Over the Rainbow and Happy Ever After

castlelough

We had a lovely family day today, which is rare due to DH's work commitments (although this is all set to change as and from next week, which is both exciting and a little scary!)

We brought DD to a big toy shop and spent the voucher she got from her uncle for Christmas on a few new toys. Only had to add €9 to the balance so that was good going!
Then we went to a nearby interiors shop and chose and ordered curtains for our bedroom. They will be made to measure and will be such a luxury after spending the last 15 months with bare windows, no blinds or curtains! I am really looking forward to collecting them. It is a bit of a splurge, but a planned one.

I do like lovely things for our home and I am prepared to wait until we can afford them, or buy them secondhand. I would much rather wait and get what I want rather than buy a cheaper option that will "do for now" as I feel that costs more in the long run.

We didn't eat out but did treat ourselves to icecream!

I have been thinking about what I posted yesterday - the "crossing the divide" comment. I suppose I still have a way to journey before I cross the next divide where I am happy to save for the sake of saving and not for the sake of spending.

However I have begun to save 3 seperate little funds over the last few months and I am really happy about that. I opened a post office account for dd. It is in her name so neither DH or I can touch it. She can withdraw it when she turns 7 so we could reinvest it somewhere else at that stage for a better return. I'm saving €50 of the Childrens' Allowance money each month and lodging money from gifts too. I hope to have a little lump sum of €15k for her by the time she reaches 18 and is off to uni. Maybe I won't need to access it then for her. Maybe I can wait until she is buying a house or getting married or wants to study abroad ir set up a business... anyway it is a nice feeling to have started to save for her. I like this feeling.

More about savings plans tomorrow!

castlelough

Happy Easter everyone!

We are inadvertently having a chocolate-free day! Both DH and I forgot to buy eggs! Shocking, as we are total chocoholics! And dd @14m is too young for chocolate, in my opinion.

We will celebrate Easter by going to mass and attending the annual point-to-point racing that takes place in our locality. We should have free tickets, dinner before we go and will bring a flask and sandwiches...very MSE! I don't tend to put many bets on, but will enjoy chatting to everyone. Most of the parish will turn out if the rain stays away!

smallholdingsister

Golly what a tough time you have had but how lovely that Lily arrived safely.
Are you enjoying your aga and do you still have your horse?

castlelough

Thanks SHS! I feel very blessed with my beautiful daughter!
The Aga has been switched off for exactly a year. It went off on Easter Monday last year as the weather was soooo mild and the house was sweltering. I absolutely loved every minute of my Aga. Loved cooking on it and loved the heat. Loved the drying for clothes (we have no rads) and even switched off - I get a happy feeling just seeing it when I come into the kitchen!

So, as we had a huge electricity bill to pay in the Autumn (there was a mess up and we ended up being billed for 9 months electricity which was very very ouch) I decided not to switch it on this past Autumn as 1) it was still so mild 2) it was an additional luxury we didn't need (gas hob now operational and underfloor heating) and 3) I wanted to see how muh our bills were without the Aga (DH blaming Aga for huge bill!) and 4) the house still hasn't been painted or curtains/blinds, bath, fireplace, landscaping, driveway, gates etc....😣 so I thought we had better spend our discretionary money in a more sensible way (for now!)

So Aga will hopefully go on in October this year. I must analyse the electricity bills properly but I don't think the Aga was the main culprit in running up the bill. Our bills still remain quite high.
The main thing is that it is in, and had I not put it in at the beginning it would never have gone in.

Horses! Yes, I still have my horse. Dh and his sister have a horse too. They are turned out together with a little rescue pony. I am hoping to do something with my fellow in the summer when I have hols from school. Am planning to send dd to the childminder several mornings a week and do a bit with Rolo. Am nervous though. I know I need help. I haven't ever ridden him and he is an ex-racehorse. But it is one of my biggest dreams. We are saving for a horsebox but the horsebox fund has only a measly €235 in it at present. Ideally I woukd be able to load him up and take him somewhere where I could lunge and school him in safety and get some help...I also need to get a saddle! And probably should have some riding lessons. We are also ttc #2 and as I turn 37 next month we can't really put it off...especially when we have always wanted 3-5 children! Well, we'll see what happens!

castlelough

SHS how do you find your Aga?
You mentioned in your diary about when you reached your target weight you would get back in the saddle. Have you done a lot of riding? Pony Club sounds like so much fun!

castlelough

Weather was atrocious today.
The(secondhand) Bugaboo buggy was well put through it's paces over rough terrain today and passed with flying colours, which is more than can be said for the car - we had to be towed out by a tractor due to the mud. ��
Dd and I had most of our picnic on a blanket in the conservatory when we came back! Dh and I did have a lovely hot cup of tea at the races and a bacon sandwich each (leftovers from dinner).

Have been pondering something. Would love advice. I have just received an increment at work. It is working out at €50 per month. I know I should put it towards my debts but I have just worked out that it would knock 5 years off our 30 year mortgage if I increase our repayments by €50 pm. I know the general advise is to tackle the debt first but I could make such a difference by adjusting the mortgage.... advice, anyone?

cazmanian_minx

If the debts are at 0% or a lower rate than the mortgage, send it to the mortgage. If any of the debts are at a higher rate than the mortgage, pay it off those.

To take some very simple figures, if you had a mortgage at 5% and a credit card at 10%, you'd essentially be borrowing at 10% (because the €50 would still be on your card running up interest) to save at 5% (the amount of interest you wouldn't pay by paying the €50 off your mortgage).

Nice to see you back

trulymadlyhannah

Ive just caught up with your diary

I agree with cazmanian minx, send the extra to the debt with the highest interest rate

My eldest is called Lily, its a beautiful name (Im slightly biased :rotfl:) and my youngest is nearly 11 months, so closeish in age. Hope you have a easier journey TTC this time, it sounds like you have had a lot of heartbreak over the last few years.

Good luck

castlelough

Thanks for stopping by Hannah and Cazmanian Mynx!

The loan with the highest rate of interest is the CC, followed by the Kitchen loan. The car loan is from my mum and is interest-free. I am paying about €50 pm in interest on the Kitchen loan atm. The CC costs €15-18 per month in interest. We are in the second year of paying a smallish 30 year mortgage (€80k) with interest of €3.5k per year at the moment. Am so tempted by wiping 5 years off that and the interest we would save. Still, maybe I should do what you ladies advise and put that €25 off the CC to start with? I could be reducing that by €100 pm instead of €50. I could knock it down quite quickly...hmmm.

Thanks for good wishes on ttc Hannah. I hope things go more smoothly next time. It is a bit fruitless atm as my cycle hasn't returned yet - the downside (or upside!) to breastfeeding. I am going to give it a few more weeks, then I will have to think about night weaning. I really need DH at home for that so it is a good thing he is finishing up his current job. We are both from families with 4 children, a lot of fun, and great to have siblings. Especially now we are all beginning our own families! L has 3 first cousins within 18 mths of her and another on the way. Fun times! By the way, yes! to the woven wrap. I have a ssc and a ring sling, both of which are invaluable. The woven wraps look very cosy and so versatile.

Nothing too adventurous on the cards here today. The spendthrift in me wants to go to a big shopping centre an hour's drive from here. No! No! No! Going to do a fridge/freezer/pantry stock take, meal plan and grocery list for tomorrow. Aiming for a NSD, some decluttering and a long walk with dd plus a spot of neighbourly visiting....hope you all have a lovely day!

smallholdingsister

Gosh such a lot going on.
Do you have any chance of photovoltaics on the roof? My big plan for the next place is using those to run a 13amp aga.
Ours is oil fired and expensive to run but it does so many things other than cooking and hot water.

I have backslid a bit on the weightloss because wine!

I did loads of riding but nothing beyond pony club D test and happy hacking.

In Ireland is a horsebox a vehicle with a motor or something you tow?

It seems to be different even between Devon and Wiltshire.

We have what I think of as a horsebox and Devonians call a trailer. It was £1600 second hand and we use it once or twice a week on average.