Tales from the city

ani*fan

Igamogam wrote: »

You sound very organised re wedding. Jeez weddings are expensive doos:eek: would be quite happy ,if my DDs decide to get married, that they do it all quietly and tell us afterwards. .......its what we did near 30 years ago after all;):D

We are very organised Igamogam. I think it's the only way to be to try and keep costs down because yes, it is very expensive. I couldn't cope with a last minute panic and having to throw even more money at it for things we hadn't thought of. But me and OH are working, and we've had help from our families, so overall it's not broken the bank.

Saying that, if the debt was not on 0% and so well under control, then we may have had to prioritise differently. Fortunately we both have good jobs and it's all doable. I'm looking forward to the planning being over though, and having everything paid for, and just sitting back waiting for the day to arrive.

We're both really excited about it all. My family are quite far flung and don't often get together so that in itself is exciting. A few have said they haven't been to a proper wedding for a really long time, that people just don't seem to do it any more, so they're especially pleased to be coming. I'm all for celebrating the good stuff.

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

My father, who had five daughters, always offered to position a ladder at the bed room window in case we wanted to elope

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: Did any of you do it? Brilliant.

Eager_Elephant

ani*fan wrote: »

Problem though, you can't live in the countryside without owning a car. That's a given. Is there a more affordable way to own a car?

I'm away to research it.

I live in the countryside and we have 2 vehicles, a car and a truck (but we do have a smallholding).
I work in a town 12 miles away.

I try to limit my journeys to include more than 1 thing, so I get petrol when I am near a petrol station and running low, I only visit the shop if I am going out somewhere such as visiting relatives. If I had more time I would do my food shopping one night after work but evenings are busy with other things at the moment.

I would never make a special journey to buy petrol or to nip to the shops - our closest shops are 6miles away.

ani*fan

I've just been doing my daily finance obsessing and noticed there are a few areas where we can possibly make some further savings in the budget and therefore overpay the debt this month. I just did a £10 transfer to the target cc. If I'm very careful I might get £100 overpaid; I'll keep on top of it and see how we go.

I also forgot about my linked saver when working out the wedding cash plan. I need to keep paying £200 a month in to get the 5% interest. So, at the end of this month I will put £300 in the big wedding pot then leave the linked saver to top up £200 a month until July when the account matures.

All of this means that debt overpayment can start up properly again at the end of March. :j:j:j Good.

ani*fan

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

I live in the countryside and we have 2 vehicles, a car and a truck (but we do have a smallholding).
I work in a town 12 miles away.

I try to limit my journeys to include more than 1 thing, so I get petrol when I am near a petrol station and running low, I only visit the shop if I am going out somewhere such as visiting relatives. If I had more time I would do my food shopping one night after work but evenings are busy with other things at the moment.

I would never make a special journey to buy petrol or to nip to the shops - our closest shops are 6miles away.

Hi Eager_Elephant

Yes, that's it exactly. I would need to reduce the amount of journeys I did in the car to an absolute minimum. I remember that from before, trying to get the shopping done after work when I was in town anyway and struggling 'cos I was always so knackered then. But doing one big monthly shop helped, if I could face it, which often I couldn't. Hmm.

Maybe this car- free spell has just been helpful in getting the debt paid down and owning one again wouldn't be too bad.

Your small holding sounds fab Eager_Elephant. I love messing around in the dirt and growing things. I have very happy memories of that time in my life.

Eager_Elephant

Up until last year I used to have my shopping delivered - three stores deliver to us so we do have selection. I stopped when we started using Lidl more but now we have progressed back to one of the big 4 so really could start having it delivered again and then wouldn't have to worry about packing it all, loading and unloading it.

I think everyone should have a go at growing things, whether that is just flowers or things to eat. we have a smallholding which is just for the animals and behind our smallholding is the village allotments so we have 2 of those - 1 had 5 apple trees on and we have now added a cherry, pear and plum tree to it. I think we will also plant some rhubarb so that plot will be all about the fruit and my plot is for the vegetables.
I love spending time outside - I don't care about the state of my house I would rather be outside. Housework can wait until it rains!!

SmithfieldPartDeux

Well done! Once you get the wedding out of the way you will smash the rest of the debt!

ani*fan

SmithfieldPartDeux wrote: »

Well done! Once you get the wedding out of the way you will smash the rest of the debt!

Thanks, I certainly hope that's what happens.

ani*fan

OH had a bit of a windfall this weekend from the future parents- in- law, unexpected but badly needed. OH got a haircut and new undies, I got some trousers for work and we had lunch out for a treat. Free plate from Yo Sushi because they took a long time to make it. I can't say I was much bothered. I love it when cash appears that you didn't expect and then you get free stuff too.

The kitten got spayed and I used a 10% off voucher. So far she is recovering well and due a check up this week. Apparently she'll have another check up 5 days after the first one, maybe not needed but it's included in the price so I'm going to use it and be on the safe side.

My week looks horribly busy but I'm excited to be doing it in trousers that actually fit. The thought of the wedding has frightened me into hardly eating and I've dropped a trouser size. I can't say I'm complaining.

I'm not sure how my overpayments are going to finish up this month but I'm trying hard to overpay something. £10 already, another £10 possible from my account and maybe £20 from the joint account. My £100 target was ridiculously ambitious but I do enjoy a challenge so I'll keep trying.

My minimum payments should clear tomorrow so I'll be back to update my total. And it will be significantly smaller!

Happy debt busting everyone.

ani*fan

Today the debt stands at £8,715

:j:j:j:j:j

Better, but still a long way to go.

Treadingonplaymobil

Brilliant, well done!