Jules. Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 So go on , tell me the benefits of paying my council tax with a goldfish card I'm ok really, just feeling a bit "oh woe is me" today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I pay for most things with my Goldfish card BUT I have a direct debit to pay it off in full each month. You get one point per pound towards vouchers for various shops like Argos, M&S, Currys, Boots, JJB. You don't get a huge amount unless you leave it ages but it does feel like you're getting something for nothing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 On that count we use the good old Tesco card for the payments (that one is all paid off every month!) and that gets you Tesco vouchers which if saved up and used on DEALS are worth 4x the face amount. Mum just booked herself a Med cruise on them, previous time I spent them was on a QM2 crossing. We get loads cos we also nip to tesco whenever they do one of their stupid things where you get extra points on an item which are worth more than the item. I still have a cupboard full of johnsons baby talc and moisturising lotion! And I believe there is probably still some "beef in gravy" somewhere in the bottom of the freezer. see here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I can think of a few shelters here which would make good use of those tellys. We've still got the 14" portable that I bought 20 years ago - still works and we never watch it anyway, so it doesn't matter one iota. We avoid all those stupid adverts urging us to buy mountains of tat we don't need, and have more time to get on with the things we like to do. It's called self-control Pawn brokers will always be around, they are just called gold traders and cash converters now Funnily enough, most of the people on benefits/low income around here have stacks of top-of-the-range white goods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 Funnily enough, most of the people on benefits/low income around here have stacks of top-of-the-range white goods LOL remember when Sky first came out - if you drove round the council estate there were dishes everywhere! My house is furnished from Ebay - you should see some of the bargains I've gotten from people who change their stuff every year or so. Spending is out of control in so much of the country and I do live in a very consumerist area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 7, 2009 Share Posted November 7, 2009 I do live in a very consumerist area. Really? You should see them round here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I've tried THREE times to give 2 away on freecycle and they are still cluttering up the spare room. Trouble is they are both 20" CRT's. Now if they were 40" plasmas somebody might take them. Thats a very fair point, some peoples expectations have got higher and their patience has got shorter, f they took the free TV for now they could save up for the one they really wanted A few years ago a friend of mine (aged 25 at the time) met a chap and wanted to move in with him, they started looking for their first house, then came the list - Must have four bedrooms Driveway Double garage Not overlooked Detatched In the best area etc.. They did eventually buy the dream house at a vast amount of money encouraged by a bank that let them borrow far more x their salary than is sensible To me thats your third or even fourth home, not your first. My mortgage is £1000 a month for a two bed terrace - even taking in to account geographical differences I dread to think what the mortgage repayments were on that house. In order to buy the house we wanted within our budget and having a safety net of my husbands salary (which wasnt taken in to account for that reason) we had to downsize rather than take on extra debt (we can pass things across the living room without getting up from our seats - thats how much we downsized ) My friend and I lost touch a couple of years ago before the market downturn but I often wonder if she still has her home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Gosh Redwing that's alot of money each month for the mortgage. I'm glad to say that come the 20th November repayment my mortgage will be down to a 4-figure sum with about 29 months to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Wow Jules that is fab news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Thats is fab well done Jules a great feeling I am sure Our monthly payments are so high as we shortened the period you pay the mortgage off over to try and get ahead of the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 Yes, it is a nice feeling. We knocked 8 years off our 25 year mortgage by increasing the payments when we moved house- best thing we ever did financially. Its also the only debt we have. But getting back to the original thread, there have been plenty of times I've wished I'd mortgaged myself up to hilt in order to have a new kitchen ( my current one is falling to bits ) and our driveway tarmac is coming up in chunks & badly needs sorting out. And this is where financial self-control comes into the picture, & common sense. I just have to live with the kitchen I have ( which does the job its supposed to do) until the time when I can buy a new one without stretching myself too far moneywise. There are days when I throw a strop about my kitchen and am ashamed of it, but then I remind myself about how well off I am compared to many, many people in the world, & that keeps it in perspective. I have food in my cupboards, clean clothes to wear, I can have a hot bath any time I fancy and I have access to the NHS, even though we sometimes moan about the care we get from it I also don't have to walk miles every day to fetch (unclean ) water for my family and my children have free access to education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 It's always a good call to reduce any debts if/as soon as you can. If I came into money (hardly likely) then, it'd be the first thing I'd do, then work out what to do with any leftovers. If I were childless, I'd be working at two jobs to pay off my mortgage as soon as I could. I'd much rather have Rosie and be poor though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 8, 2009 Share Posted November 8, 2009 I totally agree with you there Claret. Even though they cost you a small fortune. Lucklily James doesn't want a lot for Christmas, cos right after is the start of term, £90 for his swimming lessons £90 for his piano lessons, 2.50 per day for his dinnrs, payable a term in advance..... football lessons, orchestra fees, Beavers fees.... It's almost never ending and given all of his problems I don't like to say no to this stuff as it is all helping with his other issues (we are now looking at Dyspraxia). Last year his "main" xmas pressie was- a Hi Vis coat! Only I could luck out to get a kid who wants a coat for Christmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
