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A Paupers Pension Tale (Not many nuts to dig up)
Comments
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Our current car was an ex manager at the dealership's one. Most bells and whistles included. 😎
It had 4500 miles at 15 months old for £11,000. New price £23,000.😲
It's now 6.5 yrs old with 19500 miles on. Still looks brand new, so no plans to change it any time soon. 😇How's it going, AKA, Nutwatch? - 12 month spends to date = 2.60% of current retirement "pot" (as at end May 2025)3 -
Gambleruk & co what’s happened to this blog? I have just came to the end and it stopped in January 2022! Did you start a new one for new year or has there been a change in circumstances? Great read would love to hear more about how your doing in these strange times 😳4
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Well it certainly has been a while since I did an update so since its been requested here it is. First of all one of the reasons I have not updated is I read Sea_Shell's great thread which seems to cover a lot of the things I would mention so thought two long running threads mentioning the same things would get boring even though our circumstances are different.
For starters I still have no regrets what so ever packing work in at 50, it is the best decision I ever made even if money gets tight in the future so be it, I have had over 2 years so far of enjoying life in which I could have still been doing the 9 to 5 grind and apart from adding to my works pension we would not be better of financially as we no doubt would have carried on spending and wasting money on things we never needed. So no matter what the future holds it cannot take back those 2 years and counting, I have always tried to explain on here that to me enjoying life while you can is more important than having a huge pension pot which you might never even see. My routine has not changed much and I really am fitter and healthier than I have ever been with running and walking all the time. I honestly can never see me saying on here in 5/10 years time I wish I had gone back to work to have more money in the future.
Now financially it looks like the figures are going to be very similar to last year even taking in electric and inflation costs. A couple of reasons for this, my electric costs were already high so in the past few months have been taking steps to decrease our usage, still around 12kwh a day throughout Summer but was 20kwh when I started looking and still not managed to get rid of our son yet lol so will no doubt come down further in the future. Also the other thing is time.... time to spend searching through the best deals for insurance, picking when to do the big shop, picking the cheapest weeks for our holidays as it really does not matter when we go, if something breaks take the time to see if we can fix it ourselves or whether to replace (we would always just buy new when something broke when I was working) and if to replace search around for the cheapest deal and discount codes. Time to read this forum everyday and make ther most of peoples opinions on here and the savings board. Must mention we got the Ninja air fryer when on offer 3 months ago and it has been hands down the best appliance we have ever bought. The oven has been on twice since, both times for frozen pizza as would not fit in the air fryer. Also our takeaway costs have come down as well as it is so quick and convienient to use never mind the savings on electric.
Another thing I have done is consolidate all my pensions into one, it makes things so much easier and done the same for the wife as well so we just have two sipps to look at. Now I know some people frown upon this but I update my spreadsheet every week with the pension values, obviously not great reading this year but to me personally is so useful seeing how the markets change and when I finally do access my sipp I will have a much greater understanding on how the market works.
So all the above is pretty positive stuff but as we all know life just does not work like that, one thing I have realised it that no matter how much you plan for things there is always a curve ball coming your way. Not going into to much detail but the wife has had a tough year health wise this year which whilst has not affected us financially to much it does make you re think your plans for the future sometimes. One of the few things I would change besides having a big pension pot lol would be for my wife to have retired the same time as I did, don't get me wrong it is working what we are doing and she has the benefit of being 5 years younger than me but for those of you as a couple thinking of early retirement then I would try to plan to finish at the same time. Also our old faithful car had decided to break down twice recently so looks like we are going to have to replace sooner rather than later, after saying that we are only averaging 5000 miles a year in it so might last a little longer.
Right I think that covers most of the main things, I hope some of this helps people who are not big earners and those who are thinking about retiring but are uncertain. As always I will appreciate any feedback, good or bad lol though to be honest there is not much change financially and still 30 months before I can access my sipp and I have no doubt there will be a few more curve balls to deal with before then.23 -
Nothing to add to @gambleruk’s post other than to say it’s very refreshing to read an honest account - but underlying it a great deal of optimism. I went down to 2.5 days around a month ago and am enjoying it immensely in terms of all the things you say - just having the time to draw breath and ponder things is a great but unquantifiable benefit.
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gambleruk Very motivating for the likes of me who are hoping to go in next year, saying that I will have had 6 holidays this year, one to Florida so at least I am enjoying myself in the run up.I am 56 and definitely getting the odd twinges in my knees etc despite exercising and doing mobility movements etc. Do see the logic in retiring while still young enough to fully appreciate it if you can. Not sure how many more years I can take those rollercoasters in Florida….I’ve looked at a couple of times at the ninja air fryers but I haven’t got much workspace, so keep putting it off.
My Best Buy has been my Dreamland heated throw, definitely saved me putting heating on as much. In fact just ordered another as my son seems to think it is his.
We won’t talk about the yoghurt maker I bought that got used religiously for a month but hasn’t seen light of day since or my Lakeland electric potato masher.😆Money SPENDING Expert4 -
Thanks guys and gals for replying it is really motivating to know we don’t need loads of money to live a good life (good job because we don’t have loads 😉) healths always more important. My husband is 60 in December and I am 58 and hoping to stop working in around 3 years. Wish I had read these threads more years ago! We will bridge the gap between with savings and my husband has a couple of small pensions. However, I am a bit worried we won’t get full state pension if we stop 4-5 years early even though we have full records as both worked since 16 any advice welcome. I have been debating about an air frier too but size puts me off 🤔2
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Set up Government gateway accounts and see how you stand, it would be very unusual not to qualify for full State pension at your ages. My husband had qualified by age 55, I’m short 7 years but am making it up via specified adult childcare credits ( looking after grandkids basically) .1
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However, I am a bit worried we won’t get full state pension if we stop 4-5 years early even though we have full records as both worked since 16 any advice welcome. I have been debating about an air frier too but size puts me off 🤔
Check your State Pension forecast - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You can always buy missing NI years, if you need to after checking your situation. It is definitely worth doing as they are a bargain.
Apart from the size of air fryers, I did some research into electricity usage. There is quite a lot of misleading info, especially over the power usage of a conventional oven, which have a high power rating, but they only really use this when heating up. Although they do seem to use about 50% of the electricity, my estimate was that you would actually save just one or two pounds a week, depending on how much you used it. Plus they seem not to have a long lifespan, so unlikely you would make a profit. Of course if like Gambler UK, you like the results and it fits your cooking habits, then it will be a good buy.
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Hi, thanks for reply's I have checked both and this is what it shows.
You can get your State Pension on 28 May 2031
Your forecast is £185.15 a week,
£805.07 a month, £9,660.86 a yearYour forecast
- is not a guarantee and is based on the current law
- is based on your National Insurance record up to 5 April 2022
- does not include any increase due to inflation
£185.15 is the most you can get
You cannot improve your forecast any more.
If you’re working you may still need to pay National Insurance contributions until 28 May 2031 as they fund other state benefits and the NHS.
View your National Insurance record
Your forecast may be different if there are any changes to your National Insurance information. There is more about this in the terms and conditions.
You have:
- 42 years of full contributions
- 9 years to contribute before 5 April 2031
You do not have any gaps in your record.
but does this mean I need to work till 2031 to get this or if I finish work in 3 years would I still qualify for full state pension?
Thanks in advance.0 -
No, you are good to go.
It just means that if you still work and earn over the NI limit you still pay it.1
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