Frugal in retirement

janb5

Hello all !

Just been given a really useful tip from my neighbours that when you get your SP to specify weekly payments and not monthly. Also on BH`s you will get it a few days earlier.

joedenise

Both DH and I opted for weekly SP payments. So we get some money every Tuesday & Friday. I have a small annuity which I get on 28th of month and I also have a small work pension which I get the last working day of the month. It makes it so much easier to budget knowing that we haven't got long to wait for the next lot of money!

moneyistooshorttomention

janb5 wrote: »

Hello all !

Just been given a really useful tip from my neighbours that when you get your SP to specify weekly payments and not monthly. Also on BH`s you will get it a few days earlier.

Fortunately, I knew that before I retired - so I duly specified my State Pension is to be paid weekly.

I do find it helps me budget better this way. I get my job pension monthly (ie same as my salary used to) and the monthly direct debits come out of that as per normal. I take my "weekly living money" from my weekly State Pension payment.

My spending money gets taken by me on an "as and when" basis from leftover money in my bank account (from all sources). I know there's some "spare" in my monthly job pension after it's covered most of the bills. I know there's some "spare" in my weekly State Pension after covering "week to week living". So the "spare" from both is my spending money.

Thank goodness I'm (belatedly) getting the State part of my pension now - as my weekly living money was basically coming from my savings until then.

It does indeed help to know that there's only a maximum of 6 days to wait before I get some more money - as we all know just what a tendency there is for unexpected expenses to happen.

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I only had a three hour shift today so this afternoon is about small, simple pleasures. Egg and chips for tea, recorded programmes I’ve not had chance to watch yet, the rest of the Xmas cake for pudding.
We’ve the last batch of family to visit tomorrow and then we’re just spending the evening at friends for New Year’s Eve so very little to spend now.
We’ve loads of food left so no shopping needed for at least a week, maybe more.
It’s very tempting to spend at this time of year with the sales on. We could do with a new sofa but ours will have to last a bit longer. I did make the mistake of looking at some online and did try to justify it to myself but ours may be scruffy but it costs nothing and any money I have coming is all accounted for for months to come.
The weather is miserable but not madly cold here so it’s not costing us much in heating which is good. So hopefully my bank account will stay as intact as possible for as long as I can.
Have a good evening frugallers
Cuddles

Shoogly_Peg

Room for another wee one here?
been retired nearly 7 years, got my State Pension at 62 and also have a small work pension.
No mortgage, some savings, but when OH and I split up 2 years ago, went on a bit of a spending spree.
I now need to rein in the spending as my savings pot has really taken a bashing and after getting hit with a couple of unexpected large bills, am on a bit of a 'shoogly peg' 😁

Gers

I've splashed out on this place when I moved back up and packed in my full time job. Most of the rooms were in a very sad state so needed to be worked on - total rewiring, shower room installed upstairs, kitchen ( what was there was three open shelves and one cupboard) etc etc.

Now, my final big spend has happened, a very comfortable reclining chair with footstool, it's being delivered next Thursday. And so the spending can stop. :j Even though I only work very part time hours through choice I may just finish at the end of the academic year in June. As I've not decided yet I want to stash as much as I can, no more big spends and only very considered other spends.

Heating is my biggest cost. No mains gas for miles, no good place for an oil or calor store so it's woodburner all the way. I had electric radiators installed but find a second jumper and woolly tights is mostly sufficient. At the worst times I go to bed, switch on the electric blanket and watch TV or read from there.

There's so much meat in the chest freezer it's embarrassing. Most of it was free, half a hogget from the farm stockman's wife and masses of venison from stalking parties up the hill. I certainly won't starve.

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
I’ve started as I mean to go on. My nearly empty perfume bottle has lasted a week longer than I expected and still another couple left I hope.
I got lots of useful presents this year, socks, pyjamas, and wine which though not useful is very welcome of course.
No shopping needed today. We’re off to visit relatives later.
I’m going to start doing as many NSDs as possible this year.
First I need to clear my credit card, then pay off our next holiday.
I hope everyone is recovering nicely from all the overindulgence and keeping warm and well
Cuddles

moneyistooshorttomention

Well - frugal attempts here helped out by the fact I'm on my first total springclean/reorganise since moving here (I moved here on retirement and it's now several years later...:().

I can tell just how much I've been accummulating in the way of general household stocks (various kitchen goods for instance - cleaning cloths/rubber gloves/etc) by the fact that I've got a stack of stuff from Waitrose - which I know means I bought it some years back (as I've not been able to shop in Waitrose since moving here).

So, for anyone that likes to be stocked-up like I do - we might have overdone it a bit and have enough to keep us going for some time......

Clothes-wise - there's some of the same going on. How did I land up with several black teeshirts and several brown teeshirts and one HECK of a lot of tights and socks?

System

Just come across this thread and would like to join in. I am coming up 62 next June and work part time but also already have a very small pension from a job I had for 11 years. SP will be due when I am 66. OH is younger than me, so will still be working when I get SP...unless something miraculous happens and he can take early retirement....:rotfl:, which is what he would love to do, so I will not be too old when he finally retires.

We have debts as you can see, but are slowly getting them sorted..:T, after a LBM in 2015.
Determined to make the most of life though and not throw every penny at our debts, to the extent that we can't have a life. Its just about not going mad and trying to live as cheaply as possible.

I have little savings accounts set up for all sorts of things and we eat as cheaply as we can and don't go out much in the evenings. Our little luxury is to go the cinema sometimes and we do have Meerkat discounts for that, although due to OH's shifts, we can't always use them as they are only for certain days.

So I will be reading with interest and sharing any tips that I come across.
Happy New Year to you all.

System

janb5 wrote: »

Hello all !

Just been given a really useful tip from my neighbours that when you get your SP to specify weekly payments and not monthly. Also on BH`s you will get it a few days earlier.

Didn't know this, very useful tip. Thanks.:)