Cost of Living #5

[NotASlayer]

That does not sound good. At least our council tax, though it steadily creeps up year after year, has never jumped that much in one year. Maybe 10% or so.

 

[nightshade]

Car failed the mot so now I'm waiting to find out how much it'll cost me. It shouldn't be more than £50, as the part it needs is cheap but it'll be the labour cost that puts it up.

 

[Kendar]

That does not sound good. At least our council tax, though it steadily creeps up year after year, has never jumped that much in one year. Maybe 10% or so.

Yeah, there's a limit on increases of 10% per year where I live.

Of course, that can (and frequently does) lead to a situation where your assessed value drops but your taxes go up.

 

[NotASlayer]

Yeah, there's a limit on increases of 10% per year where I live.

Of course, that can (and frequently does) lead to a situation where your assessed value drops but your taxes go up.

Council tax works a bit differently. Properties are placed in bands, and taxed on those bands. So far, properties have not been revalued since council tax was introduced. Your tax doesn't go up if your house value does, unless it's from doing major work to the property, rather than a general rise in property values.

 

[November]

Car failed the mot so now I'm waiting to find out how much it'll cost me. It shouldn't be more than £50, as the part it needs is cheap but it'll be the labour cost that puts it up.

Is it something you can do yourself? Youtube is great for learning car things, although many newer cars have all the computer bits in them which make it much harder.

I still have 5000kms before my next service, so a bit of time to save. Its getting to the point where repairs are costing more than the car is worth, but considering the very limited amount of cars available here, I dont want to let it die.

 

[nightshade]

Is it something you can do yourself? Youtube is great for learning car things, although many newer cars have all the computer bits in them which make it much harder.

I still have 5000kms before my next service, so a bit of time to save. Its getting to the point where repairs are costing more than the car is worth, but considering the very limited amount of cars available here, I dont want to let it die.

No, I think it's an on a ramp thing, something to do with the suspension arm joint. I'm still waiting for them to tell me the cost.

 

[nightshade]

They've told me the cost: £308! So yeah I've got no money, just got to wait until Friday to get it sorted.

 

[NotASlayer]

I still have a multi-hundred pound repair that needs doing on my own car. At least it wasn't an MOT failure issue. Those are not remotely fun.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I wonder how many lives the MOT saves versus how many it takes just due to stress.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

When I bought my first car many years ago, I like British sports cars, so I bought a Triumph Spitfire. One of the things the seller got caught on in the inspection was brake pad thickness and on the Triumph, the entire front section opens up so the hood, fenders and wheel wells come up as a unit. The inspector could see that the new pads were new just by looking at the caliper, so he passed it. A few days later, I was driving down Highway 27 and heard some noises coming from the front wheels, so I got off the highway to check it out but when I made the turn onto the next road, the right front wheel came off. The owner had replaced the pads correctly but didn't tighten the wheel lug nuts, so I had to get new lug nuts and new studs that they mounted on. That's why I don't see MOT inspections as being worth much. That one almost killed me.

 

[Taake]

When I bought my first car many years ago, I like British sports cars, so I bought a Triumph Spitfire. One of the things the seller got caught on in the inspection was brake pad thickness and on the Triumph, the entire front section opens up so the hood, fenders and wheel wells come up as a unit. The inspector could see that the new pads were new just by looking at the caliper, so he passed it. A few days later, I was driving down Highway 27 and heard some noises coming from the front wheels, so I got off the highway to check it out but when I made the turn onto the next road, the right front wheel came off. The owner had replaced the pads correctly but didn't tighten the wheel lug nuts, so I had to get new lug nuts and new studs that they mounted on. That's why I don't see MOT inspections as being worth much. That one almost killed me.

Actual picture of Ethan in his first car


Or so I thought 😉

Seriously though, a spitfire is way too cool of a first car! Even if it almost killed you.

 

[Hunga Munga]

Yeah my dad had a few Spitfire incidents including the occasional wheel just rolling off . That ended up under a tarp in his garden for most of his life . Lovable car ,just not too practical .

 

[Ethan Reigns]

For those of you who don't know what I am talking about:

I had the hardtop with the second one I bought but not the first. The first was a 1968 with a different rear view. The second one was a 1971 that looked like this and both were in this colour.

 

[November]

I was reading the shire strategy thing from 4 years ago and they've actually implemented the good bits from it. Like ensuring the grocery delivery, updating the water and the new playground/park and plants. The internet here is better than anywhere I have lived before. Town is definitely looking better than it ever has - just needs the jobs to match now!

I am more hopeful now about the place, especially as they have a target of increasing the population by 20% by 2031, which it really, really needs. The Filipino families are great because they BYO support network, so they dont get so isolated like the indian boys did. Im still hoping for a pool before I have to move on to assisted living.

 

[nightshade]

Got an energy saving session tonight, actually at a time I can do. Not that i get much from it, almost everything is switched off anyway. I can turn off the dehumidifiers, lights, and umm not really anything else! I'm not going to risk switching off the fridge or freezer, for a few extra pence.

 

[November]

Oh no. I'm such a stupid dickhead. I have TWO seperate grocery orders coming today. So I pay double delivery cos I forgot I had already done one. Plus I made one a large order cos chocolate was on special.

At least they both have different things and arnt just duplicate orders, although I will have a lot of bunny salad and milk to get through cos they are automatic for every order 😑

Can I blame the heat for frying my brain?

 

[nightshade]

Phone call from my letting agent this morning, rent is going up and tomorrow there's an investment guy coming around.

Means I need to go on a cleaning spree tonight.

 

[November]

I'm looking at new mattresses from a shop that says it delivers. I get it, the delivery fee will be more for here. But when I put in the postcode, the price of the actual mattress went up $300! Not even the delivery fee, just the cost of that mattress itself is a few hundred more.

Delivery fee was $120 which was far less than I expected it to be considering the weight. But nah, that much of a jump is almost double what I picked out initially. The search continues!

 

[November]

Pancake mix was on special today 😋 I got two.

 

[nightshade]

Cruise and parking for it should be paid off next month, then its just the cat sitter to save for.
Rent goes up April so be good to get it paid off before that happens. I'll have to rejig the monthly bills to make sure I have enough to pay the extra.