Frugaliza Is In The House

Frugaliza

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Hi Frugaliza :wave:

I have subscribed to your diary, so I can follow your progress and chip in occasionally. I wish you every success.

SL

HI Suffolk Lass

Thanks for subscribing. Lovely to have you on board:j

Frugaliza

Stashed away my first Lot of £440 for the month in savings - waiting for the ISA and CSAVCs to get set up so am saving the whole allocation. Stashing away at the start of the month so I have to do without it for the rest of the month rather than wait to the end and realise I've spent it.

Sold some bits on EBay - my clutter is someone else's treasure - or at least bargain and so proceeds less postage is also being added to the mortgage offset pot.

Opened a 'Tilly Tidy Up' account thanks to you guys - every other bank account balance now ends in a pleasing 5 or 0 with the messy other bits swept into Tilly Tidy Up account - this now comes to £42.28!

Need to look at budgeting next...

Suffolk_lass

When I started Tilly-tidying I was doing it once a week but at the moment I am looking every day because my direct payments all come out through the first ten days of the month. There is something slightly addictive and mildly thrilling about those little tidy-ups. I also clear my account down to my rounded-down salary when that goes in (except this month, when I knew my credit card bill was going to be just under £2000 thanks to DS's motor insurance (a short-term loan), the same month as mine, ouch!).

I am thinking I might just round upwards, my mortgage payment too, just so the tiny interest overpayment is a bit more off the capital.

E-bay sales just sit there as a monkey on my back at the moment. I know I have to do it but I don't enjoy it so I'm putting it off. It feels like all my get up and go, got up and went over Christmas - two weeks off work and I am sleeping all night and seem to have stopped pulling the skin around my fingernails. Hmm, makes you think!

Good to see your positive steps

SL

Frugaliza

Hmm I like that idea Suffolk Lass of rounding up the mortgage payment. I might copy cat you on that...

Yes Ebaying can be a little dull, perhaps leave it a few weeks until it will provide a contrast to work stress, which sounds like it has currently reduced. Can't wait to retire! How long do you have until you retire?

Suffolk_lass

I plan to go between November 18 and end of March 19, depending on what happens. In November I will have a nice round 35 years and be past 60 (my Classic pension would therefore not be reduced). I also have a short period of temporary promotion that I want to be included in the best of my last 3 years, which goes a few months past the November. If I were to have another period at the higher grade in the interim, I would stay until the March 19 so that would further enhance my pension. March is in there because I will drop from 40% to 20% tax and it is much easier if this happens at the end of the tax year (otherwise 40% tax on 20% pension will mean reclaiming and a minor cash-flow consideration)

DH is a teacher with a form who will take their GCSEs in Spring 2019 so he plans to finish at the end of that academic year so they are fully supported through a stressful time (finish July but employed until 1st Sept) so I think that is my ultimate end-date.

I might go earlier if I get an offer I cannot refuse (unlikely!) - having been on my pre-retirement course (very good!) there is a lot to be said for taking your pension early and enjoying it.

What about you? Have you looked at how partial retirement works - especially before 60?

SL

cookie9

Hello Frugaliza apart from the cashback websites you could also put your spending onto a credit card offering cashback/vouchers. You need to ensure the card is repaid in full each month but if you were going to spend the money anyway it can be a useful boost.

TheShape

Frugaliza wrote: »

Hi Shape

Paying into the CSAVC scheme is a way of making an additional boost to your pension pot. Details are on the civil service pension website. LIke all pension contributions you benefit from tax relief - I like the CSAVC route as I'm happy with the number of years I'll get under my Classic/Alpha pension and this provides a lump sum of cash in addition. The government recently changed the rules so you can draw down this lump sum totally in cash rather than have to take an annuity. I think it might be a good way to save for paying off my mortgage....

So if you're a 40% tax payer you pay in getting 40% tax relief. When you retire your income reduces probably down into a 20% tax bracket so you can draw down your cash lump sum getting the first 25% tax free and the remainder at your new income tax level I.e. 20%

CSAVC providers are either Sc0ttish Widows or St@ndard Life. I'm with SW and just filled in my form to pay in a monthly amount. Hope this all makes sense and is accurate - please do your own research as well though! I'm just a lay person re finance:money::money.

You can't drawdown the cash until you're 55 at least - I wouldn't want to do that as I'll probably still be a 40% tax payer then. However when I retire I won't be. This is a long term plan and obviously we have to be aware it is a stock market investment and so as Martin says the only thing that is certain about the stock market is that prices can go up or go down or stay the same:)

Do you think you'll do this? What proportion of your savings would you stick in the CSAVCs? If you do let me know which fund you opt for. I chose a global tracker just now.

Thanks for the reply,

I'm currently looking at all the options available: CSAVCs, EPA and additional pension.

Stupidly, I hadn't thought of looking on the CSP website.

I'm not sure which of the options works best for me. I also have a SIPP and a S&S ISA.

Only a standard rate taxpayer so tax relief isn't as great a factor so I'm aiming to get the balance right between these 5 different options.

My outstanding mortgage is 'only' £73k which I hope to be able to pay off comfortably. I have cash savings of around a third of this amount ready to overpay if the mortgage rate ever exceeds the interest I receive on the savings.

My hope is that my girlfriend decides she can put up with living with me, in which case we can both sell our properties and up-size to one mortgage free property.