Early-retirement wannabe

hugheskevi

I also expect there will be some travelling and exploring - our recent six week trip to Australia and New Zealand was such a great experience I am keen to repeat.

When reading your blog I was struck by how similar your trip to New Zealand was to one I did for 2.5 months back in 2006 and 2007. I suppose that isn't surprising - if two completely separate people spend a month or more touring a fairly small country there are inevitably going to be a lot of similar places visited.

I did that trip 8 years ago, in my late 20s, whilst taking 18 months off work to go travelling around Central America, Asia and Australasia. I'd previously taken a year off to travel around Africa.

The more I look back at those trips, it strikes me how linked to early retirement they actually are. If I had not undertaken that travel earlier in life, I would probably be doing much the same sort of trips at the end of my working life. Due to taking those trips I'll be working several more years than would have been the case had I just continued to work and not gone travelling. So either way the travel would have been done, it was just moving leisure time forward from the end of working life to within working life.

The cost implications are very interesting. When I look at how much I could have got from working and investing, the opportunity cost of those trips is very high. However, the actual cost is much lower than the cost my future trips will be (I think I have lost my appetite for sleeping in Youth Hostel dorms and such-like). But ultimately the enjoyment of those trips make the opportunity and actual costs worthwhile (as money is just the means to an end, not the end itself).

tgon

hugheskevi wrote: »

... (as money is just the means to an end, not the end itself).

Always a good truth to come back to. I'm mentally ready to part retire. I've downsized last year, I've calculated my future balances as sufficient but find myself 6 years short of full retirement. I've now to downsize my working life to a more favourable life balance. Goal for 2015.

mgdavid

Marine_life wrote: »

I am. Its definitely Mrs ML who is more hesitant.

hmmmm - hesitant about giving up work, or unsure if you have sufficient funds and safety net, or concerned about having you under her feet all day every day
JFDI - you are young enough to go back to work if you have to.

kangoora

mgdavid wrote: »

hmmmm - hesitant about giving up work, or unsure if you have sufficient funds and safety net, or concerned about having you under her feet all day every day
JFDI - you are young enough to go back to work if you have to.

I'll echo the above, with a pot of €1.3m you can draw down €52k at 4% and your pot will go down by €18k/year (assuming €70k spend and no other income). So, over 12 years you'll deplete your pot by €216k, leaving €1.1m - and that's when your pensions kick in at another €60k/year. On top of that you'll get state pensions later and you've got another buffer of €900k on top at age 62!!!

So, roughly, if I'm reading you right, you'll have €2m plus pensions of €60k at 62 (that alone would be €80k in drawdown at 4% plus €60k pensions for a total of €140k/year) plus state pension later to come.

How expensive are trips to UK, Ryan Air @£50 each, Premier Inn or similar at £40/night - I suppose if you're flying 1st class and staying at the Ritz Carlton it may get expensive (or going via Hong Kong)

Echo, JFDI and relax, I'm 5 years away and I'm almost at counting the days already. I've lost count of how many spreadsheet versions I've gone through in the last 6 months

Are you seriously considering being the richest guy on the graveyard by delaying any longer?

gallygirl

kangoora wrote: »

Are you seriously considering being the richest guy on the graveyard by delaying any longer?

Seconded. Come on ML, take one for the team :T.

Goldiegirl

I echo those sentiments.

If you really do want to retire - just do it.

If you've decided that you are not ready yet, there's no shame in that - just make the decision to stay on at work.

But I can't see the point of arbitrary dates for the decision.

e.g. I'll decide when I come back from my holiday, has now been put back to I'll decide on 1st April.

I'm sorry to be tough on you, but as one who made the decision, I have to say it is rather nice not to have to think about work anymore.

gadgetmind

Goldiegirl wrote: »

But I can't see the point of arbitrary dates for the decision.

I've got the date pegged at my wife's 55th birthday (which is six months after mine) as this is currently the arbitrary date set by HMG for being able to access pension savings.

gallygirl

gadgetmind wrote: »

I've got the date pegged at my wife's 55th birthday (which is six months after mine) as this is currently the arbitrary date set by HMG for being able to access pension savings.

But is this the date you will retire or the date you will decide whether to retire?

gadgetmind

gallygirl wrote: »

But is this the date you will retire or the date you will decide whether to retire?

That's the date I'm using in all my spreadsheets for the date when we'll both retire. As our pensions are 99.9% DC, let's just say that there is a degree of uncertainty.

Goldiegirl

gadgetmind wrote: »

That's the date I'm using in all my spreadsheets for the date when we'll both retire. As our pensions are 99.9% DC, let's just say that there is a degree of uncertainty.

To my mind, that's not an arbitrary date - it's the date when you can both get at your pensions, so it seems to be a good date to base your calculations.