This is it *ping* lightbulb!!!

kindofagilr

Thank you I loved making it, I might make some in the future and attempt to sell them on etsy etc, we will see, for now I am back into my cross stitch (I tend to flip between cross stitch, crochet and gaming and stick to one for months)

I have decided for my 40th (July 2021 eek) that I want to go "Back to the island" with Hanson they do a island trip to Jamaica every January, you stay in a 5 star all inclusive hotel for 5 days, they do two concerts, then each band member does a a solo show, so 5 concerts all together, then there is an after party, and activities while you are there, my hubby isn't too keen cos you can't really leave the complex (he likes exploring), whereas I don't want to cos its drink, sun, beach and Hanson to me lol, my friend went last year and it was just under £2000 for her for the hotel, food, flights, spends etc, she tagged on 3 days to the hotel so was there for 8 days really - So I have set up a YNAB savings target for it aiming to go Jan 2022, and we need to save £140 a month for it which isn't too bad (won't be able to put in really till after cyprus this year) I am excited

And so then, OH wanted to go to New York again (we've both been but not with each other), so we plan on that for his 40th (march 2023) so we plan on going a week in the summer holidays of 2023, for 5-7 days, not sure yet, the kids will be coming with us to this, they will be 9 and 12 which I think are good ages for new york, so again I have added this to YNAB savings and its come up with £120 a month for the amount I want

There really won't be anything going into them till after Cyprus but it's nice to see they aren't too hard to reach (1 and 1/2 weekends would make us enough to hit the targets)

So no holidays abroad for us till January 2022 after Cyrpus this year, but we will keep doing centre parcs every may for the 4 days as we put £100 a month away for that all year round and that's enough for the lodge, food and activities

I am excited, and I am happy we have nice holiday plans to aim for

Have a good day all xx

abba1772

Great on the holiday plans I want to go to New York before I'm forty........got 3 years to plan it lol xx

kindofagilr

Whoop I bet you can do it randomly the best value I have found is BA, they do flights and hotel packages which are fab xx

kindofagilr

Morning everyone

I have just done T25 after dropping the kids off at school, I am wrecked lol

I have a wash in, I need to tidy, do the dishes and prepare the Hot Pot for tea later, then I plan on sitting on my !!!, watching pretty little liars and cross stitching lol

I need to clear my greenhouse out and dig up the potatoes but it's raining so that isn't happening today

Have a nice day all xx

Homegrown0

We are hoping to go to NY for our 10th wedding anniversary (late 2020) but we'll see what the funds are like because next year will hopefully be the year of the big house expenditure. I've only been once with work and barely saw anything but it's given me a thirst for going back!

I've flown both BA and Aer Lingus transatlantic, and Aer Lingus was far superior. Just a thought

Hot pot sounds amazing!

kindofagilr

Ohh thanks I will look into that, I have been to America three times before, twice with Virgin and one with American Airlines, I will never ever fly with AA ever again, it was an awful experience, and annoying as it was only £26 cheaper than virgin who have been amazing both times I have been with them

Just been updating my YNAB, one thing it has taught me is that I am under-budgeting my shopping, I always thought I was fine as my weekly asda shop is always less than I budget but it doesn't count in the orders I do online from Joe's and Chemist Direct and Costco etc, so then I end up spending more than the budget, and having to take it from somewhere else, so I will be upping the shopping budget from next month

Our TV is dying :(:(:(:( it is ten years old, so it has done well so far, I had a look on AO and we can get a 58" 4k LG tv (we have LG now and love it) for £499 so that is now being added to YNAB as a savings pot, we have some things to ebay, which I will put towards the tv pot, fingers crossed it survives till we have the money saved lol

I have washed the bedding today, just put all that on the radiators, need to put the clean clothes away off the radiators, then going to do my T25 workout, then it will be dishes, tidying, and then pretty little liars, my butt on couch and cross stitch till I get the kids from school lol

I have updated my signature, with my total debt paid off, my POAMAYC total and my mortgage changes so close to the £30k's with the debt, and £70k's with the mortgage

Have a nice day all xx

Homegrown0

You'll be in the £30ks before you know it!

I do love reaching a milestone whatever it may be - dropping into the next k bracket, or reaching 10% paid off...anything really It's a lot more motivating that way!

I don't drop into the next k bracket until next month (into the 13ks) but I'm sure i'll find something to celebrate this month. Always look for the positives!

Shame about the TV - there's always something needing replaced isn't there? I worked in an electrical store about 15 years ago and I'm sure I remember someone telling me that LG is just another brand under the Samsung label. Back then you'd pay significantly less for an LG TV than a Samsung one even though they were made in the same factory by the same people. No idea if this was just sales patter but something I always remember.

We got a Hisense TV on Black Friday sales 2 years ago and it's great. It's 60" and curved and we paid £990 for it. A few days after we bought it, Amazon did a special on it and dropped it down to £850 and they automatically refunded us the difference. I just saw the money in our account one day and when I went to investigate I realised. Hisense actually get a fairly decent write up, considering they're not one of the main well known brands.

Good call on the shopping budget - there's no point in keeping your head int he sand with it. Better to adjust your budget as you have done, so you can have a realistic goal/ limit.

teafor2

Morning K, could have sworn I'd subscribed to your diary but obviously not. The finished blanket is gorgeous. As a fellow crochet fan I can appreciate all the work you've put into that.

Sounds like you have some good holiday plans for the future. Wish we'd had the sense to save up for some of ours back in the day. But we were young and silly :rotfl:

Right, have definitely subscribed now, so I will 'speak' to you again soon. x

kindofagilr

Homegrown0 wrote: »

You'll be in the £30ks before you know it!

I do love reaching a milestone whatever it may be - dropping into the next k bracket, or reaching 10% paid off...anything really It's a lot more motivating that way!

I don't drop into the next k bracket until next month (into the 13ks) but I'm sure i'll find something to celebrate this month. Always look for the positives!

Shame about the TV - there's always something needing replaced isn't there? I worked in an electrical store about 15 years ago and I'm sure I remember someone telling me that LG is just another brand under the Samsung label. Back then you'd pay significantly less for an LG TV than a Samsung one even though they were made in the same factory by the same people. No idea if this was just sales patter but something I always remember.

We got a Hisense TV on Black Friday sales 2 years ago and it's great. It's 60" and curved and we paid £990 for it. A few days after we bought it, Amazon did a special on it and dropped it down to £850 and they automatically refunded us the difference. I just saw the money in our account one day and when I went to investigate I realised. Hisense actually get a fairly decent write up, considering they're not one of the main well known brands.

Good call on the shopping budget - there's no point in keeping your head int he sand with it. Better to adjust your budget as you have done, so you can have a realistic goal/ limit.

Omg 13k is amazing!! I bet you are sooo excited!!! I can’t wait to drop down and I total agree with the percents, I was so happy last month to see when my mortgage went to 20% paid off

Ohh that’s good to know about the tv I will look into it, one plus side with saving for one is I have time to research :rotfl:

Our current TV is LG, we love it I didn’t know they were made by Samsung though

teafor2 wrote: »

Morning K, could have sworn I'd subscribed to your diary but obviously not. The finished blanket is gorgeous. As a fellow crochet fan I can appreciate all the work you've put into that.

Sounds like you have some good holiday plans for the future. Wish we'd had the sense to save up for some of ours back in the day. But we were young and silly :rotfl:

Right, have definitely subscribed now, so I will 'speak' to you again soon. x

Thank you it was so nice to make I am well into my cross stitch again and nearly finished a page (it’s 20+ pages long)

I hope I can manage my savings plans. I really want to be able to do it.

Posting my meal plans, done the next two weeks. We get back from our trip the 16th so I’ve done the order for that day as well ad tommorrow.

This week
Sunday - chicken and chorizo pasta
Monday - slow cooker curry
Tuesday - bangers and mash and peas
Wednesday- fish, chips and peas
Thursday - Barburrito (we are away)
Friday - steak and co (love this restaurant)

Then next week
Saturday - chilli nachos
Sunday - home made pizza
Monday - chicken enchiladas
Tuesday - fish, mash and peas
Wednesday- slow cooker curry
Thursday- chilli and rice
Friday - home made chicken nuggets (panko breadcrumbs) chips and curry sauce

Xx

kindofagilr

Morning everyone

How are we all, I was in such a low low mood yesterday, I couldn't shake it all day it was awful, was pleased to see I was fine this morning when I got up

Have done all the washing today, kids just finished their homework, DS is coding some game on his computer, OH is soldering a robot and DD is painting her plaster of paris model things that she got for christmas, I am going to sit and cross stitch and watch tv

OH needs to clean hamster and do the hoovering, then that is all chores done

I have written packing lists for me and the kids (who will be staying at grandparents while we are away) and got the cases and trunki's out the loft, so will pack them wednesday night

I hope everyone is having a good day xx