the daydream fund challenge thread

TomandBarbara

Pamm wrote: »

Hi all, Thought id come along and join in hope you dont mind im am absolutly loving this idea as i have just got into the habit of growing all my own flowers and some veg but we have a very small garden which is full of toys for the kids so there mostly in pots, We do want to actually buy land and build our own house with a nice BIG garden (wishful thinking here lol) as of the moment i am just going back into work and my partner does work full time but weve been trying to save for a while and becsause we smoke its really hard to find the extra money so that is 1 habit we are stopping i just need to set my mind to something that will stop me from buying them (any ideas would be nice) We do have a tin with all of our extea pennies in it which isnt much but its getting bigger so fingers crossed

x

Hi Pammm welcome from another newbie

Pamm_3

hi suzynick thank you everyone seems nice on this thread but its a really good idea lets hope i can stick to it lol

tattycath

Hi everyone. Managed to get my ISA up to £215.
Saw the icecream maker on the link MRS M ...don't speak German-didn't understand a word of it... Looks like a great little machine though. You are meant to be saving so I'm now trying to discourage you from buying it. Save yer money!!!
I managed to squirrel away over £20 yesterday into my BS account-got just over £67 in there now!!!
Well done everyone so far.
Welcome Pamm & suzynick-we are a friendly lot
CTC your little chick looks so cute
Right better update sig.

bonsibabe

MrsM - for some strange reason when hubby took all of his kit to hand it in when we were coming back, they checked all the paperwork and he managed to come home with a boot full (and we have a people carrier lol) He filled the whole car then came back with half of it lol. They only took what was on the paperwork and I was astounded to see the amount of stuff we had bought over the years - so will be glad to see the back of it and make back some of what we spent!! Although he does have a pair of coveralls that he uses for his gardening and decorating now to save his clothes from getting wrecked!

We now have about 10 strawberries turning red in our barrel!!! The plant OH bought is just dead but the others are thriving!

Tatties and various veggies are doing well so bonus there, and have now started the front of the "project" lol. I'm calling it that as I am not a very confident knitter - blooming good at scarves but this is the first time I'm following an actual pattern. Although when I went to the wool shop in town I did get 8 pairs of bamboo needles in a case for £12. They were supposed to be £15 but the lass knocked £3 off as I was buying a fair amount of wool. And I got a discount card to use as well so well chuffed about that.

Oh before I forget - MRSM - DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!

Just off to listen to DD1 doing her homework then going to chill while OH is at the dentist - my next appt is in 2 weeks!

MRSMCAWBER

Bonsibabe

I can imagine what you still have left -we drag box after box from place to place-start to unpack -open it up -seal it again and shove it in the basement :rotfl: hubby knows they will only take the most recent stuff back... he will keep hold of his coveralls and he has a thing he calls a "dew liner" ??? which can only be described as like a babies snow suit -but for grown ups :rotfl:he reckons it is the warmest thing ever..so he will hold onto that -i think he has getting into fishing in his mind;)-so that will keep him nice n toasty at night...
I don't think hubby has really paid for much -no mess dress etc..thank god -how expensive are they :eek: although hubby says they are about to start issueing them instead -which will be a heck of a saving ...

Have to say I think everyone on this thread is great.... it really is helping to keep me motivated ..so thankyou to everyone...
right off to do dinner -salad with steamed potatoes and left over roast pork


Thanks for the "don't do its" folks ..I have given myself a good talking too :pand finally come up with the following reasons NOT to have one

• If it goes wrong my German isn't good enough to take it back:o
• I would end up living on ice cream and Im allready big enough thankyou very much
• I have no cupboard/worktop space at the moment(well I could make room -but Im not:A)
• I then have to part with cash for extra ingredients

and soooooo I have decide that I can wait a bit longer and WHEN we get a house with a bigger garden and I have room for plenty of soft fruits then I can justify having one -to turn all the fruit into ice cream and I will treat myself to the rather expensive one from lakeland as they have great customer service :T

rhiwfield

I admire all the people on here who are dreaming of the good life. Up until 4 years ago I was looking for a smallholding in west wales and visited one or two. A few health issues later, me and OH decided to stick where we were and enjoy being close to the gds.

At that point I took a critical look at our garden and started to make some major changes to turn it from difficult access terraces overshadowed by leylandii to a garden that would give food for the stomach, for the soul and could be maintained without using crampons. This year we've just about managed to complete the changes, most things are working well and its a joy to sit out in the evening and savour the new vistas.

With hindsight a smallholding would have been too much for us, so for those of you who have the dream, two bits of (unsolicited!) advice

1. dont leave it too late to realise your ambitions
2. take a good look at what you've got, it may be closer to your dream than you think

TomandBarbara

rhiwfield wrote: »

I admire all the people on here who are dreaming of the good life. Up until 4 years ago I was looking for a smallholding in west wales and visited one or two. A few health issues later, me and OH decided to stick where we were and enjoy being close to the gds.

At that point I took a critical look at our garden and started to make some major changes to turn it from difficult access terraces overshadowed by leylandii to a garden that would give food for the stomach, for the soul and could be maintained without using crampons. This year we've just about managed to complete the changes, most things are working well and its a joy to sit out in the evening and savour the new vistas.

With hindsight a smallholding would have been too much for us, so for those of you who have the dream, two bits of (unsolicited!) advice

1. dont leave it too late to realise your ambitions
2. take a good look at what you've got, it may be closer to your dream than you think

Sounds like you are pretty much sorted! You'll have to stick some photos on of all your lovely veggies.

Unfortunately we are far from happy with our lot, yes we have an allotment which is great, but we are not townie folk (although I have grown up in a town) and find the people around our estate sooo annoying with their loud music, jet sprays that sound like a dog constantly yapping when they clean their car/patio every week , loud music coming from car stereos, revving of car and motorbike engines, people talking SO loudly to each other you can hear every word, neighbours that just give you a funny look when you say a polite "hello"..................I could go on but I won't I've had my moan!!!!

MRSMCAWBER

Ooooohhh Suzynick
I have seen pics of rhiwfields garden and it is gorgeous -i even enquired about me moving into the play house in there -but it seems the grandchildren might not like the idea :rotfl:
I don't know exactly what it is about that particular garden I fell in love with -but it is the nicest I have seen so far :T Rhiwfield I don't think we will be getting a small holding either -but I will be happy with a decent sized garden

bonsibabe

same here - i don't think we will get a small holding but we are applying for an allotment in our area - the local community association is considering starting allotments for residents so if it is big enough we may manage to get some chooks if hubby is in a good mood at the time lol.

MrsM - it is amazing how much stuff is accumulated. we disposed of about 40 boxes and 30 bin bags full of stuff we no longer needed, and there are still boxes in our attic and bedroom that need sorted out!

Hubby is treating me tonight to no cooking, so we are having a chinese - its the only time i can have a king prawn curry as he hates seafood and won't cook it lol. Maybe at the weekend we can go for a trip to the forest and have a root around and see what goodies we can rummage up, and give the kids a nature lesson at the same time!!!

hope you are all well xx

Davesnave

rhiwfield wrote: »

With hindsight a smallholding would have been too much for us, so for those of you who have the dream, two bits of (unsolicited!) advice

1. dont leave it too late to realise your ambitions
2. take a good look at what you've got, it may be closer to your dream than you think

I've seen pictures of your garden too and I know you've worked really hard to make it a very organised and productive space. If it works for you, that's all that matters.

I hope we haven't left it too late. We first tried to escape to the country in 2002 and almost bought a place in Devon, but we dithered, then circumstances intervened which meant we became carers and unable to change our situation. Really, we were saved from huge problems by not buying that smallholding, but nevertheless, I don't drive past it, even today!

As I see it, the reasons so many of us come to smallholding later in the day are ones of time & money, but I agree that it's important neither to let the dream fade, nor to let it get in the way of getting the most from wherever you find yourself.