Fixing Things
What Actually Belongs in a First Toolkit
Two hundred piece toolkits are sold on the number rather than the contents. About a dozen items cover almost every repair a tenant…
Owais Bhat
Contributing writer, Bachelor Only
Owais writes about bills, deposits and household admin.
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12 articles
Fixing Things
Unblocking a Drain Before You Reach for the Chemicals
Caustic drain cleaner is the first thing people buy and the last thing that should be tried. Three mechanical methods clear most…
Fixing Things
Silicone Sealant Fails When You Rush It
The black line along the edge of a bath is not decoration. It is what stops water getting behind the bath, and it fails almost…
Fixing Things
Filling a Hole in a Wall So It Disappears
The repair itself takes two minutes. Everything that makes it invisible happens in the preparation and in the sanding afterwards.
Fixing Things
When a Circuit Breaker Trips It Is Doing Its Job
A tripping breaker is not a fault in the breaker. It is a protective device telling you something on that circuit is drawing more…
Fixing Things
Furniture That Wobbles and the Cheap Fixes That Work
A wobbling table is rarely a broken table. It is a joint that has loosened or a floor that is not flat, and each has a different…
Money & Bills
A Deposit Is Held, Not Paid
The single most useful thing to understand about a tenancy deposit is that it never stops being your money. Everything about how it…
Money & Bills
The Standing Charge Is Why Your Bill Is Never Zero
A utility bill has two parts that behave completely differently. Understanding which is which explains why a light user does not…
Money & Bills
An Estimated Meter Reading Is a Loan You Did Not Ask For
When nobody reads the meter, the supplier guesses. The guess is eventually corrected, and the correction arrives as a single bill…
Money & Bills
Living Alone Costs More Per Person and Here Is Why
The costs of running a household do not divide neatly by the number of people in it. Understanding which costs are fixed tells you…
Money & Bills
Contents Insurance Covers More Than You Think You Own
Most people underestimate their possessions by a wide margin, because the value is spread across a hundred ordinary items rather…
Money & Bills
The Subscriptions You Forgot You Were Paying
Recurring payments are designed to be invisible after the first month. That is exactly what makes an annual audit of them the…