The Piano Diary

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Yesterday took FIL out for the afternoon to lunch and then a matinee at a theatre. Was a lovely afternoon and it helped that the weather was nice too. I took a half day and it was really nice to get away. A bit of a mini taste of how things will be soon when I step away from work. Really enjoyed it. It was nice to take FIL out and he enjoyed it too. It’s a theatre he has gone to many times in the past but less so recently.

This week OH told her line manager that she will be retiring at the end of August. Apparently he was quite surprised. “But what will you do ?...” was a question.

Council tax bill arrived yesterday with a rather large overall increase of 7.6% including a County Council rise of 9%. I hadn’t realised our county council is one of a handful which got permission from the Government to go over the 5% cap on council tax increases.

Will be interesting to see how outgoings change when we both finish work at the end of August. I can already see how certain costs will go down. But of course others will go up as we travel more and spend on going out etc. But overall I feel confident it will be ok.

AgathaSquirrel

Nice to hear retirement plans are progressing. Good to hear things are going well for your son.

glass_half_full

Thanks @AgathaSquirrel !

So stock markets have tumbled into correction territory which is down more than 10%. I rebalanced at Christmas, the total fund reached around £520k at its peak but has now fallen to £497K. A drop of around 5% mitigated by the fact that I moved about 1/3 of the total into liquidity and bonds. To be honest I was a bit reluctant as I was concerned about missing out on growth, but just as well that I did given subsequent events. Having 1/3 of the fund in liquidity and bonds means that we are covered for a few years so hopefully the stock market will have recovered by then.

I have taken advice from Pensionwise which is a requirement for transferring my DC fund to the drawdown provider. Reassuring to find that there was nothing new or left-field I had not thought about.

Family are visiting at Easter so this weekend we are making final preparations and buying a few bits and pieces.

Been holding out for Easter since I have a week off from Easter Monday. Then off on a trip to a conference the following week. So then it will be mid/end April so just another month before I hand in my notice at end of May. This is great as finding it ever harder to maintain the necessary focus.

AgathaSquirrel

I wondered if the recent market fluctuations might impact you. Glad to hear all is well on that front.

Not long to go…

glass_half_full

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81940519#Comment_81940519

Yes, thanks, its ok at the moment. If you are still in the accumulation phase then this dip just means that the markets represent good value since they will recover like they always do.

Yesterday evening we went to the theatre. It was a small touring production, only about 100 people in the audience. It was really nice and something we will be doing more often soon when we finish work. When we got back we watched the Artemis launch and was glad to see it went without a hitch. So glad we have made it to Easter and just a few minor last minute preparations to do before my brother and his family arrive tomorrow.

savingholmes

Exciting that you are now on the home strait with regards quitting your job.

Good that your car was okay in practice,

Glad your son is happy and having adventures.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,
Easter was great although feels like a while ago now. My brother and his family visited, we had two of their kids to stay, although neither of them are really kids any more being 19 and 16. It was great to see them all for a couple of days. I am now in the US for a conference in Seattle which is a city I have not visited before. Conference is enjoyable as is the city. Interesting discussions and conversations.
On the money front, of course investments are very volatile at the moment, although recently the DC fund has recovered somewhat to close to where it was before the start of the recent events. Who knows where it will go from here. Travelling back tomorrow, flight redirected due to a strike but I actually get back a bit earlier so no worries.

glass_half_full

Dear diary and all,

Back home from travels. Jet lag seems not too bad as I was only there for 4 days so probably not really moved my body clock over. Had a chat with OH over the weekend about the finances when we go on sabbatical. Its probably the first time we have fully gone through everything together. Afterwards I felt as if I had a slight wobble or hesitancy. Its not that anything came out in our discussions that changes anything or that the numbers don’t add up. I think its more the realisation that this is really it and we are going to do it. So it feels like a step into the uknown. Unsurprising I suppose as it’s a big decision to walk away and move to the next phase. Its good that we talked things through and that we are aligned about this.

KajiKita

Sounds like it’s becoming tangibly real … 😊👏

KK

South_coast

I'd say it's perfectly normal to have a wobble. It's a big thing that you've been planning for a long time. There's always the option of picking up some form of work if it does all fall over. Just keeping that in the (very!) back of your mind is probably all the reassurance you need 👍