How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

Thanks Sheila.  The red letter days - holidays, anniversaries etc can be a bit difficult to navigate sometimes.  Usually I prefer to be alone and just spend the day in quiet contemplation but this year my family seem to want to make it a "thing". 

I have noticed that as the years pass and my sons have gotten older they seem to miss their father more  and more.  I think they feel the lack of a fathers wisdom and guidance as they navigate their way through life.  My eldest son particularly feels it now that he is a parent himself.  

They are 39 and 41 so maybe it's mid life crisis time. Bless their cotton socks. They do confide in me and I do my best to give them good counsel but it's not the same as "Dad Wisdom". 

It's a beautiful sturgeon moon tonight, just like the one on the night my husband died.  The sky looks wonderful.  I am hoping the skies remain clear for  the Perseids meteor shower on August 12th.  We aren't dazzled by streetlights here so I'm hoping for a good view this year.  

Organgrinder

helensbiggestfan said:

Thanks Sheila.  The red letter days - holidays, anniversaries etc can be a bit difficult to navigate sometimes.  Usually I prefer to be alone and just spend the day in quiet contemplation but this year my family seem to want to make it a "thing". 

I have noticed that as the years pass and my sons have gotten older they seem to miss their father more  and more.  I think they feel the lack of a fathers wisdom and guidance as they navigate their way through life.  My eldest son particularly feels it now that he is a parent himself.  

They are 39 and 41 so maybe it's mid life crisis time. Bless their cotton socks. They do confide in me and I do my best to give them good counsel but it's not the same as "Dad Wisdom". 

It's a beautiful sturgeon moon tonight, just like the one on the night my husband died.  The sky looks wonderful.  I am hoping the skies remain clear for  the Perseids meteor shower on August 12th.  We aren't dazzled by streetlights here so I'm hoping for a good view this year.  

I was 29 when my mother passed and 34 when my father passed. I don't think a day goes by when I don't look back.

Whatever you end up doing today, make it a good one. 

Plasticman

Organgrinder said:

helensbiggestfan said:

Thanks Sheila.  The red letter days - holidays, anniversaries etc can be a bit difficult to navigate sometimes.  Usually I prefer to be alone and just spend the day in quiet contemplation but this year my family seem to want to make it a "thing". 

I have noticed that as the years pass and my sons have gotten older they seem to miss their father more  and more.  I think they feel the lack of a fathers wisdom and guidance as they navigate their way through life.  My eldest son particularly feels it now that he is a parent himself.  

They are 39 and 41 so maybe it's mid life crisis time. Bless their cotton socks. They do confide in me and I do my best to give them good counsel but it's not the same as "Dad Wisdom". 

It's a beautiful sturgeon moon tonight, just like the one on the night my husband died.  The sky looks wonderful.  I am hoping the skies remain clear for  the Perseids meteor shower on August 12th.  We aren't dazzled by streetlights here so I'm hoping for a good view this year.  

I was 29 when my mother passed and 34 when my father passed. I don't think a day goes by when I don't look back.

Whatever you end up doing today, make it a good one. 

My mum is in her 80s and is still going strong and all of my grandparents lived well into their 80s or 90s. That made it an even bigger blow when my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 69. I still miss his advice (generally practical rather than life advice). It's been a big driver for me on my early retirement journey. I want time now to do the things that I want to do and work isn't part of that, despite a very happy and successful career. 

Farway

Albermarle said:

helensbiggestfan said:

QrizB said:

helensbiggestfan said:

not sure if Asda in the U.K. are still part of Walmart. I think it was a short lived experiment and they might have parted ways again.  Anyway if you search you tube for "People of Walmart" there are some very eye opening videos featuring Walmart Shoppers.  😉

Walmart bought ASDA for £6.7bn in 1999, and sold it in 2021 for £6.8bn. Not a great return on investment there.

The current owners are private equity orgs who financed the purchase through loans and asset stripping. ASDA is losing market share and it's not yet clear whether this gamble is going to pay off.

Thanks for the Asda update.  I agree it does seem to be in a state of decline. 

In recent months they have launched a price rollback campaign.
I think they are now the cheapest for a large basket of goods, which are mainly household brand names ( as opposed to what you mainly get in Lidl/Aldi) .
This will maybe stabilise their market share at least.

They also replaced the Boss with a previous one in March, it's him returning the company to it's roots and basics

Yorkie1

hugheskevi said:

I keep a list of all my regular expenses, which are in the table below. This is based on 2 adults in a very large detached house with no mortgage, Council Band G.

I don't log food, travel, holidays, entertainment, one-off spend like car or house maintenance/upgrades/repairs, capital spend on things like white goods, electronics, new phones, computers, etc, or clothes, as all of those areas are quite volatile and have a large element of choice in how much is spent.

I think our total expenditure would probably be in the region of £35,000 most years, covering everything.

I think for the benefits I get out of most of things on the list, the costs are very reasonable, Council Tax excepted.

Thanks for the reminder I need to add Green waste into my Council tax section!

BrilliantButScary

In a reflective mood today, as like @Organgrinder, my Dad died when I was 22 and my Mum died when I was  37. Here is a quote from an article, that struck a chord with me.

' They discover that life doesn't wait. That bodies decline. That energy fades. That the future they saved everything for, arrives with limitations that they didn't anticipate.'

https://vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/s-7-things-boomers-regret-the-most-in-life-but-will-never-admit/

KajiKita

BrilliantButScary said:

In a reflective mood today, as like @Organgrinder, my Dad died when I was 22 and my Mum died when I was  37. Here is a quote from an article, that struck a chord with me.

' They discover that life doesn't wait. That bodies decline. That energy fades. That the future they saved everything for, arrives with limitations that they didn't anticipate.'

https://vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/s-7-things-boomers-regret-the-most-in-life-but-will-never-admit/

I could do with sending that article to my mother. But it might lead her to becoming even more acerbic …

KK

Albermarle

BrilliantButScary said:

In a reflective mood today, as like @Organgrinder, my Dad died when I was 22 and my Mum died when I was  37. Here is a quote from an article, that struck a chord with me.

' They discover that life doesn't wait. That bodies decline. That energy fades. That the future they saved everything for, arrives with limitations that they didn't anticipate.'

https://vegoutmag.com/lifestyle/s-7-things-boomers-regret-the-most-in-life-but-will-never-admit/

Some interesting points. A bit OTT, but it is from the US I suppose.

Reminded me of the Talking Heads song 'Same as it ever was' 


You may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself
"Well ... how did I get here?"

You may ask yourself
"What is that beautiful house?"
You may ask yourself
"Where does that highway go to?"
And you may ask yourself
"Am I right? Am I wrong?"
And you may say to yourself
"My God! What have I done?!"

QrizB

BrilliantButScary said:

' They discover that life doesn't wait. That bodies decline. That energy fades. That the future they saved everything for, arrives with limitations that they didn't anticipate.'

Related, today I've made travel arrangements for a short weekend break overseas to visit family. Because I chose antisocial ferry times, I'm spending one night sleeping partly in my car and partly on the ferry.

My wife said to my son, in a vaguely disapproving tone:

"Sometimes your dad forgets that he isn't 30 any more!"

We'll have to see how it goes 😄 If it's a success, I might do it again before the end of the year. If it isn't, I'll have to resign myself to pricier ferries and staying in hotel rooms!

helensbiggestfan

Some philosophical posts on here.  Lol.

  It's true though we never know what lies in store for us.  We can't circumvent all the bad stuff but we can try and plan for those curved balls.  Money won't stop them but it can sometimes soften the blow, hence my goal to replenish my savings after the house move.  Need to build up the war chest....just in case.  Had a heavy month in July so trying to be extra frugal this next couple of months if I'm to reach my December target of saving an extra £2k. Apart from car tax and insurance due in October I should hopefully have a clear run now until Christmas.  

Anniversary went ok.  A bit of reminicising without getting maudlin and a raised glass.  Always glad when it's over.