Cycling UK Forum

J.Y.Kelly wrote:If you want to be happy for a year, get married.
If you want to be happy for 12 years, get a dog.
If you want to be happy for life, get a vegetable patch.

Love it!

We've been married a little over 39years and have a parrot aged 30.

How long do we keep digging for vegetables?

Mick F wrote:How long do we keep digging for vegetables?

Not much longer now...

Have you calculated how much the dog is going to cost. I think you will be surprised and shocked. Better sell both cars.

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/lifetime-costs-of-dog-ownership.html

My local Tesco used to have a notice on the wall: "Customer Toilets. Every little helps."

I always wondered what they were collecting it all for.

LIdl have a perfectly acceptable dried dog food at £5.99 for 15 kilos edit - sorry 10 kilos.
Go to a farm supplies depot and buy 25 kilo bags of working dog food(No Vat) and it costs even less.

Feeding the dog is the least of your worries. Just wait until it get sick!

It is uneconomic to have them repaired. Just throw them away and buy a newer model.

Never mind throwing them away. Get out the wok!

meic wrote:It is uneconomic to have them repaired. Just throw them away and buy a newer model.

Make sure you throw the stick away as well, otherwise they come back for it.

A puppy dog isn't just for Christmas................


They are quite nice cold on Boxing day too

The Mechanic wrote:Have you calculated how much the dog is going to cost. I think you will be surprised and shocked. Better sell both cars.

Hi,
I worked out a dog cost about a grand a year for a large dog all in
We have two Just recently old dog changed meds and 6 months later another grand lighter
Trouble is the meds affecting kidneas so scrap the meds, a grand for a borderline medical condition
Car will cost you up to 3 grand a year to keep on the road at say 5000 miles a year, if you do your own repairs etc.
Even if you do all your own repairs its about 2 grand just to keep it on the drive and not use it, if you take in to account ALL costs including depreciation, and thats on a second hand car

I've been surprised by Aldi, since I moved work location (from central Oxford, hard by the famous and relatively expensive covered market) to an out-of-town location... the journey to and from work now takes me past several supermarkets, including the aforementioned Tesco's, Lidl, Sainsbo's, Aldi and the Co-op. My very unscientific shopping comparisons have Aldi coming up trumps for price and quality both for veg. and some surprising 'basics' - fruit juices, pickles, cheeses and so on. I shopped for Christmas there and there were lots of unsolicited compliments about all sorts of grocery items which I had bought, all at good prices too. Not just basics, either - we had AOC Pouilly Fume and Chateauneuf du Pape to go with the Xmas lunch - £15 for the both

NATURAL ANKLING wrote:

The Mechanic wrote:Have you calculated how much the dog is going to cost. I think you will be surprised and shocked. Better sell both cars.

Car will cost you up to 3 grand a year to keep on the road at say 5000 miles a year, if you do your own repairs etc.
Even if you do all your own repairs its about 2 grand just to keep it on the drive and not use it, if you take in to account ALL costs including depreciation, and thats on a second hand car

Unless you have a really expensive car that isn't frugal and you are young and live in a high risk area I'd say those figures aren't reflective for many.
From my own POV it's a heck of a lot less, 11 year old Passat TDI estate doing 5000 miles (though I only did 4k this last year):
Cost me £4k 7 yrs ago, valued around £1800 now - £314/yr depreciation
Insurance- Fully Comp 43yr old with 3 points and a bump - £320...Gp12 as well!
VED £170
Fuel: @ yrly 48mpg av & £1.40/l, 5000 miles would be £662, however I actually hardly ever pay full price due to supermarket offers, last full tank 80l (58l+22l in jerry cans) I got £40 off @tesco, mixed with 15l of veggie oil @99p/l did me for 1050 miles . 5000 miles would cost me £600 at the most, it'd be less if I didn't get the right foot yips...lol
MOT £45
Full Service is £180 but I only have one every other year with just an oil change as an interim, I buy my own filter & PD oil (£17.50) and garage charges me £25 so thats £110/yr
Tyres, new from ebay for around £20-£25 if you look hard enough (much less this year for good ones) + fitting; last around 3 years on the front, forever on the back. yearly cost about £35 tops
Mechanical parts/other wear and tear items I budget for around £120/year.
£320+£170+£600+£45+£180+£35+£120+£314 depreciation
Total £1784, if you knock off the depreciation because you're not actuallly paying that money out that's £1470/yr for 5K miles, I'd rather have the car than 1.5 dogs...lol
I'm sure it'd be less for others doing the same 5k

Some interesting thoughts about the cost of cars. Being an ex mechanic all my vehicles can be sold at a profit (if I can be bothered) as I purchase them with faults.
I do not sell many but prefer to keep vehicles for a long time as I know them. Plus it is getting harder to find ones that do not have computers fitted.

According to the therapist it is good for my Mental Health to do the repairs, so any costs are really classed as medical treatment.

I was dismayed to hear on the news that people have been borrowing more than they can afford, to pay for Christmas. This does not seem right to me as debt is a big problem the consequences can be horrid.
It seems strange to go to a shop that supposedly sells thing cheaper then walk out having spent even more on the "bargains".

Some years ago my wife took me to a freezer shop once. i took the tings out of the trolley that she put in and replaced them with the dreaded BOGOF stuff.
But only replaced the things we wanted with something that was either the same but on offer or a reasonable alternative.
She claimed to be embarased at the checkout as every item was on special. It was freezer stuff so would keep.

There are lots of ways to save money, with the time to invest in shopping around for things. Changing utlity companies frequently is one of thos things that can save money, but requires time investment. With a young family, and a full time job, it's often easier for me to take what I can get easily & quickly, rather than taking the time to find the best deal.

Mr. V tends to shop at the supermarket with the cheapest stuff. I tend to shop at the place that has the highest concentration of the stuff I like, and the most cycle-friendly design.

We have cats, rather than dogs. I like dogs, and have had both in the past, but we're happy with cats, now. Cats and dogs are satisfying to the soul.