We will get this debt down & the savings up

enthusiasticsaver

Good you have sorted out your budget and pension to pay out tomorrow. 

We have a smart meter and have had no issues with it. 

Makingabobor2

What a wet, gloomy morning. But I am extremely grateful that my pension winged its way to my bank account over night and when I checked this morning I had a grand total of £901 in my personal account......not been that much in there for a while, its normally the joint account that has the money, as that's the one we use to pay all the DD's etc. That won't stay there for long though, already paid £100 balance on a 4 day break we have booked for October. Now need to move bits to different places.   
Strangely it was a bit of an anti climax, I thought I'd be all excited and actually I have had a bad night with my hip giving me quite a bit of pain and only got about 3 or 4 hours sleep, so feeling very tired. The weather isn't helping as I actually feel cold, need to move around a bit and see if some more exercise will help my hip, I've already done my stretch routine. 

Was going to A!d* this morning to but the usual bits we get from there, but it was raining so hard when DH went to work I said he should take the car instead of going on his motorbike and I can shop another day.....hate shopping anyway.  Hoping it stops raining, so I can at least walk to the village for a couple of essential bits.   
I did manage 2 NSDs over the weekend, so that was good. Oh, and DH sold a computer part on FBMP.....but won't tell me how much he got for it.....lol.  Maybe he's saving it for my Christmas present....

Well, I'm going to move now and get on with a few things and hopefully will feel a bit brighter as the day wears on. Had a 30p P/fc study so far and 88p Qm** one, so that's a start.  Hoping a bit more P/fc will approve today. Monday is normally a good day, but its the end of the academic year, so who knows. 

Makingabobor2

Well the sun eventually came out and I  managed a walk to the local village and then a Salsa online session. There is a "Walkie Talkie" session later I might do, but its at 7.30 and never a good time for me...we'll see.   
Got a few ££ to cash out in a bit from P/fc & Qm**.  Will have to decide where to send that. 
Another money saving win today, was that I nipped in C00p as I needed eggs and the butcher who does the nice farm eggs, is closed on a Monday. They had some orange sticker reduced, from £1.40 to £1.17, no idea why they reduced them already with a BBD of 31/7, but I'm not complaining. Then when I checked the members card app, there was 25p off C00p eggs, so ended up as a real bargain. I also treated myself ( but I shouldn't have done), to a pension day treat of my favourite 85% chocolate, which also had 25p off on the app. So a nice 50p saving there which I will be adding to my "Make £ 10 a day" challenge. 

Quick question...which was the main reason for posting again today. Been looking at sorting my budget/savings etc and I noticed that some of you have a "Buffer Pot", that you move bits into if you go over on a certain budget.  How much is a good amount to keep in that? It never occurred to me to do that before, (couldn't ever manage to before TBH),  but seems like a brilliant idea to start saving one up. ....slowly I imagine though.

Sun_Addict

I remember reading £200 on some diaries although have seen elsewhere £500 is a good amount, a sort of first line emergency defence. So many different pots, so little money 🤣

enthusiasticsaver

I have only just done that having been manoeuvred into opening a Nationwide flex account due to activating a power of attorney for my mum who has savings there. As I had the account anyway I have started pushing bits and pieces into it as a buffer account when I run out of money in my personal account but don't want to take out of savings. I don't see it all the time so try and keep within my personal allowance but it is there if needed. My husband thinks I am mad but it is always good to have a bank account with another bank anyway. 

Makingabobor2

Yes, I'm thinking about £200 might be ok @Sun_Addict, can't see it would need to be any more as it is just for the odd bit here & there if I go over budget a bit one month on housekeeping or something. I have loads of other little pots and have spent the last few years, moving bits from one to another when I needed to and then they never get full enough. But hopefully now, I will get them up, as well as getting the debts paid off at same time. 

Makingabobor2

Good Morning diary readers. What a windy, overcast, damp day it is. Hoping for a return to proper summer soon. Plan was to do some bits in the garden today, before the brown bin is emptied tomorrow. Looks like I might have to pick & choose my times between showers. 

So what has been happening?  Well the new budget book is coming along and almost finished. Just got the sections for the savings pots and debt reductions to go.  
Last week I had a letter from one of our creditors offering me a brilliant F&F settlement that I can pay over several months. So going to contact them about that I think, that will be one off the list.  
Mortgage is continuing to go down, although I haven't made any OPs yet, still working it out, but will probably make just a small one later today. 

Got an eye appointment next Friday which will see me parting with a lot of money....but it is in the pot ready. They do a scheme where I can pay 30% deposit and then the rest over 10 months at no interest. So think I will do that, otherwise I will be waiting for ages for new specs and they are well over due already and I can tell I need them. 

Surveys are continuing to go well, I beat my target last month. Not sure how this month will fare, as it does seem to have slowed down on P/fc at the moment, I imagine due to the university holidays.  I do have £25 on its way to me from One P*!!, so that will help. I'm also waiting on a Pr!m**k voucher that I got for doing a Government survey that came in the post. 

Last week I nipped to that well known DIY store *&* to just " look" at wallpaper as we need to to the top end of our kitchen after we have had the radiator moved next week. The bottom end is painted walls and is fine and shouldn't need redoing. Anyway, the first wallpaper I saw was lovely and being sold off as it was end of line. £12 a roll instead of £26!  Very MSE. So as there were only 6 rolls left and we needed 3, I had to get it. Now DH tells me maybe I should have got 4.....as it was "only" another £12!!  I said that wasn't a very MSE tone of phrase and he will just have to be extra careful and not make any mistakes and waste any.....lol.  He always buys extra and then we end up with a loft full of spare wallpaper that gets thrown away every few years.

I completed my first free course on OU and have now started another one. Really enjoying them and it is keeping my brain active, that's for sure. 

Can't think of much more to bore you with at the moment, so I best make a move and get on with getting some steps in today, not done many today so far, due to having a bad night and then over sleeping after DH went to work. Need a rocket up my backside today. 
Have a good day all. Will try and update more often

Sun_Addict

Great news about the F&F 🥳 The weather here was dire first thing then sunny and warm and is back to dire again tonight 😐

MrsPorridge

Glad you are enjoying the OU courses - I am finding them addictive!

LittleMissDetermined

One thing about B&Q is that they offer a 365 day return policy so if you do get an extra roll and then need to return it, you can