Quit everything , and start again over 50?

MrsPorridge

I echo what others have said about the painting. DH wanted to lay floor tiles in our bathroom last year - he is great at wall tiles but never done floor tiles. He just looked on Youtube and found some really good advice and tutorials on how to do so. The floor looks fab! I also think if you do a job yourself you do it to your standard, not someone else's.

another_casualty

anna_1977 wrote: »

Hi AC
I think going through everything is a great idea.

Why not paint the walls yourself? you're not working and it might be a good project. A good decorator will be about £120-150 a day.....

I am a little confused by your comment on the timing of the move being good for things over Easter - more likely to be not so good as people taking holidays etc..

good luck

Thanks Anna .)
Easter is when you get more money knocked off. Sales etc. Wickes for example . Not sure if I'm well enough to paint , as my condition is motor neurone related .

anna_1977

another_casualty wrote: »

Thanks Anna .)
Easter is when you get more money knocked off. Sales etc. Wickes for example . Not sure if I'm well enough to paint , as my condition is motor neurone related .

Ahh that makes sense - I thought you meant for tradesmen

another_casualty

lessonlearned wrote: »

AC.

How do you eat an elephant........one bite at a time 😂

Whenever I have a mammoth task which threatens to engulf me I break it down into easy steps. I go for what I call the 1 HR a day rule.

So just paint your flat yourself - one wall per day. You will save yourself a small fortune. What you save will go towards a nice fancy shower.

You won't be working, will have time and it's free exercise.

Actually , I might just do that . I can't believe I painted the 2 bedrooms in my last flat in only a couple of days . That was in July 2015 iirc . I will have more time , and can do at my leisure .

another_casualty

Great advice as always .
Might as well give an update on things in general, while I'm at it:):
Apparently , I look a lot better than when I was in Poole last year .
I had to buy a belt in m& s this morning . The other one snapped yesterday . I pulled it too hard Probably because I have lost a bit of weight , and tbh the jeans I am now wearing which I got around xmas time are very loose.

Regarding my condition : it is partly motor neurone related . It means when I'm moving my arms for a period of time in repetitive motions they get tired. Painting for example .
The breathlessness , is kind of random. It doesn't help that no 2 days are the same and whenever I have great intentions of daily walking , it starts chucking it down (Rain Rain Rain!!) so, once I start walking for a couple of days , the breathlessness is minimal. Over the last couple of days , it is back . Very annoying .
Sleep patterns are still all,over the place . Has to be expected .

Work? Signing on for unemployment benefit ?
I am dreading the month of may . TBH , I can't see myself going back to any form of employment just yet. Initially I said I'd give it 6 months when I planned the move . At the moment, I'm proved right.
I expect things will take a little longer , but I'll have to have a proper chat with my doctor and the job centre in may . Hopefully , things will pan out in time. I'm gonna make sure I have a buffer and emergency fund.
Overall, I feel,positive but apprehensive about the month of may.
The specialist at the hospital is delighted with my positivity believe it or not . The first year when I was pushed from pillar to,post I got on so well with the various doctors I saw . For example , when I was waiting to be seen by the specialist I used to be recognised and I was made a fuss of .
Still enjoying the time off

harz99

another_casualty wrote: »

Thanks Anna / LL:)
I intend to be very careful . I seriously want to avoid the horrendous situation of no money . The reason it looks like I'm throwing money away ,is because this flat is under budget and I want to do things while I have a
little spare. I will go through things again . I may hold fire as suggested .
I will go through everything with a fine tooth comb again later.
The paintwork on the walls is of poor quality imho. The bathroom is probably the thing that does need to be done first . Looks awful, the head height is the bare minimum . One potentially good thing about the timing of the move is that Easter is a good time for this sort of thing .
If it costs too much , then I'll have to reconsider .
If this does happen , I would be in a very strange position of owning a one and a half bedroom flat

Like a said before, it's a large one bedroom flat.


Your budget was for a two bed flat, this one isn't two bed, so it's not under budget (being just one bed) at all, if anything it's at the very top end for a one bed conversion with some things which may need renewing and detrimental points like the boiler siting and lack of window/ventilation in the kitchen.


How is replacing the bath with a walk in shower going to make any significant difference to head height?


The shower tray area still has to be raised like a bath does to allow for drainage of waste water, so little if any difference in head height especially if you want to fit a rain shower instead of the conventional type.


Personally I think you're being blinded by both the postcode of this flat and flat dwelling in general, rather than taking a considered and hard headed view of your future housing needs.


I have no idea how you amassed the huge debts you have, and no wish to know either, what really concerns me, and others judging by the comments from others in recent posts, is that in a few years time you will end up in a worse position than when you were in London and run out of money - then what?


Unless you've been keeping things quiet you currently have no source of income, won't investigate drawing benefits, haven't looked for employment, haven't paid any of your major debts back, and are spending capital each day just to live. That's not a tenable position in most peoples book.


Sorry to be blunt again.

another_casualty

harz99 wrote: »

Like a said before, it's a large one bedroom flat.


Your budget was for a two bed flat, this one isn't two bed, so it's not under budget (being just one bed) at all, if anything it's at the very top end for a one bed conversion with some things which may need renewing and detrimental points like the boiler siting and lack of window/ventilation in the kitchen.


How is replacing the bath with a walk in shower going to make any significant difference to head height?


The shower tray area still has to be raised like a bath does to allow for drainage of waste water, so little if any difference in head height especially if you want to fit a rain shower instead of the conventional type.


Personally I think you're being blinded by both the postcode of this flat and flat dwelling in general, rather than taking a considered and hard headed view of your future housing needs.


I have no idea how you amassed the huge debts you have, and no wish to know either, what really concerns me, and others judging by the comments from others in recent posts, is that in a few years time you will end up in a worse position than when you were in London and run out of money - then what?


Unless you've been keeping things quiet you currently have no source of income, won't investigate drawing benefits, haven't looked for employment, haven't paid any of your major debts back, and are spending capital each day just to live. That's not a tenable position in most peoples book.


Sorry to be blunt again.

Good points as always harz . I have written things out thoroughly , and will go over things again to make sure things are right.
The unwriiten rule : leave job on your own accord, cannot claim anything for 6 months. Also, with the money from sale of flat, there is no way I will get anything. The hassle I got back in 2006 when I signed on was disgraceful . I even had to pay back council tax from the 2 months I missed when I actually got back to temporary employment . I had to fight to get it in the first place . One letter out of 6 finally said I could be exempt from council tax payment.

It may not sound like it, but I know I need to be careful .:)

harz99

I think your wrong there AC, and you should investigate claiming Contribution based ESA asap. AFAIK your savings etc. have no bearing on the claim whatsoever.


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/before-you-apply-for-esa/eligiblility-for-esa/


Many times you have mentioned your health, long term condition and the problems it causes - was that not the primary reason for leaving both your job and London. There must be CAB or other advisers who can steer you in the correct direction.

harz99

Also AC, as soon as the tax year ends you should be able to claim a refund for overpaid tax as with the way PAYE works you will undoubtedly have paid more than Income Tax than you should have this tax year.

another_casualty

Thanks very much harz.
I have saved that page, and will mull it over. It may be best , while I have time off to just go down to the local c a b and see what advice they give .
Why did I do what I did ? It wasn't only health related . It was a case of planning ahead ( clear dmp/ buy a property with no mortgage / hopefully work part time or temp / go out for a beer without the grim reaper beheading me / buy what I want to eat without the grim reaper ditto..)Also the combination of tension with my brother and at work , I realised it was what gave me this illness . I had to change drastically or my life collapses in more ways than one .
This illness is bizarre and equally annoying . It's more of a case of having a doctors note occasionally ,rather than milking a disability when there are people far worse off than me who get treated horribly bad.