So glad I thought of the holiday fund earlier this year, it has become so useful! Was not even thinking about overseas holidays at the moment but then yesterday a good friend of mine (whose wedding we went to in March) invited us to go with them and a bunch of friends to Phuket, Thailand next year! She found a deal of $800pp for 7 nights accommodation, airfares and breakfasts. We have not planned dates to go as yet but once we buy the package they are valid for two years - we imagine we will be going next year sometime. So excited - did not consider going to Thailand but many people have said how beautiful it is, and it looks gorgeous. Luckily B agreed to go! So there was $207.00 in the mini-holiday and deposits to lock in the deal were $150.00pp, so I transferred out the $207.00 from mini-holiday fund and $93.00 from our bank account.
Must do the tax return and get the EF back to what it should be.... So bad with procrastinating on this one...
I worked out to get 15% savings I would need to save an extra $188.
$58 of that had to go towards the Balance Transfer payment of $303.00. I transferred over the payment tonight and the balance in a couple of days on that card should read $3,644.00 - which is awesome. The balance on the actual CC1 is around $68 now, eventually it will be down to $0. No rush there, I just keep on transferring $10 per week.
The remaining $130 saved was part of the mortgage snowflake of $183.00 reduction in our mortgage compared to what the repayment used to be (B covered the rest).
I also transferred our insurance savings towards the two cars tonight as well of $180, there is now $580 saved up.
As it is the end of the month (well close enough) spending will be minimal from now on. I had a long day at work and craved a bottle of wine and gave in - there was $10 spent (had two glasses though, the rest is still there). But there is no weekend plans, so should be very quiet. Will need to be because most of the money is now spent! I am not bothered though because I feel like it is going to useful places.
Holiday Fund Complete Withdrawal, EOM transactions
September 23rd, 2015 at 12:12 pm
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It'll sound nuts but they make it fun to take cooking lessons! I was scared out of my mind but couldn't resist the tour via zip lines. I think mostly because of exchange rates, stuff is way less expensive than expected.
The culture is to bargain for everything, even services. It's expected and as long as you smile and not get serious it should be fun. Whatever you want is available at the next place and the next place and the next place. I just offered half of asking and if I really, really wanted an item offered a final price of 60% of asking for example. If the shopkeeper/agent came after me I knew I was in the right price zone. DH is much more adventurous so we ate stuff we'd never seen, enjoyed Thai cultural experiences, daily Thai massage and excursions to various islands. It's so different!
September 23rd, 2015 at 10:33 pm 1443047612
Secretary Savings- would be great to go, ps your trips next year sound like fun too!
Imasaver- thank you!
Snafu- thank you for all of the information! I remember hearing about smiling Thais and bargaining! Can't wait to do more research
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