Learning to walk before I run

Karmacat

🤣🤣🤣  poor you!

savingholmes

Well done on reducing the CC and increasing the SIPP.

Sounds like a good call on the job. 

Have a lovely Christmas.

edinburgher

Mrs E introduced a new Christmas Eve tradition of going to our local B33feater for breakfast. While the food was reasonable quality and plentiful, DD2 was a bit of a screamer and DD1 followed me around whenever I stood up like a lost lamb I am thinking it might be a little calmer if we repeat it next year! The place was packed, including groups of 10-12, quite impressive at 9:15 in the morning. Not bad for £23 for 4 including a generous tip.

Other than that, we are good to go. Presents all wrapped, laundry just about conquered, although I will need to run the hoover around a bit. Feeling slightly zonked after a DD2 screamathon last night (no visible signs of illness) and all the 3 cups of coffee have done is make me feel a bit wired and queasy...

£2.64 paid into my SIPP (£3.30 after tax relief) and £22.58 paid off the CC. I am having a wee think about financial goals for next year and I think these will be paying off the CC entirely (£3,939, target early May) and increasing my SIPP contributions by 10% (£1,320 minimum, can include tax relief). Those sound sensible and achievable. I'd like us to start an EF as well but no specific goal for this yet.

savingholmes

Ouch to the screamathon. Wearing on anyone.

Hope Christmas Day went well and you are having fun as a family.

Watty1

Another ouch to the screaming marathon.  They happen. you will survive but it probably doesn't feel like it at the time!

edinburgher

Christmas was fun (the bits with Mrs E, DD1 and DD2).

The bits with Mrs E's wider family were, quite frankly, a bit !!!!!!. Grumpy sibling divorcee created a lot of unecessary drama, made everything about them, criticised us for existing (from what I gather, they thought the fact we'd dressed up our weans in new (supermarket) frocks to celebrate one of the main holidays was somehow a dig at them)?! As well as that, sibling moaned about the starter I spent 2 hours making just for their tastes, at the feast cooked by F-I-L for the main and the fact that the cook didn't make them cocktails It put a dampener on everything and we're tired of walking on eggshells with them, it looks like next Christmas will be a bit different (maybe immediate family at ours with present exchanges with inlaws on Boxing Day)? Even DD1 was vocally complaining and a little upset about the attitude.

Since then we have been relaxing, eating lots of roast dinners and hiding from the miserable weather. We have hosted a couple of times as well, including one of my siblings meeting DD2 for the first time

In terms of finances, I've been virementing away, as well as making small transfers from my personal spends pot to both the CC and my pension (£61.64 to CC today). CC now stands at under £3,800 and I'll come up with some New Year-specific goals in the next day or so.

savingholmes

Sorry about sibling... I think we all have at least one of that kind of person in each family. Glad your other hosting sessions were more positive. 

Good luck with your goals.

Karmacat

Ack, what a pain, Ed!  Sorry you had to go through that.  Since then, sounds much better - roast dinners and congenial friends and rellies  

Suffolk_lass

I think I would be inclined to set out your Christmas avoidance strategy with in-laws nice and early next year, so they know you won't be repeating next year and give them the option of joining you, focusing on the unsettling impact on youngsters of someone for whom nothing was pleasing, and making clear that miserable sibling won't be invited. "Room around the dining table" or "small and a bit less furore for little ones" are always good reasons for letting someone down. 

Obviously I know nothing of the underlying relationship between siblings but sometimes being honest is the best thing - "You obviously didn't really enjoy Christmas with us there and it is our turn to host so we thought it best to discuss it early so you have plenty of time to sort out what you plan to do next year" with the back up comments about the impact on the children - merely hinting at the ungrateful !!!!!! side of the day.

We have a much smaller New Year planned with only the five of us who go camping together. The other couple who normally join us are in a very sad position and not joining us until NYD (the campers are staying three nights so we can spread out the feasting though, and the middle day will be focused on our dear friends not able to spend the Eve with us. I will brief the chap with less emotional intelligence so we stay clear of the taboo subjects and can just relax and enjoy each other's company

edinburgher

@Suffolk_lass - Considered input, appreciated as always I think next year will just be Mrs E, me, DDs and the cats (who will be confused as they've never seen a Christmas dinner before)! Your NY sounds lovely and I'm impressed that you can get the chap with less emotional intelligence to behave (it's usually a chap)

I have been busy today but feeling a little blue. Hair cut this morning, followed by trip to Waitflower to spend the last of our voucher (£65 of shopping for £17.50 cash, including some lovely gold and silver candles for next year (£5 to £1.75 a pack) and a bottle of the Rustenberg John X Merriman that I've been a fan of for over a decade now. Then T35co (nappies) and a mall. Mall shop was pretty successful (5 Christmas cards and a stocking filler for DD1 from P@perchase for £4.12, a lovely Japanese art calendar with pictures from the V&A 1/2 price at W@t3rstone's and bargain of bargains, £46 Cl@rk's light up school shoes down to less than £18).

We then went to a cafe with expensive cakes that DD1 and Mrs E rave about but I was very unimpressed with. They didn't have the first 2 things I ordered, they then brought the wrong 3rd thing and the coffee was like dish water. Add to that DD1 accidentally smashing a glass (never happened before) and I was having a reet grumble through my teeth at the £26 bill Mrs E offered to pay for all of it as it was her idea but that wasn't fair, so we halved it. We really need to protect our personal spends money a bit better in the New Year.

£22.92 paid off CC, financial targets for 2023 incoming tomorrow once I've had a chance to create the 2023 budget spreadsheet (well underway).