We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Moving on with things
Options
Comments
-
Not been too busy today, had chance to look at some preliminary figures for the end of the month. I think I am going to miss being under £10k by less than £50. I was tempted to throw the extra money in, using some of my interest free bank overdraft but I realised it's just pointless to reach an arbitrary number. Idk, still slightly disappointed as it hasn't been quite the cheap month I thought it would be for a couple of reasons, boiler repair being one.1
-
I agree it is not worth putting £50 on overdraft to get the CC debt under £10k. It won't be long until it is under that amount though.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70001 -
@enthusiasticsaver yeah it's just dumb thinking, sort of thing I would have done not so long back to "meet" the (self imposed) "interim target". It will be significantly under £10k next month and I am still on target to be free of the credit cards in November. I still can't quite get my head around that, tbh just the sort of thing in the past I would have sabotaged for myself. I struggled the other day when I realised my next target of a six month emergency fund will take 26 months at £2k per month to reach. I suppose I had hoped I could have made a dent in the interest only component of my home mortgage before then. I get some people work to the 6 month EF as being 6 months of very basic expenses rather than 6 months after tax income, if I did that it would be less time, idk.0
-
I am not sure that I would save up 6 months emergency fund if part of my mortgage was interest only. I think that in my mind would be more important to address. That would save you interest too. Surely you only need 6 months of essential bills rather than 6 months salary?I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70001 -
@enthusiasticsaver I'm not even 100% sure myself why I want to do it, prove to myself I can as much as anything I think. Spent my life in debt, never had any savings; only money I've ever had has been through profits business or personal. Been better with the business than I have personally tbf putting as much into property as I could wasn't a bad call really. It's not the same though, it's throwing some surplus profits from a trading company into property rather than saving. Kids now have to save for their first house, I didn't even do that bought it on a 100% mortgage and renovated it on credit cards. Thank my lucky stars I could, it gave me my first bit of equity but I don't think flipping houses is the same as actually saving - that takes discipline which is something I've always been lacking in unfortunately.
I dread to think what I've lost out on had I my head screwed on to save as well as to earn and profit from deals. I get the best time to start was at !!!!!! 10 when I started making a bit of money but that's lost, I can't turn back the clock. I make my son 50% save, 40% spend, 10% give for his pocket money, birthday money etc. I don't want him !!!!!! his money away like I have. He won't earn money for jobs though, doesn't have that drive to do it same as my Mrs.
0 -
Having another think about this and this probably sounds really !!!!!! dumb but I don't really know what would be considered "essential" beyond my mortgage and utilities, whether I should add in things that are currently covered by my business etc. One of the other reasons I just decided on an EF being x6 months after tax income. Bit embarrassing really, ha - @enthusiasticsaver / others, thoughts please?
Here is my recent income and expenditure part of my SOA which I've copied over from earlier in the year. Apart from a slight hike in Council Tax and contents insurance (revised to £100k + individual items) is pretty much correct as of today:Monthly Income Details[/b]Monthly income after tax................ 8500Total monthly income.................... 8500[/b][b]Monthly Expense Details[/b]Mortgage (ported)................................ 1134Mortgage (additional i/o borrowing).............. 1238Council tax............................. 318.63 - yep, it's over 12 monthsElectricity............................. 200 - estimated as we've just movedGas..................................... 150 - estimated, see aboveWater rates............................. 40 - on a meter, so possibly won't quite be this highTelephone (land line)................... 0 - business pays for thisMobile phone............................ 0 - business pays for thisTV Licence.............................. 0 - we don't watch live TV / BBCSatellite/Cable TV...................... 11 - NetflixInternet Services....................... 0 - business pays for thisGroceries etc. ......................... 500Clothing................................ 300 - Budgeted for this but most months it goes into additional overpayments on the cardsPetrol/diesel........................... 50 - 6 months per year (for the MG). EQC / EQE charged at my officeRoad tax................................ 0 - MG is so old it's freeCar Insurance........................... 13 - MG only, others are insured through the businessCar maintenance (including MOT)......... 50 - MG est., reality is this goes into additional overpaymentsCar parking............................. 5 - odd time we park the MG, reality is this goes into additional overpayments 9/10Other travel............................ 0School fees plus school related expenses............ 1400Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0 - health insurance including dental/ optical is through my business and I try not to spend additional amounts on my health now over and above what this providesPet insurance/vet bills................. 30 - dog insuranceBuildings insurance..................... 38 - actualContents insurance...................... 21 - £75k cover plus some individually insured itemsPresents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 85Haircuts................................ 250 - including hair, beauty, massagesEntertainment........................... 250 - some of this often goes into additional overpayments, usually 50-50 most monthsHolidays................................. 425Total monthly expenses.................. 6508.63[/b][b]0 -
I would say around £5k of that is essential as in if you lost all your income due to whatever that is what you would need to find each month. However as you run your own business I don't know whether that would be likely to happen as I think if you are off sick your business would continue to run with your staff so i guess it is if your business went under so only you know how likely that is to happen. Things like holidays, presents, entertainment, beauty treatments etc etc are discretionary spends rather than essentials. So if you feel an emergency fund is needed in case you lost your income then 3 months is £15k and 6 months is £30k.I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
The 365 Day 1p Challenge 2025 #1 £667.95/£162.90
Save £12k in 2025 #1 £12000/£70002 -
@enthusiasticsaver My income doesn't work in the same way as a PAYE employee's salary. The vast majority of my income is directly related to company profits. In simple terms, if there are no profits I am only able to take the PAYE component of my income (which is basically the personal allowance). Both my wife and I take the PAYE, so about £2k a month of our income is not related to business profits and we then take the rest of our income as dividends which are related to profits. Since I have split the income between my wife and I, we have seen significantly more in our pocket due to the tax advantages of doing so. My accountant had been trying to persuade me to do it for years but unfortunately for many years my ego got in the way of doing what I should have been doing. Anyhow, in very basic terms apart from the £2k a month which is PAYE, I don't see any other income until outgoings, liabilities, and tax are paid. In reality it's after outgoings, liabilities, tax, reserve funds are steady, my pension (SSAS) additional contribution is paid etc. etc. My household is the absolute last that sees any money, like all company directors. Although I at least have the foresight to be able to cut company outgoings, revise staffing/ streams of work etc should profits dwindle. I have always worked closely with my accountant as I always knew I couldn't be trusted with money haha.
You are right about if I were off sick, so long as profits are stable, I would take the same amount of money as my staff keep it running. As much as it leaves me conflicted I've continued to work on making myself "redundant" as a fee earner, next step is to make myself redundant as a manager. I want income to be able to keep flowing without me. Longer term I want to know my wife and son would be financially only worse off by me not being able to take some of the tax burden if I were to die. I know I didn't used to care but now it's the most important thing to me, working towards giving them financial freedom. There have been points its kept me here.
I am in a better place mental health wise generally now but I dont want to think of my family struggling with money tbf I don't think I ever did, just went about it in the wrong way in the past and kept it to myself, couldn't say no or admit there were things I simply just could not afford. That was failure to me, still is really, I just have better tools to deal with the thoughts. I should feel I've done ok in life, I don't. I am grateful for what I have but still think I should have done better and think I would have had I not sabotaged myself with addiction. Unfortunately I can't turn the clock back, if I could I would have treasured my wife and son, chosen to be more sensible with my personal finances, chosen friendships more wisely, had better focus on business and never took cocaine. I just want to make the best of where I am for my family. I get spending more on my home wasn't financially astute, Im glad we are away from my previous home with its visitor and memories that just affected my mental health and I get we could have moved to somewhere semi rural, got more for less. I couldn't face having to drive on a regular basis again. Its pathetic that was a factor, I know. I do carry guilt that whilst we have a home we all love I have yet again put myself further into debt personally to do it. Had I not become a reckless spender and drug addict I would not have this other interest only mortgage, we would have this home or one similar without it. Live with consequences of my actions everyday, not just the interest only mortgage but I'm knackered, I cant go at things as I would like to anymore.
No one reliant on a business, just as no one reliant on a job, can say 100% that it will never go under but I would like to think I've gave it the best chance possible - my early years in business were the recession years, I deliberately built in diverse streams of income. It tends to work out if one is down, one is up. We have better and worse years, just like anyone else.
Thinking about it after a completely sleepless night, I don't actually know what my reason is for the savings goal beyond proving to myself that I can do it and not being the person who has never managed to save but is a hypocrite by telling my son it is important he doesn't spend all his money.1 -
Just realised looking at that SOA again most of the things I budgeted for and then wrote a note beside saying we don't usually spend that / it gets split and sent to clearing my debt, we spend it. Im clearing give or take £2k a month if I was doing what I said I was on there most months it would be significantly more. Idk on one hand I wish we did spend !!!!!! all on ourselves but on the other I feel we do need a life too.1
-
1 I think if you talk to anyone who has changed their thoughts about money, discovered this site or others like it, or had some other type of lightbulb moment they will all say some version of the above: wish I had started saving earlier, wish I'd known the difference a few quid saved in my teens/twenties/thirties etc, wish I'd not spent on x y or z
2 same with moving home, there's decisions, looked back on, that we wish we had done earlier or later or missed a housing step or added in another housing step or whatever. You were fortunate enough to have the ability to look at adding debt to be able to move. Housing debt is very different to debt that was pi$hed up the wall, you live there every day, its nice to feel safe in your own home, it's even nicer to like your home. Plus unless very unfortunate, housing debt is tied to an asset that can be sold in the future for around the same or possibly more than you bought it for.
3 I think its sensible to recognise our own limitations. For you it's driving. That means living /working in certain places. For others it might be the same, it might be physical limitations that affect driving or walking. It might be a need to live near, or far, from family, friends, schooling or something else. There's always something to be taken account of. On one side you don't want to drive, but on the other you have built up a successful business that allowed the new mortgage. If you attribute one aspect to yourself, you must attribute the other too?
4 surely the sign of a good parent is to identify things they perceive as their own shortcomings, or shortcomings in the way they were raised and do it better for their children. Its not a thing to be thrown back at you, its a thing to be proud of - I wish I'd been taught this at your age so I'm giving you the benefit of my experience?
I've been glad to see recently much more balance in your posts. I just wanted to show that although you have something in your past you don't like, most of us have things we regret or would do differently or now see in a different light. I look back and wish instead of always looking for a home to stay in, we should have taken more risks, improved flats, moved more and tried to build up decent equity. However, we did what we could at the time and who knows what id be looking back on and regretting now if we had gone that route.
As far as savings go, I've always favoured the percentage style, just like you do with your son. Why not use your £2000 a month and use 2/3 to save as unspecified emergency savings and prove you can do it, the other 1/3 put to the mortgage to get the benefit of 2 to 3 years paying it down at the same time. Or half and half, or any other percentage you decide. We found having percentage system saved having to think about any extra money, gifts, overtime, pay rise, whatever it was, we just applied our percentage system.
Keep going, you are doing just fine as far as I can see
Daisy xx22: 3🏅 4⭐ 23: 5🏅 6 ⭐ 24 1🏅 2⭐ 25 🏅 🥈 Never save something for a special occasion. Every day is a special occasion. The diff between what you were yesterday and what you will be tomorrow is what you do today Well organised clutter is still clutter - Joshua Becker If you aren't already using something you won't start using it more by shoving it in a cupboard- AJMoney The barrier standing between you & what youre truly capable of isnt lack of info, ideas or techniques. The secret is 'do it'4
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.8K Life & Family
- 257.1K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards