Stopping the backsliding… a family of four no longer living beyond their means

teapot2

Yes, most schools finished a couple of weeks ago up here and I seem to remember the family had booked a holiday so maybe away just now?

Bluegreen143

Hello, sorry about it being so long! We are three weeks into the holidays here. We had a lovely time in Greece the first week - absolutely brilliant! 

Will do a full update later - just going out for a date night dinner as the kids are away with grandparents for a couple of nights. 

stoplurking

Have a lovely date night Bluegreen143.  Looking forward to your update.  

angela110660

Look forward to the update- glad to see you back ! 

Bluegreen143

Right, so we are back in (we went for early drinks before dinner, dinner at a Thai restaurant then back at a reasonable hour as both working tomorrow!). 

Greece was really great. VERY hot! But fun, the kids’ swimming came on amazingly which was great. It was so fun to show them a different country. Bambi was a bit grumpy at times (hot and tired) but on the whole it was a fabulous experience and worth every penny.

We did choose to pay more for a taxi rather than his transfer which was worth it, as over an hour after we checked in, Red went to the reception for a drink and saw all the bus transfer people trickling in. We arrived late enough as it was so glad it wasn’t later. 

We did two day trips - a nature reserve in the hills filled with butterflies and goats, and a boat trip with a glass bottom (to watch the fish feeding) and a swim stop in the sea. Plus going to the beach - and the rest of the time we pretty much chilled by the pool and waterpark. Blissful! I read six books 🤣. 

We avoided going into debt for it and used the holiday savings (plus whatever was in our joint account at the time) which I’m pleased with. We have enough ready to go for going away in Scotland in a week’s time too (that’s a cheap holiday but obviously there are some costs). 

In other big, expensive news, our car has finally given up the ghost today. Going to see what we can get for it. It’s not worth repairing as it was in the garage less than a week ago and then four weeks before that!

We are keen to get something newer this time as are fed up of older cars needing constant repairs. Our plan is to get rid of the car this weekend but not to rush getting a new one, rather waiting for the right car to come up. We will probably not get one before our Scotland holiday so will hire something for that (it’s not doable on public transport). 

Current savings balances:

Emergency & new car fund (we combined these as the biggest emergency is our car!):
£3,254

Holidays (spoken for this month for Scotland holiday - accommodation is paid already)
£500

December (kids’ birthdays & Christmas)
£970 

Bills
£457

General summer update:

So far the holidays are going well. We have a good mix of days that I’ve been off & taken the kids out, days Red is off with them, days my mum has them (four over the holidays) and days where I am able to work from home and watch the kids too. 

They have been playing together really well which is lovely to see, we spent the really hot Saturday last week at the beach and we’ve had a few playdates with friends. Overall it just feels like a good, relaxing holiday time for the kids, and work isn’t too crazy for me (thankfully, as it was horrific before we went to Greece!). 

Not sure about our plans for next week yet, as we will no longer have a car to get about. 

This Saturday we have a family lunch out in memory of Red’s late brother 💔. It’s two years since he passed away which is crazy. I still sometimes think of something about relate it to him, then remember he’s no longer here. 

Then on Sunday my dad and papa are visiting. They are coming to meet my new nephew but expect they will come to us after and I might not see my sister & nephew… I would have liked to visit this week though so I’ll see what I can do with no car. Its been about ten days and I intended to visit at least once a week while he’s so small. 

Bluegreen143

Had a money meeting last night where we did lots of budget shuffling.

Our plan of action is to buy a nearly-new (not brand new, so the greatest depreciation hit is gone) decent car this time (likely a Škoda Octavia as they have a reputation for being very reliable and are big enough). 

NOT something we’ve ever done, but we are scarred with how awful the past two “cheap” cars have been and how much they have ended up costing. And only having one car means we feel it a lot when it’s off the road - if we were a two-car family I would probably risk at least one being a banger again, but we don’t need two cars. 

This will require a loan, so the budget needs shuffling to account for repayments and we will need to be stricter than we have been at sticking to it! We will also be using all our emergency savings as well, so will need to prioritise rebuilding these. 

The car we’ve agreed on will cost around £21,000 which is a lot of money! We are borrowing £17,500 (a personal loan from a bank rather than doing car finance, we will repay over five years and can overpay) and the rest will come from savings. 

Here’s the new budget:

Monthly income: £5,150
Monthly income inc. pre tax pension contributions: £5,800

INVESTING £850 (14.5%)
Pension contributions, pretax £650
Additional pension & LISA contributions £200

LONGER-TERM SAVINGS £560 (9.5%)
Emergency fund £550
Bambi £10

FIXED COSTS £2,664 (45%)
Home £950 
—(Mortgage £697)
—(Council tax £184)
—(Maintenance pot £69)
Utilities £201
—(Energy £175)
—(Internet £26)
Insurance £86 (Home & life)
Car £575
—(Loan £330)
—(Tax & insurance £70)
—(Petrol £150)
—(Maintenance pot £25)
Groceries £750
Subscriptions £102
—(TV & music £37)
—(Kids’ clubs & bike rental £65)

GUILT-FREE SPENDING £1,726 (30%)
Me £375
Red £425
Family & home £327
December pot £150
Holidays pot £450

Changes are:
—Reduced long-term savings from £660 to £560.
—Reduced holiday savings to £450 (we have agreed to do a slightly cheaper holiday next year).
—Slightly reduced Red’s personal spending.
—Reduced groceries by £50p/m.
—Slightly reduced the ‘family & home’ category. 

KajiKita

Sympathies on the car, one of the more stressful issues we all end up having to deal with! FWIW, I bought a Skoda (Fabia) last time and it’s great 😊 Absolutely bombproof, cheap to service and I found my fuel costs dropped significantly, even though it was a bigger car and slightly bigger engine (newer car and has a 6th gear so lower revs for dual carriageway etc.)

Sounds like you are having a lovely summer 😊 Pleased for you.

KK

Bluegreen143

Definitely one of the worst parts of ‘adulting’ KajiKita! Glad to hear your Škoda is working out well for you ☺️

fionaandphil

My dad also had Skoda Octavia's and loved them. My brother got his old one and it's still going strong despite being over 12 years old and doing a lot of mileage

Newstartforme

Hi Bluegreen , glad the holiday went well for you all and that you have another break to come . Shame about the car but good that from now you know what the costs will be rather than large unexpected garage bills! Car wise your money just does not go as far nowadays , there are no cheap littor runarounds anymore . Best of luck with new car