Dear reader,
Hi to new follower Thrift Deluxe. Thank you for joining me.
I have two rules for myself on this blog. If you take the time and effort to write me a comment, I always reply. I love to hear about you and your lives. Second I will follow you back as I like to know about my readers and I think it builds a nice rapport.
Yesterday I read Frugal Queens post about heating or holidays. As you may know by my moaning, I do not like my gas provider, in fact I think they are thieving buggers. It is that dislike that keeps me from turning on our central heating although we could afford to.
Last night when I got home from work the house was a fresh (read bloody cold) 13.5 which dropped to 13 at about midnight. I couldn't be bothered to light the fire as I would be off to bedroom anyway.
Big man also worked late and we snuggled into bed, fleece pj's, duvet and fleece throw. I was boiling a few hours later.
Anyhow, I digress, holidays, holiday, holidays. My favourite thing. I have been lucky enough and stupid with money enough to have been to some great places. I travelled extensively as a child although when your parents say, "Thats the Taj Mahal."when you are 8 years old, you don't really appreciate it. I used to go away, without fail at least twice a year. Dubai, Caribbean, Vegas, cruising as well at Europe. Club class for me on long haul darlings!
The credit card was well and truly bashed. I loved the spending, it was the blasted paying it back I hated.
Becoming frugal has been a major change for me. I am determined not to enter my retirement and have to worry about day to day living. That is one of the reasons I am cutting back now. As well as some debts which have paid for home improvements we have a large mortgage to feed.
We haven't had a holiday since 2011 when we had a good one for 2 weeks. We will have a holiday next year though as I don't want to feel like I'm not living or doing anything at all. We have giving up smoking and are feeling all the benefits, both financial and health. So we will bash our debts this year and see what we can save for next year. I feel another progress bar coming on,
So for me the answer is yes, I will go without central heating for holidays. I have the log burner but we have sourced about £500 of free wood.
Reader, have a happy Easter if you celebrate it, if not enjoy the long weekend here in the
Remember the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday. I am off to see if I can scratch together a breakfast in the frugal kitchen.
FIB. X
Holidays were the first thing I cut out when I retired. Seven days a week off work is after all - one long holiday for me. I don't need sand and sea to enjoy myself - days out are long enough, and it also means that the cats get fed and the greenhouse gets watered. What I may do if I fancy a few days away is to hire a 'country cottage' - it will probably end up more like a flat I expect. The other idea I have is buying a small caravan. As they don't make one birth, I expect I shall have to plum for a two-birth.
ReplyDeleteCheers....B xx
ps As you mention 'following' can I point out that you have linked me to a blog that I have stopped updating. I now blog here -
http://tracker-bar.blogspot.co.uk/
Cheers.... B xx
Hi B,
DeleteYes pets and gardens are my mothers two ties. My holiday time is not spend dog and garden sitting at her house, not that she holidays often. Our friends have just bought a caravan and we are hoping to join them somehow here this summer.
I will change your blog now thanks for letting me know.
Cheers and happy Easter.
FIB. X
Hi there. Holidays are something we have never splurged on in a big way. Lately, our habit has been to rent a holiday cottage in the UK for a week in alternate years, and in the other years, to have one or two short breaks at my sister's static caravan. We usually only stay for three nights at most each time, and every time we go away, we rely on my uncle to come to stay here to look after the chooks.
ReplyDeleteMy children have never been abroad, and I have only been out of the country twice, and I won one of those holidays! There is SO much to see in the UK that I don't think I will get everywhere in my lifetime...I want to go back to parts I have been before, as well as discovering lots of places I have heard about or read about that I haven't seen yet - and then there will be all the other places too!
Hi Morgan,
DeleteYou are right, there are so many lovely places here in the Uk. I just wish we had better weather. Wow, you won a holiday? I'm one of those who never wins anything and I hope to be saying that if the lotto numbers come in. I suppose I'll have to actually enter it first.
X
Holidays... yes, well we do enjoy a nice holiday but this year with changing my car we are giving it a miss for an abroard one, unless we get a real cheapie for new year again. We do have a nice touring caravan which we like to use all summer. This year we are planning 3/4 weeks in one go as well as the long weekends or Monday- Friday depending on whether the sun shines or not! Being careful with money and having all our own facilities to hand including solar power we tend to go for the farmers field type sites around £5-£6 per night, can't really see the point in spending any more. We don't like the bells and whistles sites anyway, we eat pretty much the same as we do at home and try to make full use of our National Trust membership. Apart from fuel our holidays are quite cheap :-) Roll on summer!!
ReplyDeleteKaren x
Hi Karen,
DeleteWe were thinking of getting a caravan just to take around now we have an estate big old car. I'd like to give that a go. We have the NT membership for the first time this year and I think it's brilliant.
X
We haven't had a holiday for the last 2 years but have booked a small chalet on St Ives Bay beach for a week in May and a Sun holiday for October in Perranporth - they're not what we'd choose if we had more money but we're ready for a break this year and 'beggars can't be choosers!
ReplyDeleteI always think it doesn't matter where you go as long as you go with the right attitude to make the best of it plus I've been saving little bits of money from here and there and have already got the petrol money saved and I've been putting one item of grocery in a box each week so I shall have a lot of the food to take with us - it all takes time and planning to go away as reasonably as possible, doesn't it? xxx
Well dome you, I thinks that's great planning to put some money aside and to put one item away each week is a brilliant idea. You're right, you have to stick to within your means and go where you can afford. I reckon you'll have a super time.
DeleteX
We do take holidays (or vacations as we'd call them here). We plan for them and set our budget. We've only left the US once, but hope to do our next big trip to Ireland. This year the plans are pretty simple -- a cottage by the beach and perhaps some long weekends out and about.
ReplyDeleteA cottage by the beach sounds just perfect. X
DeleteHi :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen we do holiday we tend to drive and camp (or sleep in the car....maybe!), caravan or stay with friends. Mostly our holidays revolve around flying so they don't cost us a lot more than a week at home anyways! Just the travel really.
Although we did have an amazing holiday in India in January, but my other half's company paid for that. Team building is amazing!
I'm totally up for cutting stuff like heating out to save for something I want.... at the moment it's fabric not holidays though!
Happy Easter
Jo :-)
Hi Jo,
DeleteFirstly, thanks for popping by and for following my little blog.
Wow a team building in India, it's usually a muddy circuit round a field and a bit of orienteering. I haven't been good at saving in the past so I'm getting used to it.
Happy Easter to you too.
X
We last had a few days away in 2009 when we were "between pets", it wasn't a great success as we were too sad about losing our bun. Prior to that we went away in 2003 for a long weekend.
ReplyDeleteMy MIL has made sounds about looking after the buns if we want to go away somewhere this year so we're thinking of maybe having one or two nights away. It's not that much of a big deal really as we live at the seaside so it's only a short walk to the beach, might be nice to have someone else make my bed for a day or two though!
Ha ha, yes I'd like someone else to make the bed sometimes too.
DeleteHow lucky to be beside the seaside you are, sound lovely.
I am missing the sunshine and its making me want to book something exotic.
X
I like to have a summer break as I feel it helps recharge the batteries and gives something to look forward to. We do however usually keep our hols to one week away, go self catering and book somewhere that is reasonably priced. I've done this now for many years since my now grown up children were young. You might like to read the post on my blog where I wrote about how we holiday on a frugal budget - http://vintagehearth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/tips-for-booking-budget-holiday.html
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely cottage. I have been watching SFT on her break in Cornwall. I wouldn't mind a caravan or anything really as long as there was a bit of sunshine.
DeleteFIB. X