Diary of a 30-something idiot

stymied

That’s a good mindset change suggestion @dreaming, not you need to get a job or contribute, but you need to find the cash.

foxandflowers

I've had a very productive weekend, and am attempting four NSD's in a row (starting yesterday).

Sat down with Mr Fox and did a budget run through for March, discussed what we need to do, and decided that we really ought to sell the car. Webuyany quoted 9,500 and Motorway quoted 10,500 so I'm guessing 10k. He wants to get more of a utility vehicle, like a Berlingo or similar, so we can do tip runs, and not have to take the big van everywhere, as realistically, it should probably only be used to go away in, and then maybe it would break down less. 
About half of that would then be spent on replacing the car, and paying for the insurance in a lump sum. Then the rest on doing the tyres and battery in the big van, putting some much needed money into savings, and getting my daughter new clothes as she has outgrown everything she owns and will shortly be mistaken for Worzel Gummidge if I am not careful. I would appreciate feedback on this plan from you lovely wise folk. 

After that we discussed plans for the house, and the garden, and then I impulsively pulled off the stair carpet and spent a couple of hours taking off grippers and removing a zillion staples from the wood (seriously, why so many staples??) and am now left with this: 


Not pictured is that awful asbestos council tile which is inexplicably only on the bottom "landing" of the stairs. So that will probably end up with a tiny 1m squared offcut of black carpet haha.  The plan is to paint the stairs and skirts white, spindles black, and sand and stain the bannister. And then get a zebra print stair runner. At some point I will also have to remove all the wallpaper and paint the wall white as well. Plenty to keep busy with. 

And then we thought about the conservatory and how I really cannot afford to knock it down/replace it and there is little point replacing the blown panes as the whole thing is wonky anyway, and so I suggested maybe making using window film to mask it, and also stop it from becoming an unbearable oven whenever the sun shines. I absolutely love this style, but I need it to be more green and less blue to work in the room we have. I'd love to get some vinyl clicky flooring in there at some point too. 



My two intertwined Photinia trees are close to blossoming and we have purple hellebores appearing in the garden, along with daffodils. I'd love to dig a pond, and I need to pull the soil away from the fence before it ruins it. I need to empty a shed ASAP so I can get it taken down and hopefully open up the garden. It's rather big and south facing, and it just needs a touch of TLC to be a really lovely space. 

Finished my weekend off with duck breast, celeriac puree and honeyed carrots, and giving myself a MSE haircut in the bathroom using slightly blunt scissors. I'm semi glad when I cut all my dreads off that I went with a mullet, because at least when I cut it myself, you can't really tell haha. 

in_need_of_direction

how often do you go away in the van?  it seems to me to be a complete money pit.  could you rent one as and when you go away?

Baldybear

Delurking to say that unless you sell privately although motorwy etc say that price when it actually comes to the deal they will take off loads, so i would say 8k maybe even less, they nit pick eveything 😡

SuzeQStan

Baldybear said:

Delurking to say that unless you sell privately although motorwy etc say that price when it actually comes to the deal they will take off loads, so i would say 8k maybe even less, they nit pick eveything 😡

Fully agree - they reel you in with higher price then it’s all downhill from there

MeandO

in_need_of_direction said:

how often do you go away in the van?  it seems to me to be a complete money pit.  could you rent one as and when you go away?

I would also seriously think about this. The amount the van seems to be constantly costing you could more than cover several trips worth of holiday accommodation instead, or even renting a van like INOD suggested. I'd be more inclined to keep the car which sounds reliable and less costly to run and get rid of the van. Tip runs can be done with a car - I renovated a house and did this - just break things down smaller or hire a skip/get a waste removal quote if anything is larger. I don't think it's a great idea to buy another vehicle for such things, especially whilst there's still only one income. I'd be tempted to sell the van, put  a chunk aside for an EF and use the rest to pay down some debts. xx

jokono

You downsized your house now you're downsizing your car, what next? Even a minimum wage additional income would improve your situation.

From this website:
If you're 23 or older, and currently working 35 hours a week, your annual salary must be at least £18,964.

Put that into the tax calculator somewhere else on MSE:
From January, you'll take home £1,420 a month

stymied

In what way does your current car not suit your lifestyle? Can you collect your step kids in it or do you do that with the van?

I love your house ideas and the sound of the garden. Have you planted some veggies? Could get an apple tree too.

What size does your DD need? Folk may well have great ideas if we know what age-ish to aim for x

foxandflowers

@stymied I would love to do veggies but have no idea where to start. Gardening is a whole new skill set for me to learn. I used to have raspberries in the garden when I was growing up, and they were delicious, but utterly rampant.

Current car is an AMG Merc - it is fine, but it's the kind of car that makes it too easy to not notice the speedometer creeping up, and frankly is a "luxury" car, which is not what we need. It's too nice for what we realistically need. We do not need to have a luxury car and I do not need to be putting £850 a year into insuring one, when a cheaper car would get us from a to b, and there wouldn't be a major panic about eating inside it or having muddy football boots and bikes in the boot. It's a city car and we are not city living. 

I understand that logically we ought to sell the big van, but I've put so much money into it at this point that the sunk cost is overwhelming. And I love going away for weekends, and doing the big annual family camping trip in it. The car realistically will sell for double what the van would. I would rather sell the car privately as then I could net around 12k I think. But I was just using Motorway/WBAC for price ideas. 

DD is in age 9 clothes - a fantastic little windfall has occurred today in that my best friend was given some bits to put on Vinted and found lots of socks/underwear/school trousers/two outfits in my daughters size. So she has put them aside for me and won't take any payment for them. So now I only really need to get some tshirts, leggings, two pairs of shorts and a couple of hoodies. 

PS. Council Tax in my county has been approved at a 7.5% rise, so only an extra £26 a month if I spread it over 12 months. And yes, I have just spent the last 25 minutes tracking down the precepts for the police and local council to be able to estimate my £26 monthly contribution. Pre MSE me wouldn't even have realised that Council Tax went up every April...

MeandO

How about selling the van AND the car, buying something more economical and reliable, then you have a large ish pot to potentially pay your friend off and start a renovation/holidays pot? The money you will save on the van/money pit can go towards alternative weekends away and an annual holiday. 

I know you love it, but the amount of money you’ve already invested in the van doesn’t seem to have prevented yet more issues with it and it seems as if you’ll always be throwing more money after it unfortunately. Perhaps add up what it’s cost you in fuel, repairs, tax, insurance, parking etc over the past year and see what sort of holidays you could have had with that - it might be an eye opener. 

I am really shocked at the cost of your car insurance and the car. I think it’s an absolute no brainer to get rid of it, you just can’t afford it unfortunately.