How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

Just spent the afternoon sorting out buildings and contents insurance. Due to my lack of computer skills it took me a couple of hours.  It would have taken my son about 10 minutes. Lol.  

It's so frustrating but that's discalculia for you.  Everything remotely number/computer based takes me an eternity.  I miss the days when you could just phone a broker and get them do everything for you. If I was rich I would definitely employ a PA to take care of my admin.  I must waste huge chunks of time doing something that other people just take in their stride.   Even doing an online supermarket shop sends me into a tailspin. Ha ha.  

Anyway off to the solicitors tomorrow to sign my life away.  There is no chain to speak of, only myself (I'm in rented)  and the vendors. They are buying a new build which is sat build complete and empty so why it has taken six months to get this far is a mystery.  As long as we legally complete by 31st March to avoid the rise in stamp duty I will be happy enough.  I wont give notice to terminate my lease here until completion has taken place. That will give me a month to complete the physical move so I can go at a leisurely pace.  A lot less stressful that way.  

I've also been working out a rough budget.......let's just say it's going to be tight for a while,  lol. I will be resurrecting my antiques and vintage clothing sidelines next winter to rebuild my savings.   

Luckily the house is only six years old so there's nothing I need to do as a matter of urgency.  I wont need a large budget for renovations.  The decor is clean and fresh, if rather bland, so no need to rush to redecorate. I can just go scorched earth for a few months so I can replenish the war chest. As I will have the summer ahead of me I shall concentrate on the garden first.   The expensive hard landscaping and fencing has been done so planting a few trees and extra shrubs etc won't break the bank.  

It's going to be fun.......😁

Albermarle

 I miss the days when you could just phone a broker and get them do everything for you. 

There are plenty of insurance brokers still around. Most towns will actually have a branch of one of the national firms + local brokers.
So you can visit them in branch, phone them, or do it online.
Probably for a bog standard policy they would not be the very cheapest. More useful for non standard items, like house with a flood risk, driver who has been previously disqualified etc 

Savvy_Sue

Albermarle said:

 I miss the days when you could just phone a broker and get them do everything for you. 

There are plenty of insurance brokers still around. Most towns will actually have a branch of one of the national firms + local brokers.
So you can visit them in branch, phone them, or do it online.
Probably for a bog standard policy they would not be the very cheapest. More useful for non standard items, like house with a flood risk, driver who has been previously disqualified etc 

I agree: there's absolutely nothing to stop you still using a broker, and if there's anything at all non-standard in your needs it will probably save a huge amount of time and agonising! 

DH and I between us have a number of ongoing medical conditions which are unlikely to cause any issues on holiday, but they need to be declared. I've found a packaged bank account does the trick, but whenever I think about changing, and every year, I have to re-declare these conditions. I have a spreadsheet recording the latest situation which I update, and then I have to set aside an hour for the phone call. I dread the time coming when I'm told that there's a supplement - oddly, one bank will charge an extra £200 for me but nothing for him, and another doesn't charge extra for either of us. 

And when we're too old for the packaged bank accounts to be useful, I shall probably go to a broker! The comparison sites give false promise ...

helensbiggestfan

Thank you.   It never occurred to me I could still just phone a broker.  I guess I got suckered into the idea that sites such as Compare the Market were my best bet. 

 I shall know what to do in future.  

Savvy_Sue

helensbiggestfan said:

Thank you.   It never occurred to me I could still just phone a broker.  I guess I got suckered into the idea that sites such as Compare the Market were my best bet. 

 I shall know what to do in future.  

It's easily done - of course back in the days BEFORE comparison websites, lots of us used brokers, completely oblivious to the fact that one could deal direct with an insurance company, and often save money by doing so ... 

DH was involved in writing the first software for comparison websites. Feels like a lifetime ago ... 

Organgrinder

Well it's been a very bumpy ride on the investment front this week - both my pension and one of my isa's have fallen considerably but yesterday I received the welcome news that Easyjet are going to cough up for my flight delay when returning from my snowboarding holiday. Despite rejecting my claim initially, when I went to Aviation ADR they coughed up without providing any defence at all. So £350 each for myself and my son.

The current market turmoil is however a little unsettling - though of course in the long term it should sort itself out. 

I'm very much however looking forward to our next holiday - we depart 6 weeks on Sunday - a relaxing week in the sun hopefully along with a bit of sightseeing. Can't wait.

Farway

Savvy_Sue said:

helensbiggestfan said:

Thank you.   It never occurred to me I could still just phone a broker.  I guess I got suckered into the idea that sites such as Compare the Market were my best bet. 

 I shall know what to do in future.  

It's easily done - of course back in the days BEFORE comparison websites, lots of us used brokers, completely oblivious to the fact that one could deal direct with an insurance company, and often save money by doing so ... 

By coincidence, I'm renewing my car insurance this week.

Got the usual online quotes, only to find my current, online, broker is cheapest

I went direct to the insurance company site for a quote, same car & details, it was sixty pounds more than the broker

Makes no sense at all, but insurance pricing seems to be a very weird & mystical world

GunJack

Farway said:

By coincidence, I'm renewing my car insurance this week.

Got the usual online quotes, only to find my current, online, broker is cheapest

I went direct to the insurance company site for a quote, same car & details, it was sixty pounds more than the broker

Makes no sense at all, but insurance pricing seems to be a very weird & mystical world

I did mine 3/4 weeks ago, to start 1 March. It was £60-odd cheaper this year via Confused than last year, only £150 this time

Organgrinder

GunJack said:

Farway said:

By coincidence, I'm renewing my car insurance this week.

Got the usual online quotes, only to find my current, online, broker is cheapest

I went direct to the insurance company site for a quote, same car & details, it was sixty pounds more than the broker

Makes no sense at all, but insurance pricing seems to be a very weird & mystical world

I did mine 3/4 weeks ago, to start 1 March. It was £60-odd cheaper this year via Confused than last year, only £150 this time

Good news! Mine's not due for a few months. Hopefully the fall in prices will remain. Don't think I'll get it that low though!

Organgrinder

Today I thought I'd try my luck and open 2 new ISAs....but no payments in until next month as I've used my allowance for this year. 

Both are via top cashback. One pays out £315 less a £50 fee if I pay £1200 in over the course of a year. The other pays £150 if I pay £360 in.

Total investment £1560. Total return £415.