So how much should I be saving?

There's been an awful lot of talk recently about pension provision and what we should all be saving for retirement which has depressed me somewhat, so I sat down and worked out what I should be saving for a retirement income of £40,000 before tax and then also looked at monthly expenses which I can't avoid.

Mortgage - £825
Pension - £1,200
ISA - £600
Insurance various - £150
Mobile phones - £100
Water - £30
Gas - £130
Work travel - £200
Cycle scheme - £43
Council Tax - £150
Child trust fund x3 - £300
Childen's education trust £300
Children's long term fund £300

That comes to a grand total of £4,328

Now I've got a decent job but that aint gonna happen especially if I want to eat, buy clothes and maybe go out once a year which as you'll note I haven't put in here. So what now? I suppose I could cut out £900 for the kids but that seems a little harsh.

Twitter in real life

For me Twitter has now almost completely surplanted my iGoogle RSS feed reader, but for many it sems to be being used as a Facebook extension which to my mind misses the point.

The video below does expose the potential ridiculousness of Twitter.

Watch Real Life Twitter on CollegeHumor

Added a Twitter app to my page

I know it sounds ridiculous but updating the blog just got too much with my new job and home and all that entails and I'm using Twitter because it's so much easier an interface, so I've added to my blog on the right hand side, so you can follow me there much more easily.