Richer than you know

Although I can promise that I’ve not turned into a preachy person about saving, I most certainly have aimed to save as much as possible and I’m not ashamed to say that I am being grippy, tight, frugal and thrifty. We’re saving about 30% of our joint income and I’m thoroughly ashamed to say that we saved 0% beforehand. We keep hoping that the job in Singapore works out, but if not, ‘hey, TH did very well to get as far as he did!’ and it’s all gonna be ok.


This frugality and thriftiness originally comes from my Grama and then my Mum who taught be everything I know. I should add here that the bit that I know was lost for a while when I went on various shopping rampages between 2000-2008 before being followed by the extravagances of eating and going out.

However, here I am, a little older and a little wiser. I know what I can get for £10 and I know how long I have to work for it. I know that the time in which I work for it is more than the hours I sit in an office, I know it’s from the moment I get up to the very moment I arrive home-but this is what motivates me.

This is what I do now, and what I need to do now, but this isn’t what will happen forever. As the savings grow and our ability to be content rests less with what I can buy we stretch ourselves as a couple. These are skills I should never, ever have forgotten, and I am trying to ensure I never will. My Mum and Grama both taught me about how to prepare good food cheaply and work out the costs of meter readings, as well as regular hints and tips for when I would have my own home. However, as technology progresses I am now more able to help them find their best value products by using various forms of technology.
When I got myself a better deal with my phone provider and satellite subscription I wanted to be able to help them too, so I showed them a comparison site and ensured we worked through all the deals together. When my Mum said she wasn’t watching much of the channels on her subscription I found her a good http://www.digitaltvsignup.co.uk/digital-tv-providers/virginmedia.htm deal which would work out much cheaper. It depends where you are and what you watch, but we were able to check out all the deals. I have been half way through a conversation with someone more times than I care to remember when I think I am about to get a good deal only to find that it is for something I don’t want or need. I get so annoyed that part of a sales technique can be blatantly ignoring what a potential customer has asked for. This is why I much prefer looking up deals online and reading through everything they promise for whatever price they say they can do. I also think it’s a great way to compare the competition and even to get knowledge to really understand what you are paying for.

I’m so happy that I can help out and save my Mum and Grama pennies just like they were able to help me save. The basics are still the same though. Understand what it is you are paying for and decide from there if it really is worth that. It’s like if you only use sirloin steak maybe you genuinely don’t know about stewing steak and the costs of similar products. All I’m doing is using whatever knowledge I’ve gained in a different sort of way, and I’m so glad that I can.

Summer's a time of change...

Hello, Hello, I’ve been a bit dormant for a while in blog-land, but up to an awful lot in real life. Firstly, how awesome is it that the sun is actually shining?! It is brilliant to have the ability to hang out washing when I leave in the morning and come back when the working day is through and not curse myself all day long through rain clouds.

The sunshine has pushed me outside, but I have also been trying to stay very busy as TH is away with work again, and I can be kept sane by making myself go out for walks or do a thorough clean. It’s great that I can leave the windows wide open again, not something I’ve been able to do in this house.

I’ve also been trying to keep fit as we have finally got our appointment at the fertility clinic. Although I’ve lost weight I’m still just over the healthy bracket, so I want to get those last few lbs. shifted so that we can get on with things and hopefully get as much help from them as we can.

It is also very exciting that we may have a move ahead of us. TH had been asked to attend an interview for a job in Singapore, which of course he jumped at the chance to do. Last week he got told that he had the job if he wanted it, and because it is through his own work he has been able to fully explore what would be involved in the package that would get us over there. We’re still able to say no at any point and we should be getting a trip this year if we go so far into this.

Obviously we won’t just say anything to get it, but we really need to figure out who pays for what and any costs incurred by us. I’m trying not to get too excited until we know for sure, but me being me means that I have already been looking at apartments over there, and bulk storage facilities over here. I want a place that can offer one all-inclusive price that is secure. I looked for a while at some places where you rent from different people, but I just don’t feel like I could do that with so many things as I don’t want to take lots abroad. I also want somewhere that I can drop a whole bunch of things and they wheel them in to a big warehouse. No heavy lifting or lugging for me please! We also know that they accept deliveries for you if need be and we would also be able to get more space if need be. This might be something that needs to happen when we’re thinking of coming home again.

We are so far away from anything that is certain, but it will be an amazing opportunity to visit a new country and to save as we are pretty sure they’d be paying for quite a lot out there. However, I guess you can’t be 100% until it’s in writing.

So maybe, just for now at least, I will be excited about the progress with the clinic, and mostly about the fact the sun is shining!

Day by Day

Dance in the Rain

Getting There

The ISA was opened earlier this month and it felt so good putting money away into it and knowing that this is the start of really taking control of things. Not only have we been blessed with great weather recently, it feels like things are finally all falling into place. Although I love Autumn and Winter I love it when we get a bout of sunshine that really cheers everyone up. Eating supper outside is such a simple pleasure, but such a treat. We’ve had great news too and are waiting for our first appointment at the fertility clinic. There are so few in the country that I can’t help but be grateful for the chance to attend one so easily. I know some people have to travel from the Highlands and Islands just to attend, so I really shouldn’t complain about my lot in life. I’m so happy that we are getting to visit this amazing establishment and are getting closer to real help. The help might be medical or counselling or anything they see fit, but I am so happy that we can now get over all of the confusion and sadness. I can celebrate that these things were never in my hands in the first place. There is a plan, and if there’s another person on earth to help show me what I can and can’t achieve then I can accept it and get on.

I guess there was a point when we really thought about babies or thought about money and saving and all it brought was unhappiness. We’re not supposed to overthink these things, most of what we worry about isn’t anything we can control. The money thing I could deal with, for too long I’d blamed others, but as soon as I copied my Mother and got myself a little note book it made sense. The baby thing was so far from being in my control that no wonder I drove myself crazy trying to ‘fix’ it. It seems like the moment I noticed that although I loved my job in a library, I couldn’t be with people who were so rude, nasty and deceitful to each other. I remember when I left and I spoke with my new colleagues, I was shocked that they weren’t horrible to me. The fog cleared and I could see that it was a good thing I got out of there. I could see no amount of money or job prospects mattered if I was deeply unhappy.

I feel like we’re slowly getting to where we should be. Not getting somewhere in a monetary or benchmark sense, but where we should be IN OURSELVES. Where TH and I were meant to be with regard to being calm, happy and settled. Not striving for more, just doing what people have always done and I am so thankful that we have that chance. We might get some treatments and they might be difficult, but we sure aren’t sitting hunched over trying to figure it out between us. I am so grateful that on Tuesday it’ll be us, waiting in a queue…and you know what? It might be the start of something really, really good.

Ooops....

Ooops, where have my pictures gone on my last two posts....hmmmmm

I'm sure I'll figure it out in no time!
x

A bit of a catch up

Hello, Hello, I’ve been a bit dormant for a while in blog-land, but up to an awful lot in real life. Firstly, how awesome is it that the sun is actually shining?! It is brilliant to have the ability to hang out washing when I leave in the morning and come back when the working day is through and not curse myself all day long through rain clouds.

The sunshine has pushed me outside, but I have also been trying to stay very busy as TH is away with work again, and I can be kept sane by making myself go out for walks or do a thorough clean. It’s great that I can leave the windows wide open again, not something I’ve been able to do in this house.

We’ve actually been up to all sorts recently with our two Birthdays (well three if you count Daisy Dog) and all of the planning and organisation that takes. A lot of the Birthday prep happened before we started to save so we both got each other a bit too much. Always nice, but we know the true cost of the ‘stuff’ now.

For my Birthday I got Jessie J tickets from www.bigticketshop.co.uk/jessie-j-tickets.htm I had been really wanting to go to see her as I think she’s great, and seeing as this was bought a while before the Birthday TH and I will act like they are free. The Nephew informed us of the site as you can figure out the best value ticket as with so many of these sites they rip you off royally and you have to pay quite a big fee for the pleasure! I think he is quite ashamed I like someone so cool, but we’re in good seats so we shouldn’t see him. Well, I’m sure if he sees us he won’t let on anyway. The site is quite good so I am going to go on there again when looking for comedy shows. I was really cross I missed out on a couple before, so will definitely have to be more organised in future.

Seeing as we are country side people now and it takes a while to get into town so it is a bit of an ‘event’ to go out to these things. Also as we would have to go to Glasgow normally for these things we’d have to stay over, and then have a wee look around the place….one night out quickly turns into something quite expensive. If you are ever in the same predicament as us then you can appreciate that going to gigs or shows isn’t something you can do all of the time.

Apart from the Birthdays we’ve been trying to get the garden under control. We’d hoped that for TH’s Birthday we could be out in the garden, but the weather was so awful, by the time it got nicer the sunshine woke all of the weeds up and they are sneaking through every crack in the ground.

We’re also hoping that we can start squirreling away lots of wood while the weather is nicer which we can whip out in Autumn instead of paying out every month. The wood pile in slowly getting bigger, but seeing as its soft wood we do go through it really quickly. However any night that we can get a free fire will be a bonus.

I think that’s me caught up a little bit now. Hopefully I can get some pictures of Daisy with her Birthday cake up, have a good day.