Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

ztan

Howdy everyone

I'm a MFW devotee and MSE is slowly taking over my life! I am so motivated to maximise every penny, and reading through just some of the threads on here, it's nice to see the same kind of support that the MFW's offer to each other. (Unlike some trolls on other boards!)

Short intro, I'm ztan :female: 21. Just purchased first home with OH :male: 25. We have a cat (a now much bigger one than in my avatar) and are generally a happy little group. I work full time, but am changing jobs next week, to a much more demanding role with career prospects! OH is an engineer who works bump loads of over time to sustain our guilty pleasures- such as yummy foods and beer!

I'm so grateful for MSE, because it's already teaching me good, new and interesting ways I can save and make money... which ultimately can only be a good thing If it wasn't for MSE I was convinced I'd be tied to my first mortgage until I was 65! At this rate I aim to be mortgage free by the time I'm 35! :T

mama67

Primrose wrote: »

My grandmother had her many little tins for her weekly budgets. She bought up 6 children in the depression during and after the First World War, when her husband couldn't find work for a long time. Even when times got easier for her, those little tins were still carefully maintained every week. Painful lessons are the ones best remembered. It's a pity though, that some people have to go through all the pain before they learn them. Financial budgeting and learning about managing money ought to start appearing on the agenda in primary schools, and carry on into secondary education. It would be a tragedy, after the state this country's finances are in now, for any future generation to grow up and perpetuate the problem because they don't understand that nobody, whether individuals or countries, can spend more than they earn without it eventually ending in tears.

I have a similar system in place for the cash expenses we have weekly/monthly.
Dh gets paid Friday weekly so a certain amount is drawn out in cash and then split between coin bags in a sandwich box. This means that when DS2 needs money for his karate grading it is there already and isn't a surprise.
The same goes for the boys weekly subs for football and karate those amounts are put to one side so there is no scrabbling round for the right change each time.

hth

BB1984

wheretheresawill wrote: »

Asda sell a brand that has the high dose vit B in it called energise by principle healthcare, it cost me under £2 for 30 days, exactly the same as berocca, very high doses of vit B (much higher than normal brands), makes your pee turn yellow but defo gives me a boost in energy - helps my bipolar and ME like symptoms

Excellent, thank you very much for that. I'm off to Asda at some point next week for a big shop, so will buy a pack. Hopefully it will make me feel much better! :j:D:rotfl::T:beer::D;)

I have just returned from the gym, thought I'd make the most of the chance to go at a quiet time. I do feel much better for it - I always do, it's just that when I'm in a "funk", I find it hard to find the oomph to just get myself there, despite knowing it'll do me good! I also took me towel and made the most of the "free" shower - washed my hair and spent about half an hour under the hot water

Looking forward to my lamb curry for tea, want it now but trying to hold off for a bit or else my body will be telling me it's bed time by about 8pm! Mind you, I only made it to 9pm last night, the clocks going back really messes my body clock up!

One good thing about DH being away is that I get to watch whatever I want on TV tonight, yay. No idea what's on, but I'm sure I'll find something that doesn't involve football, or anything on Dave! :rotfl:

BB

ceridwen

LannyLee wrote: »

When we got married we asked all the parents of the bridesmaids to buy the dresses themselves & we bought the shoes, capes, flowers etc, but my DH freinds plead poverty & said they couldn't afford that, so not to dissapoint the 2 girls we paid for the dresses, yet they were still going out for lunch/drinks every weekend & re-decorated their living room & bedroom.

It really annoyed me as I felt like they'd lied to my face, but this is a good example, as I later found out that they had put all the decorating on C/cards & now were struggling to pay it off.

They have said to us a few times do we want to do this or that & we've had to say no, we can't afford it & they look at us funny & have actually said "well ust put it on your credit card, that's what we're going to do" & they can't understand why we don't want to do this.

Sorry - went off on a bit of a rant there, but it is a good example of how people want to keep up appearances, but don't have the funds to back it up & so end up in trouble later.

Hmmm...now sitting here thinking I duly had my turn as a bridesmaid when I was a little girl (I think its nice for every little girl to HAVE a turn in this role at least once). I remember the dress/flowers I carried and present I was given afterwards by the bride and groom (ie a gold cross on a chain) and it was a nice experience for me as a little girl. Mind you - I wish I'd had a different dress - the one chosen for us bridesmaids was FAR from my taste:(.

I remember the two bridesmaid dresses were made by someone - cant recall who it was....

I think my mother was given the money to cover the cost of getting my dress made??? I think it is the norm that bridesmaids get their dresses paid for by the bride and groom actually (leastways if they are children still)...so my personal feeling is that I would have felt very awkward indeed if I had a little daughter that had been asked to be a bridesmaid and the accompanying statement that the dress would be paid for hadnt happened. So - I am guessing that the family concerned come from a background where they expect that bridesmaid dresses will be paid for by the bride and groom and simply didnt know how to react to a different set of ideas about who did the paying (hence they probably lied out of sheer embarrassment/not knowing what to do). I would have felt very embarrassed myself if I had automatically agreed to a daughter of mine doing this - in order to give her this typical "little girl" experience and then realised that I was expected to cover the cost of the dress. My own take is that I would have been expecting the inviter to say how the cost would be covered - and then giving my little girl a nice present for doing so.

Not saying either way is right or wrong. Just saying that there may have been two different sets of expectations in this case - hence both parties feeling upset...

Kitcaboodle

Yep, I'd also go by the theory that bridesmaid dresses should be paid for by the bride & groom. Basically, if you tell people what to wear (and they don't already own it) then you pay for it!

NualaBuala

Yikes! I always thought the bride and groom paid for the dress etc. Am worried now, agreed to be a maid of honour for my friend. :eek: Am already worried about how I afford a pressie even though I have over a year to save for it ... there are just so many other things to save for too.

parsonswife8

Good evening all

We have arrived at our caravan, to pack it up for the winter. Big party here on Saturday night and then we will return home on Sunday.:)

There are big refurbishments going on in our park over the winter. We are moving to another pitch as a result. The new area is over run by the most gorgeous little bunny rabbits, with big brown eyes.
They are SO cute.

It's great to get away and chill. Candles, wine and peace and quiet, as the park is now closed to the public. This is my piece of self indulgence before the coming winter.:o

It is so mild that we don't even have the heating on tonight. Money saving! Yes:T:T:T

DH and I decided to buy a caravan, so we, and our family and friends can take a much needed break, when needed. There are so many places to go and visit and the park is near a sandy beach. We do rent it out to cover our costs, but to be honest, I don't really want strangers, traipsing in and out of it. It's like my third baby at my time of life. Hahaha. That would be a miracle.;)

I feel so chilled out here, it is amazing. At home, we get daily nuisance calls from 0800 numbers, unavailable numbers, international numbers, witheld numbers. It really stresses me out.:mad:

Here, we just close the curtains, lock up and escape.:cool:

I hope everyone who has illness, as I do, or personal or money problems, will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I did, I found my DH, after 2 failed marriages and I feel truly blessed.:o
He is a widower and a right nice, gentle man.

My third time lucky chance and as my birthday was yesterday, the 3rd, I rest my case.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Best wishes to all of you and lots of luck as well, in your lives and in everything you do.:)

Luck does turn, believe me. Just believe.:A

NualaBuala

What a lovely post parsonswife, really inspirational ... gives me hope! Stay cosy and hope you have a wonderful stay there.

ceridwen

Primrose wrote: »

Ceridwen - you're so right! This is one reason why we could economise further and cut out the expense of our daily "serious" newspaper, but we won't, because I do make a point of trying to read the financial commentaries from business journalists and economists to try and figure out which way the economic wind is blowing. Some of it may be above my head but it's also possible to figure out, for example, that a journalist reporting on the wiping out of the coffee crop in Brazil from frost, before long is going to mean a huge hike to coffee prices in the supermarket, so it would be sensible to stock up.

My own personal financial motto, apart from the very occasional financial extravagance, has always been to play safe and err on the side of caution. The impact of my OH's first redundancy, completely out of the blue years ago, left an impact on me that has never really gone away, in terms of the lesson learned that even when things seem to be going swimmingly, it's better to prepare for the unexpected.

I know not everybody can afford to put money away for emergencies, but if you're having holidays abroad, regularly buying new cars or expensive household equipment yet have no money in the bank for an unexpected crisis, there has to be something wrong with your financial competence People are perfectly entitled to adopt the mantra of "Live for today", but in these difficult times they will find it increasing hard to find anybody who will be prepared to bail them out when that choice has proved to be an unwise one.

My grandmother had her many little tins for her weekly budgets. She bought up 6 children in the depression during and after the First World War, when her husband couldn't find work for a long time. Even when times got easier for her, those little tins were still carefully maintained every week. Painful lessons are the ones best remembered. It's a pity though, that some people have to go through all the pain before they learn them. Financial budgeting and learning about managing money ought to start appearing on the agenda in primary schools, and carry on into secondary education. It would be a tragedy, after the state this country's finances are in now, for any future generation to grow up and perpetuate the problem because they don't understand that nobody, whether individuals or countries, can spend more than they earn without it eventually ending in tears.

Couldnt agree more with your post here:T

I spent many years not getting a newspaper regularly - but I do now regard buying one and generally keeping a good weather eye on the news as a necessity. Many times I have been thankful I did..

If you've been very poor at some point then I don't think you EVER forget it. I know I've never forgotten being on benefit money (and that was back before all the swingeing cuts over recent years....). I know my parents both experienced severe poverty when they were growing up and my mother has never forgotten it. My father is grateful that they are "comfortable" now (as am I - as that means I dont have to worry about them as well as myself.....) - but its a "family joke" that there are times when my mother simply cant bring herself to spend money when she could perfectly well afford to - because she still worries at the back of her mind that she might get thrown back into poverty. A VERY frequent statement from both my father and myself to her is "Go on - you've got it...so spend it if you want to" - but I DO understand why someone would find it difficult after many years of things being otherwise.

It really is a question of finding a balance and having a very "realistic" view of how much is available/what the future might bring/what are personal "insecurities" that no longer have a basis in fact in order to try and work out a workable money management strategy.

katholicos

parsonswife8 wrote: »

Good evening all

We have arrived at our caravan, to pack it up for the winter. Big party here on Saturday night and then we will return home on Sunday.:)

There are big refurbishments going on in our park over the winter. We are moving to another pitch as a result. The new area is over run by the most gorgeous little bunny rabbits, with big brown eyes.
They are SO cute.

It's great to get away and chill. Candles, wine and peace and quiet, as the park is now closed to the public. This is my piece of self indulgence before the coming winter.:o

It is so mild that we don't even have the heating on tonight. Money saving! Yes:T:T:T

DH and I decided to buy a caravan, so we, and our family and friends can take a much needed break, when needed. There are so many places to go and visit and the park is near a sandy beach. We do rent it out to cover our costs, but to be honest, I don't really want strangers, traipsing in and out of it. It's like my third baby at my time of life. Hahaha. That would be a miracle.;)

I feel so chilled out here, it is amazing. At home, we get daily nuisance calls from 0800 numbers, unavailable numbers, international numbers, witheld numbers. It really stresses me out.:mad:

Here, we just close the curtains, lock up and escape.:cool:

I hope everyone who has illness, as I do, or personal or money problems, will find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I did, I found my DH, after 2 failed marriages and I feel truly blessed.:o
He is a widower and a right nice, gentle man.

My third time lucky chance and as my birthday was yesterday, the 3rd, I rest my case.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Best wishes to all of you and lots of luck as well, in your lives and in everything you do.:)

Luck does turn, believe me. Just believe.:A

So lovely to read about your little slice of heaven far away (miles have nothing to do with it) from the nuisance phone callers and the busyness of life. Glad the weather doesn't warrant using the heating, at least at the moment