The ostrich wakes up and decides it's aspiring to be a wannabe wise Owl!

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

So after decades with my head in the sand, I've had a wake call in mid October and realised this stress can no longer carry on and it's time to wise up and take responsibility for a more fulfilling and meaningful life.

This ultimately means I am now on a mission to live within my means and not beyond my means. I have never in my life saved money which is utterly crazy considering I am 54 and a half. I honestly don't know why I have  had such a bad relationship with money as my father was sensible when he was alive and my mother fairly ok. My brother is frugal but I was always careless and why I was different who knows but the mindset change has happened and so here I am starting my new diary ahead of 2025 so it's not hashtag New Years resolution it was hashtag mid October 2024 resolution.
I am writing this diary more as a journal to keep myself focussed and a form of therapy. I will post figures once I've redone my end of December budget, my situation is bit atypical as I work on a part time basis working in the UK but actually my home is in France where I have been living since the end of December 2020 so my income is in Sterling, debts in ££££'s some outgoings too but also outgoings in Euros but fortunately no debts in €'s. My pay is variable but there is a base which is guaranteed it has advantages in that there are months where I clear a lot more so I'll be able to tackle more debt but some where I can only do the minimum.

The last two months have been challenging working to a new budget but I've managed.
At the end of November I paid myself first taking 10% of my take home pay and locking some of it away in a 2 month notice account and some in a 7 day notice account the majority in the 7 day notice for emergencies. 
As it is early days I can't trust myself to start an emergency account with instant access so I figured if the dog fell ill or the car exploded 7 days is not a long time to wait to settle bills like these but importantly it avoids any impulsive spends.
My goal is to get an emergency fund up a.s.a.p aiming for £1000 as it seems to be the recommended figure amongst diaries I have read.
So far I've put away £200.
A few other steps so far, are reducing utilities, my biggest excitement this week was slashing my sim only French to €0. I changed to a €2 a month sim only contract I was paying €19.99 per month for loads of gb's but realised it was not needed as most of my browsing is done via wifi at home and I don't make many mobile to mobile calls or watch videos on the go so with 50gb and 2hrs of calls it's plenty for my needs but the best result was as my ISP also  provides the sim only as a customer it's free. I've saved €240 per year effective January 2025 (approx £200)
I can't tell you what a buzz I got from saving that!

Anyway this is mega long post for my 1st entry!
yours sincerely wannabe wise Owl :-)

[Deleted User]

Morning. This could be an interesting thread to follow!  Do you own a property in France and/or the U.K. ?

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

Thanks Lord_Mattenly 
I was going to say I own a chateau in France but thank god I don't as they are bottomless money pits. I own a small stone house up on a hill overlooking a valley with a view of the roof tops of the village it is the most beautiful view and there is a river at the bottom. I count my blessings as it's all mine no mortgage but it needs work on it, some progress has been made more to be done. I don't have any assets in the UK.

[Deleted User]

Looking forward to hearing more about your figures. I assume you have pension arrangements in place?

joedenise

Will follow your diary and looking forward to your figures in due course.  It's best to do your SOA on guaranteed money only and then use any extra for debt repayments and savings, particularly the Emergency Fund.

I have added a link on @jwil's diary so that she can find your diary more easily without having to search for it!

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary. 

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

[Deleted User] said:

Looking forward to hearing more about your figures. I assume you have pension arrangements in place?

I am hoping to get the figures up here soon. I'm waiting on my December payslip which I hope to have by next Friday. Not really looking forward to getting paid early as it means a long wait before the end of January I am fortunate as I have just myself to worry about and the K9 so Xmas is not a costly affair for me at all.
I am going to visit an old school friend and their partner in Switzerland for Xmas but fortunately they are frugal and understand my situation. It's already been made clear no exchanging of gifts as for me it's all about being with people you are close to and not the materialism. I have said I will contribute towards some of the groceries  because I'd have to do that if I were at home.
On the plus side it means being away and not at home chucking logs into the log burner and using electricity and water.
I do have pension arrangements in place fortunately but this is a whole new minefield I have to navigate as I feel like it's a whole new language I need to master very much on the agenda too!

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

joedenise said:

Will follow your diary and looking forward to your figures in due course.  It's best to do your SOA on guaranteed money only and then use any extra for debt repayments and savings, particularly the Emergency Fund.

I have added a link on @jwil's diary so that she can find your diary more easily without having to search for it!

beanielou said:

Happy shiny new diary. 

Thanks guys it's good to be part of a community of people sharing similar but equally different journeys 

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

Just heading out to a local Xmas market for a hot drink and to buy some cake for charity which I'll gift to my friends at Xmas. I cut back on my grocery spending this week to accommodate this, I didn't really want to go as I just don't want to spend anything other than the bare essentials at the moment. I need to factor in a tiny budget per month for things like his because it is human to have social interactions but an absolute minimum.
Fortunately most people close to me understand this, on top of this I just got invited via a friend to someone's house (I barely know them) tomorrow evening for drinks and nibbles and apparently lots of friends in common are going but I turned it down as I feel if I go it's only polite to turn up with a bottle of something and right now my priorities are curbing my spending.
I find things like this challenging at times, do others find this? I am content nevertheless as I feel I'm on the right track and my attitude to money is evolving on a daily basis for the better. 

liselle

I’m enjoying your diary, it sounds as if you have a very interesting life.
Yes I agree, especially at this time of year, if you went to all the events you were invited to, you could easily spend a fortune.On little or nothing, actually.
Very best wishes for your DebtFree journey.

Cherryfudge

Welcome to diary land! Yours is interesting already, and I've subscribed.  Great user name for raising awareness!

Have you been to Switzerland before? Gorgeous, precise, expensive and with a surprising amount of graffiti. (We have relatives there). I hope you'll have a fabulous time!

About the taking a bottle round when you are invited to someone you don't know well... I find it's a conflict of interest. Part of me is trying to be honest and turn down invitations that might put pressure on for whatever reason, but I don't find it easy. Even going for a coffee soon gets expensive (though there's Spoons). On the one hand there are friendship to make or maintain and on the other, there are pressures on time, finances, peopling and whatever else. I've often enjoyed myself when I've gone out, but sometimes I just need a quiet time and I'm not the only one. If yours is a big group of people, will you be missed, or might you miss a great night out by not going? In terms of 'opportunity cost', if you decide to go, how could you reduce cost or make the money back or forgo something else to cover the cost?

Sorry, I didn't mean to introduce myself with a spiel of questions!