We all know how important a will can be for protecting your family. But not all of us get around to it: every year, thousands of people die intestate in the UK. According to one study, this costs bereaved families a collective £175 million in lost assets annually – not to mention the stress of untangling those estates.
If you’ve resolved to write your will this year, there’s a fresh crop of new online services that claim to let you do it quickly and easily from home. But is an online will right for everyone? Let’s take a look.
What is an online will?
An online will is a will that you make on a website, that’s all. The site will ask you questions about your family and your wishes, and use your responses to draft a legally-binding will. All you have to do is print it off and sign it in front of two witnesses.
The benefits of writing your will online
So why would you forgo the traditional solicitor and make your will online? Well…
Online wills are cheaper
Money Advice Service say that a simple will written by a solicitor usually costs between £144-£240. A similar will written using an online service can be much less. The best-rated online will service on TrustPilot, Beyond.life, charges just £90.
Special offers abound
On top of a cheaper initial cost, online will services often have additional special offers: Beyond offer couple’s wills (a will for you and one for your partner) for £135. An optional extra £10 a year subscription gets you unlimited new wills whenever you want, so you don’t have to pay hundreds in legal fees every time a grandchild is born.
Make your will in your own time
As urgent as making a will is, a lot of us don’t have days off to spare for visiting a solicitor. With an online will, this isn’t a problem. You can make a will online in 10 to 30 minutes. You can also do it from home or even in your lunch break.
On Beyond, the service lets you save your progress and log back in later as well – so you can make your will in dribs and drabs whenever you can spare the odd minute.
The drawbacks of making a will online
So that’s the pros taken care of – now for the cons. When is an online will not the best choice for you?
You can’t make complex requests
Online will services all make what’s called a ‘simple will’. This means you can use them to leave your money, assets and property to people, pass on gifts of belongings, choose guardians for your kids and pets, and select executors.
So far, so good. But if your affairs or your wishes are somewhat complicated, you will need a solicitor to sort out your will. For example, if you own properties abroad, have a difficult family situation, or if you’d like to set up various trusts.
A specialist will from a solicitor will cost upwards of £500, but it’s better to invest in that than try to use an online will to do something it’s not designed for.
You need to take care
Online will services use interactive tools to automate a certain amount of the will drafting process. This is why the will can be so much cheaper, but it also means that you have to make absolutely sure you’re giving the site the correct information. The site only knows what you tell it.
This isn’t a deal-breaker for most people. Just make sure you check and double-check all the names, dates of birth and contact details you share with the service. And follow the instructions on signing the will carefully.
You might not get to talk to a person
If you’re not comfortable with making a will without any input from an expert, an online will might not be for you. At Beyond.life, a dedicated team are on hand to advise you via live chat if you have any questions, and every will is checked by their team. But other online will services don’t always offer the same support.
Want to give an online will service a try?
You can see what it’s like to make a will online at Beyond: you can draft the whole will for free, and you’ll only be asked to pay if you choose to download it. Give it a try here.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Beyond.life.
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Today I’m spotlighting a survey website that wants your opinions and pays cash for them 🙂
The site in question is called PopulusLive. You can sign up free of charge, and will then receive email notifications any time they have a survey you may be eligible for.
Each survey is worth a set number of ‘points’. Once you have accrued 50 points you will be sent a cheque for £50 (each point is worth £1, in other words).
The notification emails state how long the survey is expected to take and how many points it is worth. In general, you get 1 point for a five-minute survey, 2 points for a ten-minute one, and so on.
Bear in mind, though, that the timings are PopulusLive’s estimates, and may not correspond with how long they actually take to complete. For example, I find that ‘five-minute’ surveys can sometimes take ten minutes or longer. Of course, that does reduce the effective hourly rate you receive.
On the other hand, the surveys are generally straightforward and easy to do (though watch out for the attention-checkers). It’s quite possible you will be quicker to complete them than I am.
On occasion you may find yourself screened out of a survey, e.g. if you are not in the target group they are interested in. In that case you won’t be awarded any points, but will get one entry in their monthly prize draw for £250.
Clearly nobody is going to earn a fortune from PopulusLive, but in my view (and experience) it can make a very worthwhile addition to your sideline-earning portfolio.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about PopulusLive, please do post them below.
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I was there to visit my sister Liz and her family, who live in Wilsden, near Bradford. They don’t really have room for me to stay with them, so I did an internet search and discovered Hewenden Mill Cottages, which was just a mile and a half from them.
At first I assumed that, as these were self-catering cottages, they wouldn’t be suitable for a solo visitor who was only coming for a long weekend. Turns out I was wrong, though. They were very happy to accommodate me for three nights, and the cost was, if anything, cheaper than staying at a hotel (see Financials, below).
Hewenden Mill Cottages is in a secluded location between the villages of Wilsden and Cullingworth. I have embedded a map of the area below (courtesy of Google Maps.
The Accommodation
Hewenden Mill Cottages and Apartments (to give their full title) is based around not one but two old mills which have been converted into holiday cottages.
The main Hewenden Mill complex (which includes the reception, shown in the cover photo above) is easy to access from the B6144 (also called Lane Side). I was staying at Bent’s Mill, however, which is a short distance from Hewenden Mill. It’s a seven-minute walk from one to the other through some picturesque woodland, but unfortunately it’s not possible to drive through this. I have posted a photo of Bent’s Mill below.
When I arrived I was met at reception by the charming Susan, who told me she was the owners’ daughter. She asked me to follow her in my car as she drove to Bent’s Mill. I was glad to have her as my guide, as the journey involved going on narrow, twisting country lanes, and for my first visit it was reassuring to have her car in front and know I was going the right way. It also came in useful when we turned a corner and met another car coming the opposite way. As there were two of us and only one of them, they had no option but to back up!
I was staying in the Wheel Pit House at one end of Bent’s Mill. As you may gather, this is where the water wheel once stood. It’s no longer there, but you can see the chamber where it was through a window in the entrance hall (or from the outside). You can read more about the Wheel Pit House on this page of the excellent Hewenden Mill Cottages website. Here is my own photo of the exterior.
My accommodation was on three levels. On the ground floor was the front door and entrance hall. Upstairs on the first floor was a double bedroom and bathroom. On the top floor were the kitchen and lounge, from which you could enjoy lovely views of the woodland and mill pond (see photo below).
I have to say I was very impressed by my cottage. It was spacious and comfortable, with everything you would need for a short stay (or a longer one).
The kitchen included an electric cooker with ceramic hob, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and washing machine – all very clean and modern, and considerably nicer than I have at home!
The cottages have free wifi, and all costs such as electricity and VAT are included in the price. There would have been plenty of room for a couple, and a young child or baby as well. To me as a solo visitor it felt palatial, especially after the compact ‘Forest Retreat’ I stayed in a few weeks ago at Aberdunant Hall. As a matter of interest, I worked out that at Hewenden my accommodation was over six times larger!
A nice touch is that the owners provide a complimentary ‘welcome pack’ of groceries on arrival. This included bread, milk, butter, preserves, orange juice, biscuits, and so on. A selection of breakfast cereals in individual boxes and sachets was also provided, along with coffee and Yorkshire Tea (see below!).
Hewenden Mill and (especially) Bent’s Mill are a bit off the beaten track and there aren’t any shops close by (though there is a Co-op in Cullingworth about a mile away). As I was mostly eating with my sister and her family that wasn’t an issue for me, but if I’d had to buy some provisions it wouldn’t have been a problem. There are also several takeaways, cafes and restaurants within a mile or two.
Financials
As Pounds and Sense is primarily a money blog, I need to say a few words about this.
I paid £327 (including VAT) for my three-night stay in the Wheel Pit House at Hewenden Mill Cottages, which I thought was very reasonable. I paid an initial £50 deposit when I booked, with the rest due on arrival.
Costs obviously vary according to the accommodation you want, when you want it, and for how long. I did though notice that the longer your stay the cheaper (per day) it works out. While you can book for one or two nights, it becomes much more economical if you are staying for three nights or longer.
The price I paid worked out to £109 a night, which – as I said above – struck me as very reasonable (and cheaper than most of the hotels I have stayed at recently). Of course, unlike most hotels, you don’t get a cooked breakfast, and neither is a daily housekeeping visit included. On the positive side, though, you do get far more space, a fully equipped kitchen, a separate lounge and bedroom, and complete privacy during your stay.
Obviously I was visiting family, so I won’t go into detail about everything I did while I was there. However, for the benefit of anyone who may be considering visiting the area, I will mention a few of the local attractions.
First of all, Hewenden Mill is just a few miles from Haworth, the home of the Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Anne and Emily (indeed, the area is sometimes called Bronte Country). If you haven’t visited before, I would say this is a must-see. You can go around the parsonage where the sisters were brought up and wrote their famous novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. The parsonage has been preserved (or restored) largely as it was in their day. I found it quite an emotional experience seeing the family home where the sisters lived, wrote, and tragically all died at an early age
The village with its cobbled high street is also well worth seeing, and there are numerous (enticing) tea and cake shops.
And finally, Haworth has a station on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, a heritage steam railway which runs between Keighley and Oxenhope. The line and its stations has been used in numerous period film and television productions, including the film The Railway Children. More information and timetables are available via the KWVR website. You can get a 10% discount on a Day Rover ticket if you buy your ticket more than seven days in advance.
Also nearby is Saltaire, the Victorian model village built by textile magnate and philanthropist Sir Titus Salt to house the workers at his mill. The mill itself is still there, and large parts are open free of charge to the public. Inside is a bookshop, and you can still see some of the old heavy machinery there that was used in the mill. There is also a bustling coffee shop and restaurant, along with displays and exhibitions. The River Aire runs alongside the town (hence the name, of course), and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal too (great for a brisk walk along the towpath!).
And, of course, the whole of the area is incredibly scenic, with lots of scope for country walks, runs or cycle rides, as you prefer. From Hewenden Mill Cottages there are various walks you can take, from a five-minute stroll to Goit Stock Waterfalls (see photo below) to much further afield.
Final Thoughts
As you may gather, I very much enjoyed my stay at Hewenden Mill Cottages and thoroughly recommend them. Obviously, the fact that they are only a short drive from my sister’s home was a big attraction for me. Even if that wasn’t the case, though, I would definitely consider going back for a short break.
There is plenty of choice of accommodation, though at weekends especially it does get popular, so it’s definitely advisable to book a few weeks in advance.
If you want complete peace and seclusion, I can highly recommend staying at Bent’s Mill, where the only noise to be heard is birdsong. My one slight reservation is that, as mentioned earlier, getting there by car involves a somewhat nerve-racking drive along narrow, twisting lanes, where you really hope you don’t meet someone coming in the other direction! it’s perfectly do-able, of course, but if you don’t fancy this particular challenge then staying at the main Hewenden Mill might be a better choice for you.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about Hewenden Mill Cottages, please do post them below.
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Excuse the slightly tongue-in-cheek title. Nextdoor is actually a free social network for local communities.
I’ve been a member for about a year now. In the last few months I have seen the number of people who have signed up in my neighbourhood grow considerably. So I thought today I’d share my thoughts about it.
Nextdoor is the private social network for you, your neighbours and your community. It’s the easiest way for you and your neighbours to talk online and make all of your lives better in the real world. And it’s free.
People are using Nextdoor to:
Borrow a ladder
Organise a Neighbourhood Watch Group
Track down a trustworthy babysitter
Find out who does the best paint job in town
Ask for help keeping an eye out for a lost dog
Find a new home for an outgrown bike
Finally call that nice man down the street by his first name
Nextdoor’s mission is to provide a trusted platform where neighbours work together to build stronger, safer, happier communities, all over the world.
That’s a reasonable summary, I think. It corresponds with the types of uses people in my local area are putting it to, as the screen capture below illustrates.
Here are my personal thoughts and experiences of Nextdoor as a member…
How I Use Nextdoor
As well as keeping an eye on what is going on in my neighbourhood, I have also used Nextdoor as a way of finding reliable tradesmen. This has worked pretty well, although I do find that when you ask for recommendations from your neighbours, what you actually tend to get is a stream of replies from the tradesmen themselves angling for your custom. Of course, it’s quite understandable that tradespeople are cottoning on to the fact that this can be a good way of getting work.
I have also found Nextdoor good for finding local people willing to do smaller jobs that the average tradesman might not be interested in. Here’s an example message I posted recently…
Man (or Woman) with a Ladder Needed
I recently had some scaffolding up at the back of my house. When the scaffolders took it away, they left a couple of short metal tubes near the edge of the roof. Despite several requests they haven’t come back for them and I’m concerned they may cause damage if they fall down. So I just wondered if someone with a ladder might be willing to pop over and remove them for me? Should only be a five-minute job and I’m happy to pay a tenner or donate the money to your favourite charity. Will also give you a review on any relevant website if you’re a tradesperson.
I got a reply on Nextdoor within an hour from the wife of a local roofer. She said her husband would be happy to come and do this for me. We exchanged private messages, and the roofer (Clive Byrne of CMB Roofing – many thanks!) came over that afternoon and removed the offending items for me. As per my message, I paid him £10 and put a review on Google for him. This solved a niggling problem for me with the minimum of hassle, and is a good example of the sort of thing Nextdoor can work well for.
Any Drawbacks?
As with any social network there can be differences of opinion, and worse…
I have seen a few instances where people have been criticised for things they have said or shared on the platform. Sometimes (in my opinion) this may have been justified, but other times I think those concerned have been, shall we say, rather thin-skinned.
One issue that has arisen a few times has been when someone reports suspicious activity and others then criticise them for stereotyping or being too quick to make judgements. I do accept that this can be a difficult issue, but personally I think that if someone observes suspicious, possibly criminal, behaviour, it’s not unreasonable to alert their neighbours about it. But like it or not, if you do this, you can expect to be criciticised by some people.
Unsurprisingly, politics (national and local) is another contentious area. For example, where I live the local council is currently considering a planning application for a KFC drive-through. Some people expressed their disapproval about this quite forcibly, while others argued (equally forcibly) that it would be beneficial for the area. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of robust argument, but some of the comments became unpleasant and borderline abusive. Some people get hot under the collar when they discover that their neighbours don’t share their views, and it can rather spoil the friendly, community vibe that Nextdoor is trying to promote. Of course, the same thing happens on Facebook and other social networks, but if you join Nextdoor you need to be prepared for this.
Nextdoor is monitored and supervised by what the network calls ‘Local Leads’. These are – as I understand it – ordinary members who have additional powers, e.g. to delete posts that breach the community’s guidelines. I now know who my Local Lead is, but only because I researched this carefully. I haven’t ever seen any posts by them on the platform, much less any evidence of constructive interventions. Maybe all this goes on behind the scenes – I don’t know. I do think Nextdoor could be more up front about who the Local Leads are and how they are chosen.
Finally, it would be wrong not to mention that joining Nextdoor has privacy implications. As a member, you can see the names of people in your local area and (in most cases) their street and house number. And they, of course, will be able to see yours. This information is only available to people in your immediate area and pseudonyms are not allowed. I can understand the reasons for this, but if you are uncomfortable with it, Nextdoor may not be for you. In any event, be careful about sharing personal information in your profile, especially anything you might not want your neighbours to know!
How to Join
If you do decide to give Nextdoor a try, you can sign up for free at https://www.nextdoor.co.uk. Fill in the short form on the front page (see screen capture below) including your postcode, then click on Find Your Neighbourhood. You will then be able to see recent posts by your neighbours, with other information (e.g. a map of your area) available via the left-hand menu.
You can also access Nextdoor via a mobile phone app. Versions are available for Apple (via the iTunes App Store) and Android (via Google Play).
Final Thoughts
Although (as stated above) I do have certain reservations about Nextdoor, overall I feel I have benefited from it, and it has certainly increased my awareness of events going on in my neighbourhood. I have also, as mentioned above, found it a useful resource for finding tradespeople and getting recommendations.
I’d love to hear your views about Nextdoor, and also your experiences (good or bad) if you’re already a member. Please do leave any comments below as usual.
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Carpet isn’t something you buy every day, but when the time comes the cost can be substantial. Fortunately there are various ways you can save money on carpet without compromising on the things you want. Here are ten top tips to guide you.
Educate yourself on the different types of carpet available. There is lots of helpful information online. The more you know, the less likely you are to waste money on something that is unnecessarily expensive or just plain unsuitable.
In particular, get to know about carpet fibres, synthetic and natural. If you want a synthetic, nylon offers the greatest durability and resilience. However, it will also cost you the most per square metre. If you don’t need as much durability, alternatives such as polyester are cheaper and have other benefits, e.g. better stain resistance and eco-friendliness. Wool carpets are generally more expensive than synthetics but offer the greatest level of comfort and will retain their colour and elasticity for many years.
Shop around before you buy. This will give you a good idea of the options available and how much you can expect to end up paying. Don’t just go to the usual high-street and out-of-town stores, though. You may be able to save a lot of money by buying carpet online.
Think about how long you plan to go on living in your house. There is no point paying top whack if you expect to move on in a year or two. On the other hand, if you plan to put down roots, it clearly makes sense to buy good-quality carpets that will last a long time.
Although the obvious option would be to get the same carpet across the whole house, it may not be the most sensible. For rooms that get a lot of use, such as the lounge and master bedroom, clearly you will want carpet that is hard wearing as well as comfortable. On the other hand, with rooms that get less use, such as the spare bedroom, you can get away with something a bit cheaper and less durable.
If you are carpeting a small room or flat, you may be able to save money by purchasing offcuts or remnants. These are basically left-over sections of carpet at the end of rolls. They are usually discounted to clear, so can be great value if you can find something suitable for the room (or rooms) you have in mind.
Do as much of the preparatory work as possible yourself. In particular, move furniture out of the way before the fitter (or fitters) arrive. Most will move furniture for you, but they will charge you extra. If large pieces of furniture are too heavy for you to move, buy (or borrow) furniture sliders. You just slip these under your furniture and can then easily move large items around. Packs of reusable furniture sliders are available for a few pounds from Amazon.
You may also be able to save money by removing and disposing of the old carpet yourself. Take it up carefully, removing underlay and staples as well. Don’t remove the tack strips, though, as this could damage your floor (in most cases anyway the fitters will use the tack strips again). Taking the old carpet to the tip yourself can also save money, as commercial installers typically have to pay a fee for doing this.
Remember that as well as the carpet itself, you will need to pay for underlay, gripper rods, and so on. Be sure to get a fully itemized quote from your chosen supplier showing everything included as well as the total price you will have to pay. This should help to avoid any nasty (expensive) surprises later.
But finally, DON’T try to save money by fitting the carpet yourself, at least unless you have professional training and experience in this field. Carpet fitting is a skilled job, and if you make a hash of it you could end up wasting a lot of money as well as voiding any guarantees (which often stipulate that carpets must be professionally fitted).
Good luck, and I hope you save loads of money on your new carpet!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Flooring Superstore, the UK’s leading online flooring specialist.
As always, if you have any comments or questions on this post, please do leave them below.
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Today I am pleased to bring you a guest post from my fellow UK money blogger Bronni Hughes
In her article below, Bronni sets out a number of mobile phone apps you can download for free that can help you earn a useful sideline income, generally for little or no effort.
Over to Bronni then…
Phones can be expensive. After buying your handset and then forking out for your minutes, texts and data on a monthly basis, it can feel like you’re just throwing money away. This is why I think it’s important to use money-making apps to try and make some of it back.
Unfortunately, you’re not going to pay your rent with the money you’ll make from these apps, but you could get a tidy stack of Amazon vouchers to put towards Christmas. Not bad!
Jobspotter
If you don’t have this app yet, what have you been doing?! I must have made over £100 in Amazon vouchers since I first downloaded it.
When you’re walking around town use the app to snap photos of any job adverts you can see posted outside businesses.
Earn Amazon vouchers.
It really is that easy! You need to take a clear shot of the job advert itself and one where you can clearly see the name of the business.
Jobspotter will then assess the photo and decide how many points it earns. One point equals 1 cent (USD) of an Amazon voucher. All ads earn points, but one for a chain cafe will earn a lot less than an ad in the window of your local takeaway. If someone’s submitted the job before it won’t earn as many points.
The most points I ever earned in one go was 144 from an estate agent in my local town. It honestly takes seconds to submit each one, and the money can rack up pretty quickly.
There’s no minimum you need to cash out, and the Amazon voucher arrives after about 48 hours usually.
Field Agent
Have opinions about what you buy in the supermarket? Who doesn’t!
Field Agent pays you to share that opinion. Download the app here. Jobs usually involve going to the supermarket and photographing certain shelves and saying which product you’d choose to buy. There are ones on the app right now for £10, and they don’t generally take any longer than 20 minutes to complete.
You won’t qualify for every job – sometimes they’re looking for cat owners or people with kids, for example. There are often at home surveys paying £1 or £2 each too.
The app is free to use and download, so it’s worth trying out to see if you like it.
I’ve grouped these two apps together, because I always scan every receipt I get on both apps.
Shoppix is available on Android or iOS – download here. If you use the referral code 3PGPHDNK we both get 200 points.
You’ll get 30 points for a receipt snapped the same day, and 25 points for one submitted any later. You also get good bonuses for using the app every week too, plus extra points for filling out their very short surveys.
You need 3200 points to cash out £5 via iTunes, Amazon or PayPal. It usually only takes me two months of snapping to be able to cash out a full £20.
Receipt Hog is a bit less generous than Shoppix, but as you can scan one receipt on both apps you may as well get it. It’s available for Apple or Android here.
How many points you get depends on how much you spend on the receipt. It’s 1,500 points to cash out £5 via Amazon or PayPal. Remember you’ll get bonus points for snapping every week too, as well as “hog slots” where you can win extra prizes.
Don’t forget either MobileXpression, the app I wrote about on Pounds and Sense last year. I am still receiving £20 Amazon vouchers every few weeks like clockwork from this. All you have to do is download the app to your mobile phone, and every so often check in to the app to claim any points you have been credited.
If you know of any other good money-making (or saving) apps, feel free to post details below. And, of course, you are very welcome to post comments or questions, for me or Bronni, there as well.
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