Cheery's country living adventure

rtandon27

Cheery_Daff said:

Brrr, isn't it cold??

*Insert blue shrieky smiley here*
We've had SNOW!❄❄❄❄❄  It's April, Easter has been & gone & we've had bloomin' SNOW!❄❄❄❄❄

So needless to say, my first week off since xmas & zero gardening has been done! 😉 Instead, I'm hibernating next to the radiator with a hoody on, thick socks & a heating pad.

greenbee

Don't forget, Easter was early this year And it certainly isn't the first Easter holidays where there has been snow by a long stretch. 

Karmacat

Definitely nippy, and it tried to snow here too!

Cheery, the purchase of the pension years is bargainous - I'm on full state pension, and its £718 every 4 weeks, so thats 13 x 718 = 9334 - that's what you're purchasing, I *think*.  That's such a good deal, you'd better check that's what it means, but it looks a good'un to me.  Though it may be different if you don't have the full 18 years you mention.  Argh, more detail.  I do think there's possibilities, though.

Cheery_Daff

It's snowed on my birthday at the end of April before now! Not for a long time, but I do remember it when I was a kid... 

Thanks KC, that's helpful, yes. Does seem worthwhile to get those two years in while I can, for not much money. I suppose if I was planning to work another 18 years, I'd be paying contributions anyway, so paying the extra wouldn't be necessary. But doing it this way means I'd only need another 16 years (15 really, as 2020/21 wasn't included in that total) which seems more doable.

Need to check Mr Cheery's NI contributions record too. He's worked since 21 I think, but left work at 47 - there have been some self-employed contributions since then though. Will get him to log in and check tomorrow - might be more urgent to pay those as there's less time left (and less likelihood of him going back to work!)

South_coast

I've known snow in mid-May before, on them there hills near where I grew up 🥶

Tescodealqueen

It's usually more cost effective to fill the years where you have already paid some years. And Mr Cheery's self employed contributions are much less expensive than voluntary contributions so if he remains self employed it is cheaper to.keep paying those than voluntary contributions at a later date. There are time limits for paying though those have been extended for a while since the State Pension Scheme changed in 2016 so good to be checking it all out now.

Oh and I was always told that a White Easter is much more likely than a White Christmas and my dad often talks about remembering snow in May one year.....

greenbee

The year my parents moved to Norfolk it snowed in June... 

Tescodealqueen

greenbee said:

The year my parents moved to Norfolk it snowed in June... 

My mum told me that but I did tend to think she had imagined it. Shame on me!

Cheery_Daff

Thanks all (I'm ignoring comments about snow in June!! 😮😮😮)

I've got til next April to decide about my extras, but yes, it looks worthwhile paying them. Not sure what's happening with Mr Cheery's - did the rules change a few years ago? He was paying every year, but then the year we moved, there was a balance to pay, we paid it (we thought to the right place), but then we had a letter saying we had credit, so they ended up paying it back. It was only a couple of hundred quid so within the chaos of the house move we didn't pursue it m, and he's earned under what I think is the threshold for self employed contributions since then, and hasn't investigated voluntary ones - clearly we need to do that now. 

Sounds like we might just be able to at least pay for that year we already tried and failed to pay for though 😂 

I'm very impatient to sort it all out, but must remember he won't be that interested in national insurance and pensions the minute he steps out of bed 😂😂

Cheery_Daff

Well I didn't get everything done on my list yesterday, but I did everything other than the kitchen ceiling...

Particularly pleased that I dragged myself off the sofa at 9pm to do 20 mins of clothes sorting in the bedroom - in that short time I managed to sort two bags to go into the clothes bin at the tip, and another bag for the actual bin. Pleased with that! 

Going to do that again today, see if I can make a dent in the piles that are everywhere.

Mr Cheery has put a shelf up in his music room - this has been our temporary kitchen for months so this is a nice sign that we're starting to look forward to a time when it can be a music room as intended.

The sun is shining again today! I love it, although I'd be happier if it were warmer for all these outdoor meetings 😂😂 takeaway cuppa with pals this morning, then an errand (and I must remember to post a birthday card too). Then...

* two pieces of plasterboard
* seal round the rest
* 20 mins of clothes sorting
* put Christmas presents away (I only got them on Friday, it's not as bad as it sounds!)

The freezer is up and running too, so I do want to get a few meals made for easy dinners next week when I'm back at work. That might prompt a sorting out of the recipe book collection - the vast majority of which I never use...