Balance in the force

FlacosFloozie

Well I almost stuck to the Christmas budget- over by around £30 in the end and moved that from the things I forgot to budget for pot.

Stretched the mortgage overpayments this month to get it down to a round number for the new year. That means I've paid off £9.5k in a year. I'm really pleased with that. I'm a little torn for next year as we're still on a very low rate but only for another year. I'm going to aim to overpay by 4.5k for the year but possibly build up more in cash savings so I have the option to clear a lump sum when we're due to remortgage.

Next year, I'm going to try to shift focus a bit more to improving our pensions. At 44, perimenopause is starting to hit hard and I just feel exhausted all the time. I know there are things that can help but the throught of working full time for another 24 years just doesn't seem realistic.

I do quite a physical and high stress job. A move out of this may be possible but would likely come with a reduced salary. Realistically, I'm at the peak of my earning potential so need to make hay while the sun shines.

Merlin's_Beard

Well done on the mortgage OPs - that's an incredible amount.

Pensions are always a tricky thing to balance with everything else, especially when work ones tend to be statutory minimum. Definitely with you on not working full time until retirement age though.

You could always think about management routes if you wanted to step back from the physical parts of the job but staying in the same general area? Not sure it would help on the general stress though.

savingholmes

Prioritising pension sounds good.

FlacosFloozie

Thanks @Merlin's_Beard @savingholmes pensions are definitely a good thing.

Work pension is indeed statutory minimum and we didn't even get that when I first started work. Luckily, I had parents who drilled in the importance of starting a pension young so I do have a stakeholder pension too. I can take the that one from 60 but will need to be 65 for the work one.

I'm afraid I have diversified into management and became a CD last year. Financially, there's a bit of a pay rise which does help with savings/overpayments. Stress wise, I'd say its pretty similar. Some of the stresses are different but dealing with clients in first opinion practice all day is really demanding. Part of the reason for the shift was that I'd picked up a couple of injuries at work which just weren't healing well. Having some desk time has helped with that. The flip side is I seem to work longer hours dealing with admin.

Merlin's_Beard

FlacosFloozie said:

Thanks @Merlin's_Beard @savingholmes pensions are definitely a good thing.

Work pension is indeed statutory minimum and we didn't even get that when I first started work. Luckily, I had parents who drilled in the importance of starting a pension young so I do have a stakeholder pension too. I can take the that one from 60 but will need to be 65 for the work one.

I'm afraid I have diversified into management and became a CD last year. Financially, there's a bit of a pay rise which does help with savings/overpayments. Stress wise, I'd say its pretty similar. Some of the stresses are different but dealing with clients in first opinion practice all day is really demanding. Part of the reason for the shift was that I'd picked up a couple of injuries at work which just weren't healing well. Having some desk time has helped with that. The flip side is I seem to work longer hours dealing with admin.

Going into CD rather than ownership does open up more pure managerial roles a bit higher up the hierarchy, so there are definitely options to get out the clinical door if you wanted them... also potentially would help with side steps into pharma...

I'm nearly a decade younger than you and I'm already making noises in my joints that colleagues can hear across the room, it's definitely not a job to keep you healthy!

FlacosFloozie

I actually really still like clinical work so this is a trial for me. I did think about setting up but I really don't have the energy to start doing all those hours solo and finincially employing an assistant from the get go wasn't viable. With hindsight my early 30s would have been the best time but partership opportunities vanished with the corporates and starting from scratch seemed like a massive risk when I was also trying to buy a house.

I really didn't want to be like the generation above where family life was totally sacrificed to the job. CD is a halfway house- less commitment/risk but lower financial reward. The aim for now is basically to make hay while the sun shines i.e. save/invest to give options for the future. We'll spend some of the extra income but try to use it for things that actually enrich our lives rather than fritter it.

FlacosFloozie

Happy New Year to anyone reading! May 2023 be kind to all of us!

I've signed up for the MFW 23 challenge for £4.5k and the save 12k challenge for £18.5k. If I make these that will be a total of £23k for the year. In addition, I'm anticipating some medical expenses for Mr F and hoping to manage a holiday abroad. This means that I'll need to be on top of the finances.

YNAB is all set up for January. Mr F's contribution to the bills account comes in duaring the 3rd week of the month and my Dad insists on sending me £300 at the end of every month. He's very pragmantic and wants to minimise inheritance tax. This means that the bulk of transfers to savings will be at the end of the month.

I did get a bonus from work. Its around £500 after tax so that's going to be used to start a SIPP. I think I'm going to go with vangaurd and use one of their targeted retirement funds to start. I'll probably end up trickling some small amounts into some of their other funds but I think it makes sense to have this forming the bulk of the portfolio.

savingholmes

Hi Flaco - Happy New Year. On the pensions front - the latest bond crisis was bad for target date funds. So definitely look into that rather than just picking one. I went 100% equities for my AVCs and so far am fairing better. I did research which had the best returns over the last 5 years before picking... 

FlacosFloozie

Its a conundrum, isn't it. If only I had a crystal ball...

I've decided for January or possibly 2023 I'm going to try for 3 Hs each day. Doing 1 extra thing to imporve my health, happiness and home. Today's 3 were that I went for a (very short) run, played a boardgame with MrF and have washed and drived the duvet.

FlacosFloozie

Started the day well with £150 overpayment before interest gets added tomrrow.

Have also splurged some of my Christmas money on clothes. Some bits were needed and some are wanted but once things get delivered I will try on and if I don't love them 100% they will go back. Got some outdoor leggings and thermal trousers on sale so if they fit they'll be a good bargain and get lots of use.