Evasive action! Stop the trench becoming a hole.

KeepOnKnitting

It is a new week, and I had such a chill weekend that I am ready for work! I've been thinking about having a Star Wars marathon for ages. I got disney plus months ago, and decided having only seen 4, 5, 6 and 1, that I really would like to watch the rest. So, I stocked up on snacks and devoted the day to movies. I did do a load of laundry and some washing up, but no other tasks. It was lovely.

I've booked a long weekend this week to do some more work on my doors in the house, so I only need to do four more days of sandwiches to get my boring treat. In other completely dull news, tomorrow is 1st Nov, so I get to look at a progress report for my finances. Woo!

I also got a charity shop bargain mirror for the bedroom on Saturday. Once I get it up on the wall, hopefully this weekend, that will be another positive thing sorted.

KeepOnKnitting

Tagging on another entry for my tracking purposes:

July
Money taken from savings £1,300 (not repaid)
CC One £974.29
CC Two £311.54

August
Money borrowed from savings £450 (repaid on 25/8/22)
CC One £795.70
CC Two £125.27

September
Money borrowed from savings £200 (repaid on 25/9/22)
CC One £1,102.26
CC Two £451.42

October
Money borrowed from savings £400 (repaid on 24/10/22)
CC One £845.96
CC Two £92.36
CC Three £231.27 (This is my new cashback card. I'm planning to hold savings equivalent to the balance in order to make the sums work, as I am now using this for all my spending.)

I should be able to get away with only borrowing about £150 from savings this month to cover my bills. Planned spending for the rest of the month includes food, at least one tank of petrol, timber, filler and wax for the doors at the weekend, possibly a Christmas market, my boring treat at about £40, maybe an ebay furniture bargain. I'm planning for the total on the cards to be under £600 at the end of November.

KeepOnKnitting

I found my ebay furniture bargain, and it's perfect. Just got it home, and I can't wait to finally be able to tidy away all my clothes. I also had a brainwave about how to mount the mirror with a narrow shelf under it that can double as a dressing table and cat shelf. I've got an image in my head and it looks ace.

I did buy some food this evening while I was out collecting furniture. It has been a long work week and I didn't get home until 8pm, so I bought a twix, peanuts and a flavoured water. I'm going to let myself off the hook as it wasn't my work lunch. I'm not counting that as ruining my record.

KeepOnKnitting

Having a break with second breakfast and second coffee. I'm having a big sort of all my clothes, and I'm planning to send a bunch to the charity shop. I mainly live in the five not-uniform outfits that I wear for work plus my scrubs, but these are not the clothes I wear when I am dressed as me. It was a deliberate choice to buy 5 sets of tee shirts, skinny jeans and hoodies for work as I can get really grubby and need to be able to not worry about my clothes. Unfortunately, I still have a whole wardrobe of me-clothes that I don't wear anywhere near as often. I'm not sure I need 15 dresses, 20+ tops, about 5 DIY outfits, holiday clothes etc. On the other hand, maybe I do need all that. I'm definitely seeking feedback here. How much clothing is too much?

KeepOnKnitting

The last week or so has been so busy. I'm tired.

It has also been pretty good money-saving wise. I've bought things I planned and needed to buy, but not been off-piste with my spending.

Also I have been moving ahead with my bathroom planning, getting a quote and booking an appointment for a second quote. The scary part is the bit where I then actually spend money. I don't much like doing that after so many years of being so frugal.

KeepOnKnitting

Second bathroom quote is in. I'm looking at about £10k for the works. It's scary to spend the money, but I really have to do something as it is going to damage the rest of the house otherwise. I am convinced I will cry when I actually sign paperwork to borrow the money. I cried when I took out my mortgage.

I spent some money at a Christmas fair this weekend, but I didn't go mad. I'm working on making some christmas decorations for myself from leftover fabric and garden wire instead of buying loads of things. 

MrsCatz

Did you choose a bathroom in the end?

badmemory

I spent over £7k over 6 years ago on a 6x6 ft bathroom but the major costs were the walls because I decided to go OTT & have splash wall.  I am so glad I did.  It is much more expensive than tiling but so much easier to clean & looks great.  And NO grout which never seems to look clean whatever you do.  It is worth a thought.

KeepOnKnitting

It has been a while, and I am back to paying attention to my finances after a break. Things that have happened in the last year:

- I started and eventually successfully finished a uni course for work, getting me a payrise.
- I picked a bathroom and had it done. I decided to take out 0% finance, and I am about 25% of the way through the 4 year loan. (This eats £167 per month of my payrise)
- I gave in and bought YNAB again about 6 weeks ago. I finally accepted that things were just much less stressful with it in my life.
- I bought a nicer car as a reward for passing my uni course. Second hand, but low mileage and something I have coveted for about 10 years. 
- I remortgaged in September when it came up. Took out extra to pay for a new roof and repointing the walls. (The higher interest rate and increased borrowing eats about £200 more of my payrise)
- Gas bills went loopy, eating any other increase in my income, meaning I am financially no better off than two years ago! 

I am still only paying interest on my student loan and my mortgage. I am in the loop of using my credit card as an overdraft still, but I figure I will sort that in a couple of months. I've been much more sensible since I got YNAB back, taking lunch to work everyday and batch cooking more since. 

KeepOnKnitting

I've now finally got a whole month of spending on YNAB, so I can start to understand my income/outgoings. I have not spent more than I earned in December! Hooray!

Goals for January will mainly be taking lunch to work, enjoying seeing my family later this month when I visit (train ticket already purchased through trainsplitter) without spending loads, and tidying the garage.

I've jumped back into the "Save £12k in 2024" challenge, which I always used to join. I've set myself £3k on top of my normal mortgage and loan payments. 

YNAB says I need to assign £541.94 more to my credit card to be back in the black with that. I'd like that to be sorted with my January and February pay packets. 

From September I will have £45 per month extra as my sofa will be paid for, so that is £180.

If I can set aside about £250 a month from March onwards, that will get me to my £3k savings target. I'd really like to have that as a cash savings buffer somewhere, as I have allocated most of my current safety net to house repairs.