Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy

Spendywendywoo

After lurking for what seems an age, I have finally created an account and started to interact this forum

For years I feel that we have been flying by the seat of our pants, not planning in advance, using savings and investments to pay for holidays and other luxuries and just not really having control on our finances.  We earn enough to be comfortable but our bank accounts don't show this as we are very splurgey, and it needs to stop. 

We don't have any CC debt, or loans but do have a mortgage and a PCP car agreement. We are also just 15-20 years from retirement with no real plan. I want to get into a position this year, and beyond, where every £ and p is allocated, we are paying for luxuries, such as holidays, with money we have saved, and also account for annual expenditure through budgeting monthly so that we are always ahead of the game. 

I have devised a budget, which is currently an Excel spreadsheet, and did a review of the last few months and I am appalled, and ashamed, with how we have spent our money. This isn't about not having fun and living our lives but, as we have no control, we are spending and worrying about the bank balance whereas if we record every penny we spend, we can ensure that when we are spending within budget we are actually enjoying ourselves, instead of worrying. 

I do need to shout out to the many who have DFDs on here as I have looked and already implemented some of the really great things that have been highlighted, such as creating a budget, looking at stocks we already have in the fridge, started to declutter the house etc, but I want to take this further by being an active user of this forum, gaining help and also being a source of help where I can. 

I will be recording very mundane activities that I am doing each day, detailing spends, savings and overall progress against goals. I'll also update my signature with a brief overview of progress. 

Anyways, enough of the rambling... I'm looking forward to what the future holds... 
Wendy x

beckstar1975

Following as about to have my epiphany too but sadly have lots of debt (again)

Spendywendywoo

Current situation:

Mortgage: Outstanding £238,983.71, 4.38%, deal ends 30/06/2026
Plan: Overpaid this year and next by one payment (£1229.83), build a lump sum (min £2,000) to reduce the mortgage slightly before a new deal is agreed. 

Car PCP: Currently paying £415.30pm, PCP due to end Oct 25.
Plan: Look to hand car back and move to an older car through finance, paying £300pm or less (we've done some research and believe this could be feasible, though will review again nearer to the time). We only have one car in the household with us both using it, due to our current working situation, so need something reliable. Will put a plan in place to move to saving and being able to buy a car outright before the next finance agreement ends. 

Groceries: Currently spending £600-900 per month on groceries for 2A and 1C. This is ridiculous. Looking to reduce to £450 and then further reductions over the year once I get used to being more organised. 

Going out, takeaways, eating out and general entertainment: An unbelievable amount is spent in this area and it cannot continue.  When I have time I will work out exactly what we have spent in the last 3 months of 2024, but for now I have budgeted more realistic amounts, and I'm determined to change the way we live, whilst still having fun along the way. 

Annual expenditures: Currently we 'find' the money each month and end up in our overdraft. I want to plan ahead and have insurances, holidays including spends, Christmas, gifts, boiler service, breakdown cover, car tax, MOT, date nights, ground rent, emergency fund and home maintenance budgeted for from our salaries. It will be tough to start with, and this is the area which will need the most focus as I'll need to save money, stop overspending, and really get my DH and DS onboard with this, and the changes we need to make.

The main aim is to never set foot in our overdraft again, atm there really is no reason for us to do so...

Retirement: We don't have a plan for retirement, other than our work pensions, which are deducted at 4% of our salary and a couple of small investments.  We are 15-20 years from retirement and I think, once we have made changes, we need to focus on increasing this to put us in a much better place financially. 

Research and learning along the way: I'm going to continue to build my knowledge and utilise the information on this forum to help make the changes, and prepare us for the future. 

I think that's all for now in terms of laying down the current situation. Next post will look into what I've done since the new budget came into play on Wednesday (pay day for me)...

Spendywendywoo

Payday 15th so the start of the new budget.  I have surprised myself as usually I would have visited the shops many times and we'd have been out and about today just spending money as if it was endless. 

I gained a promotion in December but the change was actioned after payroll cut off so I received my increase and back pay this month.  Every penny, plus the usual amount I pop into the annual expenditure has been moved over. This is looking healthy, but when I look at what needs to be accounted for this year, it really isn't anywhere near that. I must stick to our budget and find savings along the way too. 

Grocery shopping so far: £23.79/£450 however, £3.75 of that was paid for by a gift card that I got from Confus*d.com for buying home insurance last week (I also spent £15.20 on a new baby gift so have £1.05 remaining), so this money has also been moved into the Annual Expenditures account. I would usually say, ah I have £20 to spend on myself and spend that 3 or 4 times over the month by justifying that we got the gift card, so I'm really glad this money has been moved over instead. Looking at what I have bought I know there are savings to be had, for example buying a full chicken and having that with some homemade stuffing for my sandwiches, instead of buying the packet chicken and stuffing at £2.50 a packet  or chicken satay sticks at £2.25 a packet for DS... of which he has at least 2.5 packets a week.

Feels good to get this out on 'paper'

foxgloves

Oh my goodness, this sounds exactly how we were years ago pre-LBM. It really 'took me back' on reading it. I didn't begin budgeting until my early 40s as I'd always thought it was for tightwads & 'squares'. Rather than curtailing activities, once I got going, I actually found it enabled us to do things which was a revelation in itself. We were shockers for takeaways as both had late shifts & a 20+ miles commute home. We changed to having about 4 per year & found we enjoyed them much more once they were a genuine treat & not a default setting.
Yes, there is a lot of money to be saved on your grocery budget. We spend £350 a month (not including milk as we have a milkman)  & eat really well on that, despite our supermarket of choice being a more expensive one. Our household is me, big chunky husband with a colossal appetite & 2 greedy rescue cats, so.not an exact match, but this is just for vague comparison. Our grocery budget covers our food, cat food plus all cleaning & laundry products, stuff like rolls of foil, loo rolls, etc. We have a vegetable plot in our garden which helps out with fresh produce at harvest time. I meal plan, batch cook & we make effective use of the freezer. 
There is defo a decent wodge of cashola to be saved there.
Good luck!
F

Spendywendywoo

beckstar1975 said:

Following as about to have my epiphany too but sadly have lots of debt (again)

You can do this, we can support each other - welcome, and thank you for joining 🤗. There are so many diaries that also cover those who have gotten out of a lot of debt, they are so inspirational and show that it can be done. I’ve every faith that, with change, you can achieve what you are setting out to x

foxgloves said:

Oh my goodness, this sounds exactly how we were years ago pre-LBM. It really 'took me back' on reading it. I didn't begin budgeting until my early 40s as I'd always thought it was for tightwads & 'squares'. Rather than curtailing activities, once I got going, I actually found it enabled us to do things which was a revelation in itself. We were shockers for takeaways as both had late shifts & a 20+ miles commute home. We changed to having about 4 per year & found we enjoyed them much more once they were a genuine treat & not a default setting.
Yes, there is a lot of money to be saved on your grocery budget. We spend £350 a month (not including milk as we have a milkman)  & eat really well on that, despite our supermarket of choice being a more expensive one. Our household is me, big chunky husband with a colossal appetite & 2 greedy rescue cats, so.not an exact match, but this is just for vague comparison. Our grocery budget covers our food, cat food plus all cleaning & laundry products, stuff like rolls of foil, loo rolls, etc. We have a vegetable plot in our garden which helps out with fresh produce at harvest time. I meal plan, batch cook & we make effective use of the freezer. 
There is defo a decent wodge of cashola to be saved there.
Good luck!
F

Ah Foxgloves, I very very nearly tagged you into my first post as you are actually the reason I’ve created this diary… I started reading your diary, from the start in 2019, the other day and I felt that we were mirroring where you had been! I read your posts up to lockdown but then fast forwarded to more recent times as I didn’t really want to revisit lockdown, if that makes sense. I am really motivated to make changes, and agree that savings can be had very quickly. Thank you for commenting, it means a lot x

FootyFanDan

Wishing you the best of luck on your journey

Spendywendywoo

@FootyFanDan, thank you ☺️ 

redofromstart

Happy new diary and good luck with your journey.

Spendywendywoo

Thank you @redofromstart, I’ve often seen your posts whilst lurking, I appreciate your insight and the encouragement that you show

Spendywendywoo

I’ve absolutely loved today, a bit of pottering, tidying, me time, chill time and a long soak in the bath. Even fixed a couple of issues round the house, cleaned the floors and put new bedding on the bed (a purchase I’ve been wanting for a little while as there is super stress in washing and drying the covers in one day). Now I’ve reduced my stress levels, and the bedding I wanted was reduced in the sale so win win. 

Usually we will go out on a Saturday afternoon, few drinks, takeaway… and roughly £40-£100 lighter. Today we have stayed in (I think the new phrase is, ‘enjoying our mortgage’), saved some calories, eaten a cannelloni we had in the freezer and even enjoyed a glass of Prosecco. Spends were what we would normally spend but on something useful (bedding). 

Busy day tomorrow, though most of the tasks are self inflicted, as it will set us up for the week (which is a novelty for us). Time to read a few pages of my book (book 5 of 2025) and an early night. I don’t even know who I am anymore 😂