Learning to walk before I run

Suffolk_lass

Watty1 said:

Sorry to say this but the plumbing is an entertaining read but only because I am reading it and not living it

You can go off people you know!

Karmacat

Suffolk_lass said:

Watty1 said:

Sorry to say this but the plumbing is an entertaining read but only because I am reading it and not living it

You can go off people you know!

I'm afraid Watty said it for me ... I'll get me coat Though truly, I feel for everyone who's in that scenario of trying so hard to make it work, and *still* not getting it done.

edinburgher

I will destroy you all I'm glad I'm providing so much entertainment

This week has been fab, cos I've finished working already!

Unfortunately today has been very spendy, with £550 spent across baby spends, groceries, pets and an eye watering gas and electric bill of nearly £190 to cover the Christmas holidays Tomorrow will hopefully be a no (or low) spending day, although Mrs E has threatened to take me to look at couches on Saturday. In her defence, our current sofa is a decade+ old, is in pretty poor nick and makes it impossible to walk through our sitting room sensibly as it was bought for our much larger starter flat. I am grateful that a (small) pay review will be concluding shortly and that Feb/Mar are council tax free!

Also on the spending money (sensibly) front, I've emailed our insurance broker to review our life insurance. Mrs E should be fine if I kicked the bucket, but I'd be stuffed if she died. My DB pensions would provide her and the kids with widow's and dependent's pensions, whereas her DC pension makes no such provision. We've also considered the impact on the earning power of the survivor should one of us die (youngish), which would be worse for me as I'd lose the most if I had to go p-t. Cheery stuff for a January night...

badmemory

It is planning now that makes the future so much better.  And talking about planning, have you both got power of attorneys in place?  I'm not sure what the situation is in Scotland but in England you can DIY for £82 a piece.  They can be more important than having a will.  Most people, obviously not all, will leave their assets in the same way as they would go if intestate, but being incapacitated for a while can leave the family in a bit of a mess.

edinburgher

@badmemory - we don't have POA, although we do have wills (and POA for parents). I might check with our local solicitor how much they would want for them when we review our wills in November post DD2 arriving. We have, however, started holding more assets in Mrs E's name so that she wouldn't be left in a scenario where she would struggle as she can't spend money held in my accounts in an emergency. We've never done joint accounts, largely for practical reasons (like you can make more money switching when you have your own)!

Suffolk_lass

I think I may have mentioned before that when our DS was young, we took out a basic term assurance life policy - £91 a month and it would pay out a big bit that (at the time) would allow the one remaining partner to continue working as it would pay for additional childcare (au pair and holiday cover), with other things paying off mortgage and reducing liabilities, which seemed more sensible than trying to cover all of their income

edinburgher

@Suffolk_lass - I'd probably assume we'd insource quite a bit of the childcare if one of us died young. Realistically even the practical stuff would be unbelievably hard for one of us (childcare, cooking, cleaning, DIY), never mind the emotional aspect and I'd want us to have enough time to figure everything out. Looking at a similar approach to funding it tho (separate term policies to cover mortgage and lost earnings)

Mrs E is trying to thwart my plan for a no spend day by mentioning baby monitors. Hoping if I put my fingers in my ears and shout la la la really loud she might leave me alone

I have also done a grand tinker with my SIPP to reduce my costs by 0.12%. Might sound daft, but should save c. £80 a year.

Alchemilla

Hey Ed! Last time I read you you had just moved into 1930s house with tiny DD.
I hear congrats are in order again!
A xxx

Busydoingnothing

Just read your entire thread Ed, congrats on the impending arrival. 
Is it harsh for me to say it feels like your doing a lot of shuffling debt around and letting it grow steadily. 
What has happened with the extension (s). Are you still planning those? 
I'm sorry if I've misunderstood your intentions. 

Suffolk_lass

We threw the baby monitor out. It used to wake us with the slightest sniffle or snuffle and was wrecking our much needed sleep. We figured he would cry loudly if something was wrong. And we would hear that