Escape to the country & living off savings

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks SQS wishing you and everyone else a lovely Easter. 

DF has painted first coat on the kitchen. It is much paler than the colour chart and the label on the tin but looks nice. One load of washing line dried. 

Then we decided to go to the carpet place but sadly MF they didn’t have a sale on. Lino ordered £12.99 m2 & adhesive spray total £143.40. The fitter will come in 2 weeks & cost £45

doingitanyway

Your kitchen sounds lovely.
Happy Easter x

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks dia happy Easter to you too. 

Yesterday (Saturday) was bright and breezy. Emptied all the pockets of all my jeans (5 pairs / 2 are new) & found £10 note. 😁 I remember shoving it in the pocket when I walked in the forest of bere with DS & his gf and the dogs. DS & gf paid for hot choc & cake after the walk so I forgot about it 😆

Went up to DF’s & washed a load including jeans, then carried it back home & dried on the line outside. I have now caught up with all my washing so my lino should be fitted and machine back in place by the time I need to do any more. 

DF put another coat of paint on the kitchen walls. Then he & his next door neighbour helped my next door neighbour & his f-in-law carry over the metal shed. DF said he will get it levelled and fit the floor back in after Easter. 

Was invited to my friends house for dinner & glass of wine. Nice relaxing evening. 

Sunny start to this morning ☀️ I am planning on washing the outside of the kitchen window. I have done the inside yesterday & DF is going to help me put the blind back up later today. This afternoon I am cooking a roast lamb dinner for us both 😋

Skint_yet_Again

Had a nice relaxing day yesterday (Sunday). 

Roast lamb dinner was lovely. Roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and butternut squash. Enough leftovers for another 2 roast dinners portioned up and frozen. Another pot of lamb frozen to make a curry later in the week. 

I cooked a whole broccoli and cauli in my steamer. We had some with our roast & the rest has been frozen on a plastic tray then bagged up in the freezer. 

Transferred £10 each to DS & gf to treat themselves for Easter. Got a cute little easter card for nieces baby & put him £5 in. Not seeing him until Wednesday but that’s ok, at 3 months he won’t care if it’s late 😆🐣

Cant believe it’s 1st April already. Dark & light rain here this morning. I will need to submit meter readings today. DSis is coming over this afternoon for a few days. Weather forecast is a better for this afternoon and tomorrow. 

doingitanyway

Lovely meal you made.
Enjoy your time with DSis x

[Deleted User]

Hello. What plans do you have for your 6% regular saver? That is a good interest rate. 
You are doing very well. Any pension updates? I know questions again, but you know me I like the detail lol.
Take care!

Skint_yet_Again

Helped DF with the shed floor (wooden panels) and did some weeding & have managed to trigger my long term back pain 😩 (no medical advice please as MSE towers is watching). 

Have submitted my meter readings and latest bill is gas £59.97 and electric £45.21. I have £175 left in my winter gas & electric pot so I will use that this month then start to build up the pot again from 1 May. Just waiting for my credit card statement so I can pay it in full using my various savings pots. 

Went out for lunch with DF & Dsis & niece. Meals were 2 for 11.95 so less than £10 for food & a refillable soft drink. Had a lovely time. 

Baron_Dale I’m just planning on filling my regular saver to the max £5000 at 6% and leaving it there at 6%. I can then stop paying in as the rate for any more is only 1.74%, but the £5k remains at 6%. I am feeding it at £150 (max allowed) a month from my instant access account at 2.64%. All my other remaining savings are tied into 1 & 2 year fixed rate bonds. Maturing Feb 25 & will then be reinvested minus £10k a year from the capital which I am living off. 

Nothing happening with pensions now until I am 60 or until they contact me about the mc cloud ruling. I will be one of the last to be contacted (resigned) after existing pensioners then current employees. 

SuzeQStan

Sorry to hear the back pain SYA hope it eases v soon for you.

All the banks seem to have dropped their rates of interest lately.  Last month there were still good savings options above 5% interest for fixed cash isas but the big name bank ones are quite poor now IMO.

tried to open a fixed rate isa with Castle bank yday but the application was clunky and not user friendly so in 2 minds now.

What’s the mc cloud ruling?

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks SQS. Most of my equity is invested in above 5% apart from the balance needed to get up to 5k in my 6% account. I’m glad I sorted it in Feb before the rates came down. 

In 2015 I was forced to move into a career average pension scheme but older members were allowed to stay in the final salary scheme. As I understand it, The Court of Appeal found that the rules were discriminatory on the basis of age. Due to my varying part time hours over 35 years (full time then 16 hours a week when I went back to work after my son was born & increased over the years) staying in the original scheme may have been better for me as I increased my hours to 30 a week when my son left college at age 18 (resigned 10 years later) so I am waiting for a statement to give me a calculation to decide whether to put my contributions back in the original scheme. 

Hope that makes sense I am feeling a bit fuzzy on the painkillers 🤪😆

[Deleted User]

Actually a very good explanation! Another benefit could potentially be a larger lump sum as career average came without one.