Therefore our block requires management from the residents.
Key residents organise and oversee the general maintenance of the common grounds and are responsible for administration duties. While the residents do a good job in fulfilling most of these duties, when it comes to an appreciation of the 'credit crunch', in my view, it seems they have no idea of the impact it has been causing.
Even though we were aware that this was on the cards, we had no idea when they might expect to arrange for the work and to ask for this large amount of money
Nothing confirms this more than the recent issue impacting us. About three weeks ago, out of the blue, we received a letter from the chairman requesting that each flat owner raise approximately £1400 by August for a brand new roof!
Even though we were aware that this was on the cards, we had no idea when they might expect to arrange for the work and to ask for this large amount of money (well it is for us) in such a short space of time.
We felt that to expect this from a couple in our financial situation was unrealistic and inconsiderate. The situation is being made worse because the general maintenance charge has also increased to £400 and this is due in July. So that's £1800 they expect us to pay within three months!
A compromise had to be made, we had no other option. We have asked to defer some of the payment until later on in the year and luckily they have agreed, otherwise we would have been in a very bad situation!
Although we are pleased that the other residents have agreed, it is not without sacrifice. This new roof now means that our savings for a new bathroom have all completely gone and we'll have to live with that vile pink bathroom suite for a lot longer than expected.
To add to that, it is now more than likely we cannot have a holiday this year at all. How depressing!
Oh well, at least now we are getting some better weather, living by the beach at this time of year means there's more to do at very little cost. Natalie and I plan to have many BBQ's on the beach enjoying the evening sun; much cheaper than eating out.
We were also lucky enough to be selected for free BBC Radio 1 big weekend tickets and it was brilliant! A free live music festival was perfect timing during this difficult financial period.
APRIL
It's brilliant to see that the saving plan Natalie and I put in place to buy a new bathroom is starting to take shape.
Now we have a reduced mortgage, the level of savings in our joint account is slowly continuing to grow, as we hoped.
We expect to have a new bathroom suite at the end of the summer.
While our joint account is looking good, my personal account is polar opposite in comparison.
Attending a stag do, a wedding, buying car tax and being on the receiving end of a failed MOT has left my personal savings plan shot to pieces.
Unfortunately I'm not in a position to get back on track. I have no means of earning any more money, so there's not much scope to make any further savings.
I just have to accept that the previous month's unavoidable expenses will take a few months to recover from financially.
Natalie has been working hard on her marketing diploma.
To ensure Natalie has time to study I have tried to do as much of the household duties as possible, which includes the weekly shop.
Barrie and Natalie talk about their monthly outgoings.
I was instructed to try to spend a few pounds less than we normally do.
I thought I'd done quite well but was blissfully unaware of how much it all cost until I reached the checkout.
We try to eat quite healthily and my trolley contained a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables.
I never had an appreciation of how much fresh food costs until I did the shop on my own.
Even basic fresh foods were way off my prediction.
It's worrying really, because we could make huge savings by packing our freezer with frozen pizza and chips so there's a huge financial incentive to eat fast foods instead of fresh foods!
And that just doesn't make sense.
MARCH
Saving money can be very addictive.
After seeing how well Natalie and I did last month, we were keen to carry on the trend to the next.
However, our dishwasher broke down just one month after the warranty had expired. How annoying! And I didn't expect that without a guarantee the cost of an engineer coming out to look at it would be £100. And who's to say they would even fix on their first visit for this fee?
The dishwasher still wasn't fixed but I had suffered an electric shock, hit my head and had broken one of our kitchen cabinet doors
As a result of the quote, I made up my mind there and then that I would save my £100 and have a go at fixing it myself.
Two hours of poking around the back of the dishwasher later, and the dishwasher still wasn't fixed but I had suffered an electric shock, hit my head and had broken one of our kitchen cabinet doors as a result of the charge throwing me across the room at some force.
All of a sudden the £100 quote seemed great value for money. Things may be tight, but I'd like to think my life is worth a bit more than 100 quid.
We are still washing up, and we now have the added cost of needing to buy a new kitchen cabinet door, but I'm hoping that it will all be sorted soon.
As expected our mortgage payments continue to fall, but as usual there is always something to counter the money we are saving.
This month it was the MOT for both of our cars. Unfortunately, our costly motors have meant that we haven't saved much this month, but hopefully we should see bigger savings soon.
I've really struggled to keep my sanity this month, as it has been alcohol free!
We have not gone out in the evenings and the TV has become my new best friend! By doing so, between us we've managed to save a substantial amount of money.
I'm really quite shocked by how much money we've saved. It also points out that our social life has been very damaging to the wallet!
It's quite depressing to think that we really have to give this up, or at least significantly tone it down.
We are in a much better position financially than we were a year ago.
Our mortgage payments are coming down and both our jobs are as safe as can be expected.
We are therefore in a much better position financially than we were a year ago.
What taints this situation is the worry and realisation that it can't last forever.
One day interest rates will go back up. What will happen if they increase to 15% like in the late eighties?
If interest rates started to rise again, in approximately 12 months what position would I like to be in?
Would I have preferred the peace of mind of paying extra money into the mortgage reducing this debt by a tiny amount, or to have strived for a 'show home' standard flat, ready to sell? I've chosen the latter.
I'm hoping that by the time interest rates rise again the housing market would have started its recovery.
Even if the housing market hasn't recovered by then I think I'd rather have a flat in good condition and ready to sell.
Another good reason for spending the extra money on the flat instead of the mortgage is that we currently have a fetching salmon pink bathroom.
We're stuck with it at the moment, and Natalie has tried to embrace it by accessorising it with pink towels, but it's still hideous.
When Natalie and I have saved enough money I'm going to enjoy ripping the pink suite out and replacing it with something more pleasing to the eye.
Right, it's the start of a new year and time for an improved financial lifestyle - and a new body! I'm feeling overweight and poor right now so it must be January!
"Let's have an alcohol free month", Natalie protests. Quite a shocking statement since my alcohol dependency has grown over the festive period. However, I know it will help reduce my feelings of being overweight and it should stop me feeling so poor, so I've agreed.
Substituting eating and drinking with exercise seems to me a great way to save money. Plus we both have fitness related goals to achieve.
I am determined to put in my best ever season at my rowing club, Westover and Bournemouth and Natalie is aiming to run a 10 km race in two months. She would also like to drop a dress size, for her role of bridesmaid at a friends' wedding in April. The smaller size bridesmaid dress has already been paid for, so no pressure there!
Debt is not a bad thing as long as you're aware that you have it - and of course you act upon it!
Our fixed rate mortgage ends this month and we will be changing to a standard variable rate, which will be thankfully lower than our current fixed rate.
We could make a substantial monthly saving on the new rate. Although we could be financially a lot better off if we opted for this new rate and continued to simply pay the interest, we should really take advantage of the low interest rates and start making repayments.
By doing so, our financial lifestyle will more than likely not improve, but at least we actually begin to start owning some of the flat we bought in 2007.
I have been quite thorough in checking our electricity bill against other utility companies using a price comparison site. I have yet to find a better alternative; so, at least I have peace of mind that for our electricity usage we're getting the best deal.
On reflection, the Christmas period has put both Natalie and I in significant debt.
I am hoping that by saving money through exercising instead of drinking and going out, taking advantage of lower interest rates and ensuring we use the cheapest electricity on the market we can manage this new debt and even get rid of it pretty sharpish.
Debt is not a bad thing as long as you're aware that you have it - and of course you act upon it!
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Even though we were aware that this was on the cards, we had no idea when they might expect to arrange for the work and to ask for this large amount of money
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