The Happiness Fund.

MovingForwards

Good to see you again. It was natural to panic while running a tight budget, however you've got the option of reducing mortgage O/Ps if needed. How long you got left on it?

The tax change should provide a bit more wage in your pocket too.

Your Christmas plans sound good, make sure there's rest time too.

Skint_yet_Again

Hope you have had a wonderful Christmas SW & lovely visits to see Andy and your parents. How did you get on with your £300 budget? 

Best wishes to you for the new year too xx

savingwannabe

Hello Skinty and MF! 

Lol so much has happened. I was made redundant with v little notice and no real choice due to a restructuring. I have paid off the mortgage and have £6k to  my name as part of the VR. If i hadnt taken it they would have made me redundant anyway  but this way i got enough to pay off my house a year early. I am happy. It is nice to have a break and not work over the summer for the first time in decades. I'm still getting my head round it all. 

One of my friends has passed away he had only retired two years ago and had worked till 67 earning a fortune so he could enjoy his retirement. 

I am not allowed to work in my profession for another month as part of my voluntary redundancy.  Nothing will be advertised till January now.  I am decluttering, tidying garden which needs a lot of work. 

I have 6k till xmas to live off and money from LL to pay house bills. I can do it. But i am planning to go on holiday with Andy, we might go to Scotland and are looking for deals. I might be applying for other jobs if anything fun comes up but it is just nice to chill for now. 

[Deleted User]

Good to hear from you again.

Are you old enough to take your pension yet? If you are returning soon to teaching it may be better not to as McCloud would keep your final salary with the former terms up to April 2022. Another option may be to take pension if old enough (with possible actuarial reduction) and begin a new career average one when you return to work.

However, if you return to work your earnings and income from lodger may well be enough to live on. That way any actuarial reduction of your pension will be reduced every year you do not claim it.

Just out of curiosity who is Andy?😏 lol.

I am also assuming you are single for financial purposes lol!

Well done on paying off the mortgage. It gives great peace of mind.

I am surprised you have to wait until applying for teaching another job. Maybe that is a local authority condition.

Keep us updated with plans and finances.

Take care and best wishes.

Skint_yet_Again

Lovely to hear from you SW 😊 Sorry to hear about your job & your friend but glad you are feeling happy. Maybe time to consider retirement? Have a lovely holiday with Andy, just chill & enjoy. ❤️

Skint_yet_Again

savingwannabe said:

… I am not allowed to work in my profession for another month as part of my voluntary redundancy.  Nothing will be advertised till January now.  

How are you @savingwannabe did you find another job or decide to retire? Hope all is well with you and your family. Did you get to Scotland with Andy? 

Sending love and hugs 

savingwannabe

Yikes, after much travelling around the Uk to see family and friends I started a v low paying v part time job. Dont laugh I earn £9k a year! It is fun and i am enjoying it. 

I work a few hours a day and am working in education but with no pressure and without much admin. My health has been transformed. I am happy doing this till I am 60. Lodger is still here and paying many of the household bills so I get to spend what I earn £680 and it is contributing to another pension. I am not taking any money from my old pension till aged 60 and will see if i can manage till then. It is great to be able to chill after work. To see Andy in the New Forest and Crafty Hants at weekends. I am trying to walk more and am eating  much healthier. 

Rather than Scotland we ended up in Wales, in the Brecon Beacons climbing a mountain and having a great break. It was wonderful. My life is transformed. I might increase my work hours next year so my salary increases a little more to maybe 12k but i am deciding whether i need to. Currently I am doing up my garden and have paid a gardener to cut back bushes etc that I dont like and also cut back the bushes at the back. The garden is pretty huge so this will be expensive but i will make it work. The plan is to make my garden much nicer, minor work (£500)  is due to be done to my roof v soon other than that i am chilling. I am not planning on doing up my kitchen now for a while. The plan is to enjoy my life with walking, cinema, meeting friends and having fun. The Andy that passed away is a work colleague. Bless him, he was such a good person. He worked all his life for retirement then only got to enjoy one year. So sad. That is what has inspired me to enjoy myself. My drs are chuffed as my sugars are excellent. 

Teaching vacancies keep coming up but I dont know if i want to go back to that again although my subject is fun. 

Weather is glorious. I am going to Brum tomorrow so am doing last minute gardening beforehand. My life is much easier now. I can actually see the weather and watch Netflix. Hurrah. I will catch up when i get back Skinty and MF. I have never been happier. 

Skint_yet_Again

Great to hear from you SW ❤️ That all sounds wonderful. I’m sure you will have a great life on 9k until your pension starts. Garden and roof work will be worth it. You sound so much happier and I am pleased you are still in touch with friends. Look forward to hearing more about your adventures when you get back x

savingwannabe

Hello Lovely people, 

Greetings from down south, all is good here. I have been working v part time in an easy job earning £750 a month! Luckily my lodger is here so I am v relaxed now. I do work the equivalent of two days a week but have quite a bit of time left over to do walking, gardening, sorting of years of things that simply did not get done whilst i was working properly. The aim is to be like this till I am 60 then I will live on my pension.  All those years of living carefully has really paid off. 

So far I have lost some weight as my eating is much more healthy. I am trying to avoid eating out but my new walking buddies (local and we walk once a week) are v young and do like a cake which i know is not good for me. I have a gardener who is slowly trying to sort my garden out as my muscari (Spanish bluebells) basically encroached and destroyed the lovely tulips and allium's i had. Gardening wise, a new scarifier has been purchased and used. Much of my new income is spent on the garden and I am loving it. Over the summer the bushes at the top of the garden need chopping down and a new back fence is needed which might be quite dear but I will access savings for that. I have spent considerable time in the New Forest walking with Hants Andy, and even went to the dentist finally and my teeth are good.

The weather is good for one more day and then we will have showers. I am oiling the garden swing today and then will paint it in a few weeks during the summer. I am so chilled. Wishing everyone a good day. 

Skint_yet_Again

Sounds like you are living the dream sw ❤️

New part time job and walking group sound fab. So glad you are getting your garden done. That’s my focus too now. Then we can relax in retirement in our lovely gardens ☺️