What are you all up to
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Waiting for a heavy shower to pass before packing up the outside things and starting the journey home. The Met office weather radar shows it should only last 10 to 15 mins and then we should have a clear spell for a while. We have had a nice week, the weather although unseasonable has provided some spectacular waterfalls and we have managed a few decent walks. It's easing, so off to pack up.
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I got my work rota for next week. I've got days off for Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday is our moving day to Lancing Fruit Farm CL for two nights. So it will be a move back here on Thursday for another 21 nights.
We plan to take the awning down on Monday, weather permitting! It's less than a mile from the CL to where I work, so Wednesday evening will be a short commute.
We plan to tow the caravan on Tuesday morning to the CL and then drive the Shogun back here to swap it over for the Smart Car. Then Thursday we'll have to swap cars again for the tow back to here.
Weather permitting, we plan to get the awning back up on Thursday which will get us settled in for the next twenty-one nights.
I'll be working Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, then surprisingly, day off for Saturday. I don't know how they managed that. It's usually all hands on deck on a Saturday evening! Then back on again on Sunday evening.
Friday is pay day, so I'm looking forward to a nice injection of funds into my bank account!
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I know you won't agree because you think the important thing in life is to own property in the form of bricks and mortar that appreciates in value but I'm enjoying my way of life.
It's a way of life that enables me to live on my income and not have to rely on a means tested State benefit system. It gives me freedom. My earnings go straight into the bank, no questions asked. No need to produce bank statements to assess how much I'm entitled to etc.
I like the feeling of freedom that gives me!
Don't forget that you only realise the value of your property when you come to sell it. However, you have to pay out once again when you buy a new home. Your property may have increased in value but then so has the next property you buy, so you're no better off unless you downsize.
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Steve I hope you've managed to pack up outside things now and they weren't too wet! It's a difficult call when you're walking and want to see decent water falls. Ideal would be overnight rain and dry days!
We had an hour or so of VERY heavy rain it woke me! Dozed again and then was aware of someone running up the road, the rain had eased a bit, that was 3.15am so someone on the way home from a club? Certainly would have been soaked! When I checked my phone we'd had a yellow rain warning, should have passed by 6am but was still very threatening looking at 730am but no rain. Garden is rather squelchy 🙄. Blue sky being superseded by grey again!
We must have lots of new fledglings, certainly seen long tail tits, sparrows, various tips and starlings, t heyday been through one square of fat, 3 fat balls and a full container of sunflower hearts and 3/4 of mixed seeds in 24 hours 😲😲😲. It's great to see them and sit and watch their antics.even spotted some gold finches a few days ago 😃.
Off to do the ironing now and hope to be able to get outside to do a few bits probably only on the patio or the front garden as everywhere else will be too wet!
Enjoy your day folks.
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Over here, it rained a lot earlier but it has dried up now and there are patches of blue sky. Anyway, we've had two cups of tea and breakfast cereal. We plan to go shopping at Tesco later. Off to work again this evening to earn some more money! Also I now get paid holidays. So next time I go on holiday, I won't be down on earnings! Two weeks already booked at Baltic Wharf, Bristol for Xmas and New Year!
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If it's a shoulder replacement (called a 'resurfacing') you OH is looking at Tammygirl, I have to say, both mine were really sucessful. I now have better movement (not perfect) but no pain at all. Steve Drew did both mine at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire (formerly known as Walsgrave) - great chap and wonderful surgeon.
David
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One problem comes Malcolm when, for whatever reason, you are unable to drive (even if only for a limited period of time). When I think of a group of about 20 closest friends then at least 4 have been unable to drive for a period of a month for medical reasons.
In your situation I would also be concerned with the fact that my wife could not drive.
If I were to adopt a lifestyle of living in a caravan full time touring and sold my house I would have less concern. Purely because I have a reasonable pension over £16K and with bond returns etc an income of £19k, my OAP starts November and will bring in more, OH is in a similar position having pensions from work places, OAP already and with returns on bonds etc an income of £21k. My home is not worth a lot in Wales and probably only £200K with joint savings of £625K. If the worst happened we would have funds to bail us out.
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Easy day today ,,,?? Get up late ,shower etc change the bed linen and remake, and wash,,do the normal clothes washing, and hang out,,dusting and hoovering,,cut some herbs for a restaurant,,(eating there lunchtime) ,,catch up on emails and Facebook,,write some music to my lyrics,,play some ,,Oh !! to be up at the boat yard ,it's easier up there !! Oh well ,,"a man's gotta' do,what a man's gotta' do "
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EasyT Scotch at this time of the morning? Isn't it a bit early for that? I don't think I could stomach it this early!
I think if I was too ill to drive, it may be covered under the Super 5Cs insurance. The biggest problem would be that I couldn't continue working in this job without being able to drive. I just have to hope it doesn't happen!
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That's an excellent position to be in, EasyT.
I don't have any savings but with no mortgage to pay and enough income to manage my present lifestyle, I have an excellent credit rating. That is my biggest asset. Banks and credit card companies like to throw money at me because of my excellent payment record over a long period of time.
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Was going to cut the three lawns (almost meadow now) yesterday, but rain stopped play,hope to get it done today if they dry enough,before next trip (Cotswolds again) on wednesday, Have found out that New family member does not like the dark,will not leave the house, even to go in the garden at night,which will be a hurdle to cross when nights draw in
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When we first came back from China, there was about £65000 in savings. £62500 was necessary to fulfill the financial rule for my wife's UK visa. However, we spent about £28,000 on a new caravan and another £12500 on the tow car. The rest of the money was used for living expenses between March and November 2015 before I started work in November. During that time we did a lot of touring with the caravan through England, Wales and Scotland which we both enjoyed. Touring the countryside and visiting beautiful places has been an inspiration for us!
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Needs confidence building up JVC. On a lead at dusk, gentle stroll round garden with you by the side, lots of praise, especially if "performs" as needed. Increase time out, especially as it gets darker, build things up gradually. We put a light up collar on one of ours, seemed to give more confidence. Good luck
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Even if I get up early in the morning, I couldn't manage an alcoholic drink until at least lunchtime and that only on a day off. When I'm working, I like a Scotch when I get home which is usually about 10.30 p.m. as an apperitif before the evening meal. It helps me wind down after work!
Cheers, EasyT!
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Of course, EasyT, costs will go up for us once the seasonal pitch comes to an end in November. Then we'll be paying £12 to £13 a night site fees for a CL. However, if we stay at Lancing Fruit Farm, I will save money on the commute as it's less than a mile away from work. I think that alone could save £5 per day. Also, it tends to get busier in the winter so they may increase my hours and that means more earnings.
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Do they not ask about your income these days if you apply for a loan or credit card?
Income has to be high enough to service the debt, so the amount of borrowing you can have will be limited by that.
Fortunately your caravan is pretty new, but nothing lasts forever. If you need to replace either car or caravan in the future and have no savings to help with that, what then? I would worry about that!
While not in the same league as ET, we do have savings, and I have my company pension and state pension. OH only has very small state pension. Out of our pension incomes, we are still saving when we can.
We use out of our savings for things like a new car......about one every 8 to 10 years maybe, as we have 2 cars......then replenish the savings. We live fairly frugally otherwise, OH is pretty strict on spending and keeps a close eye on things, so this allows us to take fairly long holidays meantime, but only within our income.
We have also helped our children when they needed it, and are putting away a bit for our grandchildren, they might as well have it now than after we are gone.
If we do use up all our savings, then we still have the house. We could easily downsize if we needed the money, we look on it as our emergency fund, but with a decent pension we do not anticipate needing to do so.
We are in a good position, but only because I contributed to a pension fund for many years. Less final income in our younger days has provided for our old age.
I did not retire till I was 65, I see many others have retired much earlier. Retiring earlier would have meant a large loss of pension due to the way my company scheme works. However I was fit and well, so this was not a problem. I could even have continued working, but decided not to, now we keep so busy that I would have no time to work!
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You can have underfloor heating with some types of laminate, and there are waterproof laminates available too.
Our son has UF heating in his kitchen with a suitable laminate, it is lovely to walk on, and the kids lie down on it!
We are getting to the stage where new bathrooms would be a good idea, at present our showers are over the bath but walk in ones would be better at our age. The actual baths etc are still in excellent condition, so OH is reluctant as she is thinking about the mess. All the bathrooms (3) are fully tiled so a lot of work and mess to remove the old stuff.
She would ideally also like a new kitchen, but again the upheaval is putting her off, and the cost is putting me off!
We have meantime compromised on a new oven, which means some work on the oven housing (starting that today), and some additional units instead of the current sofa.
We spent yesterday afternoon at Ikea looking at units and have decided on a "complete contrast" rather than a "near miss". We have solid oak units and a pine dresser at present, the extra units will be stainless steel and glass, so a big contrast!
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Dry day again here but rain is in the forecast.
Went to see Mum this morning at the home, she seems to be more settled now that we don't bring her out for the day.
Back home for lunch (just finished) now time to get back to the decorating.
JayEss and DSB, thanks for your comments, OH has decompression of the shoulder joint and a touch of arthritis which has formed a bony spur. The specialist says sometimes this can get better on its own with the help of injections. So far he has had 2 of them, the first was very effective until he banged his shoulder which caused a lot of pain to start up again so another injection. Its been playing up a bit over the last week but he has been using it above shoulder height cleaning the m/h and decorating. Paracetamol and ibuprofen gel rubbed in helps a little. He has an open appointment for 6 mths so we will see how it goes before contacting the hospital again, with a bit of luck it will settle down again when not using it so much.
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Dry day again here but rain is in the forecast.
Went to see Mum this morning at the home, she seems to be more settled now that we don't bring her out for the day.
Back home for lunch (just finished) now time to get back to the decorating.
JayEss and DSB, thanks for your comments, OH has decompression of the shoulder joint and a touch of arthritis which has formed a bony spur. The specialist says sometimes this can get better on its own with the help of injections. So far he has had 2 of them, the first was very effective until he banged his shoulder which caused a lot of pain to start up again so another injection. Its been playing up a bit over the last week but he has been using it above shoulder height cleaning the m/h and decorating. Paracetamol and ibuprofen gel rubbed in helps a little. He has an open appointment for 6 mths so we will see how it goes before contacting the hospital again, with a bit of luck it will settle down again when not using it so much.
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From here to Lancing about 6 miles each way. So 12 miles daily commute. You reckoned in an earlier post to allow 45 pence per mile for car running costs which would work out to £5.40 per day. A commute of less than a mile would cost about 40 pence both ways.
The difference is that once we move to a CL, we'll be able to stay 28 days at a time instead of 21 days, so less moving and less cost of moving. We'll have to pay cash for the site fees, so no bonus for Tesco card spend. So I'll probably have to save cash from my daily fuel allowance plus tips to pay the site fees and use the four weekly pay plus state pension for other living costs.
At £12 per night, I will have to pay £84 per week site fees, so the daily allowance plus tios might not be enough in itself so some cash withdrawal from my pay may be necessary on top depending on how much work and tips I can get in the winter months.
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It is getting busier at work, especially as next week, they are taking over the East Worthing area and with more hours work, my pay should improve.
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