Daisy's Debt-Free Diary
We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy
Options
Comments
-
I’ve been thinking it was Thursday all day today too so you’re not alone!! Haha. I read through all your posts the other day and you’ve really inspired me to get a grip on my finances! You’re doing so well with your budget.2/29lbs lost
CC1: paid off!
CC2: £599 (0% until Jan 2026)
CC3: £2481 (0% until Dec 2027)2 -
@daintydaisy, thank you and thanks for stopping by and commenting. I can’t believe the difference and the progress we’ve made in just two months. If it all becomes a little overwhelming to start with, my suggestion would be to focus on tracking what you are spending, the realisation of that will certainly help motivate you to change (if change is needed, that is). Good luck, and do let me know if you create your own diary xMortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum3 -
Well, I didn’t even start the cleaning I was suppose to…I ended up having a bit of a funny turn earlier after I’d posted and so opted to rest and do some planning instead. I really ought to get checked out as I’ve been a little unwell (but functioning day to day) for a few weeks now. I have a little ear ache now so think it could be sinus or ear related, perhaps.Anyway, I’m glad I listened to my body as I had a relaxing bath, then I have spent a couple of hours planning the following;
* reviewed the next months activities, birthdays, events, meals out etc (14th-14th April)
* reviewed next months budget and assigned budgets to each categories based on the above
* assigned savings from wages to the various annual and saving pots (these are looking healthy and we’re actually using wages to pay for our holiday this year instead of using savings or drawing down on our investments)
* done a meal plan for the next week and half
* booked a click and collect for Friday (no cost for click and collect which was a bonus)
* decided to do a spring clean plan tomorrow night so I can then put that into action of the next couple of weeks before the weather is hopefully nicer and we can start on outside restoration before summer hits
Think it’s time for an early night, night allx
Mortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum4 -
Payday! Hooray!
So, the budgets have been reset with a grand total of £226.59 remaining this month. It's DH birthday next month so instead of using money that I've saved separately I am going to use this amount to pay for a day away for us, and I've put the savings towards our 'pots'.
I think the biggest update to give is that, with the allocation of monies that I have saved over the last 3 paydays I have enough to cover the following this year;
* Holiday in May (we'd already paid a deposit)
* £1000 holiday spends in May (will not use all that but saved a buffer too which can then be put to the car payment if it isn't spent)
* Home insurance
* One mortgage overpayment
* Ground rent
* Boiler service
* Car breakdown cover
* Holiday insurance renewal
* Pet insurance renewal
* Car service
* Car tax
* MOT
* Car insurance
* Subscription for DH (he doesn't have many hobbies but this is something that he enjoys)
* Car Maintenance pot is full (£300, though this will be increased as soon as we have any spare money)
* Home maintenance pot is full (£300, though this will be increased as soon as we have any spare money)
The only items not fully covered so far is;
* Christmas (£370/£1500 - this includes any December Christmas related activities, trips away to see family, extra food, days out and gifts)
* Car Balloon payment (£8.01/£5000 - I've done this on purpose as all the monies I am currently saving can now go to this amount until it is due in November, I wanted to make sure that we had our annual costs accounted for in case anything goes wrong with our income etc)
* Next holiday pot (£300/£1200 - though will likely cost more than this, it's a starting point)
The idea now is to chuck as much money each month to the car balloon payment before it is due, and continue with the monthly allocation amounts to Christmas and next holiday pot and once the balloon payment is made, then we will look to secure next year's annual cost and 'pots' as soon as possible in the new year. THEN..... all spare monies will go to overpaying the mortgage as the renewal is mid 2026.
Oh, this feels so good! To think that we have been wasting all this money, and stressing over finding money for things or worse still using investment and savings to pay for things like holidays... well, it's been an eye opener, for sure!
Have a great weekend all,
Wendy xMortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum6 -
Morning, it’s looks fresh out there, but so lovely to listen to the birds singing this morning 😀
I’ve done a bit of reflecting on the week and, whilst it’s been incredibly busy with lots of office days and running around for others, it’s been productive. We’re moving in the right direction financially.I’ve been relaxing lots and sleeping better (10 hours on Thursday night! It was certainly needed). I’m still having mini nightmares which disrupt my sleep but I’m feeling a little brighter upon waking, which is good.The focus for this weekend is exercise and mindful eating, as I’m very conscious that my exercise has all but stopped recently. I have a pulled Achilles tendon but I think it’s due to a tight muscle in my leg. I feel that I have a few niggles at the minute, health wise, which I’m not sure is just my age, or if it’s caused by lack of exercise or an ok diet (as opposed to a good diet). So walks are on the cards, as is a couple of strength workouts and stretches to see how I go. Mindful we go on holiday in 9 weeks so also need to be thinking about that.The house is tidy, just one washer load to complete as it has uniforms in it. Other than that it’s a quiet weekend of reading and pottering. Looking forward to slightly warmer weather so we can get into the garden and spruce that up for summer as we are planning far more time in our own garden than a pub garden this year
☀️Mortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum6 -
Great progress there. Have a lovely weekend."Good financial planning is about not spending money on things that add no value to your life in order to have more money for the things that do". Eoin McGee1
-
You’ve made such great progress in a short amount of time - it must be a big weight off your shoulders. I can’t wait to feel like that eventually! I’m in the very early steps of my debt tackling journey but eager to get ahead.What books have you been reading & enjoying lately? I love to read but been in a bit of a slump lately - haven’t enjoyed the past couple I’ve read (well, one I’m still reading!!)
have a great weekend!2/29lbs lost
CC1: paid off!
CC2: £599 (0% until Jan 2026)
CC3: £2481 (0% until Dec 2027)3 -
@daintydaisy, thank you. Keep plugging away, you’re already so much closer to where you want to be just with your attitude alone 😀
I enjoy easy read books tbh, something I can pick up and drop quite easily as I often only get time between errands or whilst having a brew. Susan Lewis and Colleen Hoover are often go tos but I read anything I can find that’s interesting in the charity shop. It’s 3 books for £1 at my local charity shop so even if I don’t like the book I can return and get more. I’ve actually put two books down this year, even though I was 1/3rd way through each because I just wasn’t enjoying them. They don’t get counted as read books but my logical is that I’m not wasting more time than is necessary trying to get through them if they are not enjoyable xMortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum3 -
Well today has been incredibly productive so far.I made breakfast sandwiches for us all first thing, whilst breakfast was cooking I did a strength workout, in the kitchen 😂.I then meal prep a curry, whilst that was simmering I cleaned the oven out.Then we went for a 5 mile dog walk. It was lovely and warm at times where the sun was hitting us ☀️ we then emptied the rubbish and declutter effort from the garage and did a run up to the recycling centre
time for a bath and an afternoon of self care 🧖♀️Mortgage (MFD 04/2053) (Jan 25) £238,983.71. Overpayment set to £200 per month. Current: £235,620.31
Car Balloon Payment £12,243.60, due Nov 25. Saved £7,362.30, £4,881.30 remaining
2025 goals:
20 / 25 books
10 / 25lbs lost
£1000 / £1000 EF
DFW Diary: Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy — MoneySavingExpert Forum5 -
Spendywendywoo said:@daintydaisy, thank you. Keep plugging away, you’re already so much closer to where you want to be just with your attitude alone 😀
I enjoy easy read books tbh, something I can pick up and drop quite easily as I often only get time between errands or whilst having a brew. Susan Lewis and Colleen Hoover are often go tos but I read anything I can find that’s interesting in the charity shop. It’s 3 books for £1 at my local charity shop so even if I don’t like the book I can return and get more. I’ve actually put two books down this year, even though I was 1/3rd way through each because I just wasn’t enjoying them. They don’t get counted as read books but my logical is that I’m not wasting more time than is necessary trying to get through them if they are not enjoyable x
Last month we read Twenty Years Later - Charlie Donlea - after a slow start, it got better, but I worked out the twists and turns ahead of the various reveals throughout (I credit this to years of reading PD James, all the Cadfael novels and many, many other murder mysteries!). The best book we have read in the last year is The Rose Code (Kate Quinn) which threaded a number of historically accurate threads into the book - I recommend this if you haven't read it. I often get mine from WOB or Abe books to keep the costs downSave £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
My new diary is here3
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 351.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.7K Spending & Discounts
- 244.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177K Life & Family
- 257.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards