The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

I thought I would post an end of February review. We have booked a long weekend and I am taking stock of everything. We have broadly stayed on track to the plan but spent a bit more than planned.

The redecorating of the downstairs is now complete and we finally have the new furniture, curtains etc etc. There was a long delay on the furniture and the curtains, it took about 3 months in the end. We are really pleased with the final result, its created a relaxing space. The bathroom and downstairs loo have both also been done. These have been done to a high standard, and we have ended up at the upper end of our budget, spending around £14k. We are both pleased though because it has settled us with staying here for a while. There have been a couple of other expenses to do with DS which we have decided to help him with which together have cost us around £700.

The pension has taken a fall due to the stock market general fall. This means that the overall total has fallen. I am ok with this though because I’m sure it will rebound at some point.

So the current status is as follows:

DC Pension - £217K (was £244K December 2021)

Increase – contributions plus £5,826

Decrease – capital fall minus £33K

Savings now - £22K (was £40K - £18K spent on refurbishment)

So the big spending is over for now. I have said to OH that any major expenses are now in 2023, we are finished for this year!

On the energy front, our current deal ends today. We are going onto the variable rate and I’m not yet clear how much it is going to cost so hopefully this will be clear soon.

savingholmes

Ouch to the fall. As you say in the longer term it should recover... 

AgathaSquirrel

Was literally thinking about you as I came onto the site tonight. Lovely to see your update. 

I think you’re right about the pension. 

It makes a difference to get your home the way you want it. Important I think. Now you can focus on saving again.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

It’s a lovely morning and I’m taking a break from park run which I normally do on a Saturday morning, so a good chance to update the diary. There have been a few changes and so I have had to respond to them. Firstly, helping out DS. In October last year, he moved into a flat with his GF. I was a bit worried at the time about them affording it. However, with them both working, they have managed to get by so far, with a few minor hiccups which are normal I think for young adults in their early twenties. There has been some good news for DS as he has been taken on as the permanent drummer for a function band. Although this is only a few gigs so far, it is at least a start and may lead to other things in due course. He is also working in a café and doing quite a lot of hours. His GF was working in restaurants and cafes but recently has been suffering with her mental health and hasn’t been able to work as much as she has been.  I was getting worried about them from a distance so recently I took him out for a drink one evening and we talked things through and they are struggling at the moment. So I have decided to help them out for a while whilst they sort themselves out. It is a difficult balance, I want them to be independent and stand on their own two feet, but at the same time I don’t want them to struggle and end up in debt, particularly with everything shooting up in price at the moment. I did explain to DS that they need to earn enough as household income to be able to stay in the flat, otherwise it’s a cheaper option like a house share or moving back home. I have explained to him that this help is time limited to 6 months in which time they need to figure out a solution. To be fair to him, he has taken this all in and is doing his best I think. It is really difficult for young people at the moment I think with everything getting more expensive etc. Not making excuses for them at the same time. Anyone else having to support adult children and struggling with this? I’m grateful that the mortgage has gone so we are able to do this.

Another big change is energy. My DD has gone from £140 to £280. I checked the new rate per KwH for both gas and electricity and the standing charge, and indeed, based on our useage over the last 12 months, it has gone up this much. So the only way not to incur this cost will be to reduce consumption. With electricity, we have done most of the easy things, replacing all light bulbs with LEDs for example. Our main electricity cost is charging the hybrid car which saves money on petrol. With gas, hopefully we are moving towards warmer weather. The real test will be next Autumn. Well I guess I grew up without central heating. I remember being cold as a child and also wearing more jumpers! It’s interesting this has coincided with us working from home more often. I suppose the reducing in commuting and the daily costs of that will compensate for the increase in heating costs on the days we are working at home.

All this together has meant that I have needed to dial back the pension contributions just a bit so as to release a bit more income. I have changed the amount from 70% to 60% for the time being. Will this impact on when I can retire? Well probably it will a bit. More important is probably how quickly or whether the pension fund recovers the losses it has experienced over the last 12 months. I’m beginning to realise that when I finish will be more driven by deciding that Its time to stand down rather than achieving a particular number.

savingholmes

I think young adults support is challenging.

Hope your pension recovers quickly. Seems to be settling currently.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Time for a quick update on the finances and other matters. The stock markets are in turmoil.

DC pension AVC value

£225K (was £217K Feb 2022, £244K Dec 2021)

-          Increase due to contributions (£9K)

-          Reduction due to £1k capital loss

Savings £20.1K (was £22K Feb 2022)

Everything is climbing price wise, I seem to be increasing all the categories in my budget. Keep looking for the cheaper and more sustainable options wherever possible, but there is not doubt that we are saving less than before. Time to get focused and tighten the belts again. Maybe we have got too used to cheap fuel, energy, clothes, food etc. We will have to learn to be frugal again.

On the domestic front we have had some challenges with elderly family members. My parents in law are both elderly and increasingly frail. MIL is 87 and has developed dementia and now has significant mobility issues. FIL is effectively caring for her, and there is also a carer going in to deliver care in the morning. Recently FIL was rushed into hospital and spent a week there. While he was in hospital we had to provide round the clock care for MIL which was only possibly with myself and OH effectively staying with MIL and caring in shifts with the carer and trying to keep our jobs going. This was a difficult week and brought home that they both need much more support in place. So since then we have been organising care to go into the home to support them. It hasn’t been easy and it seems that there are now shortages of staff at several of the companies I contacted. It is nearly organised and in place now. It will cost a lot of money, but is the only option if she is to remain at home and FIL is to have any kind of quality of life. We have also had to discuss power of attorney because if anything happened to FIL, we would have to make decisions on behalf of MIL. This was already in place, but at least now we know for sure what we would do in this difficult situation. We are also learning about how care is funded or rather not funded if you have savings of over £23,250 which is assessed at the individual level. MIL has above this and so will be paying for the care. Is this something we think about ie how will we fund care at the end of our lives? Average cost of a live in carer £1,000 + per week, care home costs £1,000 per week etc. I think in this country we just don’t think/talk about it. Apart from a fierce determination that we won’t sell our homes to pay for it. But then who is supposed to pay for it?

Meanwhile at the other end of the generations, DS has managed to get a job teaching drumming lessons at a music school. He is building up his pupils and it may get to a level that would be a sustainable income. However, his steady café job has come to an end. GF is still not working due to mental health issues. So were not really sure what they are living on. We are seeing them at the weekend so hope to find out a bit more!

savingholmes

Sounds like you are juggling a lot. Be kind to you too.

With DS remember the adage don't work harder on someone else's problem than they do. A bit like a butterfly coming out of a cryssallis helping it weakens it.

Can his Girlfriend get PIP?

AgathaSquirrel

Sounds like you are taking a very sensible approach with your son. Hopefully they can work things out but with the girlfriend not working it sounds tricky.

I agree about the issues around the provision of care in our later years. It is expensive and the money has to come from somewhere. I personally don’t mind if we end up with no inheritance due to paying for relatives care. They worked for that money, I didn’t. They supported me and funded my education to give me a good start. I’m not owed anything further so any money from my parents is a bonus not an expectation. I would rather they lived their later years with the care they require. The system though isn’t fair and there is an unfairness to those who have carefully saved having to pay and those who have happily spent all their money not. Those who can’t afford care certainly should get this provided for them. I don’t know what the solution is though. Life isn’t fair and maybe this is just another example of this.

glass_half_full

Hi @savingholmes and @AgathaSquirrel, thank for your comments!

There have been some developments on both DS and his GF and also the in-laws.

DS ‘s job as an independent drum teacher is coming together. He is building up to a good number of pupils which will provide him with a sustainable income. He has had to offer a number of free taster lessons to begin with, but most of them are converting to paid pupils so that is good. He is also taking on pupils from a teacher who is moving on, but for those he has had to shadow, again unpaid. But once things settle he should be on an income which will sustain their household. The good news is that GF has also been awarded PIP and so that is helping. I had a good chat with DS recently and I’m confident that they will be standing on their own feet soon.

Meanwhile the situation at the in-laws has at least stabilised for now. We have put in place care that goes in both in the morning and in the evening. MIL can no longer go upstairs, and a hospital bed is now downstairs. Although this is in a way a sad development, it has actually reduced the demand on FIL because getting her up and down stairs was a big part of the problem and I suspect was what in the end led to him becoming ill himself. The total cost of the care is high even though its only a few hours per day, because the hourly rate is £16 for the independent carer and £25 for the carers who come in from the agency.

Our finances have taken a bit of a knock with savings down to £18K from £20K. We have had to help out DS and also had a few extra expenses. I have decided to refocus on my MSE ways and I have set the target to get the savings back up to £23K by the end of the year, I shall report back. We are not planning to go away this year as we have spent a lot on refurbishment. Just some mini breaks in the UK.

 

savingholmes

Glad things are improving with DS and his GF.

Sounds a good plan to refocus on getting your savings back up to what you'd like.