Intentionally spending my time and money to FIRE and move to Yorkshire

kimwp

17th April 2025 - another resurrection and change of direction! I've made a decision that once a couple of milestones/dates have passed, then I will move up north to Yorkshire. Will be at least five years from now.

27th May edit - after some sensible people on the pensions board reminding me not to be too restrictive now for the unknown future, I've decided to change my approach and rename my thread. 

My aim now is to use this thread to establish my "number" and reflect each week to make sure I'm spending my time and money in line with my values and goals.

My goals are:
- Be healthy and fit by adding to my healthy habits
- Spend time and money (only) where it adds value to my life

So my goals A and B below still stand, but C no longer.

 ----------

I need to lose 30kg (ideally within the next 1-2 years). I'm finding work quite stressful at the moment so this is not helping as I tend to stress buy takeaways and junk food deliveries. Cutting this out would obviously be good for weight loss but also save money. I find money management easier than weight loss, so I'm hoping that by tying the two together and keeping a diary, I will be able to achieve it.

I would also like to spend more in areas that bring me enrichment or are aligned with my values.

The financial challenge is to refine my take-home pay spending to:
A. Spend more on things which add to my life and relationships 
B. Spend less on low nutrition, high convenience food by managing my time (to prepare food ahead) and stress.
C. Spend within but to my take-home pay

I'm pretty good at spending under my income, but I don't really budget, so zero based budgeting will be a learning curve.

I need to have a think about whether I save for a couple of bigger ticket items eg electric car.

HampshireH

For weight loss I found some easy wins were  swapping low cal alternatives in. Things like 

If you eat a lot of bread then nimble or Danish bread (50cal) for kingsmill (127 cal) (saving 140 calories at breakfast or lunch)

Sausages swap the full pork sausages for a lower cal alternative.

Low calorie crisps for snacks are easy finds if you're a crisp persosn but steer clear of normal walkers because they aren't. 

There are so many things you can do this with that mean you can still eat meals you like but reduce calorie intake at the same time
 Tricks the mind.

No dieting advice as such because I sought out the above to naturally reduce calories whilst increasing exercise.

Hope tying the two goes well and good luck with your journey

kimwp

Thank you @HampshireH, some good tips there!

kimwp

I decided it would be good to do an SOA, partly to see how the Lemonfool SOA tool worked - it's the "go to" on the debt free wannabe forum but I've never actually used it myself. Apart from bills, figures are last year's spend, so there will be an inflation increase and I've deleted out the irrelevant lines.

[font=courier new][b]Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet[/b][b]

Household Information[/b]

Number of adults in household........... 1

Number of children in household......... 

Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details[/b]

Monthly income after tax................ 1557

Total monthly income.................... 1557[/b][b]

Monthly Expense Details[/b]

Mortgage/Rent................................ 0

Council tax............................. 123

Electricity & Gas............................. 76.4

Water rates............................. 15.92

Telephone (land line)................... 0

Mobile phone............................ 9.38

TV Licence.............................. 13.25

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 4.99

Internet Services....................... 29.95

Groceries etc. ......................... 183.47

Clothing, shoes, haircuts................................ 35.49

Petrol/diesel........................... 70

House Repair, Build & Contents & Car Insurance, MOT, Maintenance.... 120.54

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5.91

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 156 - will reduce (half?) due to loss of cat (though getting her stabilised while the vet worked out what was wrong cost 3500 ish!)

Holiday................................. 0 - won't be holidaying this year

Emergency fund.......................... 0

Takeaways and junk food................. 109

Wellbeing - physio, dance class etc..... 48

Socialising & presents ("friend spend" - includes eating out)... 78

Hobby and gadget purchases.............. 35[b]

Total monthly expenses.................. 1126.8[/b]

Monthly Budget Summary[/b]

Total monthly income.................... 1,557

Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,114.3

Available for debt repayments........... 430.2

Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0[b]

Amount left after debt repayments....... 442.7[/b]

[i]Created using the SOA calculator at www.LemonFool.co.uk.

Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/i][/font]

I want to save for
- LISA contribution next April - £4000
- new bathroom - cost? assume £4000. Date?
Already saved (in addition to emergency fund): £3000

I'm going to aim to save £400 a month and spend nothing on takeaways and junk food, which means a reallocation of £109 (takeaways), £78 (reduction in cat spend) and £42 (from amount left after savings) = £229 - though I've a feeling this will be swallowed by inflation!

Foodwise, I've managed to stave off the 2 hour post eating hunger every day without eating something and no takeaways despite it being a fairly stressful week and I've also been tired, yip yip! I'm starting a count: 1

Next step is my budget.

Skint_yet_Again

Well done on your savings so far @kimwp and avoiding takeaways. I used to use the soa when I was working and saving and found it really helped. Look forward to following your journey. 😊

kimwp

I was doing so well last week, I managed to fight off the post eating cravings successfully. But then on Thursday, I felt so tired at 4:30pm (think it was a bug) that it felt too much to get up from lying on the couch and I got a delivery. Decided Coop delivery was more MSE than a takeaway, but tripped up because I ordered quite a bit of chocolate. So I'm going to create a list of what to order that's reasonably healthy if I'm in that state again ....here goes - 

- popcorn
- orange juice
- easy peelers
- cheese
- one nice bread item - bakery loaf, bagels, croissants
 - one chocolate or sweets or sweet bakery item
 plus essentials and microwave meals if needed 
 

No crisps, donuts. I didn't really used to eat these anyway, but it's become a bit of a habit to order 1-2 things in each of the junk foods category - crisps, sweets, chocolate, bakery - no wonder my middle is expanding!

I didn't plan my lunches this week, so I'm going to have to rustle something up. I "invented" a soup with potatoes, carrots, sauerkraut and cannelloni beans a few weeks ago, but don't have any potatoes. I do have instant mash, but I've not really used it, not sure how it would work as a substitution. Also not sure how popular I'd be if I heated sauerkraut soup in the office....

kimwp

Feels a bit odd to change after so many years, but I've decided to budget in alignment with the financial year (ish - April to March) - my main saving aim targets April and all the bills go up then too. It also aligns with trying to spend a bit differently, so it feels sensible. Adding up my first thoughts below about sensible increases compared to last year gives about £500 savings each month, which is more than I was aiming for, but I think a buffer for petrol is a good idea as it might be increasing soon due to changes at work.

Council tax............................. 123 (24-25 bill)

Electricity & Gas............................. 76.4 (DD suggested by provider)

Water rates............................. 15.92 (DD suggested by provider)

Mobile phone............................ 9.38 >> 10.20 (annual rpi increase)

TV Licence.............................. 13.25 >> 14.12 (annual rpi increase)

Satellite/Cable TV...................... 4.99 >> increasing?

Internet Services....................... 29.95 >> 31.15 (annual rpi increase)

Groceries etc. ......................... 183.47 >> £200 (5% inflation, plus rounding to include food deliveries when I'm sick)

Clothing, shoes, haircuts................................ 35.49 >> 40 (5% inflation plus rounding)

Petrol/diesel........................... 70 >> ??? work situation is changing so not sure what this will be

House Repair, Build & Contents & Car Insurance, MOT, Maintenance.... 120.54 >> 130 (5% inflation plus rounding)

Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 5.91 >> £10 (leeway is sensible!)

Pet insurance/vet bills................. 156 - will reduce due to loss of cat >> £50

Holiday................................. 0 - won't be holidaying this year

Emergency fund.......................... 0

Takeaways and junk food................. 109 >> 0

Wellbeing - physio, dance class etc..... 48 >> 100 (arbitrary significant increase)

Socialising & presents ("friend spend" - includes eating out)... 78 >> 80

Hobby and gadget purchases.............. 35[b] >> 40

Weeks where I have successfully fought false hunger: 2/2

kimwp

Not quite the end of the month, but I shouldn't be spending on anything tomorrow, so April's spend below. I played with my budget a bit more -  I increased the amount for socialising and presents to £100 and put hobbies spend into wellbeing, converting that to a "tools and equipment" category. I also added "I see, I want" shopping to the takeaways category - basically things I don't want to be spending on.

I spent a whopping £30 on hay fever meds, which feels a bit unfair - horribly itching nose and eyes and I have to pay as well. But there are worse things that people have to put up with.

I've gone over my adjustable spend budget by nearly £80 this month. Only £27.88 of that was a takeaway (before making the decision to cut them out (£18)) and "I see, I want" spends (two charity shop visits - a very cute butter pot that I have no use for (£2.50)), a cute ceramic vase (£3) and an adjustable cake side thingy (£4), which I may never use. It's difficult, because trying to shop for everything in charity shops means going in lots in case the item you need appears, but then there's lots of temptation.

I went a bit over budget on tools & equipment, which was new gardening gloves (holes in the old ones), a new hand fork to replace a missing one and plastic pots for potting on my tomatoes - happy with those spends. But I also bought an axe?! I'm not really sure I needed it and debating returning it- I have until the 10th May to decide.

All my gardening purchases could arguably be in either in tools/equipment or well-being /hobbies. The spends in the well-being category are an RSPB bird feeder, and a pretty mega spend at the garden centre -  bird feeder stand, silly amount of compost and manure, spray bottle for seedlings etc. The bird feeder has brought so much joy to my life, I've loved seeing the birds (and squirrels).

My budget leaves me with £56 unaccounted for, so if I underspend by £24+ next month, I'll be on track with my savings target and if I underspend by £80 , I'll be back on track with my budget. I need new shoes for work, so my plan is no spend on tools or hobbies.


Category: Budget>Spend (difference)

House Repair, Build & Contents & Car Insurance, MOT, Maintenance:	130	> 0
Pet food / insurance/vet bills:	50	>0
Petrol/diesel:	100	> 66.68
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc):	10	> 33.1
Adjustable/Optional spend:
Groceries etc:	200	> 195.08	(4.92)
Tools & equipment	40	> 42.96	(-2.96)
Socialising & presents ("friend spend" - includes eating out)	100	> 118.99	(-18.99)
Wellbeing - physio, dance class, hobbies etc	100	> 174.27	(-74.27)
Clothing, shoes, haircuts	40	> 0	(40)
Takeaways & "I see, I want" shopping	0	> 27.88	(-27.88)

Weeks where I have successfully fought false hunger: 3/3

kimwp

Spends this week have all been food, three of which were borderline re my self imposed financial and food rules - lunch at work (£6.85), when the lunches I made turned out to be a bit too strong smelling for the office, a yellow sticker dinner from a supermarket on the way home (£3.29) and a treat myself bundle of sweet treats when I fancied a fun evening dancing around and eating sweeties and pop-dots. Slight regrets regarding my long term goals, but all done with reasoning and all enjoyed.

Annoyingly forgot to check my cupboard for a couple of items before I went shopping (checked for others but forgot these), items that will keep, but still annoying as it will be years before I use them.

Weeks where I have successfully fought false hunger: 4/4

kimwp

Spends this week have been food, cake ingredients, petrol, shoes, cat litter, emergency plasters and a beauty treatment. 

I have loads of plasters at home, but I'd forgotten that I'd probably need them with the first time wearing sandals this year.

I need to underspend by £80 this month to get back on track re my budget. Groceries is likely to be the full £200 as we're only half way through the month, so that means £48 left in the budget for the other adjustable spends - should cover three lunches with friends

14th May edit! A couple of spends hadn't appeared on my account so I forgot them - £4 for bus and £6 for a bra on sale. So £38 left.

15th May edit again! Just remembered that I committed to a work social tomorrow, which I have already paid £28 for and will need to pay for the train parking and tickets and meal, which will be at least £30, so at least £20 over budget, plus meeting my friend on Friday for lunch and more friends in another city on Saturday... too tired to think about it right now, but thankful that this is a self imposed rather than necessity imposed budget.

16th May edit again again! Someone else wanted to go on the work social so back to £38 for adjustable spends.

Category: Budget>Spend (difference)

House Repair, Build & Contents & Car Insurance, MOT, Maintenance:	130	> 0
Pet food / insurance/vet bills:	50	>17.98
Petrol/diesel:	100	> 46.76
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc):	10	> 0
Adjustable/Optional spend:
Groceries etc:	200	> 125 ish	(-)
Tools & equipment	40	> 0	(-)
Socialising & presents ("friend spend" - includes eating out)	100	> 0	(-)
Wellbeing - physio, dance class, hobbies etc	100	> 26	(-)
Clothing, shoes, haircuts	40	> 132	(-)
Takeaways & "I see, I want" shopping	0	> 0	(-)

Bus to the town centre to set up coop account                                     0    > 4

Weeks where I have successfully fought false hunger: 5/5
Need to add some fitness trackers..!

kimwp

Spends this week have just been food and petrol. The friend I was meeting with on Friday had an ill child and I went for a walk with the friend on Saturday, plus found someone to take my place for the work social.  So back to £38 left for socialising, but some of this might be need to go into the food pot as there's only £5 left. I'm buying my fruit and veg at a local store to reduce my plastic waste, but it's proving a lot more expensive, partly because it's done by weight and the fruit is often a lot bigger.

Worked off-site so I can claim some for petrol.To understand what my spends are, I usually deduct £15 from my petrol spend for working at that site, so I'll do the same here. 

Car insurance is due for renewal, so I have diaried Friday for renewing it, 23 days is the sweet spot according the MSE tool.

I've realised that I want to have a greater income in retirement than I am paying myself currently. Partly because I'll probably need to pay for services as I get less able and partly because I don't want my budget to be this tight. It's fine at the moment because I can reduce my pension contributions to have more take-home, but I won't have that option in retirement. Currently I've saved up enough to have my current income from 60 with a state pension kicking in at 68, .

Category: Budget>Spend (difference)

House Repair, Build & Contents & Car Insurance, MOT, Maintenance:	130	> 0
Pet food / insurance/vet bills:	50	>17.98
Petrol/diesel:	100	> 75.76
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc):	10	> 9.90
Adjustable/Optional spend:
Groceries etc:	200	> 160 ish	plus shop not yet showing (-)
Tools & equipment	40	> 0	(-)
Socialising & presents ("friend spend" - includes eating out)	100	> 0	(-)
Wellbeing - physio, dance class, hobbies etc	100	> 26	(-)
Clothing, shoes, haircuts	40	> 132	(-)
Takeaways & "I see, I want" shopping	0	> 0	(-)

Bus to the town centre to set up coop account                                     0    > 4

Weeks where I have successfully fought false hunger: 6/6
Fitness target is to do some aerobics, some strength and some stretching every day.