Peering over the hill...

Grogged

So glad it's been a quiet week of pause and reflection...
Lockdown 2.0 and a new president, only one of which was fully expected.

We've put the active search for a rescue dog on hold until the new year.
I guess like a few people we're also now torn about what to do for Christmas...
Maybe a virtual one with our elderly relatives and extended family, rather than in person. 

ETA - £5 OP made...

Stay safe,
G.

Ami-Rose

Hello from a new subscriber! Just caught up on your progress and have to say I'm a bit jealous of your spreadsheet! We do have one that organises or life, but it's fallen into a little bit of disuse since our daughter joined the family a year ago. Revived it this weekend with a mortgage overpayment tracker.

Can't say I understand all the pension talk, but it is interesting to follow your progress and see how it all works. 😊 Definitely feeling motivated after seeing all your TTs add up!

Ami-Rose

Hello from a new subscriber! Just caught up on your progress and have to say I'm a bit jealous of your spreadsheet! We do have one that organises or life, but it's fallen into a little bit of disuse since our daughter joined the family a year ago. Revived it this weekend with a mortgage overpayment tracker.

Can't say I understand all the pension talk, but it is interesting to follow your progress and see how it all works. 😊 Definitely feeling motivated after seeing all your TTs add up!

Grogged

Thanks @Ami-Rose!
Sounds like hubby will soon have you a NASA style spreadsheet!
As you say, even the smallest TT has such an impact over time.
As for pensions, same as a TT, little and often builds up over time, but start with that EF first and build from there. You have plenty of time.
ATB,
G.

QueenJess

You always sound very organised.  I have to admit thinking about pensions and investing for too long starts to make my head hurt!  I have to deal with it little and often!

Ami-Rose

Grogged said:

Thanks @Ami-Rose!
Sounds like hubby will soon have you a NASA style spreadsheet!
As you say, even the smallest TT has such an impact over time.
As for pensions, same as a TT, little and often builds up over time, but start with that EF first and build from there. You have plenty of time.
ATB,
G.

Funnily enough, I was the one who built the original spreadsheet with the budget and net worth on! That was the limit of my skills though and OH has leveled his spreadsheet skills up massively through work in the last year, so I bow down to his superior spreadsheets now. 😂

As for pension, I don't have one. 🤦🏼‍♀️ Terrible I know, but I haven't had a 'proper' job since before workplace pensions were mandatory and I haven't ever earned enough through freelancing to feel worth the effort. That sounds terrible doesn't it! OH has a fantastic pension through work though so we focus on that one for now - spent some time this year consolidating all the little ones he had into this one. I do have my own little S&S ISA that I squirrel a few £s into each month, which is my way of pushing the guilt aside for not having a pension!

Grogged

QueenJess said:

You always sound very organised.

This made MrsG chuckle. 😂
I'm always in awe reading your diary, you always seem to pack so much in, it puts mine to shame.
Little and often is a good strategy!

Grogged

@Ami-Rose I think it's great that you're both interested in your finances as it seems this isn't the case for most couples, so being involved in your spreadsheet is a big positive.
Personally, if you have money that you don't intend to spend soon, then think of it as part of your pension provision.
So whatever you have when you've retired is pension, whether in savings, ISA or an "official" pension account. The tricky part is not needing it before you retire! 😆
You'll be amazed what you're little S&S ISA can turn into over time.
I have been with mine!

Ami-Rose

Grogged said:

@Ami-Rose I think it's great that you're both interested in your finances as it seems this isn't the case for most couples, so being involved in your spreadsheet is a big positive.
Personally, if you have money that you don't intend to spend soon, then think of it as part of your pension provision.
So whatever you have when you've retired is pension, whether in savings, ISA or an "official" pension account. The tricky part is not needing it before you retire! 😆
You'll be amazed what you're little S&S ISA can turn into over time.
I have been with mine!

I'm the main driver of our financial stuff, I just drag OH along for the ride. 😂 He is interested, but also the breadwinner so I'm the one with more mental capacity for it (at least I was pre-kid). He loves seeing our progress and all high level decisions are joint, but he lets me get on with the rest. 😊

I'm not planning to touch my little ISA at all, it's my little 'sh*t hits the fan' pot, so glad it counts! We may or may not add something more formal later down the line.

How did you and MrsG get started on this journey? What was the trigger for a change in focus?

Grogged

Our parents started us on our journey by being naturally MSE before MSE existed 😂
I think that was true for many of our generation, it's just how you were brought up (and still is in some households).
The trigger was realising we didn't really know what we wanted from retirement.
We knew it wasn't what our parents had, neither was it the TV advertising version.
We also knew that saving hard just to spend it wasn't helping either.
We decided we quite liked our lifestyle and so asked how do you get there?
After this obvious bolt from the blue, we just worked backwards.
We need an income of X, so we better start saving for it properly.
Will we get there? Probably, but it's not guaranteed, but we like the odds!
ATB, G.