Elite 11+ shopping and chat thread

wendyak

mhoc wrote: »

Possibly the theme this month - time for change and renewal and deep thinking and re evaluating our needs and our priorities

I know the stage we are at is very transitory, the calm before the next storm. OHs health is not perfect but he keeps doing the Duracell bunny and keeps plodding onwards as he says these are his best earnings years so he is not giving that up without a fight. He says he will see what happens after the next big work upheaval but they wont make him redundant because it would cost them too much
He says he would go part time in a few years but I think he would be bored rigid at home - this is the problem when you have worked solidly since you were 16, how to adjust to the next phase of your life.
And also how does anyone cope with a big drop in income, even with savings to cover the shortfall, its a lot to get your head around?
When I do the sums I only count the possible ammounts that OHs 2 pensions would give but not the state pension - I expect the state pension age to rise yet again to even closer to 70 so I don't factor that in.

I so relate to this as we are in a similar position.
I was hoping for v early retirement but in reality I should be going full time and OH is getting weaker so his earning capacity is getting less.
I am without savings but have two pensions, both of which are good payers if you leave them alone but not so good if you pull any money out, plus my early retirement dream will be dead and buried if I do
I am trying to pay off the last bit of mortgage asap and the cards too but it is a bit of a task on a low wage.
I wish I could have been in the position my parents were in at my age

diluvsdiscounts

wendyak wrote: »

I so relate to this as we are in a similar position.
I was hoping for v early retirement but in reality I should be going full time and OH is getting weaker so his earning capacity is getting less.
I am without savings but have two pensions, both of which are good payers if you leave them alone but not so good if you pull any money out, plus my early retirement dream will be dead and buried if I do
I am trying to pay off the last bit of mortgage asap and the cards too but it is a bit of a task on a low wage.
I wish I could have been in the position my parents were in at my age

Whilst I understand what both you, mhoc mean I had an uncle who worked so hard his whole life and saved hard paying as much as he could into his pension. They were going to travel the world and do everything they had wished for their whole lives.
He was at my daughter's christening I n the February and was cremated on my dads birthday in the may. He got a degenerative disease and that was that, his letter granting him early retirement arrived the day his family made the decision to turn off his life support machine.
We are all going to die and none of us know when, when you have questioned your mortality it makes the here and now far more important than any unknown future. Sorry this is getting a bit heavy it wasn't my intention

wendyak

diluvsdiscounts wrote: »

Whilst I understand what both you, mhoc mean I had an uncle who worked so hard his whole life and saved hard paying as much as he could into his pension. They were going to travel the world and do everything they had wished for their whole lives.
He was at my daughter's christening I n the February and was cremated on my dads birthday in the may. He got a degenerative disease and that was that, his letter granting him early retirement arrived the day his family made the decision to turn off his life support machine.
We are all going to die and none of us know when, when you have questioned your mortality it makes the here and now far more important than any unknown future. Sorry this is getting a bit heavy it wasn't my intention

No, you're spot on.
That's why I still have my Spanuish house despite my poverty and am scraping together the money for a base to be made for the small pool I have just bought, lol .
It's all about doing it now as both of us might not be able in just a few years......

diluvsdiscounts

wendyak wrote: »

No, you're spot on.
That's why I still have my Spanuish house despite my poverty and am scraping together the money for a base to be made for the small pool I have just bought, lol .
It's all about doing it now as both of us might not be able in just a few years......

Exactly :beer:

mhoc

wendyak wrote: »

I so relate to this as we are in a similar position.
I was hoping for v early retirement but in reality I should be going full time and OH is getting weaker so his earning capacity is getting less.
I am without savings but have two pensions, both of which are good payers if you leave them alone but not so good if you pull any money out, plus my early retirement dream will be dead and buried if I do
I am trying to pay off the last bit of mortgage asap and the cards too but it is a bit of a task on a low wage.
I wish I could have been in the position my parents were in at my age

your situation is very difficult.

Assume that you are over 55? Have you considered taking some of your pension money as a lump sum - you can take up to 25% tax free - would there be enough to pay off the mortgage and the outstanding credit cards?

It would at least take the pressure off you so the 2 biggest worries would be sorted out and you can then work on future proofing yourself against whatever comes next.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-pension/getting-taxfree-pension-income

You need to be doing your dreams now and not waiting for retirement while you still have some health and vigour.

LEJC

I think I have a "spread betting " attitude to life...no one knows what path anyone will take but hopefully we can live life to the full for as long as we can.

My dad died 4 months after retirement age,but had been fortunate to retire early and do the things he and my mum wanted in the 5 years leading to the unexpected end...
My brother passed away 7 years before retirement and never got anywhere close to the things he had wanted to do..

Life is a lottery and what you make it....whichever way you treat it it should be to get the best out of it for you.

no rules and no regrets.

It doesn't stop me pondering financial management in retirement though.

mhoc

diluvsdiscounts wrote: »

Whilst I understand what both you, mhoc mean I had an uncle who worked so hard his whole life and saved hard paying as much as he could into his pension. They were going to travel the world and do everything they had wished for their whole lives.
He was at my daughter's christening I n the February and was cremated on my dads birthday in the may. He got a degenerative disease and that was that, his letter granting him early retirement arrived the day his family made the decision to turn off his life support machine.
We are all going to die and none of us know when, when you have questioned your mortality it makes the here and now far more important than any unknown future. Sorry this is getting a bit heavy it wasn't my intention

Exactly - this is why we are pushing forward with getting the house renovated and ready incase the time comes earlier than we think when we do have to move.
And we are taking the nice holidays now - doing 2 or 3 a year and not waiting for retirement - we put everything into the kids but now that they are all flown it is out time to shine

The thing is with retirement you have an extra 40 hours a week to fill so its a case of planning what to do with those hours. My OH is obsessed with lawn mowing and he has a train lay out in the loft he goes and works on for an hour or two and he has his books and films but its all not quite enough to fill the gap.
He says he would be happy enough to get a job in B & Q after retirement but I think dealing with the general public would drive him bats - he dreads having to deal with them as it is now :rotfl:

wendyak

mhoc wrote: »

your situation is very difficult.

Assume that you are over 55? Have you considered taking some of your pension money as a lump sum - you can take up to 25% tax free - would there be enough to pay off the mortgage and the outstanding credit cards?

It would at least take the pressure off you so the 2 biggest worries would be sorted out and you can then work on future proofing yourself against whatever comes next.

https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-pension/getting-taxfree-pension-income

You need to be doing your dreams now and not waiting for retirement while you still have some health and vigour.

I am exactly that age so if I take the lump sum I will have to work another SEVENTEEN years....If I wait it MIGHT be possible to stop in five to seven .......its all very tempting both ways but I am beginning to dislike work and some days it is difficult to get the energy to actually get there.
My OH wants us both to go disabled but I hate labels so I don't want to travel that route just yet.
I suppose I am living out my life quote "if in doubt do nothing " lol.

mhoc

It is very much a lottery though.

OHs dad retired at 65 but he had emphysema so he was gone by 67 but OHs mum who had various life threatening illness throughout her life lived on until her mid 70s - even though she had given up smoking eventually caught up with her.
OHs paternal grandparents both lived into their 80s

My Dad who came from the poorest of backgrounds and ended up being adopted at 3 into a farming family but he lived well into his 80s and he was well up until the last few months.

At the start of the October half term one year we went up on Saturday with the kids to see my parents, our youngest had just started high school and mum was the same as always, relishing the unexpected visit and making a big fuss of the kids.
Sunday night she passed in her sleep and my Dad found her on the Monday morning when he brought the tea up - she had just gone with no warning at all

So you just have to live everyday as if its your last best ever day and eke out every bit of fun and enjoyment even out of the mundane ordinary everyday stuff and just get yourself ready for whatever comes next

wendyak

MHOC that must have been so hard, very poignant at the mo for me as missing my dad and wondering how long we both have together.
Thank you for sharing that it has given me food for thought xxxxxxx