25% tax free pension cash. What did you do with it?

lilac_lady

A narrowboat holiday is a great way to get away from it all. They're expensive to hire but once you've tried them, you're hooked.

chickmug

I remember having to retire early last year and had never even thought about my pension, let alone any 25% benefit, as it seemed to be many years ahead. Anyway I looked into it and really didn't know about the 25% and when the quote came in I about fell off my chair. We assumed there was an extra 0 typed on the end of the lump sum. So I called the pension people and found it was right and they even emailed confirmation again of the figure.

So we spent the next few weeks feeling like we had won the lottery deciding what we could spend the money on and to date, one year on, we haven’t spent a penny of it. We feel disappointed the income had been reduced considerably due to savings rates getting worse but it is a terrific feeling knowing it is there if you want it. It is also very nice day dreaming what we may do but we are no nearer to splashing out.

Perhaps we are just tight:D

Savvy_Sue

Definitely try out the canal boat and motorhome options before buying one.

I had some friends who had a canal boat, and it was quite labour intensive and expensive to maintain. Also bear in mind that they may not be easy to live on / get on and off if you don't remain fit and able.

TravellingAbuela

I retired three years ago and OH retired in November. We got a static caravan in a riverside country location. To start with we got a cheap oldish model, just to see how the life suited us. Well we LOVE it! It is so peaceful and watching all the wildlife around us is fascinating. There are walks in abundance in every direction. Fortunately we have been blessed with nice weather since the site opened in early March. It may not hold the same appeal in the rain! It's only a 50 minute drive from home but a different world! We divide our time between there and home so we don't miss out on seeing the grandkids! Already we are planning on upgrading to a newer more luxurious model! This would be my vote on what to spend some of your money on!

evergreen

Someone I worked with loves narrow boats, anyway he and his wife bought 2 weeks of a narrow boat, sort of like a timeshare but with a narrow boat so they go back every year. He really felt he got his moneysworth, but wasn't tied to it all the time, his wife like other holidays too. It's just something to thinkabout.

chickmug

evergreen wrote: »

Someone I worked with loves narrow boats, anyway he and his wife bought 2 weeks of a narrow boat, sort of like a timeshare but with a narrow boat so they go back every year. He really felt he got his moneysworth, but wasn't tied to it all the time, his wife like other holidays too. It's just something to thinkabout.

Where do you find these advertised?

evergreen

I havetried to find out but I am afraid I can't get intouch with him.
Sorry. Maybeits worth doing a search on google.

Savvy_Sue

Yup, a search for narrowboat timeshare brings up several sites, if you added an area you were particularly interested in then that might narrow* it down a bit too. (*Sorry.)

Rosepearl_2

I came across this thread looking for discounts for boating holidays


I know someone who was looking into this recently, they found a few different companies - Diamond resorts, UKBoatHire and Canal Time (he also said some sites referred to them as Abacus?)

It's a lot of money apparently, you're looking at costs for maintenance storage etc, but it's good that you get your few weeks etc without having a whole boat to look after yourself all year.

scotsbob

New central heating system
Spent winter in a hotel in Oman
New home entertainment system
Stuffed quite a lot into lap dancers knickers