Savings for the Boy & Me

savingwannabe · 3 January 2019 at 1:14PM

Hello Happy New Year Chandelier, I hope you are well. Hurrah for saving!

Wow just seen your system. V organised. I was with Halifax and First Direct they were great and I switched. I haven't gone to Nationwide but I have done all the others.

I have rested all morning and am about to mark:eek::eek::eek: Had a bug and everything aches. Deadlines are approaching so I am trying to do some work but not doing v well lol hence I am on here for inspiration.

pinknsparkly · 3 January 2019 at 1:54PM

Hi Chandelier, you sound very organised and ready to hit 2019 with a vengence!! I really need to look into NW and FD accounts - I have quite a lot more money than I was expecting to have post-house-purchase due to money left to me by my grandparents It's currently earning 2% which isn't bad, but I want to try and maximise the interest I can get on it. My husband thinks having lots of pots of small savings isn't worth the effort but I actually quite enjoy the monthly check-in and money shuffle to meet the funding requirements!

Hope you have a wonderful 2019!!

Chandelier. · 4 January 2019 at 3:01PM

Hello,

I am going to make more of an effort to post here from now on. I did used to post quite often when I first started this diary but things just ended up hectic towards the last quarter of 2018 with everything that went on.

I shall use this space to set myself some targets/goals along the way.

I'm not sure what 2019 has to offer me and the boy yet but I need to start getting all my ducks in a row.

One of the main things I want to do is plan my annual leave for the year in order to be able to make plans for any travelling we may do. I still hope to take an extended period of leave over the summer (between 14-21 days), to take the boy travelling around Europe. Italy seems to be one of his main places he would like to visit so I think I'll centre it around that as there is so much to do/see there. Of course I shall be doing this on a budget and keeping costs as low as possible but I'm determined to do it all myself. I will be using the money I saved over the course of last year to fund this.

It's been a bit of a busy start to 2019 so far. The boy is off school until next week so we are making the most of my four days off.

On Wednesday , we met up with some friends and went to a trampoline park, the boys bounced and I had a catch up with my friend.

Yesterday, me and the boy went to our local circus pantomime which was great fun. We had lunch beforehand and took our own drinks/snacks with us to minimise costs. Afterwards we went to Mcds and shared a chocolate milkshake and then went to the arcade and spent £1 on the 2p machines. The boy had a wonderful time and I enjoyed spending the 1:1 time with him. His dad came round later on to play a bit of mariokart with him on his new nintendo switch. The boy has been playing on this quite a bit over the holidays but does turn it off after a while. It's been quite a big hit and we all manage to play with him. Money well spent.

Today we are having a chill out day. We've spent the morning lounging around in our pjs playing on the switch and watching some tele. I'm going to take the boy for a haircut later on, ready for when he goes back to school. That should be around £7, I've got the cash set aside in my purse.

The boy is coming on really well in his ice skating and he is making us all proud. Although his current boots are quite poor fitting and make his feet turn inwards. We went to see a guy who specialises in skates and he told us that the boy has flat feet and will need a certain type of boot, possibly with an insole. He also advised us to take the boy to a podiatrist to get his feet assessed and maybe point us in the right direction for an orthotic sole. I shall look into this at a later date. I'm unsure what the costs will be but I'll find the money from somewhere. I'd rather him be supported now then increase his risk of any injury or damage in the future. I'm expecting the costs of his new boots to be high so I'll be using my savings to fund these. Once he has broke them in, I will put him back in for his tests and see where we go from there. Although the ice skating is expensive and takes up a chunk of my income, it's worth it to see the boys determination and motivation to succeed. It's a great sport and really good exercise for him and he finds it fun and challenging. Those are the important things.

In other news, I've started speaking to a new guy who is local to me. From our conversations so far he seems nice and has his life together. We've been texting quite a bit and there has been a lot of banter. I've already laid it out to him, the fact I have a busy lifestyle and will not always have the time to commit myself fully 24/7 like some people expect. He seems to accept that and is happy to see how things go. I really do want to meet someone who is nice and good for me; someone who will enhance my life and I can make memories with. I don't want any drama, I want a simple life and to take things slow. I don't want to rush anything and I want him to get to know me, for me. I think for now I won't mention my mental health conditions, I'll just see how it goes and when the time is right I shall then disclose them, it's up to him whether he wants to take that risk. I just don't want to be defined by them as there is so much more to me, those are just parts of my life that I deal with along the way.

Savingwannabe, I hope you feel better soon and that the bug/aches disappear rather quickly. I love FD and Halifax as bank accounts, that's why I stick with them. Each of them have their pros and cons and I can use them in different ways.

Pinknsparkly, my method works well for me but won't for others. I like to visually see the pots that I build upon each month. It doesn't take me long to reconcile my accounts, I spend around 5 minutes a day checking. I'm quite happy with the two 5% accounts and use the NW account to hold my income as it pays 5% interest on balances for up to £2500, for 12 months.

Yesterday I paid £30 towards my 0% CC. The balance now stands at £270. The offer expires Dec 19 so as long as it is all paid off before then, I'm not too bothered. I think the minimum payment is £9 a month so I'm overpaying enough. If I continue paying just £30 each month it will be clear by the end of the terms. Some months I may pay more off if I feel like it but I just figure it goes towards building a solid credit history and that I'm responsible with money and handling credit.

I'm going to do a seperate post with some targets I'd like to achieve this month. I will probably do this on a monthly basis and set the targets at the beginning of the month in hope to review them at the end. I'd rather do this then set up yearly target/goals that I may not be able meet. They have to be realistic and achievable.

Chandelier. · 4 January 2019 at 3:20PM

January 2019 Goals/Targets

Lose 4lb. (1lb a week should be doable).
Aim for 10 NSDs. (I've aimed low here and anything above is a bonus).
Go to the gym at least 2x a week. (I really need to get back to this, good for my mental health too).
Cook one new recipe. (I need to widen my cooking skills so will challenge myself to this).
Go for at least one countryside walk. Explore what is around us. (There are quite a few places within driving distance. I want to do more outdoor walking with the boy).
Read at least one book. (I shall either redownload my kindle app or visit a charity shop to see what books are about).
Have one movie night. (I will try to make this a regular occurrence with the boy).
Get my confidence back in one of my skills at work. (I used to be really good at one thing the a member of staff knocked my confidence one day. I've refused to do said skill since then but another colleague forced me to do this the other day so I'm really going to aim to continue to get myself to back to where I was).
Put myself forward for further learning opportunities. (There are a few things I want to do. If my manager agreed to let me do at least one thing, then I will be happy).
Complete my portfolio. (This really needs doing for me to complete a course I went on. I'll try get a decent chunk of it done when I'm on annual leave. It's due for submission in Feb).
Teach my student as much as possible. (I finally have my own student and she is there to learn. I will teach her and guide her in anyway possible and ensure she gets the most out of her placement).
Try not to fritter surplus income away. (I have a few upcoming essentials I need to buy.
I'd quite like to have something left over at the end of the month even if it's only a small amount).

Chandelier. · 4 January 2019 at 3:30PM

Money Goals 2019

Save 10k in HTB Isa. (This is doable by the end of the year).
Save £3000 in NW Account. (The £250pm should achieve this).
Save £3600 in FD account. (The £300pm should achieve this).
Save a £1000 Emergency Fund. (I aim to save £100pm for this. I will add in any extra as I go along. If I reach the target sooner, I will increase my target).
Build up saving pots. (Although there are expenses each month, I aim to build a buffer within these so there is always enough for just incase expenses).

Chandelier. · 4 January 2019 at 3:53PM

Money Challenges.

Aim for 10 NSDs a month. (This should be doable, bonus if there are more).
Use cashback websites, discount codes or comparisons websites where needed. (Any money earnt/saved can be put towards other funds).
Empty purse at the end of the week save any silver change/copper. (I'll put silver change into my adventure fund and copper into a seperate jar).
Save any £2 coins. (I'm copying this idea off my mum as she has built up a nice fund).
Round my bank accounts down at the end of each week. (I'll do this to the nearest pound and offset the extra into my emergency fund).
Keep a minimum £20 float in my purse. (This is to cover any unexpected cash spends).
Leave my purse/debit cards at home. (Only take them out when needed preventing the temptation to spend).
Plan ahead and buy food/beverages in advance. (This includes taking meals/beverages to work and for any planned days out).
Use Reward CC to cash in points. (I'll use as often as possible and when able to will redeem in Amazon vouchers for birthday/Christmas presents).
Walk more/use car less. (I need to cut back on the short distances, the exercise will do us good. Any savings on petrol can go towards further out adventures).
Plan my week ahead. (I need to do this, even if it's only rough plans. It will give me an idea of what I may spend or need to put funds aside for).
Donate to homeless shelters. (I shall pick up a couple of spare items each week and drop them off at the end of the month. I'm thinking more toiletries/sanitary products).
Look out for free days out or low cost events. (I shall do this for the school holidays and keep a look out for anything the boy may be interested in. We can take picnics along with us wherever we go).
Work some overtime. (I won't do this that often but the option is there if needed or if funds are tight).

savingwannabe · 4 January 2019 at 8:05PM

OMG How positive is all of this??????:j:j:j:money::D:T:) I am so pleased that DS had fun ice skating with his friends.

I also think you have fabulous target to save all that money in many pots.

I like the 10NSDs a month too. You are back in style with a vengeance. lol. :rotfl:

pinknsparkly · 5 January 2019 at 6:29PM

That is quite an incredible set of challenges to set yourself - I'm sure you'll end 2019 quite a bit more financially comfortable than you are starting it :j:j:j

We spent two weeks travelling round Italy (the North and middle part - down as far south as Pompeii) a couple of years ago for my 30th. We flew into Venice and out of Rome and pretty much did all our travelling by train (apart from a couple of days in Tuscany where we hired a car to get around) and had an INCREDIBLE time! We still have a 3 litre bottle of red wine sat under our stairs waiting to be drunk from that holiday.....

I also have flat feet, and whilst I would absolutely say you have to take him to see a podiatrist, if you find that all he requires is arch support then you can buy orthotics online pretty cheaply. There are quite a few types you can play around with, but I've found that full length ones (as opposed to ones that cover the heel and mid foot only) are better as the shorter ones tend to slip around in the shoe. I've also found that a lot of the comfortable gel ones aren't that great as the gel is held in place by plastic - I've had to throw gel ones away because they gave me terrible blisters where the plastic around the gel cushioning rubbed my feet raw! I wear them in all my shoes and feel the difference very quickly if I'm not wearing them.

I also struggle with mental health, and to that end I've signed up to a facebook group called "RED January". It's an annual challenge supported by the mental health charity "Mind". RED stands for run every day, but actually the challenge is simply to be active every day, in whatever way works best for you. Everyone on the group is ridiculously supportive (and I mean that in the best possible way).

Chandelier. · 8 January 2019 at 5:57PM

Afternoon,

The last couple of days have been quite busy. January seems to be turning into an expensive month so far and I'm not even sure why!

I've ensured all my bank accounts are up to date and ticking over nicely so I have no worries there. I have also received my monzo card ans set it up fully so I can now see what I'm spending straight away. I suppose that's the beauty of that account.

I went on the date last night, it seemed to go well and conversation flowed nicely but I'm not 100% sure what I thought of it. We initially spoke lots but it seems to have dwindled a bit. I've decided to play it cool and I'll just see where it ends up. He seems nice enough but I think I'm overthinking it a bit too much. I'm going to cut back on the conversation and see if he initiates contact first from now on. I paid half towards the bill as I don't like others paying for me- I like to pay my way. The meal was nice but not anything to go mad on. I think the total came to £21 which wasn't bad considering the usual prices of the place.

I was suppose to meet a friend today for food but I accidentally slept in far too late. It's really messed up my day so I'll rearrange that at some point.

I've the rest of the week off and really need to sort a lot of things out. It's nearly half the week gone already and I haven't achieved a great deal. Maybe it would help me to start writing to do lists again to keep myself accountable.

Today has been another spend day. I've ordered myself some new daily contact lenses which are £13.50 for the month. I don't actually use them daily so they last me quite a while. I've also ordered some perfume roll ones from a site recommended by a friend. They are knock offs of the original perfumes and are cheap so I've ordered three seperate ones totalling £12.50., I figured I can use them for work rather then my expensive ones which are for really for special occasions. Once I get them, I will report back on them!

Pink, would you mind if I ask you some tips on travelling around Italy or pick your brains about it. That is the main destination the boy wants to explore.

All my saving pots are still intact which is good. I seem to be on track.

I have the boys childcare fees to pay but I'm unable to do so as there is a glitch in the system. I've contacted the school and they are onto this. It makes me feel itchy not being able to pay them like I usually do.

I've still under half a tank of petrol left from last month so will refuel when needed. I tend to put in £30 at a time and usually fill twice a month.

I'm off to pick the boy up shortly and we will be heading straight to football. I need to talk to them re setting up a direct debit as it doesnt seem to have gone out.

I've paid the boys fees for some things from his recent skating show. This was for a DVD and for tickets to the aftershow party which is in a few weeks.

I've looked over the past recent months bank account statements for my main back account. They look rather messy and all over the place so I'm hoping now that I've tidied up the accounts a bit, they will be more straight forward and simple.

Anyway, I should probably crack on with the rest of my day. I might attempt sorting out some of my bedroom and find a home for things.

pinknsparkly · 8 January 2019 at 8:15PM

Feel free to pick my brain - are there any particular questions you've got? Point me in a vague direction topic-wise and I'll happily spew words at you :beer:

At least the date was pleasant and not an awkward one! I'm not sure whether to say "hope you hear from him soon" or "hope you meet another one soon" but either way, things have a way of working out for the best. There's just sometimes a bunch of **** in the way that has to be got through first!

If anyone other than me ever looked at my bank statements they'd be horrified. I'm fairly sure mine "look" worse than yours do as I'm always moving money around to and from various pots! But if you can, simple is preferable! I've done the opposite today and moved a bunch more money around plus applied for a new account (but at least it's an account switch so I won't have any MORE accounts once it's done!)..... :rotfl:

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