How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

Maybe I got it wrong but I too read dunnm1's post about his daughter and had a good old chuckle.   And I loved the punchline when he said she lit up their lives. 

This is how I felt about my sons......yes I had a whinge from time to time about how they cost us an arm and a leg, the mess, the chaos, the noise, hogging the bathroom, endless laundry......and of course not forgetting the "Kevin the Teenager" phase 😱😂.  

Now they have flown the nest I have more money, peace and quiet, and the house stays neat and tidy.

  How I miss them.......I would turn back the clock in a heartbeat to do it all again. 

Bring  back the mess, the muddy football kits, the sleepovers where their mates ate me out of house and home. Bring back the fun, the laughter.

 .But at least I now have two grandsons and get to experience some of it again.  This  weekend I had a sleepover at my eldest sons house, slept in one of my grandsons beds complete with Spider-Man duvet cover. 😂.   Wonderful.  Today I'm shattered and need to recover......lol. 

Lord M I think you missed the joke here.  I think you took a lighthearted whinge a bit too seriously. 

helensbiggestfan

See a few of the more contentious posts have been removed.  Good.  Let's keep the thread friendly and polite. 

Regarding budgets.  I am getting a clearer picture of what my expenses will be, pretty much as I had predicted.  Pretty much a case of swings and roundabouts, council tax will be higher but energy costs should be lower. The net outgoings will definitely be lower than my last residence because although I will have a small mortgage it will be a lot less than the rent I was paying.  £337 a month, as opposed to £925.

  The only figure I'm waiting for now is the council tax.  They sent me a figure but obviously I have now claimed for the single person discount. So I'm guessing their original figure less 25% which will make it a bit more palatable.  

Everyone who owed me refunds have now coughed up so I have siphoned all that into my savings. Need to build up the war chest again.  I'm just awaiting the rental deposit refund, that should hit my account soon, again that will be transferred back to my savings.  So all in all I'm pretty happy with the finances.  

I do want to buy some furniture and replace some kitchenalia, buy some new linens  etc but there's no immediate hurry.  I can take my time and shop around for the best deals.  

Now turning my attention to the garden.  Making the most of this lovely weather planting some  cheap bedding plants plus the shrubs I saved from my last garden for now. I do want to buy some trees and I might go mad and treat myself to a summerhouse next year.    

Went to a very expensive garden centre yesterday but refused to pay £75 a pop for 5ft saplings......I'll keep looking. I think Aldi/Lidl/B&Q etc will be my chosen suppliers......plus of course raiding my sons and my friends gardens for cuttings.....

I am also considering a wood burner (indoor) so will get cracking on that soon so that I can get it installed before I start decorating.  Being a newish build this house doesn't have a chimney breast but there is a suitable outside wall so I should be ok.  

It's all coming together. I am delighted with my latest acquisition. 😁

Organgrinder

There's a lot to be said for making a house a home.

Wishing you many happy years in it.

Jimbobdibob

@helensbiggestfan

thank you, it was a lighthearted post.

I only saw one reply, was disappointed with the judgemental attitude and posted two lengthy responses explaining the situation. I subsequently deleted as why should I have to explain myself and not wanting to sour the thread which is such a good read.

helensbiggestfan

All's well that ends well.  Lol   

Glorious day here.😎

Organgrinder

And glorious here. 

Even more so as I've been spending some time restructuring my savings and borrowings and it's worked out nicely.

I do this every so often as I near card end dates for example, or contract end dates.

I'm fully aware that I should be fine as me and Mrs O have a fair bit in our retirement pot. I call it this even though it is actually to bridge that time from retirement to state pension age. But I do like to ensure I've accounted for as much as possible especially given recent increases in council tax, broadband etc.

Changes to the way I've accounted for use of savings from a one off lump sum to monthly draw down has left a nice little surplus which I fully intend using for a nicer than normal holiday. And if the car finance mis-selling thing comes to fruition that'll be a nice bonus too.

Also, nice to see normal service being resumed. I know I say this a lot, but surely we can learn from each other and as always I'm grateful for the many suggestions I've read that will make my retirement earlier and more comfortable than I was expecting.

helensbiggestfan

Amazing bargain today from Lidl.  A fig tree for £3.99. Better than £75 from the posh garden centre.  😉Ok it's not 5ft but it looks really healthy and it will grow soon enough.  

Yes, we should definitely share info and tips.  Hence me posting about my shopping bargains - just in case anyone else is remodelling a garden.   The garden here is semi stocked and the expensive hard landscaping, fencing etc has been done so at least I'm not starting from scratch this time but even so I want to be savvy and make the budget stretch.  I really don't want to spend more than £100 in total if possible.  I want 4 or 5 trees to place around the perimeter for added privacy.  I am aiming to spend around £50 on them, not £375 at the garden centre.  I've got green fingers and I'm patient so am happy to buy smaller plants and baby saplings. 

There's a lovely saying which hopefully sums up my approach. ......

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit".  I like the idea of planting trees for future generations to enjoy. I don't have dollops of cash I can give to charity because most of my estate will go to my family but I can leave trees as a legacy to the planet. 

Sent back my Virgin internet equipment today.  Another job ticked off the list. Just a few more change of address notifications, passport, driving licence etc.  Once everything is finalised and going through smoothly I will be looking at rejigging my accounts. See if I can bag a bonus or two for switching.  😉

One thing I have changed recently.  I decided to change my payment methods on both my eBay and Amazon accounts,  I now pay by debit card from one of my current accounts instead of slapping it on a   credit card willy nilly.  Hopefully it will make me a bit more mindful about spending and stop me frittering money on impulse buys.  Ha ha.  Although I have been replenishing my summer wardrobe recently and we are back in birthday season.  

Organgrinder

Any gardening tips are welcome here.

I want to place two large planters at either end of the decking. Roughly 6ft X 1ft.

I'd like as much colour and variety for as long as possible.

Any ideas?

helensbiggestfan

Depends on how much shelter from cold winds etc.  

I would go for a mix shrubs (preferably evergreens) for height and structure and then infill with perennials, bulbs, and cheap bedding plants for a quick splash of summer colour whilst the shrubs and perennials fill out.  

The bulbs could be a mix of both autumn and spring flowering varieties.  Also think about winter colour. I know you might not be sitting out much in the depths of winter but even so it's nice to add some visual interest rather than everything dying back.  

I would also add some solar or battery powered lighting to make a nice feature when it's dark.  

Auti

@helensbiggestfan - if you are happy to wait for tree growth I think my child had the right idea

He wanted to know what conkers were (4 years ago) and if they would grow so we collected Conkers, sycamores and acorns and planted them in pots. The next spring he was so excited to see tiny shoots and now after 4 years we have small trees (between 2 - 4 feet (sycamore) in pots). We also found out there is a difference in acorn variety where we live and the acorn variety the other side of the country to us as we planted from both places. 

We now have Sweet chestnut, Hazel (a surprise),  two varieties of Oak and a Sycamore (very well contained in his pot).

It was good fun and it is lovely to see them surviving each year and growing bigger.