How much to live on

helensbiggestfan

I don't regard memorabilia as clutter either.   Despite my "purge" I will definitely be keeping sentimental items and those which have meaning and history. I have a wonderful collection of cards and letters from my late husband and my children. I wouldn't part with them for the world. And now my grandchildren are adding to my collection. I do have far too many photos though and I shall be carefully curating these over the winter.  Save some of them digitally and some in nice new albums. And of course I won't be parting with jewellery, or any of my prized treasures.  

When my sons were 21 I bought each of them a beautiful leather photo album and created them a sort of "This is your Life"/"Who Do You Think You Are" with photos and bits and pieces going back three or four generations. Great, great grandparents down to their own childhoods, right up to their own early adulthood, leaving space in each album for them to add to their own story - their own wives and children etc so they could keep the story going.  They were thrilled and a lot of their friends were fascinated, asking their own parents if they would do the same.  

Same with things like my fathers, and father in laws medals, citations, service records  etc. Funnily enough I was only discussing this with my DIL yesterday.  I only have one sister and her daughter will not be having children so we will eventually be passing all the military stuff to my grandsons.  My family has had members serving in the military back as far as the Boer War. Whilst I don't really want my grandsons to follow in their ancestors footsteps and join the military I think they might one day be happy to be guardians of the history.  

The YMCA picked up some unwanted furniture today. The men were very nice and helpful however, unfortunately one of them absolutely stank.  I kid you not, the smell made me gag.  Lol.   I had to fling open the windows and spray perfume.  Hey ho.  The excess furniture is gone and I can now create a proper guest room instead of a furniture repository.  

DIL bought two bags of shoes round yesterday asking me to drop them off at the chazzer for her.  I think she's caught the decluttering bug too.  They are now at the stage where they are offloading baby equipment. She will try to sell some of it.  She did mention selling her wedding dresses.  Yes, plural, my son and DIL had two full blown weddings, as well as a registry office ceremony.  One was a formal catholic wedding in Spain and the other a more relaxed "wedding celebration" here in the U.K. so of course she wanted two wedding dresses.  Lol. 

They are beautiful designer gowns,  very expensive.  She asked my advice. I said that unless they were desperate for the money she should keep them (at least for now) because she might  come to regret selling them.  They have been professionally cleaned and stored in acid  free tissue paper and boxed away.  As you know I was a bit of fashionista in my day.  Ha ha and I do regretted parting with some of my clothing, some of it would now be museum quality, all that 60s mod gear, 😂. but sadly you can't keep it all.  I don't have that kind of space. Unfortunately I don't live  in Downton Abbey or Chatsworth........

Speaking of Downton Abbey.  I have recently rewatched it all and I was tickled pink to notice that they were using the exact same china dinner service that I have......I must be posher than I thought.  Ha ha. No silver cutlery though, just boring stainless steel.  Although I did use my silver napkin rings yesterday. I decided my grandsons are now too old for children's plastic crockery .....time to introduce them to "fine  dining" table settings, even if they are still at the pizza and fish finger level. We adults chowed down on what my DIL calls Grandmas Lava Chicken. She requested it.  

I think I am ready to start travelling again so I need to think about opening a couple of those regular accounts which pay more interest especially now savings rates are falling.  Did my monthly round up for end of August, looking pretty good.. October will be a heavy month, car tax and insurance, so a frugal September is on the cards, although I do want to restock the garden with some trees and shrubs. 

And then of course it will be Christmas before we know it.  I donated my large 7'6"Christmas tree to the YMCA today, just too big for this house, not so much the height but the spread, so will need to splash for a slimline version this year.  

There's always something isn't there...... 

annielyn

Totally agree HBF. Family history is important, you realize this as older relatives leave us and you find you are now the keeper of their stories. I started a family tree book for my son when he was young with photos going back to his Great-Great Grandparents. This, and a family history box with other details in, are the two things I've asked my son to keep and pass on to his children.

I spent lockdown sorting through old photos which were sorted into 2 special photo storage boxes. For the last 12 years we have produced a digital photo book every 4 years which we put the photos which mean the most in and will continue this going forward.

Its all the other stuff that has been kept for no particular reason that I'd like to get rid of. The things put in the loft 'just in case' which have never again seen the light of day. All the CD's and DVD's that are now never played since streaming. Books that are never likely to be read again etc. 

Just need to get DH onboard too!

Organgrinder

I usually only keep stuff that cannot be replaced eg photos. 

My school books and notes are long gone. I'm pretty certain my 25,000 word master's dissertation is being used as a doorstop somewhere! It was bound nicely too. CD's and DVD's too.

Every so often I have a clear out. Eg a bag full of holiday clothes.

The garage however is another thing entirely. One day. One day.

louby40

When we downsized we threw away so much stuff. My children's old exercise books, old birthday cards. Gave away books, CD's etc. Slim lined the Christmas decorations. I was so ruthless. I loved it. We kept certain sentimental items. 

I had folders and folders of resources for my job which all went in the bin. I don't know where my university notes and things are, either in my parents attic or more likely the bin. 

My dad, who is now in his 80's was a passionate video camera lover. We have so much footage of us as children, our house, my parents business and holidays, weddings, christenings. My own two children have been videoed from newborns ( they are now in their 20's) and to re- watch them now from when they were babies and toddlers is so funny and precious. I'm so grateful my dad was so enthusiastic. 

My parents attic though 😱 oh my goodness! I'm dreading sorting that out when the time comes.

Nebulous2

A quick update on my finances. You may remember I'm in the gap between retiring and the state pension, with a very limited part-time job. After a very expensive year last year I set out to try and live on my income this financial year, with the aim of stopping my part-time role. Not from necessity - we have a nest egg which was intended to fund that bridging period, but I've grown attached to the idea that I don't necessarily need to spend it. 

Anyway I posted each month in the first 2 months with an overall £1900 deficit. I then went on a 5 week touring holiday in Europe and added a further £1100 deficit, meaning I was £3000 behind in the first 3 months of the year. 

Since then I've clawed back £800, £300 in July and a further £500 in August. It looks like it is going to be a long road back to a balanced state, and I don't even have any foreign holidays booked- for the first time in about 4 years. 

Our food bill is fairly high, and has a lot of room for improvement. I'm constantly amazed at what @Humboldt can do. We are unlikely to reach that point, but we could certainly do better. Price rises are always a wake-up call. There has been quite an uptick in the price of beer, which has been the push I needed to cut it back. European prices emphasised the gap there as well. 

Money-making schemes:-  my regular savers are biased towards this time of year. I have at least one a month maturing between now and December, so the interest from them will help. 

I've had £175 from a Co-op bank account switch and they helpfully provided a 7% regular saver as well. I'm looking at changing to their packaged bank account. It would save me quite a bit on our travel and breakdown insurances, costing less than I'm currently paying on travel insurance, and they give 3 months free. I need to time it for my current annual policy ending. There is no point in having two running at the same time. 

I've had some success with surveys - I've made about £175 since we came home in mid-July, half of which hasn't been cashed in yet. 

I have a 0% spending credit card, and have been putting any bigger items of expenditure on that, freeing my money to earn some interest, mainly in regular savers. 

It's not all sackcloth and ashes however - we've been home less than two months, and we've had two 4-5 day breaks away since and an occasional meal out. 

I had expected that expenditure would be heavily front-loaded, so I'm not disheartened, but I still don't know if I will make it..... 

Albermarle

I've had £175 from a Co-op bank account switch and they helpfully provided a 7% regular saver as well. I'm looking at changing to their packaged bank account. It would save me quite a bit on our travel and breakdown insurances, costing less than I'm currently paying on travel insurance, and they give 3 months free. I need to time it for my current annual policy ending. There is no point in having two running at the same time. 

I have no experience of the Co-oP packaged bank account, but from looking at other ones in the past, a couple of points to be careful of;
1) The free travel insurance is only for those with no medical conditions and below a certain age. If you are older or have medical issues, you will have to pay extra.
2) The breakdown cover usually only covers you. Which can suit some people as it means it covers more than just your own car. However if you have say one family car and more than one driver, the breakdown cover will not cover the other driver. 
In other words you need to check the T's and C's of the benefits of the packaged account very carefully.

LL_USS

Saying about the inflated living costs.....

I remember a lecture slide giving an example of different pricing strategies, with mince pork priced at just around £1 at Tesco. Now it's £2.65.

Once people wondered how I could spend £50 for a go for weekly shopping at even Aldi's.... Now it tends to be around £100 for the family....

Let's not mention the hiked up energy prices (and standing charges)....

Amazing I have managed us through draught in Spain, Covid, Ukraine War... whilst still trying to contribute more to pension to avoid falling into a higher tax rate - due to the frozen income tax bands....

One day we can look back and tell the children/ grandchildren "those were the days... we did everything to make money go a bit further..." ;-)

Savvy_Sue

Albermarle said:

I've had £175 from a Co-op bank account switch and they helpfully provided a 7% regular saver as well. I'm looking at changing to their packaged bank account. It would save me quite a bit on our travel and breakdown insurances, costing less than I'm currently paying on travel insurance, and they give 3 months free. I need to time it for my current annual policy ending. There is no point in having two running at the same time. 

I have no experience of the Co-oP packaged bank account, but from looking at other ones in the past, a couple of points to be careful of;
1) The free travel insurance is only for those with no medical conditions and below a certain age. If you are older or have medical issues, you will have to pay extra.

True, up to a point. You do have to declare any medical conditions, and some packaged accounts will accept them, while others will add an additional fee which makes the insurance uncompetitive. 

So just as an example, we were with Smile for many years, who charged nothing extra. In a bid to save a few £, a couple of times I rang round all the packaged account providers I could find. Most wanted extra for DH's conditions but nothing for mine (arguably more likely to cause problems); one wanted nothing for him but would charge extra for me. Recently moved to Virgin, slightly cheaper than Smile, and no extra charges. But I still have to phone up annually and go through both our conditions. 

What we will do in 5+ years time I have no idea, but we'll worry about that when the time comes. 

Also note we don't do any dangerous sports ... 

Albermarle said:

2) The breakdown cover usually only covers you. Which can suit some people as it means it covers more than just your own car. However if you have say one family car and more than one driver, the breakdown cover will not cover the other driver. 

I haven't found that to be a problem with Virgin (who do it through Green Flag) and our account has always been a joint one, which may help. But I did feel the cover with Smile was quite limited. 

Albermarle said:

In other words you need to check the T's and C's of the benefits of the packaged account very carefully.

Definitely true! 

And if it helps, we did once have to claim on the Smile travel insurance: the process was slightly clunky (I think because we were both claiming) but it worked well enough. 

Humboldt

Nebulous2 said:

A quick update on my finances. You may remember I'm in the gap between retiring and the state pension, with a very limited part-time job. After a very expensive year last year I set out to try and live on my income this financial year, with the aim of stopping my part-time role. Not from necessity - we have a nest egg which was intended to fund that bridging period, but I've grown attached to the idea that I don't necessarily need to spend it. 

Anyway I posted each month in the first 2 months with an overall £1900 deficit. I then went on a 5 week touring holiday in Europe and added a further £1100 deficit, meaning I was £3000 behind in the first 3 months of the year. 

Since then I've clawed back £800, £300 in July and a further £500 in August. It looks like it is going to be a long road back to a balanced state, and I don't even have any foreign holidays booked- for the first time in about 4 years. 

Our food bill is fairly high, and has a lot of room for improvement. I'm constantly amazed at what @Humboldt can do. We are unlikely to reach that point, but we could certainly do better. Price rises are always a wake-up call. There has been quite an uptick in the price of beer, which has been the push I needed to cut it back. European prices emphasised the gap there as well. 

Money-making schemes:-  my regular savers are biased towards this time of year. I have at least one a month maturing between now and December, so the interest from them will help. 

I've had £175 from a Co-op bank account switch and they helpfully provided a 7% regular saver as well. I'm looking at changing to their packaged bank account. It would save me quite a bit on our travel and breakdown insurances, costing less than I'm currently paying on travel insurance, and they give 3 months free. I need to time it for my current annual policy ending. There is no point in having two running at the same time. 

I've had some success with surveys - I've made about £175 since we came home in mid-July, half of which hasn't been cashed in yet. 

I have a 0% spending credit card, and have been putting any bigger items of expenditure on that, freeing my money to earn some interest, mainly in regular savers. 

It's not all sackcloth and ashes however - we've been home less than two months, and we've had two 4-5 day breaks away since and an occasional meal out. 

I had expected that expenditure would be heavily front-loaded, so I'm not disheartened, but I still don't know if I will make it..... 

Another informative and inspiring update @Nebulous2.  DH and I now use our hard earned savings to top up our holiday expenditures, but otherwise we try to live within our current means. It feels odd to take from savings that we have worked hard to accumulate, but we love to travel and life is for living, and we have to remind ourselves of that.  

One of several ways that we maintain our expenditure is by having a budget for our groceries, and I thank you for the compliment.  Keeping our grocery spends within a budget, is a skill borne out of necessity, and one that I have honed over many years.  That said, my efforts still look like a drop in the ocean when compared to some on the Old Style thread.  We have attempted to find a balance between stretching our grocery budget, whilst also maintaining what we consider to be a varied and healthier diet.  It does take effort and organisation on my part, but given that I am now retired and DH still works part-time, I do not have an issue with that. That said, I do accept that it is not for everyone.

I find the different ways in which others on this fabulous forum attempt to make their money go further really useful, and am grateful that they are willing to share their efforts.  I cannot begin to calculate the amount we have saved over the 10+ years since I have been reading this forum.  £175 made on survey's since mid-July is fantastic.

Your attempt to live on your income this financial year is a great way to get a feel for things.  It takes time to adjust to retirement, along with the reduced income that it can entail for some, but in my mind the simple pleasures more than make up for this. I applaud your efforts and thank you for your kindness in sharing.

angieb15edin

Never ever get rid of old photos my mum has the beginnings of dementia and is getting very forgetful 
when we visit we spend an hour or so looking through old photos and talking about the people and events and it gives her so much pleasure