For those of you who haven’t had the chance to retire early have a look at some of the blogs about FIRE (financial independence retire early). Its not for everyone but if you can cut back on costs and maximise pension contributions and isa saving then it’s very achievable https://monevator.com/fire/ Also some really good advice on how to set up low cost investment SIPP and avoid those crazy financial advisor fees. And whatever you do DON’T use St James Place! https://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/
Also consider Volunteering, I do half a day a week helping with a landscaping team, good to get out and nice to have other people to chat with, oh and we often get donuts! Doesn’t always go to plan though!
Retired in February at 61, I would highly recommend it to anyone if you can afford it, you’ve only got one life and you don’t know for how long so make the most of it.
excellent. i dream of being retired, tho the lads suggest i look a tad retired already. what ever are they getting at? anyway, i have no pension so i guess i wont be retiring anytime in the near future, tho hoping to cut my hours v,soon. cant wait. there's a fella in the unit next to me that's easy touching 80 but still comes in to open up his fabrication shop, more land, vessels, classic bikes and cars than you can poke a stick at, but there he is at 8am every day humphing steel about doing his thing. madness.
One of the managers who works for me is 75. Doesn’t take his holidays and comes in weekends as well. A great young lad will step into his shoes should he retire but he won’t. I asked what would he do if made redundant….. get another job was his answer.
I retired almost 4 years ago aged 65 and I honestly don’t know how I ever found the time to go to work. It takes a while to figure out that you’re not on holiday and you’ve got no real time restraint’s on anything. Everyone is different but I do loads of cycling and walking and simply love working on my bikes, just totally rebuild the 900ss engine, it’s been burning oil for years. Got a few more bikes to work on for when I want to. If you’re financially stable, definitely go for it, everyone i know that has retired has similar views, I really enjoyed my work and I had a very interesting job (building and repairing military aircraft) but I don’t miss it and nobody knows how long we have left to enjoy life
This year I have managed to use a few day's holiday from easter and may day to give myself 7 consecutive 4 day weeks. I could get used to it but in reality I will probably be working beyond 67 as I have no pension to speak of. Its all my own fault, as the minimum age for joining the company pension scheme was 25 and between 18 and 25 I got into motorbikes and holidays usually involving them. By the time I was 25 retirement was way down the list of things to do with my money. 35 years later I have had nearly 40 trips to the Isle of Man for TT & MGP, about 15 European Tours and 8 holidays visiting friends in New Zealand. Somehow I managed to avoid the really expensive items in life, women, children and a mortgage, but saved enough to buy a modest bungalow just after I turned 50. I have now got a lovely partner who I have infected with the biking bug, to the extent that she has more of them than I do!! So by normal standards I have lived my life upside down but the bucket list is pretty well ticked off, so been there, done that and if I'm skint when I'm old n knackered so be it.
I once asked one of my corporate clients why he was retiring at 55. “Well I just stuck to the one wife and never bought a yacht, unlike some other people who work here”
I’m at the stage of semi retirement Freeing up time to join a gym and get back into playing squash, badminton and tennis I’m enjoying the mix of being active with work on both a physical and social level.. so far
I considered going part time and doing 3 days………but then I thought I’d just end up doing a weeks work in 3 days and it’d creep back out again as that was the nature of the job…….whilst only getting paid for 3 days. So I just wrapped in completely. Don’t regret it and don’t miss it at all.
I’m ‘sort of’ retired. Bailed out of UK in 2018 for a move to France, early, due to Brexit. Unlike some I did not have deep pockets, meaning I needed to be in before any deadlines. Bought a nice but cheap house in a quiet village that needed some work, as, unless you have lots of money to entertain you will need something to do anyway! House knocked in to decent shape in the first two years. Kitchen fitted, downstairs room converted, new electrics etc. Then fitted a complete new bathroom two years ago. Also started a small gardening and building service, which meant I could get a tax number and French healthcare.. ….hold on, this does not sound very retired at all?? BUT, I answer to no-one. Holiday as often as I want. Kick jobs in to touch that dont suit me or if the client is a t1t. Realistically work two days a week in season and none outside of it..Had two new motorcycles and a used Ducati, on top of the bike I imported from UK. The ‘work’ pocket money pays for that, without taking much out of the modest savings. 57 and entitled to full UK state pension, so just need to be sensible with outgoings. Seen too many dreaming about what they are going to do and when, just to die or become too unwell to enjoy the moment. Off to cut grass (for a nice client) this afternoon. Then off to Brive in the morning for a nice brunch with Mrs JB. Nothing too taxing.
Good advice, I have a board game business, one ready to go and four in the pipeline so I won't be sitting around with the brain in neutral. We are now looking for funding for the main game whilst developing the others, getting out of building will be great, it'll give me more time to think and get that bloody van off the drive, happy days.
I'm 56 and went part time 4yrs ago. Initially it was to reduce departmental costs and save one of my team at work being made redundant. Covid was hard in the Aviation industry. Dealing with the reduction in income was a little difficult at first, but we adapted and now it would take a lot to get me back into work full time. And yes, I now wonder how I had time to work full time, I make the most of it even if it's just walking the dog or pottering in the Garden or Garage. We are however not in a financial position for both of us to retire now, and Lady Nasher needs to retire soon for various reasons, so I need to work for a while longer. The bit of advise I'd like to add for anyone considering going part time as a precursor to retirement would be to carry on paying the same monthly amount into your pension as you did when you worked full time. It does of course reduce your monthly take home a bit more, but you don't suffer later on. Our plan for both of us to be retired early in the next few years involves cost cutting and a move to a smaller property in a different part of the country.
I hear many people think they can retire and live the same life (financially) they have as if they were working. Its interesting to read how many posters on here appreciate that this is never going to be the the case. You have to cut your cloth accordingly. I told some mates (younger than me) the other day that the Desert X i have just ordered will likely be the last big bike purchase I make as the plan is to be pretty much finished in 3 years time. I don't think they all understood.
I reckon the most expensive outlay in the next 10/15/20 years will be energy in all it's forms. We are also planning to move to a smaller place to free up capital and one that can be made more energy efficient with solar panels, perhaps a mini wind turbine, insulation, heat pump etc etc. It may be a giggle but as you get older you do feel the cold more... The ideal would be to buy land and put on one of those uber green efficient kit homes on it. But that works out to be too expensive. One word of warning though, if you have been in your present house for a good while & are settled it's one thing to look at places you would like to move to but another to actually meet with reality & set things in motion. This is why we are staying put for another year....
Very, very true. We spend a lot of time in North Cornwall now, specifically around Wadebridge, walking on the moor and Coastpath, so know the area well and have rented lots of cottages etc over the last few years. Inland from the coast property is significantly cheaper than where we are near Petersfield at the moment, and going inland also takes us closer to our usual boating grounds around Dartmouth and Kingsbridge. BUT, exactly as you suggest there are realities to consider, one of which has to be the availability of healthcare as we get older in an even more rural area. I don't have friends(sad I know) which would be one reason to stay in Hampshire, and Lady Nasher's friends appear keen to have somewhere to stay at weekends. We do however have contacts in Devon and Cornwall. I also have to consider that despite being fit and healthy at the moment no male members of my Father or Mothers families have ever reached 70yrs, so Lady Nasher could end up on her own somewhere sooner than expected. Lots to think about.
