We will get this debt down & the savings up

Makingabobor2

LittleMissDetermined said:

In respect of your grandmas ornaments, it may be worth contacting a local antiques dealer. 

Yes I was thinking that, will have to Google and see if there are any in this area. 

Makingabobor2

Well as expected the EF has taken a hit, but that was what it was there for, so I'm not too upset about it. I know that come June I will be in a position to add more to it and also start to get mortgage & other debts paid off a lot quicker. On the plus side I have little savings pots, which I didn't have a few years ago, so I think that is a bonus. 

Tomorrow is food shopping day and been comparing prices online so I could decide whether to go to Mr S and get Nc/tar points, or go to A/di. There are so many price matches  now that I'm not 100% convinced that A/di & L/dl are the cheapest any more. Think it all depends what you want to buy. As an example we like Decaf coffee and A/di one is not so nice. But on the other side of the coin, DH thinks A/di ham is nice than Mr S. It really is swings & roundabouts now and shopping takes a lot longer by the time you have compared all the prices.  
Well, best get on with the dinner, have some mince to cook tonight that will do us for 2 days, so that's always good. Also I managed to get some reduced veg in the village earlier. Don't usually buy veg in C/op but it looked ok and was cheap, so it will do.  Also I had a money off  voucher for bakery items, so 2 pkts of hot cross buns, that were on offer anyway, jumped into my hands....lol

Have a good evening everybody. x

Makingabobor2

Just a quick question for those of you who have the YBS Christmas Saver account, or who have used it before. I started it this year and not quite sure....'cause I can't remember basically....lol..... Is it end of October it closes and do they let you know, so you can move your money elsewhere or do you just have to remember and withdraw it?  

Will be back later this afternoon with another update....busy, busy at the moment and DH not feeling well, just about to make him do a covid test. 

LittleMissDetermined

Hope your hubby is ok x

Four_Seasons

Hi, the YBS saver scheme ends 31/10 I did a similar one last year (that ended in January) and just transferred the balance to an instant saver account, sorry cant remember whether they emailed me that it was finishing. Hope hubby is feeling better.

Makingabobor2

Thanks for your replies @LittleMissDetermined & @Four_Seasons. I just couldn't remember for sure. I remembered it said something about you couldn't save more than £300 a month in it....lol, that's not likely to happen this year.  

Anyway, what's been happening?  Well, DH is feeling a bit under the weather and seems to have the same symptoms that many people we know have had when they start with this new covid variant that is going around, but so far he is testing negative, but I know it can take a few days to show. So fingers crossed its just some other silly virus and he will be ok.  I know so many people who are ill or just got over it recently, it really seems to be rearing its ugly head again.

As DH is upstairs doing stuff on his computer, I am sitting here looking for surveys and also trying to do a bit more money moving and budgeting and planning. I bought myself a small planner at the New Year ready to plan everything, and honestly it is driving me insane and I am finding it so difficult to keep track of things, jumping back and forth to different pages and not being able to know where I wrote things, so then missing them. There seems to be no order in it at all, but I suppose that's what you get when you buy cheap! Think it was only £5.99. It does seem a bit daft to spend money on something that is trying to save me money. But at the moment, I have spread sheets for some things and then the small planning book for something else and then other bits in my phone etc and I need order...lol... I am always such an organised person, but I just don't seem to have got the hang of how to organise my admin for this whole budgeting/debts, savings things.  What sort of planners to you all use?  I want a physical thing with coloured pens etc and not just spread sheets. I do have a spread sheet for the debts payments and one for what DD's etc go out the joint account. But I like to write things down and make it easier to refer to and also for example, my "House" savings pot is for many things, so I want to be able to differentiate in a book/planner, how much is for what. Otherwise I will have far too many savings pots.  Likewise I have a savings pot entitled "Optician & dentist", but I want to be able to know how much is for each thing.   So hit me with your ideas.  I did think of just getting an A4 folder and a pad of paper and making my own. 

Our little caravan holiday for June is now paid for and working out how much petrol I need to save for and starting a list of food to take. I do love planning. Also going to try and get a decent thermos flask before we go, to save buying coffees. Any tips on the best one these days?  Not had one for years, so I expect they have changed a lot. 

Got to renew both our driving licences before end of next month, and must admit that is something I didn't budget for as forgot they expired then....oops. Think its £21 each, so not too bad, especially as I currently have £26 sat in P/fc waiting to  approve. Although I think photos are about £5 these days! 

Forecast it looking good for the rest of the week, so hoping to get some garden stuff done, although a couple of -1 or -2c nights apparently. Just went out for a walk round the park and although its sunny, its a cold wind.

Dinner tonight is chicken fillets which I will fry off in a large pan and then add loads of veg & spuds and gravy and put the lid on and leave for a bit. Was going to put them in the slow cooker.....but completely forgot.  There should be enough for 2 days out of it, so tomorrow I can just microwave the left overs. 

So enjoy the rest of you Sunday everybody. Hope there's something good on TV later. 

enthusiasticsaver

I get the angst of budget planning and keeping track. As I have got older I have tried to simplify our finances as much as possible so I just have one spreadsheet now for doing monthly budgeting. One tab per month. 

Our starling app breaks all our outgoings down so I can see what we are spending in various categories and how much is available to spend until the next paydate. Our bills money is moved across immediately into a bills space, savings spaces for house, cars and holidays topped up  all on our starling main account. Personal money is moved over to mine and DHs separate Starling accounts, credit cards paid off in full and our joint savings account and regular savings account topped up. Then I don’t think about it until the end of the month and the next paydate. 

I use a Stanley thermos for my hiking trips and it keeps liquids hotter than any others I have had. It was quite pricey though. 

Makingabobor2

Thanks @enthusiasticsaver, yes I seem to remember Stanley as a name from many years ago. Worth the price if it works and lasts for years. 

Blackcats

I've tried various ways to organise life admin and I now seem to have cracked it - for me anyway.   I've got an A4 folder with dividers for each month.  Current month at front then it moves to back when new month starts.
Each month I have
a sheet for household and fixed expenses and tick them off when they've been paid 
a sheet for discretionary spends budget and keep track as we spend
an outline monthly meal plan so I can flick through previous months for inspiration
a sheet listing all my savings pots and their current total - this sheet moves into the next month as it shows a rolling total
on the appropriate divider I write any savings accounts maturity dates or big bill due dates 
in December I have my Christmas card list and my Christmas present list as I buy things throughout the year
 
at the front of each month is the master to do list - tasks large and small get jotted down here.  It's nice to cross things off and stops scraps of paper or trying to remember everything.  Sometimes I create a weekly task list by realistically prioritising urgency and time.

I've been doing this for 4 months now and it seems to work for me.

Makingabobor2

@Blackcats that sounds like just what I need TBH, that way you can add extra sheets of paper in if & when you need them. Think it sounds so much better than some of these planners you can buy. I mean I bought one and it has silly pages with dots all over it??!  And on each month where you were supposed to write finances, there are 3 lines for savings & 3 lines for debts....but a whole page so I could track my mood!   Well, as I can't sort my finances properly, my mood is pretty dire at the moment....lol. Think I'll get myself a some inserts and a pad of paper. I'm sure I actually have an A4 folder upstairs somewhere.  
I almost bought myself a Clever Fox Planner, as it does look good, but your way sounds better.