Age 60 want money for a holiday and to do some renovations

BrenWW said:
4,900 / year Dec19-Dec20
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This thread is hilarious in its own way...have you tried turning off the immersion :D

But seriously if you are paying that much your first step should be to change provider every year, it will save you a fortune.

BrenWW said:
I was looking at the AnPost SEAI energy upgrade loans that work out at c.700mth for a 70k loan over 10 years.. (?)
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BrenWW said:
Looking at AnPost SEAI energy loans, money I save might pay for a city break
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None of this makes any sense, so you plan to save €200-250 a month in bills by taking a loan that costs nearly €750 a month. You clearly cannot afford that. And you are highly unlikely to get a loan of €70k anyway based on your income...back to that big chart of yours...
 
Bronte said:
Thank you for answering question 1. Added details are good, well done. (€96 Euro a week.)

Question 2

What exact income is coming into the house? (do not say PUP say € amount X to the Euro) and how many people in house.
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1400/month (350/wk) ..... 2 people
 
ATC110 said:
As a general rule, renovations/remodelling do not enhance the value of a house rather make it more saleable in a competitive market.

It's a seller's market right now due to lack of supply and all the state money being handed out.

If I was in your situation, I would improve the kerbside appeal at low/no cost by decluttering, pressure washing, strategically placed plants et al and get the house on the market asap with a view to significantly downsizing.

I did similar a couple of years ago and only touched up the paint in the reception rooms and gave the front door a coat of varnish and polished the brass door furniture for the first impression and left the (badly in need of redecorating) bedroom walls untouched.

The house achieved an unprecedented price for the area.

Good luck.
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Did that years ago, used buy 'trade' cars, service and valet, drive for 6 mths and sell on....happy days. Bit like 'flipping houses' on US TV shows.
Last house I lived in I had 'personalised' paint wise, but when I decided to sell I painted all the interior magnolia/white, decluttered including wall paintings etc and white sheets over cabinets when viewings were on. On a 'good' day I can do wonders around the place ( if someone said they'd give me 600k for it next week if it was cleaned up-watch me in action!!!) but given other things at the moment I haven't done anything in weeks..
 
_OkGo_ said:
This thread is hilarious in its own way...have you tried turning off the immersion :D

But seriously if you are paying that much your first step should be to change provider every year, it will save you a fortune.




None of this makes any sense, so you plan to save €200-250 a month in bills by taking a loan that costs nearly €750 a month. You clearly cannot afford that. And you are highly unlikely to get a loan of €70k anyway based on your income...back to that big chart of yours...
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The Immmersion..hadn't thought of that.... :eek: (Actually checked it now, lagging jacket WAS hanging off so tightened it and there's 1000/yr saved tonight...o_O )
Change provider will be looked at. The loan payback v's 'savings'...if income is 1400/mth, then the ESB savings of 250/mth (as per my/Bronte's ESB bill averaging of 386/mth being cut back ) might not look attractive but the end result was to make it easier for people to be interested in the property as a 'walk in' purchase rather than them having to think about getting builders in before they could move in..with all the uncertainty that brings. So IF I borrowed the 70k it could hasten a sale and I'd be able to pay it off, or I could live in comfort rather than dying of bad health because 'he didn't take care of his health in that draughty old place'
Anyway, tomorrow's another day nearer to a solution....
 
Bronte said:
Thank you for answering Question 2.

Question 3

What amount do you spend on food weekly.
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Wait for it, this is going to be a doozy....:p If I'm shopping it's 50/wk(basics), if she's shopping then it could be 150/wk(her 'basics'). To be fair she's on par with the best in the world, she could turn tripe into a 5 star meal , even her 'nothing special' sauces have caused me to eat the plate as well it's so tasty...:p
Reason she spends extra is on the ingredients and other things that she magics into 5 star food, BUT, she's a bit of a 'hoarder' because we've about a years worth of eating in the freezers...YES, freezerS. ( They're actually a mini freezer 'overflow' ,and a superchilled extra fridge in case the other freezers break down) We could nearly stop buying now and just eat was in the freezers so that'd be 100/wk saving....:cool:
 
Question 4.

Bren do you or you wife owe any money anywhere, bank, car finance, credit card, credit union loan?
 
Bronte said:
Question 4.

Bren do you or you wife owe any money anywhere, bank, car finance, credit card, credit union loan?
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Only car finance,(191 Apr/4 yrs left) and that's on a 6 mth (+?) payment break.Only reason that was bought was because I'd spent the guts of I suppose 8k on repairs on the last few s/h cars (left one into a main dealer to do the rad, came back with loose a/t pipe which leaked fluid, told me to bring it back but a/t expired on the way there, refused to accept blame ,so do you start forking out legal fees to sue etc??). Basically towed the car to the dealer for 4k scrappage on the new one..
 
jpd said:
I think I will come back to this thread when Bronte gets to Q 43 and we may be getting to a proper analysis and proposed solutions :)
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I already know the solution, but someone needs to put on their listening ears.
 
Question 5.

In your working life Bren do either you or your wife have entitlement to a contributory state pension eventually. That’s the pension you get if you paid social insurance. Like being in a job such as working for Dunnes or Lidl.
 
Bronte said:
Question 5.

In your working life Bren do either you or your wife have entitlement to a contributory state pension eventually. That’s the pension you get if you paid social insurance. Like being in a job such as working for Dunnes or Lidl.
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Yes, just me
 
BrenWW said:
Yes, just me
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Question 6
How many years? Any breaks in your social insurance history. Obviously if you were ever on the dole, you were still putting up a stamp, presumably it’s the same with the PUP. You mentioned you worked as a sole trader.
 
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BrenWW said:
4,900 / year Dec19-Dec20. Plug in electric fires for heat. Another mystery is how our electric bill went UP after getting a gas (bottle, not mains) cooker....? Did double check on our consumption v's meter reading on 'My electric account' page, found a discrepancy of 3000kW between my reading and their figures....?? Going to get on to ESB about a Pay-as-you-go meter that'll lighten the load. Looking at AnPost SEAI energy loans, money I save might pay for a city break........ ;)
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Job 1 for Bren

Get out your last six bills, tell us if says Electric Ireland. Look at the bill and tell us how much per unit of electricity you are paying.
 
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That sounds like a mad amount of money for electricity, keep in mind that electricity is around 3 to 3.5 times more expensive than Oil or Gas for the same amount of heat. Also all electric heaters are 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat so it doesn't matter what type of electric heater you use.
 
BrenWW said:
if she's shopping then it could be 150/wk(her 'basics')
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We're getting to the root of it now. I suspect it's the other half who's not turning off the immersion. :rolleyes: Fair play to Bronte by the way. S/he's like a financial meditation guru - "when the mind wanders, bring it gently back to the breath."
 
Bronte said:
Question 6
How many years? Any breaks in your social insurance history. Obviously if you were ever on the dole, you were still putting up a stamp, presumably it’s the same with the PUP. You mentioned you worked as a sole trader.
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About 30 years on PRSI then 15 as a sole trader with some summer jobs (PRSI) during that time.
 
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