Breaking Through, Travelling On

beanielou · 11 October 2016 at 10:45PM

I like everything about it.
Always wanted to live in a bungalow when I was wee and am lucky enough to be able to do so.
No stairs. Easy access to the facilities, reasonably easy to keep. Reasonably easy to heat.
Love love love it.

edinburgher · 12 October 2016 at 9:21AM

KC, are you actually drawing any pension money yet? If so, remember that you can still pay in £2880 into a pension which will be grossed up to £3600. A free £720/year for your £25k target? The suggestion does assume that a) you have a spare £2880 a year and b) that you will be able to structure your withdrawals at the other end to avoid paying tax...

Also, sure you've said, but do you have max qualifying years for state pension?

ZTD · 12 October 2016 at 9:49AM

Karmacat wrote: »

Ooh, Beanie, tell me! I have two strikes against bungalows ... one is that since there are more spiders downstairs, a bungalow will have more spiders :o:o sorry, my ex-phobia is showing :cool:

That's strange, most of my spiders are upstairs. Sounds like you have lazy ones which don't like to climb...

Karmacat wrote: »

and the other is that in a flood, there's no upstairs to retreat to - my mum is on the edge of a flood area (50 yards away!) and if she was in a bungalow, I'd be really, really worried.

That only applies if you live somewhere really flat at the bottom of a river valley. I have bungalows opposite me. They're not going to flood...

Karmacat · 12 October 2016 at 10:24AM

beanielou wrote: »

I like everything about it.
Always wanted to live in a bungalow when I was wee and am lucky enough to be able to do so.
No stairs. Easy access to the facilities, reasonably easy to keep. Reasonably easy to heat.
Love love love it.

Aw! I'm really glad you got one then

thats lovely.

edinburgher wrote: »

KC, are you actually drawing any pension money yet? If so, remember that you can still pay in £2880 into a pension which will be grossed up to £3600. A free £720/year for your £25k target? The suggestion does assume that a) you have a spare £2880 a year and b) that you will be able to structure your withdrawals at the other end to avoid paying tax...

I'm not drawing pension, thats true. And I have funds on tap I can use to pay in the £2880, hurray. I'm sure I can structure my withdrawals to avoid tax - I don't know the details at the moment, pension rules seem to change so often I haven't faffed about with it much, but I'd bet a large sum of money on it

Thanks for reminding me of that

Also, sure you've said, but do you have max qualifying years for state pension?

Yes I do, Ed, thanks https://www.gov.uk/state-pension/eligibility I checked here again just in case. 30 years - I've been working from when I was 22 to now, age 61. I had two years when I didn't work for 3 months, both of them by choice (I was pootling around doing fun stuff

) but I was still paying NI anyway.

ZTD wrote: »

That's strange, most of my spiders are upstairs. Sounds like you have lazy ones which don't like to climb...

:eek: Some come down from the loft hatch, it's true ... I'm not going to think about your statement, la-la-la-la- ... can't hear you.

That only applies if you live somewhere really flat at the bottom of a river valley. I have bungalows opposite me. They're not going to flood...

In my little town, the pensioners' bungalows are sort of jutting into the edges of the flood plain of the local stream, which is a healthy little beggar that rises by ten feet or so when there's been heavy rain. I haven't seen it overflow its banks yet, but that stuff happens, quite near me http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sussex/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8330000/8330270.stm

I wouldn't live there, and ... dunno, I suppose I'm the opposite of Beanie, I just don't fancy bungalows. I wouldn't want a ground floor flat, either, just my choice really.

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Karmacat · 12 October 2016 at 10:29AM

This isn't a list for today, or even for this week - but I do want to take these five steps by the end of the month. Will be printing out this post.

1 Leeds Building Society and Virgin Money both pay good percentages on Regular Savers.

2 Nationwide and TSB ditto on current accounts, if you pay in regularly. Like Goldie has, you could set up standing orders to push the same money around, for no extra cost.

3 TalkTalk: I get unlimited broadband and unlimited landline phone calls from them, they sent me a letter about beating their price rises and its in Martin's weekly email too. Take action!

4 unlocking mobile phone, I have EE and I could save a little bit by going to giffgaff as MvM did. Check how to unlock, alternatively check whether the unlocking charges have disappeared.

5 as per previous post, pay in £2880 to pension. Transfer that pension fund into cash, leave the others as shares etc.

ZTD · 12 October 2016 at 12:01PM

Karmacat wrote: »

:eek: Some come down from the loft hatch, it's true ...

Do you not close your loft hatch? I saw one in the bathroom the other week. I have the window locked ajar there for ventilation. Wowsers - it must have had to sucked its chest in to make it through the gap...

Karmacat wrote: »

In my little town, the pensioners' bungalows are sort of jutting into the edges of the flood plain of the local stream, which is a healthy little beggar that rises by ten feet or so when there's been heavy rain. I haven't seen it overflow its banks yet, but that stuff happens, quite near me http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/sussex/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8330000/8330270.stm

I wouldn't live there,

I wouldn't live on a flood plain full-stop. If you need somewhere flat, there's plenty towns built on the top of a hill.

Karmacat wrote: »

1 Leeds Building Society and Virgin Money both pay good percentages on Regular Savers.

Be aware that although most regular savers are limited to a year, the Leeds one is not. That means you can get that interest rate on two, three, etc years savings. However, it does come in "editions" - once this edition stops, you have to start from scratch in the next edition.

gallygirl · 12 October 2016 at 12:17PM

Karmacat wrote: »

I met the mother in the noisy-neighbour house too. Thing is, they're not *really* that noisy: somebody plays a radio very late and very early, yes, but its nearly always very quiet (they have the windows open, and you can't hear it on the street, it doesn't blast out). I've come to the conclusion that the soundproofing between the houses is extremely poor - I can hear a normal cough next door, if I'm sitting reading, for instance. They never hear me, because even when I'm being quiet, they still have the three dogs

I'd caution against a detached house, noise wise. If you're a semi, or terraced, and you hear noises at night it must be the neighbours. If you're in a detached house and you hear noises then it MUST be the mad axe-murderer coming to get you. No other option

. Or is it just me that thinks that :rotfl:.

Karmacat · 12 October 2016 at 1:37PM

ZTD wrote: »

Do you not close your loft hatch? I saw one in the bathroom the other week. I have the window locked ajar there for ventilation. Wowsers - it must have had to sucked its chest in to make it through the gap...

Yes, but its one of the many bodges in this house ...

I wouldn't live on a flood plain full-stop. If you need somewhere flat, there's plenty towns built on the top of a hill.

Well, thats true. I think the last word on the subject might be that I don't really want to live in a bungalow anywhere, I just don't fancy it. Sorry Beanie!

gallygirl wrote: »

I'd caution against a detached house, noise wise. If you're a semi, or terraced, and you hear noises at night it must be the neighbours. If you're in a detached house and you hear noises then it MUST be the mad axe-murderer coming to get you. No other option . Or is it just me that thinks that :rotfl:.

You had me going there :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Been writing and backing up. Rain has stopped, sunshine is here, I'm off out :j

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edinburgher · 12 October 2016 at 1:44PM

I need to get back into backing up, but updates for Windows 10 seems to have killed my (almost new!) external drive. Giving some thought to swapping my mahoosive laptop out anyway, will probably switch to a fancypants network-attached storage solution that backs up a much more modest laptop (in terms of spec and dimensions). Mrs E's brief is that any replacement has to fit into a small drawer (kitchen drawer, that sort of thing).

beanielou · 12 October 2016 at 9:09PM

Don't apologise Karmcat.
To each their own & we are all different

Breaking Through, Travelling On

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