****Littlekel's diary - Getting on the right track :-) ****

Choc-addict

littlekel wrote: »

Thanks Choc-addict....been a long time coming to get organised with finances! Glad i am finally here! ;):) Commented on your house situation on your diary....i bet you are extremely excited!

Don't need to sort something for dinner anymore. OH just rung up to say his parents are doing a bbq for us all tonight! Well i think they have been made to by SIL and BIL!!!!

We are hoping to buy our first bbq as our anniversay present this weekend!!! We are big bbq fans but in 8 years of being together have never bought a bbq!!! The one we like is £40! Not very DFW of us but we have been very good with money lately!

Mmmmm, loving the idea of a BBQ - yum

Thanks for your post re house, typical when I write about it bad news follows. They seem like a decent couple so hopefully they'll find somewhere soon enough - can't rush these things I guess!

Enjoy the BBQ.

OrangeFairy

Thanks Linzi!

Right today OH is working! So i am off to my mums to study the horses and watch the grand national! Fingers crossed! On name alone i like Irish Raptor. My fave golfer is irish (Padraig Harrington) and he has had a bad week this week so i am hoping that means good luck for my horse!! Also the kids love dinosaurs (Raptor) and the rider is called Paddy! So i think i will choose him and a favourite!

BBQ was nice last night. Unexpected bbq's are the best!

We were about to buy the bbq we wanted for £40 at the garden centre today...but on mentioning it to MIL she has offered OH hers. Hers is bigger than we wanted but is cast iron and was expensive. I think she just fancies a new one! It is a bit worn but OH thinks he can rub it down and recoat it so saving us a fair bit of money. BUT...on the other hand i would like a new one!!!!!!!!!!

Let's see if the good angel wins!!! :eek:

Kids are driving me insane today!!! Will be glad to go to my mums where they can run around with my siblings! :T

Oh just remembered ive got to wrap my cousins present. He wants money and last year i was given a plastic maze thing you put the money in and reset and the maze has to be completed to get the money out!!! So i think i will give him that! He is 14 and i think will appreciate the challenge!!

mmmmmm HM bread smells good.

Had another NSD yesterday in the end which was an unexpected one!! :T

josiebabie

Boo to Eon posting on your diary!
Hello Kel x

OrangeFairy

Well i put £8 on the national lottery and got £9.75 back!!! LOL not really a great win but mean i didn't finish the day feeling like i had wasted money. I choose the horses that were my faves and then shoved 50p each way on the fave as i knew if it came in it would cover my costs!! So £1.75 up..better than nothing

Better get everything ready...SIL and BIL are round in a min and we are going out for a walk and picnic somewhere Hopefully LSD today

Did a bit of shopping yesterday. Spent £9.69 at Mr T's. My mum was there so i got her 10% discount so it seemed worth it! I have 4 blocks of cheese in the fridge but it was slightly cheaper and i got 10% off so i bought another 2!!!! 6 weeks worth of cheese at the mo. Frubes were on offer and i got potatoes for the next week and a half. £66 left for the month!!!!!!!!!!

Right off to get ready!!!

OrangeFairy

Woohoo another NSD here!

Took the kids for a woodland walk down to the sea and then had a picnic back at the car.....then took them to a park to play for a while. Not a penny spent even on parking

Two more days off and then back to work!

DD2 has her pre school jabs tomorrow! Not looking forward to that as since putting a bead in her ear and spraying her eye with deodrant she is now a bit hysterical around doctors!

Got my letter yesterday to say as DD1 has reached 7 HMRC have put another £250 in her child trust fund. When we have paid off debts i really hope to start saving for them. I said to OH about saving £20 for each of them a month, putting £10 in a normal account and £10 in their trust fund which they can't get until they are 18.

Bit worried at the moment about getting married abroad. OH has suddenly got fussy and says he doesnt want to scrimp as we only plan on doing it once. However i would prefer not to go overboard and have more money for a house deposit! Everywhere he suggests is really expensive. His parent want us to get married in Florida...this is out of the question as my family wouldn't be able to afford to go to florida. Where ever we decide will not end up being good enough for MIL and FIL. I feel like giving up....i can't ever see OH deciding and it being acceptable to both sides of the family. We will have 28 people going not including us...4 of OH's and 24 of mine!

....................perhaps just grabbing the kids running off somewhere and coming back married is the way to go :(:(:(:(:(:(:(

anonymoose_3

Sounds like you've had a lovely day Kel.

I get where you're coming from about the wedding, OH's bro got married in the Caribbean & he couldn't afford to go Whatever you decide on it's your's & hubby 2be's day and no-one else's so as long as you're both happy with it then everyone else can ram it
xx

josiebabie

Vegas all the way Kel! Sod the family...mine would all argue anyway

OrangeFairy

Trouble is me and OH have to decide on the same thing before even considering the family and we can't even do that!!! I'm sure it will work out...just felt a bit down about it yesterday

Will update banking and bits later!!!

Choc-addict

littlekel wrote: »

Trouble is me and OH have to decide on the same thing before even considering the family and we can't even do that!!! I'm sure it will work out...just felt a bit down about it yesterday

Will update banking and bits later!!!

Sorry to hear you are feeling a little down about the wedding, it's so hard when families get involved. I know a few friends that have been through it and everyone wants a piece of you on their terms! Can't say I would fancy the idea of getting married in Florida, suits some i'm sure but in all the places there are in the world it wouldn't be one i'd choose. The day is about you and OH - therefore if possible put others on the back burner. Perhaps sit with OH and think of what's important to the both of you i.e. having family there, location and so on....a few suggestions through friends that have got married abroad....

Italy - very romanitc and if you have it near the lakes you get fantastic moutain drop downs.
Switzerland - again near the mountains, my friend had this and it was SO hot but amazing as had snow capped mountains in the back ground, they had their pics just the two of them up in the mountains and then a surprise helicopter ride back down the gardens of the reception venue - it was fab and so beautiful.
Carribean - all of these locations are good. A friend of mine went just the two of them to Mauritus and it looked amazing.

Anyhow, I hope things pick up for you - planning your wedding should be enjoyable lovely.

Picnic sounded fab, it was such a lovely weekend for it. OH and I took picnic when we went down to Portland yesterday and sat on cliff top looking out over the sea - beautiful

Take care and enjoy your day off x

OrangeFairy

Thanks Choc. Will definitely have to si down and chat to him. I have found somewhere that is perfect for me and my family but not sure about what he will say!

Really thinking over how much i have changed my spending habits and how my attitude has changed over the last month or so. I only spend what i feel i really have to at the moment and i get easily pleased by silly things. Such as my daughter not eating her chocolate bar at school putting a smile on my face becuase then the chocolate bars will stretch an extra day! Yesterday when we were out i kept thinking of whether or not we had to pay for parking at the park we visited after our walk. I thought about it a number of times on the walk.....something that would not normally even cross my mind. When we got there you didn't have to pay for parking and it felt like a mini victory that it meant my day was a NSD!

Food has been a drastic change......we have dropped some of our 'luxuries' such as expensive pure squeezed OJ and expensive sausages. Meal planning has worked wonders. I dread to think of all the times we have thrown out veg due to not using it in the week. We would just buy a big pack of mushrooms and only use a few for fajitas on one day and then that be it! Now i plan and buy exactly the veg we need. Also food portions i have cut down. Pretty often we cook a meal that should serve 4 and just have it between us! Over eating by a person each. Now we freeze half for another meal or sometimes have enough for one of our lunches the next day. I have two jars of balti sauce that each are meant to serve 3. Usually we would just have one between us. However i have bought enough lamb for 3 meals and will pad it out with veg and use both jars to make 3 meals and freeze two of them. I am loving our slow cooker and breadmaker which i think have saved us money!

Just a reflection after reading Choc-addicts recent diary entry.....i really feel we are on our way to sorting ourselves out. Even with OH's wage drop we are still in a better position than last year plus we are decreasing our debt. :j

(for people who have read previous posts.....good angel won and we are having MIL's bbq rather than spend £40 on the new one we wanted!)

Off to check banking...