Prosperous soul in the making

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  • That is great news about Barclays and well done for applying. The 8217 is a rather annoying glitch that happens when I use apostrophes and it is driving g me mad! Good luck saving, you are off to a great start.
    Finally Debt Free 24/4/2023 
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
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    Thank JWIL and Choccygirl. :A I am so thrilled. I have been struggling with flu followed by sinusitis for about a month - but getting the news this morning blew away some of the cobwebs and gave me fresh energy. I feel so much better for being able to help out my son too.

    I have paid off my Xmas spend CC £212.04 :j today so now just have my longer term cards to deal with. PO have sent me an offer where I can move a balance for 6 months at 0 cost :money:if I do it by the 15th. So thinking of doing it that - even though really I don't need it until 1 April. It would still give us some breathing room - and take us to 15 August which would be good. Alternatively I have a 20 month offer from a different card for 2.9% but I think I will get that again later so think I should do the free one for now.

    I need to pay £145.07 off X by 1 March and either pay or transfer £2608.55 by 1 April so they're my current focus. (2753.62). The PO card can only take £1800. My normal payments will take about £260 off between now and 1 April. So potentially I would pay £693.62 from my windfall and leave the rest as emergency funds / towards DS uni costs.

    I got OH to check the balance on one of his cards today - so excluding my Xmas CC spend that I cleared today - our debts currently stand at £46414.43.

    From reading other people's diaries - I think I need to go back to dividing up my savings pots / emergency fund into clothes, holiday, insurance, gifts etc. That probably worked for me the best. Our budget deteriorated last year when I stopped doing that and it meant that I had no guilt free spends which when you are a long hauler :o is an issue.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
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    Well tonight I am going to someone's leaving do and can take one of my bottle lights. Hope they like it.

    Had an NSD yesterday. I need to take some money out today for DD's dinners, my cleaner (not giving her up) and small spends.

    I need to get back on track with my diet. I am eating too much chocolate again - which is impacting my weight, sleep and giving me hot flushes - possibly due to the caffeine.

    I worked through my budget again last night:
    By the end of the Feb pay day period (which runs to mid month) I expect to be at £45446
    By the end of the March pay day period (with extra payment from windfall) I expect to be at £43507 :)
    (Leaving the spare cash stoozing until then).

    After that I have a CC which 0% expires in June which I need to tackle. I owe approx £5230 on that. I am due to pay that card £700 over that period - leaving a balance of £4530 to transfer / chip away at. I have a perfect credit score (part of the problem) so don't expect to have any issue getting a 0%. I tend to tart between existing cards rather than going for new ones as it is simpler but may check and see if I can get a longer term deal as that would help - or cashback from a new CC.

    I have asked OH to get a settlement figure for his car - and we will see if we can move it to a cheaper loan. I wonder how many times I will need to chase him. He is pretty good at not fritter spending (that's me) so I can't complain too much. Also it looks like on one of OH's card he may be paying more than the 0% rate so I will ask him to check and if so balance transfer it. I hope we sorted that out last Jan - but if we didn't he has been paying 4.9% for a year which would be irritating and unnecessary as we have cheaper transfer offers.

    Hope you are all having a good money saving day and thanks for reading :money:
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • I'm another who has savings money for annual spends and longer term stuff divided up into lots of pots and yes I've always found that works better for me too - the long term stuff is stashed aside, the ISA works as our emergency fund, and then I have individual accounts for car costs, household costs, holiday etc that get fed via automatic transfers at the start of each month. All that gets left in our personal accounts is our individual monthly spending money - which means at any given time we know exactly where we stand.

    Something else I've also found works for me is to start the week with a set amount in my purse - so I visit the cashpoint weekly, and take out sufficient to "build back up" to my level again. Unless we've got a weekend away or something the cashpoint doesn't then get visited again for another week. I've found this works well as a way of keeping track and then using that cash for all personal spends during the week does help to reduce frittering incidents.

    Hope the recipient of the bottle light loved it!
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00
    Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
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    Thanks EssexHebridean - I am moving around £1K out of the account each month to earn some interest - which is more than enough to cover my savings pots. What I've stopped doing though is individual savings pots and I definitely need to restart. Until my latest LBM - I've ended up transferring the £1K back before the end of the month just to stay out of overdraft. I can't remember how much my savings pots are supposed to be - but certainly this time last year I needed about £670 each month towards annual bills / savings goals.

    Currently thanks to the refund I got I have money still in my main bank account and some savings...

    I don't know if the recipient liked the pressie as they didn't open it in front of it but I showed other people who all liked it. (It was in a gift bag).
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
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    Sorry I've been absent for a week. I have had a manic week - was away at the weekend.

    I've given a couple of people bottle lights recently and they loved them so that's good news. On the money front, spent a bit more than planned recently. Had to buy DD a new coat and shoes - but got both for £50 in total so not too bad. I also have an important meeting this week so bought a new top for that. Completely overspent on food this month - so something to tackle next pay month that starts this weekend.

    Checked and OH's card is on interest free until the end of the year so that's good.

    Need to send meter readings to old and new utility company - will then get a final bill - think we owe currently as monthly DD set too low for our usage
    OH still needs to get a settlement figure for his car - so we can see if can get a cheaper loan
    If I'm doing the free balance transfer I need to do it today/tomorrow - have cleared that card so should be able to move £1800 for free for 6 months - will see if I can do that right now.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • Welcome back Saving H. It's lovely to see a familiar face
    Total (Aug 19):€58,567 Now:€26,947
    DFD:Nov 22/June 22
    Mortgage: €199,712
    MFD: March 2042/July 2034
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
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    Just moved the £1800 which is a relief as was able to do it for 6 months at £0 cost...! So on track to clear what I need to by 1 April which is when my next 0% finishes (after the 1 March one).
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    Just looked at my free credit report and decided to pay £33.52 off a card to lower my % of credit used on that card. For those who keep track of such things - checking my finance data - I found some balances were slightly higher than I thought when I started the diary - I had missed one of OH's debts out.

    Dec-Jan pay day balance was £47512
    Jan-Feb pay day balance was £46730 including latest payment
    Feb-March aim to get to £45554
    Mar-Apr aim to get to £43617 (slightly higher debt figure than I hoped due to starting debt being higher)
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 27,092
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    Forumite
    I've been paid which is good so that restarts my pocket money. Today I went to charity shops for materials for my crafts. As well as any money making potential - doing crafts helps keep me sane!!! They also make useful gifts.

    * Managed to get 3 hexagonal glasses for £2.50 (total) that I am hoping to glass paint and sell for more like £10-12 each.
    * Got some nice glass bowls for £2 for 3 that I am hoping to make into candle holders
    * Got 3 sets of beads for 99p each which I am hoping to make into a heart shaped hanging decoration - perhaps adding buttons, old clip on earrings and other bits and piece to it. May even make more than one. I think I could sell a heart on Etsy for £15-20 each.
    * I struck it really lucky in one charity shop as I walked in as someone donated a large plastic carrying case full of ready made hexagonal quilting shapes, spare materials (fat quarters) and threads and scissors, tape measure and special plastic measuring thing. I got it for £5!! :jI need to ask a friend to teach me how to make some stuff with it. Failing that I have been looking at Pinterest and other places for ideas. I fancy making a heart shape or a rabbit. Could make several items out of it as the box is say almost A3 size but square and at least a couple of inches deep.
    * I also got a hanging picture frame with a couple of hearts on it for £2.

    I then had a belated valentine's lunch with OH (we agreed to wait until my payday) and we then went to a National Trust property and had a 3 mile or so walk. The most I've walked this year so far.

    This evening I ate leftovers and then have made crafts. Experimented with adding blue food colouring to a small sample of chalk paint which worked. Have sponged white and blue chalk paint onto bottles and jars and then added embossing power to give a glittery effect. Looks really nice. (I had previously put some decoupage on them - book and nature characters...)

    I have also sponged the white frame I bought with the blue chalk paint- and took off the two hanging heart picture frames. I want to use them separately and put other smaller hearts on the frame with messages on. I felt the original hearts were oversized compared to the frame which was probably why someone donated it to charity in the first place. I already have spare hearts that I got half price at H0bbycr"ft a few weeks ago. I have even decorated some already so will see if any of them are suitable for this.

    I also bought about £12 of craft items in The Works including gift tags, ribbon, glitter, wooden letters, double sided sticky tape and some plastic covers for cards that I make/have made.

    A friend gave me around 20 empty jars this week :j - really nice candle jars with lids etc. So they are currently in the dishwasher getting clean and shiny ready for decorating. I am hoping to glass paint some of them to start with and then see what else they need if anything.. May decoupage some of the others. Still debating whether to sell them empty or whether to buy candle wax and add that. It would increase the cost and effort to me if I add candles but may not improve the selling price so need to weigh up the advantages / disadvantages of that and likely costs.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26% (lower post move compensated by EF) plus spent £10K+ on home improvements/emergency repairs
    2) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £8.063/£127,466 AVC target 6.32%
    3) FI Age 60 annual income target £12,500/30,000 41.66%
    Achievements: CC free since April 22. 1 year EF from Jan 24 & dedicated pot for home improvements
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