Countdown to Part Time…

Spinayarn

@vampirotoothus thanks for that. I will work out a good date to put it through. 

Spinayarn

What a wet and miserable day today. Who would have thought it was August? Did some Etsy work today and tried to sort the packing for our holiday. We went to the pub for dinner tonight with our daughters, which was really nice. Husband paid for food and I bought a couple of drinks so not too bad. A few things to do tomorrow- including having a look for a purse in the charity shops. I don’t really carry much cash anymore so only have a purse for cards but I think we will need cash on holiday so I’ll have a look. The dresses I bought yesterday both fit. 

Need to have a quick look at the accounts so I can PAD.

Spinayarn

Had a bit of a spendy day today. Went into town to look for a few last minute bits for the holiday. Decided to look for a few more clothes - I always buy from charity shops and decided I wanted some loose fitting shirts to wear over dresses or vest tops to protect my shoulders from the sun. I’ve put on weight and sadly a lot of my clothes no longer fit. Anyway, I found a couple of nice shirts, a couple of dresses and a pool cover up. Got a new purse (half price at £3.00) and some toiletries from Poundland. Grabbed some lunch in town and had to pay for parking. Mencap shop had 3 cards for £1 so added a few more greetings cards into the collection. Total of £68 spent. A few years ago I would have spent more like 3 x that, most likely in Primark and Next, and put it all on my credit card. 

I’m going to suggest to my husband that we try to eat cheaply at the airport tomorrow- sandwiches and crisps from a shop rather than silly money on a meal.

Spinayarn

Hellloooo! Back from an amazing holiday. Let’s state the financial stuff first… overspent on my budget by nearly £400. £250 of this was extra trips and £150 on souvenirs, gifts etc. I must admit, we definitely fell for some pressurised sales in tourist shops. Some of it was simply not thinking about extra costs, tipping etc. I probably should have taken account of this, but as I’ve never really kept track before and just used the credit card to prop things up, I need to learn from this lesson. Also, this was a special holiday for my 50th birthday so there was definitely an element of doing things as I would never get the chance again. E.g pay extra £20 to go into Tutankhamen’s tomb? Well yes. Extra £20 to sail in a felucca on the Nile? Yes please…  £20 Camel ride by the Pyramids? Go on then. These are memories that will last the rest of my life and by juggling money around it is not going to be debt.

Arranged to switch my current account to NatWest today - hoping to be able to claim the £200 cash back on this. I’ve also been given £250 by various family members for my birthday so that will be tucked away for a time to treat myself.

Should also get my final overtime payment at the end of this week. After I’ve put money into different trips that are coming up, I’m  hopeful rest will finish up the Emergency Fund to £1000.

Spinayarn

Been an exciting day here. Youngest daughter gained a place at uni last week. It was through clearing so she hadn’t visited the uni or the city, so we went today to check it all out. We were lucky enough to be able to go into the accommodation block and see a flat that will be identical to hers. Also walked to the campus and had a look round and then into the city centre. Brunch for the 4 of us was £20 in Wetherspoons which has come out of the incidentals pot. It’s not a company I particularly like to support, but I suspect it will end up being one of her regular haunts as it was a 10 min walk from her halls! The city is only an hour from us and it’s so nice to have seen where she will be spending her time.

My new NatWest Rewards account is being set up and today I also applied for the Digital Saver account which gives 6% interest. I get a good pay rise in September which I think will be about £100-120 extra per month. I had planned to use that to attack debts, but at 6% I’d like to save that money instead. I’ve set up a standing order for £150 per month. Who knows how long it will actually stay at that rate? I actually think that now all the strikes are over for my sector, and the youngest at uni, I might be able to find another £100 per month anyway to put into debt payoff.

Seen my payslip for my final overtime payment that is coming on Friday - it should finish up my emergency fund savings. Can’t wait!

Doris17

Your emergency fund is coming along nicely, well done. Congratulations to your daughter on her uni place, its good I think not to have them too far away, just in case. 

Spinayarn

Thank you @Doris17 - I feel like I’m getting there with the emergency fund.

No spend day today. I was at work most of the day and remembered to take lunch with me which was leftover pizza from last night. New debit card arrived today for my NatWest account. The monthly subscription that is still attached to one of my Credit cards came through so I paid that off today. 

I checked through all my payslips for the overtime I did in June and July and I think I have been slightly underpaid. Once I’ve paid tax it’s probably only about £35. The old me wouldn’t bother chasing it up, thinking it’s too much hassle trying to speak to the right person and sort it, but the new me is thinking £35 is definitely worth chasing. Made some phone calls this afternoon and got passed from pillar to post. Allegedly someone is going to call me back… 

Completed a couple of prolific surveys today that totalled about £2.70 which was a nice little earner, as some might say.

Tomorrow I can sort the holiday overspend and move money into the NatWest account so I can qualify for the £200 incentive soon. I’ve decided the £200 will go into the Monzo “gift” account. It’s our eldest daughter’s 21st birthday in October and so far I have no budget for it. The £200 is a nice amount to give her, I think. I think she just wants cash. Husband’s birthday is also in October so knowing I’ve only got to find money out of my budget for one of them is a good feeling.

Spinayarn

I did it! I have £1000 Emergency Fund. All the extra hours of overtime in June and July was worth it. 

I also have the rest of the money tucked away for the 3 weekends away I have coming up in the autumn plus a day trip to London next week. (Train and theatre ticket already paid so it’s just food on the day.)

Transferred £1225 into my NatWest account meaning it should qualify for the £200 incentive next week. Then took it back out of NatWest and redistributed into all the savings pots I just mentioned. Paid off the £200 on my credit card from last week’s holiday.

So now I just have to stick to those spending limits when I go on each trip!

enthusiasticsaver

Congratulations on EF and on daughter getting a place at Uni.  

Blackcats

Well done on the emergency fund!  What a great achievement in a short space of time.
your overdraft is nearly gone too.  

Money saving and debt paying is addictive isn't it ?