FI Wannabe

Kahra · 14 August 2016 at 2:31PM

We're all settled in at the cottage - there's Sky here, so we can watch the Olympics after hours of hitting the hiking trails. We have a car, so can go wherever we want, and had a roast lunch in the beer garden of a lovely local pub. Doesn't get better than this!

I'd forgotten that we hadn't paid for the insurance on the car rental, which is as much as the rental itself :eek: - I really should have done more research on alternatives, but as we don't usually drive we wanted the peace of mind.

I'm just going to enjoy the time away without counting the ££s, but most of the things we want to do are free anyway. The real treat is getting to choose what to do with each hour in the day!

Kahra · 19 August 2016 at 6:52PM

Back from such a lovely trip, full of energy to make some great changes around here!

It's going to take a few days for all the holiday transactions to come through, so I won't know the damage for a few days. It was such a treat to get away and see new places together - the dog had a great time leading us along paths and hills! She'll spend the next few days mostly asleep

I bought 'Economy Gastronomy' off [email protected], and have put in bids for 2 JO cookbooks too. Reading some of the other diaries has made me realise that my basic cooking skills could use some creativity and finesse! I usually don't plan, which is part of why the food budget is so high. We do cook, honestly, but I need to spend more time on the OS boards.

Coming back to a clean flat after holidays is so lovely, but I think we're due a deep clean before work starts up again. There are a few things Mr. K is willing to sell on [email protected], though on the whole we're still working on getting enough stuff for the flat, rather than decluttering.

Also, I'm starting to plan out a savings goal for 2020 (can't believe that's within planning distance!), trying to find a balance between achievable and stretch.

First of all I need to unpack and shower! I'm just really pumped for our plans after a break and some time to ponder - we're such a lucky family, and I want to make sure we use our good fortune wisely

Kahra · 25 August 2016 at 12:23AM

I'm absolutely destroyed after a circuits class - I'll be walking funny for a few days!

Spending for this month has been a bit feast and famine. We let loose a bit when we went away, and I'm finding it harder to run a tight ship now we're back. I know that overall we're headed in the right direction, it's just hard to feel a sense of urgency to save.

On the groceries front, meal planning is making a HUGE impact on both our food budget and quality! I'm still not great at the planning part, but have made some spectacular meals this week: found some reduced sausages and made a spicy sausage and broccoli pasta with parmesan on top, then had the remainder of the sausages with sweet potato mash and grilled courgette later in the week. Not fancy, but so delicious. We've spent £250 so far this month, and I expect we'll end the month at about £300 - I know it's still a lot, but it's headed in the right direction.

I took £100 out of our account to float a side-hustle that I've been doing but not tracking well - it's part of the reason the 'other' category has been so high. I won't make enough to even get close to the £1000 annual tax-free limit, but it's fun and brings in some cash. This month we've also made an extra £100 each for a one-day job.

Went into London today and had an amazing time... and spent WAY too much on a meal (and drinks!!!) out!

:beer: Now for some creative accounting to make the budget balance :cool:

kittykatneedscash · 25 August 2016 at 10:32AM

I took £100 out of our account to float a side-hustle that I've been doing but not tracking well - it's part of the reason the 'other' category has been so high. I won't make enough to even get close to the £1000 annual tax-free limit, but it's fun and brings in some cash. This month we've also made an extra £100 each for a one-day job.

I'm intrigued what's your 'side hustle'? Is this some sort of investment. Well done on the extra one day job everything helps.

Kahra · 1 September 2016 at 11:34AM

Thanks Kitty! My side hustle is just a bit of craft stuff I do on the side. A few people I know have asked me to make things for them, but the materials are pretty expensive so I don't think there's much profit. Still a few quid for something I enjoy doing!

edinburgher · 1 September 2016 at 12:14PM

I try and support small suppliers through 3tsy and the like. You get nice handmade products for only slightly more than highstreet prices.

Kahra · 1 September 2016 at 2:31PM

Sometimes less than high street stores: I found some cushions I really liked at JL but couldn't stand to pay their prices, and instead had a pair custom made by a lovely woman for the price of the one at JL!

Kahra · 1 September 2016 at 2:31PM

End of the month means spreadsheet time! We went away on holiday this month and just generally had a great break. We overspent in quite a few areas - we ended up paying more for the rental car than we’d budgeted, and went slightly over in a few other areas. I’m posting what we actually spent, with the budget amount in ().

Rent and Council Tax - £266 (£266)
Gas/Water/Electricity - £65 (£65)
Transportation - £64 (£56)
Internet - £28 (£28)
Mobile Phones (2) - £18 (£20)
Renter's Insurance - £14 (£16)

Groceries/Household Goods - £335 (£325) (so close)
Gym Memberships/Health - £132 (£132)
Restaurants - £81 (£75)
Entertainment/Spending Money - £57 (£60)
Other - £7 (£40)
Work Expenses - £44 (£0) - new category

Pets - £47 (£20) - paid a deposit for kennel
Gifts - £42 (£80)
Electronics - £0 (£0)
Clothing - £0 (£0)
House Purchases (decor, furniture, etc.) - £37 (£25)
Travel -£304 (£200)

Total August Budget: £1541 (£1408)
Total August Saving: £1840 (£1899)
% Income Saved Goal: 54% (57%)

I took £100 as a float to start a side hustle, and will keep track of that separately from my personal budget. We also have a budget line of £60/m that we donate to charity that I don’t include as either savings or expense.

We brought in an extra £200 from working on the side, and a total of £10.60 from P2P lending and interest. That helped make up for some of the overspending. However, I expected a pay rise this month that didn’t come through, so our usual income was lower than I had budgeted.

Overall we smashed the 50% savings goal, even though we came in over budget.

Kahra · 1 September 2016 at 2:44PM

Budget for September:

Rent/CT/Utilities/Internet: £359
Transportation - £70
Mobile Phones (2) - £20
Renter's Insurance - £20

Groceries/Household Goods - £300
Gym Memberships/Health - £132
Restaurants - £125 (work travel this month so a bit more eating out)
Entertainment/Spending Money - £60
Other - £50
Work Expenses - £50

Pets - £150
Gifts - £100
Electronics - £120 (need to replace a ££ computer part)
Clothing - £0
House Purchases (decor, furniture, etc.) - £60
Travel -£0

Total September Budget Goal: £1616
Total September Saving Goal: £1616
% Income Saved Goal: 50%

Kahra · 17 September 2016 at 2:05PM

Still plodding along. We picked up another day's work to the tune of £160. It's shaping up to be a social month, and the computer part was more expensive than anticipated. I feel like we've been spending like drunken sailors, but I'm putting my energy into increasing income this month and next. That said, we still have £180 in the grocery budget and over £400 left in the total budget, so we're on track.

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