The Senior Wonder Years!

[Deleted User]

Well here I am checking in for my weekly look that I am allowing myself during the Lenten period.

I have to say the semi digital detox hasn’t gone exactly to plan! Work in progress!

I have also not been very MSE as have been working on a more spending plans  for 2024 😱 lol!

I have decided to have the downstairs cloakroom upgraded. I want it completely tiled, a new basin and cabinet as well as a new radiator. I have put out feelers to those able to do the work.

I have also allowed for £400 for a couple of pairs of new glasses after my eye test in June.

I have also organised one school reunion with friends (54 years since we first met eek!😐) in June and a university reunion in September. I have also booked a 3 day trip to Shropshire with two other relatives in April. I will need about  £1500 for these events. Remember I also have to factor in ferry costs whenever I travel. This also includes my share for the fuel, accommodation and spending money.

Car Insurance has been paid and the house insurance renewal should arrive in March.
Car service and MOT are booked for March and car tax will be paid at the end of that month too.

I am also contemplating going away for 3 days from next Sunday as my elderly relative is also away and it would be nice to have a break. I am thinking of going to back to Kent. I will make a final decision tomorrow.

I would also like to have another trip away after September. I am considering something like a mini cruise around the U.K. or even a 7 day fly drive cruise to the Mediterranean. It all depends on costings and getting a reasonable price as a single person. We shall see!

Oh yes I also ordered new roller blinds for 3 bedrooms and my study yesterday. They will be fitted on March 7th. I estimated they would cost about £1000 in total but, with the help of a sale, they were only just over £700. My elderly relative is also paying a little towards that bill.

So all in all a busy and spendy week! However I am relaxed about the figures.

I may never be rich, but at 65 I want to enjoy the todays before I run out of tomorrows!😉

[Deleted User]

I forgot to mention that I have also rejoined the one card leisure centre scheme. After a couple of years absence I am returning to regular swimming. I plan to go a couple of times a week. Each individual session now costs over £5, so at £22.10 a month the card works out at very good value. After just 4 swims it more than pays for itself. The card also entitles me to use other facilities other than the gym( the gym has no interest for me at all lol).

Rich1976

[Deleted User] said:

Well here I am checking in for my weekly look that I am allowing myself during the Lenten period.

I have to say the semi digital detox hasn’t gone exactly to plan! Work in progress!

I have also not been very MSE as have been working on a more spending plans  for 2024 😱 lol!

I have decided to have the downstairs cloakroom upgraded. I want it completely tiled, a new basin and cabinet as well as a new radiator. I have put out feelers to those able to do the work.

I have also allowed for £400 for a couple of pairs of new glasses after my eye test in June.

I have also organised one school reunion with friends (54 years since we first met eek!😐) in June and a university reunion in September. I have also booked a 3 day trip to Shropshire with two other relatives in April. I will need about  £1500 for these events. Remember I also have to factor in ferry costs whenever I travel. This also includes my share for the fuel, accommodation and spending money.

Car Insurance has been paid and the house insurance renewal should arrive in March.
Car service and MOT are booked for March and car tax will be paid at the end of that month too.

I am also contemplating going away for 3 days from next Sunday as my elderly relative is also away and it would be nice to have a break. I am thinking of going to back to Kent. I will make a final decision tomorrow.

I would also like to have another trip away after September. I am considering something like a mini cruise around the U.K. or even a 7 day fly drive cruise to the Mediterranean. It all depends on costings and getting a reasonable price as a single person. We shall see!

Oh yes I also ordered new roller blinds for 3 bedrooms and my study yesterday. They will be fitted on March 7th. I estimated they would cost about £1000 in total but, with the help of a sale, they were only just over £700. My elderly relative is also paying a little towards that bill.

So all in all a busy and spendy week! However I am relaxed about the figures.

I may never be rich, but at 65 I want to enjoy the todays before I run out of tomorrows!😉

We had our downstairs cloakroom partially upgraded last year. The toilet , sink ( including tap )and 3 new splashback tiles above the sink came to about £750. This included the plumbers Labour charge and cost of Materials. No idea if that is good value or not but I remember it was a minefield just deciding what toilet we wanted along with the type of sink ( wall mounted, fixed to a plinth ) that I’d lost the will to live 😂

[Deleted User]

Welcome to the thread @Rich1976. Fortunately I am not having the toilet replaced as it is fairly new!
I am hoping £1000 to £1500 maximum will cover my plans. 

Rich1976

[Deleted User] said:

Welcome to the thread @Rich1976. Fortunately I am not having the toilet replaced as it is fairly new!
I am hoping £1000 to £1500 maximum will cover my plans. 

Thank you very much. A very interesting thread. I’m not 50 for another 2 years but thought I’d see what it was all about 🙂.

trying to estimate the cost of home improvements is an ongoing issue for us as we pull a figure out of thin air because it ‘sounds reasonable’ only for the actual cost to be 25% to 50% higher generally.

we had our en suite completely upgraded last year also which was a whopping 3k more than I expected for no reason other than that’s just what it cost. We are greatly pleased with the results but was just a bit of a wrench to have to part with the extra 3k.

Humboldt

You have certainly been productive @[Deleted User].  Yay to the sale discount on the blinds. Fingers crossed for a good deal on the cloakroom. I very much enjoy researching holidays. Eek to the school reunion, 54 years since you first met!

badmemory

From experience before having new bathroom or other water based systems installed invest in a humidity meter at under £10.  Check the humidity before you get quotes even.  Then when your new system is installed check that meter.  Reason -  I had my bathroom replaced a few years ago (no mould).  It developed a leak so had it all replaced & bath removed as we never used it.  A few years later (several years out of warranty of course)  water started coming through the ceiling & we had had some mould showing up.  Turns out that unseen the toilet (clean water thankfully) had been leaking since day 1.  The floor was gone & luckily avoided the joists.  Thankfully I didn't land up sitting on the loo & suddenly finding myself in the dining room which eventually had become a worry.

Katiehound

looking at cruising? Check out Ambassador as they come in at the cheaper end of the scale. Went with them last year to Baltic- excellent price, good food & nice to their singles.
 My travel agent (more discount) sent me a flash sale email today from Ambassador.

Floss

Katiehound said:

looking at cruising? Check out Ambassador as they come in at the cheaper end of the scale. Went with them last year to Baltic- excellent price, good food & nice to their singles.
 My travel agent (more discount) sent me a flash sale email today from Ambassador.

I'm off on an Ambassador cruise in a few weeks.

sheilavw

Also check out P and O cruises, we've always enjoyed P and O.