Saving for the next chapter....

time2change_2

I have only recently discovered this board and it seems like a better place for my musings than the DFW

Planning for the next chapter.............. — MoneySavingExpert Forum

This was my original post so I won't bore anyone with the full details but essentially I'm seeing how much I can save to allow me to retire before my SPA & main pension starting (without taking it early) without making current life miserable!

I haven't updated the original post for a while. Busy summer of holidays, cycling, music and fun as well as work.

I use lots of pots for my money, I tend to keep them in a couple of accounts and keep a spreadsheet of the balances.

Current state of funds are:

EF                            £1000
Windows                  £3300
Holiday                     £592
Car                           £380 (this covers maintenance/RFL/Ins)
Service charge         £624
Bumper                    £335 - I got a warranty on my car on 10 mth interest free plan and this is the pot  to pay it.
Sofa/flooring             £990
Annual bills excess  £170 - were I've saved more than I needed. This came from the first half of my service charge year.
Electricity                 £504 mainly COL + a little bit
Retirement Fund      £14984 
Presents                  £132  - xmas/birthdays

I get paid weekly so have pots for monthly bills, clothing, hair, entertainment (tickets/entrance fees) and an odds & sods fund for anything that doesn't fit anywhere else.

Retirement date has gone from late Oct 2032 to 23/3/2032.

My plan is to update weekly when I move all my money around after I get paid.

Skint_yet_Again

Well done on your savings so far. Looking forward to your updates and following your journey 

Baron_Dale

Looking forward to reading updates about your savings journey. 

time2change_2

Thanks for popping by Skint_yet_again & Barron_Dale.

time2change_2

I have taken my eye off the ball of the food budget over the summer so trying to get that under control. 

Have spent the afternoon making sticky flapjack, breakfast muffins and butternut squash soup. Some of which may get frozen or it may just sort breakfast/lunches etc for this week.

DigSunPap

You seem like you are doing better than most! Looking forward to hearing about the updates

time2change_2

Hi DSP 
thanks for saying hello. I am in a good position I think. I deliberately bought MF after my divorce. the kids have left home and both have good jobs at the moment so it's only me to worry about. I'm still working - pretty much full time.

I do like to travel though and have a reasonably active social life but not massively extravagant.

time2change_2

All money moved around, I don't put massive amounts in each week but it all adds up.

This week has seen the usual pot transfers but I've put down the deposit for a holiday in October 2024 and started  Christmas shopping so those pots have reduced.

I cashed out £4.11 from a survey site and will have some ebay sales this week

In my initial roundup I ignored a couple of pots but have decided they should be here as well. I save a small amount to cover any unpaid leave as we only get SSP and sometimes I take more AL than I actually have. I also save any excess on my food budget & my daily spends fund - not that there's been much of that recently. 

I have a travel fund to cover the extra petrol to visit a couple of people  including the kids.

So current status is
EF                            £1000
Windows                  £3300
Holiday                     £492
Car                           £417 (this covers maintenance/RFL/Ins)
Service charge         £666
Bumper                    £292 - I got a warranty on my car on 10 mth interest free plan and this is the pot  to pay it so it will decrease each month
Sofa/flooring             £1013
Annual bills excess  £170 - were I've saved more than I needed. This came from the first half of my service charge year.
Electricity                 £504 mainly COL + a little bit
Retirement Fund      £15042 
Presents                  £99  - xmas/birthdays
Salary top up           £382
Travel  fund              £128
Leftover budgets      £9.21 

I have one bit of bank interest to come in then I think I will  move it out of the various accounts and include it in the RF.  I'm planning on doing this when the interest in the small accounts reaches £5 or more. 

Enjoy your weekend

Skint_yet_Again

Your pots are looking healthy. Well done on the savings. It must be very difficult without sick pay with only ssp when you are ill. 

time2change_2

@Skint_yet_Again it is hard only getting SSP  - one of the disadvantages of working for a small business. It has other advantages for me though. Luckily I'm a "not dying yet so can go into work" type girl. 

time2change_2

Work is busy as someone has left so I've got extra workload for the short term. The extra money will largely be split between the RF and probably the sofa or the presents fund to bolster that for Christmas.

I've joined Prolific but surveys are slow  I've got a balance of £2.22 and £1.51 awaiting approval but I can't cash out until I get to £5.

I've had my 6 monthly electricity bill and I owe £88 for the period which is not bad as I started with a balance of £256 from the previous bill. I considered paying it off so I'm starting the winter period at zero, but have decided to keep it in my bank account earning a bit of interest rather than in theirs. I'm on a fixed rate tariff until September 2024. 

Current status is:
EF                            £1000
Windows                  £3300
Holiday                     £542
Car                           £455 (this covers maintenance/RFL/Ins)
Service charge         £708
Bumper                    £292 - I got a warranty on my car on 10 mth interest free plan and this is the pot  to pay it so it will decrease each month
Sofa/flooring             £1053
Annual bills excess  £170 - were I've saved more than I needed. This came from the first half of my service charge year.
Electricity                 £504 mainly COL + a little bit
Retirement Fund      £15168 
Presents                  £111  - xmas/birthdays
Salary top up           £424.00
Travel  fund              £138
Leftover budgets      £9.21 

I need to get a new tyre soon so the car fund will reduce a bit, I don't know how much they are on this car yet.
I budget £60 a week on fuel but pay it on the CC and clear it off each month. My budgets reset on a Friday and I currently have half a tank left so it looks like I might not use much (if any) of this week's budget which will go to the car fund instead I think.

I need to get back to some decent exercise on my bike as otherwise my plans for next year (& the following year) won't happen.

Quiet week other than work at the moment.