After semi-lurking here for a good few months, I thought it was time to start my own journal. This is largely with a view to track my own progress, but also to open my efforts to public scrutiny.
I've introduced myself properly elsewhere, but to recap briefly I'm 34, in the UK, INTP. Savings of any form seem to have eluded me until pretty much now. I have a PhD which knocked out a number of years of any real salary, which is partly to blame, but generally I was a highly skilled spender of money (mostly, I'm ashamed to say, on alcohol). A complete lack of financial wisdom (perhaps stemming from a "money is evil/work for others" upbringing) also meant growing debts were consolidated into interest-bearing loans which took many years of my twenties to pay off.
A year or two ago, I became interested in investing. I was able to put a few hundred pounds into the stock market, and although the gains I got were pretty much knocked out by commision costs, it started to build my interest in financial matters.
Around Christmas of last year, I came across this website. It has prompted a fairly significant shift in my spending and living habits. I've been tracking all of my spending since then, with the following figures:
Net Worth
Dec 2013: 1043
Jan 2014: 1008
Feb 2014: 1887
Mar 2014: 2400
April 2014: 3179
These past few months, I've been saving about 40% of my salary. Considering I was lucky to break-even in the majority of months prior to this year, I've been quite pleased with this. On the other hand, these figures seem so paltry compared to many others, and it's depressing to feel I'm just starting this journey almost half way through my thirties.
I've been reskilling (and rediscovering older skills) to help me reduce my spending. In January, I replaced the starter motor on my car myself with a breakers yard unit. I've barely bought a loaf of bread since Christmas - making my own and I've realised I can knock up a loaf more quickly (not counting rising and baking time, but this just requires pre-planning) than walking to a shop a few minutes away.
I'm making changes with regards to my employment too, which I'll talk about in another post. May's savings rate is going to less - I've had to fork out a hefty sum for a summer school, but I hope this will bring a lucrative change in career direction (both financially and in terms of personal interest).
Will provide a breakdown of expenses for May at the end of the month.
Thank you Jacob, for starting this empowering movement and your daily contributions to your blog. For recovering spendaholics (or worse), this place helps to keep focus. Thank you also for the many, many inspiring journals.
Ginger1's Journal
Re: Ginger1's Journal
May results
Not a great month. At all. A combination of factors means my net worth only increased by £25 between the end of April and the end of May.
Firstly though, my month's expenses (in UKP):
Rent: 440
Transport: 82.47
Food: 76.64
Other (random costs, eg. books): 57.45
Clothes: 29.50
Bills: 102.60
Social: 181.36
Holiday: 49.56
Mobile: 16.25
Presents: 40.74
Charity: 10
Car: 50
Evening classes: 71
Summer school: 360
Work costs: 9.55
Total: 1577.12
Earnings: 1794.00
Savings rate: 12.09%
This compares with previous savings rates of 40.58% (Feb), 37.93% (March), 29.25% (April). Looking at this declining trend is worrying, but more worrying still is the fact that my earnings have increased slightly in this period.
Now, let me try and understand what's happening here.
1) My expenses have risen.
Social costs have climbed this month - up £60 compared to the previous month and some £110 on February. This is largely a factor of a 3 month abstinence period coming to an end, combined with a few dinners out.
And for this month specifically:
2) A large one off cost of 360 was paid for a summer school. I'm hoping this will in the end be a good deal. In fact, as this includes a months accommodation I'll actually be saving money in my August expenses. I could look at this as having my (slightly cheaper) August rent already. I'm planning on moving out of my current room in a shared house before hand, then after the course move in with my gf. It should also lay the way to a better paid career in IT (Big Data) than my current arrangement (education).
These two aspects have combined with a decrease in the value of my investment assets, as the UK stock market has been very jittery over eg. Ukraine and worries about China's declining growth.
So, my strategy for June, with a view to getting the savings rate above 40% once again, is to a) cut back on social costs. To do this my system will be not drinking more than a single drink in one sitting. This ties in a more complex issue for me of drinking generally. It's something I'm very much falling out of love with. b) Selling/scrapping my car. It failed it's MOT badly enough that's it's a good opportunity to get rid of it and get the bike back on the road. c) Making investment decisions including whether to take profits on the better performing stocks (20-30%) in view of the nervous market conditions, whilst looking for value shares elsewhere.
It's worth noting that my savings rate for this month was 32%, if the 360 cost was removed.
Any pointers/advice to improve what I'm doing greatly appreciated!
Not a great month. At all. A combination of factors means my net worth only increased by £25 between the end of April and the end of May.
Firstly though, my month's expenses (in UKP):
Rent: 440
Transport: 82.47
Food: 76.64
Other (random costs, eg. books): 57.45
Clothes: 29.50
Bills: 102.60
Social: 181.36
Holiday: 49.56
Mobile: 16.25
Presents: 40.74
Charity: 10
Car: 50
Evening classes: 71
Summer school: 360
Work costs: 9.55
Total: 1577.12
Earnings: 1794.00
Savings rate: 12.09%
This compares with previous savings rates of 40.58% (Feb), 37.93% (March), 29.25% (April). Looking at this declining trend is worrying, but more worrying still is the fact that my earnings have increased slightly in this period.
Now, let me try and understand what's happening here.
1) My expenses have risen.
Social costs have climbed this month - up £60 compared to the previous month and some £110 on February. This is largely a factor of a 3 month abstinence period coming to an end, combined with a few dinners out.
And for this month specifically:
2) A large one off cost of 360 was paid for a summer school. I'm hoping this will in the end be a good deal. In fact, as this includes a months accommodation I'll actually be saving money in my August expenses. I could look at this as having my (slightly cheaper) August rent already. I'm planning on moving out of my current room in a shared house before hand, then after the course move in with my gf. It should also lay the way to a better paid career in IT (Big Data) than my current arrangement (education).
These two aspects have combined with a decrease in the value of my investment assets, as the UK stock market has been very jittery over eg. Ukraine and worries about China's declining growth.
So, my strategy for June, with a view to getting the savings rate above 40% once again, is to a) cut back on social costs. To do this my system will be not drinking more than a single drink in one sitting. This ties in a more complex issue for me of drinking generally. It's something I'm very much falling out of love with. b) Selling/scrapping my car. It failed it's MOT badly enough that's it's a good opportunity to get rid of it and get the bike back on the road. c) Making investment decisions including whether to take profits on the better performing stocks (20-30%) in view of the nervous market conditions, whilst looking for value shares elsewhere.
It's worth noting that my savings rate for this month was 32%, if the 360 cost was removed.
Any pointers/advice to improve what I'm doing greatly appreciated!
Re: Ginger1's Journal
I don't think you should ding yourself for your lower savings rate this month. A summer school that will pay off later is an investment in my view, not an expense. If you count that in your savings percentage, I think you'll have a better view of your true accomplishments.
It would still leave you below 40%, though.
Good idea on less alcohol consumption, both on the money and the lifestyle fronts. I mean, it's doubtful you'll ever regret moderation later, and likely that you'd regret being immoderate on several fronts. Are your holiday and presents categories stable, or do they fluctuate? We don't normally have those expenses in our own budget. The others are nice and low... your food and mobile bills are great!
It would still leave you below 40%, though.
Good idea on less alcohol consumption, both on the money and the lifestyle fronts. I mean, it's doubtful you'll ever regret moderation later, and likely that you'd regret being immoderate on several fronts. Are your holiday and presents categories stable, or do they fluctuate? We don't normally have those expenses in our own budget. The others are nice and low... your food and mobile bills are great!
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Thank you for your reply GandK and supportive words.GandK wrote:Good idea on less alcohol consumption, both on the money and the lifestyle fronts. I mean, it's doubtful you'll ever regret moderation later, and likely that you'd regret being immoderate on several fronts. Are your holiday and presents categories stable, or do they fluctuate? We don't normally have those expenses in our own budget. The others are nice and low... your food and mobile bills are great!
Presents fluctuate month by month depending on whose birthday's coming up (I've quite a big family so birthdays and Christmas together equate to a fair amount of money). Holidays also vary. I try to keep this expense low, but they're important to others so it's not something I can cancel altogether. Come the summer, I envisage a good few hundred pounds going on holiday costs, but I'm hoping this will be for a reasonable tent and a petrol somewhere.
-
George the original one
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Re: Ginger1's Journal
> I try to keep this expense low, but they're important to others so it's not something I
> can cancel altogether.
In the interests of thinking differently, you should rephrase this sentence...
Version 1: You could cancel this expense, but the social cost of doing so is higher than you're currently willing to pay.
Version 2: You could cancel this expense by making the gifts, but for now the time/money tradeoff makes more sense to spend money.
> can cancel altogether.
In the interests of thinking differently, you should rephrase this sentence...
Version 1: You could cancel this expense, but the social cost of doing so is higher than you're currently willing to pay.
Version 2: You could cancel this expense by making the gifts, but for now the time/money tradeoff makes more sense to spend money.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Both absolutely true and useful ways of viewing this. With point 2 though, and I wonder how common this is in other families, I'm not sure how well homemade gifts would be received (at least not if everything is homemade). Which is horribly depressing really. I suppose this is slightly more understandable for my teenage cousins - I could record them some of my own musical creations but they'd probably just prefer the iTunes vouchers. The thing is, the whole present buying situation is just degenerating into a cycle of transferring money between each other's bank accounts, sort of cancelling any meaningful benefit from the activity.George the original one wrote:>
In the interests of thinking differently, you should rephrase this sentence...
Version 1: You could cancel this expense, but the social cost of doing so is higher than you're currently willing to pay.
Version 2: You could cancel this expense by making the gifts, but for now the time/money tradeoff makes more sense to spend money.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
It's almost eight months since my last post, so I think it's time for an update. A lot has happened in those eight months - I've changed jobs (teacher to corporate IT), moved in with my gf, and had all but neglected my initial foray into ERE living. The moving jobs part meant a couple of months without any real income. The moving in with the gf part has meant rising expenses - higher rent and less freedom to shop and live as frugally (not that I was hugely frugal before - my peak saving rate being about 40%). These factors have combined to temporarily derail my ERE plans. My goals have been, until this last month, focused on finding a job post-teaching (both short-term to get money coming in, and a longer-term IT position, which I have now achieved), so I'm not going to beat myself up too much about neglecting other aspects.
However, this period of transition left me unhappy - knowing that I wasn't using money in a fully conscious way, and knowing too that I wasn't concentrating on other vital assets like my health (sugar, meat, alcohol consumption and weight all increasing since the move). On the upside, things have stabilised slightly now and my desire to live consciously, progressing my goals and living my values, is strong. On the downside, those eight months have knocked out of me the nascent frugal habits I was developing, so I am going to have to get through the hump of re-establishing my frugal ways. Additionally, I am going to have to think of creative ways to ensure my gf's differing values don't impact significantly on my own plans.
One thing I have maintained during that period is keeping my incomings and outgoings logged. For the purposes of honesty and my own personal clarity on my financial situation, I hereby post my finances for Decemeber. Note: This isn't going to be good.
Expenses:
Books £7.31
Charity £5.00
Coffee shop £25.30
Eating out £56.70
Film rental £0.99
Groceries £151.57
Holidays £107.70
Lunches: £3.00
Other £28.55
Phone £17.05
Postage £6.61
Presents £259.91
Pub-alcohol £129.90
Rent + Bills: £600.00
Travel £249.97
Clearing credit card £20.80
Total: £1670.36
Income:
Salary: £1033.60
Sales: £1.46
Presents: £35
Total: £1070.06
Income shortfall: £600.30
Laying that out makes me realise just how bad things have got. I'm not ERE-territory - I'm still in the everyday basic personal finance territory of struggling to get my expenses under my income. Christmas presents, Christmas travel and a holiday at New Year, combined with the low salary of a temporary job, really killed me in December. However, those figures for groceries and alcohol are also depressing. This is a lovely example of what unconscious living looks like in numbers form.
January figures should be better as my income category should be about double, but expenses are still somewhat out of control.
I've a long journey ahead.
However, this period of transition left me unhappy - knowing that I wasn't using money in a fully conscious way, and knowing too that I wasn't concentrating on other vital assets like my health (sugar, meat, alcohol consumption and weight all increasing since the move). On the upside, things have stabilised slightly now and my desire to live consciously, progressing my goals and living my values, is strong. On the downside, those eight months have knocked out of me the nascent frugal habits I was developing, so I am going to have to get through the hump of re-establishing my frugal ways. Additionally, I am going to have to think of creative ways to ensure my gf's differing values don't impact significantly on my own plans.
One thing I have maintained during that period is keeping my incomings and outgoings logged. For the purposes of honesty and my own personal clarity on my financial situation, I hereby post my finances for Decemeber. Note: This isn't going to be good.
Expenses:
Books £7.31
Charity £5.00
Coffee shop £25.30
Eating out £56.70
Film rental £0.99
Groceries £151.57
Holidays £107.70
Lunches: £3.00
Other £28.55
Phone £17.05
Postage £6.61
Presents £259.91
Pub-alcohol £129.90
Rent + Bills: £600.00
Travel £249.97
Clearing credit card £20.80
Total: £1670.36
Income:
Salary: £1033.60
Sales: £1.46
Presents: £35
Total: £1070.06
Income shortfall: £600.30
Laying that out makes me realise just how bad things have got. I'm not ERE-territory - I'm still in the everyday basic personal finance territory of struggling to get my expenses under my income. Christmas presents, Christmas travel and a holiday at New Year, combined with the low salary of a temporary job, really killed me in December. However, those figures for groceries and alcohol are also depressing. This is a lovely example of what unconscious living looks like in numbers form.
January figures should be better as my income category should be about double, but expenses are still somewhat out of control.
I've a long journey ahead.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Hi Ginger1 -
There should be some really nice cost-saving opportunities for housing by sharing costs with your gf.
Utilities? Rent? Groceries?
I resonate with two aspects of your posts:
- the possible compromises of cost of lifestyle that come with living with another who may not be interested in ere. For me, the savings of combined living help make up for these lifestyle differences.
- and being aware of the costs of alcohol consumption in more ways than one. I need to update my journal with an update of my own experiences on this front.
Best wishes!
There should be some really nice cost-saving opportunities for housing by sharing costs with your gf.
Utilities? Rent? Groceries?
I resonate with two aspects of your posts:
- the possible compromises of cost of lifestyle that come with living with another who may not be interested in ere. For me, the savings of combined living help make up for these lifestyle differences.
- and being aware of the costs of alcohol consumption in more ways than one. I need to update my journal with an update of my own experiences on this front.
Best wishes!
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Based on your numbers, you're probably breathing easy now that Christmas is over. I know it's 10 months away, but is it possible that you can avoid giving any gifts? Will your family & friends understand that you're saving up for something special and need to pour all your resources into it?
I think you pretty accurately pointed out that this represents "unconscious living," so the upside is there's lots of room for improvement centered on "conscious" living.
All the best on your journey!
I think you pretty accurately pointed out that this represents "unconscious living," so the upside is there's lots of room for improvement centered on "conscious" living.
All the best on your journey!
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Your pub alcohol costs are very high - are you in an expensive part of the UK? By my calculations, you're buying roughly 7.5 pints a week at £4/pint.
If a lot of your drinking is social drinking, could you change up how you socialise? Have friends round more, socialise at theirs, start home brewing?
Your diary hints at a few past problems, so I don't want to encourage you to start holding gallons of booze around the house. That said, I've found that making my own alcohol means that I respect it more. I'm intimately familiar with what went in to it, the strength and the number of units in each bottle. I find that I drink less when I've brewed it, as I have a tendency to go for slightly stronger kits than the usual gutrot sold in UK supermarkets.
It's also a lot cheaper. Even going for expensive glass flip top bottles, decent kits etc., it's still c. 25% of the cost of spending a fiver on decent supermarket stuff.
Just some thoughts, discard at will
If a lot of your drinking is social drinking, could you change up how you socialise? Have friends round more, socialise at theirs, start home brewing?
Your diary hints at a few past problems, so I don't want to encourage you to start holding gallons of booze around the house. That said, I've found that making my own alcohol means that I respect it more. I'm intimately familiar with what went in to it, the strength and the number of units in each bottle. I find that I drink less when I've brewed it, as I have a tendency to go for slightly stronger kits than the usual gutrot sold in UK supermarkets.
It's also a lot cheaper. Even going for expensive glass flip top bottles, decent kits etc., it's still c. 25% of the cost of spending a fiver on decent supermarket stuff.
Just some thoughts, discard at will
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Thank you for the helpful replies.
Anomie: There should be savings - but the difficulty is I've moved from a room in a shared house (with cheaper rent) to her flat. The old place was also closer to my place of work. Transport costs have really increased - despite me selling my car (in an ERE-inspired moved). As my gf has a car which I have used on occassion, I have also contributed to those car costs (a story for my next set of figures).
Bradley: Not giving presents wouldn't go down well in my family - I wouldn't want to suggest it. I suppose I could - on the grounds of course that I don't receive presents in return. I've often felt we just go for a just-giving-presents-to-the-children model, so maybe that's worth further exploration.
Ydobon (and Anomie too): Those are London drinking costs - and your estimate of 7.5 pints at four pounds is very accurate! Alcohol has been a large (and largely negative) theme in my life for the past 17 years. I know there are ways to reduce the costs, but I wonder if that's a bit like going from pre-made cigarettes to roll-ups i.e much cheaper but still ultimately a needless expense on a highly addictive product, driven largely to satisy that addiction.*
January figures to come in a few days. I've made more of an effort in Janaury - but three significant expenses, each coming from basic disorganisation/bad luck - and hampered efforts.
* I gave up smoking about five years ago after being helped to see that it offered zero benefit (despite thinking at the time that a meal or a holiday would never be the same again without smoking - which sounds ridiculous now). I'm starting to draw an increasing number of parallels between the two - but it's not as easy to stop as it is with smoking because of the sheers numbers of drinkers(80% of UK adult population I believe)/advertising/social and cultural acceptance.
Anomie: There should be savings - but the difficulty is I've moved from a room in a shared house (with cheaper rent) to her flat. The old place was also closer to my place of work. Transport costs have really increased - despite me selling my car (in an ERE-inspired moved). As my gf has a car which I have used on occassion, I have also contributed to those car costs (a story for my next set of figures).
Bradley: Not giving presents wouldn't go down well in my family - I wouldn't want to suggest it. I suppose I could - on the grounds of course that I don't receive presents in return. I've often felt we just go for a just-giving-presents-to-the-children model, so maybe that's worth further exploration.
Ydobon (and Anomie too): Those are London drinking costs - and your estimate of 7.5 pints at four pounds is very accurate! Alcohol has been a large (and largely negative) theme in my life for the past 17 years. I know there are ways to reduce the costs, but I wonder if that's a bit like going from pre-made cigarettes to roll-ups i.e much cheaper but still ultimately a needless expense on a highly addictive product, driven largely to satisy that addiction.*
January figures to come in a few days. I've made more of an effort in Janaury - but three significant expenses, each coming from basic disorganisation/bad luck - and hampered efforts.
* I gave up smoking about five years ago after being helped to see that it offered zero benefit (despite thinking at the time that a meal or a holiday would never be the same again without smoking - which sounds ridiculous now). I'm starting to draw an increasing number of parallels between the two - but it's not as easy to stop as it is with smoking because of the sheers numbers of drinkers(80% of UK adult population I believe)/advertising/social and cultural acceptance.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
My high tech booze estimates basically came from scratching my head to remember what our local Wetherspoons' charged and adding a bit for London.
You know yourself best, just don't become one of those guys who gave up drinking and smoking and tells everyone who will listen how great it is that he gave up drinking and smoking
It's like hearing people boast about how much PPI they reclaimed (this will only mean something to British readers!) - while the rest of us just sit there thinking 'I never saw the point of paying for it'.
To be honest, I think alcohol doesn't have many benefits, but it does have a few. There may be some health benefits, but most of us don't drink red wine as our only tipple. As you will be aware, it also has a unique role as a socially acceptable vice (I suppose caffeine falls into this category as well). That said, it can sometimes be difficult to moderate intake, as so many of us will know.
Re. presents, we're trying to move towards a 'kids only' policy in my extended family and are getting there slowly but surely. I moved from buying 7 presents for siblings and partners last Christmas to 1 after we introduced the Secret Santa approach. Nobody felt hard done by and a good time was had by all.
You know yourself best, just don't become one of those guys who gave up drinking and smoking and tells everyone who will listen how great it is that he gave up drinking and smoking
It's like hearing people boast about how much PPI they reclaimed (this will only mean something to British readers!) - while the rest of us just sit there thinking 'I never saw the point of paying for it'.
To be honest, I think alcohol doesn't have many benefits, but it does have a few. There may be some health benefits, but most of us don't drink red wine as our only tipple. As you will be aware, it also has a unique role as a socially acceptable vice (I suppose caffeine falls into this category as well). That said, it can sometimes be difficult to moderate intake, as so many of us will know.
Re. presents, we're trying to move towards a 'kids only' policy in my extended family and are getting there slowly but surely. I moved from buying 7 presents for siblings and partners last Christmas to 1 after we introduced the Secret Santa approach. Nobody felt hard done by and a good time was had by all.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Point definitely taken and apologies if that's how it came across. Believe me, I should be one of the last people to criticise/lecture others about drinking.Ydobon wrote:My high tech booze estimates basically came from scratching my head to remember what our local Wetherspoons' charged and adding a bit for London.
You know yourself best, just don't become one of those guys who gave up drinking and smoking and tells everyone who will listen how great it is that he gave up drinking and smoking
I'm definitely going to suggest this for next Christmas. I could see it potentially winning people over!Ydobon wrote: Re. presents, we're trying to move towards a 'kids only' policy in my extended family and are getting there slowly but surely. I moved from buying 7 presents for siblings and partners last Christmas to 1 after we introduced the Secret Santa approach. Nobody felt hard done by and a good time was had by all.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Here are my January figures:
Expenses:
Books £4.99
Charity £8.62
Clothes: £109.48
Coffee shop £38.39(!)
Eating out £101.75
Evening Classes: £50
Groceries £108.39
Lunches: £8.79
Other £253.31 (!!!)
Phone £21.84
Postage £7.52
Presents £12.94
Pub-alcohol £22.90
Rent + Bills: £600.00
Travel £171.86
Total: £1570.78
Income:
Salary: £2287.21
Sales: £27.83
Presents: £6
Total: £2321.04
Savings Rate: 32.4%
A very mixed month this month. On the plus side, I have actually saved some of my income! Not an ERE-level percentage, but a start. My target is to get to 50% savings - which is doable without changing my current living arrangements. I'm pleased I've got my alcohol expenses right down - helped by stopping drinking for two weeks.
Two things though have made this a not-very-representative month. One: the salary figure is higher than I'll be typically paid - by about £500 I would guestimate (this is my first salary in my new job and it covers a period of pay from December in addition to January). Two: My "Other", "Travel" and "Clothes" expenses are higher than they will usually be. My new job required purchasing a new bag as I'm travelling a lot. Also, I stupidly left a pile of shirts out of my suitcase one week when I was travelling, so had to buy four new shirts in the train station. This is where the majority of the clothing expenses come from. Finally, in a frugal-inspired move I attempted to change the oil on my gf's car. Without going into details, I messed it up. It required a garage to sort out and I was lucky the car was salvageable. So the "Other" expenses includes a garage expenses payment. Oh, and I missed a pre-booked train which meant I had to fork out an additional £50 on train fare.*
This series of mishaps left me questioning my mental faculties. I've decided it's probably that I've been stressed with the pressures of the new job and the amount I have had to take on. However, these episodes have also caused me to take stock of my general health; I've long been aware of fairly debilitating semi-permanent brain fog and problems in focusing (not ideal in a new job, or in actually making progress in life at all) which I've been taking very belated steps to tackle. This though is a topic for another post.
* Interestingly, if I take out those unexpected expenses and the unusual expense of the bag, that gives me a savings rate of 50% (but with the still unusually high salary). Travel costs, coffee shops and eating out are all areas of fertile ground for making good additional savings in February.
Expenses:
Books £4.99
Charity £8.62
Clothes: £109.48
Coffee shop £38.39(!)
Eating out £101.75
Evening Classes: £50
Groceries £108.39
Lunches: £8.79
Other £253.31 (!!!)
Phone £21.84
Postage £7.52
Presents £12.94
Pub-alcohol £22.90
Rent + Bills: £600.00
Travel £171.86
Total: £1570.78
Income:
Salary: £2287.21
Sales: £27.83
Presents: £6
Total: £2321.04
Savings Rate: 32.4%
A very mixed month this month. On the plus side, I have actually saved some of my income! Not an ERE-level percentage, but a start. My target is to get to 50% savings - which is doable without changing my current living arrangements. I'm pleased I've got my alcohol expenses right down - helped by stopping drinking for two weeks.
Two things though have made this a not-very-representative month. One: the salary figure is higher than I'll be typically paid - by about £500 I would guestimate (this is my first salary in my new job and it covers a period of pay from December in addition to January). Two: My "Other", "Travel" and "Clothes" expenses are higher than they will usually be. My new job required purchasing a new bag as I'm travelling a lot. Also, I stupidly left a pile of shirts out of my suitcase one week when I was travelling, so had to buy four new shirts in the train station. This is where the majority of the clothing expenses come from. Finally, in a frugal-inspired move I attempted to change the oil on my gf's car. Without going into details, I messed it up. It required a garage to sort out and I was lucky the car was salvageable. So the "Other" expenses includes a garage expenses payment. Oh, and I missed a pre-booked train which meant I had to fork out an additional £50 on train fare.*
This series of mishaps left me questioning my mental faculties. I've decided it's probably that I've been stressed with the pressures of the new job and the amount I have had to take on. However, these episodes have also caused me to take stock of my general health; I've long been aware of fairly debilitating semi-permanent brain fog and problems in focusing (not ideal in a new job, or in actually making progress in life at all) which I've been taking very belated steps to tackle. This though is a topic for another post.
* Interestingly, if I take out those unexpected expenses and the unusual expense of the bag, that gives me a savings rate of 50% (but with the still unusually high salary). Travel costs, coffee shops and eating out are all areas of fertile ground for making good additional savings in February.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Start as you mean to go on, that's not a bad rate for January at all. I suppose the challenge will be maintaining this when your 'actual' wage kicks in. That said, your mishaps definitely provide some low hanging fruit to sort out for February 
What do you do to cope with the brain fog? Are you a list writer? I find that the start of the week is a lot less stressful if I get all of the basics out of the way the previous evening (make sure the ironing has been done, make a packed lunch, set the coffee maker, set out my bag and accoutrments ready to go in the morning).
Congrats on managing a booze free fortnight. I have to say I sponsored a few people taking part in one of those 'Dry January' challenges, I honestly don't know how they do it! I suspect I wouldn't be making that statement if I was ERE. Ah well, only 26 days 'til the homebrew can be drunk
What do you do to cope with the brain fog? Are you a list writer? I find that the start of the week is a lot less stressful if I get all of the basics out of the way the previous evening (make sure the ironing has been done, make a packed lunch, set the coffee maker, set out my bag and accoutrments ready to go in the morning).
Congrats on managing a booze free fortnight. I have to say I sponsored a few people taking part in one of those 'Dry January' challenges, I honestly don't know how they do it! I suspect I wouldn't be making that statement if I was ERE. Ah well, only 26 days 'til the homebrew can be drunk
Re: Ginger1's Journal
For the brain fog - a solution to it has evaded me until about a week ago. I cut wheat/gluten containing cereals out of my diet and I found the clouds clearing in my mind. Previously, t was like my brain was constantly under a heavy blanket. I was conscious that, if I could just cut through that, my clarity of thought, my focus and ability to make sound, confident decisions would increase tremendously. I feel that with the gluten thing I am really on to something. I lapsed on Sunday slightly, which brought some of the symptoms back. Now I know it's only been a week and I am aware of the potential for psychosomatic effects, but the prize is so great I'm up for a longer term trial.Ydobon wrote: What do you do to cope with the brain fog? Are you a list writer? I find that the start of the week is a lot less stressful if I get all of the basics out of the way the previous evening (make sure the ironing has been done, make a packed lunch, set the coffee maker, set out my bag and accoutrments ready to go in the morning).
Congrats on managing a booze free fortnight. I have to say I sponsored a few people taking part in one of those 'Dry January' challenges, I honestly don't know how they do it! I suspect I wouldn't be making that statement if I was ERE. Ah well, only 26 days 'til the homebrew can be drunk
Lists - I'm a chronic list writer and checklist user. I've dabbled with GTD over the years but have never really got it working well for me, because the focus seems to be more on having perfect categorised lists, instead of the doing. I use The Final Version by Mark Forster which works very well.
As for the booze, I'm going to go for a while longer I think
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Inspired by Jacob's post on Permaculture, I started to reflect on how the better aspects of my ERE-journey over the last month or two have demonstrated some of these principles.
1) Observe and Interact
A summer school, moving house, moving area, moving jobs - I have broken soil in a range of new territories over the past couple of months. For want of something to apply, I applied my previous EREish methodologies. I found them at times unsuitable for these new horizons. When things went wrong, sometimes with cost implications (see previous posts) I really beat myself up over it. Instead, I should have realised that this was a period for watching, and learning, and gently interacting with this new landscape to pick up its flows and rhythms. Then I could see the areas where my ERE-goals could fit into these landscapes naturally - building my ERE systems around the new landscapes.
2) Integrate rather than segregate
Whilst taking my new 45 minute work to walk, I enjoyed musing on the fact that, a few simple, well chosen and repeated activities can create a host of beneficial effects - here, cost savings, health benefits and a quiet time to reflect. Previously, I had been taking the train all the way to work. As I got closer to central London, I had to wrestle with the thousands of other commuters on the packed tube trains. Then I was somewhat shocked to see how these rush hour journies were also pushing up my travel expenditure column significantly. Now, I've halved the cost of my journey by getting off outside of the central London zone. But I had to go through Step 1 to figure out Step 2. And further iterations will improve this further I'm sure.
1) Observe and Interact
A summer school, moving house, moving area, moving jobs - I have broken soil in a range of new territories over the past couple of months. For want of something to apply, I applied my previous EREish methodologies. I found them at times unsuitable for these new horizons. When things went wrong, sometimes with cost implications (see previous posts) I really beat myself up over it. Instead, I should have realised that this was a period for watching, and learning, and gently interacting with this new landscape to pick up its flows and rhythms. Then I could see the areas where my ERE-goals could fit into these landscapes naturally - building my ERE systems around the new landscapes.
2) Integrate rather than segregate
Whilst taking my new 45 minute work to walk, I enjoyed musing on the fact that, a few simple, well chosen and repeated activities can create a host of beneficial effects - here, cost savings, health benefits and a quiet time to reflect. Previously, I had been taking the train all the way to work. As I got closer to central London, I had to wrestle with the thousands of other commuters on the packed tube trains. Then I was somewhat shocked to see how these rush hour journies were also pushing up my travel expenditure column significantly. Now, I've halved the cost of my journey by getting off outside of the central London zone. But I had to go through Step 1 to figure out Step 2. And further iterations will improve this further I'm sure.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
How long was your old commute?
I still miss the glory days when I could get from Bromley South to Victoria in 19 minutes on the direct train
The trick to London commuting seemed to be living just outside what most people considered to be London proper.
I still miss the glory days when I could get from Bromley South to Victoria in 19 minutes on the direct train
The trick to London commuting seemed to be living just outside what most people considered to be London proper.
Re: Ginger1's Journal
Ydobon: I can do it in 25 minutes on the overground - followed by a 40 minute walk. I can use the train part for reading/language learning and then enjoy a leisurely walk to the office. I quite enjoy it.