Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

:eek: Can you imagine the floodwaters if there's a fast thaw?!

Softstuff

As regards home ownership in Aus, renting is a bit of a minefield here, certainly locally. Rather a lot of older rental houses have asbestos in them, they are certainly poorly maintained and tenants can look forward to moving approximately every 6 months as the properties change hands or landlords get funny about the rents. And the better places cost you more than a mortgage.

So when we bought a flat here, it was the cheapest available and we learned to live small. As regards paying off the mortgage, I'd say even if you think you're frugal, there are always places you can cut (though some of the cuts can be quite unpleasant). To me having a mortgage was a "oh my god my hair is on fire" debt emergency to be cleared, not something to be approached at a standard pace.

Now finding ourselves in a house, with another mortgage (thanks to the sensible idea of avoiding a $8000 a year body corp bill etc), I'm not planning to be quite as frugal as we were for the flat, I'm just not sure being that frugal is an entirely healthy way to live, but there are ways we can make it pay, so I'll be using all of them.

If the s really hits the fan, I'll just have to duck a bit and hope it misses me, knowing that I won't be entirely debt free.

Frugalsod

Softstuff wrote: »

So when we bought a flat here, it was the cheapest available and we learned to live small. As regards paying off the mortgage, I'd say even if you think you're frugal, there are always places you can cut (though some of the cuts can be quite unpleasant). To me having a mortgage was a "oh my god my hair is on fire" debt emergency to be cleared, not something to be approached at a standard pace.

Now finding ourselves in a house, with another mortgage (thanks to the sensible idea of avoiding a $8000 a year body corp bill etc), I'm not planning to be quite as frugal as we were for the flat, I'm just not sure being that frugal is an entirely healthy way to live, but there are ways we can make it pay, so I'll be using all of them.

If the s really hits the fan, I'll just have to duck a bit and hope it misses me, knowing that I won't be entirely debt free.

I think the point of living frugally is so that you can cope without a problem. If you are having to make painful cuts then you are living beyond your ability to cope. So the best thing to do is to concentrate on maintaining a frugal life until you have got your living expenses down to a level that you are comfortable with. With the savings I made I have allowed myself some treats. I now eat out more than I ever did, even though I am saving at a high rate.

You should concentrate on ploughing initial savings into things that cut your costs of living. Insulation has a really high payback rate. Mine went into LED lights and so my electricity bill is pretty constant no matter what season it is. You could use it to buy bicycles for commuting to work, which will not only help your health. Being frugal does not have to be bad. You could invest in more food stores etc.

For example while your home is new you will have plenty of ideas of what you can do. If there was a SHTF moment you would be ahead of the game. If you had a good disposable income and good food and water stocks you should be in a much better situation than you might think.

So you could over pay the mortgage so that when interest rates rise you will be able to cope. The more you do these sorts of things the longer before you have to do the ones you may not like, like take in a lodger. Also by not having to pay $8000 for corporate body fees you could use that for your other plans.

My own plan is to be ahead of any nasty changes so I can cope. If incomes were to collapse 40% then I would still be able to save though I suspect that there would be anarchy in the streets long before I was impacted. By reducing my normal cost of living it leaves me with a much higher disposable income which allows me to pay down debts faster and without reducing my standard of living. That high disposable income will allow me more scope to cope with unwelcome changes. No matter what governments say, there is significant risk of another catastrophic financial meltdown, one that could impact many more countries that avoided trouble last time.

Until that risk has been eliminated then I am playing very safe.

davidsdesire

GreyQueen wrote: »

:eek: Can you imagine the floodwaters if there's a fast thaw?!

I'm already imagining it. We live about 300 meters from the river...if this stuff melts fast, we could be in trouble.

Yeah. I live in the Boston area...in fact, we got more snow than Boston. I live close to Worcester, now ranked as the snowiest city in the country.

Softstuff

Frugalsod wrote: »

I think the point of living frugally is so that you can cope without a problem. If you are having to make painful cuts then you are living beyond your ability to cope..

When I talk about unpleasant cuts, I'm talking about what we did to pay off a 30 year mortgage on the flat in 7 years (despite me not always working during that time, so sometimes just on one wage and with health issues along the way). We weren't living beyond our means, we were living very much within it.

I'm not saying being frugal is bad at all, we'll live here very frugally again. What I am saying is perhaps we won't be going quite so far as we did to pay off the flat mortgage (no alcohol apart from Xmas, family cloth, cheap teabags, no paper disposables, all homemade cleaning products etc). I think for me there's things I'm happy to do (home haircutting etc), but things I'd rather have as balance (twinings, loo roll and cheap red wine!).

Frugalsod

Softstuff wrote: »

When I talk about unpleasant cuts, I'm talking about what we did to pay off a 30 year mortgage on the flat in 7 years (despite me not always working during that time, so sometimes just on one wage and with health issues along the way). We weren't living beyond our means, we were living very much within it.

I'm not saying being frugal is bad at all, we'll live here very frugally again. What I am saying is perhaps we won't be going quite so far as we did to pay off the flat mortgage (no alcohol apart from Xmas, family cloth, cheap teabags, no paper disposables, all homemade cleaning products etc). I think for me there's things I'm happy to do (home haircutting etc), but things I'd rather have as balance (twinings, loo roll and cheap red wine!).

That level of frugality does at least have an end, when you have cleared the mortgage. Though if this house will suit you for the rest of your life then no need to be as frugal.

I can happily go without alcohol if necessary, and cheap tea is acceptable but I will admit I have the odd treat. Last week it was Venison pate. I am moving more towards making my own cleaning products as they are greener and less damaging to the environment as well as cheaper. As long as you are happy with your arrangement that is all that matters. I have nothing against treats as they make it all worth while. It is much easier to maintain a frugal regime if it gives you the extra spending power to have some luxury.

moneyistooshorttomention

Softstuff wrote: »

When I talk about unpleasant cuts, I'm talking about what we did to pay off a 30 year mortgage on the flat in 7 years (despite me not always working during that time, so sometimes just on one wage and with health issues along the way). We weren't living beyond our means, we were living very much within it.

I'm not saying being frugal is bad at all, we'll live here very frugally again. What I am saying is perhaps we won't be going quite so far as we did to pay off the flat mortgage (no alcohol apart from Xmas, family cloth, cheap teabags, no paper disposables, all homemade cleaning products etc). I think for me there's things I'm happy to do (home haircutting etc), but things I'd rather have as balance (twinings, loo roll and cheap red wine!).

As you say Softstuff - balance is the thing. I'm still being on the frugal side (darn well have to be on half-pension currently still:() but there are 3 things that I regard as Priority = healthy food and being warm enough in my own home. As a single person in a new area I am also prioritising what expenses are necessary for a social life (my 3 voluntary things basically don't cost anything...so its "odd extras" on that front).

We all decide what constitute priorities for ourselves personally and there does have to be Balance or "life isn't worth living and what's the point then?" imo. So I take the view personally that its basically "spare money" that gets thrown at Preparedness and, until I'm back to normal income, then there isn't much of that (but I did throw quite a bit of it in that direction back before this spell I knew I'd have on half-income for a while).

Does confess here to having spent some money on "booze to drown sorrows" for some time after moving here, between the work being done on house and the neighbour problems <embarrassed smilie> but I always took the view that I'd "get a handle" on both things at some point and they would be "under control" and thankfully they both seem to be now and that expense can stop (fingers crossed). I think both the house and neighbour are "behaving themselves" at last....

Hope you're settling in well into your new home btw:)

GreyQueen

davidsdesire wrote: »

I'm already imagining it. We live about 300 meters from the river...if this stuff melts fast, we could be in trouble.

Yeah. I live in the Boston area...in fact, we got more snow than Boston. I live close to Worcester, now ranked as the snowiest city in the country.

:eek: Eeek! As someone who lives 50m from a small river, it's a concern here. What sort of contour line are you on, above the river level?

Re economics, I live below my means and that means I have savings, which means that when something needs buying, I can do cash rather than credit, and ultimately save more. So January's replacement for a defunct washing machine was bought out of the current account with a safe margin.

For me, it's important to my peace of mind to have a margin which I can dip into to smooth the bumps on the road of life. I've zero interest in shopping for ego, entertainment, status display, swankiness, anything of that ilk.

[Deleted User]

hi everyone, just popping in again to apologise for not reading posts. Bereavement is sht bigtime and all of us should be prepared. Its very very tough going coping with all the paperwork and phone call after endless phone call. Heres me, so savvy about financial stuff but I wasn`t savvy about what needs to be done when someone dies.

His possessions I can cope with but the tax man slips in at the end of the probate form, I have to do an inventory giving the value of his stuff, even if I am sole beneficiary and he left a will and I am his wife. The system completely stinks. Any gifts made to anyone in the last 7 years, then there is all the name changing and the endless condolences. The stuff to do after a death really is shtf. I resolve that when I have finished here and had a good rest, then I will do all my stuff, starting with accumulating savings in cash, my children will have enough to do

I have far too much of everything, food, ziplock bags, soaps you name it. Little by little I will be giving it away to my children

and don`t mention available money. State pension stops on the day of death. A small annuity halved on the day of death. Everyone needs money right now, starting with the death certificates. Suddenly I am down £1000 a month yet I have the same bills, only more just now. I gave my children some money because suddenly they have big expenses, all the travelling, phone calls, time off work

I think this might be the biggest shtf of all

[Deleted User]

thriftwizard wrote: »

I think my mother would know exactly where you're coming from, Kittie. So far one or another of us has been with her for most of every day; last Monday was the first time I left her overnight, and she was wobbly but resolute. I've been a little more hands-off this week (apart from anything else, I have a small business to keep half an eye on) but she has very bravely gone off to my brother's for the weekend. It's a big house & he has all his kids & grandchildren staying. They are charming & delightful little scraps, and very well-behaved, and he thinks they'll help take her mind off things, but part of me thinks it may just be a little too much for her to cope with, so I'm leaving it very open-ended when I go up there to bring her home & can go at the drop of a hat. The car is fuelled up, tyre pressures checked and all arrangements have been left deliberately fluid.

She's leaving most of the funeral arrangements in our hands, but rings every now & then to suggest an idea - "but it's up to you, dear, of course!" - and it's like picking your way through a minefield, as "our" side are all professionals at this business & have very firm ideas of what it & isn't appropriate, but he was our step-siblings' parent when all's said & done, and their wishes & ideas need to be taken into account.

I've tried to be very conscious of all the noise & bustle, but I'm naturally quite an ebullient, chattery sort of person, and I've caught her looking at me wearily once or twice & promptly shut up. It's very hard, with an older person, to know when to leave well alone; although she's basically very fit & healthy for her age, she's utterly exhausted after two years of caring for him, and we're all worried that there will be some kind of physical reaction.

Wishing you some space & peace to come to terms with your loss, and thanking you for reminding me that I need to guard Mum's privacy for her to find that, too...

thriftwizard, I just read your post. It moved me very much, I want to give you a hug, as a mum myself. What you are doing is right, there is a process that spouses go through and there are some good forums and books. I am reading a kindle book and it helps. Seeing a grandchild was very tiring, uplifting as well but I automatically went into cuddly nana mode, I was the one explaining and giving the cuddles.

I have some space now, they understand and the funeral is taking shape as I want, the children jumped in very fast at first, to take the load but we all now agree that it has to be gentle with some religion for their dad and some livlier stuff for the man he was

I just had a little sob reading your post but even a few second sob helps clear my stressed head

Out in the car now, learning to use sat nav and listening to that lovely voice telling me which way to go. I took several steps yesterday, on my own and am growing and learning