From £6000 ----> £9000 in 2023.

Skint_yet_Again

Wishing you luck in the lifestyle change and change of career. Aim for the dream. All sounds great so far 🤗

NinjaSavingKat

Hello All - @Skint_yet_Again.. thank you for your encouragement. Sometimes I stop and think this is a bad thing - leaving a reasonably secure job. However I have thought about this long and hard. Friends and parents are encouraging. So we shall keep going. I am also very excited for the next step and thoroughly bored with my current work. 

I am going to sit and work out a further strategy to earn more money. I want to add to the savings - even if its £20 a week. 

I have lowered my pension to the basics and have bought some basics off the back of the increased available funds. Need to rethink where its going. Little things add up. I watch shows on scrimping for motivation. I will be doing a massive batch coo today to prep for the week. 

Lots of vegetables ripened. Will be prepping food stuffs for the week so I don't have to think about it. 

• £1000 saved thus far for Sweden. I will pay the next Euro instalment when I have 1800 Euro / £1600  available. Bring my total paid to 3000Euro and leaving 3500 Euro / £3000 left. Phew.

• £67 and a  few pennies interest earned on the £6000. Would like to leave it all there and potentially add to it. 

• £275 earned from the second job bringing car savings up to £420. Will be £525 next week, will buy parts required and book for windscreen replacement. Won't be claiming on insurance as it will affect NCB. That will be £380 gone with brake plates.

Slowly slowly moving forward. 

I usually have £48 disposable income each week. It was £25 but since I reduced the pension pot contribution I have a little more. 

Would you class this as a lot?


A view into my scrimping mindset....

I bought two cosmetic items this week. One item usually lasts 8 months so I don't mind forking out a bit (Charlotte Tilbury Compact). The other is a moisturiser my body doesn't itch with and its an incentive luxury item to make me start using the gym showers and work showers to save my mothers heating bill...;-).. They were both 20% off, I also had £10 credit and used a cash back website and got £5.54 back. They were also late in being delivered so I got a £5 credit which I might use on Black Friday. Still cost £58 mind you - so I skipped a food shop this week. 

Does anyone else do this?  I refuse to use my credit card if I can. Its at £0 and needs to stay like that. 

So my Dad is with me this week. He donated towards a small shop on Friday with a little spare - as we have pizza on Friday nights. I need to prep lunches/dinners for him as he is a little useless in the kitchen and work suitable lunches and dinner for myself. 

 I have a rogue £5.35 in my account which will be for bananas and orange juice. Everything else can be made or taken from the garden. 

That should do for this week - then next week I am on my own and will attempt to skip another shop... I like to see if I can get down to the bare bones of food now and then. Like a little test..;-)

NSK

stoplurking

Hi NSK, long time no see.  I’ve been away from MSE for ages myself. I hope you are ok and are just too busy with life to update here. 

Did you do the vegan chef course in Sweden?  What about internship in NZ?  

All the best 
SL (still debt free since 2013, thanks to following NSK) 

NinjaSavingKat

Good Day one and all, 

It's been a YEAR since I posted on this thread. Madness. 

I wonder then is anyone interested in an update but for my own benefit its interesting to see where I am now. 

So I paid for my course in Sweden in cash. That was 6500 Euro. I got myself a second job to balance things a little and was working 6 days a week. This was hard work but my second job was in a tattoo parlour and was very enjoyable. I was just a receptionist but it was a lot of fun.

I also challenged my then current job to a few matters that increased my wages;-

1. Increase my wages as an assistant manager to match the staff that worked for me. I( was being paid less than staff who's job I had to do when they took a day off!)
2. Back-pay what I was underpaid (I was lucky to get this!)
3. Give me back the hours I was SUPPOSED to have which were taken off me ( I was contracted to 41 but only ever worked 37.5 for some reason, instead of asking me to working them they were removed from my contract. I got them back!)
4. Enroll me in work based pension scheme and back-pay what they have missed by not enrolling me which was compulsory. 

Pushing for this basic structure in my work place and managing/recognising my self worth and asking for what I was owed allowed me to do the following..

1. Save £6000 cash. 
2. Pay for Sweden €6500 in cash.
3. Cover flights to extra countries like Romania (Volunteer work), Australia (for internship) and Budapest (to see a boy).
4. I also took on part time work in Australia on Sundays (I am an Australian citizen!)
5. Remain in the black - NO DEBT.

I was gifted £3000 from my dead Uncles estate to help with living expenses along the way - this helped immensely and not something I can ignore. I also want people to have a realistic idea of what I spent. 

One was also responsible for dropping ones phone in the latrine. I replaced it with a second hand one from CEX store - this was one I hope to have forever more. It cost me £800. I could cry.

I was gifted a £408 tax bill upon my return to the UK. I am also due a £240 rebate from HMRC. Once it all balances out this leaves me with a very specific £366.49 in my account. 

I am not in debt and hopefully never will be. 

My main aim right now - get a £1000 emergency fund together and get a job - ASAP!

There you go..

duesouthtwin2

Welcome back 😊

stoplurking

Great to hear from you NSK. I’m so glad you pushed for the salary you were due, shame on them they had to be challenged by you to do the right thing. 

You have been busy with your travels and training. I did giggle when i read about the job in the tattoo parlour, you've certainly tried out a few jobs in your time. Glad to hear you still have no debt.  Same here, thanks to you and our fellow challengers back in the day. 

All the best in your jobhunting endeavours. 

SL X

NinjaSavingKat

@stoplurking.. so nice to hear from you! Yes my job specifications are "how much do you pay / can I do it on top of my other job".  I was willing to do shelf stacking at Asda if it came to it. I might be tempted to do that now actually.. 

I am so glad to hear you have no debt - I watch many videos on it (Caleb Hammer?) to scare myself to not buy anything unless I have immediate cash to pay it off. So glad I had you on the journey with me!