Giving every £ a job

Blackcats

@ladyholly - you aren't mean at all.  I'd have done the same to the ungrateful little so and so.  And @badmemory I agree teenagers and fancy cars are not good combinations!  My kids had a Clio and a Nova as their first cars - both were old but mechanically sound cars that suited them very well for the start of independent motoring.

@joedenise - your 2026 holiday plans sound fabulous.  Where are you going in the motor home?

hello @RebeccaPAgain  - so nice to see you.  We had lots of great trips in 2025.  I think we might be tuning into Howard and Hilda (Ever Decreasing Circles) because we do like to go to the same places more than once.  We find that the build up is much less stressful and we can settle in quickly to relaxation and fun.  We are taking the ferry again from Portsmouth next summer 😉

Blackcats

Our 2026 priorities and plans are getting clearer and, of course, thinking about plans helps identify the costs associated with the plans.  It is obvious but for years I just went from month to month, usually trying to play catch up with myself.

first category is
Health & Wellbeing
we will continue our membership of the leisure centre.  On average we go 3 times a week which means each session costs under £4.   I will also factor in the £5 we spend on coffee and tea after our swim.  MrBC who is a coffee snob says it's very good coffee and we enjoy our chats which can be quite productive.  There's a loyalty scheme so every 8th drink is free.
I've included the cost of our vitamins and supplements in our monthly spends.  

Monthly allocation will be £180.00

In the longer term savings pot I'm including funds for glasses, dentist, prescriptions, vets, physio (just in case).  The pot is currently at £645 but dentist visits are due so it will need replenishing.  If I can get it to hover around £750 I think it will cover most eventualities.

monthly addition to the pot will be £80.00

We are turning our attention to groceries and eating out next.  

joedenise

We actually don't plan where we're going in the motorhome other than deciding which route to take to France!  Our first trip is via Eurotunnel and we're thinking down the east through Champagne but it needs to be good weather as all the aires (motorhome stopovers) are on grass so if it's wet then we'll go across country to Normandy and Brittany.

Our 2nd trip is by ferry Dover to Dunkirk and that's likely to be going towards Belgium and then Germany.  This is in September so hopefully we'll manage to find some wine festivals!

Scott_Weiland79

Couldnt agree more on the car front, when i turned 17 seventeen my parents bought me ten driving lessons. If i wanted more I had to pay for it. 

I @the time was at college/working part time in a supermarket and I hated the brats at college. I remember one girl coming in moaning about the fiesta her parents bought her new she wanted a BMW. gerrrrrrr