To ask , what has been your most expensive purchase?

[BigSteve]

Apart from house

I would say my laptop cost £800 so probably that.

My masters degree- £10,000. Our car- £20,000

Curious

A little expertise and knowledge is needed - my DP knows how to fell trees safely, and how to use the equipment required such as chain saws etc. He could already do this before we bought the woodland, as we have a large garden, and an allotment. Also woodwork has been one of his hobbies for many years.

You will need to be able to recognize and remove any dead or diseased trees, as well as the permitted volume of timber each year if you want to. (There are rules about how much healthy wood you can remove). You may also have to maintain pathways or fences/walls etc. We have a dry stone wall along one edge of our woodland, although the farmer next door looks after that.

As for costs - apart from equipment, which for us is mainly chainsaws and safety clothing, axes, saws, wedges etc, plus a trailer to transport the wood, there hasn't been much more.

We have cleared an area for camping and picnics, have installed a storage shed and this spring we are going to build a pizza oven! (Very excited about this!)

There are rules about what you can put on the woodland - mainly it's about not being allowed to live there - but things like storage sheds or a shipping container etc are allowed.

So there is some knowledge required. Of course it is possible to pay someone else to do it, or part of it, but my DP loves to do it all himself. We sometimes need help but friends and family are happy to pitch in in exchange for camping rights! I believe that there are courses you can go on to learn these skills if needed.

Please let me know if you have any more questions. I say go for it, it's such a pleasure to have such a beautiful place to go!

A new engagement ring after a diamond fell out of the old one: £800
Eternity ring: £850
Invisalign : £3500

3 weeks in Thailand (£6k including spending money)

Wow.

I spent a year in Thailand and it cost me £3000 including spending money.

My divorce cost me around £1k and was worth every penny

I didn't think of my divorce.

Mine cost close to £100k, of which £97,500 went straight to my ex. It also took 5 years, from the day I told him I wanted him out of my life to the day he finally went.

A hitman would have been far cheaper and I'd probably have been out in not much more than 5.

Hindsight, eh?

Car but as it's on finance I kind of don't count that...
Biggest one off purchase was a snuggler armchair from Loaf. I love it and won't let anyone sit on it that hasn't been thoroughly vetted for any dirt or fluff about their person first

Antique Persian rug

Obscene amount of money on car.

Chickenowner please tell me more about buying woodland. We have considered this but I'm not sure what experience is needed and what kind of upkeep and long term costs it might involve?

The most expensive bit is probably doing the woodland management course you'll need to really take care of it well!

We're very lucky, DP's son trained in arboriculture and woodland management, and his first contract was managing a 40 acre wood in East Sussex. In the summer months, he practically lives there and we often go and camp there.

It is fantastic - so peaceful and very beautiful. We just sit around and chill and go for a stroll or two. The wildlife is amazing - bats, deer, owls, spotted woodpeckers and in the spring, it's full of bluebells, wood anemones and wild garlic grows in the damper spots. We have a big fire come the evening, and cook over it while getting gently sloshed.

DGD (3 in July) loves it and has been going since she was a baby. She took her first steps there.

It's a fantastic thing to do, just brilliant for kids.

Car £600, laptop £500.

House
Car
Horses (have never added it up, darent, hundreds every month then there’s buying them, tack etc)
Horsebox

Worth every penny!

After House/cars etc it would be my watch.

Purchased in January with my Christmas bonus.
I did better than expected and bought DP one at the same time and the rest went on new sofas.

Next big purchase will be our wedding.

We don't want to get into debt for it, so aren't spending anything close to what people say the average is, but even being frugal is coming in at over £10k.

Car. I once bought a brand new Mini and drove it out of the showroom. £12K.

I forgot the wedding! Ours was £6000 on everything-including rings and honeymoon.

My master’s degree, £12.5k.

About to pay €8,000 deposit for our wedding.

£3,500 on a car when I was 22.

How do people do this? Especially with house extensions and cars and weddings and kitchens coming in at over £10,000?

Is it loans? Or are people just saving?

Or are you are extremely wealthy and I should stop daydreaming about living beyond my means?

Car. After that probably holidays.

Horses horses and associated horse stuff.

apart from the house, a boiler.
v exciting,

As a one-off payment, probably my car.

Cumulatively, everything childcare related. So our nanny, nursery fees and very soon, school fees.

When I was a fresh grad in my first job, I used to spend hundreds each month commuting into central London. I then needed an op on both feet, which meant I had to work from home for a few months whilst I recovered. I used the money that I saved from not having to buy a travel card to get a Mulberry handbag. I still remember how fast my heart was racing when I click 'buy'. (Ten years later, I still have it)

How do people do this? Especially with house extensions and cars and weddings and kitchens coming in at over £10,000?

For us it was inheriting £1million - mainly due to family owning 2 properties in London.

MrsRedPants. Our Mini was on finance. Traded in not-too ancient otter car (part savings, part inheritance), then financed the rest whilst saving for balloon payment at the end. We paid the ballon payment, then sold it for almost as much as we’d paid for it!

Is it loans? Or are people just saving?

Savings. The only loan we've ever had was the mortgage.

My BA & MA