First Steps to Solvency

warby68

You have to learn from the past but live for the future. Don't let regret stifle you. Whatever it is you've done, you haven't gone so far that you've lost the good things in your life - you still have your family and your businesses. Your wife is giving all the signs that she wants its to work. We all evolve, not everyone has these drastic turning points but few of us are the same at 40 as at 20. Give yourself a chance and give yourself credit for wanting to change even if you're having to force it just now.
Your son had HIS perfect day and that will have made a lot of people happy including a bunch of internet strangers. A very good thing and nothing to do with money.
You WON with the Advent gifts - not only are they lower cost, they have thoughfulness all over them. I like Hotel Chocolat too for occasions - did you get one of the discount codes £20 off £80? My favourite shopping is something just a bit nicer but with a good discount. If you don't look for discounts already, a quick google usually finds them. Do you have the JL Rewards, they've started putting better ones up - 20% off pretty much everything last month, even applied to sale items, not sure it was meant to. Just waiting to see what they come up with for November. Only shopping when there's a discount can be a good discipline as well. I don't mean a tat sale where you buy rubbish because its cheap, I mean when the nicer brands have a decent offer and you can buy your 'normal' things a fair bit cheaper.
VERY interested in fragrance discounts @ryanm8655. Anything for Le Labo? Possibly not quite the bracket but I have a real favourite there.
@alt80 I hope you wake up today and feel the good from yesterday It was nice to read, and a lot less tortured than some of your posts. Read back your diary when you're ready - if you don't think you're changing much that will show you.
Good luck for November  

Sun_Addict

I’m so pleased your son had a lovely birthday. Last year I had gin, beauty and wine advent calendars. The wine one was half price though as we were well into December. I will get a gin one again though, I really liked it. I know it’s cheaper to just buy a bottle of gin but I enjoy trying the different ones and I have saved my And More points towards it, provided Mr M do one this year of course. I definitely don’t need a beauty one this year, still got bits left from last year. And to think I used to be happy with an advent calendar where you opened the door to reveal a picture of a robin 🤣

RelievedSheff

It sounds like you son and all of you had a lovely day yesterday. It is days like those that your son will remember in years to come. It won't be the presents he remembers but the time that he spent with you all as a family. Well done for making the effort.

There will be plenty of time for family days this month with lock down V2 on the horizon.

ryanm8655

warby68 said:

You have to learn from the past but live for the future. Don't let regret stifle you. Whatever it is you've done, you haven't gone so far that you've lost the good things in your life - you still have your family and your businesses. Your wife is giving all the signs that she wants its to work. We all evolve, not everyone has these drastic turning points but few of us are the same at 40 as at 20. Give yourself a chance and give yourself credit for wanting to change even if you're having to force it just now.
Your son had HIS perfect day and that will have made a lot of people happy including a bunch of internet strangers. A very good thing and nothing to do with money.
You WON with the Advent gifts - not only are they lower cost, they have thoughfulness all over them. I like Hotel Chocolat too for occasions - did you get one of the discount codes £20 off £80? My favourite shopping is something just a bit nicer but with a good discount. If you don't look for discounts already, a quick google usually finds them. Do you have the JL Rewards, they've started putting better ones up - 20% off pretty much everything last month, even applied to sale items, not sure it was meant to. Just waiting to see what they come up with for November. Only shopping when there's a discount can be a good discipline as well. I don't mean a tat sale where you buy rubbish because its cheap, I mean when the nicer brands have a decent offer and you can buy your 'normal' things a fair bit cheaper.
VERY interested in fragrance discounts @ryanm8655. Anything for Le Labo? Possibly not quite the bracket but I have a real favourite there.
@alt80 I hope you wake up today and feel the good from yesterday It was nice to read, and a lot less tortured than some of your posts. Read back your diary when you're ready - if you don't think you're changing much that will show you.
Good luck for November  

I usually use noseparis.com (Their service is great, you can pick 6 samples for free with your order for example), it comes well packaged and the postage is quick. They don’t stock le labo but will ask around. Le labo themselves have a UK website, which is annoying as then it just charges uk retail...will ask around and get back to you.

@alt180 I’m assuming her perfume of choice is Creed love in white? In which case it should definitely be a fair bit cheaper on noseparis and you can select 6 samples for her for free with your order. 

alt80

First decent night’s sleep in a long time amazing the difference it makes for me. Got more things done this morning than I have in a long while. Feeling quite optimistic for once haha.

@ryanm8655Yes its Creed Love in White. How is noseparis.com genuine - £220 fragrance for €163? Says they deliver to uk also. Do you know if they take amex? That’s just the card I use day to day - not putting it on credit ha.

RelievedSheff

Things are looking up for you both on the finance front and on the personal family life front. I'm genuinely happy for you and hope that you can carry on the progress.

ryanm8655

alt80 said:

First decent night’s sleep in a long time amazing the difference it makes for me. Got more things done this morning than I have in a long while. Feeling quite optimistic for once haha.

@ryanm8655Yes its Creed Love in White. How is noseparis.com genuine - £220 fragrance for €163? Says they deliver to uk also. Do you know if they take amex? That’s just the card I use day to day - not putting it on credit ha.

I know, it's crazy - it's so much cheaper in Europe. My favourite fragrance is Creed Aventus, I order that through them. It's the same in the shops there, so much cheaper, you'll have to take the wife to the creed boutique in Paris for a treat when we can leave the house again, ha. Creed Aventus is £280 here, €210 from them and comes with the free samples which are worth a fair whack depending on what you pick. I know someone who works for Creed and they don't like the fact Nose deliver to here but nothing they can do about it...

Not sure re: AMEX but I imagine so, I use another card as my AMEX charges FX fees (also use it as my monthly spends card and clear in full for the BA points).

Glad to hear about the sleep! I could do with some of that, ha.

warby68

Thanks @ryanm8655 - not had any joy finding mine discounted so appreciate you looking. However.......
I'm currently on a reasonably well known UK fashion site and they are selling both the Creed fragrances mentioned above with 20% off (plus 11% cashback on TopCashback even with the 20% code). 20% takes it fairly close to the French prices above.
Its a pure fluke of a spot. I'm on there buying son's regular Christmas treat of nice branded undies. Its a site full of temptation though, you probably know it already, so I won't mention the name unless you or @alt80 ask . Not sure whether lockdown affects supply from France.
Health warning: I'm not encouraging you to spend. I am recognizing you will spend a certain amount anyway and therefore discounts can still help

ryanm8655

warby68 said:

Thanks @ryanm8655 - not had any joy finding mine discounted so appreciate you looking. However.......
I'm currently on a reasonably well known UK fashion site and they are selling both the Creed fragrances mentioned above with 20% off (plus 11% cashback on TopCashback even with the 20% code). 20% takes it fairly close to the French prices above.
Its a pure fluke of a spot. I'm on there buying son's regular Christmas treat of nice branded undies. Its a site full of temptation though, you probably know it already, so I won't mention the name unless you or @alt80 ask . Not sure whether lockdown affects supply from France.
Health warning: I'm not encouraging you to spend. I am recognizing you will spend a certain amount anyway and therefore discounts can still help

I'm not sure what the website is but I'd be very wary of discounted creed fragrances if you don't know the source. They are regularly faked. The only way I'd anticipate UK prices coming close is if it's for a smaller sized bottle? Otherwise my spider senses start tingling, ha. Apologies for the geekery, I'm a bit of a fragrance nerd... Have you got a link?

warby68

Its a reputable site - its Flannels but I understand my cloak and dagger wording might have made you wonder. They had a shop next to my office back in the day.
Its a 20% code across the whole site and they stock a small amount of fragrance.