A long journey ahead...

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  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 15,445
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    Well done on the OPs and sorry you didn't get anything back from management company. On plus side though at least you don't owe them anything. Do you not get back the £150 retention?
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts 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 and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • debtfreeforlife
    debtfreeforlife Posts: 215 Forumite
    edited 11 April 2018 at 9:39PM
    Well the journey has just become a little longer :(

    Good points - I am now paying an extra £100 a month into my pension. Which is before tax, so is about an extra £80 from my salary.

    Also I am actually within the groceries budget this month (although not updated my signature). Also well within the petrol budget for the following reason...

    Bad points - my lovely new car, bought last October, is no more :( I was in an accident a fortnight ago and my car has been written off. So mortgage overpayment is on hold right now and redirected to the car insurance envelope until I know more about the cost fallout. So annoyed at myself but all I can do is be grateful I have an emergency budget and have been saving for car insurance etc. My parents have very kindly loaned me some money until I get the insurance pay out to buy a new car.

    BUT on the plus side - I and the driver of the other car are safe, which is the most important thing. Just need to make sure I save in other areas to address the car insurance increase so it doesn't derail additional mortgage repayments.
  • It's been a while since I've posted here but think I need to get my butt back in gear again and focused on paying down the mortgage - I've had quite a lot of expenses in the past few months due to various expenses to the flat, plus the cost of replacing my old car. Car insurance almost covered everything but not quite, and it certainly didn't cover the additional £60 of phone calls over two months due to a whole load of faff in making a claim plus who knows how much in public transport while I was minus the car. Thankfully it's all been resolved now and claim paid out, new car purchased, and parents repaid.

    Have also booked a holiday for later on this year - feel a bit bad for doing so, but the money was sat in savings and I feel very strongly about having a sensible balance between enjoying money and saving sensibly. I'd like to go with a reasonable amount of spending money, but I'm determined that won't come from savings - every penny I spend on that holiday will come from money saved from the three paycheques I have until then. I'm also going to set myself a target to put an equal amount away to pay to the mortgage as I am saving for the holiday.

    The main way I'm going to do that is by dropping the groceries bill significantly - mine is higher than the average partly because I try and buy ethically, but also because I get lazy and buy lunch from the supermarket (neither MSE friendly NOR ethical). So that bad habit ends today and I'll be tracking all the savings that come from it! Tactics I'm putting in place are buying 'less healthy' food to take into work - so having a usual sandwich and crudites/hummous etc, but also taking in a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar. I figure if I prepare for the inevitable that is me wanting something less healthy (rather than only taking salads/boring lunches in), I can beat my brain.

    Wish me luck!
  • JennyP
    JennyP Posts: 1,067
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    Really enjoying reading your diary.



    So sensible to take a bit of naughty food to work too. I don't work anymore but when I did, I'd always end up blowing money on an afternoon sugary snack. Far more sensible to bring treats from home.



    Where are you going on holiday to?
  • enthusiasticsaver
    enthusiasticsaver Posts: 15,445
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    Nothing wrong with spending money on treats or holidays so long as budgeted for so it sounds like you have a good balance in enjoying the present whilst also taking care of the future by overpaying pension and mortgage.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free Wannabe, Budgeting and Banking and Savings and Investment boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts 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 and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Thanks both! And glad you are enjoying the diary Jenny, I'm not terribly regular but planning to post more in the leadup to the holiday to keep me on track for savings! We are going on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords - I am so excited as it is one of the places I would most love to see. Can't wait to start booking trips.



    The tactics with food are going relatively well but I think I need to start keeping the naughty food in the locker at work rather than taking it into work - it's too tempting to have at home! However I cooked a week's worth of lunch at the beginning of the week - quinoa, roasted veg, lentils, which I have hot with some spinach chucked in just before it is microwaved, mixed seeds and nuts and hummous which I am currently keeping at work. Really delicious and super filling. I am going to do the same next week but with tofu and different veg to mix it up.


    Things are going relatively well on the groceries spend but I have promised to bring a trifle to a friend's baby shower this weekend. I am not a confident cook for other people so wanted to try it first in a mini dish - seems to have gone well thankfully, so I will start the main event on Friday morning and cross my fingers...
  • Food sounds lovely! :) Sorry you didn't get the job but hopefully it's because something better is just around the corner;)

    Hope you enjoy/enjoyed your holibobs!!! :D
  • Thanks squirrelgirl! Holibobs are from beginning of September, we've now booked trips and I'm VERY excited. Just need to order some spending money now and think about clothing etc. Trying to lose weight so reluctant to go on a shopping spree.



    Back on track after a spendy month or so (I keep saying that and then I keep not getting back on track). But the strategy I introduced at the beginning of last year, which is redirecting yearly savings requirements into 'envelopes' at the beginning of the month is still holding true. I'm spending up to the budgets every month and a bit beyond that last month, because it's been harder than I expected to adapt to a reduced income with my additional pension payment coming out each month - really want to be coming in under budget. But I can still see the holiday, mortgage op, emergency, christmas, car, service/ground rent and household maintenance pots growing each month - so all in all could be worse. I had to borrow from the emergency pot this month due to a few unexpected extra charges, but reminding myself that's what it's for.



    Today is all about meal planning and seeing where I can cut some bills/make some extra £. I've signed up to a car sharing scheme for travel to work which will hopefully offset the recent increase in petrol and hoping someone will respond fairly shortly. Also about to switch mobile providers (I'm sim only and paying £16 a month due to my own laziness, although that does include an extra data bundle) and see if I can reduce the landline/tv/internet without actually changing providers because I like my provider and, nach, am lazy. Have looked at energy provider but not sure I can get it any cheaper and also I like their ethics.


    Also need to start thinking about dealing with the fixed mortgage coming to an end in October and what I'm going to do about that, really want to try and get both products on the same renewal timescale.
  • hope your holibobs are fab!! :)
  • debtfreeforlife
    debtfreeforlife Posts: 215 Forumite
    edited 11 October 2019 at 9:14PM
    Over a year since I have posted!!:eek:


    In that time I've renewed my mortgage, saving approx £100 a month, and been lucky enough to get a promotion and pay rise. I'm saving £400 p/m into either emergency savings or long term savings but making sure I have money available for the things I like as I'm in this for the long haul.



    I'll hit the £3,000 mark on my emergency savings next month which is a huge shock - I never ever thought I would have that much allocated purely to an emergency fund. I think after that I'll stop as I have a permanent job with good sickness pay, and reallocate that into my longer term savings, currently at approx £800. That's purely for either moving house or replacing my car. I'm aiming for 5k in that by the end of next year. I'll update as I go!


    Eta: Just read back and seen that I'd commented on my new envelopes savings plan in my last post. It's not an exaggeration to say that that was life changing for me. So in each month approx £400 goes to short term savings for car, Christmas etc on top of the longer term savings and emergency fund.
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