Overhauling for the second (and last) time

Sarahwithlove

That's good news about the emergency fund. Hopefully you have a good amount left in it at the end of the month. 

overhauler

Thanks @Sarahwithlove I really hope so

Its been a wonderful weekend with family at 2 different events yesterday and today, total cost from personal spends came to £30.20 which was not as bad as I thought it would be 

personal spends now has £44.80 left which doesn’t seem like much given we are only a few days after payday but given everything else is allocated actually feels pretty good.

eldest is wanting to go out with friends for freshers week but his balance is a little light so I am going to offer him taxi fare to get home safely after at £15 then maybe a cinema trip or something with my other son one weekend

one of my bills is for the local leisure centre gym and gives me and youngest son unlimited use of all their centres/services so will probably go swimming a few times as it doesn’t cost anything

ive updated my signature to keep track of my NSD challenge, 100 step challenge and also the debt total so it’s easy to keep track of

 

Sarahwithlove

It's handy when they are at the age where they still enjoy going swimming for free 

overhauler

I’ve updated my signature for my challenges

i have paid slightly more to my debt today as the two debts that i have just set up on arrangements i messed up a bit. One of them i made the first payment by card when i got paid and then realised it was also set up as an automated card payment so that went out today for £5, the other one where i was disputing paying it again i decided just to do it so paid £25 on that today

that means i have made my first 2/100 steps to debt free so far this month with a further £27.29 to the next step. The plan is currently to do 2 steps per month but I might see if I can make that extra step by the end of the month. If I put £1 per day into the 100 step challenge saving space I would be able to make that extra step by the end of the month 

I only have one more scheduled payment towards debt for this month at £7.50, should have gone out today but hasn’t so far so I will keep an eye on that 

my savings spaces stand as follows:

- essential bills £39.25 with £31 left to pay
- other bills £71.56 with £59.65 left to pay
- Food shop £286.85, will have to keep an eye on this as it’s a 5 week month for food shops 
- Petrol £119.99 this should be more than enough 
- Personal spends £29.81 I gave eldest £15 for a taxi today as he was running a little low on money but wants to go out with friends tonight
- Debts £0 this is as it should be as everything is paid or money is in current account waiting for bill to go through 
- Emergency fund £256.92 with the terrible weather we haven’t bought anything to finish the driveway yet this month but that will have to come from this pot once we do 

so overall I am in a good space, I am wondering if there is something I am missing bill wise from the other bills pot as it’s got over £10 unaccounted for, once all the bills have gone out I will transfer anything left in those pots to the emergency fund 

not a NSD today as I have been and done a midweek shop today which came to £15.62. I looked ahead at the weeks meal plan and think that we now have everything we need until the weekend so hopefully won’t need to buy anything further and can get a few more nsd’s this week 

tomorrow I will do a monthly debt roundup and update my total owed as set the date to do that as the 2nd once all payments have gone through and again day before payday 

overhauler

I am also wondering if I should simplify my bills pots, currently I separate them into essential bills and other bills.

i would class the other bills as wants rather than needs as it covers phone, gym, streaming services, kids spending money etc so are bills I am effectively choosing to have rather than must have for the house 

it’s nice to have them separate but does mean I have to check each bill and make sure I transfer the money from the correct pot when it’s time to pay it. Maybe one overall bills pot would make it easier 

I will consider that for next month and see what I think 

overhauler

Updated my signature for another NSD today

the plan was to also update my debt total today but I’ve been on training for work and have a terrible headache so now I am back home I  going to relax and will do it tomorrow or another day this week 

Sarahwithlove

I find one pot easier for my bills whether essential or not as they need to be paid and prioritised over debts to avoid any further debts it defaults. 

overhauler

After considering it, I agree @Sarahwithlove and I have combined my two bills pots so it’s just the one as I think it will be easier to keep track of during the month

i did a check on the last debt payment for this month that hadn’t yet gone out, the first payment date is 1/11 not 1/10 but I have made a manual payment since I had budgeted for it 

I have updated my signature to reflect this months debt repayments so far, I have dropped below 5k now which is quite satisfying 

I have paid £131.71 this month so if I can make a further £19.79 that will make it 3 steps on the 100 step challenge. Making 2 steps a month gives me a debt free date of 11/28 if my maths is correct, by making 3 steps that reduces it to 7/27 which seems a very long time away and I want to do all I can to reduce that even further 

 

overhauler

Well my Tuesday look ahead when I went to the shops didn’t work out too well as this morning realised we needed more fruit, bread and a few other bits. Also used the last of the conditioner this morning but it was on a half price offer in the supermarket so bought 2 conditioners and 1 shampoo whilst the price was lower, shop came to £25.58

also filled up with petrol at £40 whilst at the supermarket which I think will last me a while 

Sarahwithlove

It may seem like a long time but it will pass quicker than you realise.