Ask the Bear & Badger - The Bear and Badger

cockbeard

Please stand next to it, because even a penny farthing would look like a bmx

Edit: also please don't lube your brakes

regmcfly

regmcfly wrote:

Screwdriver is a good shout. There's nothing on it, I can jiggle the hatch plastic around fairly easily, just can't turn the fucking dial

Worked an absolute treat and storage space in the house is now amplified. Wish I could have got someone in to get it floored before the baby came but at least there's a place to put suitcases now.

acemuzzy

g.man wrote:

Interesting colour...

What were you expecting, green and gold?

afgavinstan

If that was the case I'd be buying a can of spray paint today.

g.man

The Daddy

regmcfly wrote:

regmcfly wrote:

Screwdriver is a good shout. There's nothing on it, I can jiggle the hatch plastic around fairly easily, just can't turn the fucking dial

Worked an absolute treat and storage space in the house is now amplified. Wish I could have got someone in to get it floored before the baby came but at least there's a place to put suitcases now.

How big is the space? I did my own loft boarding, only a small area but made a big difference and only took about half a day. Also, got three sets of these which have been ace for storing lighter stuff:

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Loftleg-Loft-Ledge-Kit-for-Trussed-Roofs---550-x-530mm/p/114291

Dead easy to put in.

regmcfly

It's not big at all, like a little extra box room, but I am shit scared of all DIY and flora rightly does not trust me. Her mum's partner is a stained glass blower / carpenter and was going to offer to help but due to lockdown it's off the cards just now.

Will come back to it once baby is born and spend a day fully reorganising it. For now it's just shove it up there and hope.

davyK

As long as stuff is sitting on the rafters at 90 degrees so it doesn't fall between them it will be fine.

regmcfly

davyK wrote:

As long as stuff is sitting on the rafters at 90 degrees so it doesn't fall between them it will be fine.

That's what I've done - thankfully I thought to do that!

One more question, sorry.

We are looking to set up a bank account / fund for the baby where Flora and I will put in £50 each as a standing order per month until the child is 18 - the idea would be that, interest aside, we would have had £20k+ in there which could help with uni funds or a deposit on a flat etc.

Is there a particular account name this is called? Is there anywhere best to do it or am I just looking for a good interest rate?

davyK

There are what used to be called baby bonds or plans. I remember doing something like that for ours...

I think they enjoy tax benefits.

GooberTheHat

regmcfly wrote:

davyK wrote:

As long as stuff is sitting on the rafters at 90 degrees so it doesn't fall between them it will be fine.

That's what I've done - thankfully I thought to do that!

One more question, sorry.

We are looking to set up a bank account / fund for the baby where Flora and I will put in £50 each as a standing order per month until the child is 18 - the idea would be that, interest aside, we would have had £20k+ in there which could help with uni funds or a deposit on a flat etc.

Is there a particular account name this is called? Is there anywhere best to do it or am I just looking for a good interest rate?

It might be better to put it into a tracker isa, or similar. The "setting up a pension" thread is full of very useful information.

GooberTheHat

https://www.thebearandbadger.co.uk/discussion/2465/how-to-start-a-pension-in-the-face-of-economic-armaggedon/p1

Dinostar77

regmcfly wrote:

davyK wrote:

As long as stuff is sitting on the rafters at 90 degrees so it doesn't fall between them it will be fine.

That's what I've done - thankfully I thought to do that!

One more question, sorry.

We are looking to set up a bank account / fund for the baby where Flora and I will put in £50 each as a standing order per month until the child is 18 - the idea would be that, interest aside, we would have had £20k+ in there which could help with uni funds or a deposit on a flat etc.

Is there a particular account name this is called? Is there anywhere best to do it or am I just looking for a good interest rate?

Reg, we have a halifax child savings account setup. Its 4.5% interest but you can only put in a maximum of £100 a month. So we set up two with Halifax. A second child savings account at something like 2.4% which doesnt have a £100 limit. We gave those details out to grandparents etc so they can put money in whenever they feel like it also child benefit goes in there as well before being transferred to the higher interest account. At the end of the financial year the money from the higher interest account is moved automatically by the bank back into the lower interest account and you start afresh with the higher interest account. Hope that makes sense. We are trying to save all of the child benefit for when hes grown up.

Elmlea

regmcfly wrote:

We are looking to set up a bank account / fund for the baby where Flora and I will put in £50 each as a standing order per month until the child is 18 - the idea would be that, interest aside, we would have had £20k+ in there which could help with uni funds or a deposit on a flat etc. Is there a particular account name this is called? Is there anywhere best to do it or am I just looking for a good interest rate?

I've got a Child Saver account with HSBC for Nim. Means it's in her name ostensibly, but it's actually run by me until she gets to the right sort of age. Seemed like a nice option, when she's something like 12 it can change into a normal bank account if you want it to.

Every bank will do something similar, just give yours a call/pop into something online. Depends if you want something purely to save for the child, or something that's actually going to be theirs to use as a primary account in the future. If it's the former, just look at the best rate account your bank will offer, some sort of 90/120 day notice account would work seeing as you wouldn't plan to withdraw anything.

cockbeard

There are kids isas, and they are definitely worth doing, and it won't eat into your own tax free allowances

If you want to do the tracker thing linked above (which makes a lot of sense) you shold be able to still register it as your kids isa, and keep the tax relief

poprock

You need £500 or £1,000 up front to start off the tracker though.

(Typical capitalist pig-dog investing, only the rich get richer, etc.)

Diluted Dante

No you don't, you can use the same one I did.

poprock

Sorry, I must have missed that. I thought yours was the one that needed £500.

Diluted Dante

No, that was what SG thought Cavendish needed, but it's actually £1000. The one I went with doesn't seem to have a limit.

regmcfly

I'm completely risk averse and just want something that will accrue *some* interest so will likely go with Halifax or Bos.

regmcfly

I am a mark.

Dinostar77

Only reasons we didnt use a child isa is

A) at 16 years old the child owns the account and parents have no access. So feck giving a 16 year old £10,000 or something like that.
B ) the interest in child savings accounts is ridiculous.
C) If you go above the threshold for child benefit (Reg becomes a head teacher or something) then the child benefit has to be paid back at end of year. However there is no issue with still claiming it, getting interest on it and then giving it back. Besides claiming it supposed to be good in the long term as it counts towards NI credits or something.

regmcfly

I'm never gonna go up a step to head teacher. I do enough meetings as is and don't want to have that responsibility over summer. No thank you. The benefit of my level is I can step away for a while.

I'll need to look at other stuff I guess in more detail.

Dumbass question - I've got an Irish passport coz of my maw. Is there any benefit or possibility I can set stuff up there? Wary of becoming one of them "Dodgers" like Steve Jobs was

Hodge360

Never seen anything like what you guys have discussed here. Plus you'd likely have to have an Irish address to open an account.

Frosty

Yeah, you'd need to be a resident. Opening a bank account when I moved here was one of the most annoying things I've ever had to do. I ended up having to get paid via the UK company for the first month because it was such a pain in the arse.

Frosty

Speaking of Ireland, do any Irish badgers know the reason why you can't get generic own brand paracetamol here? Back home I can buy a pack from tesco for 30p but here is only branded stuff like panadol and is usually 3 quid minimum.

Seems to be the case with pretty much all over the counter medicine.

Kow

Because Ireland is absolutely shit at anything related to doctors or medicine. That is, unfortunately, the answer. Nothing is in any way subsidised so generic don't mean shit, it'll cost you the same if they even bother to stock it. It'll cost you the same with or without a prescription.

Hodge360

Eh?! Our chemist goes out of his way to give you the cheaper generic version of any prescription. Also, if something is prescribed that could have been picked up over the counter, it's usually dearer.
Have you tried your local chemist Frosty? Supermarkets only tend to have brands but there's definitely generic paracetamol, more likely to be found in chemist.

SpaceGazelle

regmcfly wrote:

I'm completely risk averse and just want something that will accrue *some* interest so will likely go with Halifax or Bos.

A tracker is about as risk averse as you can have, especially over decades. Banks go under, trackers never die. If you want to give the kid some real cash set up the isa in your own name and give it to the kid when it suits. It's probably the best single thing you can do to secure a financial future for a human because you're starting at year zero, which is megabucks over 40 yrs. I cannot stress this enough.

Set up an ISA tracker fund that is for the kid but in your name. Don't give them it at 18, give them it at 40. It will be worth megabucks.

SpaceGazelle

Just in case you didn't get that I'm going to say MEGABUCKS again.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories