This has been rather a momentous month in our household as my husband has now retired completely and my youngest son achieved his Doctorate. We've been out and about a lot and have just got back from the Dentdale Beer and Music festival (they ran out of beer on the Saturday evening would you believe :-)) where we spent a couple of nights in a tent for the first time in years and enjoyed it well enough, despite the midges, to be planning another camping expedition some time soon.
Moving forward into July feels like the start of a new stage in our lives so taking stock at the end of this month has been happening on all sorts of levels, not just financial, however our portfolio update is here.
During June I moved about £15,000 out of investments and into cash (or cash-like) accounts. This is money we will likely need in the shortish term. I also applied to transfer my CIS FSAVC to my Fidelity SIPP and sold £500 of my AXA Framlington Biotech Fund in order to take some more of the profits it has gained over the 8 months since I bought it. Luckily all this was done before the recent slight drop in the markets. (Our combined portfolio is down 3.3% this month.)
The possibility of Voluntary Redundancy/Early Retirement has receded a little as my boss has been told by HR that he should get rid of the contractors he employs before he can offer VR to permanent members of staff. He is contending this because being forced to achieve the level of cuts he needs to make by losing contractors, would mean that he has to shed 75% of the staff working in a particular part of the service he manages. I'm intending to just plod on as normal, wait and see what happens, but make sure I keep all my options open particularly with regards to my AVC/SIPP contributions.
I hope everyone enjoys the sunshine this week :-)
Hi Cerridwen - I've followed your blog for a while as we seem to have a similar outlook on things. I took early retirement from LA ICT earlier this year due to cuts/savings/heart attack. Best thing that's happened to me. If you're offered it and can afford it, take it! Best wishes
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for dropping by Broadbandylegs. We do seem to have a lot in common as LA ICT is my background too. I'm so glad that you got out at a time that was right for you because it's definitely not an easy or rewarding place to be at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI'll certainly be taking your advice and getting out as soon as possible. I have made my plan and will wait and see what happens in the next couple of years, but I won't be staying any longer than that even if there is still a job for me after the next round of cuts. :-)
"I hope everyone enjoys the sunshine this week": it's going to be too hot for me. I shall cower indoors in front of three fans. As an ITer, do you have an air-conditioned computer cubby hole to retire to?
ReplyDeleteMeantime our ancient car is about to have its MOT: it suits us very well so we urgently hope it passes.
Good luck with your MOT dearieme.
ReplyDeleteNo air-con for me I'm afraid, so I will be wilting (although in an open-plan rather than cubicle -type environment.) It looks as if the heat wave may be short lived though, so I'm hoping to struggle through. :-)
Hi Cerridwen,
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice update to read, congratulations to both your husband and son.
On the heat, personally I'm loving it although I do have my AC office to hide in most of the day. I'd much rather be outside chilling out under the shade of a tree.
Mrs T and I have booked Friday off so we're off to see how many other people have had the same idea down at Brighton. Could be carnage! :)
Thanks TFS. Hope you have a great day at Brighton tomorrow with minimal carnage :-)
DeleteWow, what a month, Cerridwen! Congratulations to your son and husband. Both are at the start of a new journey. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteThe sale of the AXA fund was very fortunate. It looks as though you had an excellent return on that investment in a short period!
I have been fortunate to be able to take advantage of the sun this week by working outside. However, it is a little too hot today to be out there the whole day!
Thanks DD. AXA has made massive gains but too much profit makes me very nervous so I've taken two chunks of it out so far.
DeleteWe've had a little rain here this evening so maybe tomorrow will be more comfortable for us all - both inside and out.
Congratulations to your husband and son, next life stages. It sounds like it has been a busy month indeed.
ReplyDeleteThe current unsettled conditions in the market don't help if you want to release some of the profits from your investments.
I've been enjoying the sun, its been my birthday this week so it has been great to have the day to met family and basically enjoy the sun outside - eat cake and generally chill out.
If I had been working - I would have been in an office renowned for being too hot in these conditions --- fans on full making no difference to the temperature.
You sound like you have the work situation under control, keep saving and planning and watch for the VR opportunity to jump. Good luck and enjoy the sun while its here.
Glad you had a chilled, relaxed birthday sparklebeeblog. Many happy returns :-)
DeleteMomentous indeed! Congrats to your son on the Doctorate and your husband on retiring (assuming looking forward to it!). Certainly looks like the transition into Freedom :)
ReplyDeleteThe sunshine has been glorious.
Thanks Mr Z. My husband was certainly looking forward to retiring and has all sorts of plans for making the best of it :-)
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