Minimalist Mandy

Bess1234 · 29 April 2018 at 7:02PM

Hi all

My first ever thread! Mse has helped me so much in past, and now it's needed again. I think my natural home is debt free diaries as every penny counts, but as my only debt is my mortgage, here I come.
I have £33,529 mortgage with £15000 offset against it. This money is owed out in two years so expecting my interest payments to double.
I have been letting my budget slide badly for a while, from my small income, so it's time to get a grip.
Aims: 1. To stick to a budget
2. To feel confident enough in my budget to have a life.
3. To start knocking the mortgage down so don't need to worry in 2 years.
4. To keep life simple as it makes me feel at peace.

Budget to follow...

Bess1234 · 29 April 2018 at 7:28PM

adjusted budget. Getting excited! Budget. 1 adult
Monthly income 1000
Average overtime300

Bills
Mortgage 265
Mortgage interest 55
Council tax 85 x10
Water 25 x10
Gas/electric 40
Internet 20
Tv licence 13
Netflix 7
House and car insurance 30
Total 525

Annual pot
House fund 40
Hobby 25
Car mot repairs tax 41
Xmas 16
Birthdays 10
Holiday/all visits 80
clothes , going out, hair 50
coal 25
Total 275

Mobile 5
Groceries 135
Pocket money 90
Cigarettes 80 100
Petrol 135[STRIKE][/STRIKE] 100
spare 145

Total 575

Oomph! All my workings out must be wrong as appear to be over budget. Time to rejig them all. Tie myself in knots with this, I do. Hopefully a diary will make sense eventually .

Bess1234 · 29 April 2018 at 7:55PM

I refuse to go round in another circle, so budget will stand for a month until I figure out mistake. It's a generous get a life budget, probably won't :rotfl:

First mission. To set up another offset savings account and obtain a stoozing credit card :T
Second mission : refund request from robbing internet company, and complaint on general lack of internet.

tboo · 29 April 2018 at 8:14PM

Nice to see you here Bess1234

Just popping in with some observations to get the expenses lower and the budget in line with your income.

Do you have any wiggle room for any of the expenses? - just to be able to save for emergencies etc

Bess1234 wrote: »

Groceries 135 - seems a little low for a month
Pocket money 90 and Going out 85 - can these be lowered
Cigarettes 80 - can this be lowered as well
Clothes 35 - can you do without for a few months

I realise you do want to have a life but lowering your mortgage quicker than normal will be your life for the time being

and the slog is worth it in the end

My mortgage was £42000 in Oct 2015 with 12 years to go and then it dawned on me and DH to overpay as much as we could afford.
Fast forward 28 months to now with 9 years 9 months left and we owe £3600.

It is hard work but achievable.
So good luck

Bess1234 · 29 April 2018 at 8:40PM

Wow. That is wonderful what you have achieved. I will think about your ideas. My food is simple but healthy. The going out and clothes budget is probably my wiggle room, but after years of doing without I'm forcing myself to go out, and be less scruff bucket. (Suspect will fail to spend this lol). The smoking needs to stare me in the face till I do something about it. And the pocket money is car parks, forgotten packed lunches , emergency chocolate bar, milk, occasional bottle of wine. All the cash I carry. But your achievements will motivate me to get cracking. It sounds worth it.

beanielou · 29 April 2018 at 9:16PM

Happy shiny new diary.
Wishing you well on your journey.

greent · 30 April 2018 at 9:40AM

Bess1234 wrote: »

Groceries 135
Pocket money 90
Cigarettes 80
Petrol 135
Going out 85
Hair 10
Clothes 35
.

Hello and welcome to MFW board!

Excluding groceries (reasonable fig) & petrol (assuming a certain amount is needed for getting to/ from work) then the discretionary spending on pocket money, cigarettes, going out, hair & clothes is £300/ month - this is where your 'easiest' wiggle room in your budget is likely to be (assuming all utilities etc are looked at when appropriate) - obviously cigarettes is a biggy (just under 1k per annum) but that's not an overnight decision for most people

Going out and pocket money sound similar (I know pocket money includes parking, but I'd have that as a separate category if you need to pay for parking)

Unfortunately, you're going to have to trim your budget somewhere in order to OP the mtge - and overtime shouldn't always be taken as read, sadly (ideally your overtime should be the real flexibility in your budget, as it's the non-guaranteed part of income, so is ideal for using for OPs, as your standard income then would (in an ideal world) cover standard outgoings.

We try and make pretty-much every penny count here on MFW boards, too - but perhaps in a slightly different way to DFW (eg: some will be looking at balancing OPs with increased pension payments, making sure any EFs/ savings etc are working hard) We're a very friendly bunch

x

Bess1234 · 1 May 2018 at 5:24PM

Thank you tboo, beanielou and greent for making me feel welcome. And as youre saying similar things I will listen. Week 3 of my first months budgeting shows some areas accurate , some slightly overspending, some I haven't touched. So at the end of the months recording I will redo the budget.

This week's mission to request refund on misold internet item done:T
Next mission: to start claiming the small work expenses I never have bothered with . Faff. But will be worth it.

Off to read yr threads for inspiration

Bess1234 · 6 May 2018 at 7:28PM

Very busy week with cash flowing in and out but not spending! One more week to go and I'm hoping to be under budget overall, and ready for my first overpayment. And then sort my budget out

My regular mortgage payments for the rest of the year take the mortgage down to £31144. So my first target is to knock off that £144. Baby steps will get me going.

Bess1234 · 8 May 2018 at 7:43PM

I couldn't wait to sort my budget out! A couple of days to go but I think I've been realistic . I've taken on board your comments and reduced my discretionary spends, and also moved them to an annual pot, as it's occasional rather than every month thing.

I'm feeling more confident in taking the plunge with stoozing. The credit card is here..... one more week and most of my monthly expenses will go on the card, and I will keep the cash in savings account, offset against my mortgage.

:T:rotfl::T:T:T you are the only people who will understand the excitement!

Bess1234 · 9 May 2018 at 8:25PM

:T::T:T:T refund agreed. £40 spread over 2 months straight into the overpayment pot. 1st and 2nd challenge complete! :T:T:T:T

And today I sorted my summer capsule wardrobe. Pinterest has hours of obsession over it, but basically, 4 bottoms, six tops, couple of woolies, that all go with each other in a mix and match way, is all you need for a season. But they should all make you feel fab. No decision making in the mornings on what to wear. Serenity. Think I need 1 pair leggings then a couple of nice top to add to what I already have, out of my clothing budget. Equally if I do not find such treasure, I can manage without. I also have a few outfits for home, but largely stuff that has finished it's weekday life. And a couple o frocks.

Simplicity is the key to happiness

Minimalist Mandy

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