vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
It's the quality vs quantity. Argument. I'm prepared to pay for quality.
Household finances voyeurism
- Thread starter Smurfy
- Start date
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It's the quality vs quantity. Argument. I'm prepared to pay for quality.
Levo-Lon
Guru
Difficult one for me to quantify. Butler..I wish
I never know where I am anymore. Pre the 08 crash I was a 50 weeks a year very busy business.
add in some new regulations from councils wanting planning for extending parking etc and that just about halved my turnover in a blink..thanks lol
I have a ok living I guess and the wife is now the main bread winner with her manager job.
I dont have cc debts anymore or personal loans,I own the new car and the van and I have a old tracker mortgague , I changed that in 07 woohoo when I increased it for the extension and new roof. so I pay .5 over base rate and only about 40k left with around 20k going in 2019.
no pensions in the house finances so the house will be used for future plans somehow
I never know where I am anymore. Pre the 08 crash I was a 50 weeks a year very busy business.
add in some new regulations from councils wanting planning for extending parking etc and that just about halved my turnover in a blink..thanks lol
I have a ok living I guess and the wife is now the main bread winner with her manager job.
I dont have cc debts anymore or personal loans,I own the new car and the van and I have a old tracker mortgague , I changed that in 07 woohoo when I increased it for the extension and new roof. so I pay .5 over base rate and only about 40k left with around 20k going in 2019.
no pensions in the house finances so the house will be used for future plans somehow
Our household bills run high it seems, we have no debt or mortgage though. Luckily I enjoy my work and can enjoy a good living from it.
I have been very skint and homeless with a wife and 2 month old baby at the time, I do not wish to be skint again, but being self employed who knows.
I have been very skint and homeless with a wife and 2 month old baby at the time, I do not wish to be skint again, but being self employed who knows.
D
Deleted member 1258
Guest
We live simply but if it wasn't for the overdraft we'd go under, and we're supposed to be on a living wage.
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
When we moved here we found those pre-pay gas and electric meters fitted. As it was £52.50 plus VAT to have each one changed, we have stuck with them and found that our energy costs have gone way down.
With Hubs on some benefit or other due to his health and my part time money coming in, we do OK but we are careful with money. It's very rare that we buy coffee out anywhere. Far too expensive. We certainly don't treat anyone to a starbucks (not that that would be a 'treat'
). I was quite surprised that one chap was having a coffee and a danish every working day. That cost racks up over the months.
After a period of homelessness, where we had to make every single penny matter, it taught us that you can get stuff a lot cheaper when you know where to look. Hubs manages to save £50 a fortnight out of his little benefit payments. This goes off into an account for emergencies like car repairs etc
Neither of us have overdrafts, credit cards or anything like that. We want something, we save and then we buy.
We do a lot of saving. Not a lot of spending.
With Hubs on some benefit or other due to his health and my part time money coming in, we do OK but we are careful with money. It's very rare that we buy coffee out anywhere. Far too expensive. We certainly don't treat anyone to a starbucks (not that that would be a 'treat'
). I was quite surprised that one chap was having a coffee and a danish every working day. That cost racks up over the months.After a period of homelessness, where we had to make every single penny matter, it taught us that you can get stuff a lot cheaper when you know where to look. Hubs manages to save £50 a fortnight out of his little benefit payments. This goes off into an account for emergencies like car repairs etc
Neither of us have overdrafts, credit cards or anything like that. We want something, we save and then we buy.
We do a lot of saving. Not a lot of spending.
Turbo Rider
Just can't reMember
- Location
- A compounded speck of dust
Equity release and then lifetime income plan with the capital would be my wager...should hopefully avoid income tax on it, but you never know with governments and their tax switches...think you only pay tax on the interest though...
Sara_H
Guru
My household income went down in stages over the course if a few years.
First when my ex husband moved out, then he drastically cut the child maintenance, then it stopped all together, then in order to get my dream job I had to reduce my hours and stopped getting unsocial hours payments.
I went from rolling about in money, to having to be very careful about what I'm spending.
Amazing how much it's possible to pull your belt in if need be.
Pre packed sandwiches? Bonkers !
First when my ex husband moved out, then he drastically cut the child maintenance, then it stopped all together, then in order to get my dream job I had to reduce my hours and stopped getting unsocial hours payments.
I went from rolling about in money, to having to be very careful about what I'm spending.
Amazing how much it's possible to pull your belt in if need be.
Pre packed sandwiches? Bonkers !
Flick of the Elbow
Guru
- Location
- Pentlands & West Lothian
Just showed my wife some of the OP links, pointed out the wanton profilgacy of spending £5 a day on lunch, to which she replied that's what she spends on lunch every day 
She's going to have to think twice about that when my income reduces by two thirds in 4 years time.
She's going to have to think twice about that when my income reduces by two thirds in 4 years time.
Sara_H
Guru
And they were buying breakfast too!Just showed my wife some of the OP links, pointed out the wanton profilgacy of spending £5 a day on lunch, to which she replied that's what she spends on lunch every day
She's going to have to think twice about that when my income reduces by two thirds in 4 years time.
I've never had a loan, apart from a mortgage, my parents didn't and told me not to, I don't have any monthly contracts like Sky, a phone or a car payment either. We live well though (in our opinion) and are secure, which is the main thing, no debt let's you sleep easy. We both now only work part time, early 50's, gives us more time to enjoy "life", working full time and doubling our income would only provide more cash, but would mean forfeiting the leisure time, and for what? More "stuff". 
I too have a packed lunch, a £1 sandwich is all very good if you focus only on the cost, but a wanky sandwich is a wanky sandwich, no thanks.
I too have a packed lunch, a £1 sandwich is all very good if you focus only on the cost, but a wanky sandwich is a wanky sandwich, no thanks.
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Our household income has fallen off a cliff in recent years, but we've managed to keep afloat with the help of a few economy measures.
)
- Always using price comparison sites to get the cheapest insurance renewals.
- Buying all fruit from local 'quid a bowl' street stalls, and meat short-dated (then freeze) from a local Sainsbury's which clearly has staggeringly incompetent staff, so we get everything a third off.
- Carefully scanning special deals, and buying lots of stuff we know we'll use eventually, when it's cheap.
- Negotiating 'cut or I quit' deals on mobile deals (the four of us, on effectively limitless deals, now under £30/mon all in), and buying all electronics and pretty much everything else, carefully, off ebay.
)
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
That's new, isn't it? Mine is 50 years old +/-!
hedder2212
Senior Member
- Location
- Walsall
I somehow manage to live on less than £70 a week even though I earn £300ish a week now.
I live with mum still and don't plan on moving out for a few years yet.
£35 a week board. £25 a week for food and other essentials and £10 petrol.
Porridge every morning for breakfast, Ham sandwich everyday for lunch with a bottle of water that gets refilled every day, then usually homemade chips or mashed potatoe with whatever I got from the reduced section and froze the week before.
Im the cheapest bugger youll ever meet. I refuse to spend money unless I absolutely HAVE to. I don't see it as a bad thing but a lot of people who know me think im stupid... ill be the one laughing though because if I do this for the next 5 years ill have between £50k-£60k in the bank if ive done my sums right.
I live with mum still and don't plan on moving out for a few years yet.
£35 a week board. £25 a week for food and other essentials and £10 petrol.
Porridge every morning for breakfast, Ham sandwich everyday for lunch with a bottle of water that gets refilled every day, then usually homemade chips or mashed potatoe with whatever I got from the reduced section and froze the week before.
Im the cheapest bugger youll ever meet. I refuse to spend money unless I absolutely HAVE to. I don't see it as a bad thing but a lot of people who know me think im stupid... ill be the one laughing though because if I do this for the next 5 years ill have between £50k-£60k in the bank if ive done my sums right.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
I got £40 out last Tuesday, I've got £30 of it left.
