Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

Karmacat wrote: »

Frugalsod, some *excellent* ideas there, I'm at a bit of a crossroads myself. I like these

Thanks. What I would suggest is just think about your overall situation and work out what you can do to make the situation better. We all have different skills and talents and if you can utilise them it will help you a lot.

Rather than thinking of it as a crossroad, think like a quantum particle and go up all paths at the same time. Gradually some paths will be closed off because of practicality or some other reason but you tried. As each path is closed it will allow you to concentrate on the remaining options.

You could use a mind mapping technique to eliminate all duff ideas before you spend any money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map



As a last resort get a pitchfork because eventually you will need it.

thriftwizard

Frugalsod wrote: »

Thanks. What I would suggest is just think about your overall situation and work out what you can do to make the situation better. We all have different skills and talents and if you can utilise them it will help you a lot.

Rather than thinking of it as a crossroad, think like a quantum particle and go up all paths at the same time. Gradually some paths will be closed off because of practicality or some other reason but you tried. As each path is closed it will allow you to concentrate on the remaining options.

You could use a mind mapping technique to eliminate all duff ideas before you spend any money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map



As a last resort get a pitchfork because eventually you will need it.

Love it! I'd been going to suggest having a go at some of the skills you mentioned earlier; investing in equipment is only a sound idea if you know how to use it & maintain it. And the further I go down the route of learning how to do things, the more I realise that all-singing all-dancing gadgets are not necessarily the be-all and end-all; spinning-wise, I spin a "better" yarn (i.e. more even) with a spindle than I do with a wheel, although it's undeniably slower. Much more portable, however! And although I'm a complete chump when it comes to knitting (I much prefer to crochet) I can knit a whole dishcloth in the time it takes me to unpack, never mind thread up, my very-simple knitting machine.

Weaving in particular is quite a complex skill to master. I love playing around with very simple forms & can produce shawls & scarves, but I stand in complete awe of those who can produce lengths of cloth and fancy patterns; one day perhaps I'll have room for a floor-loom, but just thinking about calculating a warp for my daughter's little 8-shaft loom terrifies me. She, however, can do it in seconds, and can "see" in her head exactly what pattern a sequence of shaft movements will produce - after several years studying in her spare time, with a very talented teacher!

Not that throwing money at a skill is necessarily the best way to master it; with preserving & fermentation, like with gardening, there are so many variables that only experimentation & practice will get you where you want to go, even if you can afford all the finest equipment. Ditto with spinning, which I have taught to other people; some people pick it up very quickly & others take longer, but almost everyone will "get it" in the end if they are patient, prepared to put in enough practice & move out of their comfort zone from time to time.

The other thing I'd mention here is that no matter what equipment you have, you won't use it or get the best out of it if you don't enjoy the process. I recently had a go at something I've wanted to be able to do for a very long time, stained glass. I love the stuff, and I'm quite creative, and have a total fascination for colour & light. A couple of years ago, I was offered some equipment for the craft at a very good price, when someone else had to give up, and I nearly invested, but someone else beat me to it. Just as well, because I really didn't enjoy making it at all! I spent the whole time convinced I was going to slice my fingers open, the fumes gave me a headache, and I found the glass itself a very frustrating material to work with, although I'm sure it gets easier as you learn to predict how it will react & what it will actually look like when it all comes together. I'm very glad to have had the chance to try it, but it's not for me.

So by all means, invest in trying out & learning some skills, and in some good-quality equipment & supplies, but don't assume that just buying the kit will be a sound investment, especially not if you don't know how to look after it. I've spent too long attempting to rescue spinning wheels & sewing machines that have been kept in the wrong conditions - too damp, too dry, not enough oil, never brushed out, squeezed into tight corners so they warp, kept in lofts or sheds where woodworm's running riot - and most importantly, never used. You should hear an 80 year old sewing machine that's never been used scream when you first try to stitch with it...

mardatha

RAS I've never heard of Tweed Valley Fruit Trees but they are near me. I wish I had room for a plum tree now lol.

daz378

received a letter from nhs saying id claimed free prescription when not entitled..... i checked my medical exemption card and oops it had expired 2013. in the process of renewing it...... but ive been fined the cost of prescription + 40 quid.... still they could have fined me all the prescriptions since it expired and i have to pay until i get new one......nice happy start to the year

1Tonsil

thought you might like to see these images of snow in Crete today, even at sea level. Scroll down the page for more

http://weatherpantokratoras.blogspot.gr/2015/01/blog-post_95.html?spref=fb

jk0

Here's an odd one:

On Saturday I tried to buy wholemeal flour from Waitrose, but they were completely out.

Today, I tried again around 12pm, and found a man loading the last four bags into his basket. I asked him if he could spare one bag for a fellow shopper, and he said he was looking for four bags!

'Okay', I said then walked away. A couple of minutes later, I guess his conscience got to him, and he found me and handed me a bag.

I wonder if he knows something I don't.

Softstuff

jk0 wrote: »

I wonder if he knows something I don't.

My great recipe for a freeform roasted veggie pie?

Probably he's just been a few times, has seen they were out and was hoping to stock up while they were there.

We went to look at 6 houses yesterday, thinking we'd just see much more of what we had previously, basically places that were "ok", but at the price had something large that needed fixing. Then we found instead a great one. Had a builder round to look at it (friend of ours) he couldn't find anything wrong (that's a rarity here). Husband spent an hour on the phone with our bank and no go. Basically, despite us having paid off the mortgage here, it's not classed as an asset, so we'd have to have a 20% deposit for the other place or sell this place first. Anyone have $80,000 they'd be happy to lend us for 3 months? :rotfl: This makes life a bit more difficult since this place needs a bit of renovating before we sell (we were hoping not to be living here for that), we'll have nowhere to live for a while and will have to sell this place furnished (this is because houses in our price bracket sell in weeks, flats like our take months and house owners aren't prepared to do long chain contracts).

Feeling quite miffed. We'll miss the house we like, be homeless for a while and who knows what properties we'll find when we're looking then. Oh well.

jk0

Softstuff wrote: »

My great recipe for a freeform roasted veggie pie?

Probably he's just been a few times, has seen they were out and was hoping to stock up while they were there.

We went to look at 6 houses yesterday, thinking we'd just see much more of what we had previously, basically places that were "ok", but at the price had something large that needed fixing. Then we found instead a great one. Had a builder round to look at it (friend of ours) he couldn't find anything wrong (that's a rarity here). Husband spent an hour on the phone with our bank and no go. Basically, despite us having paid off the mortgage here, it's not classed as an asset, so we'd have to have a 20% deposit for the other place or sell this place first. Anyone have $80,000 they'd be happy to lend us for 3 months? :rotfl: This makes life a bit more difficult since this place needs a bit of renovating before we sell (we were hoping not to be living here for that), we'll have nowhere to live for a while and will have to sell this place furnished (this is because houses in our price bracket sell in weeks, flats like our take months and house owners aren't prepared to do long chain contracts).

Feeling quite miffed. We'll miss the house we like, be homeless for a while and who knows what properties we'll find when we're looking then. Oh well.

Would your bank consider lending you the money for the new place if you let out your flat?

Here that's called 'let to buy'.

Ryanna2599

1Tonsil wrote: »

thought you might like to see these images of snow in Crete today, even at sea level. Scroll down the page for more

http://weatherpantokratoras.blogspot.gr/2015/01/blog-post_95.html?spref=fb

Wow! It's strange to see such an amount of snow in Crete...it's more akin to my home country of Scotland! I hope you have lots of provisions stored up 1Tonsil... Keep warm. x

Softstuff

jk0 wrote: »

Would your bank consider lending you the money for the new place if you let out your flat?

Here that's called 'let to buy'.

There's no advantage to doing it that way, since we'd still be homeless when renting it out (and have to rent somewhere else ourselves), we wouldn't be able to renovate it for sale (there'd be someone in it), minimum rental contracts are a year here and we're not looking to keep this property (one of the reasons for us leaving is extortionate body corp fees here).

Really our only option is to get this on the market after renovating, then when someone wants to buy it, hope they'll go for a reasonably long contract, househunt like mad, hope we find something with a short contract and if we're temporarily homeless live in a hotel. It's not ideal by any means, especially since my husband generally works from home.