The thriftyish way

thriftyish

Wow. It has been a long time. Lots has changed yet lots the same. The focus has not been the mortgage over the last 2+ years since I posted 🙄 

Nov 2022 - I had laparoscopic Surgery to remove teratoma 
Jan 2023 - I started applying for jobs, and landed a 2 day a week admin job with the local council
Sept 2023 - I re-started part time degree in IT
Nov 2023 - I upped work 5 days a week, term time only, still admin based, but different sector
March 2024 - DH started a new job, big % salary increase
Sept 2024 - I moved into an IT job, nearly equalling DH's salary, combined salaries over 95k. Crazy difference to 15 years ago, when we had a family income of £18k and a none existent budget for anything other than essentials.

Fast forward to today, and I am 2 days post OP for another laparoscopic surgery. Degree is on hold due to something traumatic that happened in January, my plan would be to restart in October 2024/Jan 2025

Mortgage

Mortgage is due for renewal, we have a mortgage offer that lends us an extra 30k. Going from owing 137k to nearly 170k but also reducing our term. Our plan is to replace the kitchen, and utility/toilet that is falling apart +/- moving a doorway depending on cost. Also need to renovate two bathrooms, two bedrooms & add two wood burners to the office and living room (our house is solid walled, and we were spending upwards of £15 per day over the winter on fuel, and our house is STILL cold). We will be doing most of the work ourselves to save on costs. 

We cant renovate and have me study so might need to defer my degree further, DH takes on extra work to balance homelife when I study so he couldnt renovate alone. Also depends on my health, awaiting results of a lesion removed from my womb, may need more treatment. Degree was also started to move into a career in IT, I now have a career in IT so its not as essential, I would like to complete it but need to be sensible.

We are planning not to overpay the mortgage, but to offset with savings if the savings rates are better and hopefully get to the point that our savings outweigh our mortgage balance.

Crazy food costs

I am here to hold my hands up because, over Christmas, my new budgetting software tells me we spent over £1200 on food, takeout food, treats, medicine, christmas market crepes, christmas food and school dinners. Then we trauma ate in January and Feburary, spending £965 and £1028. Those numbers hit me hard, old thriftyish would have told you we were spending around £600 a month on food. New me has a budget of £750 (£600 food, £60 school dinners (1 day a week, four kids) £50 takeaway/meals out food (sadly not many places to eat out that cost less than £50 for 6 people) then £10 each for cleaning, toiletries, alcohol and growing. I would like to get this down to £600 or lower, small steps!

Changes planned
 - No snacks to be bought - we would buy 40-60 lunch box snacks a week (choc breaks, wafers, rarely branded), that the kids plough through for snacks and none left for packed lunches, despite buying so many. I have been making lunchbox cake and flapjack. Still vanishes but less additives and slightly cheaper.
- Less eating out and hunger shopping. 
- Less processed foods, like jars, more cooking from scratch
- Less takeouts and eating out
- More bulk meal prepping / thrifty filling meals
- Less meat. We fell back into the habit of buying huge packs of chicken but using far too much in portions. Also recently we have been having meat with no fillers, so just mince in spag bol, just chicken in chicken curry.

I have big plans for my new (to me) food processor to make packed lunches filling and easier. 

I need to control food and other spending, ensure the best possible value for renovations and climb back into the seat of financial control (or just take my head of of the sand!)