Getting shot of the mortgage sooner than 2049!

Bluegreen143

Of course there’s nothing wrong with going abroad if that’s what you like and budget for @fionaandphil 🙂 and you’re right that if you like beach/sun you get more guarantee of that abroad. 

But I do dispute that you will ALWAYS (or even mostly) save money by going abroad as the article states; as I said, the cheap week abroad for four (flights/air B&B in Majorca) they compared was nearly £2k versus £850 for my own holiday in the U.K. last week (diesel for the car/lovely & comfortable wood cabin). Again, totally depends what you like and what the U.K. holiday you’d be doing would be. Haven’t compared all inclusive (as wondered if that makes a difference) but feeling fairly sure I couldn’t have got a week’s all inclusive inc flights for four in school hols for under £1,300 (which was my total cost including everything last week) - my youngest is three so would need to pay for her flight, too. Could be wrong though! We like solitude on holiday too which biases us in a certain direction, our cabin was a 10 min drive from the local holiday park and nearest village which we liked 😆

Again, nothing wrong with going abroad if you like and can afford it - just object to the blatant marketing dressed up as journalism and sloppy comparisons.

I do like your plan of Easter/October abroad and summer in U.K. - makes the most of the weather in each place.

Bluegreen143

Today’s been a day of Lidl shopping (will break down spends later), tidying, cleaning bathrooms, hoovering and making curry/naan.

The last is because I have a craft night at my sister’s with my mum, and my mum suggested we all chip in for a takeaway. In the interest of saving both £ and lbs I suggested I’d make and bring curry and naan for a fakeaway. 

So pleased with this as a frugal decision as I made a mixed vegetable takeaway-style curry and the only thing I bought specifically for it was some coriander leaf - everything else was from the storecupboard or veg I had in. And I’ve had one too many disappointing takeaways this year to fancy spending my cash on one tonight. 

Kids and Red are having beige freezer dinner - popcorn chicken and chips, which they are of course delighted with 😆

The craft I’m bringing to craft night is a lovely cardigan I’m knitting for Bambi - I’ve not knitted in ages so I’m enjoying getting back to it. 

Following our busy morning of cleaning, we’ve had one of Monkey’s friends and his mum here this afternoon which was most enjoyable for all. So along with craft night it feels like it’s been a nice mix of productivity and fun today 🙂 and all fairly frugal. I do need to pop some diesel in the car on the way to my sister’s, but had planned for this. 

savingholmes

Woohoo so frugal awards coming your way then. 

Baileys_Babe

I love your craft night plans and well done on volunteering to make the meal saving both £ & lb it is definitely worth investing in the coriander it adds so much to the overall dish.

Have a great evening.

Bluegreen143

Ok I’m going to lose my frugal award now as my mum, sister and I all have our birthdays within in the same week in August so tonight we booked a two night stay away in September in a self catering place with a hot tub (near Carlisle) as we decided to go away instead of buying gifts for each other! So that’s £130 I hadn’t planned on spending tonight (it’s £390 between us for the two nights) 🙈 but will have a look at which pot to pull it from temporarily - I would have spent £70 on my sister and mum’s birthdays so that covers that much, and I have a paltry £25 in my personal savings to add to it 😅 and to be fair my papa almost always gives me £50 for my birthday so that can go towards it too.

Still need to figure out the minor issue of childcare as Bambi doesn’t have nursery on Fridays and Red works over both school runs 😜😆

PS craft night was fun as usual, got a bit of the cardigan knitted and all enjoyed the curry plus my sister provided cake and ice cream. No prosecco for me as I drove but still a very enjoyable night!

Bluegreen143

Budget juggling done and £130 accounted for:

£70 from gifts as I now won’t buy for mum and sister’s birthdays 

£25 from my savings

£35 taken from my monthly spending allowance. I’ve zeroed this week and redistributed what’s left amongst weeks 3-5 so I now have £13.40 to spend each week til month’s end.

I’ve got two months to save up my share of diesel (mum will drive) and food and drink etc and will put birthday money towards it too 😊

savingholmes

Not a frugal fail. You get to keep your award. You are planning for the future and setting money aside... All good

themadvix

What SH said! Raiding other pots carefully and redistributing money sensibly is all part of being frugal and MFW. When you don’t have those pots and just spend willy-nilly is when you lose the award.

Baileys_Babe

The birthday celebration trip is a brilliant idea, initial costs covered from the present pot and personal spending, plus two months to save for the other costs, you have not created a debt, the award is still yours 🏅

What ideas does Red have regarding childcare and school runs, while you are away?

Bluegreen143

Thank you all!!

I’m excited, let’s face it, none of us particularly need “stuff”. 

The last time the three of us went away for the weekend was the very first weekend of March 2020 😯 (I remember watching the news while we were away and it was all about lockdowns in Europe). And we had to take Bambi to that one - she was about 15 months and I’d never left her yet, and she was still semi-permanently welded to the breast 🙈 it put rather a dampener on the whole thing tbh as she was really awful at that age, constantly crying and whining, up all night etc. 

She also would be not tolerate my mum or sister (or anyone apart from me and sometimes Red) so much as looking at her at that age so they couldn’t even help by changing a nappy or carrying her for me or doing her bath and Red wasn’t there to share the load. My main memory of that trip is of being exhausted 😆

Of course now we can go without her she is a delightful age and it wouldn’t be particularly tiring if we did take her along 😅 (though obviously, I’d rather be child free so I’m not going to take her!).