence and failing miserably. 

Shineyhappy

Congratulations on your new contract and the extra money.

Pension figures are definitely not boring and a comfortable old age is worth the effort.

I have started back on the £10 a day challenge to help increase my pension pot.

NinjaSavingKat

Thank you for stopping by @Shineyhappy.. and for your comments. I think I am on the right path with pension.. I have £200 with £1200 to go.. 

My pension has gone up significantly since doing some proper digging. If ever there was a big fat warning to watch your pennies and where they are going..

Actually lets figure this out..

1. Income from £10.85 to £12.30 per hour with new job role. 
2. Income from £12.30 to £13.50 per hour after realising I was being paid less that our trainees. 
3. Rebate of £580 from when I figured out No.2 to it getting officially signed off and increased.
4. 1 year of pension "found" having been lost due to my name being spelled wrong. 
5. 3 years of pension paid after noticing I was not auto-enrolled / no opt out signature either. 
6. Increase in work hours to original contract after 2.5 hours removed from contract. 

Maybe I need a new company to work for. 

NinjaSavingKat

So I changed phone companies.

Significant drop in phone monthly fees from £24.78 with O2 to Talk Mobile at £11.95 a month.

That's a £12.83 a month saving AND £51 cash back with TopCashBack so will be putting that in the Bill account. 

Means my phone plan is actually £7.70 a month. 

My bills each week are now  = £132.73 (weekly) / £530.92 (monthly).

Would like to get a part time job for 2 shifts a week to cover most of this amount. I have messaged a friend as he works in the local Tesco. 

Would mean I could potentially save more of my full time salary.

Probably won't happen. I have very specific requirements. 

duesouthtwin2

Well done for saving so hard. Very proud of you. x

MovingForwards

Well done reaching your target, it's a huge weight off your shoulders while edging to the next one.

Congratulations on getting your hours back and financial plans resulting in no reduced money. 

There's no harm vacancy window shopping, having a CV and outline covering letter ready, just in case. 

NinjaSavingKat

So a little has changed since I last posted. I still have a solid £6000 still in tact and currently earning interest in my CHIP account. They seem to keep increasing their interest rate which is great. 

I have decided to pay for a Vegan Chef course in Sweden. This is a dream that has only become viable since I've tightened the purse strings so to speak. I will live on site in an old castle for 3 months in the depths of the Swedish countryside, the course is accredited by the Swedish government so there is a lot of work to do but as the site is boarding school I will have plenty to do in my down time.  This is a course run by my church which means a potential internship with a business in New Zealand. I have a lot of saving to do. 

I have paid €1200 deposit and secure my place for February 2024. I will be asking my company for a sabbatical with the intent to return to a different position if its necessary. I will however be aiming to create a lifestyle change and a massive change in career. Potentially frightening, unstable etc. But the dream. 

Total price - €6500. That means I have around £4500 left to pay which is £200 a week until the end of December. Which is what I am currently saving anyway. 

I work 5 days a week but have potentially secured a second job for Fridays and possible Tuesday mornings - this is only living wage as I have offered my services to a business who has not physically advertised for any help. So I wanted to be somewhat appealing. This will hopefully secure me an extra £1500. I start next week. 

So changes are foot, I need to prevent distractions ( I need new glasses!) as I am living on a very tight budget but also consider all the upcoming costs associated with my old car.

For now.. that is all.. 

NinjaSavingKat

Good Morning.

Second job secure - day one last week. £65 cash in hand. Every little helps. Could pay the remaining balance for Sweden in 15 weeks with this. 

£51 cash back from changing my phone contract via MSE. Withdrew last night. Will go to bills accounts to get ahead of the game a little. 

I am living on peanuts and garden produce. CC still clear. My Dad gifted the house a 25kg of soy beans. ;-) 

I need to ensure I have enough to pay all my car payments before I go away though - tax in November, full service in December with parts at least totalling £400 (£200 for cracked windscreen if not covered by insurance / heat in the early part of the year possibly caused that!) that I know of required, MOT in January 24, Insurance in March 24. My mother will be using the car while I am away. So I am guessing based on last year a joyful £1500..;-)

I know I have the £6000 for this but I want to keep that intact for as long as possible. 

Will be putting a beloved motorbike jacket on Vinted this week. And possible the kimono I got myself this year in Edinburgh for my 40th. Every little helps.. although still in two minds. Desperate to declutter everything. 

Over and Out. 

NSK