Yep thats what we found Laurette, so we just got ruthless and are having immediate family, aunts, uncles, and any cousins over 18. We are only having a table of 10 friends.

Mum has been really good with the list (shes one of those knows everyone in a 40km radius ppl!) but she told me on the weekend she wants her cousin and my second cousin + partners there. Im probably going to compromise on them, cos I get on with my 2ndcousin really well, we talk probably once a week, so shes not a stranger by any means.

Hi Girls,

I'm the same as Laurette with my guests - if we invite 1, there's another 20 to include etc. We are having @150 too and this is really just immediate family, aunts & uncles and cousins over 18 plus our really good friends. The problem is that we have plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins over 18!!! We have a couple of different groups of friends as well, but they are all people that we are close too and have been friends with for years, so I wouldn't dream of not having them there on the day.

Your wedding sounded lovely Kathy. Very intimate. I did have a passing thought of eloping, but I knew that my Mum would be devastated (I'm her only child) and also that I probably would regret not having my friends and family around and walking the aisle in a beautiful dress!!

Kate, that's very exciting about your dress. And you so thought Matt would be upset about it!! He just wants you to be happy on the day. Time to go shopping again!!!

Bec, is that choccy catalogue emailable?? I LOOOVVVEEEE chocolate! Hmmm, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.........

need to go to shop now!

jo.

Hi Girls,

Haven't been able to get on too much lately as we're doing renovations on our house but i'll tell you it took me ages to catch up reading through all those posts.

We're having a smallish wedding of around 70 people so far. Only close family and friends but i can't wait. Just over 10 months to go now, is this year flying by or what... Better get my butt in gear, hey has anyone booked their honeymoon?

Hope all you girls are well.

Hi Girls...


WELCOME BACK LAURETTE!!!!! Great to see you back online

Hope the plans are going well for everyone, just poppping in to say hi, don't really have much to report on, however had my makeup trial on Saturday and it went great - extremely happy! So that's another thing ticked off the list

Have a great day girls... I'm off on two weeks holidays on Friday so I may not get a chance to get onlnie much (have friends down from the UK) - can't wait to be updated on all the goss

-Leesha

Thanks Leesha!

I tell you what - It is great to be back. So much better than sticking around in hospital or lolling around at home. I got bored of that pretty quick!

Morning lovlies!

Well, I am going to look at a house today... should be interesting.

We dont even know whether or not we will be able to get a house loan yet, but we are starting to do our research and so on. I looked at one last week, but I am over that - it was too small.

I will keep up updated on the housing crisis no doubt.

Hope that you all got the Choc catalogue from Bec - it looks great.

Here is the link to the house, listed on the real Estate website...

WOW... thats unreal for the price!

Go for it mate!

ETA:
We couldnt even get a unit for that price down here! Our neighbours place is being sold for $250,000 and we live in a 20yr old townhouse!

Laurette if that house was where Im looking to buy Id grab it.Go for it.

kathyxxx

Yeah but for here, it's pretty expensive.

I just saw that Kristin (bums and Roses) has had an offer accepted on a unit in Sydney - the price listed was $570K. I cant even imagine that amount of money.

$235K still seems a lot to me.

The one that I looked at last week had the same price on it, so it will be interesting to see how they compare. I have a feeling that the last one is going to be better.

This is the one that I looked at last week. I know that it looks weird with the flat roof, but it has just been done up (with the exception of the ensuite) and they have done a great job of it.

Ideally, this is the one that I would like, although I dont feel that our piddly finances are going to stretch this far.

Laurette the I like the flat roof one it has more character and all it needs on the outside is a few trees and a garden,the big windows are great.

Kathyxxx

Id LOVE to buy a house!!! You should go for it! All 3 places are beautiful!

At the moment we just cant do it. We cant afford to be paying out $400+ on a mortgage on one wage when we have kids.

ALTHOUGH!!! - our neighbours BF works in the mines up here, and is guaranteed a minimun 3 shifts a week, which is GUARANTEED take home of $1200 a week AFTER tax! We were talking about it last night, and cos matt doesnt drive, he cant get out to the mines (theyre 45 mins out the back of nowhere - definately no public transport!) Anyway I asked him if he was earning that sort of money, if I could just be his personal taxi driver and not work, and his response... 'as long as I come home to a clean house every day!!!' Now, its just a matter of getting him to get some SES ticket or something (which is about $800!) and waiting for a position to come up at one of the mines - which apparently is screaming for workers ATM!!! (note: I am a firm believer of if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! so Im saying most of this very tongue in cheek!) How good would that be IF it did happen tho!!! Id have to do SOME work... volunteering or SOMETHING. Id go nuts sitting at home all day! (or I could just start making babies!!!)

WAYY off topic - Sorry Laurette, back to you. I think if you can get finance, then youre CRAZY not to buy!

Yeah I know Kate.

Just remember that prices out here are going crazy. I understand that they would be much more expensive there in Wollongong, but for here, it's ridiculous. The housing boom just hasnt stopped.

It happened because a lot of people from cities, Sydney in particular, bought up investment properties here - all the houses available basically - for very cheap prices, so that they could rent rent rent them all in order to pay their Sydney rent and mortgages. That was the idea anyway.

So there were no houses, then everyone got wise and put their house prices up and now I cant afford a house. It's all a big conspiracy. So the buying slowed down, and now there actually are houses around for sale, but they're ridiculously priced.

10 MONTHS


You wouldnt think that I was excited or anything, would you?

I heard yesterday or this morning, that house prices are set to drop up to 10% in the next 12 months. We are smack bang in the middle of a boom... It may be in your best interests to hold out til after the wedding, and hopefully things will take a downward turn, and you could get yourself a bargain!

I dont have a crystal ball, or any skills in predicting property prices, but read up and see if Im on the right track.

ETA:

The sydneysiders got hold of wollongong a few years back too! Thats why we cant afford to buy!

Wollongong has ALWAYS been a feeder from Sydney though.

My cousin just bought a block of land to build on in Gerringong. It is three quarters of a standard quarter acre house block. It's so small that they are going to have to build up.

The price that he paid for this block? over $400K. And because houses are much much more expensive to build UP (ie two story) there's probably a $300K house that they will need.

so that's $700K - add interest over thirty years and they are probably going to pay over one and a half million for that house. It's riduculous.

He's a PE teacher and she is a legal secretary. They have three kids under 8.

Its crazy isnt it!!!

We saw a thing on one of those location location type shows, houses in Adelaide and Darwin for around $100,000! Thats more like our budget!!!

I reckon if and when we're ever in the position to buy, it will be in Adelaide. Matts got family down there, and all of his fam in Sydney are set to migrate down there at some point... but who knows.

Id rather bring my kids up with little added luxuries in a rental, than live on the poverty line to pay a mortgage! (just MY opinion!)

Yeah, well that's not a bad point Kate. I guess that it's more about having your own space - a place that is YOURS etc etc and the security that the investment has for when you are old and retired and dont have the money to be shelling out rent every week. But, then if you're not putting into a mortgage, you could be putting more into super.

The things is though, it's like paying rent - but on a tangible asset that is YOURS - like rent is dead money as they say, you dont see any benefits from it.

I know... its so hard. Youre damned if you do and damned if you dont.

We look at it this way.

We pay $160 a week rent. thats for a 2brm twnhse that has our own private courtyard, but also a massive common area. We could EASILY have our first child in our house, and possibly our second. (one of the ladies has lived in her twnhse for 6 years and has 2 boys that are 9 & 7.

To BUY our neighbours place, we'd be looking at around $500 a week, with the mortgage, strata, rates etc etc.

At the moment, we just cannot afford that. Id rather shoot an extra $200 a week into a high interest savings account, and have a big savings account for when the time comes to send our kids to a good school, etc.

Mum and dad owned their place, but when they divorced, mum invested her money and rented with my stepdad. They didnt buy their place til I was about 15 and the kids were about 6 & 4. I thought mum wouldve been one to tell us to save every cent and not have kids til we had our own place, but she actually said it would probably make better sense for us to get our kids out of the way first, then buy when we are in our 30s. Even tho its less time to pay off before retirement, we wont have nearly the amount of expeniditure, and we will both be working full time, and be set up in other areas - good furniture, nice car etc, so will be able to put more into the mortgage.

EVERYTHING is circumstancial, and everyone has their own wants, needs, desires, whatnot... personally for us, buying a house isnt up there. Its a want, definately not a need.

In saying that, I think its awesome that people get out and do it straight off the bat, and make good money from the property market.

Its each to their own really isnt it - and its all so varied!

Very good point Kate. I do agree to some point, but here it's different. Houses are rented for what they cost to pay for, so you're better off to be buying. It's nothing like $500 a week to pay the mortgage off.

It's all relative I agree. I would love to be able to live back in Wollongong. Glenn knows that he could have a desk job there in W'worths head office with a click of his fingers. They are trying to get a lot of their staff to the cities - there are a lot of chiefs and no indians out here which is proving to be a huge problem for us in Temora. It would be good for him to be able to get out, but then we may also in the same breath compromise other local opportunities that are just as likely to crop up. It's really all over the place.

If we came back there, we would never be able to afford to buy a house I dont think. I will inherit half a house there in the not too distant future, but of course that means that someone has to die first and that's not what we want at all. Not at all, but really in black and white it is the reality of the situation that it wont be too far off. I am not sure what will happen to the house then. Dad (we know all about him) lives in it and as he is not working and everything, he wouldnt have anywhere else to go. At least if it was sold (he will own the other half) he would be able to have some sort of cash injection to be able to survive on for a while, but he would never be able to buy anywhere again with the money. I would never keep the house letting him live in it as it's not financially viable for me. As it is he doesnt contribute to my uncle for the house, but that's story #344 for another day.

Maybe when that happens, we will look at moving down there and using the money as a deposit on a home there. I wouldnt live in the one that they are in currently - it is worth too much money for what it is, primarily due to location. They have had real estate agents knocking on the door for about 10 years trying to buy it to build flats or a duplex thing on the land, so maybe with dad's half he can get one of those flats. Who knows. It's all too much to think about.

For us to pay a $250,000 mortgage alone, at about 8% interest, for 25 years, youre looking at just under $2000 a month. i know the interest rate we go off is higher than usual, but its best to work it out a point or two higher to compensate any rate rises during the loan (which is bound to happen). You can also get a 30yr loan, which lowers repayments again, but then you pay more interest.

so going off that, youre looking at about $450 a week. Add to that $1000pa for rates, $1000pa for strata fees, $500pa water rates, $1000pa house and contents insurance... and youre nearing $500 a week without even trying.

lol... this is getting WAY too indepth!!!

You should have learnt not to speak about anything that requires brainpower! I dont do anything at work all day, so when I get a chance to think... I run with it!!!

Guess what. I finished a packet of smokes last night, and Im going to try my hardest not to buy a packet today, and if I can do it, Im going to officially try to quit!!! YAY for me!!! OHHH I just thought of something!!! If I can quit smoking, but put away the $40ish a week I spend on smokes, thats how I can justify my new dress!!! In 20 weeks thats $800!!! 40 weeks thats $1600!!!!!!! Imagine the dress I can get with $1600!!!

If thats not incentive, I dont know what is!!!!!!!!

Oh Kate, that is such a great idea!

I am starting to get really antsy about my dress. I still love it in the pics, but if it doesnt get here soon dammit I am going to explode. I think that it's past the point of riduculous.

How long has it been now??? Im getting bloody antsy and its not even my dress!!!!!!!!!! I want to see it ON YOU!!!!!!!!

Its stunning. You'll want to explode even more when you get it!!!!!!!!

It's here!

The thing came in the post today and I have to go and get it from the Post Office!

Bullsh!t!!!!!!!!!!!

How funny is that... maybe you had some sort of ESP thing going on!!!!!!!!

Goodness!

So how long til we get pics of you in it????????????????

Are you p!ssing your pants??? (hopefully not literally but YKWIM)

Yes - I want to jump up and down and run around and tell everyone but am physically incapable of doing it.

The only thing is that I have to pay Customs on it $111.40

I was wondering about that!

Bugger you got caught out. Ive heard of a few that didnt get pinged!!!

Still... you're still walking away with a gorgeous dress at a GREAT price!

YAY for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(ps - Im gonna struggle with not buying smokes today. I have to go into town and buy lunch. If Id brought it from home, Id have to deal with it cos theres NOTHIGN out here, but there'll be so much temptation going to the shops!)

Be strong!

You will be able to do it! You will! Just think of the money that you will save and how much HEALTHIER you will be!

So the money that I had in my wallet ($120) was to pay for my hair appointment tomorrow night. Urgh.

So it's now going to pay for customs charges no doubt. I will be using the CC tomorrow night it seems...

Its all good mate... its for YOUR DRESS remember....

When are you going to try it on??? I want to see the bloody pics!

ETA:

Its not that easy.

I finally think Im addicted. I always used to be able to stop and start whenever I felt like it... but Im already getting weird feelings.

Its going to be so much harder than I thought

I dont actually think Im in the frame of mind to do it. Im already telling myself Im going to fail... positive thinking.... positive thinking...

Laurette,
Did you pick up the dress yet?


Kate,

Hows the no-smoking going?Have you caved in yet?

You know they are the hardest thing to give up.Maybe you should look at patches or gum to make it easier.

kathyxxx

For those who have pay tv check out saturday night lifestyle channel 10pm there is a show on called WEDDINGS FROM HELL I just seen the preveiw its about all the things that can and do go wrong at weddings.

Like one I seen the guests covered the B/G with silly string but there was a candle in front of them you guest it B/G went up in flames.

Kathyxxx

The hardest thing about it all is that nearly every single friend/family member we socialise with smokes. Terrible, but true. I'll cave as soon as I get up to Matts nans. Thats all we do up there! smoke and have coffee during the day, smoke and drink at night.

Our neighbour has given up, (2 days and counting), so that'll be easier on the home front (we live next to each other, and the girl in the t/hse next to us smokes too, so we all sit out the front on my patch of grass and smoke and chat our places are like this -> l _ _ if that makes sense. Sals faces east, mines in the middle and faces north, and cols is connected to mine, so also faces north.)

Anyway... Laurette where are you going to try this dress on at? and WHEN?????

Kate,

I know what your going through it really is a hard thing to give up.People who dont or have never smoke dont realise how hard it is.When your in that just gave up stage you cant go anywhere near smokers as the smell will just make you want one and so on.

I smoke have done since I was 15yrs old and have only been able to give up twice both times I was pregnant and lasted 18mths both times.The worst thing is they are so bloody easy to get and I think that is one of the reasons its so hard to give up.

Hang in there and I hope its successful for you.

Kathyxxx

I will probably go to Glenn's mum and dad's house tonight and try it on and have a look - decide if I am keeping it or not. I dont know whether or not I will be able to take pics though as I think there are some people going from work to Brisbane to a truck show so they will be taking the camera.

Thanks for the support Kathy, but cos I only just decided this morning, I dont really back myself IYKWIM. Even tho I am confident I can do it cold turkey, I still need time to talk myself into it... if that makes sense. I need to have my "last smoke" and savour it, and make it a bit of an occasion so I sort of pressure myself into it. My god, Im talking rubbish... I know what I mean tho... I promise!

Im still going to try.

Im going to head into town in about 5 mins, and I WILL NOT BUY A PACKET OF SMOKES!

Be strong, be strong, be strong...

Back from lunch with no cigarettes... although it took every fibre of my being... saw a blast from the past that nearly gave me a heart attack, could really have used a smoke (or 15) to calm me down!

Kate,


WOOHOO WELL DONE !!!!!!!!!


kathyxxx

Hi Girls,

Go Kate!! Well done for not buying any smokes at lunch! Good on you for trying to give up. Just keep thinking of that stunning dress you can buy with the money you will save!!! Does Matt smoke? I imagine it would be extra hard to give up if he does.

LAURETTE.......WHAT THE??????? Your dress is beautiful!!! I can't wait to see some pictures of you in in! I know you'll look gorgeous.

Good luck with the house looking. The one you are going to look at is quite cute. It will be interesting to see what it's like inside. The flat roof one is a bit different, but the inside looks great. Really nice and open plan. And the sandstone house??? That is just absolutely gorgeous! I love it. I really like the sandstone look. But as you said it is a lot more than the other 2.

Jase & I were saving for a deposit on a place before we got engaged. Now a huge chunk of that is going to pay for the wedding (as we are paying for everything ourselves), so the house plan will be pushed back a year or two. We probably would have been close to buying at the end of this year, but we figured the wedding is important to us to and an extra year or two to buy a house isn't going to kill us.

Speaking of huge loans, my best friends BF just bought a new house and his mortgage is going to be HUGE. He was a bit lucky in that he had a big deposit from an investment property he sold that really went up in value in the boom and I think his family is quite well off, but instead of buying something moderately priced and having a lower mortgage, he stretched himself to the max and bought a house for @$900K!! His mortgage is @$650-700K!! The house is absolutely gorgeous (on the northern beaches of Sydney), but still???? He is in IT and has a pretty decent job, but his mortgage payments are going to take up most of his salary. This is all well and good now, but they are planning on getting married and having kids (they are both @33) pretty soon, so I don't know how he is going to afford the mortgage PLUS support a family. My friend owns a dance school (teaches kids ballet, tap etc) and makes O.K money, but nothing huge and when she is pregnant and has the kids, she won't be able to teach, so there will be minimal funds coming in then. To me, this is crazy business!! But, each to their own!! I just hope it all doesn't crash and burn for them.

Kathy, I don't have fox - I told Jase (H2B) that he can't have it, otherwise the sport will be on 24/7 - but the Weddings from Hell sounds very funny! The string story is a classic! I once saw a wedding show where there was a Greek wedding and they had a money tree. All this money (paper notes) were attached to this pot plant and when the waiter was moving the tree, nearby candles set the money, then the whole tree alight! It was sooo funny (although not for the bride & groom !!).

Oooh, this is way long! Sorry girls!

Jo.

Jo your posts are never too long! I love reading them!

Yes matt smokes... And it does make it extra hard. Hes got no desire to give up. Im actually more scared about him getting sick than me. Ive got a severe case of It'll-never-happen-to-me!

You'd be looking at well over $1000 a WEEK to pay a mortgage that big. We dont even pay that in rent a month... its just crazy. Then again, thats some peoples priorities... and if it makes them happy, then thats all that really matters. One day we'll get there, but not if it means losing our lifestyle.

Matts dads friend made a good point - wouldnt you rather go out for dinner and enjoy yourself every night of the week, and sleep in a rented house, or own a house, and be stuck inside it eating sausages every night cos its all you can afford. He'd just lost his wife (who was in her early 40's) to breast cancer, and was really trying to impart his message onto us. Life is WAY to short not to enjoy every minute. Live to make memories, not money...

whoa... that was getting a bit deep...

It's not that I plan to send it back, I just was wary of buying over the internet.

I have picked it up and it's OK, but just not really what I had envisaged. I like it, but it doesnt blow me away the way that the picture did. I am going to try it on and see if it looks OK. I dont think that I will send it back - if I dont like it I will ebay it and someone else can fall in love with it. Or so goes the plan.

I hope that when I put it on it will be just right.

The house was no good. It was a bit pokey and doesnt have a lounge room! There is a front bedroom that I think is supposed to be the lounge room, but I would want more open plan than that. A wall will be needing to come out. The bathroom has been re done, but it's a terrible colour. The kitchen still needs to be replaced and we would have to put ducted air in because we are both really hot people and need an igloo to live in during summer.

yay we made 12 pages.

So, all that put together and still feeling like shit, I am a bit down now. Thank god today is my early day and I can go home at 5pm.

Laurette,

What is the quality of the material and the sewing?

Kathyxxx

Hi Amanda I can see you lurking!!!!!!!!!

How was your holiday???

The quality of the material looks great. It is still folded in the box, so I guess that I wont really know until I get it out whether I like it or not. I hope that it is long enough.

Hi Amanda! How was the holiday??!

Well hi everyone, I'm finally back. I'm still recovering and tired from the flight (we left Bali at midnight) but it is great to be back.....well sort of. Major poo has gone down with both my work and Paddy's work, needless to say we are thinking twice about going away ever again! My supervisor did no work while I was away, leaving me to clean up the mess on my return, and Paddy's boss is looking at selling the firm. God knows how we could pay for the wedding without both incomes, perhaps if my dear mother stopped getting me to buy her Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags and perfume duty free??? Hehehehehe.

We had a great time though and if you want to see how nice it was you can have a look here. By the way, I wouldn't recommend it for a honeymoon destination if you are after a quiet beachy location. It was waaaay too busy for that. We are looking at Phuket incidentally for our honeymoon.

Laurette, good to hear you are ok. Who is that saucy minx of a fellow on your avatar / icon? He he he. I thought the dress looked lovely, a bit similar to the one I am looking at (if I was looking at the right pic).....is that right mum???

Now if you think Mum's wedding sounded lovely....get her to email a pic of her outfit....sorry Mum but I had to share!!! It was a lovely baby pink skirt suit! Wooohoo! Very 80's and very cool for the time.

Well, I have heaps to do today so I'd better get back to it. I'm not yet back into wedding mode, have too much work to do. I got our engagement photos printed in Bali though and have put them in a lovely album my uncle and aunt gave us.

Will post more soon when I'm back in the land of the living....not long to go now gals!

AW

Hi girls

I have just been reading about the house prices and i can understand what you are talking about.

We are waiting on council now so we can start building but everything is so slow. We are lucky that h2b had the land already but i really dont know how people afford paying back 500k +.

Bec

Wow amanda, dont know whether to say great! or poor you!

Hopefully the break was relaxing... as it looks like the return to work hasnt been that much fun!!!

Bec its kinda scary isnt it!

I wish I listened to my parents when I was 18, earning close to the same amount of money as I am now, and units were under $100,000 down here!!! Ahhh hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it!

Go on Kathy, you have to show us now!!!!!!!! good work Amanda!!!

I think Mum is really pi$$ed with me now!!!

Hehehehe!

We bought our house here 2 years ago, $125K. Now worth $200K +. We couldn't afford to live in Sydney or a major metro area, we can barely afford to pay back what we owe on this and to still enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. If we had a $500K mortgage it would be bread and water for meals!

AW