From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Sorry cross posted Saving Holmes... yes that is a good point too, the bills /costs don't go away and income diminishes. I guess too, that without him contributing even a little, it doesn't really prepare him for future life .

Cherryfudge

I think I included Council Tax among the bills to which DS1 contributed, but I doubt your DS's contribution would cover the difference between what you pay now and what you will be paying.

Honeysucklelou2

Much of yesterday was spent dealing with washing and cleaning up the kitchen area. I must confess I was getting a little demoralised as so much holiday time is taken up with cleaning and tidying and it doesn't look much better even though I know I've done the housework . Fortunately DD1 rang during her lunch hour and suggested tea on the beach which perked me up.

I did finish planting up the border with the bargain plants from Friday. It looks good .

We did have tea on the beach. It was a beautifully calm evening and the younger DDs enjoyed swimming in the sea. We used a different kind of charcoal for the BBQ, not so much regular lumps as smaller less regular shapes which did seem to burn better . The marshmallows certainly toasted well .

During my insomniac moments this week, I have looked at the budget in fine detail. I'm trying to make better use of the saving accounts I have attached to my current account to allocate pots of money, so yesterday £50 got moved to the car maintenance pot to begin to replenish it after the car costs of this week and £30 to a different account to cover half of DS1's next driving lesson. I'll put in the rest in payday next Friday. I have used a written budget for years but am applying greater diligence to checking everyday and recording on the spending tracker app and in notebook form.

Today DD1 has to work again, so I'm using £40 of the £50 entertainment budget to take the youngest 3 out for the day to a local theme park. It's one of the lower cost ones and I think return tickets can be bought for £2, but will see how well they enjoy it first. The children have their own water bottles ready and a picnic will be taken. The remaining £10 will go on parking costs during the week. Many beaches have free parking after a certain time but one or 2 are 24 hour charges so the £10 will cover those parking charges or any daytime parking fees, although we do try to make use of free parking at NT car parks wherever possible.

DebtFreeMonkey

Sounds like a lovely day out for you guys! Hope the weather is a lovely with you guys as it is here!

savingholmes

Would so love to live near a beach - it sounds amazing. Good that you are using savings pots too - helps with guilt-free spends and planning future expenses.

DebtFreeMonkey

Also, I meant to say, I think savingholmes had a brilliant idea on teaching your children things aren't free, front. I wish my parents encouraged more of that attitude with me. My mum did charge me a little but she never taught me about savings etc and that would have made a huge difference to my life now. But alas...

Anyways, I just thought I'd drop my two cents in on that, not that it matters or that I have children.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you for dropping by, Alicia1804:wave: The weather has been glorious today, so a fantastic day out for us . Re savings, my older DDs have really taken on board the need to save. DD1 has opened up a Help to Buy account which she is hoping to add to each month, even a little, from her part time job. DD2 has an appointment to open a H2B this week. She has more incidental income from tips etc do could probably keep topping up her savings with tips.

SavingHolmes - thank you. It has made such a difference today, knowing the money was planned and budgeted for. I had always tagged entertainment in with the grocery allocation which hadn't worked, but having each allocated separately has meant a guilt free day out :j.

The trip out was good. DS3 ran, climbed and chuckled non-stop for about 5 hours!! We took a picnic with us, nothing elaborate, just simple food and not too heavy to carry . Tomorrow I'm hoping to meet up with my parents for a day out. It will mean another picnic :T but probably a NT place so no entry costs or parking costs .

I'll get the others back tomorrow evening and am looking forward to seeing them but not the thought of the ex being liable to drop in. It has been so relaxing for the last few days . I'm giving myself tomorrow and Monday to spend as much time as possible with the children before preparing for work which will need to be started in earnest.

Honeysucklelou2

We've had a lovely day today, visiting a local NT property. Only cost was the diesel to drive there. DD1 had the day off so was able to join us . I made some chocolate brownies for the picnic and made sure we had plenty of water. Last night we'd had homemade pizza for tea, so took the leftover slices as part of the picnic.

This NT property has a mix of formal and informal gardens, which are so beautiful. The dahlias were absolutely stunning, especially the darker leaved "Bishop" varieties. DD1 was busy taking photos of flowers for her uni work, so the day out was productive for her. I just drank in the colours and shapes of the flowers around me and the hum of the bees, who were very busy visiting the sedum plants. My lovely parents joined us and kindly bought us an ice-cream meaning that today was a NSD.

I got the rest of the children back today :j. The ex has decided to take the children out tomorrow so I may make use of the time to get as much done for work as I can, thus maximising the time I have with the children for the remainder of the holiday.

savingholmes

Those gardens sound amazing

Cherryfudge

You realise I am waiting for you to write a book, don't you? The sort that meanders through idyllic scenes, dotting in interesting geeky plant info and each chapter starts with a recipe.

Or perhaps the summer chapters start with a (beautifully illustrated) plant of the month and in the autumn they merge into recipes...

I do enjoy reading your thread!