My OH is 69 and still working full time .He does not earn a great wage considering he is highly skilled. We do have a small pension and state pension and in the last 5 years have tried to do the big jobs that we won't be able to afford once retirement comes.i.e. guttering,decorating ,new central heating system. Two weeks ago he had a nasty accident at work by catching his hand in a machine. His hand has loads of stitches and although he has gone back to work doing light duties I can see the writing on the wall clearer than ever . I am 66 and gave up spare time last week due to having to work on my own in an off licence and felt more vulnerable than usual after dealing with an awkward customer. *We have our chickens , two allotments and waste as little as possible . *I already bake my own bread and cook mostly fresh food but feel that now is the time to pull in the reigns! *I use on line banking as that helps me to see where our money is going * I have just started on line shopping for all my heavy items as I don't drive so used to get a taxi back from town once a week. On line shopping is a third the price of a taxi and I am not tempted to browse. *I use my bus pass so only bring back things I can carry as I have a 10 minute walk from the bus stop .
So my next steps are... 1. Save £500 extra by April. 2.Sort my wardrobe so can us some of the clothes I already have (I am not a great clothes buyer) 3. Think before I buy .
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom. 2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby. Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
That sounds a good plan. Good luck with it. Sorry to hear about your husbands accident I would think that you both have earned some retirement, or only having to do jobs you enjoy. I know how things change at our age (OH is 75 & I'm 70) and things we were keen to do 10 yrs ago are more of a chore now.
For internet shopping try. They let you compare prices at different stores, and see if the special offers are good compared to the average price for the year etc. And have money off coupons. Also if you shop and different stores you sometimes get an email saying 'Please come back to us' with a money off voucher. I tend to do a big shop every 3 weeks or so, either online or when I'm driving past somewhere, then top up locally.
After reading P.Penns piece on insurance on the other page I have decided to look into insurances and car tax etc., to see where money can be saved .The end of last year I did do a deal with our road recovery people as a rival was asking less for new customers and they said they would match it . I saved about £50 . I did not think of doing our other insurances as the bloke a cross the road from us works for a insurance broker and we have always been loyal to his company due to friendship. This has been going on for about 30 years and we have never claimed a penny for our home or car except for one broken window about 25 years ago.Now you have to make a claim over £100 we have not bothered .I think this should now change .The only snag is our house and contents and car insurance policies were all renewed at the end of last year so I have a while to wait. Two questions... 1. Is it time I put friendship to one side ? 2. Can you change insurance companies mid stream ?
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom. 2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby. Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
Hi. I have been with the same insurance broker for my car ever since I started driving, over forty years ago. My school friend went to work for them when we left school, it is a family business, though I wouldn't call them my friends, they are nice people. I stay with them because I cannot understand lots of numbers, I get very confused. They do all the leg work for me. I did try and look for a cheaper quote through the RAC, but they couldn't better what I already had, so I haven't bothered again. I know when I ring my broker up I will always speak to someone who knows me. They send me a letter each renewal, and I ring to ask if they can search for a better deal. I renewed with them last month, and was able to go into the office to pay, they were surprised as I now live 100 miles away. It was a great laugh, I like the personal contact, and dealing with real people.
I wouldn't be staying with them if I thought they were ripping me off. I don't mind paying a few more quid as it saves me a lot of hassle on the computer, and besides, I never pay for anything online. It's up to you to decide how you value their service. If your friends are business people they should understand the need to shop around, and won't take it personally.
I re negotiated my house insurance, (with a different company), on the phone, rejigged the policy to get the monthly payments down.
I have been taking my car to the same repairers for a few years now. Nice people, one man band and wife, but I felt they were taking me for a mug, so I have found someone cheaper and just as good. They rang me up and reminded me it was almost MOT time. I said I had already sorted it, it was done.
Look after number one, weigh up all the pro's and cons, move if you have to. You might be able to change halfway through a policy, have a look at the small print. Ilona
I have decided to stay with who I know for insurances etc., asking him nearer the time to try harder and find a cheaper deal .After all there is a lot to be said for the devil you know. After doing on line grocery shopping for 2 weeks now and going into my 3rd week I reckon I have saved about £50 which has gone into an emergency fund.. I am really pleased and just hope that the temptation of not going around a large store will pay off. I am still going to town once a week on a Friday (by bus) to get my veg and fruit from the market while we have no allotment veg . I only take 2 small bags so that I can only bring back what I can carry . The other thing to mention is that I have been very good about is the lottery. Every week ever since it has started I had 2 lines twice a week with the same numbers. Since it went up to £2 I have had none. I refuse to look at the results. I worked it out over 1 year and even at £1 I have wasted about £208 ,I have not dared to work out how much since it has started. Which made me think if it 's insurances , lottery , shopping etc., how much of what we do I just habit and just needs staying power to break them..Just hope I have staying power.
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom. 2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby. Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
His hand has loads of stitches and although he has gone back to work doing light duties I can see the writing on the wall clearer than ever . 
