Merry Christmas

Yep, as I start this blog it is 3am on 26/12/2010. Merry Christmas. Good bye 2010 you wont be missed but you should be.

In 2010 I stopped smoking. I have slipped up from time to time but have been pretty consistently smoke free since February. My last slip up was a cigar back in November and I'm pleased to say that, whilst I enjoyed it at the time, I have had no sudden urges to take up smoking again. It does feel good and it does make a difference to smell, taste and so much more. Where I really notice it is in my ability to get started in the morning. I can leave the house within 15 minutes of getting up in the morning.

2010 also saw my drinking cut to the level that I now drink per week less than what I used to drink per night. This was not an intentional cutback but a cutback as a result of money (or lack of it). I don't count it as the triumph it is because I'm not at the stage where I maintain this reduced level of alcohol through choice. When there is beer or wine available I cannot rest till it's drunk. Hence I sit at 3am in the morning blogging because I have a case of beer available.

The reason I'm glad to see out 2010 is because I have had to adapt my lifestyle so many times. So many things have stolen every penny I have that it scares me. I know people less well off and am fascinated by how they manage to cope because I am struggling. It's that struggle that I intend to blog about in 2011.

I'm frankly shocked at the cutbacks that I have been able to make. Whats more I am finding further new ways to cut back. I'm not going to get evangelical on you but I am getting obsessed with maintaining my lifestyle on less than half my original budget. I doubt very much that I'll get through 2011 without sacrifices but I'm hoping that I can pit my wit and guile against everything life throws and offer advice on how it's done. If this is something that interests you, then bookmark this blog.

Savings update
My latest savings are small but worth mentioning none the less. One of the big expenses in life is having a car. Tyres, breaks and servicing will always be there as will insurance and tax. So when you can make any saving against your car it's got to be good news. Already I saved £79 on tyres against the next cheapest option which in itself was saving me about £40 per tyre against the average price.

Car Share
During the heavy snow and ice my wife and I have been sharing the journey to work in one car rather than going our separate ways. This has meant that I have had to learn to be a bit nicer in the mornings whilst she has had to learn to SHUT UP (I mean constrain her 'Oh what a beautiful morning' type exuberance')till she gets to work. Life's all about give and take after all.

Car sharing has made sense in the bad weather as my car is much safer in the snow. We do however work relatively close to each other most of the time. Given that we are trying to save some money I think that the car sharing may have to become a slightly more permanent solution, although it cant be completely permanent as my base location does change from time to time. The saving on fuel from car sharing should work out to about £10 per week. That's £40 per month or £480 per year. Now we're talking. You're also looking at less costs for breaks etc on the wife's car so I'm going to round the car share saving to £500 although I may tinker with that figure throughout the year.

Total saving on car share: £500
Time taken: N/A
Delay versus using two cars: around 5 minutes per day.


Light bulb moment
So I drive up to the wife's work to pick her up. When she gets in she says that 'there is some bad news'. She's at the wind up (having fun with me for those who aren't familiar with Glaswegian). The bad news she referred to is that, as I drove up the drive to her work, she noticed that one headlight was duller than the other. Hardly the end of the world then. Or is it?

My car is as American as cars get. It celebrates Independence day and thanksgiving and doesn't take a day off for the queens birthday. Now an American car in Europe has certain advantages but also certain disadvantages. For those who have never been to the UK please now do a google search for roundabout (all one word). It's a European (but us Brits love it more than any other country) approach to junctions. I believe that there may be incidences of roundabouts in every country in the world however, there are incidences of roundabouts on almost every street in Britain. At times they have been known to widen a junction just to fit the roundabout in (wouldn't the wider junction have been the solution in the first place?)

Anyway the reason I mention roundabouts is that they demonstrate both the advantages and disadvantages of an American car on British roads. I'm sure that the driving standards agency here in the UK will give you the theory behind roundabouts but I'll give you the practical and they can argue later. A large car driven confidently onto a roundabout has right of way over all other cars at all times. (America 1, Europe 0). Large American cars have the turning circle of Ocean going liners. Roundabouts are circular (America 1, Europe 1).

Yep American cars grew up with the American road network. This meant that European and American cars began to develop very slightly differently. This is why having an American in Europe can be a disadvantage. You basically have to plan for any breakdown in advance because, the part you need is made in America and needs to be ordered. Or does it?

Turns out that the Japanese have saved my bacon by fitting my non standard tyres to one of their production cars. They still aren't exactly common but at least I can now get tyres on this continent without having to buy the premium brand.

The engine actually comes from a Volkswagen but has been re-configured for a 4x4. Why? Well here in Europe we can't afford the 4 litre gas guzzlers they make in America so insist on diesel engines. The only resulting issue is that these specially adapted diesel engines are almost unique. The engine manufacturer didn't create them for the car they now live in nor does the car manufacturer know anything of their performance or faults. The result? Expensive repairs.

At least lights must be simple. I don't want to sit on this one. It's an inexpensive repair, an important repair and, I hope, an easy repair. I drive to a very good parts shop that very night. Because I know nothing of cars I carry the book around in the 'glove compartment' (I believe this is just the dashboard stowage compartment outside the UK. I like glove compartment better. Wonder if it has room for my leather helmet, goggles, silk scarf plus a good flask of tea?) I request a headlamp and hand over the book to be certain that I get the right one. An H13. None in stock but it can be got on order. It's Friday night and the order will be here by Monday. That seems OK. To be honest, for my car, it seems simple. I was expecting that it would have to come from a mythical land and that obtaining it would involve a surcharge for wrestling it from the teeth of a dragon. Not so. Or so it seemed.

On the Saturday I decide that, rather than wait till Monday, I would just try another shop for the part. This is where I started to get suspicious. This other shop didn't have any either. The bulb was listed but couldn't be sourced locally except...........AT THE DEALER. I HATE THE DEALER. Guess I'll wait till Monday then. At least I don't have to deal with THE DEALER.

I phoned ahead on Monday. Guess what? Turns out that, unless I pay for it to be couriered separately, it will take over a week to source an H13. I'm not driving illegally for a week in this weather. There is a chain of auto shops in the UK that seem to sell everything. I try their website. Why haven't I tried them before? I don't trust them very much. So when I try their website and get recommended something completely different from what I want I'm not too surprised. Yep they wouldn't let me search for something as simple as the bulb that I wanted. Nope they wanted my registration plate and then made their own recommendation. An H4. Thank god I had read my book and didn't just go in to the largest car store in the UK relying on them to know what they were talking about.

I needed a bulb. I searched further online. The H13 does exist but it would seem that almost no-one stocks it and, if they do, they want about £15 for it. At that price I could use THE DEALER. I HATE THE DEALER. I phoned. The poor girl on the phone probably wondered why I sounded so tense as I asked for the service department through gritted teeth. My jaw was so tight I must have sounded Australian. The service department (my nemesis) passed me to the parts department. I explained that I wanted an H13 bulb. The guy asked, why? I gave him the make model and year. No problem. It's an H4 you're after. You can pick one up anywhere. But the book says H13???? Nope, H4.

Now here's where my own OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) kicks in. I haven't ever and will never trust a word that that garage says. I hate to name names but I do have a Barry doll that I stick voodoo pins in to. (Problem is Barry has a 'my car' doll that he sticks very expensive pins in to every time he sees it). Anyway this is the second time that H4 has been mentioned with my car. Could it be true? Could my car actually take one of the least expensive and most widely available car bulbs in Europe?

Wikipedia turned out to have the answer. Apparently bulb tech developed differently on the different continents. Since the 80s however there has been some kind of agreement about standardising these technologies. Essentially an H4 bulb is an H13 in America. So I bought an H4 but not from the dealer.

How many IT Trainers does it take to fit a light bulb?
So garages want between £5-£10 for changing a light bulb. How difficult can it be? Well, if the book is to be believed, it's one of those things that will be easy once you've had a go. Not simple by any means but, provided you can grow a second set of opposable elbows and have an eye on an adjustable stalk, you should be OK.

Why would the European light fitting be any different? Why would the book neglect to at least mention that European vehicles are different?

Yep it turns out that once again my European car is an issue. It turns out that, once you figure it out, it's not such a big issue but, the book has no instructions for a European light bulb. Fortunately I had some warning as I use a forum and some other poor sod had had my problem first.

I don't like opening the bonnet(Hood) of my car. Releasing that catch is like opening the door on Narnia. Nothing under there means anything to me. Everything looks expensive (£200 per item I imagine). Nothing under there looks even remotely mechanical despite the fact that it is, by definition, an engine and therefor a mechanical thing. I'm a logical sort of a guy. The theory behind the combustion engine makes sense. Gas, spark, energy to turn a wheel, wheels that turn wheels, belts etc. Then there's a battery that's powered by the engine. I get that. Open my bonnet however and you'll get four buckets of fluid (screen wash, breaks etc) and a big black box with some wires and pipes attached. It is no more mechanical than a digital clock.

Anyway, I at least know where the headlights are. They appear to be sealed from behind with a rubber housing which makes sense. The housing comes off relatively easily and the cable to the light is stiff but easy to detach. The bulb itself however was held in by a clip that could not be defeated. I'm glad I parked up somewhere quiet and tried this in daylight because in twilight or darkness it would have been impossible. All in it took about twenty minutes to do job that would take a mechanic less than five however the thing is I did it. I didn't waste £15.99 having an H13 bulb delivered from down south. I didn't waste £5.99 having someone fit the bulb.

Nope I spent £4.99 on a bulb, twenty minutes fitting it and endless hours gazing lovingly at it's fresh glow and thinking....I did that. Oh and the bulb I took out was an H4

Total saving on headlamp and fitting £17 approx
Time spent sourcing deal: About 4 hours thanks to confusion over the bulb required
Delay as opposed to getting a shop to fit: Saved days as the shop wanted to order the part mentioned in the book.

Update
I've had a letter from my new electricity and gas supplier confirming when they will take over my billing. This should mean that quidco will soon be paying £80 in to my account (February I believe). My new supplier will also reward me with £100 off my first bill which should be due in March. Keep your eyes on this page to see if everything pans out. Because the transfer completes in January I shouldn't have to pay a direct debit to my previous supplier so that might be a nice little £100 saving during the skintest month of the year. Anyway this may be the last blog of the year so, if it is, Have a great New Year and I'll see you all in 2011.
T

Kitchen sink drama

Tuesday, 17.10 pm, -8 degrees.

We have water problems. The heating cut out. The waste pipe had backed up because it had frozen. This happened last year as well so my wife knew what to do. We disconnected the main waste pipe and left the boiler dripping in to a bucket. The instant the waste pipe was sorted the heating started working again. Mental note: look for ways to stop it freezing up.

Wednesday, 7.10am, -14 degrees.

The taps in the kitchen stop working. The pipes run up the inside of an outside wall and would appear to be frozen. Also there is no hot water anywhere in the house. It's first thing in the morning so we'll sort it out later, after work.

Wednesday 22.10pm, Still -14 and it hasn't got above -4 all day.

Still no water in the kitchen. Still no hot water. Time to look in the garage (under the kitchen) and see what the pipes look like. Trouble. It's 10pm at night and I'm looking at a pipe joint with a beautiful baguette diamond of frozen water between the end of a cold water pipe and the joint. Above this further up the pipe a weld has split but has not been forced appart the way the joint has. Not good. This is mains water. When this thaws there will be a major problem. But it isn't likely to thaw anytime soon.

War summit.

We've both made our work every day through the last two weeks of snow and freezing tempratures. We know that we just can't be phoning a plumber. Under normal circumstances you are talking about a £50 call out charge, £50 per hour (with a minimum of 1 hour) plus materials. In the middle of winter in an emergency you can double those figures.

Decision:

We are both calling in for an emergency half day (possibly full day). The good news is that it's unlikely to suddenly stop being freezing so, although we have burst pipes, we should be able to sort things out quickly and more importantly dryly.

Thursday, 06.50 am, 4 degrees.

The good news is there is no ice to scrape off the car windows. F**K. The undertone in my wifes voice as it says 'I think you better come downstairs' leaves me in no doubt that downstairs will not be good when I get there. I'm trying to wake up but hear this funny hiss behind everything. It gets louder as I go down stairs but everything looks normal. I head to the basement.. You've seen it in a hundred horror movies. Why would you go down there? Why not turn the light on? You know that's where the murderer is waiting to pounce...

Imagine water, under as much pressure as you can possibly exert, blasting against a temporary ceiling and pooling all over the floor. Electric sockets etc are soaking. It's relentless. I think that, given that I'm not even awake yet, I can be forgiven for running about with one thumb in my mouth and the other up my ass for five minutes. I was basically looking for something to turn off. There were taps under the sink that I turned off. They made no difference so I assume that they literally cut the supply to the sink taps above. Is that necessary? There was no water in the kitchen despite it being imediately above the pipe that was jetting water everywhere. When I went below there was nothing to isolate. I followed the pipe back because the kitchen and garage are an extension built on to the house. The water must have been plumbed through the main house at one point. I just cant find it.

I return to the scene. I point out to my wife that the water is escaping up the way rather than down the way. I fear she may look for a tool sharp enough to kill me as she doesn't see what my point is. It would almost be worth shutting up and saving my life here but I'm on to something. The fact that it's very early and my wife is cold wet and angry should not be a reason to hold back with stupid ideas. Should it?

Let's consider the evidence: The kitchen is bone dry despite being only centimeters above the main leak. The garage pipes are the main problem but must be fed from somewhere else as the house was built long before the garage extension. I ask if we have any pipe that we could put over the gusher. Where did that come from? There's about a meter of white plastic tubing hiding in the cellar. OK. That goes over the gusher and then we can point it outside, away from the electrics and ceiling. This is a major turning point. OK so maybe it is expecting too much for me to think that my wife would congratulate this solitary moment of genius.

Nobody says it's good but suddenly we've bought some time. With this extention to the pipe in place the immediate disaster is averted. Water can now be directed away from the house and out into the drive. Don't underestimate the thinking/breathing time this buys. With this pipe jammed between two rungs of a ladder it can actually be left pumping water out into the drive. Believe it or not we can now consider a cup of coffee. This is the fix that costs plumbers thousands. It's harder to charge stupid amounts of money when the burst doesn't look like it's going to bring the house down at any second. What we have now is thinking time.

Now I really wish it had been me. I got to within centimeters of it and can only blame tiredness and panic for letting me miss it but it was my wife who found the stop cock that isolated the water. it was in the farthest darkest corner of the basement. As soon as it was turned fully the water stopped and the world became a better place. The gusher became a trickle and then finally stopped. Phew.

Provided it's accessible repairing stuff like this is no where near as difficult as you think. This is where the wife and I make a great team. I can think up the solution and do the grunt work whilst the wife (sounds male chavanist to call her the wife but I like to keep this site annoymous so can't use names) has the technical skill to cut the pipes and carry out the repairs. A good plumber would have a blow torch and solder and copper joints to carry out the repair however, fortunately for us amatueurs, plastic and rubber now rule the day. You can buy push-fit connections to replace almost any joint. What's more they do exactly what you need them to do. You push them tight and they form a perfect seal.

The moral of the story?? The turning point in our whole saga wasn't the repair. It was finding the stop cock and isolating the water. It was buying ourselves the time to stand back and look at the disater calmly as opposed to panicking. For the next twelve months this blog will be mainly about saving money. Repairing our own plumbing in the middle of winter saved us about £200. You can have all the plumbing skill in the world however it's absolutely useless unless you know where to turn the water off.

What I would like is for every reader of this blog to go now and turn on a cold tap. It could be to a bath or a sink. Turn it on full. Now make the water completely stop running without touching the tap. provided you managed to carry out that simple exercise successfully you are now equipped to deal with plumbing.

I'm still wondering however, how the hell did it get from -14 to 4 degrees over night. Is someone up there picking on us or what?

Total Saving on Plumbing £200 (estimate)

Time taken to fix 3-4 hours
Delay Compared to phoning a plumber: Probably faster.