Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

Seasidegal58

Happy debt free anniversary Hairy! Have a virtual glass of bubbly in celebration!🍾🍾🍾 Wow that three years has gone so quickly and you've had a good positive since then in your paid employment. 

The slime business with the washing machine was odd. Have you tried the old trick of running through the hottest longest wash on the machine using white vinegar in the soap dispenser?  

The new lockdown news is very depressing.  Mind you Germany and France acted quicker than the U.K. initially and it's not looking great over there at the moment either. The scenes of the traffic tailbacks of people fleeing Paris were quite surreal.  It's like kicking a tin can down the road. ☹️

beanielou

Wow. 3 years. 

Time flies. 

elizabethhull

Three years debt-free - brilliant ! However difficult it has been at times during those 3 years, I'm sure it's never been as scary as the debt hanging over you. Such a lot has happened, both good and bad, in that time - thank you for sharing your eventful journey with us.

Yes, it does seem inevitable that another lockdown will happen, despite it going against Boris's love of personal freedoms. I wouldn't be PM for anything in these times - whatever you decide is the 'wrong' thing.

So sorry to hear about the death of my favourite Bond actor. Loved everything Sean Connery did, especially 'The Rock'.

Seasidegal58

@elizabethhull - got to agree with you about Sean Connery. ☹️  Also Nobby Stiles although there will be a few younger posters out there who won't know who he is!⚽️⚽️⚽️  And Dame Diana Rigg recently - my heroine was Emma Peel when I was young!

beanielou

Sean Connery was a total legend. 

RIP Sir. 

jwil

3 years debt free, that has gone fast!  

Glad you've enjoyed half term.  I'm very glad that schools are staying in, my two would have struggled being home again.

Sun_Addict

There’ll be many many parents thankful the schools are staying open 🤣 Seriously though I’m glad they are for your sake HHOD. I’m sure they’ve got everything in place to make sure it’s as safe as it can be.

HairyHandofDartmoor

foxgloves said:

Yes, HHOD, the government's scientific advisors pressed for a UK-wide circuit breaker lockdown on Sept 21st, when the rate of infection & numbers of people in hospital were both much lower. Kier Starmer backed such a move, but Johnson & co just wouldn't listen. I know they want the Tiers system to work, but we all know that simply wanting things doesn't make them happen. I feel so dismayed that the country seems to be right back where it was in Spring. We both sat & watched the news showing crowds of people out in our Coviddy Tier 3 local city centre, no distancing, all drinking, jumping around taking selfies of how hard & radical they were being for defying even the Tier 2 rules. I wanted to line them all up & slap every single one of them for their ignorance & wilful stupidity.
Ah well, it looks as though we will all be locked down again very soon.
On a more positive note, a big well done for staying debt-free. You are right that apart from buying a house & maybe a realistically priced reliable car if this is required for a work commute, there is no advantage whatsoever to being in debt. Getting rid of it is indeed like shedding a crate of bricks from one's back. 
We haven't had our coffee outside for ages. Often this has been because the benches are too wet. I have a big old PVC tablecloth which I bought back when my nephews were small & used to get food everywhere. It's quite a nice pattern so I think I might use it to make a flat bench cushion which can just be wiped dry when we've been sitting outside on a less than perfect day. I'll add it to my sewing list!
F x

Thanks Foxgloves 🙂. Your idea for a waterproof bench cushion is a good idea. DH and I just sit on a carrier bag sometimes so we don't have to dry our seats 🤣 .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Seasidegal58 said:

Happy debt free anniversary Hairy! Have a virtual glass of bubbly in celebration!🍾🍾🍾 Wow that three years has gone so quickly and you've had a good positive since then in your paid employment. 

The slime business with the washing machine was odd. Have you tried the old trick of running through the hottest longest wash on the machine using white vinegar in the soap dispenser?  

The new lockdown news is very depressing.  Mind you Germany and France acted quicker than the U.K. initially and it's not looking great over there at the moment either. The scenes of the traffic tailbacks of people fleeing Paris were quite surreal.  It's like kicking a tin can down the road. ☹️

Thanks SSG . I've run hot water through but I haven't tried the white vinegar.

beanielou said:

Sean Connery was a total legend. 

RIP Sir. 

jwil said:

3 years debt free, that has gone fast!  

Glad you've enjoyed half term.  I'm very glad that schools are staying in, my two would have struggled being home again.

Sun_Addict said:

There’ll be many many parents thankful the schools are staying open 🤣 Seriously though I’m glad they are for your sake HHOD. I’m sure they’ve got everything in place to make sure it’s as safe as it can be.

Thanks all of you .

I agree that Sean Connery was an amazing actor, definitely the best Bond and I love him in the Indiana Jones film.

I'm glad schools are open from the point of view of me being able to pay the bills. I don't really know how safe it is. We have the windows open in the classroom, the children put hand gel on frequently as we have a dispenser just outside each classroom door and the year group bubbles are kept separate. But we still have 30 children and two adults crammed into a small classroom all day. I'm not sure that I feel amazingly safe and I'm thinking that I may start wearing a mask when I work with children one to one or in small groups.

beanielou

Good idea to wear a mask.