📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

the daydream fund challenge thread

11321331351371381006

Comments

  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I have no idea about cherished numbers, or whatever they're called, I'm afraid. Like young, attractive women, I like seeing them, but they cost more than I'm prepared to pay. ;) We have some good ones around here, yet now I'm pushed, I can't think of one example. In Bath, a someone had a BMW M3 with the number M3 00 ARR (!) so even quite obscure ones can have a value to the right person.:cool:

    It's got to be a good decision to sell them though. No use mouldering in a shed when they can be making useful money. Have you tried enthusiast car forums?
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,789 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Removing original number plates from vintage bikes! Heresy!! I'm not too bothered, my old bike doesn't have an original plate on it.

    However 70's and 80's bikes should be OK. Not that that should bother you anyway, not unless you like old motor bikes :D
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
  • choille
    choille Posts: 9,710 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi - It's knowing what to ask for them that's the problem.

    I'm determined to raise some money for doing up a ruined byre at the top of the croft.
    Yesterday I sold an end of main electric cable that was hanging around of no use. The registration numbers are of no use but someone would love them.
    I was just hoping someone would know a good venue/company who would buy them.
  • sianster
    sianster Posts: 17 Forumite
    Hi, thought I'd introduce myself... I'm a long time lurker and have been keeping up with your thread from the start.

    Owning a smallholding has always been a long term dream of ours, and in the mean time we've been making the most of what we've got with a veg patch, greenhouse and 3 chickens in the back garden. We have also managed to get a swarm of bees this year, so hopefully should get some honey next year. For DH's job we need to live near a large city (Birmingham atm) so cost of houses with land is out of our reach. However, a plot of land has come up for sale in our village within 10 mins walking distance so we are seriously considering putting in an offer.

    We would hope to get some more bee hives, an orchard and fruit bushes on the land as well as possibly pigs. The land is approx 3.5 acres so we were thinking of renting out about 2 acres to horse owners (there is a riding stables across the road) and using the rest ourselves.

    At the moment we're checking planning etc to see what exactly we can do with the land regarding buildings / animal shelters/ poly tunnels etc and sorting out what initial set-up costs we would incur on top of the purchase price & buying costs.

    So far we have come up with:
    Fencing (approx 350m suitable for horses) - plot is currently in the middle of a large field & we would be responsible for fencing half the perimeter
    Laying a water pipe
    Ongoing water maintenance
    Access track maintenance
    Cost of installing a shelter for horses if necessary

    Are there any other major costs I have omitted? Does anyone have any idea how much the fencing might cost?
    Any suggestions / similar experiences welcomed....
  • downshifter
    downshifter Posts: 1,122 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Years ago, having been on the career bandwagon all my working days, I chose to jump off from quite a reasonable height and follow John Seymour's advice and live more simply and ecologically, keep chickens and the rest of it out in the sticks. I decided to involve myself more in local community issues, voluntary work etc and just to do what paid work I needed to fund basic needs (rent, car, utilities) but am now finding that petrol is by far my biggest expenditure, and it's due to go up again soon. I sat in bed last night watching the news and felt more and more depressed. Thinking more rationally about it today, and doing some sums, I realise I am probably going to have to give up some work I do with people with learning disabilities and mental health needs as that work is 8 miles away in the nearest town, and because it's very low paid, I'm paying more out in petrol than I am getting paid. I can't afford to subsidise it from my own meagre resources. It's 2 hours twice a week, so travelling there and back 4 times.

    I just wonder if anyone else is finding that petrol is going to make a big impact on their lifestyles or am I the only one. At the moment I pay around £22 a week on petrol, and far less than that on food. I minimise my trips to town, make sure that if I have to go, I do everything that needs doing at once, the rest just goes on travelling to work more locally (and the occasional local social event/ local history club meeting) I follow all the hints and tips for keeping consumption down, but in a very hilly area, with lots of single track lanes which means stopping and starting frequently to let people past, I seem to use so much. The car is a 4x4 which is really necessary where I live, and anyway was bequeathed to me by my father so I don't feel I can change it, not yet anyway.

    Am I the only one concerned about petrol and living rurally? There's no bus without walking miles to the route, and anyway, that's horrendously expensive too and doesn't actually go to the nearest town!

    Very depressing to have to give up some work that I feel I can really contribute to but I can't see any option. I'm going to have to do some serious maths over the next day or two, I might even apply for housing benefit which, although well within qualifying limits, have never felt the need of before so haven't bothered applying for.

    Is anyone else affected? Please say it isn't only me!

    DS
  • rhiwfield
    rhiwfield Posts: 2,482 Forumite
    Downshifter,

    I think you are touching on one aspect of the problem of self sufficient low-impact living. Another is council tax :eek:. Most of us are wedded to our cars (or, if very lucky, an efficient public transport system) and have built into our lives daily mechanised travel to shop and work.

    Like yourself we are trying to be more efficient with our trips and have rejected rejoining the daily commuting to work tribe. I get consulted every so often on local issues but, as it often means a 30 mile round trip to sit at a meeting with people paid expenses who dont realise the cost of travel, this has also gone by the board. Likewise some voluntary work.

    We do cut essential motoring costs by running small fuel-efficient cars, but I understand that this may not be a route you wish to follow. However, it does seem that if you are undertaking paid work with people with learning difficulties/mental health problems that requires you to travel, you should not be out of pocket. The onus should be for the employer to recompense you for that work and essential travel costs.

    Having said that, at the end of the day it must be your choice whether you are prepared to pay to give away your time.

    No good answer I'm afraid

    rhiwfield
  • choille
    choille Posts: 9,710 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Diesel is £129 @ Litre. We live in a place where it is 37 miles to the doctor, library, town. We do do a lot of miles. I do walk & I do not have a car licence and do not now use my motor bike. But we do need to do a lot of milage just to carry out work. We are penalised on everything - hay, animal feed anything. There is always a premium delivery cost.
    We live as low cost as possible but eat very well however I could not get my food bill down as ow as yours downshifter but we do not pay for wood which heat us as i use wood from the croft.
  • katholicos
    katholicos Posts: 2,658 Forumite
    choille wrote: »
    Diesel is £129 @ Litre.

    Dear Lord! I hope this is a typo or i will have to sell my car :D
    Grocery Challenge for October: £135/£200


    NSD Challenge: October 0/14
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi, sianaster and downshifter & welcome to the thread. Things are a bit quiet here ATM, probably because it's a busy time in the garden/kitchen.

    Sianaster, I think you have considered most things in relation to this plot, but 2 acres isn't going to house many horses. You also have to consider what they will do to the land over time, or how you are going to maintain the land to prevent deterioration. Next door to me, a lady keeps two horses on less than an acre, but it's high maintenance and there's a lot of supplementary feeding. Her field is immaculate, but then, she does nothing else!

    With horses, you are either looking at electric fencing via batteries or post & rail, depending on circumstances. If it would be critical to contain the horses at all times, then post & rail would be best. Last price I saw for this from Jacksons was £10-£11 per running metre for materials, then there's putting it in. With P&R around here, some people use machine rounded posts and half round rails because square ones cant be bashed-in (they twist) and that speeds installation, though it's not so nice. HTH.

    Downshifter, I agree petrol/diesel is a major expense, so we only go any distance about once a week. I suppose we're lucky, having a bus stop outside the house and a station 5 mins drive away, plus basic local services within a mile, but our major heating/cooking in the winter is oil, and I intend to get rid of that within a few years. In a sense it is a good thing that the price of oil is forcing wiser use than in the past, but as it is bound to keep rising, there will come a time when a scheme to help rural drivers will need to be considered. Bound to be controversial though!

    Meanwhile, I'd apply for whatever benefits you are entitled to. We'll go back to claiming Tax Credits when our business is fully up & running. Hopefully, we'll be able to bury some of our fuel costs in the business too, as I'm afraid we did before, when free school buses were withdrawn.

    I have been 'shooting star' watching, so no time for any of our news tonight.
  • Lotus-eater
    Lotus-eater Posts: 10,789 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Davesnave wrote: »
    there will come a time when a scheme to help rural drivers will need to be considered. Bound to be controversial though!
    I won't say it will never happen, but I can't see it. Farmers will probably get some help for fuel in the future, maybe some ID that relaxes the use of red diesel.
    Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.1K Life & Family
  • 257.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.