Finally debt free - £250 treat family.

[Redridingindahood]

I know it's not a lot. But I've finally paid off ALL debts. Our savings account has enough for emergencies, redundancy and Christmas. We've worked so hard for this and lived extremely frugally.

I've just been given an unexpected £250 bonus from work.

For the first time in many years - I can splurge on a little something for us all. Only problem is we can't decide on what.

Do we

1. pay for swimming pool membership for a year for the us and the DC
2. spend it on making the garden pretty (we have a garden makeover project that's £200 short of our planned spends)
3. put it towards a city break in October half term (and save a bit extra)
4. Dishwasher 😂
5. Something else

What would you do?

Also, I feel a little giddy from being debt free.

Oops let me clarify. Nobody is being made redundant - we just saved enough "just in case"..... 😊

2

Congratulations - you must feel amazing on getting out of a tough financial spot 🥳
I think I’d do something really boring with it like put it towards a dishwasher just because it improves our quality of life daily. I hate washing up with a passion!!
How much would you get out of the swimming membership? If you genuinely think you’d be there every week come rain or shine maybe that’s more worth it to you.
What will it be contributing to the mini break? As in, is it going to pay towards accommodation or specific activities while you’re there?
On reflection I’d go for boring but daily useful so either dishwasher or garden as you live in your house all year round.

Well done! You must feel a weight off your shoulders.

Option 2 or 3 sound best to me.

I initially thought option 1 but I wonder if because you’re no longer paying a monthly amount towards your debt, you’d be able to put £10-20 away per month for a ‘swimming fund’ should you fancy a family swim?

A dishwasher, definitely get one , it will give you time.

I’d do 1 (if you will definitely go and use the memberships) or 2 (because it’s really important to have somewhere nice to exist).

Oh yes! You're right. I haven't even twigged that we would have the spare cash for the "as & when" 😱

I'm not used to this at all!

Very good point about saving time and having a nice garden!

I feel quite overwhelmed when the dishes pile up. Especially if I come home from work and they're there to do.

I'd love to banish that "dread" and "tense" feeling of knowing I have to do them... We do it twice a day and I do one set. And DH does the other (1 - breakfast & lunch - 2- pans & dinner plates)

Thanks everyone, I feel absolutely incredible. What an achievement!

Huge congratulations!

I'd get a dishwasher. There's no point in looking out at a lovely garden while you're washing dishes for the tenth time that day!

I'd get a monthly ticket for swimming, too. With the garden I'd just do what I could this summer and aim to complete it at the start of next summer.

swimming pool for family

the others don't include all the family in the same way, though the children weren't in debt they may have helped live frugal whilst you were paying off the debt

If you have some saved already you could probably do the garden and the dishwasher. It's lovely to sit out in a pretty garden. You could get Honeysuckles to smell lovely too.

Well done 👏 congratulations 👏 The feeling is amazing. Enjoy your family threat. Well deserved!

Dishwasher, hands down. It was something Dh had never had at home and in our first house together that was top of his wish list. When our dishwasher broke a couple of years ago washing up by hand was novel at first but then just awful on a weekend when everyone is home and creating dirty plates etc.

After that would be garden because you could be in that daily with ease as opposed to swimming.

Definitely the dishwasher

Oh and congratulations on the debt free.

Dishwasher!!! Definitely. I reckon it saves me at least 40 minutes a day. As well as being cheaper to run and more economical with water. Plus it gets items cleaner than I ever good because try as I might I can't wash in water that hot.

You already have some savings for the garden so do that with that money.

Swimming with your freed up monthly money.

Thanks everyone! I think we'll probably get the dishwasher. I think the children would benefit from us not getting tense and cross about the mess

I don't bake as often as I used to. In our old house we had a dishwasher but the thought of washing up baking stuff fills me with dread.

You're right about the water bill too. Our water doesn't run hot until the whole washing bowl is full which we take outside and fill up the water butt with (so not wasted) but it's SO annoying & inefficient.

Dishwasher

I think you've done amazingly well to achieve what you have, especially in the current economic climate. I'd go for the dishwasher but I also hate washing up with a passion.

My next option would be the garden

Just to say congratulations!!
Its a hard road to tread.. but you have done it!!
Well done!

Good call on dishwasher but I do think the odd swim, as mentioned above, should be squeezed out of the family budget.

You can spend the time freed up from the washing up to plan what you are going to do to your garden (and which city break you are going to take), in 2024 when you've saved extra for them.

Well done.