Giving every £ a job

joedenise

What a great way to celebrate and reset after your retirement.  Well done on managing the family's expectations about spending.

Sun_Addict

What a fabulous way to start your retirement 😍 Could you start dropping hints to the family that you’re no longer working so can’t keep footing the bill 😬 How wonderful not to have to go back to work after your break! 

Have a lovely time 😊

lucielle

Enjoy the sunshine!  

L

savingholmes

Sounds a fabulous break and reset time. Hope the weather is kind.

EssexHebridean

Hurrah for a lovely time on holiday and managing expectations too! 

Blackcats

Thanks all.  The sun is still shining here and we are more or less managing to balance time with family (bit stressy) with time to ourselves (very relaxing).  We've had a day off from them today and thoroughly enjoyed a swim in the sea, lunch at the beach bar and a drink on the hotel terrace.  Tomorrow we are back "on duty".  

We held off paying the whole bill for lunch yesterday and 1 family member counted out €20 in coins to pay what they considered was their share.  I was cringing with embarrassment but we didn't cave in and pay for them.  I'm sure it was a deliberate tactic but if they really couldn't afford lunch they could have joined us later and just had a coffee. I woukd never go out for a meal that I couldn't afford and just assume others would pay for me.


I was tempted by a hello fresh discount code thinking that we could buy a three meal box and avoid the supermarket for a few days when we get home.  then I remembered that you literally get enough for each meal such as the tiniest square of cheese to grate or 1 carrot so reckon we would still need to go shopping so I've done an Ocado shop to be delivered the evening we get home.  If there are major travel delays for us my neighbour will take the delivery.  We have a delivery pass as it's where I get my dad's shop from so I have done a £40 basket and been very sensible about what I've bought and we will get a few days meals - breakfast, lunch and dinners from it.

ladyholly

Well done on sticking by people paying for themselves. So rude to expect others to pay.

PennysIntoPounds

Excellent decision on the food order, and lovely that you have a nice neighbour.

Embrace the cringe!
Good for you for holding firm, it was hardly a healthy and respectful relationship beforehand but as @Sun_Addict says, you're a retiree now so every time anyone looks at you expectantly you can genuinely say 'oh sorry, I'm living off of my pension'.
Sorry if I'm being out of order being so vehement on your behalf, but very few things make me more cross than mick-takers, especially when they're taking liberties with their own 'loved ones'. As a poorer than average person (which you've mentioned they aren't particularly) I either miss out or say 'sorry I can't afford that' in advance and if a loved one who can afford to pay for me wants to do so that's so appreciated and I still feel bad about it and try to make it up to them in a smaller but 'thank you' way . Well done you for setting a new retirement standard of what they can expect is acceptable

Sun, swim, lunch, and drink on the terrace sounds wonderful, glad you're enjoying it 

savingholmes

Well done on holding the line on lunch. From the sound of it that one act will save you thousands of pounds in retirement! That's marginal gains for you.

EssexHebridean

It sounds like it might be a plan to lay out the expectations clearly for future "eating out" situations - that way anyone who doesn't like the expectation that they might have to actually pay their way can just opt out, and there is no excuse for the embarrassing behaviour they exhibited with the coin counting. It really does go to show that they were expecting you to just put your hand in your pocket though doesn't it - and that's a level of entitlement that is IMO unacceptable. Well done you for standing firm on it. 

Good planning on the food front too - we've been debating about a HF box for a while just to try it out as we have a decent special offer code, but I have to say I think that I'm going to put that one to bed once and for all now as for us I really can't see it being good value at all. I did think it might have been useful for us over the time we were moving, but then realised that far easier would be simply planning very quick and easy meals from our usual repertoire - with the addition of planned takeaways the night before and moving day itself - and that worked well.