Lots Of Little Things

Sep 22, 2021 11:01 am

Hey friends,


Spider season seems to be in full swing. The house spiders have come out of the woodwork and I can't take more than a few steps in the garden without getting a face full of web.


Annoying? Yes, but I always marvel at how safe the UK is from natural dangers. No intense temperatures, hurricanes or tornadoes; no violent earthquakes or eruptions; no mosquito borne diseases and nothing that can seriously sting or bite you where you would require rapid medical attention.


Supposedly if you write down three small things you're grateful for at the start of each day it can make you a much happier person, and I've done the first one for you - benign spiders.


🔌 Energy Prices

No doubt you've seen that wholesale prices for gas and the knock-on effect on electricity prices have risen hugely, but what to do about it if you haven't fixed yet?


It's not area of personal finance that I'm particularly knowledgeable on but there seem to be two schools of thought.


  1. Go for a fixed rate tariff with no exit fee. The cost will be higher than variable rates but your downside risk if prices go up is protected. If prices go down then you can switch again at no cost.
  2. Go with a variable rate as these are subject to the Ofgem price cap and are currently lower than fixed tariffs. The price cap is set for 6 months from October. By the time April comes around, the cap could go up and make it more expensive than fixing now but your energy consumption will begin to reduce as the warmer weather returns.


If you choose option 1 then you'll probably want to go for a bigger company (in the big 6) that has hedged against higher costs with insurance. For 2, it doesn't matter so much if your supplier goes bust as you'll be moved to another supplier's variable rate which will also be subject to the price cap. The proviso with option 2 is that they could change the cap before April and call it 'unprecedented circumstances' like the government did for the state pension increase.


It's hard to know which is best. If you happen to be really clued up on this, do get in touch.


I imagine there could be a rush to insulate homes this winter, pushing up prices. The rockwool I used for the floor of the studio has already gone up from £25 to £32 so maybe now is the time to buy if you have a project in mind.


🔨 DIY

It's been one of those weeks, so there's not much progress to show you. I have at least proven the lights work and didn't get any shocks in the process. I've had to order a few more bits like some double side tape for the bottom LED strip so they're on hold again.


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The garage is ready for the metal sheeting. In the end I decided to simply add in support for the rotten end of the middle joist rather than replacing it.


I did need to add a new timber at the back though and did some brick work to rebuild the top of the piers.


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It ain't pretty, but it'll be good enough for storage and for use as a prep area for the workshop.


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🏡 What Happened To The Garden Room House?

Sort of following on from last week's look at property investment, I thought I'd answer this question that comes up quite often.


A bit of backstory first: You might remember my mum lives in the house next door which is the house I grew up in. My grandmother bought the garden-room house shortly after I was born so growing up I had the run of two gardens which was great. I definitely think I would have better suited a rural upbringing but as London goes, it was pretty good.


At around 90 my grandmother developed dementia and while we did everything we could to keep her in her house eventually she had to move into a nearby care home. I took on the house as a project, redecorating it from top to bottom which was my first taste of DIY, and organised a loft extension and new bathroom and kitchen. The other rooms were then let out to people my age with the income going to my mum. It was a blast. Over the 8 years I lived there I must have had 20 or so housemates. Some stayed for years and others just a few months. A select few are now life long friends but I really have seen it all: people who constantly forget to close the front door, a (functional) drug user, an eating disorder, messy, insanely clean, you name it. One thing I can say for sure is that you really can't tell what someone will be like to live with from a half-hour viewing.


Meanwhile the garage was becoming unstable. While as the gardener I was the only one using it, there's a law that states that the whole premises has to be safe for tenants so I tore it down and you know the rest.


When Abi and I were getting more serious we explored buying the house and keeping one good friend as a tenant, but we couldn't afford it and bought where we live now instead.


The housemates have now all moved on, my mum's had it redecorated and it's about to be let to a family which means no HMO (house of multiple occupancy) licence is required and cheaper mortgage rates.


As property investment goes it's a pretty terrible one if you judge by yield (annual rental income divided by value) but that's true of all London and the south-east. Better to sell up and invest elsewhere, even when you include selling and buying costs, or throw it all in a diversified index fund.


She's keeping it for a mix of reasons: sentimental, being able to choose her neighbours and flexibility. Perhaps when the boy grows up he'll want to move to London and do what I did and where better than where his grandmother can keep an eye on him or perhaps if my mum needs support we can move in again and let out our house. Whether this constitutes lack of decisiveness or intentional optionality, it's hard to say.


So what of the garden room? Well, while Joe and I were in fencing mode earlier this year we built one in front of the garden room to separate it from the house and while the deeds haven't changed, for all intents and purposes it forms part of my mum's garden next door, so yes, I still have access. 🎉


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There is something we have to solve soon though - the electrics come from the rental house so with tenants taking on the bills, we need to look at putting a separate meter on it.


⚖️ Introverted vs Extroverted

Whenever I've mentioned to a friend that I identify as an introvert, it's usually met with surprise. I suspect it's because the image that it conjures up is one of someone shy, withdrawn and who keeps to themselves. A while back I came across a really good definition of the two: An extrovert draws in energy from those around them and an introvert expels energy. I definitely identify with the latter - socialising is for blowing off steam and afterwards I'm very content being on my own for a while to re-charge.


Myers-Briggs is an interesting personality test you can take for free...or be forced to take by an employer, with questions like:


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It comes under some criticism and perhaps it is nonsense but I've found it to be fairly accurate, at least for surface level stuff. I usually come out as an INTJ, though sometimes INTP (I for introvert). Abi's an ESFP (E for extrovert) so almost the complete opposite which can make things interesting if we're having a barney. I'll tend to want to escape to mull things over and she'll want to deal with it there and then. Fortunately though, we share an almost identical sense of humour which, fingers crossed, should see us through 😉.


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If you're wondering, I do consult Abi before I send this newsletter out that she's happy for me to write what I do. One of these times I may hand over the newsletter to her to write and she can dish the dirt on me instead 😨.


🔪 DEXTER

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Dexter is one of my all-time favourite series and they're bringing it back for a 9th season starting 7th November. I'm very excited. If you've never seen it and rooting for a serial killer sounds like your kind of thing you can binge watch all the previous 8 seasons between now and then. With Matrix 4 on the way, all I need now is for them to bring back Californication.


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Hit "reply" if you've got any comments on this week's newsletter – otherwise I'll see you next time. Have an epic week :)


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P.p.s. You can find all previous newsletters here.

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