301k in debt and morbidly obese - things aren't great!

Kantankrus_Mare

thevinternet wrote: »

Oh dear. Excuse me for reading a bit too much between the lines, but it sounds like Mrs B hasn't quite had her 'lightbulb moment' regarding your debts yet, would that be fair to say? My OH hasn't either, and I must say that it is a bit harder when one of you makes a real effort to save cash, and the other person is a bit more reluctant/splurges more. I always end up feeling like a nag, so I have to really tone it down at times. We used to spend £120 at the supermarket, but by buying in bulk with BOGOF deals and not being fussy about buying 'economy' or supermarket own products (with the exception of coffee and loo roll ) we have easily halved that, if not more when I cook from scratch. So chin up Bloater, it can be done, and well done on the running

:rotfl:Have been on this site since 2006 and Martin has saved me oodles of cash in many different ways.

We had debts when I first came here and I hated them!!

I decided that we were going to get them paid off one way or another but getting OH on board was another matter

Fast forward 4/5 years and we are debt free with money in the bank......but listen to this!!!

As we were eating sunday dinner today.....our 16 yr old DD was after buying something which I see as not a necessity and the OH pipes up:

"As Martin says..........Do you really need it ? And can you get it any cheaper?"

:T :T :T :T :T :T


Music to my ears!!!

It took a while but we got there.

Theres hope for Mrs B yet me thinks

hex2

MrBloater wrote: »

As if it wasn't bad enough that this Sunday followed an extra Sunday yesterday that had followed a bonus Wednesday- this Sunday alone is being a Sunday with double strength of misery.

I is confused. Curse you cheap (but all seducing) co-op wine :D:D:D

ETA - MR B - perhaps someone would appreciate some encouragement from you: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3493359

MrBloater

And so the weekend sponsored by Radiohead took on another turn when Mrs B decided to have a looky at the thread. I would say that I could/should have taken the voucher out with me (only redeemable instore and on groceries) and that the 120quid spend on Tesco had very little excess on it - all stuff that was needed and she did grand on the BOGOFs. Her lightbulb is well and truly switched on.

On another issue, I need to tap the collective wisdom of the MSE fraternity: whilst a few weeks back I would have put money on it being more likely that Ian Paisley would visit the Vatican than I would consider getting a bike, as my hatred for those smug lycra-clad skinnies worthily pedalling their way to work on their lefty cycle lanes is only outweighed by Mrs B's loathing for Paul McCartney (she classes him in the category of folk known as "Greenpeace People")

However, cycling does strike me (and thanks to the poster who also suggested it) as a way to augment my exisiting training regime, and might be something I could get the whole family to do at weekends - DD has yet to have her stabilisers taken off yet and DS is still into scooters so I still got time, but I have a major problem, or rather a knowledge gap.

When I last had a bike it was that transitional time between the golden age of the Chopper/Grifter and the emergence of the BMX, and when it came to bigger bikes you had a choice of a 5speed or 10speed racer. And it had drop handlebars. So I am completely in the dark about what I should be looking for, and obviously I am going to be asking around if anyone has one cluttering up space I can take off their hands, or check freecycle, or ebay locally. I need something sturdy that ideally can do offroad and can support a 6foot 4 bloke with well long legs currently weighing in at a shade under 23 stone. Any models, makes, advice would be much appreciated.

jetplane

I love being out on my bike, you need to go to a proper bike store (not halfords) and get measured first. The size of the frame is where you need to start and the reach and height of the seat (you dont want your knees bent on the long stroke). You probably need the biggest bike they make.

You don't have to buy in these shops but you can test drive various bikes and get some great advice. This will save you a lot of time looking at bikes that are unsuitable for your size and then you can find one as cheap as you dare.

A hybrid might be good if your going to vary from road to rough and bikes vary a lot in weight which can make a difference if you live in a hilly area.

Im sure someone else will be along with more tips, padded shorts MrB or else you will truly discover bones that you never knew you had :rotfl:

custardy

whats you budget?
this sets the stall out for everything else
given your size(I'm no whippet myself) then an MTB is the right choice for you now

theres plenty of blogs from big guys who have dropped serious weight biking

http://massivemtber.blogspot.com/

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/pictures/

Chell

When you find the pink phone why not see if you can get anything for it on one of the phone recycling sites?

Butti

Seems like you have had a lot of good advice on bikes. I would reiterate to be measured and take advice in a good bike shop. Hybrid with 7-10 gears on each wheel would probably be a good idea. Plus you can also get saddles that inflate which I thought were pretty amazing.

B

thevinternet

MrBloater wrote: »

And so the weekend sponsored by Radiohead took on another turn when Mrs B decided to have a looky at the thread. I would say that I could/should have taken the voucher out with me (only redeemable instore and on groceries) and that the 120quid spend on Tesco had very little excess on it - all stuff that was needed and she did grand on the BOGOFs. Her lightbulb is well and truly switched on.

Ah, righto - I was way off the mark then. Apologies Mrs B!

If you could tell me how to switch my OH's lightbulb on, that would be appreciated! At the moment, it's just a dull flicker

Well done on the cycling idea Mr B - I do it when I need to pop into town and back (say for just a few groceries, or to pop to the bank) - it saves me cash on parking and petrol, plus I am getting fitter in the process. Wish I didn't live near a big hill though...phew!

cptncanary

custardy wrote: »

whats you budget?
this sets the stall out for everything else
given your size(I'm no whippet myself) then an MTB is the right choice for you now

theres plenty of blogs from big guys who have dropped serious weight biking

http://massivemtber.blogspot.com/

http://theamazing39stonecyclist.wordpress.com/pictures/

Gary Brennan's tale is truly inspirational :T:T

MrBloater

Rest day today so no early morning horrors to report - but horrors aplenty this afternoon DS sent home from nursery due to multiple leakages - one thing I have to remind myself when it is pear-shaped at work is that there aren't many places of employment where I can legitimately go home at 2.50 and that have an onsite nursery - but I might have to go onto the OS board to find out how to get shot of the stink of vomit from the car without resorting to buying a new bsby seat.
Got the missing MusicMagpie cheque which is nice, was gonna have to sort it out tomorrow. Keep teasing myself by plugging in some of my vinyl onto ebay and see what the completed bid sale prices were. At a conservative estimate I would say I could be sitting on around a couple of grand which'll make the week off I have at the end of October quite lucrative...