The mindful MFW: A healthy, happy journey to a mortgage free life!

museumworker · 3 October 2017 at 6:53PM

Thanks PP! We've made some great savings already (which begs the question what the heck was I doing before

but onwards and upwards!)

Dowloaded YNAB, with free 34 day trial. Have started setting up accounts, adding transactions, and allocating monies but still getting my head around it. Not helped by the fact that I know I need to spend more than will come in this month! It has made me pull out £157 sitting in the mortgage account earmarked for overpayment into the current, and also acknowledge a severe grocery buying issue! I only have £35 left in the grocery budget til the end of the month :eek: although am due a few refunds I am going to be strict and try to stick to the YNAB system and not spend them before they come in.

Have had my NU$ discount applied to my Am@zon pr!me account - 6 months free, plus a £30 refund, then £39 a year instead of £79. Yay! :j That NU$ card has definitely paid for itself (and the course) already, and still have 10 months more to run. I also got a free month on Pr!me for complaining that a guaranteed next day delivery didn't arrive the next day. :money:

£1.18 spent from pocket money for birthday mini cake for friend at work. Lunch and snacks from stores. DD1 needs £17 for a hoodie for a school sponsored event. Why the parents have to pay I'm unclear, I have asked for a receipt much to her annoyance.

Collected Mr S coat shopping, am only keeping 2 of them for the very youngest so need to take the rest back for £105 refund.

Almost come to the end of a project at work have been leading on, final push this week then next week I'll start my 4 day weeks

. Will be a relief to have the project finished and also start catching up with some rest.

wishingthemortgaheaway · 3 October 2017 at 7:24PM

Busy busy day.
Persevere with YNAB it really doesn't work. It's hard to start with because it encpurages you to get to the point where you are working a month ahead. I've never got to that point, but when I was paid on the 20th month I made that my 'available to budget' for the following month. So the money sat in my account for half a month before it was used.

I use to iPhone app to record transactions (as I spend rather than when they appear on the online banking) on the iPad app you can Tilly tidy really easily from the pots, which you can't do on the phone app. And you can 'fill your pots' on the iPad app too. I only really use the desktop version to add/change the pots.

museumworker · 3 October 2017 at 10:33PM

museumworker wrote: »

Hard sums:

Down £520 my salary - ongoing from October, if agreed can reduce to three days a week
Down £1400 on OH's salary from Sep-Mar, due to increased pension contributions
Plus from Sep extra cost of £150pm for DD1 music schools

Savings made so far = £125pm
£5pm mobile
£12pm broadband
£18pm national lottery
£83pm gym membership
£7pm DD1 group membership

Potential savings = £668pm
£110pm saving on childcare DD2 (guesstimate, not given exact costs yet!)
£85pm saving on DS childcare
£25-£100pm food savings through meal planning
£10pm lunch savings - send OH in with lunch x2 a week
£50pm travel savings - planning to cycle in to work most days
£260pm holiday travel savings (spent £4K this year, hope to get down to £800 next year!)
£8pm savings on insurance (home/travel/car) - hopefully more
£38pm savings on DD1 music lessons (included with extra cost)
£7pm energy (use dryer less, switch deals)

Additional income: (+£340pm)
£100pm from blog/side hustles/comping (more if manage £10 a day challenge)
£240pm child benef!t

So possibly £793 savings a month and £340 additional income = £1133 a month to offset reduced income and additional costs.

Just revisiting this - have now saved £18pm on home insurance, £25pm on energy by swapping deals, £30pm on OH lunches, £150pm (ish

) on groceries.
Now saving £30pm on DD2 childcare, and life is one million times easier. This will go up to £210pm savings on childcare for DD2 when go down to 3 days a week, plus £50-£80pm savings on childcare for DS too.

This means saving an additional £253pm savings on top of the £125pm savings already mentioned.

On track for £250pm holiday savings too - once we get through this month that is :rotfl::rotfl:.

museumworker · 4 October 2017 at 9:33AM

Note to self: don't forget you can get an extra 20% off yellow stickered items at Waitr0se with PY0 offers.

Second note to self: Don't be so bloody hard on yourself! Sometimes I'll miss a trick and THAT'S OK! I am making huge changes to my shopping and money habits which will take time to imbed. Meanwhile my tired little brain can't be expected to remember EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE!

wishingthemortgaheaway · 4 October 2017 at 10:31AM

You do so well with your Waitrose shopping, you probably get it cheaper than you would if you shopped in Aldi. Enjoy the fact they are ys items.

museumworker · 5 October 2017 at 10:24AM

Good advice wish. Yesterday was one of those days I was very scatty and forgetful, so everything was a bit harder than it needed to be. But yes, the Waitr0se shops and stacking deals is one of the more successful sides of the last few months. I noticed I paid more for tinned foms in Lidl last week than I had for premium Italian branded versions :eek:!

Done
* Booked £12 model haircut at hairdressing academy (saving £18 vs budget)
* asked if £3 haircut voucher can be extended (no, but at least I asked)
* forgot water bottle so bought cheap water from supermarket rather than buy expensive bottles from train (90p from pocket money)
* submitted expense claim (£27)
* have lunch and snacks with me (although think getting free lunch so will keep sandwich back for later)
* paid £17 for DD1 hoodie from cash from focus group, so no impact on accounts
* 1.5kg half price YS pork added to freezer for slow cooker meal next week
* Ordered halif@x Cl@rity CC so can spend abroad with no fees
* transferred £243 of childcare vouchers for DD2 and set up regular payments

To do
* aak for DD1 prescription to be rewritten properly by doctor
* reclaim train fare
* submit mouthwash reclaim (£6.66)
* check current account and update YNAB
* pay for annual parking permit (thought that was next month

)
* apply free 3 month music trial to account
* send in trip form for DD1
* ask school for hoodie receipt
* buy card for DD1 (use student discount)
* confirm stays for holiday
* transfer OH childcare vouchers and set up automated deduction
* transfer outstanding amount to DD2 nursery
* set up auto deductions for DD2 nursery
* use £1 off shopping vouchers

wishingthemortgaheaway · 5 October 2017 at 12:01PM

So, not a busy day at all then?

Find time for a cuppa at least.

Wish.

museumworker · 6 October 2017 at 9:05AM

I did get a couple of cuppas in wish, plus a bit of thinking time on the train.

Just checked and looks like the marketing department got my message - the expiry date on the £3 haircut voucher has been extended until the end of the month so will now save £27 against the budgeted amount :j!

Bought DD1 pop-up card and sticker, using 20% student discount plus 15% discount, £4.50ish spent. We have her main present already.

Bit of filming for work, and I have a report to finish today so better get going. Have a good day everyone!

MWx

museumworker · 6 October 2017 at 9:04PM

Report finished, filming done, and out of office ON! Looking forward to a lovely weekend with the family. Have jobs to do but I think the most important one is to relax and enjoy ourselves.

MW x

wishingthemortgaheaway · 6 October 2017 at 9:20PM

Have a fabulous weekend.
Your weekend plans and mine are not hugely different.

The mindful MFW: A healthy, happy journey to a mortgage free life!

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free