The final countdown to June 2026

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon all,

I have finally been paid !!

Savings interest and left over grocery budget came to £87.72 which l have rounded up to £90 and sent to the EF New Balance £4350. That's the good news…

Then the weekend got very "spendy" indeed. Young Ck needed new glasses, most is covered by the NHS but a £25 contribution was needed to get some sunglasses. Then youngest CK needed some school shoes and l brought a new top with 25% off another £26.74 gone.

By far my biggest indulgence was tickets to see the Gladiators show in the autumn. We went with the second cheapest tickets but it still set us back over £261 😱 for four. I paid for the kids tickets from there "pot" of money the others come out of Mr Ck and my personal spends.

Its a programme the kids love so l know we will enjoy it. I took solace in thinking we will be mortgage free by the time we attend😊, and of course we will still bring our own snacks and drinks. Some things will never change regardless of mortgage status 😂

Speaking of personal spends l think the virtuous days of March are long forgotten. On top of my gladiator ticket, l have two dinner dates and a baby shower to attend 💸💸💸.

carboot_karaoke

Morning all,

l decided to get some fuel from Costco on my way to work this morning, not only was there a big queue 7.15am but the cost had risen by 23p a litre for petrol. Mr Ck uses diesel and that's gone up nearly 40p.

I think we weather permitting we will try and walk to a few more places, glad we have our coach trip planned for next week 😊.

Waiting for the rent and Mr Ck bank transfer tomorrow before making a OP.

Our various pots have taken a hit in the last month. We begin April with…

	1st March	Money Spent	1st April
Kids	£249.65	+£270 added -£207.02 spent	£312.63
Holiday	£551.00	-£96 camping -£27.80 coach trip	£427.20
Car/Home Insurance	£980.24	-£303.46 Home Ins	£676.78
Emergency Fund	£4100	+£250	£4350

I suspect that the easter holidays will deplete the kids/hols pots further but that's what its there for.

Happy with the EF progress.

*Edited to reduce Kids pot by another £5.29 just brought some much needed, brand new M&S school shirts on Vinted bargain 😊

carboot_karaoke

Morning all,

A quick update…

A busy but enjoyable day was had with the kids yesterday. I went to the gym first thing and then, spent most of the day out with friends.

The kids fund took another £32.37 hit between a MacDonald's lunch and a few needed spends.

I did also make the planned £2,300 OP new balance £14,300 and sent another £50 to EF which is now £4400.

Looking forward to the weekend to just relax, although l do have a baby shower to go to.

Really want to get some things listed on Vinted l always find sales are good during the school holidays.

Right, better crack on with my work.

beanielou

You are on fire.

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon all,

Where has the time gone 😲 11 busy days since my last post.

Kids returned to school today, really enjoyed the limited time l had off with them. Our coach day trip was a big success, helped by the fact it was on the hottest day of the year so far. It felt like we were on holiday☺️. Spending was quite high, but l couldn't resist the opportunity for a boat trip or a lovely meal in a beer garden. We might not return so it was worth it. My dad kindly made a £100 donation to the fund. I will wait till the end of the month before updating the kids/hols money pots totals.

While my boss is away I have also been trying to complete my payroll course Book 2 is now complete with the final computerised element to go.

After watching several episodes of "sort your life out" I decided to begin tackling the house. I Spent 2/3 days in the kitchen and utility its been decluttered and cleaned including my two sparkling ovens 😇. Excess was taken to the tip yesterday.

While l had momentum I also braved my wardrobe 🙈 29 items have been removed so far, that's a small Ikea wardrobe worth😱. I know this because most of the items have been temporarily moved into said wardrobe ready for me to list on Vinted. It feels good to be letting go, even better if l can get them out of the house for a few ££.

Money wise, my personal spends have been quite high, in addition to the gym, and my phone direct debits. I've already spent money on attending & a gift for a baby shower with more social activities planned for the coming weeks. Menopause cream, routine dentist checkup, some new earrings reduced in Claires from £14 to £2 and 3 books on vinted to take on holiday.

Finally, another £100 has been paid off the mortgage new balance £14,200.

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon all and welcome to my "weekly" thread I've kept meaning to post but life is hectic atm.

The upside is that you've missed out on my long unnecessary ramblings 😂

The headline info is:

Good news

Ck3 has had a pay rise this month and a subsequent rent rise combined with Ck4 rent l have just sent £750 to the mortgage . New balance £13450 ☺️

I have been focusing on my payroll course completing 20 chapters and numerous assessments in the last few weeks. I'm on the last chapter before the mock exams. Hoping to take the official exam mid may.

Made it to the gym x 3 its getting really busy in the mornings.

Not long till our mini break, need to book a few activities on Get Your Guide

More items have been decluttered from my wardrobe 😇 although yet to be list on vinted

Bad News

My new take home pay is -£245.04 😱due to the change in my tax code. I know its wrong l need to submit my 2025/26 tax return to get my code adjusted. I can borrow the shortfall from the car insurance pot and put it back once its adjusted. Must tackle that job ASAP.

More personal spends, meals out, outfit for upcoming event, went onto vinted for a few items. Managed to find one of my full price items £38, brand new with tags for £15 on vinted 😊 so once that arrives l will get a refund. Not sure of the total cost yet because l still have a nail appt to book and a gift to buy. I have £100.18 left in my personal spends reserves. Hopefully it will be enough to cover my spends.

Tune in next week for my next exciting instalment 🤣

carboot_karaoke

Morning all,

I'm still alive.. Lol 😂

It has been quite a few weeks!! Busy, busy, busy both my parents took ill at home (different times & different illnesses) and were admitted to hospital. That was 2 weeks of unplanned hospital visiting amongst other things 🙈. Trouble is l don't really see the issues improving, my parents are getting older and will need more support, fact.

In more relevant financial news

Between leftover grocery money and some interest l scrapped together another £100 OP at the end of April.

I have since made a further £2,600 OP. New Balance £ 10,750 😇. Although, £150 of that was in error, l thought l had more money in my account than l do 😂. I didn't account for some "pending" card payments. Its not a huge deal. I can either reduce any remaining OP or take it out of next months. I'm inclined to do the later because that would mean I'll be down to 10k in about 2 weeks. A massive morale boost if something doesn't derail the plan.

May feels like a very short month, only two weeks till the kids break up. At some point this month l really want to:

1.Take my payroll course exam, l completed the learning element last month. I have several mock exams to do first before requesting to take my exam. My objective is to complete it altogether.

2. List some items on Vinted, I've added more things to my "to sell" wardrobe really need to do this.

3. Submit self assessment to sort out my horrendous tax code - This l fear will end up been a June job, but my car/insurance pot of money wont be able to subsidise the reduce salary for long. A big incentive to get it done.

Have a good day

northwalesd

Sorry to hear the parents have both been ill. Great going on the rest of the news.

carboot_karaoke

Thank you @northwalesd 😊

I have a little more money news for you…

I forgot to say l sold an item on Vinted for £3. I will cash this out and withdraw the physical money to add to my jar for holiday.

Also received £10.13 in interest today. This was because l shut and re opened (with a better interest rate) a savings account yesterday. This must have cleaned the slate so to speak. Anyway £10 has been sent to the EF.

I also received the gas cert invoice for the rental today and will get the service charge bill any day now. I have just over £500 ready to cover these expenses hopefully that will be enough.

Tomorrow l have a hair appt. I've decided the grey/black/brown on the ends look is not for me. I was trying to grow it out but it looks ridiculous. Then i'm meeting friends for dinner, l might buy some new underwear while i'm near the shops. I have had a voucher since Nov for the clothing but hair, bus and food will come from very depleted personal spends. I completely ran out of money last month 😲 so used my next account to buy myself some time to pay .

My dad, gave me £100 yesterday as a thank you for the time l spent looking after him in hospital. I didn't want to accept it but he insisted "l cant take it with me" was the sentiment expressed💙 .

carboot_karaoke

Evening all,

The weekend went by soooooo quickly ☹️.

I mustn't complain l enjoyed myself, it was great catching up with friends and my hair is much improved. In total £68.60 spent. I also paid the balance on my Next account. I now have £12.75 in cash and another £35.12 in my account to last till June 1st. I will have to pay my phone bill out of that amount but l think I can manage.

I thought I'd check how the other pots were looking. Not a big difference other than the insurance pot I've dipped into, to cover my wage shortfall.

	1st April	Money Spent	1st May
Kids	£312.63	+£100 allowance -£99.01 spent	£313.62
Holiday	£427.20	-£57.63 (day trip) +£100 gift	£469.57
Car/Home Insurance	£676.78	-£245.04 (temp loan)	£431.74
Emergency Fund	£4350.00	+£50	£4400.00

l forgot my payroll textbooks at work, so haven't been able to make any progress on the mock exam yet 🙄.

l did however, sort out littlest CK's bedroom including the clothes and listed any to sell items straight away …makes a change. I have sold 6 items so far making £62.80 l posted them all tonight, feeling very pleased with myself.

This week's plan

Complete at least 2 mock exams

Sort out young CK wardrobe

List more things on Vinted

Stick to £5 personal spend budget