Put away your purse & become debt-averse

Blackcats

Thank you Foxgloves, Kantankerous and Wishing for your kind thoughts and good wishes. I hope I didn't add an air of melancholy to the thread as that wasn't my intention. A number of years have passed and I am well and have built a happy life. I am financially comfortable now albeit often teetering on the edge of frivolous spending.
My aspiration is to retire early in just under 2 years so I am trying to adjust my expenditure gradually now so that I can transition seamlessly into a life of leisure.
I've discovered that after years of practice of paying off debt that I have less motivation when saving than when repaying.
My last loan (ever, ever, ever) used to send a letter each time I made an overpayment which set out how much interest I'd saved. This was so motivating. I've now set myself a target to "buy" retirement a month earlier than planned and have set a sum of money to save. I'm also better at smaller targets as too big a target and it feels impossible and I quickly give up.
I agree completely about enjoying the here and now and the simple pleasures like I did this evening by having a cup of tea in a china cup and saucer sitting in the garden.
I've got knitting to do too - it's a relatively simple project but I've got it wrong twice and had to start again. In the past I would have given up and bought some new wool, needles and pattern and started a new project. I also used to spend a lot of money on various bags and baskets to keep my knitting projects in. I never needed any excuse for a bag ......

Honeysucklelou2

Simple pleasures are always the best...I find a cup of tea sat in the garden one of life's pleasures. How lovely to have the opportunity to watch a dragonfly, such beautiful creatures.

foxgloves

That's a great goal to have, Blackcats. If you find the temptation of fripperies like the now infamous plastic cactus (!) are creeping in, you'll have to mentally picture an old-fashioned weighing scale with whatever the tempting unnecessary item is on one side, & an image of yourself with a good book & cafetiere out in the garden on a weekday when you'd normally have been at work! Every plastic cactus chips just a tiny bit away from the other side of the scale.
I do think a goal is really motivating though.
The reason I'm not working is austerity cuts related.......public sector job losses, then one restructure after another, each one more bizarre than the last, plus plenty of de-professionalisation so as to try & cover over the extent of the cuts, etc, etc.. We both worked in the same sector & decided we could manage on one salary if I took VR IF & ONLY IF, we stuck to our new sensible ways with money & budgeting & didn't return to our bad old spendy ways. It was a massive decision at the time, as I was nowhere near pension age, & I'm still not. I couldn't have even begun to contemplate this as an option had we still had all that debt.
I think your lovely goal will help to keep you focussed.
F x

wishingthemortgaheaway

Would consider going back to work Foxgloves?
Just wondering/being nosey really - so feel free to tell me to mind my own.
I completely understand that, over the last few years with your parents being ill, I'm sure not working has been a blessing mentally and physically, but what about the future?

foxgloves

Another early get-up for me today, as awoke early, & by 5.40, I'd had enough of lying there, so got up & started my day.........
.........which meant dealing with a Tomato-based emergency before I'd even had my first caffiene of the day......never a good combination!. I popped down to the greenhouse in the rain to open the window & let a bit of ventilation in & noticed that my biggest tomato plant - a really colossal one, an old heritage variety, had helpfully decided to break out of its carefully constructed stake/string confinement & the top half had almost broken off. Of course it had to be the most inaccessible one right at the far end of the greenhouse border sandwiched between the grapevine & a large pot of pepper plants. I managed to wedge myself in between them, trying to ignore the canes from the peppers poking up my skirt, took hold of the flopped down section of plant (on tiptoes, as I'm not very tall), then realised i'd boxed myself into a corner in more ways than one. Couldn't shout mr f to come & help as he wouldn't have heard (long garden) & in any case was busy being a hippo in the bath. I managed to do a sort of new unoffocial yoga position to reach for a big ball of string & the scissors. Cut a piece off even though I couldn't see it & was one-handed & did my best to try & tie up this wretched plant without falling a*se over tip into the rest of them. Grrrrrr. Managed to get the string round it in a loop, but absolutely nothing to tie it to & it was obvious that if I let the broken section of plant go, it would snap. And wouldn't you just know it was covered in tomatoes? Stood there like a numpty for a while deciding what to do. You know? There are times in life when you just have to admit you are well & truly beaten. I couldn't stand there holding up a tomato plant way taller than myself for much longer, so after it had, had the benefit of some choice vocabulary, I let it flop, which it did, all over me, transferring the greeny yellow dye you get from tomato leaves up the side of my face & arms and fetching my hair down out of its butterfly clip. Grrrrrrrr. All those big green tomatoes now removed to the greenhouse bench where they will ripen over the next week or so.
Got back in, mr f calls out "Have you been out in the garden already?'
'Yes, I've been dealing with a tomato emergency'.
'Why didn't you wait for me to help you?
'Because you're nude'.
'Oh, yeah. Good point'
Should be positive about my tomatoes though. Lots picked already, lots still to come, & a big colander waiting my attention in the fridge as I plan to chutney them this weekend.
And now I think there's a little break in the rain where I can go & have my coffee & rhubarb muffin out on the courtyard.
Wishing everyone a peaceful & productive day.
F x

foxgloves

Wish - My sector has been devastated & professional job opportunities within it are are far, far fewer than they were. I always said to mr f (& this still holds), that if our financial position means that I need to work, I will find employment. I have been busy doing other things.....I've been a local Labour councillor & have done a bit of voluntary work, but I haven't done so much of the big thing I really intended to do, which was to write, as I have several projects waiting action. Yes, not working did help a lot with the last couple of years, when my Dad was struggling with an incurable illness, supporting Mum after his death, then unexpectedly losing her, too, in very difficult circumstances. As they lived a 150-mile round trip away, it would have been very difficult to juggle hospital visits & all that follows.......it is a very intense time......if I had been working, but I know very many people have to do just that - my sister certainly did.
So while I have no definite plans to return to work (I'm currently considering a couple of charities re volunteering.....one in particular would be able to utilise my professional skills/qualifications), the answer is that I'd definitely be prepared to seek work if I needed to, for instance if our circumstances changed.
F

Dottles1

It sounds to me Foxgloves, that if you did go back to work, you wouldn't be able to achieve as much as you do in the garden and around the home. That must certainly contribute to your frugal living in a big way. I can't wait until I can afford to give up work. If the pension age for women hadn't changed (I fall into that bracket) I'd be there now. Just need to get these finances sorted and I'm gone

wishingthemortgaheaway

Sounds like a good plan in life Foxgloves - thank you for sharing.
I'm taking my 'working less' period now while my son is small. It's right for us as a family and we can afford it, but, if circumstances change hopefully I can go back to teaching 'properly' quite easily.

susan946

Hi everyone I've not been around on MSE for a while so I hope you don't mind me posting here.

My 8 year old grandson stayed over and while he was here he asked if he could download a game on my tablet. I said yes, if it's free. After a while he asked me if he could buy some blood!! Don't ask me what the game was but evidently blood would have made things more exciting. The Blood cost £5,99 so he got a firm NO. Some time later he asked if he could upgrade to the premium version which would have cost £5.99 a month. Another NO. I've since been told that that's nothing and a new skin for the dreaded Fortnite costs £15.

It strikes me how easy it would be to get sucked in and spend a small fortune on gaming. Sure, the gaming firms are onto a good thing but are making money at the expense of users who are almost addicted to playing and many must be adding to their financial difficulties. Once you've linked a credit card to your account it's so easy and doesn't feel like spending real money.


Grumpy Grandma rant over.

Blackcats

Foxgloves your tomato story made me snigger - you write so well. I hope you complete your writing projects, I think you have a real talent. Perhaps in the winter when there is less to do in your garden? My work sector is always re-organising itself with new operating models, new priorities, new budgets. If I get caught up in yet another organisational change process I shall be very happy to take redundancy. However I know that I am "expensive" to make redundant because of length of service so I anticipate that I'd be redeployed somewhere. My early retirement plans mean that I wouldn't have to do this. Being made redundant would be a bonus for me but I'm not depending on it. I do appreciate that for many people being made redundant is awful and I don't mean to under estimate the impact it has on people but in my circumstances it would be ok.
There's also been a recent case which ruled that moving public sector pension age from 60 by moving staff into new pension schemes is discrimatory so I'm watching that with interest. The case wasn't brought in my sector but I'm assuming the same principle will apply. I thought it was great that the case was brought by judges, heard by judges and guess what - the judges ruled in favour of themselves! The implications are huge.
Wishing everyone a good Saturday. It's very windy here but not raining so far.