Cheery's country living adventure

ElmoR

Good to hear the cash flowing in from MB and PBs! You spend time on a "Happy Wheel"?

I have to ask - what is drongy weather? Or did I read it wrong?!

Cheery_Daff

I might have made up the word 'drongy' I use it when it's grey, rainy, or similarly, well, drongy or when I feel a bit 'meh', fed up, listless, lacking in energy. Not sure it's a real word! 

The Happy Wheel is just how I refer to MB when talking to Mr Cheery - one of the offers was called the Happy Wheel (it doesn't exist any more sadly) and it just stuck. 

Looks like I'm inventing my own language in lockdown

Anyway, the weather is grey (drongy...) today and I'm going to have to force myself to do something as already almost a week of my holidays has gone by!! Going to write a blog post about all the things I've done so I can look back. 

What's on today's list?  Well, the sun will apparently come out later, so I'll do a bit more weeding in the veg patch, check on my seedlings, maybe nip out for a bike ride. Mr Cheery will want a walk at some point. Today might be the day I finally attempt to jump start the other car... because if that doesn't work we'll likely have to call the RAC, or order a new battery, and I just keep putting it off... Better to have it fixed before we actually need it (and before I'm working again!)

Right, more tea, and a blog post I think. Might even put the heating on, which might encourage me to get out from under this blanket! 

Karmacat

Drongo is Australian slang, if that helps Urban Dictionary: Drongo    drongy for yuck weather is a great adaptation, much nicer.

Lovely description of your family day yesterday: makes me think of the day out I had with one of my nephews and his wife and toddler.  We went on a tourist train and had chips in the cafe.  Bliss.

Have a nice warm sunny day  

Cheery_Daff

Ha, I'd not heard that!  Will definitely stick with my weather-related adaptation! 

Yes I had a nice day yesterday in the end, after my initial grumpityness. Spent too much time staring at the internet in the morning and when I stopped, around lunchtime, I was in quite a bad mood with myself (there's a lesson for me...). Still, we went into town and had a nice walk round a new to us area, which was jolly, and then spent the afternoon pottering in the garden with the chickens, and I fixed my flat tyre, and cleaned both bikes - all good. Couldn't find the jump leads the jump start the car though, which was a bit annoying! 

Today is being cheerful so far too. The sun is out again - where's all this promised snow?! Not that I'm complaining! I didn't sleep well last night and was up early, so took advantage by taking the newly fixed bike out along the trails - cycled 8 miles and was home by about 10 which was good. Mr Cheery and I have been for a walk round another new (to us) area, and I've discovered there's a 6 mile walk that goes right around the edge of the town, mostly through woodlands, so I think I'm going to do that one morning while I'm off Maybe with a picnic! 

Home now, and after a bike ride and a walk I'm feeling a little zonked! The sun is shining though, which always makes me want to be outside... Although the stiff breeze does make it rather less pleasant... Might have another cuppa and done some finance-sorting (not sure I've done YNAB for the start of April yet), and then maybe I'll fling the windows open in the bedroom and sort out some clothes - a much-needed and satisfying job!

Cheery_Daff

OK, two hours of messing about with various things inside (mostly sitting down) and I'm heading back out in a minute. 

BUT, in the meantime, I've been playing around with pensions, mostly inspired by some of you lot talking about them, and the FIREside chat thread mentioned by ElmoR (which I saw some of you lovely lot on!)

I cannot anywhere find an actual number for each of my pension pots, but I did find out some useful things... 

(1) Looks like the earliest age you can draw your pension will be increasing to 57 in 2028 - I'll only be 48 then, so I won't be taking mine at 55 as planned, it seems. So my vague plans will have to take account of that 

(2) My old pension is a final salary scheme, which I don't pay into any longer. Currently at £6k lump sum, and £2k annual

(3) Current pension is a career average one, currently standing at an annual amount of £4k, or an £18 lump and £3k annual. 

I've just read two different things on the same website, which might affect what happens if I go part time. The first said they take the average of the best consecutive three years in the last 10, or the last recorded 12 months before retirement. The second said I accrue 1/57th of actual earnings each year, which are all added together to make my final pension. I'm convinced I've misunderstood the first one of those, as that would mean it wasn't worth going part time, as you'd lose the benefits accrued when working full time? 

Urgh, pensions make my head hurt... I'm going to contact them when I get back to work to check (it won't affect my decision, but will be good for planning purposes). 

Right - spent long enough trying to get my head round this - back out into the garden I go!

missymoo81

Well done on the pension stuff cheery! It sounds like a real head messer! Ok glad you got in some lovely walks and a bike ride too. I love a bike ride! 

Cheery_Daff

Me too Missy! 

Done lots of number crunching this evening, including creating a near exact replica of the spreadsheet I created several months ago (and forgot about) like an idiot 🙄😂😂

Need to do some more number crunching tomorrow, playing around with mortgage overpayments, whether I can leave at 50 rather than waiting til 57 etc, whether it's worth paying the mortgage off early or waiting for the pension lump sum. We'll see. 

Instinct says get rid of the mortgage - otherwise I'll be paying extra into a pension i can't get at til 57, but retiring at 50 and still having a monthly mortgage repayment. But I've not done the sums, and the minimum payment would likely be vastly reduced by then anyway.

Presumably there'll be an amount I need to save if I want to leave work altogether at 50, to tide me over til pensions at 57, especially if the mortgage is still going on - if we've paid it off we might be able to rely on Mr Cheery's pensions alone for a few years. We'll see.

Anyway, enough pondering. Feel like I've been going round in circles with this for months. Need to look at my own spreadsheet! 😂😂

South_coast

I think a key point in the planning is to know exactly how much you're going to need to live on (with/without mortgage, simple lifestyle/slightly more indulgent lifestyle etc) and then work out how to achieve it. Which means getting all over your current figures - but you knew you wanted to get your YNAB up to date anyway 🤣!

Nutcase243

Cheery, 'average of the best three years in the last ten' will apply to final salary defined benefit scheme - you will have e.g. 6 80ths of the salary each year (and probably a lump sum based on that). 'Accrue 1/57th of salary each year' will apply to final salary career average - you know in monetary terms what value of income you will get when you retire, and they (usually) uprate that in line with CPI each year. Different versions of 'defined benefit' but definitely better than 'defined contribution' where you're at the mercy of the markets.

Hope that helps - I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your thread and hearing about the chickens.

Fortune_Smiles

Morning Cheery 🌞

sounds as though you're where we've been for the last few years with modelling retirement options.  Do remember that you are just generating options at this stage - any plans can be altered or overhauled as life unfolds.  It's ok to go round in circles and to have several potential routes in mind.  As time goes on some routes my drop off the plan and others might open up.  After all - Agent Million is waiting to visit!

Fortune x