Re: yeah it's all the caviar
I think you need to ask Charlie Mc Creevy about the saving (or frittering away) of billions
I think the points you made are valid but the simple fact of the matter is if you're constantly spending more than you can afford then you are just storing up trouble for the future. I have a relations 21st next month and 3 different cousins weddings this summer to go to (and buy gifts, hotels, all the usual). We have set a limit on the amount of money we are going to spend on all these things this year as otherwise they get completely out of hand.
I've found the internet a great way to stop myself impulse buying (oddly enough). If i'm in a shop and see something I really need (so I think) I usually stop and tell myself I could find it cheaper on the internet. If its something I really do need or want I will go and find it cheaper online, otherwise I usually end up forgetting about it. Surprising how much that has saved me in recent times. Also the old question of "do I really need it" has to be constantly on your mind. Especially if you live in Dublin (or most parts of the country) as the cost of living and good/services is patently overpriced.
We occasionally get chance to do a decent shop up in Lidl down in Newbridge and compared to Tescos and the rest it definitely saves us money.
Given that we (my girlfriend and I) are in a 2 car situation as well I've been trying to figure out a way to get rid of one of the cars and use public transport (which will mean changing jobs or else finding a pot of gold to be able to buy somewhere with easy access to transport to the area I work). If we can do that we can trade the two cars in and get one half decent one if needs be and cut the insurance bills down by putting me as a named driver on the car. I won't be using it very often in those circumstances and being male I add quite a bit of cost to the insurance.
We recently setup a joint account in NIB (Freebank) which is freebanking as long as it has a positive balance. Internet banking and phone banking are both pretty good on it. We calculated our likely monthly outgoings, added a bit on top of that and both put in half that figure a month. All the shopping and regular bills come out of that account and it works as a means to allow us to budget our spending. We still have our own accounts as well but that we can use for our own bills, purposes and the like. I've found it one good step towards sticking to a budget so far though.
Anyway we have diverged quite a bit off the topic of refinancing here so perhaps someone else can be of more help in suggesting refinancing routes that won't cost you an arm and a leg in the long term.
(I just realised I've been staring at the screen to long. Gettng mixed up in which threads I'm posting too..)