Genealogy Chat

Hi, Thanks for all the alternatives to me spending too much money. Thanks especially to Roger. That's a great idea. Am going to give it a go. Mentioned it to my son today and his answer was. 'You can have what you want Mum but you sure are a strange woman.' lol I just told him it was Rogers fault and left him guessing. Linda x

Hi Linda. Don't slow it down. We are a few weeks away from the spending event of the year. Make a list of your 'must haves' and put a price against them. Then send them out to your rellies as a Christmas Pressie wish list and sit back and wait. They also get a chance of buying you a pressie for under a tenner. If you get what you want...great. If no one takes the bait you will have saved up while waiting and then can give yourself a new year present. If any of my rellies are watching...you have been warned Roger

Hi Linda, you must be doing far better than me with your family history, want to share your secret for finding your relitives. Gill

Get another family member interested and get them to spend all the money! Pippa

You can save on holidays too - look round record offices & graveyards in the UK instead of that exotic trip abroad! Can't hide the cost from hubby because he's (independently) researching his own tree. But I have set a budget for so many certs a month. And I also restrict myself to direct lines, with a couple of exceptions: 1 - siblings born just after 1837 if my ancestor was BEFORE civil reg; (need to be sure Dad hasn't had time to remarry though!) 2 - one or two of half-brothers & sisters, to confirm the father is the same guy (eg if his occupation is a bit different so can be a good checking point) 3 - in the first place, to prove that my gt. grandfather only had one wife. My gt. grandmother used 2 different former names to register her children, and I needed her father's death cert & mother's remarriage to be sure it was the same person. Hubby did complain when I got my gt grandfather's sister's marriage certificate. But this confirmed a cousin marriage that has been very interesting to follow up. And also gave a very big pointer about how my gt. grandfather actually met HIS wife. And we're not just collecting names, are we - this is all about people & how they lived their lives.

Linda- I used to buy everything that came my way when I first started... certs for my gt grandmothers 3rd cousin twice removed second marriage! Stuff like that. Now I only buy a cert if it meets the following criteria: a. It HAS to be a direct line for me. b. If I can't move on without it, ie a birth cert to identify parents etc. The other week my husband saw me filing my stuff away and was astonished at how many certs I had... 'they must cost at least 5 ponds each' he exclaimed. 'Yes they do' I replied. Well, it's not an outright lie is it? They do cost at least 5 pounds each! Brenda

And I thought I was naughty buying 3 Certificates in a month!!! Can't get anymore at the minute, waiting for a new cheque book, should have come last week. Phoned the bank and they said it should be here for the weekend. I won't hold my breath on that one. They don't accept my Debit Card at !837 Online. What a bummer!!!! Joy

Oh, and Linda, look on UK BMD to see if the county or counties you are interested in have their own BMD website. For example, Lancashire and Newcastle have very good ones. Kate.

Linda - to stop yourself spending money on 1837 online and Family Relatives, find out the nearest place where you can search the GRO indexes on microfiche or microfilm and go there! Also make sure you always search on FreeBMD first before looking on 1837 online or Family Relatives. And don't forget that FreeBMD have a lot of images too, so if you want to check that they have the right reference numbers, you can often do that on their website. If you want a marriage certificate and you think you know where the marriage would have taken place, you may be able to find the marriage in parish records at the records office, and look at it free, or print off a copy for a few pence. Apart from that, you just have to force yourself to stick to say 1 cert per week or something! Kate.

To save money, just stop buying non-essentials like FOOD - you haven't got time to cook, CLOTHES - if you stay on the computer all day you can stay in your dressing gown, MAKE-UP - no one sees what you look like on here, HEATING - you'll get hot enough trying (and failing) to find your rellies. With all that money saved you can buy another £100 worth of certificates. LOL Kath. x

You will have to join AA - Anoraks Anonymous

Hi Linda,I thought i was bad but you are worse than me. Hubby thinks you get them free lol at least you are enjoying yourself. regards June

Just checked by bank statement from the last 4 weeks and I have spent over £100 on certificates, 1837, and Family Relatives site. I think I need counselling, I can't stop myself, I see something and I HAVE to have it NOW. Anyone got any advice (laughing hysterically) Linda