Early-retirement wannabe

SuperSecretSquirrel

atush wrote: »

You could never be considered a FIRE, as you are mr Tesla lol. Talk about flash cars

Fat FIRE is still FIRE, it doesn't have to be all hair shirt and toast sandwiches

Pennysmakepounds

justme111 wrote: »

I am not so sure possible £133/month for 20 years is worth using £3 line for 40 years and no tv package. Do not forget , it would not even be £133 because one would have to deduct £5 superfrugal expense from those £55.

Life is about balance. I am 100% for saving for your retirement.

However I also believe you have to enjoy life too whilst you are young and healthy.

Makes no sense to me to work SO hard, just to scrimp and save every penny you make. What makes you think you're going to survive till you retire.

In my opinion - Its about 'Planning' for the future but also realising that there are NO guarantees in life, you could 'Kick the preverbal Bucket at any time'.

So like most things in life, its about BALANCE between Saving for the future and Spending.

Anonymous101

I can see why some people think that the FIRE thing is pretentious... Perhaps its the way in which its presented. The people that have achieved it especially early are usually on large salaries and are very passionate so to someone that's not earning a huge amount that can come across as preachy or judgmental.

I think those types are the outliers. Most people that are FIRE are not in their 30's and earning £100k. They are everyday people, teachers, office workers etc which have lived within their means for 30 years or more and have managed to save enough to retire at the earliest in their late 40's but more often than not in their 50's.

I agree to retire at that age you do really need to be earning an average salary but I think that everyone can learn important lessons from the FIRE crowd. I'm aware this that too might come across as condescending but, I see so many people spending their money what I would think of as inefficiently that their lives could be improved massively by increasing their level of financial education. As others have said mobile phones etc but also I think after smoking and drinking the biggest one is food. I used to work with a lot of people I would classify as low income or on and off benefits. Every one of them to a man used to get paid and then head straight to the take away or slightly better fill their trolleys with prepared meals from the supermarket. Just by learning to cook and preparing the food themselves they could free up a lot of money every week.

Raising the level of financial education everyday people have can only be a good thing IMO. The FIRE people are possibly the group of people that are most aware of where their money is coming from and going to. This is what everyone should be taking from the FIRE movement. Even if you're goals are different and you chose to spend your money differently raising your awareness can improve your life whatever your income.

crv1963

Anonymous101 wrote: »

I can see why some people think that the FIRE thing is pretentious... Perhaps its the way in which its presented. The people that have achieved it especially early are usually on large salaries and are very passionate so to someone that's not earning a huge amount that can come across as preachy or judgmental.

I agree to retire at that age you do really need to be earning an average salary but I think that everyone can learn important lessons from the FIRE crowd. I'm aware this that too might come across as condescending but, I see so many people spending their money what I would think of as inefficiently that their lives could be improved massively by increasing their level of financial education.

Raising the level of financial education everyday people have can only be a good thing IMO. The FIRE people are possibly the group of people that are most aware of where their money is coming from and going to. This is what everyone should be taking from the FIRE movement. Even if you're goals are different and you chose to spend your money differently raising your awareness can improve your life whatever your income.

I couldn't agree more. I had an interesting shift at work yesterday. I was working with someone else both of us working overtime, so we were on double normal pay- I accept not everyone gets either time and one half or double time for extra hours.

Our conversation went- her "What are you going to spend all your lovely dosh from today on?"

Me-"It's going into my wifes pension pot as she's playing catch-up and we want to retire in 2 maximum 3 years time."

Her- "Ooh, I'd love to retire early, I can't see me being physically able to do this job at 68 or even 70 if they move the age again."

Me- "Do something about it. What are you going to do with your money from today?"

Her- "Put it in the bank for a holiday, when I get my days off I'll book something for May."

Me- "How much overtime do you do? Do you need it to live on or is it all for holidays/ nights out and the like?"

Her- "No, my basic pay covers the rent and bills, save a couple hundred for holidays, overtime is just the icing, means I can go abroad more times and further than just Spain."

Me- "How many overtime shifts do you work a month?"

Her-"Try to do two, but get offered them nearly every week, this month I'm doing five to help out because they're really short staffed and I'd just be watching telly or down the pub."

Me- "So two a month plus your normal wages gives you the lifestyle you want?"

Her- "Yes"

Me- "With a bit of planning and a couple of extra shifts a month you could easily retire before 68."

Her- "How, I don't understand money other than how to earn and spend it? Daft really my brother is a Financial Advisor in a Bank and always says he'll go through stuff with me but I never take him up on it because it's all over my head!"

Then followed a ten minute conversation, some quick figures on a sheet of paper, a quick visit to this site and a realisation that working another 2 shifts a month, saving that in a wrapper either LISA or Pension would enable her to retire a few years earlier than 68. She is currently 36, single and now plans to meet up with her brother to look at where she can put around £400 pm to save for an earlier retirement. She already has an emergency fund, savings for house deposit and contributes to a DB pension.

She is now able to see that she could with only a little effort and planning retire before 68.

So I think that the FIRE community is helpful, as is this forum for making people aware that they can as ordinary folk aspire to retire early, maybe not gaining the FI part until later in life but it can be done.

Edit:- for those interested her basic wage is 27k pa plus shift enhancements. So not a high flyer or earner.

michaels

justme111 wrote: »

I am not so sure possible £133/month for 20 years is worth using £3 line for 40 years and no tv package. Do not forget , it would not even be £133 because one would have to deduct £5 superfrugal expense from those £55.

The point is though that it is not £133pm more in retirement it is more likely being able to retire on an acceptable pension 12 months earlier.

I find I don't have enough time to watch all the TV/movies I would like to now so having a pay tv package on top would not 'add value' to my lifestyle. Mobile phone wise I get ulimited minutes and texts and 20gb of data which is way more than I need, when I am out of the house I am doing stuff so don't need oodles of data to watch stuff on my phone. My £100 handset is from China and is probably on a par with the iphone 8 (my battery and screen may be better) and it will do everything I need it to for 3 or 4 years because the memory is not capped.

Thus I value having 12 months more of my life not spent working much more than I do being able to watch game of thrones a few months sooner or having a phone that other people can know is expensive. Of course we each make our own choices on relative values.

Environmental considerations are also making me increasingly uncomfortable about 'disposable' consumption and even international travel which I used to enjoy but now think very carefully about the carbon footprint.

justme111

We got indoctrinated that we have to work. One is born , goes to nursery, goes to school, uni, job. Retires, dies. What does one live for gets lost in a daily wheel
Whatever makes one question this routine is good and FIRE is one of the ways of living differently.

justme111

On another hand people who earn 70 k and do not buy costa coffee often seem to lack empathy into how people who earn 20 k and buy costa coffee feel. Those 2 very different lifestyles; one thing is to decline what is seen as small luxuries if you could easily afford them and more and if you have realistic options that cost a lot of money - retiring early, doing expensive courses, sending children to private schools etc that you feel are worthwhile to contribute to using money saved from costa coffees. While for people on 20 k even if their whole life they do not touch a single coffee it would not make the above any more achievable. So they enjoy coffees instead.

atush

Pennysmakepounds wrote: »

Removing pictures & contacts is relatively simple these days even with the Apple iPhones.


I had a work phone for about 7/8 years (Starting 2005 to around 2012) and it was great to be honest. Never had to worry about the cost.


Mind you in the early 2000's it was MUCH cheaper to run a phone then it is these days. In those days days phones were phones NOT mini computers.


I remember getting some great cashback deals before I got my work phone. I don't know if anyone remember the days Boots sold phones via some third party brand.


They use to give you MORE back in boots points / Cashback, then it actually cost for the phone and contract overall and the cntracts were only ever around the 300ish mark for a 12 months period with the latest Nokia handsets - Good Times


The prices have creeped up substantially over the last 8-10 years.

It wasnt an Iphone, and yes he could have put the pictures elsewhere. Although as an older person he isnt very tech savvy.
He just forgot to as he is a numpty

davidquizer

I retired 3 years ago age 58, best thing ever! I was lucky in that I was a financial advisor for 20 years although that ended in 2000. I started planning 5 years before I finished and I had a company pension, not huge, a SIPP which I kept paying into and stocks and shares ISA. Basically I managed to go early because of building up a large fund in my SIPP, taking a chance on the higher risk funds, but getting into the cash fund as retirement came nearer, none of this takes a huge amount of money and it helps that I didn't neefd a large income in retirement. Although we should all be looking to save money where possible its very important in retirement. Home , car insurance, fixed rate on my electric and using top cash back for purchases of things I would buy anyway. Keep your outgoings down, I use Groupon a lot for meals, and spend your money on things you really want to spend it on, I go away A LOT for instance.

gadgetmind

atush wrote: »

You could never be considered a FIRE, as you are mr Tesla lol. Talk about flash cars

Hey, I had two cars in the two decades before the Tesla, and it's free fuel, road tax, and local parking.

Let's gloss over depreciation ...