The Happiness Fund.

savingwannabe

Hello Skinty, I miss you but am sooo glad you are happy up north. It is payday today, it is finally raining now after plenty of heat. We are not sure but there may be good news as a colleague is leaving for another job possibly so we may avoid redundancies. We may hear next week and are all keeping our fingers crossed.

Holiday's soon. Apart from a tiny bit of marking little work will be done this weekend after a year of hard slog. .  I am going to see Indiana Jones tomorrow using my free LLoyds tickets and inviting 3 friends along. All being well the tea and cake meal wont be too much and i am taking out a sick colleague as well as my lovely friends who are always treating me. 

I put up a post on facebook as i couldnt get purple petunias and a friend bought me loads. I insisted on paying her (£10) and on Sunday i will plant them in my garden.  Everyone have a fab weekend. I am off to catch up on threads. 

MovingForwards

Fingers crossed about the possible redundancies.

Enjoy the film, cake and catch up. It will do you some good.

So pleased you've got the flowers! If you let some go to seed they will pop up next year with minimal effort.

Skint_yet_Again

Hope you enjoyed the film and tea and cake 😁

My DF’s neighbour gave me some of his excess petunias so I have a few things growing in pots. Just have to remember to water them! The rest of the garden is a work in progress 

savingwannabe

Holy moly it has been yonks.

Skinty well done on the new plants. Your neighbours sound fab. My garden is totally overgrown and the plan is this year i will try to get it back in order. I still have to paint the garden swing and will do over the next few weeks. Garden fence has been half painted and the rest will be done as the tomatoes and green beans reach the end of their lifecycle. 

It has been a great summer holiday and involved getting a new boiler for 2.5k. I invested in the house with a newer gas cooker and garden bench which were utter bargains and virtually new. Travel was to the New Forest, the Midlands and also to Windsor including a couple of v nice hotel stays. The cost was £1k which is double my usual summer spending.  

Summer is almost over and i am about to mow the garden. Weather will be glorious this week as we go back to work. I have started to lose weight and have given up crisps. I hope it lasts!!!! 

The plans for tomorrow are that I am taking a lovely work friend out for a goodbye meal on Sunday but other than spending will be on essentials only as there is £300 left for food, travel and fun till next month.  

Skint_yet_Again

Great to see you SW 🤗 

I am glad to hear you have had a great summer. It’s a shame the weather has just improved now that you are going back to work. Investing in a new boiler should pay off hopefully with winter heating being more efficient 

I’m sure you will soon tame your garden again. Enjoy lunch with your friend x

MovingForwards

It's a sign you've been having a good time.
Upgrades should reflect in your bills, good planning and thinking.
You'll tame the garden and slowly get everything finished, pace yourself.
Enjoy lunch.

[Deleted User]

How are your financial plans  progressing ? I am assuming like myself you are or were a teacher. Thank goodness for our decent pension scheme. Have you any retirement date planned or am I way out with your age! Apologies if I am🙂 Best wishes.

savingwannabe

Hello all, 

Lunch was great. The weather is glorious. I am really enjoying it. 

Currently i am working on weed removal in the garden, it has become ridiculous over the summer. I am trying a new weed killer as desperate measures are needed. 

Hi Baron, i am indeed. If i retire at 55 my earnings will be 6K a year which coupled with lodger's money mean i will be earning £12k a year. It will be a tight retirement although i do have savings i can access but I wont be going on posh holidays and will be living quite thriftily. It is an option and i am still deciding if i should take it up. At the mo i am making overpayments on my mortgage and still have two years left on it so savings are not v high. 

My current workplace is currently struggling financially and there is a risk my hours may be cut so I am not thinking too far ahead due to government funding. I keep meaning to buy a lottery ticket but never quite get round to it!!!! 

On to scribbling some new lessons. Have a good week everyone. Money is tight this month so I am being careful. 

Skint_yet_Again

Is that your pension that will be £6k a year SW ? Do you think your lodger will stay long term or would you get a new one if he left. Could you do some private tutoring for a bit of extra cash? Hope everything works out with your current workplace. Good luck with the weedkiller 🤞

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your response. To be honest £12000 a year is pretty tight with a mortgage still to pay. Also the money from the lodger may not be guaranteed. A redundancy could therefore be useful but don’t be tempted to let people know you might retire early.
Perhaps you may need to plan to stay a little longer and improve the pension. At least the McCloud ruling will mean you will have stayed in the original TPS until April 2022. Generally at the moment teachers are in demand should you need to look elsewhere. Invigilation can also bring in another couple of thousand a year and is stress free. Just some suggestions.
Would an updated SOA be helpful?
Feel free to read my thread to see what I did lol! 

Take care.