The final countdown to June 2026

beanielou

Great to be in the £19'000's

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon all,

I'm a bit tired and grumpy today. Mr Ck has caught the lurgy 😷and kept me awake half the night. Young Ck has also got the beginnings of a cold. Not great timing i'm hoping they will be over the worst of it before we fly.

I also haven't been to the gym this week 🙄Tuesday l had a mtg l couldn't afford to be late for and this morning l was too tired. I am hoping to go at least twice before Wednesday. There is a gym and classes at the hotel were going to doubt, it will balance out the eating though.

Yesterday, was super busy l sorted, out my clothes for holiday (takes much longer than doing the kids) they are all grouped together in my wardrobe. I brought sun cream, i'd been holding out to find some in Lidl but they don't have it in stock at my local branch.

I went to my parents house to help them with some jobs..

Went to an appointment in the afternoon and after the school run picked up a book id ordered at the library.

Last night we enjoyed our £12 two dine in meal it was very nice but as Mr Ck wasn't feeling great we didn't open the bottle of wine, it will keep for another time.

I've written out the treasure hunt clues and wrapped the gifts🎁. Also submitted holiday request form to youngest Ck school, hope the teacher doesn't mention anything at parents evening today, Mr Ck is going without me.

I've been looking at spending money, I still have the £143 l made on vinted last year in a money jar, this should cover the taxi fare each way and a bit for spending. I'm not planning any excursions or gift buying just making memories🥰 . Besides the sister hotel has a waterpark so we can go there for a daytrip or two. As a safety net we have £500 left from our holiday 2025 budget, although i'm hoping to use that for a camping holiday in the summer.

carboot_karaoke

Evening all,

I'm heading to bed, after a long exhausting day. It was at least a NSD.

To top it off l had an email from Santander to claim my £100 amazon voucher as a reward for opening an account last year.

This also means that I'm now free to use this account to switch Bank accounts for cash rewards. I'll look into this when I'm back from holiday. I'm up to £130 extra income for the year so far 😊

V3cash

very exciting to see that drop below £20k!
i think if I was your renters I’d stay with a landlord that sorts things out promptly to be honest as so many don’t.

When my daughter rented as a student her landlord was pretty slack but they re rented each year anyway as they liked where they were, they could leave their stuff, convenient, etc.

if your renters are settled and you are a good landlord I would think they will renew, unless they were going anyway.

Oh and I’m still keeping the secret, nearly let it slip the other day but she’s still not got a clue.

Ms_Potato_Head

Agree with V3. I rented my last place for 11 years - the landlord fixed stuff and otherwise left us in peace. That's actually hard to find for renters!

carboot_karaoke

Awwh thanks @V3cash and @Ms_Potato_Head that means alot 🥰. When we first got married we rented and had a good landlord and id like to think we we're good tenants . Only moved because we were buying a house.

Our tenants are young with good jobs and savings but were both living at home before they moved into our home. Ive always thought they rented as a trial more of there relationship than circumstances. I'm sure they will move on eventually and I will wish them well.

We've had quite the weekend l woke early on Saturday morning and after a cuppa l gave the kid's clue No1 of the treasure hunt. It was wonderful listening to them running around the house squealing with delight as they found another clue, well worth the effort (l was in the garden at 4am hiding the box with presents in 🤣). Needless to say everyone is excited about going away. It took serveral hours for Mr Ck to get his head round it, he looked so confused poor thing. I ended up going shopping with him he got a few nice things to take away. Were about 80% packed.

Still have quite a few things to do before l can relax, after talking with Mr CK we've decided to take breakfast to the airport instead of buying food, the decision was based less about money more on concerns that the airport would be busy to get through security and then sit down for a meal within such a short time.

It does mean I'll have to make bacon and sausage wraps to take with us but with the money saved I've booked myself a nail 💅 appointment.

carboot_karaoke

We're Back !!

Had a great time, weather was ☀️☀️ kids loved it. Memories were made 🥰

Also received a message whilst away from the Child Development Centre. I called yesterday and was told young Ck has been given an autism diagnosis. It felt a bit strange tbh although it has been my belief for over 10 years. To have someone agree with you felt surreal.

Today l returned to work, l hate the feeling you get opening your email inbox 🙄with 100's unread, lots to do so i'd better crack on.

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon all,

I have finally had chance to sit down and go through our finances.

The good news is we barely spent any money on holiday, taking food for the airport and plane journey really helped and l took enough for us to eat on the return trip home to. The only costs were the taxi fare, tips for the hardworking staff and 2 camel 🐪🐫 rides for the kids.

This allowed me to transfer £700 off the mortgage this morning for Feb, with a further £800 so far for March. New balance £18,200 😁. It would be great to get into the 17's this month but well see what happens.

I'm expecting less rent due to the £286 maintenance costs, plus the service charge bill for the rental normally arrives in March about £350-£400. I think i'll ignore any money in that account until i have final costs.

carboot_karaoke

While l was sunbathing (not gloating honestly 🤣) I have been thinking about our finances…

I think for morale and to feel like were progressing I'm going to send any large amounts at the mortgage, but any smaller amounts, to the EF in the hope this will creep up over time.

As it stands we have the following pots

Emergency Fund £4100 I really want this up to 10k before relinquishing the mortgage

Holiday - £500 from last years budget plus £51 we returned with. Planning a camping holiday in the summer we should be able to come in on budget, we mostly cook at home.

Kids - £249.65 This month we receive an extra child benefit payment. Nothing needed for a while, l hope. It will be an expensive summer with two secondary school uniforms to buy.

Car/ Home Insurance £ 980.24 I added the water rates and C tax money to this. Home insurance due next month, with car insurance, MOT and service in the summer hopefully this is enough.

So far, water rates have increased to over £100 a monthly increase of +£10, awaiting the Council Tax increase🙄. I will try and absorb these increases within the grocery budget, although in June we stop paying for our settee and gain £30 a month into the budget.

beanielou

Do you really need a 10k emergency fund?