#74 Review of 2017

Financially 2017 has to be considered a successful year.

We now live in a house we feel we could comfortably live in for the foreseeable, and have moved from debt repayment to wealth creation.

1. We increased our savings exc pension from £310 to £6,247.51!
2. Total savings inc pension has increased from £14,391 to £28,549.52
3. We've paid off the entire house loan (was £5,653).
4. We've spent less than we've earnt in 10 of the 12 months in 2017
5. We stuck to budget in 2 of the 12 months, and were within £50 on 3 further occasions.
6. Our net worth, which is really a wrap up of all of the above, has increased from £147,900 to £160,800.01

Having said all of that when I look back at my goals for 2017 it doesn't look as rosy. I guess some most of this can be put down to changing priorities throughout the year.

Financial:

1. Pay off the remaining £7,628 of debt.
1. Failed. Still have CC debt remaining.
2. Increase wealth excluding Pension to £3000
1. Completed.
3. Overpay on the mortgage by £600. Equivalent to £50 per month.
1. Failed. Didn't put a penny towards this.

To do:

1. Get a will for the family. 
1. Completed.
2. Complete one item from my bucket list
1. Completed. Played a complete season of Saturday 11-a-side football before I turned 30. 

Physical:

1. Get weight to below 14st
1. Failed. Nearly 15st now.
2. Run 13.1k without stopping (half marathon distance)
1. Failed.

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What do we know is going to happen in 2018...

1. We're going to have our third child. 
2. We're going to need to buy a new 7 seat car
3. I expect to receive a bonus in Q1.
4. HMRC debt needs to be re-paid. So our Savings Exc Pension will drop by £1k but our debt will drop in parallel.

What are the aims for 2018?

Financial

1. Cash savings to reach £3,398 or in other words one months salary
2. Savings exc pension to reach £10k
3. HMRC debt to be re-paid in January
4. Carpet debt to be repaid in 2018
5. Overpay on the mortgage by £600 or equivalent to £50 per month.

Well-being

1. Some sort of physical piece here. To be confirmed shortly.

Other

1. Tick off one item from my bucket list.
2. Some charitable giving.

#73 December Finances

So, did we stick to the budget?

Nope. We spent £884.57 more than our budget!!!!!!!!!! Shocking.

If no, why not?

We spent a fortune on Christmas and days out seeing family and friends. We had a great time, don't regret a thing but now back to the more sensible business of being good with our money.

We also had a had a couple of big outgoings not related to Christmas including sons birthday party booking.

Did we earn more than we spent?

No. For only the second time in 2017 we spent more than we earnt. £571.27 more to be precise.

This really was an expensive month.

Any positives / milestones?

1. Savings in shares (either directly or through work sharesave) increased beyond £3k for the first time.
2. Cash savings also increased over the £3k threshold for the first time.
3. Therefore also Shares + Cash savings increased over the £6k threshold.

Lessons / thoughts?

Christmas was expensive. I had almost 4 weeks off work with family so it all came to a head at the same time.

Effect on overall debt?

Student loan remains paid off :)
House loan remains paid off :)
Every day card balance is £1,983.58
0% Carpet loan balance is £1,386.58
HMRC debt - due 31/1/18 is £1,080.68
  

   

Total Debt  Exc Mortgage = £4,450.73

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Wealth Accumulation

Summary:

Asset	Value	Increase
Pension Value	£22,302.01	£321.75
XO Shares Account	£67.06	£4.36
Company Dec '19 Sharesave	£1400.00	£100.00
Fidelity Global Index Tracker	£1,264.11	£118.58
Cash (Matched Betting Liquidity)Betfair	£1,939.32	£216.49
Cash (Emergency Savings)	£0	£0
Cash (Annual Bills)	£1068.57	£0.17
Company Dec '20 Sharesave	£200.00	£100
Trading212 Equities	£230.44	-£9.56

Cash Regular Saver

£76.00

£50

Total

£28,549.52

£903.80

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Net Worth

£160,800.01

An increase of £709.94 since last month.