I'm sitting here wondering what horrors may occur this morning when a gang of itinerant clay pipe smoking navvies are going to descend into my quiet little cul-de-sac and commence work on my driveway.
I don't know why but it seems that all the common sense advice which I have happily dispensed over the years to friends and family alike about finding decent contractors, seems to somehow slip my mind when it comes to getting work done on my own property.
You know stuff like getting three quotes and obtaining references and checking with the Home Office that these guys haven't recently escaped from the nearest detention centre and discovered that the prison service standard issue overalls come in handy when posing as bona fide tradesmen. Then all they need to do is don high visibility vests and buy an old Iveco tipper lorry, attach a battered up road roller stolen from some building site to the tow bar and before you can say competitive tendering they'll start being awarded contracts by the council autel maxisys pro ms908p.
I am of course just using the above example for dramatic effect but with everyone feeling the pinch people are turning to some pretty drastic activities to earn a few quid. I live in the countryside and most of the farmers around here have had diesel or farm machinery stolen recently which I'm sure has being going on for years but some poor farmer's wife collapsed and died recently after she confronted a couple of thieves.
I was driving back from Stratford on Avon the other night and was trying to work out what was different about the roads. It was only a few days later when I saw a merry band of council workmen replacing them that I realised that someone had come along and nicked all the road signs and more dangerously all the reflective chicane arrows on the bends. I mean come on, people have accidents around here all the time usually some prat of a sales rep going way too fast in a BMW or Audi but to pinch the safety signs to make a couple of quid is just out of order.
I'm a firm believer in the concept of making a few lifestyle changes in order to save money, lets face it no-one can claim to be starving in Britain it's all about material wealth and having the latest gizmo. People just want instant gratification and don't seem to care how they get it.
Turning away as I must from all this social comment I would say to people looking to save money is to reign in your car expenditure for starters.
A car that would generate instant savings would be the dependable little Ford Fiesta. Believe it or not it has been around since 1976 the year the likes of Johnny Rotten started gobbing on people, and my how he has mellowed with age. The Fiesta has been a first car for generations of teenagers and cash-strapped students and also people who don't view their car as some ridiculous status symbol. It's true that the Fiesta has grown somewhat in stature and has had to move with the times but the principal of a car being a means to an end rather than an end itself is still self-evident.
The Fiesta actually drives really well which is one of its strongest points. Other manufacturers prefer to stuff their super minis with loads of equipment which is ok but let's face it most people judge a car by how it drives MaxiDiag Elite MD802. Things like blue tooth and mp3 and all that other superfluous nonsense (don't even get me started on sat nav!) should be found elsewhere, I mean there are enough distractions on the roads as it is especially when people nick the road signs!
The Fiesta is fairly cheap to buy although residuals are quite strong, they are cheap to insure and tax and of course fuel costs are low especially for the diesel models. With the forthcoming arrival of the stylish new Fiesta the small car is on the way back which is just as well because if fuel prices go up any higher people will probably start high jacking petrol tankers like a scene from a Mad Max movie! I'm off now to supervise these blokes before they dig up the gas main.
Jon Barlow looks at the effect of rising motoring costs and how downsizing your vehicle for a Used Ford may be an optionRelated Links
