Over the Rainbow and Happy Ever After

milasavesmoney

I craved chocolate cupcakes and Dr. Pepper with my first. The next three I craved milk. Those three are all very tall DD2 5'9, and sons are 6'3 and 6'4. My first DD is normal size in height. She blames me. :rotfl:

castlelough

That's funny Mila! I wonder did diet play a part or was it the look of the genetics draw?! What a tall bunch you have though!!! Luckily my cravings are healthy enough at the moment - melon, avovado, and savoury couscous!

milasavesmoney

I'm sure it was mostly genetics, but it did make me pause and wonder. :think:

My daughter is in the same situation as far as money and her OH. He found out about an account she had from before they married. She used it to save money. He insisted his name be put on it and it went from over $12000 to $2000 in a fairly short time because he needed stuff. He always needs very expensive stuff. :wall:

castlelough

Thanks Mila. It's so frustrating when two people in a relationship aren't pulling together in the same direction financially. My DH just is not good at budgetting and although he doesn't generally need expensive stuff he does smoke and do the lotto several times a week, enjoys a few pints once or twice a week and likes to back a few horses too. He just has no value on his money. When he has it he spends it. I have never known him to save up for anything. Now I can't throw stones, I amn't a great saver either - but I have learned to budget very well.
In fairness to my DH he has always paid me back anything he has borrowed. It's just that if he knew I had more to lend then he would ask to borrow it when he gets stuck for money. He gets most of his income in between Sept and Dec (farming grants and income from livestock) but he never manages to set any of it aside for the rest of the year. Anyway now that he has given up the pub work I hope he will do better financially...

castlelough

Looks like it's going to be a nice day today! Am going to take dd in to see the Fleadh in Ennis in the afternoon. It's a huge national festival of traditional music and will be in our county town for just this and next year. Have never been myself. Definitely plan to send dd for lessons when she is older so would love her to see the musicians in action. Free event - musicians will be everywhere, children and adults alike, so we will go for a potter. There are lots of fun attractions in town too so we will see what we come across!
Inspired by Smallholding Sister I might head to the beach with her tomorrow. DH will be busy working but I have him earmarked for some family time on Sunday afternoon.

Am staying close to home in the mornings as am trying to work on dd's nap and bedtime routines as she has been very difficult to get down to sleep at night and I would like to have things improved before going back to work. At the minute I have to climb into the cot bed with her and wait for her to fall asleep before climbing out. Otherwise she becomes hysterical. We never used to use her cot bed at bedtime, so it is a new phase. Last night was night 2 and there were no tears at all but it took her an hour to fall asleep.....hopefully tonight will be faster. On the plus side she has slept for longer before waking up again. 10:20-5 on Tues night and 10-4 last night. When she wakes I take her into our bed for the rest of the night. Don't mind that at all. Love the extra snuggles. Would just love to be able to get her settled easier at bedtime. Anyway, we will persevere!
Happy Friday all!

castlelough

Well payday has come and gone again! Time is flying by!
Despite lying fairly low over the last week or so I have managed to make up for it since getting paid on Thursday.
Dd isn't even of back-to-school age but the general spending frenzy seems to have gone to my head and I have spent €200 on clothes, a coat, slippers, runners and shoes for her. In fairness, she is just moving up a size into 18-24mo (@20mo). I have been really stretching out the 12-18mo clothing but must leave some wear in them in case #2 is another girl! In the Next/Mothercare sales I had picked up vests, sleepsuits, socks and some lovely dresses for Sundays and special occasions so today I filled in the gaps - mostly play clothes - tops and leggings - which she was short on. Shoes were bought in Clarks outlet. Have never had to buy her a coat before (due to gifts and hand-me-downs from friends). Anyway she is now completely sorted bar an outfit or two closer to Christmas (Mothercare have fab red tartan dresses and skirts in stock, but I will wait until they are reduced before buying).
I had a €60 All4One voucher so I spent that in H&M on some maternity clothes for going back to work.
Also went looking at bathroom accessories and bought some basics for the utility room toilet - toilet roll holder and towel ring. DH is going to put them up over the weekend. His job has finished up but they have more work for him Monday week. Meanwhile he is trying to make the most of his time off to get bits done around the farm and he finished painting the base coat in the kitchen and has begun on the sitting room - so ultimately that is saving us money not having to have a painter do it.
Am tempted to ignore my budget and go and look at tiles tomorrow for behind the range and the cooker in the kitchen. While I am still not back at work and have the head space to do it...
I have a feeling I may be raiding the emergency fund this month....
Bump is coming along nicely. Went to visit SiL and her new baby earlier this week (used a voucher to buy present) and enjoyed some lovely snuggles.
Have spent most of the week dreaming of the garden, drawjng plans for an orchard and a kitchen garden. Ooh and we bought two new hens last weekend to replace the two rescue hens that died over the summer. The new hens are a Sussex White and a Bluebell. Soooo pretty!!!!

castlelough

Signature update. Regular repayment on loan plus an OP of €85ish. Think my total debt may dip below €9k on the next payday! Would be great to welcome the 8s! Haven't managed a mortgage OP yet though...and credit card has been static for ages. No spending but not paying anything off it either - so I must start working on that again before 2016 is out.

milasavesmoney

You really are getting close to the 8's. That would be wonderful!

castlelough

It's been too long since I checked in here! And it's time I got back on track again...

There have been some poor financial moves and some good ones too since my last visit. I maxed out my credit card before Christmas (€6k) and I had great fun doing it...sigh. I shopped all around me for Christmas and enjoyed treating everyone. I put car and motor insurance on the credit card too and lots of things for the house. With baby due after Christmas I really wanted certain things completed in the house and I bought some light fittings, bathroom fans, curtains, paint and some other small bits. I ended up reinstating my overdraft to the tine of €700 too. I am a bit disappointed in myself. I forgot how hard it was to clear it the first time around.

Then on the other hand my Kitchen loan is almost ready to be cleared and that is a huge financial drain. I really can't wait for that to be done with. After 3 more fortnightly repayments my savings balance will be higher than my loan balance and I will be able to clear the loan.

But the best financial move we have made was recently deciding to increase our mortgage repayments and fixing for the next five years to avail of a better interest rate (4.3 --> 3.3). All of that means we have effectively cut our mortgage term from 27 more years to 13.5 years...so we have halved the term. The additional repayments are coming from the following: €50 extra due to the lower interest rate and maintaining the full repayment on loan, €70 extra payment by Dh and I per month and €100 from our new increased child benefit allowance. So effectively, our current income is only reduced by €70 per month which is fantastic!

...yes I did mention an increase in child benefit! That's because our second daughter Ava arrived into the world to join us last month! We are so thrilled and blessed with her, a sister for our first daughter. Life as a family of 4 has been wonderful so far. Our cup overfilleth!

So that is the news from here. Much work has been done on the house, so something can be seen for the pre-Christmas spending spree. But much is left to be done so careful planning is required to get me back (and keep me back!) on track to being debtfree whilst achieving my other non-financial goals and dreams!

Will update signature tomorrow!

castlelough

Signature updated! Despite the credit card splurge my overall debt balance is lower than it was back in August. It's such a shame about the cc as I would have been on track to being debt free on target by Sept 2017.
With a bit of hard work I think I could still get there by Christmas 2017, although I must take into account my plans to take parental leave in Sept/Oct which would be unpaid. We'll see about that. The savings pot is completely empty.