Renovations and Repayments.

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

The days out with your son are more important than busting the mortgage for one month. MSE is not about debt emergency, it is about living well for less money, with the emphasis on living well. I don't know about your days out and what they involve, but the mse part will be getting reduced admission by looking for voucher codes if appropriate, and taking a picnic rather than buying expensive snacks etc.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

Watty1

Days out with son are priceless and way more important than MFW. They can be both. It is your time that your son will remember and not the money. The memories you make are priceless.
This journey towards MF has made me reflective on all the stuff I didn't do/got wrong/messed up/wish I had changed..
Family time would be that I would have put way above everything else Have a lovely summer with your son regardless of whatever else is going on.
As someone who does go away without Mr Watty I may have a different take on the domestic situation - although - I was very peeped off when Mr Watty went to china without me so I guess I see both sides

maman

Watty1 wrote: »

As someone who does go away without Mr Watty I may have a different take on the domestic situation

I go away with friends too BUT this is the second time in a few months that MrsK has used her leave to go away with friends/family and there has been no talk of a family holiday or leave time spent with Alex and LittleK. IMO it's not the same.


I agree with giving LittleK as much fun as you can during August whether it's rambling abut the countryside or something more organised. What about making a mini holiday of seeing the ospreys (I think it was ospreys?) with a couple of days in a B&B. Money spent like this isn't wasted. It's building memories for the future.

AlexLK

Secret_Saving_Squirrel wrote: »

The days out with your son are more important than busting the mortgage for one month. MSE is not about debt emergency, it is about living well for less money, with the emphasis on living well. I don't know about your days out and what they involve, but the mse part will be getting reduced admission by looking for voucher codes if appropriate, and taking a picnic rather than buying expensive snacks etc.

I hope you have a wonderful time.

Secret Saving Squirrel: Thanks, I suppose I've always looked at MSE as being save as much as possible, at the expense of doing fun things. I started on here as a DFW and at the time I'd been ignoring the debts to the point of them going to debt collectors. Yes, certainly not one of my wisest decisions. As a result, I don't think I could even get a £50 bank overdraft these days, let alone more substantial finance.

At the moment I'm quite focused on doing the right thing with regard to the finances. However, you are right that it shouldn't get in the way of trying to give my son some good memories and I'm not going to let it do so.

Pleased to report we had a day out today with a picnic. To my son there's nothing better than sitting in the boot of a Land Rover with the rear door open eating a picnic (especially if there's cake), he'd rather that than eating anywhere else. :rotfl: That boy has a lot to learn!

Watty1 wrote: »

Days out with son are priceless and way more important than MFW. They can be both. It is your time that your son will remember and not the money. The memories you make are priceless.
This journey towards MF has made me reflective on all the stuff I didn't do/got wrong/messed up/wish I had changed..
Family time would be that I would have put way above everything else Have a lovely summer with your son regardless of whatever else is going on.
As someone who does go away without Mr Watty I may have a different take on the domestic situation - although - I was very peeped off when Mr Watty went to china without me so I guess I see both sides

Watty: I'll be the first to agree that my son will remember the time and not the money. Spending time with and giving my son good memories of his childhood are very important to me. I hope above all that making the effort will give him a better chance of not ending up like me.

Regarding Mrs K's holiday I'm not annoyed she's going away, it's more the fact she's made things unnecessarily difficult financially for the month and above all that it's the week our son starts school.

maman wrote: »

I go away with friends too BUT this is the second time in a few months that MrsK has used her leave to go away with friends/family and there has been no talk of a family holiday or leave time spent with Alex and LittleK. IMO it's not the same.

I agree with giving LittleK as much fun as you can during August whether it's rambling abut the countryside or something more organised. What about making a mini holiday of seeing the ospreys (I think it was ospreys?) with a couple of days in a B&B. Money spent like this isn't wasted. It's building memories for the future.

Next year we've a family holiday planned.

We've been to Rutland Water today for the ospreys. Tomorrow and Thursday is the Bakewell Show, my son and I are going with my cousin and her family. It's a busy week, on Saturday we're going to a 1940s event, pity we've not got a period vehicle (oldest one we own is 1960s). We can't go away as my wife is working and she won't be too happy if my son and I go away whilst she's at work all day.

Orange_Ena

AlexLK wrote: »

:eek: Erm, thanks. Not sure why everyone remembers the pens, to be honest. :rotfl:



Thank you.

All the best for your debt busting.

I'll admit I sold some things and made some offers to my creditors, so didn't end up paying back the full amount owed. In short, I didn't really get debt free the hard way but did learn how to live within my means, which was a very needed lesson and one I wish I'd learnt many years before. Also learnt how to make some money from things I like. Yes, it involves pens ... as well as the odd watch, old furniture etc.

Thanks Alex

Hey, don't knock it. You're debt free, that's what matters, however you get there. You recognised you were in a mess, you came here for advice and you learnt a lot. You're up on a hell of a lot of people out there who's heads are buried in the sand. And I suppose you could have got debt free, said 'see you later' and disappeared but you've stuck around which is fantastic.

Have a wonderful summer with your son

AlexLK

Orange_Ena wrote: »

Thanks Alex

Hey, don't knock it. You're debt free, that's what matters, however you get there. You recognised you were in a mess, you came here for advice and you learnt a lot. You're up on a hell of a lot of people out there who's heads are buried in the sand. And I suppose you could have got debt free, said 'see you later' and disappeared but you've stuck around which is fantastic.

Have a wonderful summer with your son

Thank you.

I've learnt an awful lot from MSE but still have a lot to learn. Now I recognise that had I carried on the way I was, I would have bankrupted myself no matter the amount of money I had. I know I would have eventually squandered my inheritance and not be able to forgive myself for it. Certainly was a 30 odd year old spoilt brat, unfortunately.

The next task is, as you've probably gathered, to own my house outright and to make it a better place to live in. Only very recently (last few days) have I realised that I'm actually fortunate to live here, it is a nice house in a beautiful place.

I did make the mistake of thinking getting out of debt would make my mental health problems go away, it didn't. Think I need to come to terms with the fact I'm not very good at earning large sums of money and that I'm generally a bit of a loser, then I'll be more content. Debt free isn't a fix all.

Alchemilla

The being a spoilt brat and the MH issues really resonate with me.
The loser part too...though some people might apply that tag to the early retired - and early retirement seems like a real aspiration to me.

Watty1

AlexLK wrote: »

Pleased to report we had a day out today with a picnic. To my son there's nothing better than sitting in the boot of a Land Rover with the rear door open eating a picnic (especially if there's cake), he'd rather that than eating anywhere else. .

My idea of a perfect picnic too ....

AlexLK wrote: »

on Saturday we're going to a 1940s event, pity we've not got a period vehicle (oldest one we own is 1960s). We can't go away as my wife is working and she won't be too happy if my son and I go away whilst she's at work all day.

Well I'm not going to comment on the last sentence but I'd happily go to a 1940s event.

Your son's days out sound perfect to me. I'd love a 1940s event and you've got me wondering what happened to my 1940s suit now

maman

AlexLK wrote: »

Regarding Mrs K's holiday I'm not annoyed she's going away,


We can't go away as my wife is working and she won't be too happy if my son and I go away whilst she's at work all day.

To me it's about priorities but I'll join Watty in a loud 'No Comment'.


Have a great time at the Bakewell Show, sounds like LittleK's holiday is packed with fun. You're a super dad and no accident that you seem to have a lovely boy in return:).

AlexLK

Alchemilla wrote: »

The being a spoilt brat and the MH issues really resonate with me.
The loser part too...though some people might apply that tag to the early retired - and early retirement seems like a real aspiration to me.

...And I thought you were one of those people who held it together really well.

I can't really see how early retirement = loser, as surely they will need to do better for themselves than most people to retire early in the first place? My parents are / were "workoholics", father regrets how he spent literally everyday working until he became too ill to really enjoy retirement and mother recently told me she thought life would not be worth living if she cannot manage to make any money for herself. I understand why they spent their lives doing nothing other than working 7 days per week for about 50 years but living to work and doing nothing else is a bit sad in my opinion.

Watty1 wrote: »

My idea of a perfect picnic too ....

Well I'm not going to comment on the last sentence but I'd happily go to a 1940s event.

Your son's days out sound perfect to me. I'd love a 1940s event and you've got me wondering what happened to my 1940s suit now

I enjoy the picnics as well, sometimes we go for a walk and have a picnic for lunch before driving home.

Thanks, I try my best to take him on days out that are both educational and related to his interests. Admittedly, the 1940's day is more for Mrs K and I but I'm almost certain our son will enjoy the day too, though not sure he'll enjoy the evacuee experience that the children have the opportunity to participate in. :rotfl:

maman wrote: »

To me it's about priorities but I'll join Watty in a loud 'No Comment'.

Have a great time at the Bakewell Show, sounds like LittleK's holiday is packed with fun. You're a super dad and no accident that you seem to have a lovely boy in return:).

Thanks, maman. I do try my best. This holiday should be lots of fun, not much organised for the last couple of weeks before school because of the new puppy. Honestly do not know how I'm going to get him to go to school with the new puppy in the house, since they've been born we've been going to my cousin's house every single day - he won't miss a day! :rotfl: At the moment he's decided that he wants "two or three" puppies, so I'm trying to convince him one will be enough.

It would be nice to get away for a few days, I admit. However, Mrs K is annoyed enough about me going to various events over summer whilst she is working.

On another note, the show was wonderful apart from my son managing to fall and quite badly graze his knees. Glad he quickly forgot about the injury with so much to see, though.