we have no finance on anything apart from the small balance on our cards--- mortgage paid-- cars paid -- we scrimp on holidays always self catering apartments with breakfast if possible --simple room with air con and a balcony with a view where we eat an evening meal with wine or beer and survey the world .
most of our neighbors are the same and all of our neighbors work as in both couples and nothing is bought to impress neighbors.
we would appear ridiculous to each other if there was any display to impress .
most of rural Ireland is the same .
there are people with debt and many of them but they have gone to cities where they are robbed by those with resources to rob them.
i spoke to a retired county engineer a week ago who was building a house for his daughter on his own property as the law has changed and you now can build on a quarter acre if you have sewerage connection.
i built my home in 1997 for 30 pounds a sq ft and today he tells me it is 200 euros a sq ft and i was shocked and asked more and he stated since the ship evergreen got stuck timber has doubled in cost and not come back down .
and then the real shocker he stated the engineers fees are 20,000 per house and i said how is that possible --and he said the engineer has to sign off on everything the foundation the insulation everything and that's the cost of that .
i wanted to say something but i kept my mouth shut .
you have to live within your means and if you are clever and have the time its possible to circumvent the swindlers - i have even heard of people buying a house in Poland and erecting it here .
if i was starting again the house would be a cross between an steel framed industrial building with a high pitched insulated panel roof with steel purloins .
all blocks laid on their flat with foil backed insulation and also cavity's pumped .
the attic would be my office with showers and a bed and a balcony either end of the house- floor and roof paneled in wood .
if you are clever and practical you can use just 4 subcontractors to do 90% of the work to your house .
a agricultural cowshed contractor will erect the frame galvanized if you like and the concrete floors and poured internal walls and panel roof .
block layers will lay the outside layer of blocks and your house is up.
