Edinburgher gets cracking!

moneycurious

I agree with Lula , bung in the emergency fund...... i keep thinking i want to Over pay, save, AND if a baby MC does appear i want to know that we can afford it..........
xx

Lois_E

edinburgher wrote: »

Thanks for the thoughts Lois, much appreciated

At present, Mrs E doesn't have much in the way of retirement provision for herself. She is, however, listed as the beneficiary for both my civil service and current pension schemes. I'm fairly new to the world of pensions (7 years?), but the provision from these schemes already dwarfs the benefits investing the £1k would have brought.

She has joined her employer's scheme now - and hopefully my years of nagging and attempts to involve her in the joys of pensions will provide sufficient re-assurance that I consider her needs in all things.

Statistically, there's a real male/female pension gap in the UK and mindful of that, I've always tried to encourage investing for the longer term. Which makes me sound like an old man, I know

Old? No, just wise, and caring.

HelenDaveKids

We both have a pension, mine longer than DH as Ive worked for the public sector for quite a bit longer and started paying pension at 22. We decided rather to supplement our pension further to pay off our morgage first and create a nest egg after that, as have very little faith in banks (sound very victor meldrewy) as our endowments are absolutely pants. A thousand pound pension is nothing in the great scheme of things however a nice chunk of cash as a safety net. Im with you Ed.
Advice given as Im a "laydeee".

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi Mr E, I think building your nest egg sounds like a good plan. Just to be balanced I asked Mr T what he would do and he'd put into a nest egg, particularly if it would help towards maternity leave - so you have the ladies and a gent's view.

By the way, the duck sounded FAB

Tilly x

InaPickle

Hi Ed & gang! :wave:

Well the slow cooker arrived. It's rather lovely, apart from having a very thin outer layer of metal that doesn't look like it would take much of a knock and having two screws sticking out of the bottom that could scrape the work surface beneath (especially if I put it on the halogen cooker due to lack of space). I take it the MR one isn't like that?!

And I need to get a pension, too. Or investments of some other kind. Until now, I have always been in such rubbish jobs that I've struggled to pay for the essentials, never mind a pension on top! :eek: It's high on my list of priorities for this year...

And Ed, I'm sooo impressed with your budgeting skills. Mine are in desperate need of an overhaul. Again, it's high on my 'to do' list for this year...:eek: :eek:

edinburgher

You guys are such a lovely bunch Thanks for all the input.

I take it the MR one isn't like that?!

I have the Argos one - maybe mixing me up with someone else? But no, ours doesn't have any protrusions.

And I need to get a pension, too. Or investments of some other kind. Until now, I have always been in such rubbish jobs that I've struggled to pay for the essentials, never mind a pension on top!

My top tips (for what they're worth - given freely, not actually advice!) would be:

1. Save as much pension as your employer will match - the only exception being if you're in a defined benefit/final salary scheme where extra payments bring healthy rewards.
2. Invest the rest elsewhere - don't hand over any more control than you have to (i.e. ISAs, or SIPPs - for when you're a rich Pickle)
3. Read up on low cost index tracking funds - I've not read anything that makes me think there's a better option out there for those of us who aren't full-time investors who happen to pick winners every time

InaPickle

edinburgher wrote: »

You guys are such a lovely bunch Thanks for all the input.

I have the Argos one - maybe mixing me up with someone else? But no, ours doesn't have any protrusions.

That was a general ask, but thanks. I may consider returning it as I have a horrible feeling I will forget about the screws and doink it down on the halogen cooker and scrape it horribly, meaning bye-bye deposit! :eek:

edinburgher wrote: »

My top tips (for what they're worth - given freely, not actually advice!) would be:

1. Save as much pension as your employer will match - the only exception being if you're in a defined benefit/final salary scheme where extra payments bring healthy rewards.
2. Invest the rest elsewhere - don't hand over any more control than you have to (i.e. ISAs, or SIPPs - for when you're a rich Pickle)
3. Read up on low cost index tracking funds - I've not read anything that makes me think there's a better option out there for those of us who aren't full-time investors who happen to pick winners every time

Thanks for the tips, Ed, but the problem is I've never actually worked for an employer than has offered a pension. If anyone ever had, I would have snapped their hand off straight away! I'll have to have a look at all this very soon. *scratches head*

edinburgher

That's a bit pants Pickle, I've never worked for one that didn't! Which shows me how lucky I've been in some ways, as I've worked for some terrible employers...

ultrarunner

Pickle, with automatic enrolment everyone will be in a pension in the next few schemes.

This also means that some companies will close their existing schemes and only provide the minimum as required under AE. So I guess you need to find out what your company will offer and act fast.

edinburgher

Pickle, with automatic enrolment everyone will be in a pension in the next few schemes.

I'm sure I'd read that loopholes mean that smaller employers might be abke to avoid it for a couple of years yet? I forget what size of employer you work for Pickle.