Get a grip !

Skint_yet_Again
Skint_yet_Again Posts: 7,509
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edited 25 November 2018 at 7:52AM in How much have you saved?
.....25/11/2018 ......
I have decided to update as its been ages since I started this thread and so much has changed including my priorities.....

We gained a puppy after starting this thread and although she is a handful she has given me something to focus on and to get up for each day.

DS split from one long-term gf and is now several months into a new relationship and started a new job and seems very happy.



Sadly DM passed away suddenly this year and I miss her every day. Then DF was seriously ill in hospital with sepsis and almost died but thankfully he found the strength to pull through and is making a full recovery physically. We are supporting one another emotionally as a family.



I started this thread with the focus on saving some money. That hasn't happened and I have ended up with some debt on a 0% credit card but it is being paid off as planned and I am still managing to pay all bills and still have some money to spend with friends. I am planning to start saving for an emergency fund in the new year 2019.
0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

Living off savings diary
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
«134567476

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  • Skint_yet_Again
    Skint_yet_Again Posts: 7,509
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 11:38AM
    ...Savings so far


    1. December car insurance renewal £350 !! Switched to direct line £193.60.


    2. Dec - gas & electric fixed term ended - switched to co-op Festive tariff & got £30 vouchers to spend in co-op thus reducing grocery bill


    3. Dec received co-op membership card got £5 vouchers (old divi) spent on xmas stocking filler chocolates for DS


    4. opened new bank account to put long term savings into at £100 per month


    5. switched current account to a reward account without switching bank & now getting rewards on household bills should make about £50 a year after monthly fee taken off so will go towards Christmas presents / food


    6. ordered a "green" bin from the council saving 25% with code & went halves with a neighbour to save trips to the tip with garden waste which are becoming more physically difficult for me. Cost £15 a year but saves petrol.


    7. monthly budget worked out. Now need to stick to it !!
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • Skint_yet_Again
    Skint_yet_Again Posts: 7,509
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 12:01PM
    So here's my SOA


    Household Information[/b]
    Number of adults in household........... 1
    Number of children in household.........
    Number of cars owned.................... 1
    Monthly Income Details

    Monthly income after tax................ 1076.75
    Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
    Benefits................................ 0
    Other income............................ 260
    Total monthly income.................... 1336.75

    Monthly Expense Details

    Mortgage................................ 208
    Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
    Rent.................................... 0
    Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
    Council tax............................. 128
    Electricity............................. 58
    Gas..................................... 0
    Oil..................................... 0
    Water rates............................. 44
    Telephone (land line)................... 0
    Mobile phone............................ 7
    TV Licence.............................. 12.12
    Satellite/Cable TV...................... 38
    Internet Services....................... 0
    Groceries etc. ......................... 300
    Clothing................................ 0
    Petrol/diesel........................... 40
    Road tax................................ 0
    Car Insurance........................... 0
    Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 28.28
    Car parking............................. 0
    Other travel............................ 0
    Childcare/nursery....................... 0
    Other child related expenses............ 0
    Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
    Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
    Buildings insurance..................... 0
    Contents insurance...................... 0
    Life assurance ......................... 0
    Other insurance......................... 0
    Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 50
    Haircuts................................ 0
    Entertainment........................... 50
    Holiday................................. 0
    Emergency fund.......................... 0
    long term savings ...................... 100
    savings for bills....................... 100
    union fees.............................. 7.76
    Total monthly expenses.................. 1171.16


    Assets

    Cash.................................... 0
    House value (Gross)..................... 220000
    Shares and bonds........................ 0
    Car(s).................................. 5000
    Other assets............................ 0
    Total Assets............................ 225000


    Secured & HP Debts

    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    Mortgage...................... 29738....(208)......2.25
    Total secured & HP debts...... 29738.....-.........-

    Unsecured Debts
    Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
    car loan parent................5580......160.......0
    Total unsecured debts..........5580......160.......-


    Monthly Budget Summary

    Total monthly income.................... 1,336.75
    Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,171.16
    Available for debt repayments........... 165.59
    Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 160
    Amount left after debtrepayments....... 5.59

    Personal Balance Sheet Summary
    Total assets (things you own)........... 225,000
    Total HP & Secured debt................. -29,738
    Total Unsecured debt.................... -5,580
    Net Assets.............................. 189,682

    Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.[/font]


    I was very lucky that my parents offered to lend me money to buy a car interest free rather than get a bank loan. This should be paid back by 1/1/2020 at £160 a month. I can't manage without a car unfortunately.


    I am putting £50 a month into xmas savings and £100 a month into a bills account to cover bills paid once a year such as car insurance, line rental saver, house insurance, car tax, and this will include household upkeep & plus replacement white goods etc plus clothes.


    I am paying my poll tax and water rates over 10 months so the 2 months these are not paid the money will be put into a holiday fund which I usually use to visit family a couple of times a year (300 miles away)

    Long term savings are now £100 a month to go towards leaving job/selling house / paying off mortgage early


    ETA - I forgot to add emergency fund currently £500

    That leaves me around £50 a month for myself. I don't go out often but mainly visit friends with bottle wine / shop-bought pizza or they come to me. If we go out for a meal we try to use vouchers. This will also cover any takeaways which I am trying to avoid ! (for finances & waist-line reasons ;) )
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • savingwannabe
    savingwannabe Posts: 16,610
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 12:18PM
    Howdy. Welcome and well done in posting. Someone clever will come along in a minute. Unless I read this incorrectly you are saving which is good.

    This year I invested in a freeview box - you can get them cheap from fleabay (used ones) and cancel your cable. You can get cheap deals on basic phone and internet at the moment and that should reduce paying out £38 a month on cable. I only pay £17.99 to sky for broadband and unlimited free phonecalls.

    Also take sarnies to work. I can't believe how much I have saved.

    You can switch your current account to TSB and make £125 in thirty or forty days plus if you pay on your debit card when you do shopping you get cashback up to £5 a month.

    Also put your savings into an account with a high rate of interest. Current accounts like M&S have additional benefits like mine has a 6% savings account attached but I can only save £250 in it. However I have also had £125 cash and am getting £120 ish of vouchers which I give to parents. My Tesco kitchen account is earning £7.50 a month interest.

    If you want to buy anything look at fleabay first as people sell the same things much cheaper on it.

    Do you have old cds, dvds, books, furniture, clothes, Christmas presents you don't want that you can put on fleabay when they have free listing days?

    Can you rent out a room?

    If you have a car can you drive to an aldi or lidl for main shopping as they are cheaper than regular shops. And do extra top up shopping at traditional shops.

    Can you do surveys on the 'puter and get amazon vouchers and use them for Christmas?

    Always watch Martins Moneysaving Programme on Mondays.

    Keep posting and Welcome. :beer::j:money:
    Aiming for a minimal spend 2022
  • Am not feeling so good today, have got some sort of throat infection which is making me feel grotty, so I don't think I will be doing much today !


    I've started a food plan for the week to avoid takeaway craving and have started a spending diary to make sure I don't go over budget for the month. I seem to have been doing top up shops at the local co-op and spending £5 here and there which all adds up and the food bill has steadily been creeping up. I will have to be more disciplined and just shop once a week in Aldi


    I've done my banking this morning and moved £100 into long term savings for the month. I've also set up a standing order so this goes out on the 1st of the month from March.


    The new "green" bin should arrive this week. My neighbour gave me the £15 cash for his half so I will count that as part of my £50 spends this month and move £15 of the money in my account to my credit card bill.


    The weather is dull here in the south but dry and breezy so I've got 2 loads of washing out on the line. I think I have a bit of a temperature as I'm boiling so no heating on today so far !


    Planning for a NSD/NPD
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • Skint_yet_Again
    Skint_yet_Again Posts: 7,509
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 12:24PM
    Hi savingwannabe thanks for replying and for all the great advice !


    Wow £17.99 for broadband and phone - does that include your line rental ?


    We do have freeview in the kitchen but TBH usually just watch the news in a morning when having breakfast. I don't go out often so watching tv is part of my entertainment I suppose and most of the tv programmes I watch are not on freeview channels unfortunately. DS also pays half the bill so I will wait till he leaves home then consider ditching it


    I don't take lunch to work as I start at 6.30am and finish at 12.30 so I eat lunch at home which is usually leftovers / batch cooked meals from the freezer warmed up in the microwave, or home made soup, or sometimes just morrisons value curry noodles 3 for £1 at the moment on offer with some veg stir fried with soy, garlic, ginger.


    Yes, after covering all my bills / outgoings and a small "going out" pot I am saving £100 a month. Not a huge amount but its a start. I'll take a look at those bank accounts you have mentioned. Thanks
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • savingwannabe
    savingwannabe Posts: 16,610
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    Hi savingwannabe thanks for replying and for all the great advice !


    Wow £17.99 for broadband and phone - does that include your line rental ?
    Yes have a look at MSE at top of main page and click on utilities and phones. They also gave me a £75 pound mastercard voucher which I could spend on anything!!!!!!!! I get more channels on Freesat (sorry I forgot it was Freesat and not Freeview) that I hadn't even heard of and my box thingy does recording and allsorts.

    We do have freeview in the kitchen but TBH usually just watch the news in a morning when having breakfast. I don't go out often so watching tv is part of my entertainment I suppose and most of the tv programmes I watch are not on freeview channels unfortunately. DS also pays half the bill so I will wait till he leaves home then consider ditching it


    I don't take lunch to work as I start at 6.30am and finish at 12.30 so I eat lunch at home which is usually leftovers / batch cooked meals from the freezer warmed up in the microwave, or home made soup, or sometimes just morrisons value curry noodles 3 for £1 at the moment on offer with some veg stir fried with soy, garlic, ginger.

    Crumbs you are better than me. Well done. I am learning to do this this year.

    Yes, after covering all my bills / outgoings and a small "going out" pot I am saving £100 a month. Not a huge amount but its a start. I'll take a look at those bank accounts you have mentioned. Thanks


    Again all of the current account offers are on main page under current account. also consider how much interest you are currently getting on your savings and maybe move those accounts as well.

    :o Apologies I forgot how to do the quote thing. I do make a pig's !!!! of things but my heart is in the right place. Someone smart will come along in a bit and add more. :money:
    Aiming for a minimal spend 2022
  • bobobski
    bobobski Posts: 771
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    Hiya

    Just a couple of thoughts from me:
    1. Don't forget to register as a single occupier when your son moves out, so you only pay 75% of the usual council tax.
    2. I agree that the TV situation is on the expensive side - personally I don't pay TV licence and only watch Netflix (at £6 per month it's half the cost of the TV licence, let alone cable!). But if you do use it, I don't see a lot wrong with it.
    3. Internet-wise, I pay £25 per month including line rental for unlimited fibre optic. Are you near the end of your contract? I followed Martin's guide to haggling to a tee with both my broadband and my mobile and got great deals.
    4. Groceries are a little on the expensive side if it's £300 per month just for you, although I feel your pain as that's my most obvious place to cut down and I find it hard. Do you buy a lot of premium products or alcohol or anything? Can you bring this figure down? Even a saving of £10 per week will go a long way.

    Good luck :)
  • Skint_yet_Again
    Skint_yet_Again Posts: 7,509
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 6:11PM
    Hi bobobski thanks for replying.


    I'm not sure when DS will leave home as rents are so expensive here in the south. Hopefully once his gf leaves uni later this year she will get a job and they will save and get somewhere together !


    The food is for both me and DS who eats a high protein diet due to his weightlifting. He pays half the utilities, the 25% discount I lost when he left college and the rest is food. (included on SOA as other income)


    To be honest £300 is worse case scenario taking into account a 5 week month at £60 a week. I get most things in Aldi now and its usually £50-£60 a week. No booze as I'm diabetic so trying to cut down on empty calories & sugar and DS doesn't drink often due to his job - he commutes an hour each way to work on a shift pattern that changes every 2 days.


    Sorry I should have explained the tv of £38 is Virgin media package of TV M+ and unlimited superfibre 50 broadband and phone with free weekend calls to landlines. I usually phone my family at the weekends and any other time use my sim-only mobile which includes 250 minutes a month and unlimited texts and a small amount of data which I don't use at the moment. It also includes a TiVo box and an extra HD box for DS in bedroom. I pay line rental using the VM line rental saver which usually saves a bit per year but my deal is coming to an end soon so I am looking around to see if I can get cheaper.


    I am glad to have joined you all today in this moneysaving journey. I've been umming and ahhing about whether to post on the Debtfree wannabee or mortgage free wannabee but neither seemed to fit my circumstances and I came across this part of the site today for the first time.


    Had a good day overall despite feeling grotty. Got most of the washing dried outside and the heating has been off all day. A NSD/NPD and about to have some dinner with DS before he sets off to work on night shift. An early night for me I think try and shift this lurgy in time to get up for work at 5.30am


    Thanks for making me feel welcome !
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
  • savingwannabe
    savingwannabe Posts: 16,610
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    edited 5 February 2017 at 7:27PM
    We are dead glad you joined here. All threads are nice and welcoming. I am sure i have seen a moneysaving thread like this on the banking thread and everyone was really nice on there. We do get the odd troll but they usually buzz off eventually.

    OMG. This is so spooky. We have a heck of a lot in common. Holy moly. We could be twins. Except I'm an old maid and bonkers.

    On the tv front you might write down a list of the tv channels do you watch? Then check to see if they are on freesat. I was gobsmacked I got more on Freesat than on Virgin. You might get another box for son's bedroom from ebay it would be a bargain price? All phone calls are free and broadband so you might want to use it more often.

    Have you thought of getting What's App for free texts to family and friends for your mobile?

    You should also look at the MSE Elite shopping thread on the shopping board where they talk about food money saving and offers. 3dogs is on it and she always finds food bargains. I have a store cupboard from her of all these amazing shampoo and fabric conditioner and soap things that were bought dead cheap. I tend not to get the tinned and processed offers as I am trying to cut back same as you to sort out sugars.

    Hurrah.:beer::j:money::D:T:A:) Am trying not to sound like a stalker. lol. :rotfl:
    Aiming for a minimal spend 2022
  • .
    OMG. This is so spooky... We could be twins.
    Hurrah.:beer::j:money::D:T:A:) Am trying not to sound like a stalker. lol. :rotfl:



    :rotfl:Ha ha made me laugh savingwannabe. I know what you mean though about giving out too much info so people can identify you ;) I'm not on facebuck because I don't want to be friends with people at work :p


    I do use whatsapp now... B-in-L installed it for me in the summer when I visited them and I keep in touch with one sister and niece (other sister's daughter) but DP's have only just gone on-line and now I email them but then they have to phone me to remind them how to open it to read it :rotfl:


    Am off to have a look at the MSE Elite shopping thread. Thanks for the heads up .
    0% credit card £1360 & 0% Car Loan £7500 ~ paid in full JAN 2020 = NOW DEBT FREE 🤗
    House sale OCT 2022 = NOW MORTGAGE FREE 🤗
    House purchase completed FEB 2023 🥳🍾 Left work. 🤗

    Retired at 55 & now living off the equity £10k a year (until pensions start at 60 & 67).

    Previous Savings diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5597938/get-a-grip/p1

    Living off savings diary
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6429003/escape-to-the-country-living-off-savings/p1
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