Pensions Planning: The NUMBER

Bravepants

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

MallyGirl

we just replaced our boiler with BG. Because they did it they offer a greatly reduced Homecare price for 5 years which covered more than 2/3rds of the cost of the new boiler. I would have loved to have someone else do it but it was too good a deal to pass up. OH won't let go of the Homecare which covers electrics, plumbing and drains as well because we have an old house and things do stop working.

Ganga

Our Heating /Gas safe installer charges £50 for a service ,we got a 7 year warranty and he has to service it and sign the book every year ,he takes the front off ,checks the gas exhaust etc. and also cleans out the magnetic filter ,good value but a necessity and something i would not scrimp on.

Amateurretiree

MallyGirl said:

we just replaced our boiler with BG. Because they did it they offer a greatly reduced Homecare price for 5 years which covered more than 2/3rds of the cost of the new boiler. I would have loved to have someone else do it but it was too good a deal to pass up. OH won't let go of the Homecare which covers electrics, plumbing and drains as well because we have an old house and things do stop working.

we are pretty much in the same boat, but it’s kind of reassuring to have all that stuff covered, it even covered the outside drain when it got blocked up a couple of years ago.

cfw1994

Bravepants said:

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

Best thing you can do to ensure you have safety is to have a CO2 detector (maybe a couple) that are regularly tested!
On the topic of homecare deals....after having a right old ding-dong battle with Eon a few years back over them trying to weedle out of something, we have taken it on board to befriend every tradesperson we've had in.  Having had an extension done shortly after that (5-6 years back), we are lucky to now have a decent set of people we can call on who won't take the p*$$ if we need help.   We dropped the cover for those things. 
Over time, unless (as Mallygirl suggests) you have a house with a propensity for breakages, they are mostly (like many 'add-on' insurances) a waste of money.   But if you want peace of mind, that is of course fine.

Example - had a wall knocked into by council (we back on to open space).  They denied it, we had no evidence beyond it happening during a few days we were away and they had mowed.   Their assessor agreed, and we got our main builder to swing past for a day with a mate to take it down and redo it.   Actually let himself in and had it demolished before we looked out the window and spotted him!  Plumber similar - now had a few things done, we are beyond asking him how much a job will be 'cos we know he will be reasonable.   Still owe him for a boiler check and tap replacement he did - reminded a few times on whatsapp, no doubt next time we see him he will take for them!

Bravepants

cfw1994 said:

Bravepants said:

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

Best thing you can do to ensure you have safety is to have a CO2 detector (maybe a couple) that are regularly tested!
On the topic of homecare deals....after having a right old ding-dong battle with Eon a few years back over them trying to weedle out of something, we have taken it on board to befriend every tradesperson we've had in.  Having had an extension done shortly after that (5-6 years back), we are lucky to now have a decent set of people we can call on who won't take the p*$$ if we need help.   We dropped the cover for those things. 
Over time, unless (as Mallygirl suggests) you have a house with a propensity for breakages, they are mostly (like many 'add-on' insurances) a waste of money.   But if you want peace of mind, that is of course fine.

Example - had a wall knocked into by council (we back on to open space).  They denied it, we had no evidence beyond it happening during a few days we were away and they had mowed.   Their assessor agreed, and we got our main builder to swing past for a day with a mate to take it down and redo it.   Actually let himself in and had it demolished before we looked out the window and spotted him!  Plumber similar - now had a few things done, we are beyond asking him how much a job will be 'cos we know he will be reasonable.   Still owe him for a boiler check and tap replacement he did - reminded a few times on whatsapp, no doubt next time we see him he will take for them!

Yes, I agree. Referrals from other people help as well. We now know a builder who had done some work for a good friend of ours in the past, and she passed on his details. He's a good guy, and also knows other tradesmen. I think a lot of tradespeople appreciate referrals so it benefits them to be high quality.

chiefie

cfw1994 said:

Bravepants said:

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

Best thing you can do to ensure you have safety is to have a CO2 detector (maybe a couple) that are regularly tested!
On the topic of homecare deals....after having a right old ding-dong battle with Eon a few years back over them trying to weedle out of something, we have taken it on board to befriend every tradesperson we've had in.  Having had an extension done shortly after that (5-6 years back), we are lucky to now have a decent set of people we can call on who won't take the p*$$ if we need help.   We dropped the cover for those things. 
Over time, unless (as Mallygirl suggests) you have a house with a propensity for breakages, they are mostly (like many 'add-on' insurances) a waste of money.   But if you want peace of mind, that is of course fine.

Example - had a wall knocked into by council (we back on to open space).  They denied it, we had no evidence beyond it happening during a few days we were away and they had mowed.   Their assessor agreed, and we got our main builder to swing past for a day with a mate to take it down and redo it.   Actually let himself in and had it demolished before we looked out the window and spotted him!  Plumber similar - now had a few things done, we are beyond asking him how much a job will be 'cos we know he will be reasonable.   Still owe him for a boiler check and tap replacement he did - reminded a few times on whatsapp, no doubt next time we see him he will take for them!

I’m Not trying to be a twerp but i think you mean CO not CO2

Langtang

Amateurretiree said:

we pay £40 quid a month to British Gas for yearly service of boiler and breakdown repair . Feels expensive but they are reliable.

We had been paying similar until I spoke with someone at work who had just signed up for £16pm. Same contract & level. I called up BG, the following day and, without a skip in her voice said “how does £20 sound” I told her about my colleague and she asked me to hold. “Best I can do is £18” I’ll take it, said I. No haggling, not her telling me what I get for my money. Not her justifying the £38 cost. 

Dazza1902 said:

Basic safety checks take 40 mins, the cover has to come off. Older open flued appliances take significantly longer

Last guy who serviced ours spent longer in his van outside our house after his visit (20 minutes) that he did servicing the boiler (18 minutes). They must have trackers on the vans, so he couldn’t move or he’d be busted by his boss.

cfw1994

chiefie said:

cfw1994 said:

Bravepants said:

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

Best thing you can do to ensure you have safety is to have a CO2 detector (maybe a couple) that are regularly tested!
On the topic of homecare deals....after having a right old ding-dong battle with Eon a few years back over them trying to weedle out of something, we have taken it on board to befriend every tradesperson we've had in.  Having had an extension done shortly after that (5-6 years back), we are lucky to now have a decent set of people we can call on who won't take the p*$$ if we need help.   We dropped the cover for those things. 
Over time, unless (as Mallygirl suggests) you have a house with a propensity for breakages, they are mostly (like many 'add-on' insurances) a waste of money.   But if you want peace of mind, that is of course fine.

Example - had a wall knocked into by council (we back on to open space).  They denied it, we had no evidence beyond it happening during a few days we were away and they had mowed.   Their assessor agreed, and we got our main builder to swing past for a day with a mate to take it down and redo it.   Actually let himself in and had it demolished before we looked out the window and spotted him!  Plumber similar - now had a few things done, we are beyond asking him how much a job will be 'cos we know he will be reasonable.   Still owe him for a boiler check and tap replacement he did - reminded a few times on whatsapp, no doubt next time we see him he will take for them!

I’m Not trying to be a twerp but i think you mean CO not CO2

Fat thumbz, dull brain  yes, of course!!

quirkydeptless

chiefie said:

cfw1994 said:

Bravepants said:

quirkydeptless said:

Dh6 said:

quirkydeptless said:

I'm retiring in 4 months time. Quick totalling up gives:

Food & Household                    £3900
Council Tax                               £1274
Energy (Gas & Elec)                 £ 674
Water                                        £ 294
Mobile                                       £ 180

Broadband                                £ 564

TV Licence                               £ 170

Heating Servicing                     £   40

Investment Fees                       £ 180

Phone Insurance                      £ 168 

House Insurance                      £ 120

Luxuries                                   £4800
Subscriptions                           £     0 

Comes to £12330

I could get some of the costs down however even without that  I will be able to pull a lot more than this from my savings and investments for a long retirement
Luxuries are an estimate of my holiday spending pre-Covid plus other treats. That can go up with more time available when not being in work.
I also don't subscribe to any of the streaming channels, hence the 0 for subscriptions, but that's also something I could increase if I want to.

I’d be interested to know if the “heating servicing” at £40 is a typo?

I was charging that 10 years ago when I first went self employed for a strip down boiler service. 

There’s some guys round here charging £50 for a “poke and go” boiler service which includes absolutely no “servicing” whatsoever!

My list was snaffled from Bravepant's list, and it's a leftover from that. I only got a new boiler replacement over the new year and will need an annual service to keep its warranty. No idea how much it will actually cost, so that line is just a placeholder.

Indeed, I pay about £40 per year for my boiler to be "serviced". It is a Baxi back boiler that was in my property when I purchased it 14 years ago. Two guys turn up and disassemble the gas fire and check the boiler. I'm more interested in the boiler's safety such that it won't kill us with carbon-monoxide, so I consider it an annual safety test, and yes they do vacuum and clean it. I used to pay British Gas £30 odd a month boiler insurance, but then I realised that years had gone by and  I hadn't really taken advantage of it. I therefore now "self-insure"...I have the money to buy a new boiler if I need to.

One thing that I have realised is that a lot of "insurance" is actually a tax on fear.

My old gran used to pay British Gas several hundred pounds a year boiler insurance, which included an annual service. Her house was modernised in 1978, and a new Worcester Bosch boiler was installed, which was still running perfectly fine 34 years later in 2012 when she died and we sold the house. Yes, she had it checked out by British Gas every year, and perhaps that contributed to its longevity, but whether it was worth £300 a year (£10k over the life of the boiler) I'm not sure.

Best thing you can do to ensure you have safety is to have a CO2 detector (maybe a couple) that are regularly tested!
On the topic of homecare deals....after having a right old ding-dong battle with Eon a few years back over them trying to weedle out of something, we have taken it on board to befriend every tradesperson we've had in.  Having had an extension done shortly after that (5-6 years back), we are lucky to now have a decent set of people we can call on who won't take the p*$$ if we need help.   We dropped the cover for those things. 
Over time, unless (as Mallygirl suggests) you have a house with a propensity for breakages, they are mostly (like many 'add-on' insurances) a waste of money.   But if you want peace of mind, that is of course fine.

Example - had a wall knocked into by council (we back on to open space).  They denied it, we had no evidence beyond it happening during a few days we were away and they had mowed.   Their assessor agreed, and we got our main builder to swing past for a day with a mate to take it down and redo it.   Actually let himself in and had it demolished before we looked out the window and spotted him!  Plumber similar - now had a few things done, we are beyond asking him how much a job will be 'cos we know he will be reasonable.   Still owe him for a boiler check and tap replacement he did - reminded a few times on whatsapp, no doubt next time we see him he will take for them!

I’m Not trying to be a twerp but i think you mean CO not CO2

Don't mix up your chemistry