living cost

[grahamw48]

First frost this morning !

You're missing nothing !

That's a good idea your Asawa has.

I built a little shop at the front of the house for my ex, so she could start bringing some cash in. She used to make and sell dresses, as she was a seamstress.

I of course sold my cage birds that I bred in the aviaries. That alone almost kept us all, even after one year.

[imagine]

i was well made up last week, went to sm mall taytay, found my TETLEY TEA BAGS
grown in india, imported from austrailia, but the taste was the real macoy only small boxes of 12 bags,but so sweet the taste are the things you miss

[Dedworth]

i was well made up last week, went to sm mall taytay, found my TETLEY TEA BAGS
grown in india, imported from austrailia, but the taste was the real macoy only small boxes of 12 bags,but so sweet the taste are the things you miss

12 bags - what do they put 'em in a match box

[Terpe]

Tea ??????????????

[imagine]

Tea ??????????????

[imagine]

12 bags - what do they put 'em in a match box

error 10 bags only

[stevewool]

great reading from everyone, keep it coming , and if its right for you then make them plans,
I understand what everyone is saying and i am taking it all in too, whats good for one is no good for another, we all live different, as long i have enough funds to live the good life we both want to and have some left for em to live when i have gone

[Terpe]

......and have some left for em to live when i have gone

Well done for that Steve

That's also major priority for me too and one of the contributing reasons causing us to stay on here in UK. Just want to be sure that my wife will make best use of her contributions to the state pension. Looks like the minimum number of contributing years will increase to some specified minimum. Maybe ending up being 11. Means she'll only qualify 2014....hopefully. Fingers crossed

[stevewool]

that is a big concern for me, knowing Ems will be ok, i have took her from somewhere where she can earn and make a good living back to a place where she may not be able to work, but all being well with some planning she will be well cared for when the time comes

[Michael Parnham]

as of yet my cost of living for 2 of us in manila is yet to settle to a true figure,
but at the moment, 1 month condo rental 7500 peso,night time security guard, good neighbours gated area.living room with bed(bathroom shower toilet wash baisin,,,,wash utiility room,washing machine large wash laundry sink,)aircon.....fridge freezer new, rental 300 peso a month,
a larger new bed (our choice)300 peso a month,average shopping for 2 people per day 800 peso, could be down to 500 peso per day if i wasn't fussy, travel by jeep or bus rather than taxi, average taxi 550 peso against the same journey by bus 40 peso for 2 people,
1 month electric bill 700 peso, water bill not arrived yet?

i call this cheap living , and i know malaybalay is much cheaper, cost of living,

cost of living is down to you, keep it minimal but comfortable, so there is enough for medicine's

im lucky i brought a heap of meds with me to start me off including one lot of amples for injection,15months worth, the other ample i need for injection i bought last week at pharmacy at £145, this will be every 3 months

Looks as though everythings ok Stewart, by the way try Liptons tea its lovely!

[fred]

Family keep sending me tea bags..Problem is I cant drink the stuff with UHT milk..Yuk.
I can get fresh milk here cheap but its on a farm about 3 hours away..
Sod it..Coffee nalang!

[imagine]

Looks as though everythings ok Stewart, by the way try Liptons tea its lovely!

yes Liptons is my regular here, and cheaper than Tetley, i just prefer my tetley tea,even though it much dearer than liptons, makes a nice treat,
and fred i found tetley tasted ok with the supermarket milk

[grahamw48]

Family keep sending me tea bags..Problem is I cant drink the stuff with UHT milk..Yuk.
I can get fresh milk here cheap but its on a farm about 3 hours away..
Sod it..Coffee nalang!

Coffee for me too...there and here. I don't mind a cup of tea if someone else makes it.

[gWaPito]

Well done for that Steve

That's also major priority for me too and one of the contributing reasons causing us to stay on here in UK. Just want to be sure that my wife will make best use of her contributions to the state pension. Looks like the minimum number of contributing years will increase to some specified minimum. Maybe ending up being 11. Means she'll only qualify 2014....hopefully. Fingers crossed

It's my understanding you can buy those extra years

I was going to do this with my wife...even though she couldn't claim nothing until her retirement decades down the line, at least she could of got her full allowance

[grahamw48]

That's correct Mark.

I was offered the opportunity to make up my contributions missed while I was abroad. Of course the govt. could change that at any time, so worth checking.

[Terpe]

It's my understanding you can buy those extra years

I was going to do this with my wife...even though she couldn't claim nothing until her retirement decades down the line, at least she could of got her full allowance

Yes, as it stands right now you can buy-back any missing years.
You can't 'forward buy' contributing years. But you can continue to make necessary voluntary NI payments.

..provided certain conditions are met you can continue paying UK National Insurance contributions voluntarily when you are abroad. Voluntary contributions will count towards your State Pension, and protect certain state benefits and allowances if you return to the UK...

But when the new 'flat-rate' pension comes into force 2016 then all regulations get changed. The detailed changes behind minimum contributing years eligibility has not been declared.
What I'm saying is this, currently Full State Pension eligibility is based on 30 contributing years. Period.
If you have paid say 1 year then you qualify for 1/30th of state pension.
If you have paid 10 years then you qualify for 10/30th of state pension.

Once that 'flat-rate' pension is introduced 2016 the minimum number of qualifying years eligibility for a Full State Pension increases to 35 years.
The Minimum number of years needed to qualify for any payment at all is not known but has been suggested to be 11 years.
So anyone who has paid 5 years contribution with no missing years cannot buy-back missing years upon leaving UK. There are no missing years.
But of course there is still a possibility to make voluntary payments from abroad in 'real time' ........ Maybe... there has been talk of dispensing with such payments and allowing only payments for contributions missed upon returning to the UK.

So many unknowns still about the new state pension scheme..... disgraceful really as it will be implemented 2016.

I'm not one of those folks who will 'qualify' for the new 'Flat Rate' scheme anyway.

[stevewool]

well with Ems paying into the private pension and its a good one too, i recon she will be paying in there for 6 years before we go, that will be something to look into before we go and as they say every little helps too

[gWaPito]

That's correct Mark.

I was offered the opportunity to make up my contributions missed while I was abroad. Of course the govt. could change that at any time, so worth checking.

I wont be bothering now Graham..not now she's took to her toes

[Rosie1958]

I've been working full time and paying full national insurance contributions for the past 37 years ...... I will be working for at least another 11 years but according to the state pensions calculator, I already have enough years to qualify for the full basic state pension ....... of, wait for it ........ £110.15 per week (I assume I may qualify for the additional state pension based on contributions but have no idea how much that would be at the moment and no doubt it's not much anyway).

When the flat rate pension is introduced in 2016 I believe I will qualify for the maximum amount of £150 per week. Seems such a pittance in comparison to what I have actually paid in over the years .......... I guess there are many millions of others like me too.

All I can say is thank goodness that I have an occupational pension scheme too, I wouldn't be able to live on the state pension alone

[gWaPito]

I've been working full time and paying full national insurance contributions for the past 37 years ...... I will be working for at least another 11 years but according to the state pensions calculator, I already have enough years to qualify for the full basic state pension ....... of, wait for it ........ £110.15 per week (I assume I may qualify for the additional state pension based on contributions but have no idea how much that would be at the moment and no doubt it's not much anyway).

When the flat rate pension is introduced in 2016 I believe I will qualify for the maximum amount of £150 per week. Seems such a pittance in comparison to what I have actually paid in over the years .......... I guess there are many millions of others like me too.

All I can say is thank goodness that I have an occupational pension scheme too, I wouldn't be able to live on the state pension alone

Same here Rosie...Although I plan to carry on after 'retirement', be it on a part-time basis....that's if I still enjoy it I've never been one to do nothing

[grahamw48]

I'm just looking for a rich blind woman.

[Rosie1958]

[/B]

Same here Rosie...Although I plan to carry on after 'retirement', be it on a part-time basis....that's if I still enjoy it I've never been one to do nothing

The earliest I will be able to retire is aged 66 (11 years) but in reality, as long as I am well enough to do so, I will be working until I am 70 to pay off the mortgage Fortunately, like you I'm not lazy either and when I do eventually retire, I will probably go and do some voluntary work

[Rosie1958]

I'm just looking for a rich blind woman.

I'll settle for a millionaire with a pacemaker!

[gWaPito]

I'll settle for a millionaire with a pacemaker!

I know it was a tongue in cheek jobby Rosie but, you'd be surprised who's got those pacemakers fitted nowadays. We got guys at work in their 40s with them.

[stevewool]

save , save , save thats the best advice, dont count on any pensions, and move to somewhere that maybe your money will go a little further , like you Rosie i have paid in more then enough , and that is why i am going sooner then later, my body is to tired to do my sort of work,

[imagine]

as of yet my cost of living for 2 of us in manila is yet to settle to a true figure,
but at the moment, 1 month condo rental 7500 peso,night time security guard, good neighbours gated area.living room with bed(bathroom shower toilet wash baisin,,,,wash utiility room,washing machine large wash laundry sink,)aircon.....fridge freezer new, rental 300 peso a month,
a larger new bed (our choice)300 peso a month,average shopping for 2 people per day 800 peso, could be down to 500 peso per day if i wasn't fussy, travel by jeep or bus rather than taxi, average taxi 550 peso against the same journey by bus 40 peso for 2 people,
1 month electric bill 700 peso, water bill not arrived yet?

i call this cheap living , and i know malaybalay is much cheaper, cost of living,

cost of living is down to you, keep it minimal but comfortable, so there is enough for medicine's

im lucky i brought a heap of meds with me to start me off including one lot of amples for injection,15months worth, the other ample i need for injection i bought last week at pharmacy at £145, this will be every 3 months

update 1 month water bill 220 peso,


had my injections today, only needed appointment with the medical center nurse, cost to carry out 2 injections,including 2 x seringes,,,120 peso,

got a quote for blood tests will return tomorow for these ,liver function test 1785 peso .
full blood count, cbc kidney function test ,bun,crea,no,k rurl,micral test, 670 peso
cbc 250 peso

[Michael Parnham]

Yes, as it stands right now you can buy-back any missing years.
You can't 'forward buy' contributing years. But you can continue to make necessary voluntary NI payments.



But when the new 'flat-rate' pension comes into force 2016 then all regulations get changed. The detailed changes behind minimum contributing years eligibility has not been declared.
What I'm saying is this, currently Full State Pension eligibility is based on 30 contributing years. Period.
If you have paid say 1 year then you qualify for 1/30th of state pension.
If you have paid 10 years then you qualify for 10/30th of state pension.

Once that 'flat-rate' pension is introduced 2016 the minimum number of qualifying years eligibility for a Full State Pension increases to 35 years.
The Minimum number of years needed to qualify for any payment at all is not known but has been suggested to be 11 years.
So anyone who has paid 5 years contribution with no missing years cannot buy-back missing years upon leaving UK. There are no missing years.
But of course there is still a possibility to make voluntary payments from abroad in 'real time' ........ Maybe... there has been talk of dispensing with such payments and allowing only payments for contributions missed upon returning to the UK.

So many unknowns still about the new state pension scheme..... disgraceful really as it will be implemented 2016.

I'm not one of those folks who will 'qualify' for the new 'Flat Rate' scheme anyway.

When the flat rate pension is introduced 2016, how will it affect my present pension ? because my pension includes SERPS That at present gives me £145.74 per week!

[Terpe]

When the flat rate pension is introduced 2016, how will it affect my present pension ? because my pension includes SERPS That at present gives me £145.74 per week!

Tiger, if you are in payment of State Pension when the new Flat-Rate is implemented then you won't be included. Period.
Means you'll stay as you are. The 2016 Flat-Rate pension payments will only apply to those folks who are eligible for state pension after implementation date.
It's not allowed to defer payments either.
The £144 is based on today's money. It'll be different when 2016 come around.

The other nitty gritty details are yet to be confirmed.