gangzoom

Final building inspection now done and I can say we are 99% 'Finished'. A few snagging things but we are there Amazing how the builder were able to turn what was essentially rubble into a home, and of course some where rather to chill/unwind after work .

I've just worked this out, I'm on my 6th car since passing the test 25 years ago, total lost on depreciation = £94,500. Sounded like a lot but over 25 years that £3780 per year, which isn't far off probably what's spent in ASDA/Aldi per year. I haven't worked out how much I've spent on mortgage payments over the last 25 years, but I suspect its multiples of that figure. Ofcourse houses don't tend to depreciate, but you only ever recover the capital cost when you sell(or die and it's passed on as inheritance), so you essentially have a massive out of pocket cost. With our current mortgage repayments being quite aggressive, the monthly mortgage cost alone is more than the annual average I've lost in depreciation on cars. Cars costs really are nothing compared to housing, the scary thing is my interest these days is far more into houses than cars, the current build project sill hasn't got full building control sign off yet and I'm already planning what I want to built for retirement, probably a modest bungalow over looking some decent scenery but it must have either a centerliver element or some kind of extreme overhang for sun/weather control. Factoring in inflation it'll be a 7 figure project once done including land purchase cost!!! But money is for spending, cannot wait to start properly planning it, will be looking at suitable plots from about 2030, aim to purchase by 2035, seems like a while a away, but one thing I learnt from our build project is everything takes alot longer than you think.

2 days before the artificial dead line of 1st day back at school and we are finally back in, after 18 months of building works . There is still plenty of actual building work to be done, the external cladding has taken 6 weeks to arrive but now that it's going on, looks fantastic. I should be continuing to unpack this weekend, but I think ordering a projector for the TV room sounds much more fun!!

The kitchen in the main house is now 90% done, every wall is now plasterd and most areas primed. Lots more work to be done, but it's getting there!

Quite a bit work is going in the house, but we've managed to kick off the BBQ sessions before the summer This is/was a totally unnecessary purchase at Grand Design live last summer!!! Delivered and built just after Easter, we've had a BBQ every weekend since!!

We now have something that's starting to resemble rooms and even plaster on the walls :). I would guess by the end of next week boarding will be done everywhere, and than probably another week for skimming. Leveling of the ground floor and start of 2nd fix hopefully will start in April, than it'll be tilling followed by kitchen and stairs install May/June......Cannot wait to be back in

We bought the house because of the garden!! Been a corner plot means we have a south facing and west facing part to the garden. You can probably see why almost as soon as we moved into the house my interest shifted totally from non house stuff to just house stuff . The builders have been enjoying the view from the new bedroom gable, I cannot wait to get back into the house. Things are moving quickly now with flooring nearly done and hopefully plastering to start very soon. Back in for Easter is the aim, but certainly before the summer.

Back in 00s, I had two obsessions, cars and Grand Designs.......The car bit proved easy to waste £££££ on, and the Z was all part of the fun. My real 'dream' back than however was wasting the hours watching normalish families risk everything they own in pursuit of utterly pointless 'design' on bricks and mortar. I've long since grown out of my car obsessions, my car is 7 years old this year, owned from new with no plans to change. But idle hands doesn't sit comfortably with me, so 12 months ago I managed to persuade the family finally fulfilling my 00s fantasies was a good thing, and life is too short not take risks......... The build is still 3-4 months away from completion, however the shell and first fixs are done. In the last 12 months we've had unsuitable foundations discoveries, unearthed an unexpected well (yes well), cranes + 35tons of steel over power cables, mis judged glazing, but thankfully no unexpected newborns, changes in health, or calls to bank that form part of Kevin McClouds script. The modding of cars sort of gave me some parallel insight into the potential issues of the house build project, but everything on the house is at a totally different scale, time, effort, costs, it even gets into my dreams........ The work left is the equivalent of repainting/fitting of the trim, some spit/polish on the paint (which I was never good at :)), the biggest moments of jeopardy, touching wood, is done :). If anyone is thinking of doing something similar happy to share experiences, bare in mind the house isn't done, but we do have keys.

Atlantic highway, Trollstigen, and Gerianger Fjord. Most beautiful roads I've ever driven on, including the Swiss alps and New Zealand South Island.

Those are a bit different from a Cayman :). Maybe its the higher driving position but in 50k+ and 4 years of driving our Model X on similar country roads I've never had any concerns on width or size. Infact I cannot remember once having to mount a bank/crub, the people coming the other way usually just jump out of the way, its only tractors which don't slow down as they get closer......might is right as they say :). I do however now hate driving my wifes Lexus saloon, it feels cramped, unsafe, and when you are behind a SUV all you can see is a back bumper + number plate in your line of sight. If you want a depreciation free and cheap to run SUV, have a look at the iPace. They are down to sub £45k for a 2-3 year old one, I doubt they will drop any more anytime soon as even Kia is now launching £60k+ EVs. Running costs will be virtually nothing compared to a X5, and it certainly doesn't sound like you need the range.

The NHS pension is probably the best/safest scheme around. The final payout is directly related to your contributions and the pay out growths at a inflation+1.5% rate guaranteed. Compounded over 30 years it a crazy figure at the end. The final salary scheme was even crazier, presuming you are near the top of the NHS pay scale at retirement, 50% pension at that amount is substantial higher than average UK salary let alone average UK pension payout. Yes you will be taxed for having such a generous pension, but as they say its a nice problem to have. I much rather pay tax on a large pension pot than not have a large pension pot to start off with. Gold plated I believe was the term uses to describe NHS final salary schemes, having looked into the figures recently I can see why they were called that.

The rear 2 seats fold totally flat, you can buy bog guards for the X, this video gives you an idea of how big the space is in the back. The GLS will be bigger - but that thing really is a tank! The 6/7 seater Xs also have a dedicated HVAC setup just for the 3rd row, so your dogs can have their own temperature preference if needed. For utility these things are mad - add in sub 5 second 0-60 time for the slowest version like ours (sub 3 seconds in top spec - 2.6 seconds will roll out I think), and 3p per mile in fuel+tyres = lots of happy (and cheap) family road trips :).

I think this must be the first time I've seen someone worried about a X been too small :). If you really are after interior size you will need a GLS or minivan to beat the X. I've had x2 adults in the back + 2 kids + luggage for shuttle runs to the airport with no one complaining. The boot is also really deep as well as wide, you can dump a kids bike in the back even with the third row seats up! There isn't a larger EV on the market short of the Nissan van thing, but that has a range of sub 100 miles and is as interesting to own as a van. If you really are after one feel free to ask anything, we've had one as the main family wagon for coming up to 4 years and 50k, I wouldn't swap it for anything else on the road today........even a Taycan would have to share the driveway with it rather than replace it :).

^A massive EV.....am sure you have heard of the Model X . Cannot quite believe its coming up to 4 years since getting ours, as they day time flies when you are having fun!!

So what are you waiting for!!

^£78k for the spec I would order, seems like a lot but our Tesla was £72k back in 2017, and the Taycan has a 20% bigger battery. Hard to call a near £80k Porsche 'cheap' but for a premium EV, it certain isn't over priced. I'm using my best man maths to see if we can justify one to sit along side the Tesla.

If I had a £ for every "new" battery story I've seen..... Much more relevant, my mother in law just got hold of an Mini E for the equivalent new cash price of £25k.....That's the mid spec version. Who would have thought Mini now under cuts Hyundai/Kia interms of EV pricing!!

Happy Christmas all!! Its a been a year to forget, Coffee Martini helps :).

I've seen the future....

I fathom to think why anyone would object to wearing seat belts unless they were keen to become an organ donor!! The biggest issues of EVs is still cost, but the fact VAG is now pushing ahead that should change. Apparently 'discounts' of upto 20% on the VW ID3, making it barely any more expensive than the petrol Golf. Tesla on the otherhand just put UP prices on the S/X by £5k, £100k is now what you need for X after options!!! And it'll be a long time before used EVs offer the same choice and value as used combustion cars. But combustion cars will be around for decades yet, so if you don't want an EV, you really don't need to get one.

I don't know what the fuss is about people still make about EVs. This is how old my daughter was when we ordered our current EV.... And 4 years on the EV is treated like any other family car, today it was ginger bread snack whilst listening to Frozen waiting for mummy to finish some shopping. There is no need to be melodramatic about EVs, if you don't want one no one will make you buy one, combustion cars will be around for decades even after new ones stop been made.

That is very true... Out of all the stuff I own with lithium ion batteries this is the most fun for sure on B roads, infact I've done more miles on this this month than any other EV I own!! Ofcourse if you really want 'fun' in current road conditions, nothing comes close to this. 23mm 'slik' tyres pumped up to 100PSI+, wheel spin on demand, almost lost the FRONT end twice on a straight when trying to avoid pot holes due to lack of grip, and the brakes take a good few seconds to really bite when you need them.....add in near zero degree wind in the face, you need to be wide awake if you want to avoid ending up in a ditch or worse, love it :).

I cannot wait to play the future.....Digital version of-course Though what would be really nuts would be running it a self driving car via LTE, after all Netflix works fine so why not Stadia, and watching Charlie & Lola isn't exactly fitting in the the dystopian theme .

The biggest cost of any business is HR, if you want to save money reducing you're HR costs is by far the biggest cost. Why is the transport industry any different?

And that's exactly why this tech will come regardless of what people think or even want. Autonomous vehicles that can drive/work pretty much 24/7 non stop with no unions to worry about, never moan about working conditions etc. Creative companies will be able to send their profits through the roof.