Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

XSpender wrote: »

Stuff I need to pay for in April:

• My passport - will take a picture when I have my hair cut on Saturday but will be paid for out of May's pay
• DS party - sell bikes to cover cost, not booked it yet
• DS bike (due to be collected 5th May so technically to be paid for May) - £50.44 to find to cover cost of bike and cycling top
• £60 for 2 vet consultations £30 covered and 2nd one on Friday is to be cancelled as I can't get there and doggle is back to normal

Quick review of the stuff I need to pay for in April. I am going to need to add school shoes and school shorts to my list. I've got £30 in the clothing pot but this won't be enough and will have to borrow next month's £50 budget from another pot.

As DH pay date is changing to the 20th this will become the new date our month starts. Is it a bit sad that I am looking forward to being able to allocate money twice in YNAB instead of once when we used to get paid on the same day or within a couple of days of each other? I always used to change the dates on any payments made out of the salary paid on 28th or 31st to the 1st so YNAB budgets were calendar monthly but as I have built up my pots and have a good balance in the account before payday this has become less important and getting 2 payments in a month is actually going to help me use YNAB properly.

ramblehan wrote: »

Nope!! I'd be exactly like you!
The only thing I wish is that you could change your month start date in YNAB to a different date as I manage to hide my groceries spend across 2 months, which makes it easier to be naughty!

It's the food budget that always gets messed up between one month and the next for me too. Plus I pay my MIL for childcare as soon as we are paid which I then adjust the date for.

apple_muncher wrote: »

Your head must be awash with numbers!

It is battered apple, but I feel confident about our decision now that I have done the numbers (over and over again )

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

The thing with consolidating some of your debt into your mortgage, is really a number of things:

1. It becomes secured, against your home, whereas credit cards are unsecured. This means your home is at risk if you cannot make repayments at some point in the future
2. Because it is over a much longer period, you may end up paying much more interest
3. It could trip your complacency filter - that is the one where you think "I've got this" and start spending more and building your debt back up again (I have heard you talk about this tendency in you and your DH) so you could drift into the cycle of debt

There are some tactics for mitigating these, but only you will know your personalities and the traps you might be vulnerable to.

For me, unsecured is better. I would rather put myself under some pressure so that I don't trip my complacency tipping point. When I met DH we collectively owed more than £10k more than the mortgage on credit cards. We sold my car, his motorcycle and took out an unsecured consolidating loan with steep payments that caused a certain amount of pain without constant misery or deprivation. Then we bought a bigger property....

You raise some valid points Suffolk lass especially about getting complacent and spendy again. I have been much better since our credit went up again at the end of last year at saying no to DH, that we haven't got the money for something whether it is a meal out or some new running trainers. We would have loved 2 weeks in Italy this summer but knowing it would all have to go on a card put us completely off the idea.

Most, but definitely not all, of the debt was related to buying or refurbishing the house and the drop in income DH suffered last year and these costs will not reoccur. Having some flexibility in the budget to save for things when we do want to spend will stop us having to use a card as there is no money in the budget. I have 'house-refurb-burn-out' at the minute and have no inclination to do another room for some time. DH wants to do some work in the garden but I am saving/budgeting for that as we will need some outside help.

The only big ticket item I can see us having to buy in the next 12 months is a new sofa. We have had ours over 13 years and while it still looks good the springs have gone in the bottom. One side sags alarmingly and DH and I both get pins and needles in our legs from sitting on it. I am trying to convince DH that a plank of wood across the base will do the job for now. Not sure he's buying it.

We haven't used a card since January when we bought our bargainous dining suite (which has been paid off) and I am finally seeing money in the YNAB savings pots at the end of the month

DH has completed his weight loss challenge at the gym and has lost 22.5lbs in 7 weeks :T:j:T He has reinvested the money into a further 3 months of gym and has a new diet plan for me to peruse. He was supposed to be repaying the account this money but I can't see this happening TBH. He has borrowed next months personal spends for an afternoon out with his friend which he had cancelled originally as he wasn't going to complete his challenge until next week. This has messed up the account a bit and there is a lot of red on my YNAB. We paid for DS bike this month which was a big expense so less of a surplus. DH is paid on Friday.

I am going to speak to DH about setting up a separate account for him with enough funds to cover his mobile phone and personal spends. The DD for his gym can come out of this when it starts in August. This way when he hasn't got it he cant spend it out of the joint account. He has asked about doing this before so he will be OK with it. I have an instant savings account on the internet banking so will either put mine in here or track it in my existing YNAB category.

We both had haircuts yesterday and I bought DS school shorts, hair dye (for me) and a notebook for work. Oh and a T-shirt and shorts for DS which I will wrap up for his birthday which he won't be very impressed with but as he has had his bike his prezzie pile will be very small.

He really needs some school shoes as has boots at the minute but not sure when we are going to get them as he is at an outdoor play session all afternoon and I am away with work from Monday afternoon until Thursday teatime.

I have asked my DMIL to come and clear the ironing for us as it is getting out of hand and with DH at the gym 3 times a week and me away 3 days this week it hasn't got a chance of getting done. The house needs cleaning too so I will try and get the floors cleaned today and the rest can wait as it is too much for my DPIL to do although DMIL usually gives the kitchen a once over while she is here. I will be paying my DMIL to do the ironing.

I am feeling a bit stressed out today, I always am when I am away for so many days on the trot. I have so much work to do as well I have decided to take the train to next week's destination as I get spend the 5 hours each way working instead of driving. It will make it a bit inconvenient getting to the 'office' and not sure how I will pick up lunch but I'll sort that out when I am there. I will need some cash for taxis.

To get done before I leave on Monday afternoon although most needs doing today:

1) Sort laundry into stuff to be put away and stuff for DMIL to iron on Tuesday
2) Take DS to outdoor play event this afternoon
3) Smallest shop possible to keep DH on plan for the week I am away
4) Fridge audit - there is some dodgy leftover salmon DH left that needs to go
5) Hoover everywhere
6) Clean wooden floors
7) Up to date with washing - towels are in, 1 load of woollens, 1 load of lights to do
8) Buy a couple of lunch deals from M&S (Monday)
9) Cash out (Monday)
10) Pack DS bag for staying at DMIL and find PE kit, clean trainers
11) Bigger suitcase out of loft for me for next week
12) Pack my stuff
13) Pick up DS shorts from M&S
14) Buy DS new school shoes
15) Put away all laundry that doesn't need ironing
16) Book taxi to station and pay with work visa
17) Dye my hair
18) Clear all dishes/empty dishwasher
19) Find something for tea in the freezer
20) Fix the printer so I can complete passport application