Beating Lifestyle Inflation and Staying Mortgage Free!

Jellytotts

GF easy flat breads/dough balls - use equal weights of gluten free flour to plain natural yogurt with a small glug of olive oil. (You can add grated cheese/herbs etc).  Use plenty of flour for shaping the flat breads (I press them out by hand rather than rolling) and you can dry fry on both sides until cooked or use a bit of oil - I use this as a pizza dough and fry them off in a little oil and butter before popping them on a pizza tray and adding toppings.   For the dough balls, just use golf ball sized pieces on a baking tray, they take about 15 mins at 220.  I brush with a bit of melted butter when they come out of the oven.   They go very dense when cold but reheat well.  

earthgirl2

wow that is great thank you so much!

earthgirl2

I know that with the cost of living crisis and many people struggling that spending money on big trips or other luxuries is not an option. Lots of people are struggling to stay afloat. I also know I should be saving for retirement or FIRE, but on the other hand I know I only have my teenagers wanting to do things on holiday with me for another 3 years. It's really important to me that they experience travel rather than just a week by a pool. I think it can be life changing and life affirming. Also we have relatives and friends that we have always wanted to visit in the southern hemisphere - So I've done it 😬

I've booked our tour of Australia and Fiji for next year. Sydney, Great Barrier Reef and daintree, Brisbane to visit neice, Fiji for a while and meeting friends and going out to the Fijian islands, then back to aus for Noosa and the sunshine coast. I'm going for just over a month so I'm also tagging on Darwin and an outback camping and waterfall swimming adventure, my boys don't fancy that so they are going home with OH. 

I have paid all the deposits, and used hotel vouchers I got from Tesco before they changed the value. 

My total is £14,999.88 how close to my £15k estimate could I be 😆 

This includes some food, but I need to save up for holiday spends. I'd also like to workout and contribute monetarily and practically the co2 emissions for this once in a life time trip, and up my charity donation - and time-  to the food bank. 

themadvix

Wow Earthie, that sounds like a real trip of a lifetime! How wonderful! And definitely something for the boys to learn and grow from. 

We’ve used the World Land Trust for offsetting in the past - a variety of programmes at different costs per tonne (starting about £12). Have also calculated carbon and made appropriate donations to conservation charities too - RSPB for instance. 

earthgirl2

So my dad has gifted me £5000 towards the trip, which I'm really grateful for. He has also said he will give me the rest of the money - and more- when he sells a property in the next year, but I keep encouraging him to use that to make his own days brighter! 

Still I'm so excited im going to use it as the push I need to get things going. Be less wasteful and more efficient. Set up the business I've been procrastinating etc 

I'd like to save £1200 towards this trip each month until we go at the end of June. I still hope to be saving £600 for retirement as well. This is a huge undertaking for me. I used to be able to do this before the COL crisis and when I was working many hours. I don't really want to go back to that! So I'm hoping to really raise my income for the work I already do or do it differently to raise more money! 

This is what I'm hoping will make the biggest impact/targets: 

1. take on 4 more tutoring clients or preferably 2/3 higher paying tutoring clients - £400/month
2. chase pay rises on my current role £50/month
3. Surveys, comps and Ms £50/month
4. set up new business 1  / £500 month  
5. set up new business 2 £50/month
6. Sell /£50 per month 
7. £100 from making saving each month 

I will be looking to make savings on our current spending as I won't be able to make money -especially from new businesses - straight away. 

So I'm thinking of ways to make savings:
-petrol
- food
- electricity
- gifts and cards
- bring stricter with kids spending. 

- subscriptions (we only have 2 but I'll check them for better deals) 

Cheery_Daff

Wow, what an adventure you've got planned!! Very exciting indeed. And excellent plans there for paying for it too. Lovely to have such a cheerful target to aim for!

earthgirl2

Thanks for the positive encouraging comments! I know that my actual thread is about beating lifestyle inflation 😆 but this is such a dream for me. 

And I'm willing -and I really want - to work for it and feel like I've earned it. I don't want my dad to just give me the money. 

Cheery_Daff

Well I'm looking forward to seeing you update your targets each month! 😁

Karmacat

What an amazing trip, Earthie!  Now I understand when you said you couldn't afford ... an air fryer?  I can't even remember.  You have a fantastic focus for your saving and your spending, really wonderful.  A few website links to your favourites wouldn't go amiss either  

LadyWithAPlan

Karmacat said:

What an amazing trip, Earthie!  Now I understand when you said you couldn't afford ... an air fryer?  I can't even remember.  You have a fantastic focus for your saving and your spending, really wonderful.  A few website links to your favourites wouldn't go amiss either  

It was my b/maker suggestion... I still want one especially when i see them drop in price to £109 on amaz*n warehouse.. Life is indeed about the choices and we really cant have it all.  Though I was talking to a friend today as I look at finally buying a flat and she said oh but life is for living for now, you might not get to tomorrow .... hmmmm ... I replied its about balance and also some things need to be saved for like this fabulous trip of earthgirl's and indeed a house deposit - rather than being frippered away in faux jewellery and another glass of wine I want a home to live in rather than rent forever.

This trip sounds amazing and indeed what a great thing to do whilst kids still at home... I have been to Oz (managed to book some work out there)  and its fantastic - but Fiji -wow!