I’m envious of those lucky enough to have found a ‘vocation’ rather than career, one that is as fun as any hobby could be. For the majority of us, let’s get out of dodge as early as we can!
I always worked in a career that I loved (print industry) but with each promotion I loved it that little bit less until towards the end I fuckin hated it. The industry is a shadow of its former self and so 8yrs ago I got out of it, took a £20k pay cut to do the job I’ve got now and for the most part absolutely love it. Promoted and upskilled to as far as I probably want to go, any further and I think it will take me away from the thing I love about the job and lead me to how I felt about my last career. As far as retirement goes I’ve officially 15yrs to go if the current retirement age stays where it is and as long as my health and body allows it I’ll probably work on until then if the jobs still there for me. whether or not I could retire early is something I’ve not really considered, I’ve a few pensions, some dormant old employer ones, a personal one I’ve been paying in to for 35yrs but if I listen to my FA then you’d think if I want to splurge on a holiday to Costa Del Cheap once a year and get a pint on a Friday and fish & chips for tea then I’ll need a pension pot of at least a couple million! (Obviously it’s not in their interest to advise their clients to start taking money out of their pensions only put money in)
A comment about retirement income. Watching parents and friends of parents who have retired, it seems that your outgoings are pretty sharp at the beginning, new vehicles, work on the house, holidays, days out etc. Then as you get older, say in the 70s, your outgoings start to drop as holidays get less, house is done, etc. So ignoring normal outgoings the FA advice for how much you need per month until you are 99 can a bit out.
Some years ago FAs got a bad rap (even worse) for attempting to sell pensions, usually to the self-employed or prior to the introduction of workplace pensions, that would keep the individual paid the same income as if they were still working. This was in most cases clearly unaffordable, many just walked and now have no provision for retirement. I also have a few mates that feel they can't give up the nice salary they currently enjoy. Individual circumstances will vary of course, but IME if your house is paid, you have no debt or romantic legacy to pay off, you really do not need anywhere near the same income.
Not at all, Covid really saw the rise of board games, kickstarter has never been busier with the fundraising for boardgames, online sales are massive. We have a hybrid game, pure etymology, all the questions on an app and a board that lays as you play, we also have card games ready to go and reworked classics. The future of games is shining bright.
I'd been in the same profession in varying industries most of my career, you do get really tired of hearing and seeing the same stuff over and over. Same industry shifts, same personalities. My last few years were in the Public Sector who were embracing the great awokening like it had been handed down from mount sinai. Time to (as you say) get out of dodge.
My old man was a printer most of his working life, including some time in Fleet street. He said the unions ruled, and he had to turn down one much better paid non union job, or he'd have been chucked out.
I could probably just about retire in September this year when the Airbus pension kicks in and use a little savings until state pension next September. But i hope to build a house this year so probably will have to keep working for perhaps 2 more years. If the House build comes off it will generate a lot of equity so that retirement , while delayed, should be a little more comfortable.
I’m lucky enough to earn a good salary. I will retire on probably a fifth of it (gross) and still have enough to not be worrying about paying bills but just not be doing lots of trackdays or spending money on bike bits I don’t need…but I intend to spend big first 15 years and balls to it from there. If I’m still around I’ll have done well!
My outlaws died within a year of each other in their early 70's. I don't see the point in building up a big pension, to spend when you're doddery, or to give to nursing homes.
Congrats! Now you've finished the tutorial, it's time to play the rest of the game. Enjoy the retirement
Yeah it was like that, inside London worse than anywhere but I got into the trade towards the back end of the unions, always worked for my old man so sat on the fence between the owners and the workers but I was steamrolled into the union, the old man said “son just join, it’s a shit load of grief for me if you don’t”. When the rep used to turn up with his monthly newsletter under his arm my dad used to meet him in the car park, take the newsletters, tell him everything’s fine then throw them in the skip as he walked back in . Remember as the recession hit and wages and overtime was cut the guys called the union rep in and all he said was “think yourselves lucky to still have a job lads” before speeding away out of the estate in his new Jag. That was pretty much the end of the Unions right there It was a great job and great laugh back then, some real characters, we worked hard and played hard but then the late 80’s recession hit the trade pretty hard and the big money dwindled away, then desktop publishing really took hold in the early 90’s and quite quickly whole floors of very talented skilled workers were replaced by two guys sat at a computer monitor. I probably stayed in the trade 10yrs longer than I should have.
Seems to me that train drivers are in a privileged position these days. I'm not saying I wouldn't have done it for the money, but the rewards don't match the efforts IMO.
There's very good money in board games now, like vinyl records, they went through a lul period while digital formats took hold of the mass market. Now board games are premium productions sold at a decent margins. You can't beat seating round a table with friends/family playing a board game, they create special memories that digital formats struggle to do.
I do. When you compare them to coach drivers even a lot of commercial pilots wages All they have to do is push and pull a lever to make it go and stop and obey some traffic lights/signals that are operated by someone who has a lot of responsibility knowing where all the trains are.
Anything that may happen to step into the line along the way that only the driver witnesses be that animal or person
