*Change of plan - and maybe some good news!*

pania

thats a bit unfair giving a late mark for a genuine appointment, esp for something as important as an autism assesment!! thats very harsh poor you and poor ryan.

LOL at the sore boobs!! must've missed that bit!!!! he he

Snaggles

It is a bit harsh, his school can be quite funny about things like that. Generally though, they're being supportive of Ryan so far, so I'm a bit conscious of upsetting the apple cart by bickering about a late mark, if that makes sense? I'm following the parent survival course advice of letting the little things go....lol.

Snaggles

I don't know whether I dare post my plans for today. :eek:

Little bit of background - I have a small inheritance (£2k, from Grandparents) that until now I haven't had access to (mainly because my Mum and Dad have been looking after it until we needed it - I asked them to do this because I didn't want it to get swallowed up by day to day expenses, and I didn't want to use it for debt repayment, because I'm pretty certain that's not what either Gran would have wanted).

I haven't mentioned it before, because to be honest it has been 'out of sight, out of mind', and I haven't taken it into account in any of our financial plans.

The idea was that once we were debt free we would buy a folding camper with it (I might have mentioned this before, not sure).

Anyway, my Mum and Dad have offered to add some extra money (£1k) to the folding camper 'pot', and with the redundancy money Stu has left, we can now afford to buy a second hand one, without delaying our debt repayment much (if at all).

So we're going to look at one this evening! :eek: :eek:

It's not definite yet, because there is insurance to consider (need to get a quote for this), a towbar to buy for the car (£200-ish, but this will wait until next spring as the holiday season is over now anyway), and various other bits and pieces we will need.

BUT, Ryan is 7 years old already and we are realising that childhood passes so quickly, and we have hardly ever taken him on holiday (I know holidays aren't vital for a happy childhood but we have seen just how much good the holiday in Wales has done him, and that has really made our minds up).

I feel really guilty for some reason, maybe because I haven't mentioned the inheritance before and I hope no-one feels I've lied about it, I just didn't think to mention it because I didn't think of it as useable money as far as debt repayment goes.

So there you go.......hit me with big sticks if you like or ban me from DFW (please don't _pale_) for planning to spend a large amount of money on something that is a 'want' rather than a 'need'.....I can take it, and probably deserve it!

Lucy1982_2

:T

Well Done Snaggles. I think it's a very worthy way to spend the money your Grandparents left you.

And you are right, it shouldn't be spent on Debts, but on something you can all enjoy!

:T

Sea78

Agree completely - my OH got some inheritance and we bought a car - before LBM but still, he wouldn't really have wanted to use it for debt repayment as his Granddad certainly wouldn't have wanted that either.

Sea xxx

Snaggles

*breathes small sigh of relief*

Thank you so much guys, your opinions and approval mean a lot to me.

LynT_2

I tend to lurk on these forums rather than post, but we have had a folding camper for a few years now and they are well worth it. Try and get one with all the extras included - otherwise it can get quite expensive, gas bottle, water and waste containters, 12 volt battery, etc.Also check if you can actually push/pull it - we were OK till my husband started having back problems, then we had to get a mover fitted as once loaded it was too heavy (over 1000kg) for 2 of us to move alone.

Snaggles

Thanks for that Lyn, the one we are looking at is a Pennine Pullman (we've been looking at Pennine Sterlings up to now as they are a bit cheaper, but this one is just about within our budget).

It looks gorgeous in the photos, absolutely immaculate, and has an awning, underbed skirt, gas bottle, water & waste, groundsheet, 12v battery - the only thing it hasn't got, that we would have ideally liked, is a winter storage cover, but you can buy them from the manufacturers, so my next ebay challenge might be to raise the money to buy one!

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I really want it...lol!

LynT_2

We have a Conway Cardinal (which are no longer made) it has a hard top so we don't have to worry about a cover.If you can afford a better model then its worth it, when we got ours we never though we would "need" the Oven, Toliet or Hot Water, but they probably get used most. Its very easy when its raining to decide you can't be bothered to go to washing up/toilet facilities.Lyn

hypno06

I absolutely hate the fact that I put almost every penny of the money I inherited from Dad towards my debts (makes me cry just typing it!), because I know that although he would want to help me if I needed it, that he didn't work all his life, for me to pay it to Mint, Barclaycard, etc etc

So, especially on the basis that you have other money coming in, and can manage on a day to day basis (albeit with a bit of effort!) I would say spend the money and enjoy - especially if you are buying something you can use over and over, and all get the benefit from.

Enjoy the hunt for a camper xx