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Narrowboat life: Woman saves over £20,000 on bills after swapping her flat for a boat


Alan de Enfield

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Woman saves over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat (yahoo.com)

 

A woman has revealed how she has managed to save over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat.

Elizabeth Earle, 33, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, first bought her narrowboat, the Leviathan, for £3800 in 2019 and over the past two years, has spent an extra £12,000 on renovations and decor.

The author and illustrator originally swapped her one-bed attic flat for her 32ft canal boat to enjoy a life of travel and adventure that she’d only ever seen in books.

But her new frugal way of living comes with an additional benefit: saving money, with Earle managing to save over £10,344 each year on bills.

 

“I pay £96 a month for my boating licence, boat insurance is £10 a month and the Canal and River Trust tax is £100."

 

Nice to see she has her teapot facing the correct way

 

Earle says she loves the lifestyle living on a boat enables her to lead. (Caters)

 

Hmmm ???

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Woman saves over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat (yahoo.com)

 

A woman has revealed how she has managed to save over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat.

Elizabeth Earle, 33, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, first bought her narrowboat, the Leviathan, for £3800 in 2019 and over the past two years, has spent an extra £12,000 on renovations and decor.

The author and illustrator originally swapped her one-bed attic flat for her 32ft canal boat to enjoy a life of travel and adventure that she’d only ever seen in books.

But her new frugal way of living comes with an additional benefit: saving money, with Earle managing to save over £10,344 each year on bills.

 

“I pay £96 a month for my boating licence, boat insurance is £10 a month and the Canal and River Trust tax is £100."

 

Nice to see she has her teapot facing the correct way

 

Earle says she loves the lifestyle living on a boat enables her to lead. (Caters)

 

Hmmm ???

Is that really Lady G in mufti?

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4 minutes ago, Grahamnewman said:

Whats Canal and River Trust tax?

 

You've not been keeping up mwith the news ?

 

Every licence application will have £1200 added to the licence fee to help contibute to the increasing maintenance of the towpaths. The argument being boaters use towpaths as well but currently do not contribute to its upkeep.

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39 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

You've not been keeping up mwith the news ?

 

Every licence application will have £1200 added to the licence fee to help contibute to the increasing maintenance of the towpaths. The argument being boaters use towpaths as well but currently do not contribute to its upkeep.

You usually provide a link on your posts.

😞

 

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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

A woman has revealed how she has managed to save over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat.

 

Sounds to me as though she just let her tenancy lapse and bought a cheap boat, rather than exchanged ownership of her flat for a narrow boat.  

 

had she really done the latter I'd say she is an idiot.

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I think she forgot diesel, coal, gas, wood and mainternunce, that will use up most of those savings.

£96 per month is a bit steep to licence a 32foot boat, especially as that's before paying the tax 😀

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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Every licence application will have £1200 added to the licence fee to help contibute to the increasing maintenance of the towpaths. The argument being boaters use towpaths as well but currently do not contribute to its upkeep.

 

Despite you being naughty Alan, that is exactly the case with the Platinum Licence on the Bridgewater canal.

 

Platinum User Licences are restricted in number and are granted subject to availability, the company may refuse to grant a Platinum User Licence without giving a reason.

 

A Platinum User Licence is personal to the applicant and is limited to a maximum of 2 named persons on the craft.

 

A Platinum User Licence is a personal, privilege licence permitting extended hours of stay on your vessel on the Bridgewater Canal with unrestricted holiday periods on board throughout the year.

 

A maximum of 28 days at any one mooring location is allowed with current restrictions in force at Lymm (48 hours) and Castlefield (72 hours) unless a mooring lease is held in these locations.

 

A Platinum Licence is not transferrable and subletting is prohibited. Holiday, short term or sub-letting is not permitted. A separate licence is available for those purposes. Platinum licence fees payable are £1200 per annum + standard BCCL licence fees

 

http://www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk/media/BoatingPDFs/Platinum_User_License_Conditions_2016.pdf

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1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Despite you being naughty Alan, that is exactly the case with the Platinum Licence on the Bridgewater canal.

 

Platinum User Licences are restricted in number and are granted subject to availability, the company may refuse to grant a Platinum User Licence without giving a reason.

 

A Platinum User Licence is personal to the applicant and is limited to a maximum of 2 named persons on the craft.

 

A Platinum User Licence is a personal, privilege licence permitting extended hours of stay on your vessel on the Bridgewater Canal with unrestricted holiday periods on board throughout the year.

 

A maximum of 28 days at any one mooring location is allowed with current restrictions in force at Lymm (48 hours) and Castlefield (72 hours) unless a mooring lease is held in these locations.

 

A Platinum Licence is not transferrable and subletting is prohibited. Holiday, short term or sub-letting is not permitted. A separate licence is available for those purposes. Platinum licence fees payable are £1200 per annum + standard BCCL licence fees

 

http://www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk/media/BoatingPDFs/Platinum_User_License_Conditions_2016.pdf

Sounds like one of Sir Adrian Stott's ideas. Posh licence and you jump the queue at locks, get the best moorings etc.

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2 hours ago, dmr said:

I think she forgot diesel, coal, gas, wood and mainternunce, that will use up most of those savings.

£96 per month is a bit steep to licence a 32foot boat, especially as that's before paying the tax 😀


She also forgot to factor in the difference between money that would have been accrued had she bought an appreciating asset like a property vs a depreciating asset like a boat. I'd say she's out of pocket. But that doesn't make as good a story to promote ones self. 

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4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

You've not been keeping up mwith the news ?

 

Every licence application will have £1200 added to the licence fee to help contibute to the increasing maintenance of the towpaths. The argument being boaters use towpaths as well but currently do not contribute to its upkeep.

Ha! I get cyclists exemption on that portion of the licence fee! 

I must do because you lot are always saying how cyclists pay nothing towards the upkeep of anything ;) 

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12 hours ago, booke23 said:


She also forgot to factor in the difference between money that would have been accrued had she bought an appreciating asset like a property vs a depreciating asset like a boat. I'd say she's out of pocket. But that doesn't make as good a story to promote ones self. 

A tent on the roadside would be even cheaper if somewhat more basic. The problem with the story is that it does not compare like with like - much of the difference lies in convenience and comfort. Of course, she might have been living in a Rachman style flat with limited comfort but that is much rarer than the fact that moving permanently onto a boat is very much about trading down in comfort and convenience. 

 

I would also want to encourage those contemplating such a trade to think through the longer term needs as, for the reasons you set out above, moving back when you need to is likely to get a larger problem as time passes (ie the cost of getting back into property) OK, so the NHS is less accessible at the moment but in general it does a great job but its services are often based on the assumption about living in bricks and mortar in a given place. I've see a number of people finding out the hard way what is involved in getting treatment if you are always on the move. It is a lot better than it used to be, thanks to mobile internet, but still problematic. At least CaRT are generally very accommodating if longer stays suddenly become necessary.

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20 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Woman saves over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat (yahoo.com)

 

A woman has revealed how she has managed to save over £20,000 on bills and rent since moving into a narrowboat.

Elizabeth Earle, 33, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, first bought her narrowboat, the Leviathan, for £3800 in 2019 and over the past two years, has spent an extra £12,000 on renovations and decor.

The author and illustrator originally swapped her one-bed attic flat for her 32ft canal boat to enjoy a life of travel and adventure that she’d only ever seen in books.

But her new frugal way of living comes with an additional benefit: saving money, with Earle managing to save over £10,344 each year on bills.

 

“I pay £96 a month for my boating licence, boat insurance is £10 a month and the Canal and River Trust tax is £100."

 

Nice to see she has her teapot facing the correct way

 

Earle says she loves the lifestyle living on a boat enables her to lead. (Caters)

 

Hmmm ???

Well good for her, she certainly seems to have her head screwed on OK.

 

Keith

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3 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

A tent on the roadside would be even cheaper if somewhat more basic. The problem with the story is that it does not compare like with like - much of the difference lies in convenience and comfort. Of course, she might have been living in a Rachman style flat with limited comfort but that is much rarer than the fact that moving permanently onto a boat is very much about trading down in comfort and convenience. 

 

I would also want to encourage those contemplating such a trade to think through the longer term needs as, for the reasons you set out above, moving back when you need to is likely to get a larger problem as time passes (ie the cost of getting back into property) OK, so the NHS is less accessible at the moment but in general it does a great job but its services are often based on the assumption about living in bricks and mortar in a given place. I've see a number of people finding out the hard way what is involved in getting treatment if you are always on the move. It is a lot better than it used to be, thanks to mobile internet, but still problematic. At least CaRT are generally very accommodating if longer stays suddenly become necessary.

If you read the full article you'll see that she has enough experience to know what she's taken on.

The headline gives the impression that it's all about saving money but it isn't.

 

Keith

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7 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

A tent on the roadside would be even cheaper if somewhat more basic. The problem with the story is that it does not compare like with like - much of the difference lies in convenience and comfort. Of course, she might have been living in a Rachman style flat with limited comfort but that is much rarer than the fact that moving permanently onto a boat is very much about trading down in comfort and convenience. 

 

I would also want to encourage those contemplating such a trade to think through the longer term needs as, for the reasons you set out above, moving back when you need to is likely to get a larger problem as time passes (ie the cost of getting back into property) OK, so the NHS is less accessible at the moment but in general it does a great job but its services are often based on the assumption about living in bricks and mortar in a given place. I've see a number of people finding out the hard way what is involved in getting treatment if you are always on the move. It is a lot better than it used to be, thanks to mobile internet, but still problematic. At least CaRT are generally very accommodating if longer stays suddenly become necessary.

 

We see loads of potential livaboards on this forum making spreadsheets to see how much boating will cost, often vs house costs. I think a problem is that most people think in terms of the fixed and/or recurring costs,  council tax vs CRT licence, utility bills etc etc. Trouble is the fixed boating costs are relatively low but its the constant stream of "unexpected" one off bills that puts the cost up.  

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It's six of one and half a dozen of the other, so far this month we need a new boiler in the house, the fridge has packed up and needs repair. To balance that I just received my mooring cost for the Dutch barge based in NL and its booked in for out of water checks and blacking in March.

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