100 months to turn the money situation round

elantan

gilligansyle wrote: »

Oops about the bank; glad someone was on the ball. I always used to take the view 'best of British' to anyone trying to access my account - I can't get money out of it, so no chance of anyone else!

Now though, I'm a bit more cautious and when after 2 tries it rejected my password the other day, I didn't go through the online security, but rang them instead just in case.

i used to be similar gilligan.... but your deff right to phone ... it's strange how banking has changed yet stayed the same over the last few years ... i trust them even less now than ever before ... but i am also aware that people are getting more sophisticated at hacking etc

elantan

NorthernLas wrote: »

El - I now have an envelope ready for you with all things Florida in it ... no IE book as I think I have send them all out (and I need to order more as I have a workshop heading my way v.soon - if you want to know more look for Beyond Chocolate on the second hand book site Green Metropolitan)

For anyone else heading to sunny US climes ... we
1. Used the official tourist centre at the top end of international drive. They are very helpful on the parks and tickets to buy, you can pick up discount voucher books and discount cards for restuarants there.
2. Booking for universal is easy on the internet and you print off your entry tickets at the park.
3. If you have littlies or people who have difficulty / don't like walking, use the priority parking (extra $10) at Universal.
4. Do not buy souvenirs at the parks (unless it is something you know cannot be bought outside). There are several 'flea markets' selling discounted official goods. The term 'flea market' is used to describe an indoor / outdoor market at contains everything from park merchandise to nail art and tatoos.
5. Car boot fairs happen on Sundays and are called swapshops.
6. 'Thrift stores' aka pre-loved / charity stores seem fairly new in the US. They are great places to while away a few hours. Some of the commercial ones are houses in warehouses.
7. Mid Florida (Winter Haven or Lake Wales) are very good for antiques and US costume jewelry. This is because people from Northern US retire for the cliimate and move into much smaller homes.

NL x

thanks NL .... will have a look for that book

i have a few chocolate books that i have enjoyed

elantan

well my wages were in a little early this month ... dont quite know why ... but they were so that makes my totals change a wee bit ... £100 more to the asset planting and £100 off the visa ...

i have updated my sig

i am still a wee bit further forward with my debt repayments than i had planned at this time .... next month in order to stay on course i have to have paid off £1,841 ... so i have £491 till i reach that ... which i may have to stick to as i am not expecting any extra money next month ... but am expecting the debt to go up a bit ... so will have to re-work it all out if/when that happens

elantan

spoke to son today ... he has seen a house he likes .. i am so excited and happy for him ... when i mentioned it to hubby he was not so happy ... i asked him why ... he said "finally the two of us are really getting on well and he is moving out now ... i feel as if its slipping away " so we had a chat about things ... i explained that this is actually the start of a whole new chapter for the two of them .... he seems more content now ...

so budgets are totally going to change ... we are down £160 a month ( ok it will be a struggle ... but my happiness for son is immesurable) ... we will be buying son some things for his house ... so debt will be going up ... maybe the difference will be to the tune of £250 a month for a wee while we will see ...will work it all out when the time is right

hubby and i get our house back ... this time though things are deff going to change in that sense ( from last time )

changes are a coming .. but more exciting than that is our son is buying his first house ... yay

boredofbeingathome

That is a proud moment when he buys his own house. :T:T

Just a wee thought, he could practice weeding your garden to get him into the swing of things :whistle::whistle:

elantan

He is not too bad when he gets going with the weeding bob ... Its getting him going thats the hard bit .... Hes currently in charge of watering .... So i will see if i still have some things alive soon lol

elantan

looking for some input here .... as i am sure a few of you know we are currently on holiday ... we are doing ok money wise managing better than i thought tbh ... doing some very good mse things ( parking after 6pm for $3 instead of $15 etc)

anyway ... i have seen some sunglasses i like http://uk.oakley.com/products/4675/15272 as you can see in the u.k they cost alot of money ... here i can get them for $180 with the current exchange rate $1.66 ( last time i looked)

i have sunglasses currently ... they are 7 or so years old ( maybe older) they have a few scratches on them but nothing too bad ... they dont offer full protection and they cost me around £35 ... these ones that i like well i think £108 plus pennies is alot of money.... but i know i am getting them much cheaper than i would in the U.K.....but does that mean i should get them ?

i will use them when i go hillwalking of that i have no doubt.... but can i justify spending that amount of money just because i want to?

living life the m.s.e way can be difficult sometimes sigh

elantan

have been reading a few reviews on glasses etc ... i think i will land up going for them ....

The_Dragon

If your current pair are scratched and really don't do the job properly and these ones are cheaper than over here then go for it!

boredofbeingathome

El i bought a pair from Matalan for about £4- does the job, but then again i only wear them in the car or for lolling around. They did have a label on about protection when i bought them. I think it does depend on what you want at the end of the day and what your budget is.