Early-retirement wannabe

Terron

michaels wrote: »

To those like you I salute you and am glad the world has people like you or we would probably still be living in caves and dodging Sabre Tooth Tigers, but not for me

There is a theory that lazy people are good at inventing labour saving ways to do things.

Thrugelmir

michaels wrote: »

I am very happy to do nothjing and definitely find work gets in the way - I really find it hard to even understand the motive of those who think their job defines then or that they won't know what they would do with their time.

Life should be a balance. Work hard, play hard. As you get older give back rather than take. Very rewarding. Work then even becomes fun.

gadgetmind

Terron wrote: »

There is a theory that lazy people are good at inventing labour saving ways to do things.

I agree with that 100%.

I automate the hell out of things because it might take 5x as long (um, or much more!) than doing it manually but it's then done forever.

So, with New Venture, we get csv file drops every day at around 4am. My scripts and bits then leap on them, remove any customer personal data and drop the anonymised files elsewhere, and then do sanity checks on the personal data (format of postcodes, 'phone numbers, is dailing code anywhere near postcode, and much more) and the full data is then protected against all but root access.

More scripts then run to merge data in various complex ways, and generally massage everything for the forecasting guys. Lots of work, yes, but done now so doesn't need manually doing ever again.

Not really my role but I want NV to be successful and no-one else is going to do it!

glass_half_full

Bimbly wrote: »

I think your maths is off (in a good way!). For take home to be £1800 per month, you're looking at a yearly income of £24,050 assuming a full personal allowance. Remember, no national insurance payable in retirement. You can play with figures here:

https://www.thesalarycalculator.co.uk/salary.php

This assumes all income is taxable and you're not taking 25% tax free from your DC pensions each time you withdraw (eg, you took the full tax free lump sum up front or this is income from your DB penioms).

Well done on clearing debt at the same time as building up pension (not everyone manages both).

Thanks Bimbly for this. :beer: I was in 'employed' mode there, thank you for pointing that out to me. I will be able to use that revised number in my spreadsheet. I have got some lump sums which will come through which I am trying to also keep track of.

Yes, I kept the pension payments up whilst debt busting. I have always paid AVCs since my mid twenties when I had a very helpful conversation with an older colleague who was approaching retirement whose advice I took, and I'm glad I did!

glass_half_full

I find this a very interesting thread to read. I am 51 and really reaching 50 made me think, actually retirement is no longer so far away that I don’t need to really think about it but now within a realistic timeframe, or to put it another way, this could actually happen to me so I better prepare for it!

For me, the issue of when to stop is influenced by a number of factors. In 2011 I left a rather pressurised job and industry (consulting). It was well paid, but the travelling had started to become more than a little tiresome. I made quite a radical change and moved across into academia and now I have a teaching position in a Business School. What I observe is how many roles, particularly in large institutions, are becoming ever more demanding. At my level, this is translating into increasing pressure and in some cases burn out. I keep myself physically fit and for the time being I am enjoying my role. But looking out 5-10 years I don’t think I will want to be doing this. I want to have more autonomy and be able to pursue my own interests and hobbies. For example, I took up the piano when I moved jobs and recently passed grade 2 ! I think the comments here about status are very interesting. I have been through this with my career change because at the age of 45 I effectively went back to the bottom of another hierarchy in which I had to get used to a much more lowly ‘status’ than I had enjoyed previously. For me this is no longer an issue. I don’t think I was ever that status conscious to be honest. I think what I would like to do is to do 5 more years in my current role and then semi-retire. I am happy to continue to work on projects etc but I want more time in which to pursue my own interests as well.

The other thing I have observed is how many friends, relatives, acquaintances have been ‘let go’ in various ways in their late forties early fifties. Often very capable individuals but for whatever reason their employer decides they no longer need them. Seeing this happen also makes me realise that I want to prepare for that possibility, none of us are indispensable.

So my plan / goal is to get to a position by 55-60 where I am at least in a position to make other choices rather than being at the whim of an organisation which may not have my interests at heart.

Security66

Hi everyone,avid reader on this forum being a nearly 60 year old retirement wannabe I!!!8217;ve finally decided to post my situation for people to comment,advise and reassure me.
I!!!8217;m 60 in December my wife is 45 and we have one daughter in her final year of a teaching degree,I currently work for a local authority and my wife works full time as a civilian police support worker.
We are debt free with no mortgage with our property is worth around £170k located in the North Midlands.Daughter is almost self sufficient as she commutes to university from our home,we currently are putting £200 a month into a first time buyer for her which we will stop when I retire,I have pension pot currently worth £86k in a SIPP managed by my IFA,my pension from my LGPS at 60 with reductions for taking it early is £4K PA,my plan is to take £8k a year out of my SIPP to give me £12K PA between 60- 66 when I get my SP which I have an estimate of £1555 for.when I am 66 I will cease taking the £8K out of my SIPP and replace it with my SP,due to the age difference my wife will continue to work which she earns £23k gross around £17k net.so in total we will have around £29K net as I will pay none or very little tax on my total of £12k.
I should have around £38k left in my SIPP after taking £8k out for 6 years at 66 years of age so will use this as and when we need to,we also have a small contingency pot of £10k for things that may go wrong in the house,just to add our property is in excellent repair with all our major garden projects completed.We did a spreadsheet for our annual meeting with our IFA and he suggested taking £48k out of my SIPP to put in a lower risk investment so my 6 years taking £8k PA out with confidence of not draining my pension pot to fast.
Any comments are welcome,I guess I!!!8217;m looking for reassurance more than anything as I!!!8217;m very nervous about retiring.

crv1963

glass_half_full wrote: »

I find this a very interesting thread to read. I am 51 and really reaching 50 made me think, actually retirement is no longer so far away that I don’t need to really think about it but now within a realistic timeframe, or to put it another way, this could actually happen to me so I better prepare for it!

I too took stock at a couple of points in my life- leaving it a bit late but better late than never! For me I was thinking about retirement planning but a heart attack (now fully recovered) made me really focus and drill down, what is our number, how are we going to achieve this, how realistic is my timeframe?

[/QUOTE]For me, the issue of when to stop is influenced by a number of factors. In 2011 I left a rather pressurised job and industry (consulting). What I observe is how many roles, particularly in large institutions, are becoming ever more demanding. At my level, this is translating into increasing pressure and in some cases burn out. I keep myself physically fit and for the time being I am enjoying my role. I think the comments here about status are very interesting. I have been through this with my career change because at the age of 45 I effectively went back to the bottom of another hierarchy in which I had to get used to a much more lowly ‘status’ than I had enjoyed previously. For me this is no longer an issue. I don’t think I was ever that status conscious to be honest. I want more time in which to pursue my own interests as well.[/QUOTE]

I too left a very pressured middle management role in 2011, was lost for a couple of months but returned to a clinical role (in my line of work) and really enjoyed it. I too went down the ladder, for me it was a godsend, others react differently in the workplace- some are even incredulous, but for me and my sanity along with a lot of difficult events in my personal it was the right thing to do. I have more time to pay attention to the important things in life, like my wife, my dogs and my garden.

[/QUOTE]The other thing I have observed is how many friends, relatives, acquaintances have been ‘let go’ in various ways in their late forties early fifties. Often very capable individuals but for whatever reason their employer decides they no longer need them. Seeing this happen also makes me realise that I want to prepare for that possibility, none of us are indispensable.[/QUOTE]

Having had a wake up call through heart attack and a long period of returning to health I know I am not indispensable, my workload was covered with a few days, and my job satisfaction on my return is nowhere near what it was. So I too am changing roles again, this time I will through the shift allowance paid, increase my pension while working a compressed week have more time off to devote time to the things that matter to me.


I think pursuit of status started to ring hollow for me in my 30s, when I realised that I wasn't going to make it to the top of the greasy pole as I hadn't the drive and single mindedness to make the necessary sacrifices. Everyone has their drivers and mine is trying to make a decent standard in my work, while keeping a balance in my life.


It all boils down to being happy in what you do. Unhappy=stress, only you can make the changes, no one else will.


Congratulations on being debt free, that is our goal alongside building pensions up, working out the timeframe and goals has been enormously helped by posters on this site. We have our goal, we have our time frame, now we intend to deliver it to ourselves!



I've edited your post to the parts I'd like to comment on, sorry!

Triumph13

I think one of the key takeaways from some of the recent posts is 'Know thyself'. Some people very clearly need something external to give them a sense of purpose and/or status. Combine that with a job they actually like and they can be happy as Larry and never retire. Others have no such needs (or minimal) and, unless they are lucky enough to be being paid to do their hobby, just find work gets in the way of getting on with life. Working out where you sit on this spectrum is almost as important as the financial side when planning Early Retirement.

kidmugsy

Security66 wrote: »

... 66 when I get my SP which I have an estimate of £1555 for.

You've thought it all through. Is that £1555 a typo?

Marine_life

michaels wrote: »

I really find it hard to even understand the motive of those who think their job defines them or that they won't know what they would do with their time.

I don't think it's necessarily hard to understand, it depends very much on the job. E.g. someone who has a valuable role in the community (doctor, nurse, etc.) might actually enjoy being defined by their job as it gives a sense of responsibility and perhaps of being needed (we all want to be needed in some way, don't we?).

Outside of that, I tend to look at jobs as sitting in one of four categories:
- low pressure, low pay
- high pressure, low pay
- low pressure, high pay
- high pressure, high pay

I would actually be very interested to see the split between the number of jobs within each category. I suspect that increasingly there are a lot of jobs in category 2 ("high pressure, low pay") and very few in category 3 ("low pressure, high pay"). "Pressure" in this context can be defined in a number of ways i.e. it could either be boring, physically or emotionally demanding or just plain difficult.

For some (like me) the big challenge (and some would say "nice challenge to have") is actually sitting in category 4 ("high pressure, high pay") since there is not only the challenge of being in a difficult job but also the social/psychological challenge of not wanting to give up the high pay. That isn't so much necessarily about 'keeping up with the Jones' but more about want to give your family a good life and - admittedly - the satisfaction that comes from not having to worry about money.

To (try and) get back to some sort of a point - I would argue that the reason I am still working is that I've managed to navigate from category 4 to category 3. There no pressure either in the job or in the potential of losing it (i.e. I don't need the money). Therefore while I contemplate the next stage of life actually sitting tight does not harm me one iota.