Balancing the Books and My Life….

Lykke

Morning, what a grey, wet horrible one it is. Looks like it’ll be a day at home today.

I’ve had a few more fb sales and have more piled up to list. Farm passes are now covered and I’m using the rest to try and cover birthdays and spends needed for the coming months to take the pressure off and allow future focus to be on driving the debt down. Also sorted end of year present for teachers, feeling quite satisfyingly organised 🤣. Will sit down later make a list of ‘pots’ that need funding prior to the end of the year.

My gas and electricity fixed rate ends in a few weeks. Tried to sort on line, but need to phone up. Tried doing it yesterday but offices were closed. Will try again tomorrow. Will feel a lot more settled once I know what it’ll be going up to.

I downloaded a debt repayment app yesterday which is really useful in allowing me to explore various scenarios. Paying off £400 a month, the debt will be gone in just over 2 years. Some months we have been managing to pay double that so hopefully August 2024 is our worst case scenario. Would love it to be closer to Christmas 2023 😊.

Also need to meal plan for this week - the fridge and freezer seem to be bursting this week. Fingers crossed it means I can get away with buying minimal next week.

Have a good day x 

Lykke

Just added up my fb sales in the last 24 hrs - £178 😮 - very happy with that, plus another £12 to come from an eBay sales listed months ago on buy it now! Not bad for a rainy days work 😀

ThisLife

Well done on your fb sales, that's amazing! I'm on Audible too, so going to check out the Vicki Robins book to listen to on the commute. I've read the Dave Ramsey book, it's really good and I'd recommend it. It really helped me get a clear plan and focus at the start. The 'no more spending on credit cards' was a game changer in the clarity of seeing the debt go down, as was a clear monthly budget (which I'd never done before) and the £1000 emergency fund. 

Right, I'm off to have a rummage to see what I've go that can go on fb   

Lykke

Morning, ponies fed, dogs fed and child eating so I thought I’d pop in for a quick update.

Farm trip didn’t happen as the weather was shocking so will wait until the summer hols now to get the passes. Will therefore use some of the money to buy DS school branded uniform so that I can get it delivered to school for free. Will keep the rest set aside to cover the passes for the summer.

Wasted a morning sorting my utilities tariff as was unable to do it on line. Gas has gone up by £70 and electricity by £40 so whilst its not ideal it could have been worse. I’m making a really conscious effort to drive our usage down as much as possible in an attempt at damage limitation! 

Really need to get back on track with exercise- didn’t manage to do anything over half term and seem to have developed a mental block when it comes to running - I keep talking myself out of it and keep telling myself I can’t do it. Need to change this ASAP.

Lykke

Just taking a quick break from giving my poor house some TLC. With having everybody at home during half term by poor house really has taken a battering.

Finance wise, OH should be getting another £200 a month from next month which will be a massive help. Also realised that he is on the wrong tax code, so we’ve logged on and updated his details. This should mean another £80 -£100 per month 😊.

Ordered a few bits from the school uniform shop which will be delivered to school before the end of term to save on postage. 

Juggled the budget a wee bit and Christmas 2023 is doable with the extra in OH pay - just need to keep up momentum. At the moment I just make minimum payments to the CCs each pay day and then top these up as finances allow. I’m considering setting up direct debits for the £400 a month (this is above minimum payments and should be reasonably comfortable for us but at the same time giving some wriggle room if need be). This way we have to go out our way to lower the payments so are more to meet the £400 if that make sense - it’ll be just like any other bill rather than something we can control the amount to be paid.

I blew some of the Amazon vouchers on a rotary washing line which has just arrived. I’m determined to cut my tumble drier usage right down but am getting sick of having so much washing on airers around the house. 

Right best get back to it - times ticking away 

Lykke

Morning!

Just sat with a cuppa bracing myself in preparation for the 30 degree heat 😊 I love it, but it’d be better if I wasn’t in the office today (although the air con may be a bonus!).

Moneywise things are tight (again!) I really need to have a bit of a delve into the accounts and see where the money gets frittered away in the first 2-2.5 weeks following payday. Doesn’t help that OH filled his car up yesterday - almost £110 😫- it cost about £60 when we first got the car 4 years ago. Fuel budget will definitely be one to look at.

I’m up to £10 in Amazon vouchers so far this month. DS has 3 x birthday parties over the coming weeks so will put the vouchers towards the pressies. Also managed to get pressie for my Christmas stash using boots points so that’s another crossed off the list. 

I’m loving my washing line (why didn’t I do it sooner!) and have only used the tumble drier for bedding since it arrived. Hopefully it will help keep the bills under control. Talking of which I really need to get my head around the fixed rate we have been offered and see if it is worth committing to since Martin is now saying some are. Are current rate ends at the end of July, so a little time yet.

My weight really needs some focus. I’ve seen a couple of photos of myself lately that have shocked and upset me. I didn’t realise I’d gotten that big. I guess I’d buried my head in the sand a bit with it as I’m still active and exercising but I really need to do something. As an older Mum I owe it to DS to make sure I stay fit and healthy for as long as possible.

I_Love_comps

Try vinted @Lykke. The buyer pays the postage fees.

Lykke

@I_Love_comps I’m literally just popping in to say I’ve made my first Vinted sale 😊 The payments not cleared yet but it was very easy. I’ve had some real bargains off there too so will definitely be using again.

Off out for a run before the rain comes. Had planned on doing Parkrun but I know if it’s raining by the time it starts I’ll have talked my way out of it and missed my window of opportunity! 

Amber1980

I love vinted!!
And well done for getting out for a run,every day for months now I have been meaning to do more exercise, I have a yoga mat in the spare room and even bought yoga socks weeks ago,still haven’t done anything,and I have loads of time in the evening!😩
Have a great day 😊

Lykke

@Amber1980 I’m getting a little obsessed with Vinted - I’ve bought some really nice stuff for DS and myself from there. Will try and get more uploaded for sale as it’s really straight forward.

Two out the blue fb sales for listings that had been on there for a couple of weeks, so that was a nice surprise. £42 in total, split between holiday spends and a course of yoga classes I want to do.

I’ve just sat and wrote down all the big spends between now and the end of the year and there’s a lot! 

Holiday
OH birthday
School holidays (I’m hoping this will be relatively low given we’ll sort childcare between us, but even so spends will be higher than usual)
School uniform (mostly done - May need shoes)
Dog Jabs
Both cars MOT and service
DS birthday
Pony Jab
Christmas

Its too late to fund these via pots this year, but I think once each is paid for this year, I will set up the corresponding pot - will sit down later and work out how much needs to be going in each month.

I think I will also experiment with a payment a day. Having the savings pots may mean my repayments are lowered a bit (worth it in the long run I think…) so hopefully a small PAD will help keep my motivation up and the debts going down.

Right, best get the ponies fed and get DS ready for Junior Parkrun 😊

Have a fantastic day x