The Piano Diary

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Dear diary and all,
We are away visiting friends for a long weekend up North. It has kind of crept up on me and so is a nice surprise. We have been blessed with good weather and some lovely bracing walks by the sea. A university friend of OH and husband. He is retiring in 12 months time which has led to some interesting chats. Nice to get away. One of DS's friends wants to adopt his cat which is great news. We are heading back today.

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Dear diary and all,

Lovely morning with blue sky. DS’s cat has gone to one of his friends. It tested positive for a couple of cat viruses but not the more serious one. Not surprising as he was living outside for a while uncared for. It has been a relief as keeping the cats apart was quite difficult. We are relieved that he has gone to a loving home as it would have been difficult to send him to a cat sanctuary. 

Went to DS’s flat yesterday to remove some large items and take to recycling. Getting close to having the flat cleared. It then needs cleaning and the keys returning. Then we close that chapter. 

So far so good on the DS returning home front. We all seem to be getting along. We are very much letting him live his own life.

His car is now playing up with a dodgy clutch. I have called a local garage this morning to get a quote and book it in as he is working today. Hopefully it will not be too much. It would be good to keep this car running for another year or so so that he can save up for a better one in due course.

Stock market is very volatile. I’m glad I moved out of pure US funds a few weeks ago, although I am still exposed to the downturn. I will have to keep an eye on it. 

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Dear diary and all,

A couple more trips to the tip and DS’s flat is finally cleared. OH and I decided to pay for an end of tenancy clean which came to £140. The keys are going back on Monday, hopefully he will get his deposit back. Next his car wouldn’t start on the drive. We had it towed to our nearby garage where some repairs were necessary, he is collecting it today and he is paying for the repairs. I explained to him that if he can keep this car on the road for 6-12 months he can save up to buy a replacement. We are getting there and as he gets into a routine he can start to save some money and get back on an even keel.

Builder is coming on Monday to repair the ceiling in the upstairs bedroom, this is budgeted for. Some small progress on debt repayment.

Current balances:

HSBC card - £1500     £0

Sains card - £11,500 (£11,300)

Loan - £18,000 (£17,100)

EF - £1,000

Meanwhile the pension fund has been taking a hit. I’m glad I moved 2/3 of the fund out of the US mid February but still have been affected by the recent volatility. Still above the £400K target.

Liquidity Fund - £140K  (0%)

UK Fund - £137K (-3%)

US Fund - £128K (-9%)

Total = £405K

savingholmes

The volatility is distressing - trying to see it as the norm and not panic. Particularly while I'm still adding to my funds I'm effectively buying things on sale.

You are doing a great job at clearing down the CCs. Good result on the cat. Reminds me I need to resolve my cat's vaccinations as they are overdue.

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savingholmes said:

The volatility is distressing - trying to see it as the norm and not panic. Particularly while I'm still adding to my funds I'm effectively buying things on sale.

You are doing a great job at clearing down the CCs. Good result on the cat. Reminds me I need to resolve my cat's vaccinations as they are overdue.

Hi @savingholmes, yes stockmarkets are volatile. As long as we have 12-18 months I think that they will recover, probably before that. In the meantime, prices are low so as you say this compensates. 

DS's car repair came to £520, I gave him half of that. The builder has been and done the ceiling in the spare room over 2 days. He works very efficiently. So now the room is at least dry and warm. We will redecorate it in due course. The next job to do will be to replace the patio door in the kitchen/family room but I am going to wait until later maybe early summer. In the meantime, trying to keep outgoings under control and pay down these debts. 

I'm going to help DS to set up his SIPP pension. Need to see which one is most suitable for him.

AgathaSquirrel

Excellent idea re: pension. The younger the better.

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Thanks @AgathaSquirrel, aiming to set that up soon.

OH is away for a few days on a work trip returning Thursday. I thought with DS being home I would see more of him, but our paths don’t cross too much due to his working pattern. He works five days and has two days off which are Tuesday and Friday. He uses Friday to rehearse with his band. His working days start late and finish late in the evening apart from Saturday and Sunday which are all day 9am to 5pm. This is because he teaches music lessons and so these are mainly outside of the normal working day. We are going to have a meal together this evening and we can have a proper catch up. Since he has come back to live with us I have been pondering how it makes more sense for us to all live together at least from a financial point of view. I understand the need for independence and I well remember my first ever flat in my mid to late twenties after years of communal living / house shares etc. But running a household is expensive and especially now with the cost of everything.

Both OH and I get paid this week and so will be able to make a decent payment towards the credit card.

AgathaSquirrel

I do feel for younger generations. It was much easier for us to gain independence, although I did return home for a year in my early 20s to save money for a deposit. It was a sensible move and allowed me to get onto the property ladder. 

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AgathaSquirrel said:

I do feel for younger generations. It was much easier for us to gain independence, although I did return home for a year in my early 20s to save money for a deposit. It was a sensible move and allowed me to get onto the property ladder. 

Hi @AgathaSquirrel, yes its hard for them. I happen to be reading a book at the moment and by coincidence I read a chapter on the train to work about housing.(what exciting books I read!). It says that home ownership in the 25-34 years age group was 51% in the late eighties and is now around 30%. So its clearly a major problem not just for isolated cases. 

Before he moved home, DS and his GF lived in a flat that was not really suitable. The landlord had cynically (IMHO) converted a two up two down terraced house into two flats. It was a pure money making exercise. Probably just about legal but morally and ethically not ok. Major problems with damp and mould. Just disappointing that it is like that.

Feels to me like we need to make things better for the coming generations.

savingholmes

Would be good if you also looked at the $m-aire next door book and weighed up the risks of 'economic outpatient care' and the danger of making our kids / other relatives too dependent on us. It's one I keep having to remind myself of - and yet at the same time I agree it would be lovely if I was in a financial position to give my kids a 'leg up' in life with house deposits etc...

Love that you have him looking at his pension.