The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

I've been a bit AWOL as I'm having a chronic fatigue flare up because I overdid it on Monday, going to the CPD Day at work. I had to travel across to west London and I took the route that I used to take to that office area, but didn't factor in my declining health post-pandemic and the route just took a lot out of me. So I spent Tuesday recovering as my non-working day and had to call in sick yesterday to continue to rest.

I've been working from my bed today, and attending too many Teams meetings. But one of them was rather useful and was about the pension scheme. I've realised that my pension is rather poor due to working part time for most of my adult life, and so I think I'll have a wonder on over to the other parts of the forum to see if I can get some more information about probably doing a private pension. I might consider Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) on the work pension, but I'm not sure if that would work as I think there's a minimum period that you can do it and I've no real intention of hanging around for a prolonged period of time. So I think I need to do some research. My brother in law has a SIPP, and said he'll explain it to me, but I find pensions so convoluted and boring that I tend to switch off 😬.

But anyways, I combined my son's 18th birthday pot and the emergency fund and paid in the last £40 for the emergency fund, so that pot is now £504.85. I merged them because I realised that Chase has a boosted saver account of 5.1% until mid-January 2025, and a higher balance will give me a smidgen more interest. I've got my spreadsheet to tell me which bit is the emergency fund and which bit is for his birthday. Also, I don't plan on spending much for his birthday as he has no real plans, and has gone back to not wanting a party, so I'll just give him some money to go out with his friends, some birthday money, get a cake and take him out for our joint birthday meal. That won't cost £500. So the remaining amount will just stay in the boosted saver pot as part of the emergency fund. 

I somehow forgot that I did a few hours freelance work last month and didn't invoice for it, so I'll do that tomorrow and that should take care of some of my deficit for this month's budget due to overspending. It's not an exact science, but it will come together (hopefully and optimistically) and I'll see how down to the wire I'll be after I take out tax and see what I am left with. I'm not sure how I overlooked that to be honest. I think it's a testament to how stressed I have been 🤦🏾‍♀️.

Cherryfudge

You've coped with a lot - no wonder your brain shelved some non-urgent stuff. The main thing is you are thinking of it and in time it will be done.

With regard to the birthday money, it's almost as if you have completed that pot and have some left over due to your son not wanting a party. So that sounds to me as though the savings have jumped forward... and the extra interest is all to the good as well.  

I hope you feel the benefit of the day in bed.

beanielou

Keep plodding ☺️

Keedie

The savings have jumped a bit @Cherryfudge because they've been combined and I've just moved the standing orders from weekly to monthly, so the last 2 weeks of July payments at £20 each, went into the booster pot today. And there should definitely be surplus from the birthday pot, unless he changes his mind again!

The emergency fund is £101.01 and the birthday pot is £402.84. I think whilst the savings are boosted in that pot, I will keep everything in one place, and just track it on the spreadsheet. I still have standing orders from my Monzo into the Chase saver, so I'll be able to easily see what is what.

And yes @beanielou, still plodding along 😀.

Keedie

I went away for the weekend with my mum to a nice hotel in Buckinghamshire and it was so nice to be away from home and my son coped on his own, but seemed to have really missed me. Which was nice.

Work has been quite draining and there has been a lot of talk about us relocating campuses, and I'm not really looking forward to that. I think I've figured out the route, and it would take an hour via two buses and an overground train, or a bus, three tube trains and 5 minute walk for the most step free access version via tube. I guess the silver lining is that as I have the freedom pass, getting to work will be free as at the moment it's costing me petrol and in the future it will cost me energy credits, so not sure which one is more expensive 😂.

Everyone was excited at work today because our payslips came out and we get paid tomorrow, but when I said I'll claim mine early with Monzo from 4pm today and then set it aside for next month, they thought I was crazy! When I explained that I stockpile every penny and put it into an account with a decentish savings rate, and then withdraw it on the last day of the month to move into the respective pots and accounts for the following month, they just stared at me with their mouths open... 😬. I got a bit uncomfortable and explained further that I budget based upon a rounded down version of a set income figure I've chosen that is less than my accumulated income, but I also round each bill up to the nearest £1 to build a very small incremental buffer each month. And so, it doesn't matter when we get paid, as I can't spend it until the following month anyways. But it's always nice to know when the wages have come in, that I'm closer to the target I've set.

There was an awkward silence, and I got a bit embarrassed. But then one of the managers said that she was really impressed and couldn't believe I'd managed to do all of that, and I said it was still a work in progress, but as the months go on, it gets easier to manage and to not dip into future budget money. And they asked more about how I manage my budget and so I told them, and it hit me that I've come quite far in the last 2 years in terms of how I budget and manage my finances. I'm working on the discipline side of things as I've got the methodology roughly to where I want it. But I actually felt proud of myself. Especially as one lady scoffed at me for using Monzo, but when I explained how it all helps, she was rather silent after that. But it wasn't about their approvals, it was the fact that I realised that I've come very far and I'm proud of what I have managed to do for myself and the sense of structure that I've given my finances.

Keedie

Oh I forgot to say that me and my mum went for a Carvery on Saturday evening, and I got £4.10 cashback, as it was 10% cashback with Monzo. My everyday spending in Chase also has cashback and when I've put it all together, with the cashback I got from Lidl and Burger King with Monzo. They're all sitting in a Chase pot and it now has £22.78 in there. Quite randomly, my round up pot on Chase that gets the 5% interest on it, also has £22.78 in there! Bizzare isn't it 😀.

I need to do some surveys in my spare time and put the money in that pot as well. I'm stockpiling it so that I can use it guilt free in 2025 to top up my spending money. As by December 2024, once I've reached the actual earnings that my budget is made up of, I'll be able to start saving and clearing my debts more aggressively. And to do that, it means that I will still need to keep with my current personal spending budget, and so all of these little bits of cashback, surveys and when I cash in Lenny, will help me to have a personal buffer that doesn't derail my overall plan. 

beanielou

Great that you can see how far you have come 

Keedie

Thanks @beanielou. It really was a giddy moment when I realised what I've achieved 🤗.

Baileys_Babe

I too round up bills usually to the nearest £1 to build up a buffer.

I like that you are saving cashback, survey money, round ups etc to build a buffer so you don't derail your budget.

You have come so far in the last two years, you should be very proud.

PennysIntoPounds

You stunned them into silence with your brilliance, marvellous 🥂
How lovely to have that time with your mum, and your son both coping and missing you is the perfect balance 😊
Great cashback work, how funny the two amounts are the same. Well you know which numbers to choose should you come across a raffle!