Early-retirement wannabe

gadgetmind

westv wrote: »

Too many gadgets?

Probably, but in my defence I run teams that design such things, and most of the ones we have around I was involved in, or built myself.

Marine_life

gadgetmind wrote: »

Hmm, "need", now there's a word! I have got £50kpa in as our "essentials" figure, but TBH we could get by on less if forced to. We could downsize, cut down to one car, forget health and dental insurance, sell the scuba gear and some bicycles, etc.

I put our 'essentials' budget at around €40k per year which includes €6k for medical insurance (one of the consequences of retiring early on the continent) and €4k for capital equipment replacement (mainly car). The underlying figure therefore is around €30k.

gadgetmind wrote: »

However, I set out to put in place plans to let us retire early without having to make sacrifices, so have £60kpa in as my target, and £72kpa as my "if I just worked a few more years ..." figure.

We've actually got an additional €25k planned for 'entertainment and holidays' which also include 'regular' flights for visiting relatives etc so overall we end up with a figure not entirely dissimilar to your own. Of course this budget is almost entirely discretionary but I would regard as important to live the life we want to live.

gadgetmind wrote: »

Hey, I just use the energy switching section to get our utilities *down* to £3kpa!

That still seems pretty high to me! Big House? Draughty House? or both

gadgetmind

Marine_life wrote: »

That still seems pretty high to me! Big House? Draughty House? or both

Big house. For example, when I want to go outside, I have a choice of seven doors. We also have seven computers, five aquariums, and an Aga. We've been here 20 years, and have *almost* replaced every window with double glazing, plus insulated loft and cavity walls, and it's all helped.

But the next part of reducing our energy bills is breathtaking in its audacity!

bigfreddiel

gadgetmind wrote: »

Hmm, "need", now there's a word! I have got £50kpa in as our "essentials" figure, but TBH we could get by on less if forced to. We could downsize, cut down to one car, forget health and dental insurance, sell the scuba gear and some bicycles, etc.

However, I set out to put in place plans to let us retire early without having to make sacrifices, so have £60kpa in as my target, and £72kpa as my "if I just worked a few more years ..." figure.

House and car insurance = £3.5kpa, Council tax = £2200pa, utilities = £3kpa, health insurance = £1.5kpa. And then there's house fettling; just having the outside of the house painted cost £2k!

Hey, I just use the energy switching section to get our utilities *down* to £3kpa!

Maybe I ought to put downsizing higher up my priority list?

Sounds brilliant, I'm in a similar sized house by the sound of it, run two cars, so my insurance bill for house and cars is about £700/year, energy bill is about£1300/year, well insulated and led/low energy bulbs, house fettling say £500/year.

I think you need to employ a broker for your insurance, I do and he's saved me a packet over the decades.

Cheers fj

edinburgher

Love it! You have more doors than I have doors and ground floor windows that I could climb out of :rotfl:

gadgetmind

edinburgher wrote: »

Love it! You have more doors than I have doors and ground floor windows that I could climb out of :rotfl:

I'm *not* counting our windows; life's too short.

bigadaj

gadgetmind wrote: »

I'm *not* counting our windows; life's too short.

So long as napoleon doesn't return!

Hal17

gadgetmind wrote: »

I'm *not* counting our windows; life's too short.

I read this thread will real interest and love it when everyone is open with actual figures, good advice and their experiences. Your post really made me laugh.

gadgetmind

It's all down to what people want, and balancing income/security later with spending in the here and now. I'm lucky in that I could afford said "forever house" (which would last 5-10 years without regular repairs!) by age 30 and hit the milestone of the extra digit on my income over 15 years ago.

However, unlike some (many?) in my income bracket, I accept that it's as much luck as skill, realise it could all go bad pretty quickly, and am therefore prepared to save 50% of what I earn into pensions and ISAs.

I know others who blow the lot, and some more, each and every month. They are seriously bright engineers but clearly don't play with financial spreadsheets.

Sjmb

Maybe wealth in retirement is not measured by your monetary income, whether that's £1000 or £10000 a month, but rather if a given income allows you to meet and manage your own expectations, whether that's a weekly takeaway curry, or a meal at a Michelin star restaurant. For us, if we can make a purchase without having to consider if we can afford if that month, then we have enough.