Journey to the Promised Land.

BlueMoo

So, my OH has found out about this diary! Better not moan about him too much now.

The good news is that he's completely onboard with these plans, so it's great to feel supported.

The other things we discussed last night was that we are definitely not in our 'forever' home. We will not even consider moving though for at least 5-8 years as we are currently on a fixed rate with ERC and want to be able to bring as much money forward to our next purchase. 4bed houses in our area are a big step up - typically 500-600k +.

However, this does not stop our MFW plans. In fact, this only spurs us on so we can actually afford our dream home.

*****

Savings account still has not come through yet - I guess by Friday this should be done. Excited! Now I won't just have to wait till payday to move money around, I can do little account tidy -ups.

******

Phoned BG and are in £150 credit! Yay! So this should be transferred by Friday as well. This will go to the wedding budget though.

******

Has anyone ever got a discount with Thomson? We went into the shop and there was nothing they could do, but hoping if I ring up, the advisors may have more leeway to give discounts.
Love to know if anyone here has managed to pull this off?

BlueMoo

So, lovely MSE dinner - leftover pork turned into honey glazed sticky pork with rice and chargilled veg.
OH has asked me to put that it was delicious on here. He is TOO excited about this blog! Glad to have him involved though.

wantabetterlife

Hi Bluemoo, just found your diary. We got married seven years ago and didn't go overboard either...my best tip is to get the three tiers of your wedding cake from tescos...I put ribbon that matched the bridesmaids dresses on the bottom of each tier and got the florist to make a small flower display for the top....the cake cost the grand sum of £27 :D. Goodluck with all your plans

kirstypark

Hi, just popped in to say i made up our flowers for a vow renewal this year - got artifical ones from hobbycraft and was very impressed how easy they were to make up.

BlueMoo

Thanks wantabetterlife - Unfortunately I LOATHE fruit cake! So, finding the right size sponge/madeira cakes in the supermarkets has been very unfruitful (excuse the pun!) :rotfl:

Having found a local cake maker who is very talented and at a great price - it turns out she can't do our cake as she is on holiday then!

Thanks Kirstypark - trying to drag the OH there but he is getting a bit sick of Hobbycraft to be honest . We made our own invites so have been there more than a couple of times!!

BlueMoo

Savings account has been activated and all ready for those little MOP pennies!

Got a new resolution with getting my finances into shape - get my butt into shape! Tried on a few clothes last night and couldn't get them on! Really hit home to me who much weight I have managed to pile on since buying our first home.
Main problem - puddings. Second problem - portion size.
I eat a lot of fruit and veg, and prepare pretty much everything from scratch but need to cut out lovely crumbles, home baked cookies etc.
Hope you guys will help spur me on!

Might have to up my food budget to get more expensive fat/sugar free groceries, but hopefully not too much as it should be offset by no longer buying chocolate etc.

Good Luck to others on the healthy living wagon!

MallyGirl

A couple of things that have worked for me in weight control

We eat a lot of meals in bowls - stir fries/pilaffs/pasta. I bought some bowls with really big borders so that the dish looks bigger even though the portion isn't.

I always measure rice, couscous and pasta - 2oz per person for rice/couscous, 2-3oz pasta depending on the bulk of the sauce. This was how much I could spare the points for when doing weightwatchers and we have got used to it now (it took a while with OH moaning about short rations!)

BlueMoo

Thanks MallyGirl. We have massive plates (which look lovely) but aren't helpful when trying to judge how much you should eat.
Maybe I should start using our side plates as main plates and NOT go for second helpings.

Our budget is too tight for us to join weightwatchers, so hoping I can do this by ourselves.

In the past, especially whilst I was at school, I have lost weight in very unhealthy ways and to be honest got a little obsessed, so I can't really keep a food diary/weigh how much I eat as that is a bit of a slippery slope for me.

But changing our plates seems like a simple but effective tip I can use for helping with portions. We currently already do half plate has to be veg, quarter plate carbs, quarter plate meat. So still do that, but smaller-size it!

MallyGirl

WW wouldn't work without the weighing and recording so it doesn't sound like that would be right for you anyway.
I liked it as I am a bit obsessive and it was all about numbers so I could use a spreadsheet
good luck

sleepygirl126

I think you're doing the right thing...no point in looking back at your wedding in years to come and thinking 'I wish I'd done this, I wish I'd had this'....sometimes you need to spend money.....that's why we've booked a lovely holiday to Menorca next year....still making my OPs but having a little treat too!!