Pensions Planning: The NUMBER
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60%- pah, I put 450% of my pre tax income into pensions and only work 3.5 days a week.
Yours is bigger !:D
Yes but it still is less than 100%- where did 450% came from ?The word "dilemma" comes from Greek where "di" means two and "lemma" means premise. Refers usually to difficult choice between two undesirable options.
Often people seem to use this word mistakenly where "quandary" would fit better.0 -
A combination of being an auditor and Virgo means I do have to sweat the small stuff
. For a good number of years I had no option but to do this and then when things got easier I just kept going as I had this fanciful notion of retiring at 60. That notion appeared around the time my state pension age increased to 66 (now 67). Closely analysing my spending identified where I could make easy savings on things like not buying lunches at work etc. Slowly my savings % increased and when I got a 35% pay rise I didn't let 'lifestyle creep' occur and just increased my savings rate. I still spent on holidays but looked for cheap flights etc.
The notion of retiring at 60 was indeed fanciful as I retired at 53 :T. No way could I have achieved that if I hadn't sweated the small stuff.
Now I still monitor spending, allocate spends to different pots and compare to budgets. I'm not anal about it, there are a number of fairly large balancing items every month. It helps me see where the spends are creeping up etc, and helps me identify how much I can afford to spend on food parcels for the UK post-Brexit 
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To be honest, I still feel I'm treating myself when I have my once or twice daily coffee at €1 - 1.40 a go. I won't mention how much we spend on eating out every month :eek:.A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Mortgage Balance = £0
"Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"0 -
To me this is what makes sense, knowing where it goes and that you can afford it. It seems the majority are blissfully unaware how much bigger a mortgage or nicer a holiday they could afford if they didn't spend 2 quid on a coffee.....times twice a day .....times 5 days a week.....times 50 weeks a year.A combination of being an auditor and Virgo means I do have to sweat the small stuff. For a good number of years I had no option but to do this and then when things got easier I just kept going as I had this fanciful notion of retiring at 60. That notion appeared around the time my state pension age increased to 66 (now 67). Closely analysing my spending identified where I could make easy savings on things like not buying lunches at work etc. Slowly my savings % increased and when I got a 35% pay rise I didn't let 'lifestyle creep' occur and just increased my savings rate. I still spent on holidays but looked for cheap flights etc.
The notion of retiring at 60 was indeed fanciful as I retired at 53 :T. No way could I have achieved that if I hadn't sweated the small stuff.
Now I still monitor spending, allocate spends to different pots and compare to budgets. I'm not anal about it, there are a number of fairly large balancing items every month. It helps me see where the spends are creeping up etc, and helps me identify how much I can afford to spend on food parcels for the UK post-Brexit .
To be honest, I still feel I'm treating myself when I have my once or twice daily coffee at €1 - 1.40 a go. I won't mention how much we spend on eating out every month :eek:.I think....0 -
The notion of retiring at 60 was indeed fanciful as I retired at 53 :T. No way could I have achieved that if I hadn't sweated the small stuff.
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I planned to stop working at 60 from when I first took out a pension in my mid-20s, but I never "sweated the small stuff". I just saved a lot and only spent what was left. As my pay increased so did my spending, but not as fast When I was 53 I lost my job and then I looked at how much I had and found that I could retire then,.
However living off my capital didn't feel right so I went into BTL and have been living off the income from that, which by the third year was greater than I would have been spening according if I was living off the capital. This year I turn 60 so can take my pensions as originally planned. (I did dip into my SIPP last year for my first proper holiday in 5 years and a new bathroom).0 -
To me this is what makes sense, knowing where it goes and that you can afford it. It seems the majority are blissfully unaware how much bigger a mortgage or nicer a holiday they could afford if they didn't spend 2 quid on a coffee.....times twice a day .....times 5 days a week.....times 50 weeks a year.
Or the £39 a month spent on a contract to have the latest rendition of the iPhone. While not having time in the mornings to make lunch for work. Instead spending several £'s a day on a meal.
Then complain endlessly about the lack of a decent annual payrise.......0 -
Probs time to resurrect this great thread for newer fans of this forum!<snip>
However living off my capital didn't feel right so I went into BTL and have been living off the income from that, which by the third year was greater than I would have been spening according if I was living off the capital. This year I turn 60 so can take my pensions as originally planned. (I did dip into my SIPP last year for my first proper holiday in 5 years and a new bathroom).
Is the BTL still working well? My broad understanding was that there were changes this year that negatively impacted them....but curious to know short detail from one involved!!A combination of being an auditor and Virgo means I do have to sweat the small stuff
<snip>
The notion of retiring at 60 was indeed fanciful as I retired at 53 :T. No way could I have achieved that if I hadn't sweated the small stuff.
Now I still monitor spending, allocate spends to different pots and compare to budgets. I'm not anal about it, there are a number of fairly large balancing items every month. It helps me see where the spends are creeping up etc, and helps me identify how much I can afford to spend on food parcels for the UK post-Brexit .
To be honest, I still feel I'm treating myself when I have my once or twice daily coffee at €1 - 1.40 a go. I won't mention how much we spend on eating out every month :eek:.
Whereabouts is the coffee that cheap? I’m guessing not UK!
My challenge, I suspect, will be curbing the larger purchases. I do “sweat the small stuff” a lot, but whilst earning I find it is easy to make those purchases without too much hassle....
Back on topic (The Number)...I like crv1963’s take (on a rogue parallel thread!!):Bearing in mind no mortgage, reduced work costs- as it will be minus NI, Pension Saving and work travel costs- our targets all after tax are-
1) 1500 pm= reasonable living retirement, includes a UK holiday.
2) 2000 pm= pleasant retirement, includes an EU holiday.
3) 2500 pm= pleasant retirement, includes some wider World travel.
4) 3000 pm= very pleasant retirement, do almost everything we want.
5) 5000 pm= luxury retirement.
All of the above with a 20k savings pot set aside for emergencies.
I fully expect to stop the daily grind before I hit 56, & am targeting £2.5-3k pcm as a decent sum to play with in general (which I think would allow us still to help our “kids” out as they finish uni education)
....plus I have some numbers above and below for “more luxurious” & “more frugal” years.
Seeing as a chunk of ours will be from DC schemes, it feels right to be flexible in that regard: if markets take a big hammering, then some part-time work and perhaps scaling back travel would be needed.Plan for tomorrow, enjoy today!0 -
..a great thread and well worth a re-boot.
We went a couple of years ago, (58), initially very much a bit of worry regarding "have we got enough". 20+ year of recording expenditure indicated we were spending an average of £24k per year. Factoring in the occasional "big spend" (eg car), increased this to an overall average of £26k. However when you are both working full time you don't get the time to spend it! My OH has now started taking their works pension which has taken the pressure of drawing down our savings pre SPs in another 5 five years.
My long term budget suggests we could spend considerably more (£35k+), but after years of "saving" we are finding it a difficult habit too break!0 -
Probs time to resurrect this great thread for newer fans of this forum!
Is the BTL still working well? My broad understanding was that there were changes this year that negatively impacted them....but curious to know short detail from one involved!!
Whereabouts is the coffee that cheap? I’m guessing not UK!
My challenge, I suspect, will be curbing the larger purchases. I do “sweat the small stuff” a lot, but whilst earning I find it is easy to make those purchases without too much hassle....
Back on topic (The Number)...I like crv1963’s take (on a rogue parallel thread!!):
I fully expect to stop the daily grind before I hit 56, & am targeting £2.5-3k pcm as a decent sum to play with in general (which I think would allow us still to help our “kids” out as they finish uni education)
....plus I have some numbers above and below for “more luxurious” & “more frugal” years.
Seeing as a chunk of ours will be from DC schemes, it feels right to be flexible in that regard: if markets take a big hammering, then some part-time work and perhaps scaling back travel would be needed.
Making purchases whilst earning does make it seem easier, we are trying to make the big ticket items whilst working. All about balance, I just hope we are getting it right.
We are trying to help my sons out a bit but they are also quite clued up on savings/ pensions/ saving to buy a house.
Our main thrust is of course putting as much as we can into Mrs CRV SIPP, and build a cash fund to fall back on in the event which will come of a down turn so making draw down need to reduce or stop until the markets recover.CRV1963- Light bulb moment Sept 15- Planning the great escape- aka retirement!0 -
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort Mortgage Balance = £0
"Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"0
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