The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

Thanks @debtfreewannabe321, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family.

DS arrived on Christmas Eve at around 2pm. We had a great Christmas Day with him and FIL. He needed to catch up on sleep over the first couple of days. He told us all about how he has been getting on with rehearsals etc. He showed us some videos of the band performing various sets and also shows with singers and dancers etc. We are super proud of how well he seems to be doing of the standard of the performances. It is full on though as they are rehearsing 8 hours per day with only one day off. We are of course spoiling him for the short time that we have him with us until he travels back on 2nd January. We went out for a nice meal last night. He told us he intends to go travelling after this next contract. Apparently they have to take 1-3 months off between contracts. OH and I would like to join his next cruise, which will be some time in Autumn 2026, after we stop work if all goes to plan.

The budget is just about on track despite Christmas spends and presents etc. The main thing is being able to pay off the credit card! One big expense in the New Year is a new bed. We will be having a look in the sales.

I do like this quiet time between Christmas and the New Year as it all seems to slow down a bit and there is a chance to catch up.

AgathaSquirrel

Glad to hear your son is doing well and you had a good Christmas.

glass_half_full

Thanks @AgathaSquirrel!

Out very late last night/this morning. DS had made a commitment some months ago to his function band to play a gig on New Years Eve. Despite jet lag etc he followed through and performed with them last night. We were back in our roadie roles which we have not done for some time. I had forgotten how much hard work is involved in transporting, setting up and packing down all the equipment. We got home at 3 am. Tired of course today, but I am really proud of him that he did the right thing by his band and friends. We have a lot to do today to get him ready to return tomorrow with another early start and flight back to the USA. This break has been all about spending time with him since we will not see him again in person until July next year. We are back to work next week so need to make the most of the last few days off.

Finance wise, some juggling is required to allow us to fund a few necessary expenses. Its mainly to do with timing of purchases. I plan to do a proper taking stock in the coming days.

glass_half_full

DS is en route to the US but has had a disrupted journey due to the winter weather affecting flights etc. We will be happy when we hear he has made it safely to the other end. 

I was pleased that we managed to do his tax return before he left. Not the most exciting thing but really important to keep on top of it. I was actually impressed by his record keeping etc. He has to pay in advance so we were able to claim a reduction since the tax liable next year will go down as he will be working at sea for much of the year which is tax free. It was the main money related thing I wanted to help him with before he went away again. This is a real weight off my mind. 

On the financial front had a discussion with OH yesterday about our priorities over the next few months. I had forgotten about council tax holiday on February, March which was a boost as I had included them in YNAB! We had a few expenses to plan including a new bed, a break in January and paying for a holiday in June/July. It's basically about timing so we're able to get it to work by planning when to do things. Keeping the discipline of cash flowing everything and paying off CC in full.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Its time to move from planning to execution. The DC fund reached £500k in November, fell back to £480k in December and then returned to £495k now. This total is the result of paying AVCs since my early 20s to now where I am approaching 60. Mostly the result of growth over a long period. I need to rebalance the fund to protect the money from a dramatic drop in the stock market. I still want to benefit from growth but need to put some money into safer funds such as liquidity and bonds. The model I have built in guiide tells me I will need to withdraw around £40k per year for the years until other pensions are payable. So I am rebalancing to 20% liquidity (£100k), 15% bonds (£75k), and then 15% Emerging Markets (£75K), 20% US fund (£100k) and 30% UK fund (£150k). So 35% in ‘safer’ assets and 65% in equities. The ‘safer’ assets cover over 4 years of withdrawals.  This way if there is a correction, the funds will have a chance to recover before I have to withdraw from them.

OH is going to apply to retire early on her pension scheme this month. This is because it takes around 6 months to process. I wont formally apply until the end of May since in my scheme 3 months notice is enough.

We have talked about this for a long time but now it is time to act on the plan.

AgathaSquirrel

Exciting!!!

glass_half_full

Thanks @AgathaSquirrel!

Beautiful day here today although very snowy the sun is out so we are going for a walk after lunch.

New Gas fire is being fitted next Wednesday so I had to make the final payment and there is £195 I have to pay the fitter on the day. This has totalled £1290 but I suppose it’s a once in 10 years (I hope) type of expense. This plus paying the credit card off in full has left things a bit tight in January!

OH is applying for early retirement at end of August this year. She is in the Teachers Pension Scheme and there are two parts, the final salary (1/80ths) bit and then the career average. She is in both since she left teaching and came back. She will take the final salary part early at 58 where the ‘normal’ retirement age is 60. There will be a reduction but not too bad. The career average part she will leave until 67. It really drives home to me how valuable the final salary schemes were that were normal (for some jobs) when OH and I started work back in the 1980s. If it wasn’t for these we wouldn’t be able to contemplate stopping early I don’t think. She has to write to the TPS to ask for the relevant forms for this. She is starting now because it is taking a long time for them to process these requests.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

We managed to have a call with DS over the weekend. His cases were delayed and arrived a couple of days late. He has had a cold which he picked up during the long journey over there. He is recovering and travels to Australia on Thursday. Seems like all is well at his end.

Meanwhile have been back at work for a week and got over that initial lethargy post Christmas. Actually its ok and I have a couple of trips planned, one later on this week.

The DC fund tipped over £500k this week. I find it an important psychological moment. Of course it doesn’t mean anything really but kind of reassuring. Some commentators are predicting a correction, but so far no sign of that, but lets see. I’ve rebalanced it so now just need to stop looking at it!

Tomorrow the new gas fire will be fitted. We have been working our way around the house fixing various things that need replacing. The house is now 30 years old so many things reaching their design life. Its funny because we moved here in 2000 so in my head it’s a new house but in fact not. A few jobs left to do including patio doors, and maybe solar panels.

When we finish later this year we will both receive a lump sum. Some of that will be needed to pay off the home improvement loan I had to take out to do the patio, garden and fencing last year. I think in total we will need approx. £20K to pay that off. That should leave around £35k for improvement projects or other spends. I need to do some further planning as we head towards the end date and things firm up.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

On my way back from a conference. It’s a nice gathering of people with a shared interest and very mutually supportive. I always come away feeling a bit restored. People leave with a cheery “See you at the next one”. The next one is in June and, much as I enjoy it, I don’t think I will go, so this was probably my last one. I will have formally requested retirement by the end of May.

The guy came to fit the fire this week. Have you noticed how one job always leads to another? He removed the condemned fire only to find a bird’s nest in the chimney. Oh no — something else I have clearly been neglecting. He tells me that the annual fire service should have included a chimney smoke test to ensure it’s not blocked. I did have the fire serviced, but evidently this wasn’t done, or maybe the nest was built after the last service. Anyway, he cleared the chimney, but this came at an additional cost. The fire is now fitted and all seems to be working well, much to the cat’s approval, who has found a new posture in front of it even more chillaxed than before.

Just about managing to cashflow this, so the new bed will have to go back into February at least, in order that we can afford this out of cash.

We are away this weekend for a mini-break to Shropshire, which is one of our favourite areas. Hoping to switch off completely, as far as we can.

Sunshine_girl2

Good to hear DS got back safely and on his way to Australia where the weather will be good. That retirement is getting so near now , three months notice is good for the pension. 

Enjoy your weekend in Shropshire .