Simple living in the country - back to basics

themadvix

Ah but Cheery, premium bonds wins are just that - tax free wins!

I’ve always kept my ‘tax savings’ in PBs but it’s a good point that I might be better off moving them to an interest bearing account now…. Thanks for pointing that out Free/Redo.

Cheery_Daff

themadvix said:

Ah but Cheery, premium bonds wins are just that - tax free wins!

I’ve always kept my ‘tax savings’ in PBs but it’s a good point that I might be better off moving them to an interest bearing account now…. Thanks for pointing that out Free/Redo.

Ah yes, of course - I literally just read that a few minutes ago and then forgot it again since all of these things are so unlikely anyway 😂

And of course, ill gotten Happy Wheel profits count as gambling winnings, so are also not taxed! And it's unlikely I'm going to acquire enough from other sources to get anywhere near the thresholds, so I shall file that info away (but do shout up again if something bizarre does end up happening!)

redofromstart

I am hitting the threshold due to interest on the lump sums and historically being the lower earner which we didn't spot earlier in the year. We have both moved 20k to Isas this year, and will move 20 more in April if we haven't bought a house by then. I feel guilty posting about it, when others are struggling but this is a mix of our long term savings and mr redo pension lump sum, and a redemption penalty that makes paying off the mortgage not cost effective. PBS would be interesting but the rate of return is poor when we still have his 1k to play with.

redofromstart

Our mortgage savings are not enormous but they were habitually in my name, and we will now pay 40 % by pure bad management on my part - stupid tax as it has been called elsewhere. this hadn't been a problem for years, but £250 a month a regular saver generates £82 at 5%. I don't like to post about it, but I do worry about who else is (lucky enough) falling into the same trap

redofromstart

Cheery_Daff said:

themadvix said:

Ah but Cheery, premium bonds wins are just that - tax free wins!

I’ve always kept my ‘tax savings’ in PBs but it’s a good point that I might be better off moving them to an interest bearing account now…. Thanks for pointing that out Free/Redo.

Ah yes, of course - I literally just read that a few minutes ago and then forgot it again since all of these things are so unlikely anyway 😂

And of course, ill gotten Happy Wheel profits count as gambling winnings, so are also not taxed! And it's unlikely I'm going to acquire enough from other sources to get anywhere near the thresholds, so I shall file that info away (but do shout up again if something bizarre does end up happening!)

Imagine the lump sum from your USS pension sitting in savings for 12 months while you do not fritter it on a cruise. That's what we have done, only we added it to my savings by habit when I went full time without thinking it through. My point is think it though. 

I can't stress enough that I am not asking for sympathy and it is a lovely problem to have, but an entirely avoidable one if I had thought about it.

Cheery_Daff

Please don't feel guilty Redo! We're all in different circumstances and it's always so valuable for people to read about where others are - sometimes as an aspirational 'look where I could be in a few years if I do xyz'.  

We may well have been in a similar position with Mr Cheery's pension lump sum, but when we took it, interest rates were so dire we wanged the entire lot in premium bonds, and then spent a giant chunk on all the building work anyway 🙄 We could easily have made a different decision without realising the implications. And I'd be in the 40% tax bracket by now if I hadn't dropped to working 4 days a week, so we might have been caught there too.

Always worth plotting thoroughly - it's one reason I like to post on here in such detail when I'm trying to plan things - people have always thought of something I'd not considered!

Fortunately we have a good 16 years before I'm even allowed to consider taking any of my pensions 10 years early so who knows what the rules will be by then 🙄😂

I missed your post the other day about having a walk not too far from here recently - I hope you gave us a wave over the hills! 😊 I wonder if I've ever passed you in a village somewhere and not realised?? I was thinking of that the other day when I opened MSE while standing in a queue - wouldn't it be funny if someone was looking over your shoulder and recognised your username?! 😱😂

Funny old evening here, but it's ended up ok, with me doing a nice 30 min yoga practice which has combined forces with both deep heat and ibuprofen to sort my shoulder out nicely (coming at it from all angles!)

Not sure I'd recommend yoga to a punk drumming soundtrack from the next room (!) but it was still pretty restful bending and stretching in front of the Christmas tree 😊

A list for tomorrow, I think. Don't want to fritter the last of my holidays too much. 

* write a couple of letters

* do a load of washing

* spend a bit of time tackling the offshot - things are piling up in there and I'm struggling to get at pantry, washing machine, freezer etc... Some stuff needs to go to garage, shed etc, and the whole place needs a good hoover! 

* get the new bed slats in to the kitchen and give them a thorough hoover. They've been in the house for a few weeks now so should be nice and dry, but they're rather dusty

Might put the bed together if Mr Cheery is up for helping, but I can't shift it on my own. If not, I might start a bit of gentle painting in the kitchen.

and on that note, off to bed!

peb

Hope you slept well.


And yes, the thing about "outing" on a twixmas break in your area I thought in real life I could ask for advice as to where to get a decent scone - all poor - until I got to Hathersage pool cafe which does an excellent score 😁

SuperSecretSquirrel

Great planning on the regular savers Cheery. Similar to TMV I tend to find them to be a bit more hassle than they are worth, but through pure luck I already have my current account with a provider offering a very nice RS, so drip feeding into that is a no brainer.

Just to set the proverbial cat among the pigeons, I've seen PB returns described as poor, and 2.25% easy access described as good. PBs are essentially easy access, and the rate (with the usual average luck and lumpy prizes caveats) is now 3%, pretty good, in fact I think market leading at the moment. They're not for everyone, but I don't think they're as terrible as some people seem to think, especially when higher balances and taxes come into play.

themadvix

Having decided to take my tax money out yesterday SSS, I've just won £100 on them, so I am rethinking that decision! You make a good point too.

Cheery_Daff

I am always happy to make scone recommendations Peb, so do let me know when you are next in need! 😁

I do love the idea of premium bonds, and dreaming of Agent Million has got me through many a dreary month 😂 I'm just feeling the need for something a little more guaranteed at the minute, now we don't have much in the way of savings at all and are trying to build them. Going to leave £500 each in there though just in case! 

Didn't win anything this month, again 🙄

We've had a cafe trip (I'll update signature in a bit) and I'm going to have another cuppa and then get on with some tidying and sorting I think. We've got quite a lot of carrots, so I reckon a haybox lentil soup is in order 😊