make do and mend for tougher times

katieowl_2

fuddle wrote: »

Spag bol tonight. My job and then digging out the borders ready to get some bark down as a weed solution.

Does bindweed die back in the autumn/winter?

I can't remember if it looses leaf growth, but it doesn't 'go away' you really need to dig it out before you stick bark down, as it will just get worse and worse, the roots go down a really long way it will just love having some lovely soft bark to run through and be really rampant next year.

Sorry

Kate

born_blonde

VJsmum, amazon do stick on soles http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoe-Candy-Grip-Tight-Soles/dp/B005UA1Q4O/ref=sr_1_4?s=shoes&ie=UTF8&qid=1349948178&sr=1-4
And I've always added sugar to balance vinegar.

[Deleted User]

VJsMUM - is your boot sole the type of material that would take a stick on sole? If so and you have a shoe repairer in the area you might be able to have that put on perhaps with a heel grip and it might help. I think you'd have to take the boots along to them for an opinion, might be worth a try, Cheers Lyn x.

Kittikins

Fuddle - I'm on ADs and when I spoke to my dr about me not wanting to come off ever (as I think they keep me stable), she said that in general, they don't like to have the conversation with people about coming off them until they've felt "normal/great/fine/whatever" for at least a year.

fuddle

Just 6 months for me so I suspect it's too soon. I kind of thought it was too soon anyway. More of the same then. It doesn't really matter. I'll broach it any way.

Thanks for the bindweed tip. It could have been a disaster! The amount of digging I'm going to have to do is daunting. The front garden really is in a mess

A second vote for stick on soles from the cobblers.

savingqueen

Hello fellow OSers :wave:

[QUOTE=VJsmum;56448297]OK, resourceful people a couple of puzzles you might be able to help me with

2. I have a pair of knee length black boots, ideal to wear with skirts and dresses. However the bottom of them is completely smooth and I cannot walk far without nearly falling a over t in them. Particularly at this time of year with leaves on the ground. how can I rough em up a bit?

[/QUOTE]

Wondering if you could try roughing up the surface of the heel/sole a bit, not sure what with - steel wool, sandpaper? unless you need more of a grip then I would try a new sole/heel.

Fuddle I echo other's posts on the ADs. I would wait a bit longer. Maybe shouldn't say this on MSE but will anyway - when I did feel ready to stop ADs and knew it was a reasonable length of time (did a bit of research), docs still not keen to cut down so I managed to cut my ADs up and very very gradually cut down my dose. Also to warn you, you can get side effects from stopping ADs, this was the reason I cut mine down very slowly. Glad you are feeling better! :j

Ginny glad your appointment went well yesterday, another :j

Quick home haircutting Q for you lovely peeps - I've been zapping my boys' hairs for about a year now (saves so much at barbers) but DS1 always creates at the hair that sticks to his neck and gets down his back - he does have sensitive skin. (I do use a towel etc to minimise but he has thick hair) Was thinking of buying one of those haircutting capes that catch the hair and a brush to sweep hairs off but any OS ideas I could try before buying said wotsits?

Popped into Aldis after school run for about 5 things and came away with 5 bags of shopping! Saw some things I'd forgotten to out on list and a couple of reduced bits so nothing naughty! Bin day today and as usual I am astonished and annoyed in equal measure with what perfectly good household items, toys etc get thrown out for the bin men. I rescued one of those plastic 3 drawer thingys - it's only had kid's craft bits in judging by the remaining dregs in the drawers. Will clean it up and use it to store some of my food stocks in the[STRIKE] junk[/STRIKE]spare room.

I have a mountain of chores to do so just plodding about doing what I can, most so far are half completed as got fed up doing them. So shopping half put away, sweeping half done, dishwasher half emptied. Do you think my approach will catch on?! Better go and finish all the other halves then lunch then can start on some shiny new chores...oh the joy! :rotfl:

fortified by a hot choc and lovely fresh bread and cherry jam (all shop bought I might add ) so no excuses.... big sigh.... ready steady GO!!!!!!!!!

sq:) (err just going...)

maryb

Try roughing up the soles with sandpaper for a free option, then if that doesn't work I second the recommendations to go with stick on soles.

With the vinegar, you could try reducing it then add more liquid to bring it back to the right volume. I'd also add a touch of sugar

maryb

I really should refresh before I post!!

With the bits of hair, some talcum powder will make it easy to just brush them away (and he'll smell as sweet as a baby:D)

catznine

MrsCD wrote: »

I'm not sure if it's the same at each Costco, but at ours you have to pre-order at leats 2 days ahead. They are worth the cash though if you're pushed for time to make one. I think you can still get a cake at MrA with a photo printed on top. They are usually done fairly quickly if you wanted something a bit different.

You only have to pre order at our Costcos if it is personalised! You can get lovely large iced birthday cakes off the shelf from ours! Only about £10 (last time we bought one) They are normally iced with roses on or balloons!

PipneyJane

emalou88 wrote: »

We have to pay maintenance for the flat. Now I can't whinge too much as I knew that when I took it on but was told it woud be around £1k a year and £150 ground rent.
However I get a bill in June and one at the end of December, in June they want near on £700 for 6 months! So I'm dreading Decembers bill - we are hoping to be in the house by then but I can't lump my Mum with a bill for that just because I decided to move out. So I'm trying to save every spare penny but we are currently £340 in credit with the gas and electric so I need to ring up and get that back.

Because of how much money my Dad's left my Mum with pensions and life insurance etc if Mum rent's out the flat she'll have to pay that much tax on it that there's no point in renting it out. The financial advisor has told her just to let someone live in it and for them to give her a 'token gift' each month for it.
So we are thinking of letting my best friend and her fiancee have it after they get married, until my brothers well enough for it.
Mind you with that maintence bill it's not going to be cheap is it if it continues to rise.

Sorry, I'm usually just a lurker on this thread but I couldn't let this slip. I think the financial advisor is giving your mum really duff advice. She really should talk to a tax accountant - preferably someone whose portfolio contains a lot of clients with rental properties.

Fifteen years ago, that's what I did, but I've been in corporate accounting for a long time now. However, I can give some general pointers about renting out properties and whether it's a viable option. I've also got a flat that I rent out:

1. Rental properties are a type of business. Tax is calculated on the net profit, not on the full rent. Therefore, the following has to be deducted first: mortgage interest, ground rent, service charge, agent's commission, legal/professional fees, any cleaning/maintenance costs (say for spot cleaning between tenants), payments to the gas and electricity between tenants, insurance, money spent on visiting the property, gas safety certificates, etc.
2. Council tax and water rates should be paid by the tenant and are not deemed tax deductable.
3. The tenants should be responsible for the gas, electricity, TV licence and telephone bills.
4. If the property is let furnished, your mum can opt to either deduct the cost of replacement furniture/fixtures/fittings from the gross rent or deduct 10% of the total rent as wear and tear allowance. 99% of my clients went with the latter because it is usually the higher amount. (Note: Any furniture purchased before there is a tenant is not tax deductable.)
5. Average vacancy rates in London are 6 weeks, but we used to tell our clients to set aside the equivalent of 3 months rent to cover any vacancies or repairs. If the money is spent, then the pot has to be refilled before anything else happens.
6. Another rule of thumb: since pretty much all expenses can be worked out in advance (e.g., you usually get told the service charge annually) and then pro-rated over 12 months, it should be fairly easy to work out what the net rent will be for a typical month. With the surplus, set aside 1/3 for tax and the other 2/3 is additional income for your mum.
7. If your mum has any income that is paid PAYE, say from a private pension, she can opt to have the tax collected via her notice of coding, so she'll never need to worry about paying the taxman late. To do that, her first tax return will need to be filed before September. The tax will be collected in arrears (I've just finished paying tax on my 2010-2011 rental income via this method. They're now collecting 2011-2012's tax. We're currently in the 2012-2013 tax year).

Your mum will need to file annual tax returns but, given that she's receiving several pensions, chances are she'd have to do that anyway. A good, local, tax accountant is her best bet for advice on all these issues. Look for someone with the initials MATT, ATII or FTII after their name.

One last point - if I recall correctly, you own a half-share of the flat. Yes? Then all the above applies to you as well and, officially, 50% of the rent is your income. There used to be a way to formally opt to give all the income to one party while still maintaining equal ownership of a property however I my memory is really, really hazy on what that was called and how it operated. Again, you need to speak to a proper tax accountant about this.