Pensions

southernscouser

Whats the H site?

Numpty_2

southernscouser wrote:

Whats the H site?

It's a wedding forum we were on when we were planning our weddings. ROTFL Nothing exciting I'm afraid!

tyllwyd

If you want advice about your options, you could do worse than ask on the Pensions board here. There are some very strong characters there (who very seldom seem to agree!) but the discussion there has helped me a lot towards understanding how pensions actually work.

Numpty_2

tyllwyd wrote:

If you want advice about your options, you could do worse than ask on the Pensions board here. There are some very strong characters there (who very seldom seem to agree!) but the discussion there has helped me a lot towards understanding how pensions actually work.

Oh ta - really need to work my way around these boards. However I think I'll keep it as it is, it seems stupid to throw away a good investment

Molanole

Numpty (does anyone else feel weird writing that as a greeting ). This is off topic but thank you for the reminder. I've been meaning to join the pension scheme at work (6.35% my contribution, 14% employers) for a while and your post prompted me to get into action. Thanks!

Numpty_2

Molanole wrote:

Numpty (does anyone else feel weird writing that as a greeting ). This is off topic but thank you for the reminder. I've been meaning to join the pension scheme at work (6.35% my contribution, 14% employers) for a while and your post prompted me to get into action. Thanks!

Think thats the deal I'm on - the USS scheme?

Molanole

Yep - that's the one!

I know very little about pensions but everyone I know has been badgering me to join for ages saying that I won't get a better deal anywhere else

Numpty_2

Molanole wrote:

Yep - that's the one!

I know very little about pensions but everyone I know has been badgering me to join for ages saying that I won't get a better deal anywhere else

Nope from what I gather it is "the" one. Also if you change universities, most have the same scheme. I think I'm ducking out of research after this contract though

msmicawber

Thanks for posting your revised SOA which shows that you're spending about £80 per month more than your income. It seems that you've cut down on your outgoings, so there's probably no more room for manouevre there.

I'm just going to list some ideas here, so feel free to ignore them if they're not appropriate to your situation:

Would you consider knocking your social life on the head for a few months? (or do you think that would just encourage your hubbie to lash more onto his credit cards?) I agree with you, by the way, that you'll have to wait for him to have his own lightbulb moment - possibly spurred on by your sterling efforts.

Have you tried speaking to the loan and CC providers to see if they would change you to a lower rate? (they can only say no ...). If they won't go for it, or if it makes insufficient difference, what could you do to raise your income? Do you have a spare room that you could let out until your debts are paid? Is a second job an option?

I see that you're hoping to make £2k soon by selling the second car. That could pay off quite a chunk of your debts subject to higher rate interest. If you then close the account(s), you could apply for more 0% or low life of balance deals so that your debts so that you're repaying debts more quickly.

I hope that's some help.

PS Make sure you pay off his Abbey card last, won't you! :rotfl:

CLAPTON

maybe slightly of topic but

a. have you established that you can actually take the money out from your pension payments
b. and if so do you know how much you will get (as it will be taxed before they pay you)

i would think you would be better to try to establish where your money actually is spent each month and also talking to OH to find out exactly what he spends and the state of his debts.

looking at your SoA its difficult to conclude much because
a. you say 500 for mortgage bills food...are you sure that thats what you spend. does this include all the utility bills, council tax, water, phone internet etc?
b. also there seems no mention of things like car related costs..tax, insurance, MOT,RAC/AA, servicing and no mention of cloths, presents, holidays (except weekends aways), present, xmas etc.

perhaps you and OH should start a spending diary and see exactly where the money is going.
also are you tracking your overall level of debt...is it actaully dropping each month?