It's time to turn into a frugal Fred to get ready for retirement

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I'm back from our wonderful holiday to Oz. It was fabulous and OHs family over there are lovely.
But now back to reality.
In the final week of the hol OH got an email from his work saying they are having a reshuffle and merging with another area and we all know what that means. His job is disappearing and the vacancy he is suitable for has more than one person suitable for it. So it's time to cut back, for me to find a job pretty quick and start getting rid of as much debt as possible. So credit cards first, car loan second, and then aiming to get as much in the emergency fund as possible.
But it can and will be done.
The sun is shining and we have always managed with whatever life throws at us so this is just a slight hiccup to our plans.
Anyway enough of my whinging. Time to get on.
Have a super day guys
Cuddles ��

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I thought I'd pop by and say hello and update what's happening here.
OH is waiting to hear what his redundancy offer is going to be.
Both of us have now got our heads round that this is going to be early retirement with maybe a part time job if we want or need something in the future ( we would like to travel a bit before we are too old to do it)
OH has now got his money saving head on and the unnecessary expenses such as extra sky channels have been cancelled. This has saved us nearly £100 a month that have happily floated from the bank account. We can't get rid of sky completely where we are because we can't get a decent signal.
I'm gradually topping up my food cupboards with tinned stuff and food is getting stretched ( for money and health reasons)
Tonight's meals is beef fajitas with the rest of the pack of beef braised in gravy ready for tomorrow. We seemed to have gone back to winter weather so tomorrow will have mash and cabbage. Yum.
Started to think about next winter already. I need a new tidy winter coat so will keep a look out in the sales.
We will save money with OH not having to spend loads on OHs commuting and work lunches. We also plan to move up North which is cheaper and a lot nearer the family.
The main thing at the moment is not jumping in to anything without lots of thought. It's quite scary at the moment, the next step in our lives.

Anyway time to get on with the fajitas
Bye for now
Keep warm and well guys
Cuddles

cuddlymarm

Hi everyone

Well it happened really quickly but OH is now officially redundant and retired. After much discussion, thought and looking at figures we have decided that OH is taking early retirement.
We are going to move up North at the end of the year and I'm really looking forward to it. It's a bit scary but we can afford to do it.
We live simply anyway and this feels right.
It's a lovely day here so I've got all the garden furniture out and weather permitting will be having our first barbeque of the year. Our niece and her youngest are visiting this weekend and we didn't barbeque at all last year so I'm determined to do more this summer.
This evening we are having a sort of roast, well actually it's potatoes and parsnips that need using topped up with frozen peas and Yorkshire pud and sausages and gravy.
I've lots of bits and bobs that need using up so the next few days will be using up those. Now OH is home I plan on doing a cooked lunch occasionally to try and squeeze more veg into our diet. Three meals a day and no snacks, grazing is a bad habit we really need to break.
Anyway better get on.
Have a lovely day everyone
Cuddles

blackcatsx2

Hello, I'm also planning for early retirement so your diary is really inspirational. I need to learn to live on less money but still have fun and enjoy life. the orospect of giving up work is scary but very exciting too. Your attitude is great to your new circumstances.

chevalier

Good luck on your debt busting. Do any of your cards or the loan have redundancy insurance on them? Just wondering. Also don't forget to check all of your utilities and insurances to make sure you are with the cheapest supplier. If you do find cheaper (on the comparison sites) then you can get the deal quite often via a cash back site like Quidco or Topcashback, so you can get money back aswell as a cheaper monthly payment.

good luck
chev

cuddlymarm

Thanks guys
It's nice to have support. We don't owe that much luckily and OH is addicted to spreadsheets. He has had various forecasts of how we'd cope depending on the age of retirement/ unemployment since before his firm was being merged with the bigger firm over a year ago.
He has also been cancelling anything not necessary since we knew this might happen and as our kids are grown up and gone we haven't many costs.
It was a bit of a shock at first but now I must admit I feel quite free.
Anyway better go now
Cuddles

chevalier

Good luck on your debt busting. Do any of your cards or the loan have redundancy insurance on them? Just wondering. Also don't forget to check all of your utilities and insurances to make sure you are with the cheapest supplier. If you do find cheaper (on the comparison sites) then you can get the deal quite often via a cash back site like Quidco or Topcashback, so you can get money back aswell as a cheaper monthly payment.

good luck
chev

cuddlymarm

Hi guys

Well we are over a year into early retirement so I thought I'd update.
OH has now retired and is thoroughly enjoying it. Money is a lot tighter but we live a much simpler life ( it's amazing how much we spend just getting to work)
Anyway we've now moved back up North. We kept a look out for a nice little flat and found one at auction. It's only one bedroom, but we only need one bedroom. We've a lovely sea view, it has a ramp up to our floor for when we eventually need it so is future proof and the main thing is we have no mortgage.
One thing I have found is that I need a little bit of structure so I have found a job. It gets me out of the house and pays for holidays and treats.
The important bit is that OH is so much better. If he had carried on doing what he was doing he would have ended up in an early grave and no job is worth that.
Anyway that's me for now
Better get on
Cuddles xx

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I was tidying my subscribes threads and came across this again so I thought I’d check in.
We’ve moved back up North and now have a lovely, tiny, one bedroom flat with a sea view, which we both love and costs buttons to heat and minutes to clean. The best bit is it’s mortgage free. Our investment villa in Florida has had to go due to the exchange rate making it more of a headache than an investment.
OH is thoroughly enjoying retirement, pottering round his garage and playing with his very rusty motorbike. I have got a part time job now as although OH loves the freedom of not working I got bored and need a little more structure. Also it pays for nice treats and holidays. When I work OH cooks and cleans so we have our free time together.
We live frugally but are both happy and well which is all we really need.

Anyone looking at early retirement. We found that you have to make changes, it’s not your normal spending patterns minus working because you have to fill your time. Also with more time comes expense, as I said nice holidays. Or hobbies. Or grandchildren. Or whatever you’ve always wanted to do. We’ve found that we compromise on the little things to afford the big ones.
Anyway I better get on
Cuddles