Quit everything , and start again over 50?

another_casualty

Thanks for the great advice once again . LL: you seem to have a similar
pattern to mine , where bad luck started . When I was made redundant in Dec 2006, that was the catalyst . Everything changed except the eventual sale of my home. I knew from march that year through instinct , that the job was gone .
So my life is still turbulent . How do I see it ?
Lonely at present . When the weather gets brighter , I will venture out properly . Felt miserable most of today . One or 2 doubts are coming into
head. The plus points : debt free , no tension & no commuting yet .

What to do?: I've been weighing up , what part of Poole I want to be in .
Or so I think I have . My gut feeling is to get a nice flat in the best possible spot for all my needs . Yes , I said flats. Main reasons : cheaper to buy / could still live in chosen location / a house seems too big for just one person / council tax dearer?/. More maintenance etc .
Yes , flats have service charges . The flat I saw last Monday was minimal tbh.
I have to checkout Weymouth . Imagine if I fell in love with that?!?

Next week , 2 months have gone . 4 months left in the flat I am currently in
Will probably have to ask for an Extn , unless more properties are adverised

My plan is : buy a place . Then try and get a part time job .
I believe the adrenaline will get me through . That and confidence.
Of course , I take nothing for granted . Have I done the hard part by clearing my debts and moving ? Seems like the hardest is yet to come .

I will talk to the doctor as and when . It really isn't worth trying to claim for anything for another 4 months . I'll be dreading that day going to the job centre. I will be trying the agencies beforehand .
There are others worse off than me , I know .
This may end up being an expensive holiday . God knows where I end up.

Regards my dmp : my annual review is due anytime . I've had enough of over worrying. What I will do is ask them , what is the minimum the creditors will accept for a f&final settkement . Then pay it . Only after that ,am I debt free

wendym

Shall we designate tomorrow as Disagreeable Paperwork Day?

Just in case you fall in love with the Poole Quay flat on Monday, you need to know whether you can afford it. So although it will be a tedious couple of hours, it would really help you to know where you stand in the worst case scenario.

I promise I will tackle my horrible paperwork if you will.

I know you will battle everything and everyone before contemplating benefits, but leaving your job voluntarily is irrelevant to all ill health benefits.

I did promise not to use the H word again, but a two up two down is no bigger than a flat.

Weymouth must be worth a look. Sorry you're feeling frazzled.

gallygirl

another_casualty wrote: »

My gut feeling is to get a nice flat in the best possible spot for all my needs . Yes , I said flats. Main reasons : cheaper to buy / could still live in chosen location / a house seems too big for just one person / council tax dearer?/

CTax may be dearer - but not £1200 a year dearer. OK I'll shut up now .

Smodlet

Does council tax not still go in bands based on the (1992) value of the property? So a (freehold!) 4 bed detached house in a crummy area of oop norf could be in the same band as a one bed studio in, oh say, Twickenham?

harz99

Smodlet wrote: »

Does council tax not still go in bands based on the (1992) value of the property? So a (freehold!) 4 bed detached house in a crummy area of oop norf could be in the same band as a one bed studio in, oh say, Twickenham?

With the 1-2 bed flats versus houses that are in AC's price range you are most likely looking at the difference between band A and B, or B and C. As you say not £1200 a year. Poole Borough is approximately £140pa between b and c.

lessonlearned

gallygirl wrote: »

CTax may be dearer - but not £1200 a year dearer. OK I'll shut up now .

Problem is wouldn't flats incur both council tax and service charges.......double whammy. Wouldn't be quite so bad if it's either/or but the two combined could easily be looking at £2k plus a year.

Paperwork day.:rotfl: thankfully I'm done with dad's now.

I had always intended to make January my financial review month but obviously I had to put that aside whilst I've dealt with dad's stuff. So now I will tackle my own financial stuff in February.

With the drop in savings rates I need to sort out my savings and investments.

gallygirl

lessonlearned wrote: »

With the drop in savings rates I need to sort out my savings and investments.

Look at RCI Bank. In recent weeks they've increased their interest rate from 1% to 1.01% then 1.02%. Awaiting the next announcement with bated breath :rotfl:.

wendym

Well I am keeping my promise. Some years ago my husband's employment went from simple to complicated, and despite always having done all our accounts, I treated myself to one consultation with an accountant. He is now retired on a modest income, but the accountant remains convinced that we must keep all paperwork for seven years. I can't imagine that HMRC would audit us now, but lack the confidence to chuck the lot in the bin.

A small tip - if you want to keep money in your account, not going anywhere or doing anything for a couple of years definitely helps.

We might as well take the funds from a maturing bond and stash them under the mattress.

How are your sums going, AC?

harz99

wendym wrote: »

Well I am keeping my promise. Some years ago my husband's employment went from simple to complicated, and despite always having done all our accounts, I treated myself to one consultation with an accountant. He is now retired on a modest income, but the accountant remains convinced that we must keep all paperwork for seven years. I can't imagine that HMRC would audit us now, but lack the confidence to chuck the lot in the bin.

A small tip - if you want to keep money in your account, not going anywhere or doing anything for a couple of years definitely helps.

We might as well take the funds from a maturing bond and stash them under the mattress.

How are your sums going, AC?

I remember those times as well. Every year as January 31st came around it was time to get a box file out and shred the contents, all long gone now but I still keep hard copies of our tax returns and associated paperwork, fewer box files though!

Maturing bonds pay for cruises in this house.Lol.

dreaming

Well done for getting the paperwork sorted wendym. I did my paperwork a couple of weeks ago (thanks to the rain) but did tackle the drawer of doom in my desk which seems to have accumulated all sorts of things - not only the files I keep for my various hobbies but garden secateurs, new AA batteries (which I couldn't find before Xmas so bought some more), a charger for ???, string, cat flea treatment, a magnifying glass, curtain hooks, a miniature bottle of brandy (not sure where that came from as I don't drink brandy), a number of computer cables (tangled), tea-lights (to add to the x amount I already have), a pack of toothbrushes, and a bag of old paperwork which needs shredding (lent the shredder to youngest about 2 years ago), plus a variety of "odds and sods". Everything now either chucked or put in its proper place, except for the small pile on the kitchen worktop to which place(s) have not yet been designated. I actually hate clutter and am very good at getting stuff out the door or finding a storage solution but I have these odd little areas where things seem to accumulate randomly. It doesn't help that eldest (who lives with me) hates throwing anything away
but most of that is confined to the bedroom.


Will have to do a bit of money shuffling later this week as the Xmas credit card bill needs paying. It is within the budget I had set so no shocks there, but the interest rates on a couple of accounts have been cut from this month, plus a fixed bond ends next month so need to set aside the time to look around. Apart from youngest's birthday next month there should be no real expenditure necessary until the end of April when I am expecting a big rise in council tax, plus car MOT and tax, so I will also be going nowhere, doing nothing.