It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!!

DairyQueen

Captain Tom (Moore)? Other charities suffering the impact of Covid 19?

We decided to donate the cost of our (now postponed) May holiday between five good causes. Cap'n Tom was first on the list. We will also be investing proceeds of maturing fixed interest savings in premium bonds.

Mr DQ will be paying his VAT on time and will not be furloughing himself if, as expected, his consultancy work completely disappears at the end of this month.

Every little helps.

Sea_Shell

You're right every little does help...

That's why I've just also opened another 2 Virgin Reg Savers, even though they're only paying 1.5%!!! 

Bravepants

cfw1994 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Spend it...??   What is this "spending" you refer too? 

Seriously though, if we could think of anything we needed or wanted at the moment we probably would...but as most of our plans of spending was going to be from being "away" what else is there?

New TV, fibre broadband, streaming subscriptions etc...don't appeal.

A heated swimming pool would be nice, but £2k isn't going to cut it!!  (and we don't have room!)

Well.....since our family ski trip was halted before we got away......we had a similar sum unspent.
Perhaps no pool......but I can confirm that £400 gets a great inflatable hot tub+chemicals (Aldi) - money well spent!   
Yes, there is also an electricity cost, but for the current time, our "Quarantine Tubatino" has been a box office hit here!!
The rest?  I'd personally be happy ISA'ing it in a relatively high-risk fund, but then I'm a high risk kind of person....yes, I'd risk that things could get worse, but my feeling is things will be back up within 2+ years.  YMMV 

If you can spare the extra cash (£1250), the Canadian Spa Swift Current (Version 2 now I believe) is much better value and will probably last a lot longer. Just don't leave the pump out in freezing weather in the winter like I did with an earlier one!

cfw1994

Bravepants said:

cfw1994 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Spend it...??   What is this "spending" you refer too? 

Seriously though, if we could think of anything we needed or wanted at the moment we probably would...but as most of our plans of spending was going to be from being "away" what else is there?

New TV, fibre broadband, streaming subscriptions etc...don't appeal.

A heated swimming pool would be nice, but £2k isn't going to cut it!!  (and we don't have room!)

Well.....since our family ski trip was halted before we got away......we had a similar sum unspent.
Perhaps no pool......but I can confirm that £400 gets a great inflatable hot tub+chemicals (Aldi) - money well spent!   
Yes, there is also an electricity cost, but for the current time, our "Quarantine Tubatino" has been a box office hit here!!
The rest?  I'd personally be happy ISA'ing it in a relatively high-risk fund, but then I'm a high risk kind of person....yes, I'd risk that things could get worse, but my feeling is things will be back up within 2+ years.  YMMV 

If you can spare the extra cash (£1250), the Canadian Spa Swift Current (Version 2 now I believe) is much better value and will probably last a lot longer. Just don't leave the pump out in freezing weather in the winter like I did with an earlier one!

It's a long story, but I doubt we will be long term spa users, so the £400 opportunistic tub is likely to be the limit of our purchase - but it is great (in most days for ~30 minutes at some point!).  Liking the octagonal shape of the Aldi unit too, works well for 2-4 people.

DQs suggestion is a solid one - we did put some to his superb efforts.   
Our work offer a donation matching scheme towards charity donations, and for the next 8 weeks, are DOUBLING any contributions, so we decided that as we were getting a spa tub, we would also donate the cost of the spa to a UK food bank through that scheme (so technically they could theoretically go buy 3x spa tubs ....although I suspect they will find better, more edible uses for the money) - pretty decent use of a chunk of our ski money, I'd say 

Sea_Shell

Hot tubs are not really our thing, but thanks for the idea.   Had one on holiday once, the smell of the chemicals put me off my Prosecco!

I've been pondering, as you do, about the latest "plan" from the government for the 5 tests that would have to be met for the lockdown to be lifted, even partially.    I'm most perplexed by the last one, being something like "there being no risk of a second peak".  

How on earth are they going to quantify this "requirement".   What constitutes a peak, and how will we know we're in one, until, well, we're in one!?    Personally, I don't see a safe, effective and widely available vaccine being available in the near future, if ever (it's not a given that one will be available), so what then....another 18 months to 2 years of this!!!??    Personally, i'd be wary of vaccine 1.0, but guess by the time it got rolled out to "the man in the street", it might have been tweaked.

We're never going to eradicate this virus, 100%, so it's bound to flare up again once restrictions are lifted, so there is bound to be another "peak", even if its more of a foothill than a mountain (hopefully)

Anyway, that's just my musings on a Sunday morning.

bluenose1

Not a spa but I quite fancy a home sauna as I think there are health benefits. If I ever gave up my gym membership I would seriously consider it.  

Sea Shell, according to Imperials’s modelling there was to be an even bigger peak at the end of the year, but that was done before they decided to introduce self isolating. Not sure what they are saying now. I think the new norm will be we all wear face masks in public, maintain social distance still,  go back to work, cocoon our elderly and vulnerable, etc. I would like to think the Government  were planning for  mass testing and purchasing lots of masks. Though unfortunately I think their whole response has been too slow and inept so other countries are going to be far ahead than us. The only good thing is, we may be able to see strategies that work. 

Sea_Shell

My favourite is a steam room, rather than sauna, especially with a bit of menthol added. 

Maybe I'll just run the shower hot and sit on the loo....similar effect 

Oh to be able to go to the gym/spa/pool again.

cfw1994

Sea_Shell said:

My favourite is a steam room, rather than sauna, especially with a bit of menthol added. 

Maybe I'll just run the shower hot and sit on the loo....similar effect 

Oh to be able to go to the gym/spa/pool again.

I enjoy sauna and steam rooms too - always fancied a sauna at home - but I do wonder a lot about the “shared germs” in those toastie environments in public spas/gyms.....think I might avoid them for a year or two!
FYI, our spa doesn’t smell at all “chemically”.  I think public ones load them up with chlorine because of the higher risk of shared bugs.....
Over the past 2-3 weeks, we keep an eye on the water state once a day....up or down the pH levels a little, usually add one or two “sparkle tabs” (essentially chlorine) 30mins before we hop in, and there is no smell when we get in 
& we aren’t “spa people” generally....don’t spend more than 30-45mins in it.....but it has been an absolute star over this lockdown, lovely to hop in mid or late afternoon, a couple of times later at night with the stars above!  Even if we never use it again after this summer, worth every penny!

& yes.....this is going to be one long haul of a year......stay safe, all!

shinytop

Sea_Shell said:

My favourite is a steam room, rather than sauna, especially with a bit of menthol added. 

Maybe I'll just run the shower hot and sit on the loo....similar effect 

Oh to be able to go to the gym/spa/pool again.

I think some people might not go back to the gym when this is all over.  I got in quick before everything was sold out and bought enough weights to do most of what I want.  I've got my bike and turbo trainer for aerobics.  And Youtube for yoga and pilates if I fancy that.  I probably will go back but some might not. I realise this approach doesn't work as well for swimming although you could try this with a hot tub if you're desperate  
https://twitter.com/svrouwendaal/status/1243962144636522496   

cfw1994

shinytop said:

Sea_Shell said:

My favourite is a steam room, rather than sauna, especially with a bit of menthol added. 

Maybe I'll just run the shower hot and sit on the loo....similar effect 

Oh to be able to go to the gym/spa/pool again.

I think some people might not go back to the gym when this is all over.  I got in quick before everything was sold out and bought enough weights to do most of what I want.  I've got my bike and turbo trainer for aerobics.  And Youtube for yoga and pilates if I fancy that.  I probably will go back but some might not. I realise this approach doesn't work as well for swimming although you could try this with a hot tub if you're desperate  
https://twitter.com/svrouwendaal/status/1243962144636522496   

LOL!!
Think I'd need a slightly bigger hot tub - that looks like a 10ft pool !!