Frugal in retirement

cuddlymarm

Good morning guys
It’s a bit warmer here today. Yay.
I’m happy to say work is getting busier again, I know January is a slow month but worry about hours being cut. Unfortunately I’m a natural worrier.
Anyway I’m managing to keep costs down, apart from heating but if I get too cold my joints ache so I’d rather make cuts elsewhere and be warm.
I really must do some decluttering this week. One day our tiny flat is going to explode and there will be clothes and clutter everywhere.
We’ve been lucky not to get much snow. I know it’s lovely to look at but it makes real life harder. I hope you guys are all ok, keeping well and warm.
We are trying to eat less meat so it’s veg curry and rice for tea. My favourite type of food, warming and stodge.
Anyway enough from me, time to get ready for work.
Cuddles

littlemoney

Plumduff55 if you open an online account with Marcus you will get an interest rate of 1.5% and easy access to your money.

buildersdaughter

Hello all, feeling very fortunate. although we live in a very rural area, we have a great tradition of entertainment. It is true that we need the car to get to most of it, but we share lifts.
Booked at the moment:
1 concert at £15 (well known folk duo)
1 concert (local talent, very funny) £7.50
1 village panto £7.50 (no point in spending any more for a good singalong and hissing the villain, and this way we get all the local jokes!)
1 weekend festival: dances, community events & 6 concerts with international and well-known artists £45

plumduff55

Hi, thanks littlemoney for the info on Marcus. I'm going to wait till after my call with Pensionwise next week before deciding what to do with the money.

I have booked train tickets to visit my eldest son and his girlfriend in two weeks. They live over 400 miles away. The tickets cost £87 for the return journey including the discount for my senior railcard. To get there I will take one bus, four train journeys and the underground from Kings Cross to Paddington. I love all travelling although I'm always a bit apprehensive on the underground. But really looking forward to it.

The best thing about retirement is the freedom it gives you xx

threepenny_bit

Hello everyone - I would love to join you if I may. I live in Canada right now but originally from Yorkshire and then lived in Surrey for 18 years before moving here. My hubby worked shift work all the time we were in the UK so I took off time to look after the children. I was born in 63 so have a few years left before retirement but am so ready to start organizing my finances and getting things ready for it. Hubby is born same year as me and has a good pension from the UK - 21 year as a police officer. I have only 10 years in Education from the UK and have no idea if I will get SP over here from my UK stamps; the Government will stop it the year before I qualify knowing my luck! I don't have a private pension here - I pay into the pension to allow me the equivalent of state pension but I work for myself and dont have a pension scheme lol! I have joined a few of the groups on here this year and we are trying to economize and build up some savings; I did a very big shop at costco with enough for 2 months and to restock my staples and tinned goods for longer. Looking at our outgoings last year the amount we need to pay all of our bills doesn't bode well for retirement I was interested to see someone post about saving 2019 pounds in 2019 and I am going to do this in Canadian dollars. I have lots of things I can sell including a LOT of wool - need to get down to it and start sorting things out.

cuddlymarm

Welcome Threepenny bit
Everyone is welcome here. You are so lucky living in Canada. I have a niece and her husband living over there at the moment on an army placement. They are only there for a couple of years so we visited before Xmas. I loved it. It is a bit more expensive than over here we found and obviously with the really cold weather you can’t manage without heat or a car.
But on the up side the houses do seem to have lots of storage for bulk buying to keep costs down a bit. My niece said where they are when it’s warmer people have garage sales, to clear clutter but also to find bargains.
Are you there permanently now or are you coming back to the uk eventually?
Either way it’s not a bad idea to write down you plans for retirement ( they may alter over time) but it focuses what you need to do.
I better get ready for work
Bye for now
Keep warm and well everyone
Cuddles

Goldiegirl

Welcome Threepenny Bit

I've thought of a few things you may not be aware of or might like to investigate.

The state pension age has been increasing in the UK. As you and your husband were both born in 1963, your SPA will be 67 (for both of you)

You can check your National Insurance Record here

https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

and check your state pension projection pension here

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

You have to register to use both these sites, but it gives essential information for planning.

In the UK, you have to have 35 years worth of National Insurance Contributions to get a full SP, so neither of you will be eligible for the full amount. However, you need to have 10 years worth of NIC to get anything at all - so this may be something you need to look at closely.

Finally, if you continue living in Canada, you don't get yearly increases on your UK State Pension, so this is something to research to see how you'd be affected.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/british-pension-freeze-canada-1.4877581

Hope this will be of some help in your planning

threepenny_bit

Cuddlymarm - where about did you visit? I am just outside Calgary,
We have been here 15 years now and have 2 grown up children - I am not sure about retirement plans but right now we are thinking we would stay here as our children and their respective partners are here.

threepenny_bit

Goldiegirl - many thanks for the links.Under the new state pension laws I had thought I could get sp at 67 so I now nee to look into exactly how many years NI I paid - I had paid all the time while I was teaching and then I I had enterprise allowance so my NI was paid through that too.
Thanks again

Suffolk_lass

threepenny_bit wrote: »

Goldiegirl - many thanks for the links.Under the new state pension laws I had thought I could get sp at 67 so I now nee to look into exactly how many years NI I paid - I had paid all the time while I was teaching and then I I had enterprise allowance so my NI was paid through that too.
Thanks again

You would additionally have received NI credits for being in full time education from age 16 (extending through to a degree if you did this straight from school). Definitely worth registering and using the new (in 2018) SP calculator