The End May Actually Be in Sight...

RoaringTwenties

Well today has been much better with my kids (sorry Crumpets ) largely cos I didn't see them much again this morning, had to get stuff done in town. Scored a winner in Clarks when I returned a pair of sandals past the 28 day deadline, the girl didn't notice & just have me a refund instead of the gift card I was expecting :T. I also saw The Scarecrow's Wedding in Sainsys for a fiver, a whole pound cheaper than Asda, so I bought it & will take the original back to Asda next week. OH said it seems a lot of work for a quid but I did my "if you look after the pennies..." speech :rotfl:

We went out for a sneaky happy hour lunch today all four of us, which probably helped the day go swimmingly! And tomorrow we may go for a similarly sneaky happy hour lunch after swimming! Well, we're on holiday after all <sound of budget exploding> :rotfl:

Crumpets

I'm glad you've had a better day today, I'm sure I'll have a better day tomorrow, partly because I'll be out for half the day :rotfl: i've also had the "if you look after the pennies" speech with dh tonight...they just don't get it sometimes

Enjoy your lunches...the budget has to be flexible in the holidays. We need to enjoy life too. :beer:

RoaringTwenties

We enjoyed life a bit too much today Crumpets - another lunch out :eek:. Moving swiftly on

Not a bad day here moneywise, I've been having some problems with my contact lenses & managed to get a cancellation appointment this afternoon having been told yesterday that it would be at least 10 days, basically I need to go onto fortnightly or possibly daily disposable lenses, going to be an increase of £8 a month but I don't care if I can see in comfort again! All my check ups are free too :money:

Walked by the secondhand book/toy/DVD stall in town before the appointment & picked up two Fimbles DVDs, a Scooby Doo Mystery Machine & a Peppa Pig Fun Phonics for £7.50 all in! Will take the brand new Peppa Phonics I got last week back to Asda, the Scooby will go with the DVD best friend is getting DS for his birthday. I love that stall, got loads of bits there over the years & nothing for more than a pound or two.

Cheats tea tonight, got two pizzas for £3.75 on a BOGOF in Sainsys :money:

RoaringTwenties

Very much a LSD today, just some milk. Am signing off now as I'm going to Cornwall tomorrow & don't want to be updating constantly whilst I'm away [STRIKE]or else I'll be like the sad people we were being sarky about on Ed's thread [/STRIKE] :rotfl:. I'm a bit nervous about the budget but am determined to have fun & not to stint!

See you all in a week

Crumpets

Have a wonderful holiday RT, enjoy yourselves and eat lots of yummy cream teas and ice cream

Safe journey xx

Goldiegirl

Have a lovely holiday.

I love Cornwall, but haven't been for years.

Look forward to hearing about it when you get back

RoaringTwenties

Thanks Crumpets & Gg We're back from Cornwall having spent a fortune but having had a fabulous time! The money I'd managed to save monthly paid for about 80% of the accommodation, the rest was all a bit of a wing & a prayer . It was helped by the hotel refunding us for a nights stay due to noise from other guests which woke the baby, so that was good and meant we could stay a cheeky extra night

Some of the spending was a real splurge for me, I took some money from our residual savings & bought a piece of jewellery that I've been on the lookout for for over 10 years now, a strand of vintage graduated pearls in natural buttermilk, not easy to come by. I found them in a particular jewellers (it links to my fave novel) that I've always wanted to buy from but never had the cash so it was just destined to be [STRIKE]or that's what I'm telling myself[/STRIKE] . I got about 25% off too, utilising my powers of negotiation :money:. They are my birthday present from OH & kids for Oct but having them early as I won't get so much wear out of them in winter when I'm back in polo necks!

Financially we've had a long think since we got back. We *loved* being away, it did us all such a lot of good. We realised just how much it costs though, we didn't go mad (other than said pearls) but even basic meals & petrol added up. A friend said to me recently that she spends at least £50 a day when she's on a family holiday & I thought she was mad, but this is the first time we've all been away & now I know what she means. Years ago me & OH used to just grab a bread roll for brekkie & be off, now even in a Premier Inn its £15 for us all for breakfast (& that includes kids free) so it adds up over a week. So the upshot is we're going to increase the holiday savings budget by about 60% & hopefully that will mean all the money is put aside by this time next year. Mind you, OH - who used to hate holidays - is now suggesting we go next spring too, so better get extra saving...

I've also realised that since our monthly income increased our monthly expenditure has increased - we now have the cleaner, gardener, extortionate pool etc - so we are living on about the same money as before. Quality of life is far better & that's invaluable, but we might have to reduce the OPs a bit. Will see how it goes. We're sensible with every penny so if it takes us a bit longer to be mortgage-free but we've had fun in the meantime then we reckon that's no bad thing.

Hope everyone is having a good summer thus far

Crumpets

Hi RT, sounds like you've had a wonderful holiday. Boo to noisy guests waking dd but hooray to the hotel refunding you and getting an extra nights stay:T Did you have to kick up a fuss or did they just reimburse you?

I think an increase in your holiday savings is a good idea, and I think £50 a day on spends is about right to plan for depending where you are going. On our main holiday this year we spent more like £100 a day:eek: but we are a family of five and it was brilliant We have also had holidays where a couple of hundred pounds will do us for the entire trip. I guess it depends what you want out of a holiday too, if you don't mind cooking and taking picnics then you can get away with spending very little but if you want a complete break from the norm then eating out costs a lot! Enjoying life whilst not going mad is the key I think, and getting value for money. It sounds like you've got it right to me :T

Your pearls sound beautiful and are probably an investment too? [clueless] I'm wondering now about your favourite novel and a particular Jewellers...you're going have to give me more to go on I'm afraid

Goldiegirl

Sounds like a brilliant holiday, glad you enjoyed it.


It's all about striking the right balance that you are comfortable with.


We are mostly careful throughout the year so we can go on our cruises, which we love.


Must admit I'm curious about the novel too !

RoaringTwenties

Hi Crumpets & Gg The hotel refunded me without me even thinking they would! We stay in Premier Inns, as they are decent value for 4 people, great for kids with cots in the room & play parks in the grounds, & they're well located. They have a Good Night Guarantee & refund you if you don't have a good night for whatever reason. They tell you about it when you check in but I'd completely forgotten, they just did it the minute I asked them to remind people to keep the noise down at night.

I reckon £50 per day will do us in future, it wouldn't be a holiday for me if I was cooking so we do eat out in the evenings, but we keep it reasonable. We have a big breakfast & generally skip lunch entirely other than the odd cream tea & we don't buy souvenirs [STRIKE]other than posh pearls, obviously[/STRIKE] :rotfl:. I think more trips away are the way forward though, even if only for a night or two, every time we do it we realise just how valuable a break from the routine is. It can get groundhoggy with young kids!

Gg me & OH are dreaming of cruises when it's back to being just us again! We've seen some nice trips advertised & love the thought of waking up on a floating luxury hotel in a different port each day with good weather :T

Ah the pearls! Well this links to you especially Crumpets, as I got them in Penzance which I think I said on your thread is one of my fave places in the world. My fave novel is Mary Wesley's The Camomile Lawn which is partly set in Penzance. Wesley talks about Causeway Head which is just up the way from the jewellers, & the pearls are just like something a character in the book would have worn, totally wartime. So for me, they are perfect!

A decent couple of days money-wise here, DD had outgrown her summer sandals & Clarks had sold out. I gather the good weather has been a problem for the shops, as they're starting to get full of autumnal stuff & it was (until today) nice weather. Anyway, I found one single pair of Doodle sandals that happened to be in her size lurking at the back of a shelf reduced from £18 to £10, so that was brill. It was looking like she wouldn't be able to walk outside till next month I've also managed to get a talking Rex from Toy Story for DS' birthday for a semi-reasonable figure on Fleabay. Apparently it roars & says "Were you scared? Tell me honestly..." which really tickles me! :rotfl:

I'll sign off now - I've got to stop these long posts!