Early-retirement wannabe

racing_blue

Hi again. I’ve been thinking some more. It's hard, isn't it?

Without wishing to tempt fate, I started by trying to guess how long I might live. I’m a healthy non-smoker, with no reason to suspect that any time-bomb familial illnesses have been handed down through my genes. Get enough sleep, don’t drink and drive, don’t jump out of planes. In a developed democracy at a time of peace. An online calculator (it seems I'm not allowed to post live links as a new user but it was at gosset.wharton.upenn.edu/mortality/perl/CalcForm.html) put my median life expectancy at 86.9 years, with a 25% chance I will die before 77.3, and a 25% chance I will live beyond 94.6. Admittedly it is a USA based calculator, but the figures feel good to run with. At one extreme, I could get hit by a bus later this morning - please may that not happen. Logically, I guess that at the other extreme there’s a similarly slim chance that I could live to 118 or something, with all the expensive and disempowering decrepitudes that this might bring. These outcomes all need some thought. How do you plan for such wide possibilities? Maybe it’s a fools errand anyway. All I want is to be sure of a modest warm house near our family and friends, and enough time and freedom to do what I want.

And a talking squirrel.

Gadgetmind, thanks for recommending “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley and William Danko – I got hold of a copy, what a great book. One of the central ideas that spoke to me, is that people can be divided into two groups: prodigious accumulators of wealth & underaccumulators of wealth, and more than anything else, their attitude to spending sets them apart. This book also made me think about the benefits of minimising realised income and maximising capital gains through working life. Then there was some fascinating stuff about generational transfer of money and ideas about money which I’ll go back and read again when the kids are a bit older. Do you have any other good book tips?

gadgetmind

racing_blue wrote: »

Then there was some fascinating stuff about generational transfer of money and ideas about money which I’ll go back and read again when the kids are a bit older.

Yes, and that changed my views on a few matters!

Do you have any other good book tips?

Dunno. Are you going to be handling your own investments? If so, then really Smarter Investing by Tim Hale.

This page on the Harry Browne Permanent Portfolio is also worth a read -
http://www.jfholdings.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

atush

Racing,

Sounds like maybe you are thinking too much (or maybe too many spreadsheets columns lol). Sounds a lot fo work to me ;-) But as always you got the main point.

I have a hunch that my plan will boil down to 12 years of reigning in the spending, paying off debt and building several durable sources of modest income. I'm sure the devil will be in the detail & will be back to pick the wise brains here about this soon...

Spend less, save more. That is the way to go overall.

Marine_life

Early on in this thread I started looking at a countdown clock and my earliest post said there were 1,378 days to do to my potential retirement date of 23 October 2014. Well I just checked again and its now 929 days to go which means I have already burnt through roughly one-third of the time!

Gatser

Marine_life wrote: »

Early on in this thread I started looking at a countdown clock and my earliest post said there were 1,378 days to do to my potential retirement date of 23 October 2014. Well I just checked again and its now 929 days to go which means I have already burnt through roughly one-third of the time!

We are like-minded!
My Retirement clock is ticking loudly and keeping me awake...:)
As you will see from my signature, only 341 days to go for me based on my semi-retirement at September 2013.... HOWEVER.... getting increasingly impatient as I hate wishing any days away, I am starting to seriously consider bringing my date forward to the end of the 2012-13 tax year, March 2013.
The spreadsheets tell me "All will be Ok, Jump!!!" :beer:

hugheskevi

My Retirement clock is ticking loudly and keeping me awake...

Should put it into a spreadsheet - they don't tick, and have some neat features...

For example, mine tells me I have 2,855 days left until my forecast retirement date.

But that is only 2,040 working days.

And if I strip out leave I will take in that time, that is a mere 1,778 days of actual work.

Which all sounded well and good and easily doable, until I considered that I cycle a 15 mile round-trip commute, so that's 26,670 miles of commuting left, more than enough to get to Sydney and back.

So quite literally some way to go for me

Gatser

hugheskevi wrote: »

Which all sounded well and good and easily doable, until I considered that I cycle a 15 mile round-trip commute, so that's 26,670 miles of commuting left, more than enough to get to Sydney and back.

So quite literally some way to go for me

Great minds...
I have had similar thoughts... when I started my current job I had 700 workdays to complete... I commute 46 miles each day, so 32,200 miles .... it certainly puts things into perspective!

Good News... I have reached Sydney, and now driving back on the return journey... near to Darwin!

nearlyretired2004

A while ago I created a thread 'How much do you REALLY need to retire' .... I see the usual suspects are replying to this thread too! (Hi Linton!!)

My story is that I more-than semi-retired at 48 in 2004 after recieving a (small) inheritance and negotiating a payoff from work - a job that I'd come to hate with far too much corporate politics.

I did some very part time self employed work from home (2 hrs/day) but the work has dried up and I ceased my self employment at the end of the tax year (yesterday!) so am now officially fully retired!

As part of my 'leaving' work I negotiated a pension (index linked) from 55 - which kicked in last Feb. In addition I am drawing down from a SIPP and a further final salary pension from a previous employer kicked in from November last year.

I think as probably stated many times above (I confess I haven't read the whole thread) the key is how much (little !) you NEED to spend.

We dont feel we want for anything, but only run an old car, are careful (frugal?) with heating, water etc. and all my fillet steak is bought 'reduced' from Tesco!

On the flipside we take at least 3 - 4 weeks Caribbean holiday every year !

I had a 'pot' of money in 2004 which has only ever increased in size ......

My income from the three pensions currently exceeds my expenditure by just under £700 per month - but my expenditure pales into insignificance compared to some of the examples above! (posted on my other thread but I'll detail here if anyone's interested!)

In summary £1,701 in and £1,016 out

This will increase to £750 per month from April when the index linking kicks in and to £850 per month in June when I receive a further increase on second company pension. This doesn't include 'one off' annual income e.g. ISA interest.

Was just about to post some more numbers, but realise I'm rambling a bit! Will wait to see if theres any interest!

savingforoz

I'd be interested in more figures, nearlyretired2004.

nearlyretired2004

OK here goes (sorry had several goes at formatting but still a mess!! )

Notes: Tesco credit card pays all food, drink and fuel - average £15 per day

Keeping mortgage because at a good rate (cost of mortgage minus interest earned by not paying it off = 25 pence per month!)

In addition I have (what I consider to be ....) a substantial sum which is generating the interest income - dont mind disclosing if it makes a difference to anyone..... This capital sum has only gone up since 2004

In a previous thread, someone (I think it may have been Linton?) Didnt believe my water bill - well, thats what it is !

I dont 'budget' for things like car MOT etc - just pay them when they need paying - others have criticised this approach, but it works for me !

Also below is only 'regular monthly' - does not include things like annual ISA interest, interest on reg savers etc.

If anyone wants any more, let me know!


Income

Pension 1 £777.13 ** Increase with RPI in April
Pension 2 £266.63 ** One-off increase in June
SIPP £122.55
£114.01
Interest (based on 31 day month)
Coventry £157.97
Newcastle £76.44
Abbey £73.72
FirstSave £53.40
FirstSave £48.11
Halifax £30.00

Total : £1,719.96

Outgoings

TV Licence £12.12
Council tax £188.00
Sky £28.00
Water £17.00
Mortgage £174.88
Tesco c/card £465.00
Mobile Phone £6.00
Landline £35.00
Gas/Electricity £88.00
Total : £1,014.00