Becoming debt neutral - a long haul!!

RedLipstick

Love the plan, looks really solid! It's good to track all the DDs - some time ago I've moved most of mine to the 1st of the month so I have a better picture of what's left until next pay day, maybe that will help? Happy Christmas and all the best in 2026 xx

Sarahwithlove

Ive done same, moved all but 3 to beginning of month it does make life easier that way. My water bills are switching to 12 monthly payments from April booooo. I too like the free months. My council tax has also done same, think I will only have one bill left then thats only 10 months. 

Happy Christmas and New Year, wish you the best of luck with your 2026 goals. 

leftatthetrafficlights

Happy New Year! 🎉

Thank you @RedLipstick and @Sarahwithlove 😁 I do have most of the dd's coming out around the same time but there are a few I can't move unfortunately - it shouldn't be too time-consuming to get them checked and the money moved though 😉 

So, today I've shifted the 'pots' interest along with the remains of the December grocery budget and a few other bits into the DNF so I've started strong for 2026!! 

I've done the shopping today and should have enough food in now to do at least 2 weeks 😁 Dh buys coffee bags normally but decided today that he wanted a cafetiere and coffee instead so I used the vouchers I had to get them for him - it will save a fortune in the long term and is much more sustainable 🙌 

Anyway, time to go and make some tea 😁 

DNF: £802/£1000
DNF 2026: £510/£6700

leftatthetrafficlights

No change on the money front 🙄 I hate this point of the month where I have nothing to add... I have had a pretty good month so far on groceries so I don't even have any 'cashback' to send to the fund 🤦‍♀️😂 However, I'm still thinking about how I can speed up the savings while I'm waiting to add to them...

I collected a load of horse chestnuts in the autumn which have been sitting in my greenhouse ever since - I'm going to chop and dehydrate them today so I can use them as laundry liquid throughout the year. I'm also going to make some ivy laundry liquid this weekend - it's a good way to save money and is very environmentally friendly 😁 

I've done the menu plan for the week and other than salad stuff, everything is from the storecupboard/freezer/garden/greenhouse. I'm hoping to keep the grocery bill to £20 this week. 

I've been thinking of other ways to save money and I know that one of the biggest things I can do this year is start to use my washing line to dry laundry when possible. I use my tumble dryer constantly and I know it has a massive impact on my electricity bill 🙄 I'm actually considering getting a dehumidifier and a clothes horse for the days (paticularly in winter) when outside drying isn't an option 🤔 I'm not sure how cost effective/environmentally friendly that is though so I need to do a bit more research on that....

I've updated all my spreadsheets with the 'pots' money, savings and DNF on them as we've had a couple of household purchases (a heater for the kitchen and a fireside set for the front room), some coal and kindling and I've ordered oil in recent days. Keeping up with the figures without the pots was stressing me out (having to boot up the laptop every time I wanted to check or edit something) so I dug out one of my old 'project' books and wrote it all down - it's easier to add to/update and I can transfer the info to the laptop monthly on paydays when I have to update figures anyway 😁 

leftatthetrafficlights

I've bitten the bullet and ordered a dehumidifier! Looking at my electricity bills, I'm pretty sure that it's a good investment and it will make life a lot more environmentally friendly in the winter months/bad weather days. I found a voucher to get 20% off too! 😁

I'll have to invest in a clothes airer now but I'll get a cheap one of those 😉 I don't like having laundry hanging around but I'll be keeping it all in the yoga room for now so at least I won't have it constantly in my eye-line! 

1stTimer

I have a dehumidifier and I couldn’t be without it now! Clothes still dry in a day and an added bonus is it warms up my cold house 😃