the daydream fund challenge thread

Davesnave

Bleurgh! I wish I felt as jolly as my smilie up there, but I've got a really thick head.

As neither of us likes crowds or noise nowadays, we popped into the pub at 8pm, so that we could come home before it got busy & silly.

So why were we still there, doing the hokey cokey, 5 hours later? :rotfl:

Never mind. I hope we Daydreamers have a fantastic 2011, and if achieving all our goals is maybe a bit ambitious, that we at least move much closer towards them in the next 12 months.

(I don't think today's going to be a great start for us here, though! )

rhiwfield

Happy New Year one and all !!!

No thick head though, both of us with chest infections and struggling a wee bit atm

Watching the Edwardian Farm last night and seeing how the trend of the programme is to diversify away from the farm itself (fishing, market garden, tourism) its very similar today in that a smallholding wont generate enough money to pay for itself, you need to start a cattery, kennels, livery, crafts, tourism etc.

But broadband has opened up new opportunities and renewable energy has also created good income opportunities for those with capital.

With our investment here to date I dont see us moving from here unless circumstance change so what does 2011 hold in store for us?

Well I reckon transport costs will become a big issue and job opportunities will be limited. But there should be a good green investment opportunity in renewable heat that will soak up the last of my savings and just about take away oil reliance.

In the garden there are one or two areas which still arent pulling their weight so in the next month I hope to put in a few grape vines in the high terrace beds. The only other thing to do is to build more wood storage so that I'm not ripped off again by seasoned wood prices.

The big. big, opportunity this year is for DW to start her life again. 2010 saw two knee replacements, pneumonia and redundancy:eek:
Who knows what doors 2011 will open

choille

Happy New Year all - hope we all get nearer our dreams this year.

We were quiet as they say.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

HAPPY
NEW
YEAR
:beer:

Well we had a very quiet night in, we watched the edwardian farm too, I like the programme by flip that woman gets on my nerves, I honestly dont think i could last 2 minutes in the same room as here..lol..
I was thinking that to rhiwfield, about how they had to diverse, I t looks like being able to diversify is not a 'modern' thing.
Davesnave doing the hokey cokey at 1am in the morning.....:rotfl: the good thing is you went out for a quiet drink just to be civilised, but ended up ( by the sounds of it) having a thoughly good night....

Choille....we had a quiet one here too..... I was counting down the clock so i could go to sleep...lol..

2011 for us could go one way or another... depending on what the land developers by us want to do, so I think 2011 has got to be the year where I really become a tight-fisted, scrouge...as I think we going to need every penny we can get our little paws on...

I am going to really concentrate on ebay over the next month or so, firstly January is normally a pretty good month for sales, plus over the coming months the government cut-backs will start kicking in, with people losing their jobs they are not going to spending, and they will be really tightening their belts ( I dont think we have seen the worst of this recession yet)

so anything thinking of selling stuff on ebay etc, strike now, while the christmas and new year feel good factor is still with us...

listed stuff on ebay last night and i have seven watchers on some things and some of the stuff have bids on them

Rhiwfield, I just thought about what you said about the log prices, can you find somwhere where you can get old pallets to burn? ok I know you got to keep feeding the fire etc, but they are free

choille

I'm with you on the needing to get the pennies in CTC.

Do you think a 7 day listing is best & do you think I having a reserve is better on ebay stuff? Ii'm going to have a declutter.

rhiwfield

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Rhiwfield, I just thought about what you said about the log prices, can you find somwhere where you can get old pallets to burn? ok I know you got to keep feeding the fire etc, but they are free

CTC, nearest place is an industrial estate about 7 miles away, but could only fit 1 pallet a trip in my car, maybe 2 if sawn up. By the end of this week petrol here will be about 128p a litre, thats about 15p a mile just for fuel, never mind the other running costs and I dont think that factors in oil at $94 a barrel. It makes sourcing pallets marginal unless I can get one of the units to drop some off. Its something I've done in the past but I dont know if its that much cheaper than buying a load of pre split unseasoned wood delivered.

Anyway, start raking in the money on Ebay, and get ready to move fast if you need to

COOLTRIKERCHICK

choille wrote: »

I'm with you on the needing to get the pennies in CTC.

Do you think a 7 day listing is best & do you think I having a reserve is better on ebay stuff? Ii'm going to have a declutter.

I have been listing things over the last 2/3 days, so have been using 5 and 10 days, If you list for 10 days, then you have 3 more days for people to find your auction, but then they might lose interest in it, Sunday between 8pm - 9pm is a good time for listings to end...

As for putting a reserve on things.... depends... on the item...

It might be worth just listing the item at the min you are prepared to take for it ( dont foregt you will have final figure fee to take off and paypal charge etc)

or some times you got ot forget what you think or seen it might be worth, and just get what ever you can for it..

As I have allways said its only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it

IF you know you have got some potentially valueble things then I wouldnt put them on ebay straight away, start with smaller or low end stuff, and do a bit of research on ebay with your better things, just to see if it is the right place to sell them... As you might find the high prices for that item might be in America, so you might be worth listing it there...

I am no expert, but if you know what you were thinking of listing, then maybe I/we could help you.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

rhiwfield wrote: »

CTC, nearest place is an industrial estate about 7 miles away, but could only fit 1 pallet a trip in my car, maybe 2 if sawn up. By the end of this week petrol here will be about 128p a litre, thats about 15p a mile just for fuel, never mind the other running costs and I dont think that factors in oil at $94 a barrel. It makes sourcing pallets marginal unless I can get one of the units to drop some off. Its something I've done in the past but I dont know if its that much cheaper than buying a load of pre split unseasoned wood delivered.

Anyway, start raking in the money on Ebay, and get ready to move fast if you need to

This is spookily uncanny, as you quoted a quote in one of your posts and now this about getting ready to move fast... but you dont know what else is happening.... Have you got a sixth sense or do you know what really is happening..:rotfl:

It def might be worth doing some phone calls to businesses that you think might have loads of surplus pallets...that they could 'drop off' if they are passing....Might be worth putting an notice on your local freecycle and a notice in your local shop window too

do you know anyone with a van, who owes you a favour, or if you give them petrol money they could go and pick a load up for you..?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

rhiwfield wrote: »

CTC, when things are looking bleak an opportunity sometimes beckons. Never lose the dream, or the heart to make a success of it

Having chased down lots of local history leads in the past a good route to establishing age is by reference to maps in the local studies section of the library, especially inclosure awards and tithe maps. Depending on where the property is that should get you back to 1800s. If you can identify it on the map, you can have fun by tracking down past occupants from census records.

For a peasants cottage (which I'm guessing it is) you may struggle to date it earlier.

Just curious, is it in Wales?

you first paragraph, really does mean alot to me

Davesnave

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

Davesnave doing the hokey cokey at 1am in the morning.....:rotfl: the good thing is you went out for a quiet drink just to be civilised, but ended up ( by the sounds of it) having a thoughly good night....

We'd have had a nice time if there'd only been 10 people in there, sipping shandy, because it's that kind of place. There's still a bit of an internal battle going on inside me, because this wasn't my first choice of location, but the people always win me round. I realise there are great folk everywhere, but it sometimes takes a long time to connect with them, especially if you are naturally a bit quiet. Here, it's easy.

The chap I buy softwood from has just dropped off a load, which is surprising, as it's a holiday, but mainly because he had a posh knees-up at his place going on into the early hours, if not all night. Obviously built of sterner stuff than me!

One good thing I learned last night is that others from within the village have stepped into the breach to run the new PO and shop. It may only be temporary, but then the last one in somebody's front room was temporary....for 7 years!

I really hope things work out well for you this coming year,CTC, and I honestly think they might.;) You made me think back to exactly 2 years ago when we were at the top of a house chain, all of us waiting for this first time buyer to sign her contract.....and she put it off. We were convinced that the girl was being funded by parents and that they were trying to talk her out of it, or advising a gazunder. Later, we found it was nothing like that at all; she was just a heavily-worked junior doctor, doing nights, and also very naive, so hadn't a clue of everything hanging on that one piece of paper!