Our Journey of Mortgage Free and Simple Living

PearlRose

Things to do this evening (allowing 1.5 hours)

1. Check personal tax accounts online for myself and DH.

2. Review my virtual cart on Amazon and place an order. I've added a few things into the cart since mid August and delayed the purchase for about two weeks. Will delete things added casually and get what I really need, for example, tube squeezers.

3. Jot down a to do list for Friday. It's time to tackle some important but not urgent tasks which have been postponed since late July.

PearlRose

Thanks @savingholmes . Grocery challenge is a good idea. I'll see if I can manage within £400 this month, if so then I'd probably gradually reduce the budget by £10 or £20 for the next month.

PearlRose

@LadyWithAPlan Thank you for your comment. The idea about Net Asset Valuation sounds brilliant. I do a balance check every month but haven't included the mortgage. We have some saving pots, and the total amount is more than the debts, but if I deduct the mortgage, the figure turns out to be really alarming.

Energy price is one of the reasons I keep the chest freezer switched off. The other thing is that I'm trying to avoid overspending just because I have the space to store some extra food 

Thanks for the link, I'll check that out. 

PearlRose

To do list for today:

1. Check insurance policies.

2. Review flagged emails in my inbox.

3. Get winter clothes, accessories, blankets, duvets etc., out of storage, check if anyone needs anything new.

4. Put most of the summer clothes away into storage boxes; the rest, which is still in use, will be laundered and put away gradually by the end of the month.

5. Take photos and list 4 items on eBay.

PearlRose

All DH's and my winter clothing are in good condition. Got two winter coats and one jacket for DS in summer sales and those should last him for about a year. The only thing I need to buy is an extra hot water bottle.

Ended up listing 5 things on eBay since I came across a waterproof winter jacket which I didn't use in last 12 months, so probably I don't need that 'just in case' jacket.

DH hung a load of washing in the airing area before he left for work early in the morning. They are dry now and smell nice. So my last quick task after dinner is putting them back into wardrobes.

We are trying to use the tumble dryer less. The 'airing area' is a small space in the garden, with a roof over it, so there is no need to worry about the rain. It can hold up to about 20 pieces of summer clothing; not sure if this will work well in winter with beddings and winter clothes.

PearlRose

It's Friday again Walked DS to school this morning, and both of us loved the crisp autumn air.

My to-do list for today:

1. Got the term dates for the new school year this week, so need to do some planning and make arrangements accordingly (Halfway through this task right now).
2. Deep clean bathroom.
3. Go through my book and DVD collection and put some into the donation box in the hallway.
*Leave a sticky note to remind DH to put in what he no longer needs.

4. Go through clothes DS outgrew in the last 6 months, stack the decent ones in a bag, will show them to a friend next week. She'll pick what she needs, and the rest will be donated to a charity shop with the books and DVDs on my way home.

PearlRose

I checked our holiday/ fun/ entertainment pot while planning activities around DS's new school calendar. It's mid-September, and We've got £309.78 left for this year.

I've started saving for next year, and so far £200 has been put in. Household income is less than in previous years, and so is the estimated income for next year. I'm thinking about not going abroad next year, will discuss this with DH this evening or over the weekend.

I'm setting a budget of £3000 for two adults and one child for next year, and this would cover:

One 3-4 days short break for three of us
One 5-7 days holiday during the summer for three of us
Day trips/ days out all year round for three of us/ either two of us.

PearlRose

Another note:

My credit card is going to be paid in full very soon. I'm not going to use it anymore as the APR is changing from 0% to 21.9% from December. I'm confused if I should close the account or keep it but not use it.

Any suggestions?

PearlRose

Income £3137.74

Direct debits & standing orders for September £1420.93
Mortgage (including a small amount of overpayment), gas & electricity, council tax, water bill, broadband, mobile bill x 2, phone instalment, loan

Credit card 1 payment £800 (paid in full)
Credit card 2 payment £182.16 (£2900 left to pay)
Pocket money £100 = £50 x 2
Savings £100
*Holiday fund for next year £0

September disposable £584.23

PearlRose

DH's phone died completely, and he bought a new one for £465. We've got an instant access saving account set up for irregular payments such as dental treatment, and the phone purchase falls into this category. But DH used his credit card and tried to even the purchase out a bit instead of transferring money from the savings.

We agree that it also somehow works as an extra safety net, so try to avoid withdrawing money from it, and cover an irregular payment within the monthly budget if possible.

As to the Grocery bit:

September goal £400
Actual spending £423.28
Overspending £23.28

About £50 was spent on bulk buying staples.

We are testing out if the Clubcard Plus is worth it. So far so good. We do two big shops every month, stocking up frozen products, meat and fish (portioned or batch cooked and then frozen) and the weekly fresh veg and fruit. Each would be over £80 without the 10% discount. So that's at least £16 less than the original bills, then roughly £8 saved after deducting the fee.