Investing in Us: Holidays, Health, and the Road to £150k

itsthelittlethings

Good luck.

missymoo81

Hello! So sorry I’ve only just caught up with your old diary, and I wanted to say congratulation on yours and your OH’s new jobs! You are going to be amazing! Such a huge turn up for the books for you both 😊. Haven’t read any of this diary yet but going to with a cuppa. Keep shining!

skint_spice

Good luck in all your aims, let’s hope 2026 is a good year, I feel it will be.

slm6002

Happy new thread.  When I worked for the council the registry office was part of the council offices and I was quite often asked to be a witness for a couple getting married as they didn't have any guests.  It was always a lovely thing to do.  Often the couple would try to pay us which we didn't accept, but I remember 1 couple who then wrote to us saying they had sponsored a child for a year with the money we wouldn't accept.  It was a lovely gesture that sticks in my memory even now over 20 years later.

Anyway good luck with your goals

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all 😀

@Kajikita I hope I get lots of time in it too. Need a few seats out there then as it warms up I can go collapse with a cuppa out there rather than on the sofa  

@Greying_Pilgrim I saw it was 28 days that kind of takes the fun away a bit doesn't it! I think that's so sweet there were three of you there 🥰 it's our second marriage each but honestly I didn't want a big wedding the first time I hate being the centre of attention in something like this 🙈 and what with my family politics and DP family the same way I just would rather it be about us not them..I think this is why we've held off for so long now. I think 2026 will be the year we do it 😁♥️😀

@Bananabreadyum @beanielou @itsthelittlethings @missymoo81 @skint_spice thank you 🥰

@beanielou

@Grumpy_chap thanks for the reminder about myfitnesspal I've not had that for years but I did used to use it quite regularly! I'll look at downloading it again. I think my weight swelled even more after my injured foot started playing me up again. Every step was excruciating at one point and I started becoming movement adverse nevermind stepping that up to actual exercise 🤣 but it does feel a lot better now. I think my little dog getting old and then passing also decreased my exercise because he stopped wanting long walks (we used to do 3miles almost every day) and so I stopped moving too. 

@daisy_1571 thanks so much for the suggestions. We were struggling ever so slightly to be able to pay for things on our old wages. Not the bills or food. We always had enough for that. But we didn't quite have enough to stretch to say paying the OP, the EF the yearly bills pot and a day out. There was never enough for a holiday either. Part of DP cc is actually a break away I had forgotten about (well I'd forgotten he'd put it on his cc) we are going to Paris for a few days next year in Feb half term 😀♥️. So we want to fill all those pots first for holidays, yearly bills, EF, DIY and then look at paying down that mortgage whilst we do have the money. It's at the top of my to do list (well after a sunny holiday 😎) I'm not sure if DP list is in the same order as mine. But there is a lot more money to play with and I don't want it getting lost in day to day spending. 

@slm6002 ah that is a lovely memory thank you for sharing. My ds1 had a civil partnership done at the local registry office and wasn't going to invite anyone. They were going to use staff too but he had a change of heart last minute and both mums were invited. It was quite nice just them, two mums (both brought our partners too) and then back to mine for a takeaway 🥰. 

debtfreewannabe321

Good morning 🌞 

Thank you all for coming by my new home on here ♥️😀

I'm not feeling great today, the cold/bug I have seems to be shifting though, which I think is good, it's gone from my chest which has stopped crackling quite so much to my sinuses now which are incredibly painful 😖 however I think it's moving in the right direction so I'll go with that. I've been using mullein leaf and a salt inhaler to stop my chest turning into an infection (I've got asthma) I think I might drag myself to the steam room today too to see if I can clear it some more. I meant to go yesterday and the gym shut early so I couldn't 🫠. My chest and tummy hurt from coughing so much 🙈.

I am supposed to be meeting my friend today to swap gifts - I know she just wants gossip from work as that's all she ever messages me about. 🤣 What's gone on today - who's doing this- what's happening there - is so and so seeing so and so?! I am not sure why she left as she seems to enjoy the drama triangles that I desperately avoid so I don't have much to share lol. 
I might have to put her off I wouldn't want her catching this bug 😏😉.

I ordered DP some bits on big river company yesterday for Xmas. I felt bad I hadn't got him much under the tree. However I have bought him plenty...his birthday was last month and I ended up giving him nearly everything then 😏🤣🙈. So added just a couple of bits (things we needed actually - record storage and dividers for categories which he's been moaning for for ages haha). 

Hopefully a NSD today but if I go out I'll try to use cash in my bag. It's so nice to have nothing planned for two weeks now aside from seeing a friend or two and making dinner for all 🥰😁 when is it I can I retire again? 🤣 

debtfreewannabe321

Shortest day of the year! Happy solstice. Hope everyone's had a good one, I've spent mine being slow. No rushing today, a nice long bath and I made some soup which tasted more like pasta sauce 🤣 so I'm saving the rest for just that 😎. And just chilling out. I'm going to consciously enjoy this break rather than it disappearing without me realising (like it usually does!) 

DP’s presents have arrived, so I’ll wrap those in a moment while he takes DD out for her driving lesson. He’s spent a lot of today putting together a full year’s budget projection, including goals and plans. I haven’t really had much input — which would normally frustrate me — but I’ve been feeling so rough today that I just didn’t have the energy to push back, so I left him to it 🤣

I did make one suggestion though: rather than spreading any spare money thinly across lots of different pots (which can make it feel like goals take forever to reach), I suggested using a snowball approach — focusing on one project or goal at a time. I think he agreed, so now we’re working out what our priorities are and tackling them in order. That way, every few months there’s a tangible “win” — whether that’s a credit card cleared, the emergency fund built to its first target, or a holiday paid for — before moving on to the next thing.

I’ve carried the budgeting for the last few years, including months where there was barely enough to get by, so I can’t deny there’s a small part of me that feels a bit irritated that DP wasn’t interested then, but has taken the reins now.
But anyway, today was about getting something constructive done, and that’s what he did — which feels like a win. I’m not a spreadsheet-type girl; I’m very much pen-and-paper with a little house I can colour in as the squares fill up 🤣 He’s approached it like a work project with fancy spreadsheets, so objectively it’s probably the “right” way.

I suppose it’s just one of those things where timing matters — I could really have used the help before, but right now I’m choosing to appreciate the effort and see where it takes us.

Christmas - DS1 has sent pictures of him, his gf, two friends over in Germany at a Christmas market! Looks fun! And no where near as busy as the ones we've been to in recent years.. perhaps an idea for next time I get a silly idea about wanting to go to busy markets 🤣. He's coming home tomorrow or Tuesday unsure which then almost straight to here. I'm really suffering with sinus pain today and have given in and bought sudafed. Hoping it helps to clear it as it's super sore. I want to enjoy Christmas even if there is a special person missing so please send get well vibes my way 🤧😷🎄♥️🎁😁.

misstara

Happy solstice dfw321 and I hope you are feeling better soon.

RedLipstick

Happy solstice DFW321 and good luck in case you're doing the Rauhnächte intentions! I'm doing the intentions and goals this year, normally I only do an annual theme but 2025 was so hard I feel like I need some extra motivation and focus going into 2026. Sending all good vibes your way from Scotland, get well soon xx

debtfreewannabe321

RedLipstick said:

Happy solstice DFW321 and good luck in case you're doing the Rauhnächte intentions! I'm doing the intentions and goals this year, normally I only do an annual theme but 2025 was so hard I feel like I need some extra motivation and focus going into 2026. Sending all good vibes your way from Scotland, get well soon xx

I've never heard of this! I just looked it up and think it sounds right up my street so yes I'll be doing these alongside you I think @RedLipstick and you're right 2025 was awful. In numerology 2025 was a 9 year. Wrapping up cycles, endings and closures. So 2026 by default should have a different energy being a number 1 year numerologically speaking (did I just make that word up 😁🤣). I hope we all have a better year! X