The Mental Debt Struggle...

daisy_1571

popping a book or two into your bag will remind you (by the weight) every time you pass any place you can drop them off.  A couple won't overload where you drop them but if done consistently will diminish your home pile 

Dxx

daisy_1571

Or take some into work and leave them in the kitchen/break room ?

Keedie

Happy New Year everyone 🎉.

I've not been feeling very well and so I have not been able to work today and don't think I will manage tomorrow either. So that puts a spanner in my income plans for this month. But as they say, health before wealth.

Whilst on recurring bed rest, I have had the time to think a lot about my financial and life goals. I am trying to keep things as simple as I can. Less is more after all:

1. Save 3 months expenses = £6,000 (£2,000 per month)
2. Track my spending throughout the year (this will enable me to see if I have the correct sinking funds and budget categories and how much/where I am spending)
3. Repay £1,500 to my mum for my course fees (this is half of the £

Goal 1 ~ 3 Month's Expenses (£6,000)
I have reduced the monthly target from £2,500 a month to £2,000 a month as that is the actual monthly budget. When I have a 6 months of expenses, I will review it and see if I want to save a contingency fund. The additional £500 a month was a buffer against price increases. But for now it is not necessary.

Currently I have £3,00 in my Natwest Digital Saver and £1,800 in my Help to Save, so £3,100 digitally and £150 in cash. So £3,250 and just over halfway to the overall target for the year.

Goal 2 ~ Expense Tracking (weekly but preferably daily)
I need to finish designing my expenses tracker on Excel. I realised that I was having trouble with the ones I brought on Etsy etc, as they didn't fully fit what I was doing and how I budget, so I am creating my own. I've got it all scribbled out layout wise in my savings planner, but I have not created anything or added formulas etc as yet.

Goal 3 ~ Career Advance Repayment (£1,500)
I have two savings challenge that will enable me to save £1,350 and the rest I will obtain once I have completed smaller savings challenges

I have managed to pay off the Argos Card which was £509.45 and I have put about £600 into savings as my mum gave us all very generous Christmas gifts. My friend also called me the other day to say that the money I lent her quite a while ago, will be repaid to me within the next few months. So when that comes through, I will put it towards the savings challenges to repay my mum.

I also need to work out my mental health and home goals as well. The decluttering is very slow. My son and I have put things in the majority of the tubs I brought from Argos. We just have a few more bags of random things to go through and then we should be ready for our first dump site trip.

AntoMac

Health before wealth is spot on Keedie. After all, health is priceless so look after your good self as much as you can.
It seems like a lot of your savings plans are on track. Of course there’s always room for improvement/progress but you have specific targets which will help with focus

beanielou

Always health before wealth.  Hope you feel better soon.

Baileys_Babe

Happy New Year @Keedie

I hope you feel better soon.

Excellent progress on your declutter mission.

Humdinger1

Happy new year @Keedie.  Health before wealth indeed; plus I find that if I ignore illness to start with, I end up taking off more time in the end so it's more cost-effective to go to bed.  Congratulations on all your planning and saving.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

Makingabobor2

Yes....health before wealth. Most definitely. 
Good luck with your decluttering. I am starting on that again this week. 
Hope you feel better soon. Think we all need some sunshine. X

Keedie

Thanks for the well wishes. I am starting to feel a bit better today. I tried to work from home this morning but lasted an hour and then I gave up as I started to feel dizzy. So definitely health before wealth. I messed up this morning as I was anxious about the finance. So I was hoping to be able to work more than one day this week as that would help financially, but my son said he'll help more which was sweet of him. But I don't want him to do too much, I need him to start saving and getting ahead with that. He's on a zero hours contract and universal credit so he's not making much, but he buys his own clothes, take aways, handles his own travel and contributes to food, so that's enough. When he's got a stable full time income, but I was touched all the same. 

Oh and guess who came today... Silver! Him and my son seem to be obsessed with each other and keep following each other around. 

1stTimer

Absolutely stunning 😍