the daydream fund challenge thread

A question about : the daydream fund challenge thread

ok i thought as there were quite a few of us with a similar sort of dream of owning a smallholding or a house with loads of land, i thought i would start a 'daydream' thread as a sort of challenge/incentive to keep the dream alive,

last year i started a thread on another forum i did feel a bit like a ninny to be honest as i know the prices of smallholdings etc have gone silly money, but as some of the other forum members said, you never know, and if you want something badly enough you will do/achieve it

i started last year, trying to earn save 'extra' money as i didnt want it to effect the rest of my family in a noticeable way.

then at the begining of this year my mil said we could use her huge garden that she hadnt ventured into for over 2 years... as there were loads of trees etc i used the money i had saved to pay for a professional to clear it

it went from this

to this

now this will give me my 'training' ground..lol... but even though i am lucky to have this land to use, my mil will not let me put my chickens and ducks there so they are in my smallish garden.

so yesturday i started my fund off again by selling 2 of our old fish tanks for Ј50 which were desinted to go to the recycling site.

i have also got a sealed tin, which i put my scratching money in, as the kids put it..lol.. any loose change i find around the place..lol..

i have got loads of ideas and ways to get the extra pennies in to my daydream pot...

so if you want to join in so we can all tell each other our ideas and help each other keep our dreams alive..please do....

Best answers:

• Hi,
  I'm definately up for joining your thread. My husband and I (always sounds so posh ) are planning to do a lifestyle change in the future and we are working towards paying off our outstanding debts by clearing all the 'stuff' we own that won't be any good on a smallholding (and for 2 people we have a lot of stuff).
• I'll join your thread.
  I work as a 'The Body Shop at Home' consultant so manage to save a bit from that. Everything I earn is extra to what we need so that gives us Ј100 - Ј500 every month, depending how many parties I book in.
  I also collect any coins that I find lying about the house. DH doesn't like having coins in his pocket or wallet so is prone to leaving Ј3 or Ј4 on the bedside table sometimes.
  I empty any 1p, 2p or 5p coins from my wallet every now and again, though that jar is only up to about Ј2 now!
  I'd love to be saving all this towards a smallholding, or at least a larger house with a much larger garden near to the in-laws but that feels a bit unrealistic. At the moment I'm aiming to have Ј500 for DH's christmas present. He wants a digital SLR camera and with lenses etc I want to get him a good one without having to ask him for the money near christmas!
  The money I save also has to cover anything I want for any of my cross stitch projects so I'm going to be really careful and think before I buy anything for my hobbies.
• oooohhhh excitement
  Hubby and I (thought I would be posh too ).... have a 3 bed terrace back home -not that we have ever lived in it yet....its rented out as we are still with the forces (so at least someone else is paying our mortgage)... we would LOVE to move to somewhere that has more space -outdoor more than indoor -So i will be following this thread too please
  Hubby has 3 year left in the army (unless they extend him past his 27 years again -fingers crossed)... so it would be nice to set down roots in somewhere we would be happy to stay for good...
  My main way of saving has been by attacking the grocery spends -so i now stash as much of the housekeeping as possible -which will be even more once the veggies get going in my "potio appotment" ......I have about Ј2500 saved so far in a bit over 1 year ..and we have a sealed tin for anything under Ђ1 -
  I have started a blog for those who are growing in tubs etc like I have to -Im hoping to do everything step - by step to help anyone I can ...
  Elliep... Im another x stitch fanatic ... with lots of stuff to keep me going ... we will have to look into swapsys etc...so PM if you run short of a thread etc -every little bit counts
• Ohh, x-stitch swapsies sounds good. I have everything I need for my current project but I'll bear you in mind next time I'm looking for bits. Thank you.
  I'm personally really pleased about the interest rate cuts. Our mortgage is linked to base rate and we have a deal whereby we can pay as much as we want each month without penalty. It means that almost everything we're paying at the moment is coming off the capital that we owe. If it keeps up for long we'll have a lot more equity in the house and therefore a much better chance of being able to upgrade sooner rather than later. Has anyone else found the recession to be to their advantage so far? Sorry to anyone who is finding the opposite, I know that I'm lucky to be in this minority.
• I want to join in too - for the last couple of years a smallholding has my happy daydream, the one that cheers me up on the way to work. I always thought I'd have to win the lottery to afford one, it hadn't occured to me to save for one!
  For now, I have 2 allotments and I keep 6 ex-battery hens on one of them. In fact, walking to the allotment twice a day since I got the hens rather than twice a week has made me lose half a stone in the 6 weeks since I got the girls.
  I live with my partner in his house, and will shortly renovate and let my house. The income from this can go towards my 10 acres!
• cool i thought i might haveen on my own..lol....
  i used to use a lot of money off coupons when i went shopping and i would split the savings between my weekly shopping budget and my daydream fun..
  so i think i'd better see how the land lies ( excuse the pun ) at my local tesco, i nearly got banned a few times
  i have also got back from buying my broad bean and runner bean seeds which i thought was a total bargin
  he charged me Ј5 for a good kg of broad beans and Ј11 for a good kg of runner beans, also bought a box of plant trays the 9 plant ones, he also give me 3 HUGE boxes of plant pots for FREE, he was also talking about how he cought sell me the rattan style hanging baskets for a Ј1 each, which i was very interested about, then when i was walking to my van he said i could have the pile of htem that were left outside which ended up being 19 of them , so i am well happy bunny,
  i am planning on planting all the seeds up in the trays, and selling as many of htem as i can at the farm auction i go to, and maybe do a bootsale, and what ever profit i make will go into the fund. and what ever plants i am left with will be planted...
  my loose change pot money i havent got a clue what is in there, so i think i will leave that until the tin is nearly full and hten get the tin opener and bank all the money...
  i have also opened a halifax account, just for hte free Ј5 per month, and i have also started doing slice the pie again the music review site that pays you, not loads of money, but its all extra,
  i also do the free bingo scratch card per day on the virgin bingo site too
• I would love to join you but I still have a small heap of debt to pay off before I can start my dream fund!
• CoolTrikerChick - What on earth did you nearly get banned from Tesco for?
  Rummer - Join us anyway. We all need to do it in smaller stages anyway - nobody can save up change in a piggy bank then use it to buy a smallholding!!!
• right i have just done a rough guide..
  right the broad beans cost me 0.005 p per bean and the trays cost me 12p if i say 20p for compost.
  the grant cost per tray of 9 broad beans will be 37p
  the runner beans cost me 0.013p per bean. and the other cost are the same as above.
  so a tray of 9 runner beans will cost me 44p so even if i only charge a Ј1 per tray i have more than doubled my money
  i have got some tomato seeds from last year hanging around somewhere, but there is a seller on ebay who is selling 1000 money maker seeds for only Ј3.99 with 70p p&p so might be an idea for next year...
• Hi everyone I'd love to join your select band.
  I had a productive garden when I lived in Wales over 20 years ago. We had 3 goats, a sheep, hens and ducks as well as a veg/fruit plot. I lost it all when my first marriage ended and I moved back to "civilization".
  I have just managed to get an allotment and planted apple trees in my garden but I doubt the neighbours would appreciate a goat!
  As my husband has been off sick and unpaid since May, I'm not sure how I will be able to fund a return to self-sufficiency but my aim for this year is to pay off as much debt as possible and save a little too.
• Sorry arkonite...
  I worded that wrongly... I meant I would Pm ellieP a link to a site where we could swap threads etc ....
  COOLTRIKERCHICK - if you are growing your own tomatoes this year you could always save some seeds -then they will be free (and peppers/chillies amongst others too)-Im growing over 20 varieties of tomatoes this year -they are my fave thing to grow... not that Im not growing loads of other stuff too
• Hi,
  Can I join too please
  I too have debts to pay before I can start my fund but dream of at least having a big garden where I can keep chickens and ducks (preferably in the South of France but that's another story, lol....)
• the more the merrier.. we have debt too, but at hte moment its a credit card that i have been tarting so its on 0%
  the daydream fund could be anything to do with the 'good life' so you could be saving for a smallholding, a house with a big garden or even a greenhouse or a posh chicken shed..or even a garden gadget that you really, REALLY want.
  MRSM didnt think about saving seeds for next year :rolleyes: i bought a few packs of seeds when woolworths were having their closing down sale...
  is anyone else going to grow extra plants to sell?
• i have added my daydrean fund total to my sig, so this will keep me forcused..lol..
  i want to try and add something either to my actual fund total or my sealed pot everyday even if its just the very small change from my pocket from that day..
  i have cashback waiting to be paid so as soon as that hits my account i will add it to my total.
  i have a isa that i used last time, to save the money so i will go and have a look to see what savings accounts are good for me at mo...
  i have stopped looking at the prices of smallholdings at the mo, as it makes me stop before i even start saving..lol.... but all i am focusing on is adding money no matter how small into the pot/fund
  going to have a cuppa and then get down the greenhouse and start planting some of those broad bean seeds... i havent grown broad beans since i was a little girl gardening with my grandfather, and i cant remember how long do they take to get to a saleable size from planting?
• I worked out I would have to save Ј190 a week for ten years to enable me to buy a smallholding, that's without all the equipment I would want when I got it.
  Come on that 50 squid in the premium bonds