Living Well, Living Solo

Oh, and one year I rang AA Home Insurance after comparing their renewal price with alternatives, the lovely lady on the phone said she couldn’t offer renewal at a lower price but she could offer me a “goodwill gesture” of a £30 One4All gift card if I renewed at the price they offered, which made theirs the better option.

As soon as a renewal invitation arrives for my home or car insurance, I spend an hour at the computer seeking quotes on several comparison websites. With those tabs open in front of me, and double-checking the level of cover, excesses etc are the same, I ring my current insurer and invite them to beat the cheapest alternative quote for the same cover. If they refuse to lower their price I renew with a different insurer.

For the last four years I’ve bought either car or home insurance, or both, through Confused.com, and have been given an immediate £20 Sainsbury’s voucher for each policy, plus a monthly reward for one free coffee a month from Greggs, redeemed through the app. I fill my car once a month and the petrol station shares space with a Greggs!

DaisyAnneReturns

I received my souper cubes (I bought the dupes), yesterday and will try them out later in the week but I can see they will be a storage problem solver!

Good luck with them. I'm currently awaiting a couple of type/sizes I've not yet got - but they're currently in process of making some more...so have got to wait for them. One of the sizes currently awaited is 2 tablespoons size portions (plans on things like home-made pesto, squeezed lemon juice, etc for that).

Catching up on all sorts currently - but hoping to make some more "basics" this week using them - eg dahl, soups, etc.

Hope fully a picture will appear of what appears to be a very safe ladder. I'm not sure if I have space to store it but I do like the protection it offers for when we start to need more.

I received my souper cubes (I bought the dupes), yesterday and will try them out later in the week but I can see they will be a storage problem solver!

Well today I have been on the MoneySupermarket.com site to look at alternative home insurance providers . Very interesting and has given me plenty of food for thought. I also read through our home insurance policy schedule and found that there are several items which no longer apply or cover which can be reduced. A good afternoon's work. What is good about the site is that all the house details you enter are kept on your account so that each time or each year you go there to research better priced cover, all your house details are still there. Useful.

Lomo123

Ooh I need the stopcock switch too. Thanks for recommendation.

I suggest you read the User reviews first.

I came across an app recently called Snug Safety. It's basic version is free. Users set a daily check-in time, and if the app's button is not pressed, it alerts designated emergency contacts. I believe you can choose whether it alerts if you do press or when you don't. "Don't" seems good for now; "do" for later (90's?).

I wondered if anyone knew of comparible apps or if a similar thing could be set up on the Alexa system?

Might as well give laugh for the day - one of the mugs that I've designated as "mine" has the slogan on of "I don't want to. I don't have to. You can't make me. I'M RETIRED". After the employer I had latterly = I know that's my mug instantly if there's a collection of people drinking from mugs in my home.
Another "my personal" mug out of any lying around has a picture of shelves of books (very appropriate for a reader like me)

Amazon has mugs with pictures or slogans on to match a lot of things. So no thinking "There's 3 mugs in use here. Which is mine? Which is the workman that takes sugar? Which is the workman that doesnt take sugar?". Appropriate picture or slogan = job done. No thinking about it.

Cariad I have a store cupboard too. If I run out of something and it's not in the store cupboard I order two (you only have to do this once). One goes in my cupboard, one in my store. Next time as I run out I take the one from the store, order one and put it in the store cupboard. This keeps the inventory turning over and should mean I don't run out. It's very comforting but stays the right side of hoarding!

I think routines and flags are really useful but they have (in my case) to be kept as simple as possible.

The key idea is a good one. If you don't feel you're searching I think you feel better about yourself too.

For anyone worried about their sight, you can get little orange self adhesive tactile markers. These can be stuck on dials on washing machines, etc.

Thank you Davida1968
I didn't know about this handyman service and will see if it's available in my area.
Really good to know about such a service.

Thanks Davida1968 that's useful information. I looked it up under my council and it lists information on:

Home Plus team
Falls Prevention
Hazard Repairs
Heating and Energy Efficiency
Advice and information
Dementia Care

I imagine thus will vary from council to council and there seem to be some age/ability restrictions but it's worth knowing about and - lest we forget - being able to remind one another that this exists

DaisyAnneReturns

Thanks Cariad. I noticed a variety of choice. I think there are probably more things I can freeze than I had thought of. My feeling is that if we make it second nature now we can stay independent for longer!

Making things second nature is a useful thing - though I'm going to stay independent full stop personally throughout. Yep...I've even got emergency stores just-in-case in all respects.

But little things that help with the way my mind works very logically and so, if I arrange things to be logical, equals "Don't have to stop and think about things". So I'm even majoring at the moment on teeny things like not stopping and wondering which Yale key does my front door and which my conservatory door and have had those coloured top things put on them - red for front door (ie I'd be "alarmed" if anyone got through it without my say-so) and green for my conservatory door (it leads to my green garden).

I've even thought "Ach - my glasses are a few years old I guess. So I'll swop my reading glasses - to ones with a red frame to indicate reading - and my computer ones to frames that are speckled with blue to indicate computer screen".

Then I went onto the kitchen and thought "Flower mugs in correct size for herb etc teas" and "Mugs with my type of picture or slogan on for me and ones with dots on for sugar - for workmen etc who take sugar".

Bit by tiny bit and I'm making it all as logical as I can. Wondering whether to buy an extra wheel along wardrobe rail for "current size clothing" (ie 3 sizes too big) - whilst I keep the clothes in "my size" (ie 1970s size 14) in the built-in wardrobe protected whilst I wait to get back to my proper size. There is no way I'm getting rid of coats costing £300 each in "my size" to leave space for "current coat - 3 sizes bigger" that cost me £60 (as it's not worth spending much money on a temporary size).

Regarding home/contents insurance.
I've been with Hastings for a few years.
As they are brokers they find the best value insurance for your requirements.
My insurance is just about to be renewed and I am paying less now than I was ten years ago with Direct Line.
I will certainly stay with Hastings!

P.S. the handyman service might be available to a lower age group in different locsl council areas. It's 65 in our area but also available to younger disabled people.

I'm not living alone but I have a recommendation to GNs. (Perhaps it's come up on another GN thread, but if so, I haven't seen it.) This is that many local authorities (Councils) have a "handy man" service which is available to the over 65s. It can be free or for a low fee. (We had a lovely man who came and changed some (high up) lightbulbs in our home. There was no charge.) You just need to search online for the "handyman service" on your local council's website. Or phone the main "switchboard" number and ask. They will do a range of small but pertinent jobs in the home. Also some councils have a service for installing safety grab-rails, etc. in your home. It's always worth asking. IMO!

Thanks Cariad. I noticed a variety of choice. I think there are probably more things I can freeze than I had thought of. My feeling is that if we make it second nature now we can stay independent for longer!

I've also bought a few of those little mini (one person size) casserole dish things from Soupercubes (with their silicon lids) and not tried them out yet - but thought should be just the thing for one person size casseroles.

DaisyAnne - those "cubes" are not cheap. There are dupes that look pretty similar and are noticeably cheaper - but I'm inclined to think buying the originals is a better idea (partly because they have some sort of metal "reinforcement" thing in their structure that makes them easier to use by the look of it). The one thing - in hindsight - is I now realise one can buy a pack of various different ones of them and it's probably a better (maybe cheaper too) way of buying them than thinking "I'll have two of this size and two of that size etc".

Anyways - there's a noticeable number of YouTube videos of people testing them out...so take a look at that.

Grannynannywanny thanks for the positives on smart bulbs. I am intending to use my Alexas. The fact that they can be automated should work well and if we get less able.

HelterSkelter1 I do hope that others realise this thread is for all "living solo" not just those living on their own. Also that there is a difference about "loneliness" and feeling alone (solo) when dealing with life. I'm not sure my "tip" on admin will duit everyone but I'm a list maker by nature so have note books in strategic places to write things down.

CariadAgain I'd never heard of souper cubes!!! They are exactly what I need! I've tried bags for freezing soup but the portioning isn't easy freezing cubes and then bagging will work. Thank you!

HelterSkelter1

Yes a good thread. I am not living solo but DH no longer instigates any decisions, although I run most things past him, and is pretty well bed bound. So I consider myself solo.
It's draining to do all the house admin etc but if I were not married I would have to.
I look forward to reading any tips and will have a think of what I can add to the thread.

We are paying over the odds for our house and buildings insurance and this spring I need to review it. Currently its with John Lewis...very expensive. Any recommendations ?

Tesco! brilliant service, I was amazed.

Been on my own for 6 years. Used to worry about everything. Now if its a practical dilemma re. house, garden or car I search YouTube...someone has always been there and done it however small or large a job. They take time to do step by step videos. Invaluable.

Re that comment about having a frost-free freezer - couldnt agree more. Way back when I remember having a fridge-freezer that needed defrosting. Blow that for a lark - life is too short to have to do a task like that imo. Do they even still make freezers that need defrosting? But blow that - and I've also been able to rationalise my freezer a lot more logically since taking on board the idea of using those cube things and freezing extra for myself. I never wanted to waste things like those half cans of tomatoes or half cans of beans and the like single people get - as we won't pay the extra for those half-size cans- and so I'd put the other half can worth into a "tupperware" type box and put it in the freezer for later - but now I've got those Soupercubes and can freeze things in those moulds and then decant to a freezer bag for them - it is noticeably spacesaving. Nice to have a little section I can go to and pick out a couple of suitable frozen bits for dinner, take them out at lunchtime to defrost and that's dinner thought about.

But I've actually freed up space in my freezer now and it's a lot more organised. I thought I'd got a fairsize bit of freezer space by buying a freezer taller than me - but that space doesnt really go anywhere when you grow some fruit in your garden and so you freeze some of the surplus. Add where I live = worse weather than I'm used to and I keep better stocked-up than I used to - in case I look out the window and think " !!! Welsh weather" and won't go out just for shopping in weather like that.

If you live somewhere smaller and/or where things "take longer than they take" for whatever reason = you have to be organised not to waste vast swathes of time that are supposed to be "yours" (to do as you please with). When the comparisons are things like "Foot guy takes 15 minutes to walk to" changes to "New footguy takes 50 minutes (in a car) to get to" and "Marks & Spencers is somewhere you walk past frequently" to "Oh heck - where do I find clothes to buy now?" you learn you have got to get more organised or your personal time gets swallowed-up by all that.