Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home

MillQueen

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057750#Comment_82057750

Hadn't actually thought to look in the charity shop for sauce pans, good shout thank you. I guess they don't have to be particularly amazing ones at this stage. I have been keeping an eye out for a suitable wardrobe over the last year or so, but the ones I see second hand always seem to be in bad condition and smell terrible inside. The one I found for £269 is a wooden one that fits the alcove in the bedroom, so I was thinking it would be good to get one that will look good and last a long time as an investment. I manged to get an oak four poster bed for £100 and an antique dressing table and bureau for £25 each, and a bedside table for a fiver. That's true I could wait and get the TV licence once the lodger is there. I will have a look at bank switch offers, as I could probably get one to pay my bills from. I have got some cashback apps like Jam Donut and Sprive, but haven't got much use out of them yet as I haven't been spending much money except on bills.

I have already got some people interested in the rooms, as a lot of my colleagues live in different parts of the country or world and travel to different locations, where they have to have bases around the country but it's expensive to continually rent a studio or stay in hotels. It was the many conversations about that which first started the idea of room rental and I looked specifically for a house with plenty of space for sharing, where I can rent out a couple of rooms without it feeling like we are on top of each other. I have already collected all of the furniture needed for the second bedroom (except the mattress), but the wobbly floors are making me think it's best to hold off on that one and just go with renting out one room. If it goes well with one lodger and I either get the floors fixed (or even just go ahead with the wobbling) the only additional expense would then be the extra mattress for a second lodger. They are both double rooms with high ceilings and big windows with lovely period wooden casing on the interior, so I think would be appealing for people to move into.

One is a bit bigger than the other and the bigger one has the four poster, where the smaller one (still a good size) has a double bed, so I did wonder about charging £575 and £625, rather than the same price of £600 for either. However, as the first room I am starting with is the bigger one, I might just start at £600 and see how I go. I could also do with some extra kitchen cupboards (in my mind I pictured two old wooden larder cupboards either side of the chimney breast, one for each lodger, but that will have to wait, and I'll just squash my own things up for now as there is enough fitted cupboard space). I got a big American style fridge freezer when I first moved in, so that we can have a couple of shelves each. I upcycled a 6ft antique farmhouse table and found a variety of chairs. I'm gradually adding art that I am collecting from charity shops. I do worry about us all sharing a bathroom though. For that reason I am going to select lodgers from different areas of the company to mine, as it's all a bit intimate. I can't bear the thought of it being colleagues, when we might see each other in a towel 🤣

MillQueen

To add, as well. I should be able to make a few extra hundred a month when I am back doing self employed work again. I've been doing so much for a while that I have burnt out from it and now struggling to function, as my main job is quite demanding already. Once I have had a few months break from that and reduced my hours I will go back to it, as I can in theory do as much of it as I like (the thing that limits it is having the energy). The hope is that I won't always have to be flogging myself doing extra hours as the lodgers will be more like a passive income, where the main thing I will be doing is cleaning to keep the house nice to live in.

ellenvan

The outlay from the lodger(s) would be recouped within 4/5 months . It may be worth thinking about an interest free credit card, for the expenditure?

Also not sure what the current rent a room free income tax limit is. But would definitely be worth staying under the limit.

MillQueen

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82057819#Comment_82057819

Four or five months is good as I am sure the lodger would stay longer than that and then I would have all the infrastructure at home to do it again if they left. An interest free credit card is something I will think about.

Although, being debt averse, it freaks me out a bit. I have never had a credit card before 🤣. The only debt I ever had is various student loans and the personal loan I got to pay for the roof repairs.

The rent a room limit is £7,500 tax free and I would be losing half of the money for tax (and student loan) after that. So with one lodger I will earn £7,200 and with two lodgers I will get £10,950 after deductions.

MillQueen

Today is going to be another low/no spend day as I am still out of action with a leg injury. I need some tooth paste and normally I'd have wandered into town to get some and check out the yellow sticker bargains and charity shops. I'd have liked the walk, but I am limping, so I will wait until tomorrow when the parking is free, or just keep scraping the toothpaste tube until my leg has healed enough for the walk. Last time I got the Stamford Street own brand supermarket toothpaste, and it was only 45p, so I'll probably get that again. I can't believe I used to spend so much on toothpaste and toiletries before I understood about saving money.

Plans for the day include having a tin of lentil soup with toast or a bagel for lunch, then later either making a spinach and broccoli omelette served with edamame, or salmon and yellow sticker asparagus for tea. I am continuing to drink a lot of water and I am going to do some reading and get work and home tasks done. It's good to have these days of just hanging out at home sometimes, and at least I can't spend much money if I can't go anywhere much. I might put on a blue clay face mask as something to look forward to later,

MillQueen

I decided against buying anything from the Too Good To Go app today, as I saw that the supermarkets had various things like a bakery bag, groceries and a fruit and veg bag, which were tempting. If I had bought all 3 then I would have gotten all those for less than a tenner and a few quid in fuel to get there. This would have been good value if I had needed anything, however I am trying to get out of the habit of pointless spending if I already have something at home, and a tenner is still better to have if it can be saved. I have decreasing amounts of food left in the kitchen, as I have been trying to run the freezer and cupboard right down, but there is still plenty to keep making a few more meals with the occasional yellow sticker addition.

I saw a social media video about minimalism and decluttering, which suggested going around the house and looking for 5 things a day to get rid of, every day for a whole month (so 150 things in a month). So I have gotten rid of an engraved pebble and candle holder that I got from the pet bereavement service and didn't like (I am not into plasticky memorabilia and tend to not like decorative objects I haven't carefully chosen). I also threw away a cheap looking picture frame that came along with it, which didn't seem worth donating. I am burning the candle they gave me as my fourth declutter item, then when I go upstairs I expect I will probably find something in the bathroom that I can say goodbye to. I will enjoy this challenge of decluttering 5 a day.

Edit: The fifth item was a reed diffuser that was already there in the dining room when I moved in. Satisfying!

MillQueen

Low cost entertainment today - reading a book called "Bad Sister" by Sam Carrington that I got for £1 in a charity shop a few weeks ago. reading it wrapped in a blanket and a throw, which were both free as they were gifted to me when I got the house. Always happy with comfortable times that don't cost a lot ❤️

MillQueen

Another low/no spend day today, chilling out at home. This is all I want to do at the moment, hang out on the sofa.

MillQueen

Finished one book and I've gone onto another, 'The Evidence Against you' by Gillian McAllister - this one for free on Borrow Box. Had a nice day spending no money. I made an omelette with broccolli and spinach from the freezer, with some chopped onion and loads of eggs. Added some pumpkin seeds and flax. There's enough for tomorrow as well, so I can have a no spend day then too as I can work from home and don't need to go anywhere. Trying to see if I can get a saucepan set at the end of the month as I saw a stainless steel set for £24.99 and there is a local bargain shop that does cheap cookware, so I'll keep going with the no spend days as much as possible. I am now doing a task for work that I have been putting off all day that will probably only take an hour. I'll put some focus music on and set a timer, then it's straight to bed.

Hope you're all doing ok, in general, as well as with the debt busting and the wealth building.

MillQueen

Day	Main Meals	Lunch	Breakfast
1: Mon	Chicken + Broccoli	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
2: Tue	Salmon + Asparagus	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
3: Wed	Beef + Salad	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
4: Thu	Prawns + Sweet Potato	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
5: Fri	Tuna + Courgette	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
6: Sat	Tofu + Stir Fry	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Water Fasting
7: Sun	White Fish + Beans	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Water Fasting

I am sick of grovelling around eating yellow sticker food, as I am having a flare up of a health condition and gaining weight, so I have made a meal plan where I can eat the same thing every week this month. The cost is £66 for the first week, but as I will make and freeze double portions of some of the mains it's less the second week. It should be simple enough that even if my motivation doesn't last I can keep it simple, e.g. if I fancy jazzing each one up into a recipe, I could make courgette boats or a big mac bowl and add things I have to the eggs like spinach or whatever (I scramble the eggs and add in the cottage cheese, loads of black pepper, sometimes spring onions). But if I am not doing great with energy then I can just eat the ingredients heated up. I will be able to have some 0% fat Greek yoghurt each day with as much fruit as I like, salad with all mains, and 2 litres of water a day. Hopefully this should also go some way to fix my anaemia and energy levels too.