Quit..rest ..restart . Diary no.3

enthusiasticsaver

Nice to hear from you AC. I know you are slightly younger than me but have you checked your state pension forecast by going on the government gateway site? Claiming certain benefits qualifies you for NI credits which will help with your final state pension when it pays out. You can also buy added years if you are short and it would be worthwhile to do that.

Also check to make sure you have the details of any workplace pensions to hand as you may be eligible to draw on those from the age of 55. Do not leave it until just before your state retirement age before looking into it as proper pension planning could help your financial situation earlier than that.

I seem to recall you also opened a sipp account for the free HMRC contribution after selling your flat in London? Keep an eye on that too and maybe top it up even if you have to withdraw it again immediately. You can pay in £2880 each tax year if you have no earned income and HMRC will put in £720. You can then withdraw £3600 each year.

another_casualty

Hi enthusiastic Nice to hear from you again .
I'm in a strange situation pension wise . Not much in there tbh , but I did put some money into that . I didn't put it into anything in particular , just a payment into Hargreaves lansdowne .
Initially , the idea was to take some out when needed but being on universal credit , I think alarm bells would be ringing and they would refuse to help me .
Hargreaves lansdowne do send me emails asking me what I would like to do with it . Putting some into my paypal account would be ideal, but unrealistic .
If I am missing something please let me know .
Pensions are so confusing ..

doingitanyway

Hi AC, Good to hear updates from you.

Great news on losing six inches. Do you find you have more energy now? I find when I lose weight I feel more energised.

You've done well to get UC sorted. It sounds like a bureaucratic headache but you seem to have managed it okay.

If your Personal Trainer starts a small gym you are right it will be cheaper than having a Personal Trainer.
Another bonus will be getting to know other people in the new gym and socialising.

I hope you have a good day

another_casualty

Hi DIA

Thanks for the encouragement etc .

Yes, the energy levels have been improving although with Myasthenia Gravis it varies . I had the pain for a few days , then last night I took a couple of ibuprofen and had a great sleep . First decent sleep for ages .
Regarding universal credit , I just go by instruction and see what gives. The hard parts have yet to come . Tbh I cannot see myself being fit for work for a good while yet . Plodding along the way I have been is all I can do for the next few months and I'll see what gives .
Time is a good healer etc . I'll keep my chins up and carry on in the meantime ..

another_casualty

I just contacted Vodafone via live chat . That was busy too for a while but I got there eventually. I'm happy with their broadband service and have kept the same price till the next renewal is due . All good there.
Regarding my phone tariff , I could get a new handset today but as it was not an iPhone I decided to wait till July and go sim only .
I do like my iPhone s e 32gb phone . I despise the way Apple make phones obsolete or useless either by discontinuing or by software updates . However, I think that going sim only my bill should be cheaper and if this phone did get discontinued then I'd upgrade then but definitely not the really expensive ones unless I threaten to leave them :rotfl:

another_casualty

Woke up about 3.45 am with the mother of all headaches . 2 nurofen and things settled down till about 7.30 ..then it returned . Another 2 nurofens. No more nurofens today .
I have had a for sale sign on top of a let agreed sign outside my window in a piggy back fashion for a few months . I got a bit annoyed a couple of weeks ago , as the signs were still there and the tenants have been in that flat since mid March , so I pulled them out and laid them flat awaiting for someone from the estatate agents to collect

This morning they sent someone to put the sold sign back up and place the let agreed sign flat and not take it away. I just sent the estate agent an email explaining that the weather blew one of the signs down and asked how long they intend to keep the signs outside my window . I was polite and understand that they have to promote their business . I await their response . Not sure if I'm allowed to pull it out , but they should really have removed them .
I have a few things to do , so I'd better get cracking .,

MuffinTops

Hello AC,
I hope the painkillers have had a chance to get working and relieve your headache.

I think I'd have done the same as you with those boards as they are a nuisance and as they got back there so quickly once they knew the signs were out shows that they can move when they want to.

Congratulations on your inchloss. Great news and shows that your hard work is paying off.

Good to hear things are going ok right now. Even better once your body is used to not having the old meds.

another_casualty

Thanks MT:)
I've just been down to Poole to do food shopping and picked up the prescription from boots there . That boots is strange . There were 3 robot like people labellling stuff in the customers view . Normally you'd expect the people at the front to be customer focused and the prescription stuff be at the back . Still , it is a big branch.

I think there is a bug about . My headache has gone , but it took a while . The sea air obviously helped .

Lately I've been addicted to salt and vinegar peanuts . Trouble is , they are not common or easy to get anywhere . Unfortunately when I was in M&S I gave in to temptation and got crisps . I got kettle chips yesterday too . That's it though for at least another month . I don't want to get back to old habits .

doingitanyway

I had to laugh at the K chips. I think there is something in them as I cannot open a huge bag and not finish them so I leave them alone. But when they reduce the price to £1 sometimes I weaken...

Generally service in shops has deteriorated over the years. Sometimes if they are faffing and not even acknowledging I am waiting I walk away...

Whenever I have a headache I pine to be by the sea so I can take a walk. Hoping you are headache free today

another_casualty

Hi DIA
Yeah, the headache disappeared on the Friday . Hope you are feeling better in yourself also . Will catch-up on your diary soon .

True what you say about shops in general . I was in Waitrose the othet day ( actually got a couple of bargains ) , and one of their staff more or less insisted I go to the peopleless and clinical self service.
Hearing that woman's machine voice I declined , but eventually gave in . It was very loud . I was told the lady by the automated tills will help me . She didn't , so I walked back to another que muttering a few choice words . The lady came over again . This time she actually did it all for me . Nice lady , and professional . I suppose she is told to encourage robotic shopping and has to be seen to make things smoother for the customers . I actually felt like a grumpy old man , and probably came across that way . Didn't mean to ,as I had that headache. I should have been left alone .

I have a refund coming in from edf for the gas tomorrow ..£267.00 and something . The electric bill is always dearer , and it annoys me that the reading I gave has not been processed yet . I hope I get a refund there also , but won't count any chickens . I may do a live chat on the app tomorrow and find out where I stand .

I have had some interest on a bass guitar I put up for sale . Not on fleabay ,but on another forum . What I notice on that forum is things don't sell as quick as fleabay , but then again I'm not in a hurry to sell just yet . If it does sell, then it should be in the region of £1,000 .

Sunny day again. Will be for the next few days also . The sun is out for longer . Maybe the heatwave is on its way ...