I have term assurance with Cavendish, so called because I am insured for a fixed term of 30 years. If I peg out before 2028 the missus gets a healthy sum. If I don’t then it’s money down the drain. The policy was only taken out to cover the mortgage but now that’s paid off and my heart is a bit dicky it’s probably worth the £30 a month for £300,000 cover, which at the time was substantially cheaper than anything else available.

Direct line, about £50 a year. Doesn’t include bikes, Obvs, but CTC for that?

This is it…

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C970373

Big lazy Ford lump, tail happy and a bonnet covered in glue…

And you’ll even get a bike in the back!

I do like IF and always wanted a Soulcraft Plowboy…….

My Soulcraft is the bike I’ll never sell. Get one!

children’s nest eggs,

Open up  Stocks and shares Junior ISAs. You’ll get a far better long term return than any savings account or offsetting against the mortgage.

Stretch the budget a touch; you’re not getting any younger !

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C969661

Bring up your feminine side:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUZUKI-CAPPUCCINO-CUSTOM-FINISH/292479188380?hash=item44191e3d9c:g:HNMAAOSwxfdapSCi

Considerably slower than the z4m coupe, which you know deep down  is what you should have got

Can you get a bike in the back?  If so…

If you want a car that appears “sexy” to the opposite sex, then you need to look at that car though their eyes and not your own!

He’s right.  Big, modern, powerful, brutish german cars probably aren’t the way to go, especially 2nd or third hand, Sonny.

Something older, prettier and more lively, needing a firm yet delicate touch is the way to go.

Suck it up and move on. Think of it as money well spent to be free of the ****.

In trying to be helpful I’ll sound like a resident grumpy bar steward but there’s so much misinformation here from people trying to be helpful but slightly misinformed.

You say that every time pension questions crop up but have never said why you are the one who’s advice should be followed. I know F all about pension legislation but there are a number on here who seem to know what they are talking about.

Who do we believe?

It was shit!

I use AJ Bell Youinvest for my SIPP.  Ongoing charge is 0.25% and £1.50 to trade a fund, £11.95 shares, trusts and ETFs. Funds tend to be opening charge free, unlike some other platforms such as IWeb.

They also have a MASSIVE selection of funds and ETFs.

Charles Stanley charge about the same but don’t have anywhere near the range, but do you really need it?

HL beats them all though for ease of use, and frequently negotiates lower fund fees, negating their higher charges…

FIbre to the house is very rare isn’t it?

Probably. I mean to the nearest pole/ manhole junction box

They may have fibre to house while you are fibre to cabinet. ie copper to house. My postcode shows Fibre to house but that is to houses 5 doors down . Mine comes 5 miles across the common in an iron pipe. Extending the superfast broadband to my house and beyond would be “too complicated”.   Bastards!

Lake do a wide fitting in most of their shoes, but their crap importer doesn’t realise it. They are substantially wider than Sidi Mega.

I bought an HP printer last week from John Lewis and spent a whole afternoon trying to get it working. I failed miserably and was directed to  trouble shooting. Instead, I took it back and bought a Canon. That was up and running within 20 mins…

About midnight last night I noticed my water was off. A burst water main apparently.

Between then and arising from my cosy bed at 8 some poor sods had dealt with freezing water and blizzard conditions to allow me my morning cuppa. If that was you, then Ta, it’s very much service beyond…

Lamb Shank Stifado.

Ready in ten…

get a 3 litre. it’s chain drive, not much thirstier than a 2.5, and the flat 6 sounds glorious!

 but then I have a very aggressive immune system.  (which might be nice for this but has it’s own drawbacks)

Did you eat dog shit as a kid? That gets your immune system up to snuff.

There is always someone who comes out and says you have a cold not flu.

Well it’s true. Flu is a nasty disease. You think you’re going to die!  And you could do. The Flu epidemic 100 years ago killed more people in this country than died in the great war.

Don’t despair though; Manflu has been recognised as a proper ailment in it’s own right. Men feel the effects of a cold  more than women.

A temperature of 38C?  What’s normal- 36.9? so a difference of just 3%…

Ya puff!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09smnhd#play

Omega 3 and red wine!

At 55 I feel better than I did in my 20s.

I also run a lot though, and eat my greens…

I live in the midst of a  network of green lanes in Surrey, and they are well used by 4x4s and trail riders. Once in a while some riders venture off piste but the numbers are certainly no more than they were a few years back and generally they realise they could be regarded as antisocial so are on the whole considerate of other people. Mountain bikers on the other hand…

Check out some coin dealers’ websites. Some of your coins may be worth a bit more than face value

Doesn’t seem like am investment to me.

They’re not. They’re savings for a rainy day, available almost immediately without having to sell investments…

WTF..?

My return last year was 1.2%, a little higher than the ns&i expected return,which has now gone up a bit. Tax free and better than any cash ISA.

As said, withdrawals are almost instant, taking a couple of days, making them perfect for rainy day money.

My grandad, the tightest man I knew but also the richest, put a shed load of cash in them, better than sticking it In the bank he said. Don’t know if that is still the case with ISAs and so on.

i have a fivers worth 

Find the 5live program on them, it was released and measured independently, not sure on the comparison but they also use it as part of their advertising. Where does your local estate agent publish their sales conversion figures?

Ask them and they’ll tell you.  Purplebricks won’t.

The last time I sold I found a league table of local agents online. By their very nature they are over competitive cock wavers.  Purple bricks keep their pants on in the shower.

Report it to fixmystreet.com

There will then be a public record of them being informed. You may even find it has already been reported, and if not within a reasonable time period you may have a claim…

Why have you enjoyed living there and what will you really miss? Chances are your buyer will be looking for similar.

Fr’instance – My old house had a bridleway up the side of the house and carrying on over the road, leading to endless woods and trails in both directions. It was great for riding but even better for dog walking. Straight over the road and off they go! Leading two terriers up a very busy semi-suburban/country  road wouldn’t have been fun.  I suggested the first agent included this in the details but they demurred. The second agent included this and found a dog loving buyer within a week.

agent 2 – national brand, quite sales oriented gave me the whole spiel on selling the house his team, doing an open day to generate interest and get competing bidders. Priced house at £375k hoping to sell anything above £350k but had lots of examples of houses sold for asking price. Had to pay £150 for photos and EPC refundable when house sells. on top of that fee was  whopping £7250 inc vat, and standard they look for a 26 week lock in.

They are taking the piss.

Aim for 1% and 6 weeks lock in. There is no excuse for any more and it focuses their attention. They need you more than you need them…

It depends where you are though, but the busiest time of year is coming up…

Jerusalem Artichokes are excellent for gut bacteria.
IANAV

Another…

sums it up nicely!

“a share of the business – otherwise known as a noose for future thoughts like this?”

Agreed…
10% of what? Have you seen the accounts?
Is the business thriving? Is it expanding or going tits up?
If you’re not enjoying working there now it’ll be worse watching your stake dwindling to nothing despite your best efforts…

How many pint mugs can you, sorry, your friend, hang off it?

“More though than his acting and his thuggery, Bindon was famous for the size of his cock. And he would love showing it off and to everyone. He could grasp it with two large hands and still have plenty left over to swing in a circle. Dani called it, in a French accent, Le pink elicoptere. It was like a hose. His party trick in pubs was to put empty pint glasses on it, and put his penis through the handles. I believe he could do ten at one time, or something ridiculous. I was having lunch with him in the Great American Disaster one day, when the waitress came to take our order, without lifting his haunches, he draped his cock across the table, stuck a fork in it and said, ‘can I have this lightly grilled, darling?’ Yes, that was John Bindon, the thug with the giant one.”

https://uk-ghostwriter.com/sample-3-confessions-of-a-kings-road-cowboy-memoirs-autobiography-subject-london-crime/

“i get that as the dog ages, the possibility of claiming increases, but surely they know this, and could make the jumps year on year less significant.”

They’re not charities. They are in it to make money.
And they have you by the short and curlies.

A friend’s son was given an unconditional offer to read History at UEA. Consequently he has taken this as an excuse to put F all effort into his A levels.
Mate is not chuffed!

Somewhere to park the bike is essential.