My journey to a debt free life

Onebrokelady

Cherryfudge said:

Onebrokelady said:

we get to practice our resuscitation skills 😳I hate it it makes me really nervous as I always think I'm going to forget what to do. The only mistake I've made when doing this is accidentally hitting the dummy in the face and the resus officer told me I would likely end up getting punched in the face if I did that to someone over in the ED, how they would be capable of that when being resuscitated I will never know  🤷‍♀️😀

One way of proving a successful resuscitation, I suppose!

I have very little idea over the pension, I'm afraid, though I think the longer you go on contributing, the more you get eventually. If you can claim UC and allow the pension pot to go on growing, that would make sense to me, but of course that doesn't take into account your health, or the costs involved in working vs savings from not working.

It may be worth saving a few pennies by asking if charity shops have knitting needles. A lot hide them behind the counter in case they get used as weapons, but  I've found pre-loved needles are often worn in and a bit smoother than new ones, besides being cheaper and helping a charity. You can then spend the money saved on your coffee.

Indeed 😀
 
My plan would be to carry on working after taking my pension but this would probably stop me from being able to claim benefits as I would also have a lump sum that is over the permitted savings limit. Originally I wanted to wait until my 60th in June then take my pension  use some of the lump sum to pay off my mortgage, have the 24 hour unpaid break and return to my current hours and job. This was the plan when I was feeling so ill last year. Now I'm feeling better I'm not sure if I need to do this so decided to wait. Then I became obsessed with thee idea of paying off my mortgage with some of my lump sum as it would help me out right now. I really don't want to claim UC because I've been on benefits before and it was a nightmare from start to finish 
The letter leads me to also believe that my pension is based on my final salary which is the lowest it has ever been due to me cutting my hours so I'm not sure if it going to go up by much now 🤷‍♀️

enthusiasticsaver

Why not post on the pensions forum OBL?  I don't know anything about the NHS pensions but yes  it looks like there is a final salary link which may not be great for you if you have dropped hours over the last couple of years. That is only for the 1995 benefits though so since 2015 it looks like you are on the new scheme which may be like the LGPS which I was  on which is CARE so career average and that would be better for you. It is confusing when you are on two schemes and although it says you can claim your pension take an unpaid 24 hour break and then return to work and contribute to the 2015 scheme I don't think that would be beneficial but am not sufficiently au fait with the scheme to advise.  Loads on the pension forum are much more knowledgeable than me though. 

badmemory

I would definitely agree with ES to look on the pension forum.  The breadth of their knowledge is incredible & I am sure they will point you in the right direction.

Onebrokelady

enthusiasticsaver said:

Why not post on the pensions forum OBL?  I don't know anything about the NHS pensions but yes  it looks like there is a final salary link which may not be great for you if you have dropped hours over the last couple of years. That is only for the 1995 benefits though so since 2015 it looks like you are on the new scheme which may be like the LGPS which I was  on which is CARE so career average and that would be better for you. It is confusing when you are on two schemes and although it says you can claim your pension take an unpaid 24 hour break and then return to work and contribute to the 2015 scheme I don't think that would be beneficial but am not sufficiently au fait with the scheme to advise.  Loads on the pension forum are much more knowledgeable than me though. 

I've posted on there now 😊

Onebrokelady

My study day today was good and the resus training was ok as usual 🙄 I don't know why I get worked up 😊 doing several rounds of chest compressions has aggravated my arms and shoulders though so I've had to take some painkillers for the first time in weeks. They aren't prescription strength but will do the job hopefully.

Im off now for two days so can chill out out a bit. I'm meeting my friend for coffee tomorrow which will be nice. We will have a lot to catch up on because we haven't seen each other for a couple of weeks.

I dont have any plans for Saturday yet apart from some more cross stitch. I went to John Lewis on my way home today to see if they had my knitting needles and they have got rid of their craft section 😟 I'm going to my wool shop tomorrow instead. I looked online but can't find any like the ones I have that aren't part of a set.

Im off to be now and will hopefully be able to sleep 🤞🤞

Suffolksue

Have you tried bamboo knitting needles ? They are so much easier on my hands ,been a game changer .

Onebrokelady

Suffolksue said:

Have you tried bamboo knitting needles ? They are so much easier on my hands ,been a game changer .

That's what I've snapped 😀

badmemory

I like metal knitting needles not plastic as they bend.  I was taught to knit by my grandmother and she had very bad arthritis.  She used to clamp the needles under her arms to take all the weight off her hands.  I must have been about ten before I realised that knitting needles didn't actually come in the shape of a crescent moon.

Onebrokelady

badmemory said:

I like metal knitting needles not plastic as they bend.  I was taught to knit by my grandmother and she had very bad arthritis.  She used to clamp the needles under her arms to take all the weight off her hands.  I must have been about ten before I realised that knitting needles didn't actually come in the shape of a crescent moon.

I like metal needles too but my DD bought me these as a set a couple of christmases ago so I'm trying to replace the broken one without her noticing 😀I do like knitting with them but they do bend and as I found out it's not a good idea to try and straighten them 😟 

Onebrokelady

I posted my pension query on the pension board and have had several very helpful replies. They basically say I might as well take the pension as the 1995 section closed in April 22 so I'm paying into the 2015 one now. My 1995 pension won't increase now if it's closed. I was also told that after April 23 the rules change and I would be able to continue to pay into the 2015 section if I return to work which I would be doing. I did get a letter about this but I can't find it which is very annoying. I will have another look because I know I kept it.

I am going to speak to people at work to see how they got on with doing retire and return and then I think I will have a word with HR as well. I know I would be re employed with a new contract but I have a sneaking suspicion that it would be a yearly renewable one which I'm not sure is a good idea with my health problems. I'm also saw my sister today and she is good with pensions so we are going to meet up in a couple of weeks to have a look at it all.

Today I went and met my friend for coffee and a good catch up then she dropped me off at The Range because I wanted to get some more dog and cat food. I walked back to where I get the bus home.

I did some more cross stitch when I got home so have now finished the last reindeer. There are three and I've noticed that the middle is shall we say a bit portly 😀I'm not sure if it's the design or if I've made a mistake but it looks ok 😊

I had a bit of a run in with my neighbours earlier as their boys were rampaging round the house again. It's been going on for weeks now and I've had enough so I shouted really loudly to tell them to shut up, a few minutes later there was a knock at my door and grandma is out there.
She came to  say sorry about the noise and that one of the boys was smashing the house up because he had been told he couldn't go and visit a friend after breaking some of his brothers toys. I was so angry I told her I was fed up with the constant noise and had literally had enough of listening to them. I said listening to it in the day time is bad enough but they are at it in the night too. We were kept awake at midnight the other night for two hours and I had to get up for work the next day 😡 it's really bad every weekend. I hate living next to these people. They throw their litter all over the path outside our house and on my garden, one of the boys threw all her plant pots around the garden a couple of weeks ago and two of them are still on my garden. They leave their broken toys out on the path so they are in the way  and they know the bin men won't take them. The mother just doesn't do anything about it ,she just leaves it where they throw it.  
The grandma won't come here again that's for sure, she should have waited instead of coming round after hearing me shouting because she got both barrels 😡 I'm done with it now and will be making sure they know it