How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

Don't talk to me about knees.😱.  As well as mild arthritis, a few years ago I tore the meniscus in my right knee. Not nice.  I am just about to try acupuncture again.  It has helped in the past.  I am determined to avoid surgery. I know losing some weight would help me too. I've managed to lose around 7lbs since I moved into my new house.  Apparently every 1lb of extra weight we carry, is equivalent to 4lb of pressure to the knee joint so I'm sure that losing another stone or so would be a big help in alleviating my knee pain.  

Anyhoo......I've finally received all the monies I was owed. This has all gone straight back into my savings which are starting to build up nicely again.  It seems that all the direct debits for regular bills etc are now up and running ok.  Everything is pretty much as expected.  Council tax seems extortionate but then I worked out that due to the delays the amount due is spread out over 8 payments instead of the usual 10 so not quite so terrifying after all. 

Now it's time to start spending........(on the house).  I have bought a new tv and now I'm in the process of looking at decorating and replacing some of my furniture.  Storage or rather lack of it is a bit of an issue in this house so I will start there.  I have ordered some storage units for the bathrooms and the entrance foyer as well as a media storage unit for the new tv.  I have set myself a budget but ideally I want to make that budget  "cost neutral" by selling off unwanted "treasures" to fund my new acquisitions and so freeing up some of the budget for labour costs.  I have two strapping sons and a fantastic handy man so hopefully I won't need to buy in much extra help.  

However, as I get older I do find I am having to buy in help more often these days, especially with anything involving ladder work or lifting.  It's not worth the risk of injury. As my darling husband used to say when confronted with a job he just didn't want to tackle ....."why have a dog and bark yourself".  So I shall be delegating some of the more arduous tasks.  

I have found a good window cleaner and I've already asked him to clean the guttering in the autumn. My house overlooks a small wooded area so there will be a lot of leaves.  There's no way I would tackle a guttering clean  myself.....😂

Organgrinder

helensbiggestfan said:

I have found a good window cleaner and I've already asked him to clean the guttering in the autumn. My house overlooks a small wooded area so there will be a lot of leaves.  There's no way I would tackle a guttering clean  myself.....😂

Definitely get this done. Last year in bad weather our gutters overflowed. Of course you think they are only overflowing outwards. But of course they overflow in both directions and with the right circumstances can get into your house as I found out!

Since clearing them it's not happened since.

This year I might just get a telescopic pole though. They're about the same price as paying someone to get it done.

helensbiggestfan

Investing in a telescopic pole sounds like a good idea.  It would soon pay for itself.  

Savvy_Sue

Is it worth putting wire guards on to keep the worst out?

helensbiggestfan

My son did try something like this on his but it actually made matters worse. It actually damaged the guttering. Mind it was the old style lead guttering maybe that was why.  

LL_USS

@helensbiggestfan I do lots of DYI but definitely anything high up is to be left to the professional....

I once was cleaning my kid's bedroom window high up looking down to the neighbour's side wall in their garden. The guy was trying to fix something on top of a ladder. Suddenly he fell and I could never EVER forget he scream he made. I was too sick that I was almost unable to call for help....

So... no please outsource to the right people to do these jobs....

Organgrinder

LL_USS said:

@helensbiggestfan I do lots of DYI but definitely anything high up is to be left to the professional....

I once was cleaning my kid's bedroom window high up looking down to the neighbour's side wall in their garden. The guy was trying to fix something on top of a ladder. Suddenly he fell and I could never EVER forget he scream he made. I was too sick that I was almost unable to call for help....

So... no please outsource to the right people to do these jobs....

A telescopic pole keeps you on terra firma!

Nebulous2

Here I go again, with another round-up. Another month, another reckoning, and overall quite a mixed bag. 

This month has been characterised by a good few small gains, more than offset by some big expenditure. 

Small gains first. A cheque for £35 from the Inland Revenue, for 22/23. I'm not entirely clear why, but banked it anyway. I'm a member of the blue light card panel, they do a monthly draw, and I won a £25 Amazon voucher, spent on printer ink.  I've started doing surveys and in the first flush of enthusiasm I made over £100 for the month. I haven't drawn it yet. My house insurance came in at £130 less than last year. I very rarely use cash, and dump change if I do spend any. We did a clean out and found £160 in assorted change. I've switched an account to Coop bank, and I'm expecting £100 soon, with a further £25 a month for the next three months. We've had some family responsibilities this month, that haven't been very taxing, but do mean we might need to drive at short-notice, so there has been a saving on alcohol. 

Then big one offs or annual expenditure. I'm going on holiday, so although my house insurance isn't due until mid-June, I paid it now. We finally did some life-admin and got wills and POAs, both paid. Some extra expenses for travel insurance, European recovery and servicing my caravan, all paid. Then to cap it all our washing machine died, and we bought a new one. 

The end result is that on top of a £700 deficit in April, I've a further £1200 deficit in May. Being on holiday for most of June is unlikely to improve the situation this month. 

I'm not disheartened by that though. Either my spending is going to be heavily front-loaded, or my budgeting is widely optimistic. Possibly both are true.  Some of the expenditure has been hanging over me for a while, so it's good to clear the decks. It's all affordable, as we have the resources, but I had intended a year of purely living on income this year. 

My other spreadsheet, with our ISAs and SIPPs, has had a good month, and has recovered more than half of the Trump slump. 

Work isn't going as well as it previously did, so I'm mulling making a clean break and stopping at Christmas. The winter nights have been an issue for me, since I mostly retired, so it might not be the best time of year, but for practical reasons it works well. 

Organgrinder

Nebulous2 said:

Here I go again, with another round-up. Another month, another reckoning, and overall quite a mixed bag. 

This month has been characterised by a good few small gains, more than offset by some big expenditure. 

Small gains first. A cheque for £35 from the Inland Revenue, for 22/23. I'm not entirely clear why, but banked it anyway. I'm a member of the blue light card panel, they do a monthly draw, and I won a £25 Amazon voucher, spent on printer ink.  I've started doing surveys and in the first flush of enthusiasm I made over £100 for the month. I haven't drawn it yet. My house insurance came in at £130 less than last year. I very rarely use cash, and dump change if I do spend any. We did a clean out and found £160 in assorted change. I've switched an account to Coop bank, and I'm expecting £100 soon, with a further £25 a month for the next three months. We've had some family responsibilities this month, that haven't been very taxing, but do mean we might need to drive at short-notice, so there has been a saving on alcohol. 

Then big one offs or annual expenditure. I'm going on holiday, so although my house insurance isn't due until mid-June, I paid it now. We finally did some life-admin and got wills and POAs, both paid. Some extra expenses for travel insurance, European recovery and servicing my caravan, all paid. Then to cap it all our washing machine died, and we bought a new one. 

The end result is that on top of a £700 deficit in April, I've a further £1200 deficit in May. Being on holiday for most of June is unlikely to improve the situation this month. 

I'm not disheartened by that though. Either my spending is going to be heavily front-loaded, or my budgeting is widely optimistic. Possibly both are true.  Some of the expenditure has been hanging over me for a while, so it's good to clear the decks. It's all affordable, as we have the resources, but I had intended a year of purely living on income this year. 

My other spreadsheet, with our ISAs and SIPPs, has had a good month, and has recovered more than half of the Trump slump. 

Work isn't going as well as it previously did, so I'm mulling making a clean break and stopping at Christmas. The winter nights have been an issue for me, since I mostly retired, so it might not be the best time of year, but for practical reasons it works well. 

That Trump slump was disheartening! But good to know all is good.

helensbiggestfan

Nebulous....I think it's quite common to have negative cash flow from time to time.  Sxxt happens. Lol that's why it's good to have either an emergency fund or sinking fund.  It's not always possible to stay in budget every month.  

  I also try to build in what I call a working capital fund.  I would typically use this for a particular project. My current project is refurbishing my new house and stocking my garden. I am taking my time to stretch the budget.  Yes I could flash the cash, get in contractors and get the lot done in a couple of months but there's no need. Nothing is urgent.