It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

taplady

Our house is HA and we've been in it for 14 years. The rent is £82 a week give or take a few pence and what we get for it makes its well worth it!:T 3 bedrooms and very large garden. In our time we've had free of charge 2 new kitchens, new roof, new doors, new windows, excellent insulation, cavity wall insulation, central heating, 2 boilers, rewiring plus all repairs.
We are allowed to do what we like within reason to the property and consider it 'our' house.
My Mother and sister rent privately and pay £525 for a 2 bedroom dormer bungalow.They do get repairs done but not as quickly as we do.
I'm so glad we never bought as we would have lost it by now as DH has had serious health problems which lead to our being in debt.
The good news is we have 1 payment left(1st August) and then we will be debt free:j couldn't come at a better time too.
I'm aiming to stash as much away as possible. I read that you should aim to have at least 6 months salary in savins to help tide you over through redundancy or such emergencies - I think it was Alvin Hall who said that(I'm a big fan of his)
Lauren - thanks for the tip on the microwave gadget:T will keep my eye out for it in the shops.

ceridwen

I have to say I agree - in theory - with having at least 6 months worth of income in savings. It is a relief to know that I could now live for months even if there wasnt any income at all coming in... Though - this does have to be tempered with bearing in mind that £6,000 savings limit if one is likely to become unemployed and claiming benefit.

At my age I'm near enough to retirement now that - by the time I take into account the 6 months worth of non means-tested benefit I would be due for regardless of my savings level - there wouldnt be THAT much time left before I get to retirement age anyway. So - the maximum amount of benefit I could get means-tested out of if it came to unemployment isnt that high now. Hence - I am now saving money hand over fist as fast as I can:D. Just wish I knew of somewhere I could put it that would pay at least an inflation level rate of interest after the news earlier this week......:cool::mad:

EstherH

Following the buy/rent debate with interest. Bought our house, small mortgage now, another ten years or so to pay. Never thought about renting or the advantages of repairs being done for you before. It's very hard to maintain the house and lots of things get left. Don't think we would ever be able to sell if we wanted to without it being massively reduced to take into account the state of it. Still It's been our home for a long time and we're happy enough here which is what's important. Feel sorry for those who are not happy with where they live - rented or owned.

365days

Thanks for all the great discussion about buying/renting. I really must try and and get back to repayment as soon as I am able.

Finished work today for the holidays, went to Lidl for a 'big' shop. Have been very naughty recently as we have had a Waitrose open nearby and have been there often. Not as bad as it sounds as like when any new supermarket opens there seems to be excellent whoopsies unitl they get their stock levels right...scallops with pancetta and black pudding reduced from £6.99 to £1.19 anyone?

Anyway back to Lidl, did really well then got home to find freezer had been switched off. Long story about how it happened but involves cats, cupboards, horizontal plugs and naughty little boys! Panicked and was saved by a great thread on here. Had to throw some stuff.....but lots has been salvaged. Then thought to myself 'Ah a nice cup of coffee' and realised I hadn't bought any milk. So will have to go back out later.......frustrating isn't the word.

About school uniform. The school I work at is in a poor area. We try to keep everything low cost. Jumpers are £8.50 and are the only thing that is needed. Even have a member of staff who takes the school photo's so work out at about £3 each as opposed to my son's school who have 2x lots of photos sent home a year...class one and individual.
I remember being asked to pay £15 for a mornings school trip for an afternoon in a town 8 miles away. Now I know coaches are hugely expensive but for goodness sake would of been cheaper to have taxied the kids there! Some schools and some teachers really do not have a clue about how a £5 trip can screw a weekly budget.

My son has come home today saying that some of the year 6's at his school, age 10/11, were picked up from school in Limo's and pink London Cabs as it was there last day......utterly ridiculous. A neighbour, who is the kind to share such things, told me her daughters Prom dress for leaving secondary school (Horrible American Idea) cost £300. Madness I tells thee!

Off out to buy milk.......kind of shatters my dream of being able to live in the middle of no where when I cant even remember the milk with the weekly shop!

spike7451

Well for me,things are about to get tougher.In May I went for a job interview & got the job which was offered to me in mid June.I accepted & quit my old job.
Because I was away with the TA at the start of July,the was'nt much point in starting till I got back as the training was for six weeks.
I called them up on Tuesday only to be told the was no job,the woman on the phone mumbled something & said the girl dealing with me was on holiday till end July.
So next week I have to go & sign on the dole.
To say I'm not happy is an understatement!

EstherH

I've seen these limo's etc at the school near us. It's becoming more and more the thing. People want to live the celeb life style and don't seem to realise that they are storing up trouble for their kids along the way who will always expect everything to fall into their lap. I thought it was bad enough when my (at the time) 16 year old had an expensive leavers do, but for primary school children it's even more ridiculous.

greengoblin

365days wrote: »

My son has come home today saying that some of the year 6's at his school, age 10/11, were picked up from school in Limo's and pink London Cabs as it was there last day......utterly ridiculous. A neighbour, who is the kind to share such things, told me her daughters Prom dress for leaving secondary school (Horrible American Idea) cost £300. Madness I tells thee!

Off out to buy milk.......kind of shatters my dream of being able to live in the middle of no where when I cant even remember the milk with the weekly shop!

Know what you mean about prom dresses. Both at my 6th form and college summer balls people were turning up in limos, fire engines etc. in beautiful but really expensive dresses. All my male friends rented their suits (all farmers - never any smart clothes lol) - why didn't the girls do the same?
I was especially pleased with my dress for the college shin dig though as I got it at the very end of the winter sales the year before - £165 to £48. Floor length, thick black satin, split layer, the works from Laura Ashley. Did have to borrow a pair of shoes and couldn't afford a shawl so worked some magic with a £2 1/2 meter of fabric and some glitter glue (because students forget to take sewing kits to college with them!) though. (and my dress looked smarter than all the Barbie imitators ).

Re: milk in the countryside - make friends with a dairy farmer

EstherH

Sorry about your news Spike, hope you can find something soon.

BB1984

Eeek Spike I'm really sorry to hear about your job, that's a nightmare. Did you sign a formal contract with them? Because if you did, I think that in theory you can sue them for breach of contract (given that you gave up your old job for them, therefore they're responsible for your loss of earnings). Hope you manage to sort something out.

RE the rent vs mortgage debate. I think it's horses for courses, really - I can see the pros and cons of both sides. I have rented in the past, and I'm afraid I mostly had bad experiences with private landlords. One flat we lived in cost us £900 per month!!! (London) In the space of a year we had 6 weeks with no hot water, despite me phoning them up every day and having a go. Looking back I should have got it sorted out and demanded they compensate me, but at the time I didn't know anything about my rights as a tenant, and was worried that I wouldn't get the money back. We also had a horrendous damp problem for months on end, the spores of which caused a chest infection and I ended up with pneumonia!

It's all very well singing the praises of HA and council housing, but I think I heard the other day that there are 60,000 people on the waiting list in the UK. And then there are plenty of people who aren't on a low enough income to qualify, but are in that horrible middle ground of not really earning enough to do anything but scrape by just above the benefits zone. I think they are the people in this country who really suffer.

My OH and I have a hefty mortgage; we bought just before house prices hit rock bottom and I think we got a really good deal on it. We have been overpaying by as much as we're allowed (10% I think) as our variable rate has taken our repayments down. We have been saving as much as we possibly can aside from that, to overpay in one big lump come November when our deal ends. My only worry at the moment is how much to over-pay and how much to keep in the bank in case one of us loses our job....because the bank sure as hell ain't gonna give us any of our overpayments back!

So yes, having a mortgage is a worry, but for us, in our particular situation, it's a preferable option to renting. For me, the main benefits are: being able to decorate exactly how we want to; not having to worry that every little knock to the skirting board is going to lose us our deposit; being able to invest time and money in the garden without feeling we'll have to move on anytime soon; having control over things like damp/plumbing etc - yes we have to pay for it, but we will get it sorted as quickly as we want to; and just having a feeling of security and long-term "homeliness" that I've never had anywhere else. I love my little house

RE school uniforms, could you try putting a "Wanted" ad on freecycle? The groups tend to be local, so chances are people will be on there who have kids at local schools....

BB

jackieglasgow

Sorry to hear about your job Spike, that's an awful situation to be in, especially as you were away working for your country whilst things were changing! Hopefully you'll find something suitable soon.