We will get this debt down & the savings up

2Scratters

Driving license can be done at the post office. £22 they do it all online line for you they also take our picture. Son has just done his in the past fortnight, he doesn't do official stuff very well at all but he was very chilled about it all  he was pleasantly surprised at the ease of it
Same for passports they do those too, last time we had ours done there was a service charge of £8 but worth every penny. Far less hassle.

For our finances I don't do spread sheets.(Never did) I filled out last year the free budget sheet from here on MSE. I did find it scary at first TBH. My numbers have been correct and I have kept an eye on it and needed no changes so far. I will be doing a full new review in June 23. There is money in all pots. 
I have an online bank account with the many pots itemised. I have also titled the pots with the monies they need each month so less thinking about it. If anything needed changing I just simply (Tweek) change the title accordingly.
I actually do my adult DS banking too (I know, I know) he gets paid weekly so his pots are titled how much is needed each week i.e Xmas savings 12pw (£600pa) again no thinking needed I just read and send it. If an account is paid monthly I add the date in there too e.g Veh payment 55pw 218pcm 15th. That is even when it is a 5 week month it adds to the pot savings.
Re the dental/optician account I named it simply "Healthcare". I save £38 a month. We are both over 60 and are lucky to be registered with NHS dentist too. That figure was an amount I paid to a policy of a well known healthcare insurance company. We both wear glasses and fortunately (deliberately) are alternate in getting our eyes tested so if new glasses are required the money is spread out. We are both due February time so it just becomes an annual expense. 
I have found freedom of pressure by using the online banking and budgeting and simplifying the whole of it. 

2 Scratters xx

Makingabobor2

Happy Good Friday everyone.  Sun is shining and hoping to get out in the garden this afternoon when DH gets home from work at 12 and we'll get a few bits started.  Until then I'm doing washing, and sorting out some MSE type things.  

I took note of all your comments about the best way to make a planner and bought an A4 folder in £land and some dividers. Turns out the dividers are not actually wide enough for the paper....lol.  Didn't think to check that first did I??  So I am now making my own with some coloured card that we had stashed away in the cupboard and not touched for years.                           I am going to make a page to record ongoing total of savings, debts and monthly DD's and transfers to various pots. (Even though I have a spread sheet for DD's etc, but I like it on paper as well).  Also I will put a page with a To Do list, for things that want doing in the long term and then pick out the ones to do each month and put them on the appropriate month page. I also want to list things we really need to buy in the future that we have put off for so long...such as a new hoover, new sofa, new towels & bedding and I'm a bit desperate for some new jeans, leggings & trainers.  If I list them I can put an approx price and then at least I know what we're looking at. Luckily DH has enough clothes to stock his own shop....lol. 
 

With regard to the passport/driving license...I couldn't use my passport photo to get DL as P/Prt had expired in Feb. So I thought s*d it, I will get p/prt done 1st....I know, not very MSE but at least it will be done and we hope to finally do a cheapie abroad in the next year or 2 anyway. So once that comes I can use the same photo to renew DL online. To do DL at the PO was a bit dearer anyway.  So off I went to a booth to get photos done.....£9!!!  OMG, I remember not so long ago it was only £2.   Anyway, I messed about in the booth for ages, trying to get an acceptable photo. Bear in mind I had to take my specs off and then couldn't see properly to line everything up etc....lol.  In the end I gave up and went to a local photo shop in Mr A and they did it in seconds...although it did cost me £12.99!!  But at least I know its done and an acceptable photo.  I say acceptable, well it might be acceptable in the eyes of the p/pt office, but I hate it. Makes me look about 25 years older than I really am!  Never mind, at least its done. 

So on the survey front, I have just had £5 from SB land in P/Pl which I will add to my signature later when I finally cash out P/fc for the day.....well provided some more approves, but it might not. Still waiting on over £9 to approve with just over £2 in the balance at the moment. Hoping might get some more today, but as its a BH, who knows??  Some of the other survey sites have been rubbish lately and not had anything at all. Y/Lv is slowly building up, but you need £50 before you can cash out off that one. 

So that's about it for now. Hope you all have a nice day and enjoy this lovely sunshine. 

Makingabobor2

Just an extra post...what are anybody's tips on the best long term saving account ATM?  Decided to open up an account to save long term towards when we next need to replace car. So it will be something we don't need to access for a couple of years or more hopefully. 

EssexHebridean

I assume you're looking for an account that you can add money to as you go along, rather than having a lump sum available to drop in when you open it and then leave it alone? If that's the case then you're probably best off looking at a regular saver to start off with - that's a good place to put an amount to save each month from income, and often they come with good interest rates too. As a rule there is no option to remove money from them during the term though, so that's worth being aware of. First direct have about the best option for their account holders at the moment, while Coventry and Principality both offer regular savers to those who don't have a current account with them. 

Otherwise limited access savings accounts might be worth a look - they usually allow anywhere between 3 - 6 withdrawals per year without penalty - and pay a little above a standard easy access account. The savings section on the main MSE site is usually a source of reasonable information. 

We're currently paying into regular savers monthly, then when they mature they get transferred across into a limited access option  - at the moment that money is staying put as we'll be needing it when we finally get to house-buying point - in other circumstances though we'd probably be converting a lump-sum at a time into fixed rate accounts for even better interest - but you do need to know you're not going to want to access the funds for the relevant length of time if you're going down that route. 

Makingabobor2

Thanks for the tips @EssexHebridean. I'll look into those. 

Makingabobor2

Well hello followers. I'm sat in the little spare bedroom at the front of the house and its glorious....but go downstairs into the lounge and its like winter still. Very windy here today, so hoping it improves as I've had enough of it. 

Today was grocery delivery day and tonight I will be doing Spag Bol with half the mince. The other half will stay in the fridge till tomorrow and then when I put the oven on for DH's Friday pie & chips, I can make a shepherds pie and freeze it. Might bake a cake as well tomorrow, think I have the right ingredients.

So this morning I have taken another bag of bits to the charity shop and this afternoon I have been through all our paper files etc and now have a big pile to shred.  I have done some looking into working out how much I can shave off the  mortgage with over payments and tried to do a bit of a plan for getting the other debts down a bit quicker. From the summer we should be able to start making much better inroads into this. Hopefully and fingers crossed. 
So far today has been a NSD day as was only groceries and they are allowed as from budget, but I just remembered I need to order some vitamin supplements, so may not be a NSD for much longer. Why are good vitamins sooooo expensive? 

Had a couple of surveys today, so hoping there might be a few more later. 

Not long till our little caravan holiday...well just over 6 weeks actually. So I've got a list and started buying food bits to take with us. Petrol and spending money pot is coming along as well. 

I seem to have got a bit lax on my steps and exercise lately, so that is something I need to look into and get going again. 

Well that's about it, so best get on with my shredding pile before I have to get dinner. 

Hope you're all doing ok, 

LittleMissDetermined

When I do a spag bol I always end up doing a big batch in the slow cooker and then freezing it. Sometimes I slow cook 3-4 days in a row just to stock up the freezer.  I've never thought about splitting the meat and freezing some for later... maybe.I should!

Makingabobor2

LittleMissDetermined said:

When I do a spag bol I always end up doing a big batch in the slow cooker and then freezing it. Sometimes I slow cook 3-4 days in a row just to stock up the freezer.  I've never thought about splitting the meat and freezing some for later... maybe.I should!

Yes, I love to batch cook. Sometimes wish we had a bigger freezer...lol 

LittleMissDetermined

Makingabobor2 said:

LittleMissDetermined said:

When I do a spag bol I always end up doing a big batch in the slow cooker and then freezing it. Sometimes I slow cook 3-4 days in a row just to stock up the freezer.  I've never thought about splitting the meat and freezing some for later... maybe.I should!

Yes, I love to batch cook. Sometimes wish we had a bigger freezer...lol 

I've started freezing stuff in plastic ziplock bags instead of tubs. I freeze them flat and then they stand up or stack.  Although hubby had a genius idea the other day and suggested we get some silicone muffin tubs that hold one portion and then once frozen add them to a large ziplock bag so we can just get one or two out depending on how many are eating.  Sometimes he has good ideas!

2Scratters

We picked a small chest freezer free on MP it is not tidy on the outside and still works. It came from being used in a garage and DH rubbed down and tidied it up and it is now sat in our tiny kitchen.
The fact we have a 6ft upright already seems barmy as there is only the 2 of us (and our 2 dogs) Whilst we are being successful in obtaining and preventing food waste it seemed only right to be able to extend our storage. I wont be sure if it is a good economic choice of freezer till the electric bill numbers are totted up but will give us an idea of effectiveness as I approach an intended early retirement with a lot less money. 
@LittleMissDetermined I am excited for you and your date of DFness 

2 Scratters xx