Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

Cheery_Daff

Ha, interesting point about using stuff up. I'm not sure I waste any more by having several things open at once, but it certainly does clutter the place up 😂 Not shower gels with me - I've just got a shampoo bar and a normal bar of soap, plus the very dregs of a bottle of conditioner that I won't be replacing. But I've got about 4 different tubs of body moisturiser open, and I mostly don't even use it! 

I think YNAB used to do free live sessions you could book on to and ask questions - might be worth investigating if you're tackling something tricky 😊

KajiKita

Cheery_Daff said:

Ha, interesting point about using stuff up. I'm not sure I waste any more by having several things open at once, but it certainly does clutter the place up 😂 Not shower gels with me - I've just got a shampoo bar and a normal bar of soap, plus the very dregs of a bottle of conditioner that I won't be replacing. But I've got about 4 different tubs of body moisturiser open, and I mostly don't even use it! 

I think YNAB used to do free live sessions you could book on to and ask questions - might be worth investigating if you're tackling something tricky 😊

Hi Cheery, 

I think it feeds into that thing of having your money under your control, not in the accounts of the retailers? But yes, the clutter factor is significant too! 😉

Trying not to be utterly fed up here. We were meant to be going out to lunch here - first ‘date’ we have had in ages, but Mr KK has been up in the wee small hours with stomach cramps and being a bit sick. Guess that’s off then …. Sigh ….

Ah well, more time to YNAB! 😊

KK

South_coast

You could look on the bright side and see the saving as more money to play with in YNAB 🤔🤣?

redofromstart

I was reading in order and squealed at the cash in your final salary bit...  Glad to see you already know better. 

I have done a lot of reading around pensions lately and the small funds.  From memory it depends how and when you may want to draw them down because there are different rules around the value of the pot.

I am not convinced on the multiple bottles thing.  I don't use more because I own lots, I would only have bought them on offer, it stops me from getting bored, having nice things to use matters to me, I don't save them for 'best' but I might vary them with something cheaper, and given the current galloping inflation some of it is gaining in value on the cost replacement basis.  Good idea with the jug though.

KajiKita

Mr KK doesn’t feel confident enough to go out for lunch but wants to try going out for dinner, so we are going out early. 

Also, Ps-in-L still sickly so they won’t be coming round on Sunday so I have another free day … 😉

Cut back the Black Eyed Susan in the conservatory, de-moulded that whole corner and wiped the leaves of the Hoya that the BES was growing through. It looks so much better out there now 😊

It’s trying to brighten up here, so will go and do some more work on my YNAB budget before lunch and then hopefully do some gentle clearing in the garden after lunch 😊

KK

KajiKita

And lo ….. in the distant corners of the KK household there was dawning light …..

For the first time in 57 years, Mr KK has a savings account. With @tem! 😉 It took a LOT of hassle to set it up (mainly because his bank is useless when used through the website!) he had to ring them up and they steered him into downloading their App (I have been suggesting this for a loooong time …. 🙄😂😉) and he has set up an SO to come out of his account to his savings account every month. He hasn’t transferred any other funds across (he says his brain is too fried to do it today!), but his current account is linked to his savings account now, so I hope he will at some point ….. 😊

KK

Merlin's_Beard

KajiKita said:

Well the YNAB budget is being reluctant! I have a complexity that Mr KK and I contribute to two joint accounts (one just for food and one for all house costs such as mortgage, utilities etc.) at different intervals (me monthly and him fortnightly). I have been wrestling with how to organise all this. As often happens with me, the back of my head has been working in this whilst I have been doing other things today 😊 I think I have worked out how to manage it - I will use three accounts for balancing my YNAB budget(s) against (the two above and my personal one)  whilst also categorising the spends against the YNAB categories as ‘Must haves’, ‘savings’ and wants. 

I have had a good session in the garden. Hoicked out all the big weeds on one of my veggie beds, carboarded it and spread enough compost and old pot contents on it to hold it down as it gets wet from all the rain tomorrow. Also, cut back the last huge straggly lavender in the front garden and dragged all of that down to the bonfire. The root needs removing at some point but that will need a mattock or Mr KK 😊

Another nice thing out there, was that I managed to rehome a whole load of foxgloves from the veggie bed I cleared to the bottom of the garden, under the apple tree by the pond. Hoping they flower this spring 😊

Whilst cooking dinner this evening I wandered into one of the Frugal Queen of France’s videos, specifically about the 5 habits of people who are never poor. She got quite animated when she got to the 3rd habit about waste! She had specifically mentioned people thoughtlessly having multiple toiletries, moisturisers, or bottles of cleaning materials on the go at the same time. My eye happened to fall on the bathroom window sill as I was showering just now …. Oh dear …. I have <whisper> 7 bottles of shower gel on the go atm! 😳 This is ludicrous! I think it’s partly a hangover from the days when I was in huge debt and having different, nice smelling shower gels was an indulgence I could just about afford. But it points to a consumption habit in me that is not helpful (would I rather be mortgage free or have 7 different shower gels?  An easy question to answer!) It makes me wonder what other excessive consumption or waste habits I have … something for me to keep an eye out for. For now, I will work my way down through the 7 that I have open atm and limit myself to a maximum of 3 open at once 😉

(Top tip: if you have a toiletries bottle that doesn’t want to stand upside down so you can fully empty it, set it up in a plastic jug! 😂😊)

KK

Re YNAB - the money in problem is vastly simplified by funding one month ahead as they recommend. IE the wages that come in through December (whether 1st, 10th, 23rd, 30th) are funding January categories, so you're never juggling this month's funds with this month's money - by Dec 31st January is just ready to go and fully funded.

I'm definitely  with you on the hundreds of bottles in the bathroom issue - trial packs of haircare stuff are everywhere and I'm currently on a "nothing comes in while I have still have some of that product type left" embargo.

KajiKita

Oh hello @Merlin’s_Beard 😊👋 How are you? 

I will see how close I can get to that this month. If not then one of my first goals of the year will be to get that month ahead. Thank you for the reminder.

KK

KajiKita

I thought I would do a bit of a mop up for 2022 for me.

I started the year with an out of control credit card and just £801 in savings, not making any OPs to the mortgage. I came on here, started reading a few threads and realised what a tenuous position I was in. Moved the CC debt to 0%, put that value in a savings account and used that as a spring board for savings. 

We have ended the year:

- £5902 in savings (this is over and above the CC lump that will be paid off next March. Some of this was windfalls but I am still counting them as 'savings' as I suspect that these would have just evaporated in times previously) I am particularly pleased with this as I had to spend £1300 on the car through the year, £80 on new batteries for the Champ and £109 on a new hard drive for this laptop.

- Even with the savings, I have OP'd £1049 off the mortgage and even the mortgage company says we have come down to a 55% LTV ratio  I will continue just with OP'ing half of any extra monies that come our way and everything else will be swept into Emergency Fund until it is big enough. 

- Tracked / mapped my spend for pretty much a whole year including the things that tripped me up this year. These have either been cancelled (forgotten subs) or will be saved for, YNAB stylee in next year. 

- Mr KK has opened his first ever savings account! 

- I have got better at batch cooking to improve the range of foods I can take in for work lunches and I have started eating 'out of date' food - had a real block on this before. Food costs is the one I really want to work hard on next. 

- I can feel my mindset shifting from seeing frugality, not as deprivation or lack (I flinch from this) but as an opportunity to gain security, be creative etc. This is a very powerful motivator for me.

There is much more to do but I am pleased with my progress this year.   

KK

Merlin's_Beard

Well done on all the progress this year!

I think the attitude change will be the most impactful going forwards - deprivation is hard to keep up, but actively working towards things you want (security, creativity, freedom) is a lot more motivating.