It's always surprising to see how much food you have when it's usually out of sight behind a door isn't it ... and I've only done two of the drawers up to now. I have a lovely amount of vegetables in the drawers, enough to keep me healthy for a good few weeks. Now all I need to do is combine them with the things in the food cupboard and I should have lots of lovely meals at no extra cost to me.
Which is a good thing as we have been talking about our retirement plans over the last week or so, and Alan has finally handed in his necessary 18 months notice, ready for his actual retirement date of April 2025.
As I am not due to retire until May of 2026 (providing they don't move the goalposts yet again), I would like to actually retire from the day job at the same time as Alan, closing the company down and finally being free. To be able to do this I need to have a dedicated savings pot of one whole years basic salary, this way I will be able to continue to draw on that for the final year before my State Pension kicks in.
So being able to save money seems even more important just now ... time to sort out the last drawer of the freezer then!!
Sue xx
It's good to be able to have a set goal in mind isn't it - concentrates your mind and spurs you on knowing you've got to meet a set target. I've been saving, but a bit sporadically, towards our eventual house move but have in the past few days realised I need to be more organised about it.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's always good to have something to aim towards isn't it, it really does focus the mind. I usually start off very organised and then fizzle out ... as my readers have no doubt noticed over the years!! ;-)
DeleteI have a typed checklist on my freezer door but even then, don’t always remember to tick things off:(
ReplyDeleteI tried doing that but after a couple of ticks it always went by the wayside. I am going to menu plan from my freezer list and try and run supplies down, but also try hard not to put things into the freezer while I am doing it. I have a habit of making lots of portions and freezing some and then they get abandoned. I have just found a little crumble/pie base that had lost it's wrappings and had bad freezer burn ... what a waste. :-(
DeleteGosh, 18 months notice takes some planning. At least you now have a goal to work towards and we all know how good you are at challenges!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the freezer. I start off well with all the food organised and neatly packed and it always goes pear shaped after a few weeks. It's worse now that I'm freezing stuff from the allotment too. I have boxes stuffed into drawers which need to go into the freezer in the garage instead. Thank you for the nudge Sue :)
Unfortunately, it's necessary as one part of his job is running large conferences three times a year and he has to train someone else to be able to do it instead of him.
DeleteOh I start off so well organised and then it just fizzles out. You definintely need the space to be able to get the best use of your allotment goodies. Nudge, nudge time to get on with it. :-)
The middle drawer of my freezer is packed with the same stuff that was in it 3 1/2 yrs ago when I moved. Lesley
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm not quite that bad but I did recognise a few things from the last time I did a stocktake. :-)
DeleteI remember in the past noting that we are the same age. My retirement is also May 2026. My husband has his pension already as he is 8 years older than I and just scraped in at 65. We are in catering and have slowed down from full time to very much part time. I will probably just keep doing a little bit until I get my pension. It will be great for you both to finish at the same time and it's great to have a goal to work towards.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you husband scraped in, my brother is four years younger than me and has 67.5 as his retirement age. At this rate it will be up to 70 years for everyone before we know it. Luckily me and Alan are just a year apart and this makes my plan very feasible.
DeleteOh yes - freezeritis- I have it bad! Always start with such good intentions then part pack madness quickly takes over....... that was the advantage of defrosting a freezer a couple of times a year, always a good time to take stock. Now with the (so called!) frost free freezers it's even easier to let things go to pot :-)
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
It's the 'not wasting any food' mentality that leaves us with lots of half used things and oddments. Good in one way, messy in another. I need to FINALLY learn to cook things in just one or two portions and stop cooking for four!!
DeleteThat is a good point, our freezers used to fill up with ice and make defrosting a necessary evil every few months, now they are like a time warp for food. We put things in and they live there forever.
I've been running the freezer down and definitely need to have a sort out and do some list making, thanks for the nudge/reminder.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone can save what you need for a year in the next 18 months it will be you, so good luck.
I need to properly menu plan from the freezer and the cupboards and NOT go bloody shopping, no matter how often Alan asks me to accompany him. If I put £20 into a pot every time I DON'T go shopping it would soon mount up ready for when I do have to finally go and that way I would keep my money in the bank. :-)
DeleteMoving goalposts are such a challenge! I am confident you will manage the financial planning, Sue.
ReplyDeleteYou have spurred me on to do a proper fridge and freezer sort. I bought in extras for guests, who didn't come as planned, and then family came, and the standby bread/fish fingers/peas all disappeared. Then a neighbour went on holiday and I acquired fresh stuff which had to be eaten straightaway. My meal planning is totally up-the-Swannee.
I'm sure you have got all your Nat Ins pension contributions in hand. I started checking mine out 5 years before retirement, and needed to make a few top-up payments.
We saved up the money to pay for 4 years in college over the course of 2 years [but that was in the 1970s, and life was so different then] Self discipline, and finding inexpensive treats ...
The 'best laid plans' and all that eh!!
DeleteOh yes all my Nat Ins etc is bang up to date, in fact I have already paid more than I need to into my National Insurance account, although you do have to keep paying all the time you are earning and paying tax. I started work at 16 and have paid a full stamp (or gotten stamp credits while I was a stay at home Mum) ever since. So we have both qualified for a full single persons pension.
For anyone in the UK that would like to check their own contributions go to: https://www.gov.uk/ then scroll down to 'Working, Jobs and Pensions', then on again to 'State Pension'. Here you can find out exactly when you can start to claim your State Pension.
Plans and goalposts are always moving as I know very well!! Lol! If anyone can save enough it's you :-) As for the freezer, I'm a bit scared to look in mine atm...
ReplyDeleteBe brave and have a look, you will be needing space for all that lovely produce you are growing. :-)
DeleteI am always amazed at what I find hidden in the freezer. Lots of unexpected meals.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It's amazing how much fits into a freezer isn't it, or perhaps we are all just super brilliant at Freezer Tetris. :-)
DeleteHello! Would you believe I was just thinking of doing that with my freezer today?!?! I can hardly find anything! I am looking forward to seeing what is buried in there!
ReplyDeleteGood luck, if we don't hear from you for a couple of days we will know you have fallen in. ;-)
DeleteIf anyone can do it, it's you, Sue. I'm quite a way off retirement, but it's something I have begun to think about more and more recently.
ReplyDeleteYou've given me a nudge to go and clear out my freezer now. I never understand how it gets so messy. X
It sounds like everyone's freezers get messy, and we start off with such good intentions don't we. :-)
DeleteI'll be very interested to see how your £10 a week goes; I love challenges like that.
ReplyDeleteMy upright freezer is much easier to monitor than the chest one.
It has 3 drawers and I have a sheet of paper attached to the side folded horizontally into 3 parts to match the top, middle and bottom drawers.
After writing out the contents in black biro one week I amend ( subtract/add contents etc ) in red the following week, then blue, then chuck it out and start afresh. Sorry for being such a nerd!
That sounds like a very good system, slightly nerdy yes ... but brilliant. :-)
DeleteYou can do it, I know you can!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll ever retire, I love what I do too much. xxx
I never considered it a 'job when I had my own shops, now I would never have retired from them.
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