Those of you who follow me on Twitter will know that I’ve decided to start a car fund challenge. Earlier this week, I had some unpleasant news. I received a phone call to say that my car had failed its MOT. Even the guy from the garage sounded surprised.
Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue as I’d get the work done and forget about it for another year. But what they found was worrying…
Corrosion on the subframe – it doesn’t sound good does it? And to make it worse they don’t know how bad it will be until they take it apart to do the job.
I’ve been using the garage for years and know the owners, so I trust their judgement. The plan at the moment is to do some welding work to strengthen it but in my mind I’m thinking that it might be time to get rid of my beloved car. Both for financial and safety reasons.
My little car (aka ‘Snoopy’) doesn’t owe me anything. I’ve owned it for 9 years but I was hoping to run it for a few more years.
The news from the garage may be better than expected, there may only be a tiny amount of corrosion. If that’s the case then I’ll continue to run the little Snoopster for a few more years.
But at the moment I’m preparing for the worst and have decided to start a car fund challenge.
What is the car fund challenge?
Although I have enough money in my emergency fund to cover the cost of a new car, I don’t want to use it. A new car isn’t an emergency. I can walk to work and get to most of the places I need to on foot.
So while time is on my side I’ve decided to set up a little challenge to help me build up my car fund, so that when the time does come I have the money available in cash.
I’m always more focused when I have something to aim for so I’ve decided to set myself a goal. I want to add at least £150 a month to the car fund pot. It’s a lean amount to start with but I’m hoping to increase it over time.
For me, there’s no better way to stay accountable and motivated than by publishing my monthly updates online. I might even create a tab at the top of the blog to keep track of my total.
The car fund challenge rules
To help build my car fund I’ll be looking at ways that I can both make and save money.
I’ll be re-adopting some of the money making strategies that I mentioned in this post. But my initial focus will be to declutter and sell my unwanted stuff.
Some of the ways I plan to make money are:
- Decluttering and selling my stuff
- Restarting my tutoring business
- Making money online through surveys, writing content, doing research etc.
I’ll be looking to save money by initially reviewing my current budget to see if there’s any non-essential spending that I can cut back on.
I’ll also see if there are ways to reduce essential spending by:
- Meal planning
- Reviewing my utility / mobile / internet providers
- Try to borrow instead of buying things that I need
I’ll also be paying more attention to the newsletters from Money Saving Expert for up-to-date ways to save money or make money.
Back to Simple Sundays
Ok, now that I’ve laid out a plan for the car fund challenge, it’s time to get back to today. It is Simple Sunday afterall!
I actually slept in this morning and woke up feeling refreshed – unlike yesterday when I felt drained for the entire day!
After a blustery walk along the seafront I came home to clean the chooks out – just before the heavens opened (thank you)! Then I did some meditation.
I took some time to listen to this podcast with Jillian Johnsrud. She gave a wonderful explanation of prioritising your yearly goals and ways to break them down to make them achievable… I think it might be another favourite.
And that’s as far as my day has gone. This afternoon will be spent relaxing. If the rain ever stops I’ll pop out and pick some rhubarb and make some crumbles. But apart from that it feels very much like a day to stay indoors, get cozy and listen to the rain on the windows.
What are you up to today? I hope you’re having a relaxing day and keeping Sunday simple.
Image courtesy of Noby George on Unsplash