Savings for the Boy & Me

Chandelier. · 24 June 2018 at 2:15PM

Hello,

I've only just stumbled across this board but I've decided it is a more suitable place for me to post. I'll start with a bit of a background,. My life consists of the boy (who is 7) and me. We currently live at home with my mum and I've no plans to move out anytime soon. This way I am able to save as much money as possible.
I also have bipolar disorder and ADHD so life can be tricky at times and I need routine, structure and stability.

Over the last few years I've been saving as much as possible into several accounts for numerous different things. I was also given a substantial amount of money as inheritance off a family member which enabled me to pay the off my car. So as life stands currently I have zero debt and a good amount of savings behind me.

I have different bank accounts for different things such as yearly expenses that creep up, so I'm always one step ahead. I pay a set amount of money into these each month and must have around 10 different bank accounts but they all serve their own purpose.

This year especially is a expensive year with everything we have going on. This includes a trip to Dublin, two hen dos, a caravan weekend away, a week in Cornwall and a two week Caribbean cruise. This is all within the next three months so obviously it's going to be spendy spendy.

I want to save as much money as possible but I've come to accept this year I'll have to be less harsh on myself when it comes to reaching goals. The idea will be that once this is all over, next year I can focus harder on saving as much as possible and in the future I'll get myself onto the property ladder when I feel ready. I could currently do it now but with so much going on and with my mental health being up and down, it isn't the right time.

So for now that's it and I'll go further into details in other posts to make it easier to read.

savingwannabe · 24 June 2018 at 2:33PM

Hello and welcome. It sounds like you are a good saver. Fab we can learn from you. Everyone is friendly here. All those hols sound exciting too. :j

Chandelier. · 2 July 2018 at 9:16PM

Hello again,

So today I've been updating my debt free wannabe diary with all my budgets for the upcoming months. I've been moving savings and everything around to different categories to even things out and see where I stand. I've overestimated these costs in many areas but I'd rather have more money to spend then less if you see what I mean when it comes to things.

So the upcoming budgets are:-

The Boys birthday: £210. (£210/£210 saved in an account).
Mablethorpe Holiday: £200. (£200/£200 saved in an account).
Cornwall Holiday: £800. (£800/£800 saved in an account).
Caribbean Cruise: £2260. (£1151.90/£2260 saved in an account).

So I've currently got to find £1108.10 by September for our last holiday of the year! This works out at roughly £550 per month savings. I'm up for the challenge though. I'll cut back in other areas of my current budget to fund this.

Chandelier. · 2 July 2018 at 9:31PM

I've also been keeping on top of my current savings that I have in other accounts.

By the end of the year I should have as followed:

£3600 in a FD account.
£7762.69 in a HTB Isa.
£10000 in another savings account.

So my total for the end of the year should be £21362.79 which I think is quite good considering all the costs we have for this year. Ideally I'd like to aim to get it to £22000 but we will see.

savingwannabe · 3 July 2018 at 4:25PM

Really well done. Excellent savings.

Chandelier. · 4 July 2018 at 6:57PM

So today has been a bit interesting. I phoned up my bank to close an account that I was no longer using and they suggested I can sign up to one which is 0.5% interest which is a better rate than the one I was using before. I think I'll use this account to save any extra money into and allow it to build up over time.

Whilst on the phone I also decided to take out a 0% purchases card with them which is for 17 months. I think I'll use this to put some of the big holiday expenses onto such as excursions etc and I'll set up a direct debit to pay back either within the time frame or before that.

I'm not necessarily getting into debt as such but rather utilising promotions and gaining interest on my savings elsewhere

savingwannabe · 4 July 2018 at 7:23PM

Well done on bank account and higher interest and the 0% cc.

Chandelier. · 8 July 2018 at 6:55PM

Evening!

I've just come back from the last of my sisters hen dos and have had an amazing weekend. I'm all chilled out and relaxed but I'm definitely ready for my bed. My sister has had a total of two hen dos now of which I budgeted for and came under budget for both. I've noted the actual savings in my diary on the DFW section if anyone wants to have a look at the savings I made.

I've been moving some money around within my bank accounts through savings in different areas/made elsewhere. I have also rounded them all until they reached a zero and have siphoned off the extra pennies/virtual loose change into a separate account. This account is known as my "other" account and any of the "spare change" added into it will just build up until I find a purpose for it.

I've moved some extra funds across into the fund for our Caribbean cruise so that is now up to £1200/£2260. Only £1060 left to find now over these next couple of months

.

It feels so good to be sticking to budgets and allocating all my money for the month towards different saving accounts. The best bit is that although I set a realistic budget for each fund
I always manage to hit target or come under which feels like a massive accomplishment. I'd rather overbudget then underbudget and it just makes me even more determined to save where possible.

I might have around ten different accounts for different things but it makes me feel organised and this way works for me. The more complicated, the simpler it seems in my head

.

savingwannabe · 9 July 2018 at 7:38AM

Hurrah for the hen do. Gosh you lead a very glamorous life and you are vvv organised too. How cool is that?

You still have a visit to the Caribbean planned. That sounds amazing. I am spending the holiday here in the UK but love hearing about people's travels.

Keep saving and hope you enjoy the weather here too.

System · 9 July 2018 at 10:55AM

Chandelier. wrote: »

Evening!

I've just come back from the last of my sisters hen dos and have had an amazing weekend. I'm all chilled out and relaxed but I'm definitely ready for my bed. My sister has had a total of two hen dos now of which I budgeted for and came under budget for both. I've noted the actual savings in my diary on the DFW section if anyone wants to have a look at the savings I made.

I've been moving some money around within my bank accounts through savings in different areas/made elsewhere. I have also rounded them all until they reached a zero and have siphoned off the extra pennies/virtual loose change into a separate account. This account is known as my "other" account and any of the "spare change" added into it will just build up until I find a purpose for it.

I've moved some extra funds across into the fund for our Caribbean cruise so that is now up to £1200/£2260. Only £1060 left to find now over these next couple of months .

It feels so good to be sticking to budgets and allocating all my money for the month towards different saving accounts. The best bit is that although I set a realistic budget for each fund
I always manage to hit target or come under which feels like a massive accomplishment. I'd rather overbudget then underbudget and it just makes me even more determined to save where possible.

I might have around ten different accounts for different things but it makes me feel organised and this way works for me. The more complicated, the simpler it seems in my head .

Hey lovely. I also have a 'spare change' account where I let the pence build for a purpose too. I currently do this on my monzo card (which ive designated the purpose for petty cash), ive spent once to pay for sending something I sold in the post office.

Great idea which I agree with obviously. Do you know how much you want it to build to? Or just building til you find a purpose for like you've said?

Like you I have a few accounts for different things, intrigued to hear what each of your accounts is for? love talking about this and sometimes getting ideas from others too hehe.

Chandelier. · 9 July 2018 at 7:01PM

Thanks for the replies guys!

Savingwannabe, I'll keep you updated about my travels. Life isn't that glamorous, it is just a busy year. Next year I plan on travelling Europe for around 3 1/2 weeks with the boy so I'll start saving for that from October onwards and start planning late this year/early next year.

Sweetcake, I have nineteen different accounts. I know it sounds mental but it works for me and I can see where I'm at each month. They are as follows..

1) Main bank account. (All my bills/direct debits come out of here).
2) 5% Interest account. (I pay £300 a month to here, due to mature in January).
3) HTB Isa. (I save £200 a month into here).
4) 0.5% Interest account. (For any other savings).
5) Extra curricular fund for the boy.
6) Petrol fund.
7) Car fund.
8) Childcare fund.
9) Wedding Fund.
10) Union fees fund.
11) Birthday fund.
12) Christmas fund.
13) Emergency fund.
14) Entertainment fund.
15) Mablethorpe Fund.
16) Cornwall fund.
17) Caribbean cruise fund.
18) Other fund. (Fund I use to round up the pennies).
19) Income fund. (All my income goes into this for the month, ready for next months budget).

I can't believe how many I have but this system works for me. Each month I pay a set amount of money into each account and work things out over the month from there. Once things such as holidays/weddings are over, I'll either rename the accounts for other things or I'll close them.

Savings for the Boy & Me

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