Early-retirement wannabe

1…330331333335336…607

Comments

  • stephennt
    stephennt Posts: 29 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    bigadaj wrote: »
    Socialism has been a pejorative term for several decades I would have said, just look at privatisation. It also presumes a high tax economy to pay for the high levels of provision, like Scandinavia for example, and that doesn't apply to the uk.

    Unfortunately I think policies from both major parties are only moving the country further away from the Scandanavian model - i.e. a bit less austerity whilst increasing taxes on the top few percent further.

    Ultimately I think this model is going to break at some point, where you have a narrow spectrum of society paying most of the tax for a system that they can't claim (child benefit, etc) or don't use (ie private health & schools), and thus to an extent don't really care about.

    In most of Europe they tend to have a reasonably high, but flatter, tax system and where state services can be topped up with private contributions for an enhanced service.
  • Marine_life
    Marine_life Posts: 1,059 Forumite
    Hung up my suit!
    I am no longer the wannabe.

    I am done (or rather we are done).

    Friday was my last day of full time work and after 31 years of work I am now hoping for at least 31 years of retirement.

    I'm not sure how I feel yet.

    But after almost seven years (since starting this thread) its time to put the plan into action.
    Money won't buy you happiness....but I have never been in a situation where more money made things worse!
  • jungle_jane
    jungle_jane Posts: 635 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    OMG. I've been following this thread for years (we are about 6 months behind you). I have a lump in my throat reading this - good luck Marine Life and thank you so much for starting this thread. I've not contributed to it at all but its been a huge help and influence in my own plans. I wish you every success and happiness xx
  • jamesd
    jamesd Posts: 26,103 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Congratulations!

    I expect a fair bit of self-doubt over whether it was the right time, at least initially.
  • ermine
    ermine Posts: 757 Forumite
    Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Marine_life wrote: »
    Friday was my last day of full time work and after 31 years of work I am now hoping for at least 31 years of retirement.

    That's not a bad innings, only a year more than mine ;) I raise a glass to your long and happy retirement whatever that may mean to you - all the best!
  • atush
    atush Posts: 18,726 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Cheers! And let us know what you get on with, and come back here when your blog is live.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    DancingBadger wrote: »
    Maybe not, and I have no wish denigrate anybody who indulges in cigarettes and alcohol, but a relative of mine who is a GP and has conducted her own (unofficial) survey of patients who miss appointments would say there is a correlation. Missed appointments are becoming a real problem in some areas of the country where recruitment and retention of GPs is a challenge.


    Our local hospital has a rate of around 20% for non attendance at appointments. Isn't just cigarettes and alcohol. Often just the common courtesy to ring up and let someone know.
  • Gers
    Gers Posts: 12,028 Forumite
    First Post Photogenic Name Dropper First Anniversary
    Marine_life wrote: »
    I am no longer the wannabe.

    I am done (or rather we are done).

    Friday was my last day of full time work and after 31 years of work I am now hoping for at least 31 years of retirement.

    I'm not sure how I feel yet.

    But after almost seven years (since starting this thread) its time to put the plan into action.


    Congratulations! Welcome to your well deserved retirement and all it's pleasures.
  • Snakey
    Snakey Posts: 1,174 Forumite
    Well done, Marine. I am aiming for about the same - started full time work at nineteen and hope to retire at 50 if all goes according to plan.

    I may do "just one more year", but on the assumption Labour will be in power in time to raise taxes for the 2023/24 fiscal year that gives me a convenient hard deadline of "just turned 51" and removes the temptation to keep extending it. :)

    I think you should start a new thread now, for the post-retirement updates, a lot of us will be keen to see how it works out.
  • Karmacat
    Karmacat Posts: 39,460 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Marine_life wrote: »
    I am no longer the wannabe.

    I am done (or rather we are done).

    Friday was my last day of full time work and after 31 years of work I am now hoping for at least 31 years of retirement.

    I'm not sure how I feel yet.

    But after almost seven years (since starting this thread) its time to put the plan into action.

    :j:j:j Congratulations!

    After working for 31 years, and working towards retirement for almost 7 years, I think its pretty healthy to say you're not sure how you feel. Take your time - I know you've posted your blog title up here (because I asked you to :D) but do let us know when it goes live.

    Lovely news.
    2023: the year I get to buy a car
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards