Busy Mee's Last Leg

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  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    That is a good idea and maybe I will be able to go on a world cruise courtesy of the banks :rotfl:
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 7,824
    Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic First Anniversary Name Dropper
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    After finding your new diary last time Busy Mee, I forgot to subscribe! Subscribed now and all caught up.

    Well done for doing a spending diary and facing facts. I think DH and I should do one, but I start with good intentions and peter out after a day or two.... hmm....

    A cruise courtesy of the banks sounds brilliant!!
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
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    Re your S&S ISA - it is not the fact you have one, it is what you invest in within it that determines its' success or failure.

    The idea is to measure it over a minimum of 3-5 years. You do not say what mix of shares/funds/cash/bonds you have there or who with so hard to comment constructively.

    I believe I am fairly cautious and so ours (in DH's name) uses a mix of three funds - two actively managed and one computerised algorithm tracker and then a couple of tiny share holdings, intended to add dividend, rather than capital growth. I remain cautiously optimistic.
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    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 Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    Hello I am back from our travels. We had an amazing time and I wish I could share on here where we have been, we have had such a brilliant time. Unfortunately I think it would "out" me in RL and I share too much financial information on here.

    I am definitely in the space that money spent on travel is worth every penny, the memories of what we have seen and the wonderful people we have met will stay with me for ever. I actually would rather forgo a few months early retirement than give up travellling.

    Hopefully I will be able to continue to have my "YS cake and still eat it". :rotfl: So we are back to it and hopefully a frugal summer.

    I have given my head a good shake about the spending in April, in fact just before we went away I returned £75 worth of clothing because I DIDNT NEED IT ! And I really didn't , I wouldn't have worn it on holiday. I seem to got back into old habits around spending on clothes and I am going to have a ban on buying any new clothes for the summer. I have loads and don't need anything new.

    I am happy to report that we returned with some cash and since our return we have been eating up out of the cupboards and freezer, including some out of date crisps and bacon.....and we are still here to tell the tale :rotfl:. I finally went shopping at the weekend to Lidl for the weekend deals ( cheese, cheese biscuits and G&T in a tin .....ideal for picnics). I also picked up a good haul of YS stuff in Aldi and M&S and the freezer is now full again.

    I have done the bank account patrol to harvest the interest and rewards and the amount of free money that has gone into the O&S account stands at £581.63. This amount is sadly not intact because it sits in my Santander Lite account and I have effectively paid double Gas and Electricity last month ( an extra £200 :eek:), because we are in the process of switching. I am hoping that some of this will be refunded back when our previous energy account is closed.

    My emergency/holiday fund is creeping up and stands at £256.03 ( a combination of DDs board and some expenses).

    I am busy thinking about a proper budget for June and will share this later. But I have a few goals for the summer:

    No new clothes
    No using the tumble dryer
    Use my smaller more economical car at the weekend
    Get my head around stocks and shares ( Thanks to Suffolkgirl for reading suggestions on Jimmy's thread)
    Get out and enjoy the good weather whenever it is good...indoor jobs will wait.

    I think that is all for now, I am currently on the train to London making hay with the free WIFI and eating my 33p porridge pot :)
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,306
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    Ooh, no more tumble drier - I have to confess my winter routine is ten minutes TB then hang them on hangers on the Gnu rail in the boiler cupboard - which mean no ironing. My rationale is that a) I hate ironing, b) cheaper than ironing to run the TB for ten minutes c) [STRIKE]I hate ironing[/STRIKE] err, it is easier.

    In the summer, everything goes on the line and then five minutes in the TB before hanging overnight to make sure there are no creases or gribblies in the clothing before putting away.
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    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 Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
  • try_harder
    try_harder Posts: 1,527
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    So very pleased to see you back Busy Mee1 . It sounds as if you had the most wonderful holiday , its so nice when everything goes well . I must say that i do love my holidays and in my case the cheapest ones always seem to turn out to be the best which is even better
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 7,824
    Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic First Anniversary Name Dropper
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    Glad you had a lovely holiday Busy Mee!

    We don't have a tumble drier - never have had one!

    TH - I agree, there's something very satisfying about a cheap holiday :D
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    Morning all and thank you TH, MadVix and Suffolk lass for the welcome back.
    I seem to have come back to extreme busyness at work and at home, but MS continues as usual. We are limping along until pay day on Thursday and I have scraped the bottom of a few barrels to ensure we meet our savings target. The FD switching bonus has been received ( sadly this will be the last one) and our M&S regular saver matured at midnight on Friday. Rather disconcertingly it disappeared from my online banking on Friday but apparently will appear again on Tuesday, along with the interest. In other MSE news my Nectar points are up to £16.13 as a result of Nectar Canvass surveys and sending Mr Mee for his petrol to Sainsbreeze ( 10x Nectar points this weekend folks). I also went to Lidl for the weekend deals ( bacon, crisps and fruit cider )

    After the horror of tracking my spends in April, I have been trying to work out a budget for June.
    I think it will look something like this:

    Food £250 (grocery shopping)
    Personal. £150 (clothes/hair etc)
    Petrol. £200
    Entertainment. £150 (eating out etc)
    House. £150 (gardener and window cleaner.....yes I know we could do it ourselves)
    Medical. £30 (dentist/ prescription)

    Total £930

    I realise this is quite generous but this needs to be a budget we can live with, without having to knit our own sandals ( or give up the gardener - we have a huge garden and he only comes in the summer) . I am just trying to stop money leaking out without any thought and to reduce our monthly credit card bills. Only personal, petrol and entertainment spending will go on the credit card, everything else will come out of the current account. I will track all my spends again through June and report back.
  • try_harder
    try_harder Posts: 1,527
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    Morning Busy Mee1 . I hope that things have quietened down slightly for you this week .

    What a brilliant run you have had with the banks , its a pity you have come to the end but you have done really well out of them

    I am looking forward to your final figures i am just about to work mine out too , i think i have done much better this month after an awful April
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 89,801
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    All sounding good.
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

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