Early-retirement wannabe

gfplux

Gary1984 wrote: »

I'd rather not make her an employee. Asking her to do the accounts or other admin would stress her out too much and wouldn't be very efficient. Normally I do things like that for her (pay her suppliers for her business and help with tax, insurances etc).


She does have a S&S ISA in her name and in time we'll add a LISA and SIPP.


Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

I don’t want to be unkind but only last week my wife was being told by an Italian lady that for thirty years she had worked a few days a week unofficially for her husbands company and was ANGRY as she would have a very small state pension and felt resentful towards her husband. She didn’t even have a shareholding!

My wife called it financial abuse!

Marine_life

How time flies when you’re having fun!

A recap on where we are.

Hung up my suit for the last time (ahem…) at the end of May and have been enjoying the summer both at home and abroad. We’ve had three trips away and I can see being a big chunk of our retirement spend. It's in the plan so not a drama.

Gradually settling into a bit of a routine which originally involved getting up a bit earlier than when I was working (about 7:00 am) although that has gradually drifted out to 7:45 ish and will probably stay there.
As you can imagine, I am getting a lot more exercise not only in terms of ‘formal’ exercise (i.e. running, cycling etc.) but also generally walking a lot more. Consequently, have lost about 3 kg to bring my BMI into the ‘ideal’ range. I feel that I probably need to do some more mobility work and have a session with a physio planned to work through some issue.

We’ve spent a little time working through some money things, namely transferring one of my DB pensions into cash and sorting out our tax position with regard to overseas income. I discussed the DB transfer in another thread and while there were some naysayers there, in reality I couldn’t see any way in which the very worst I could do would be to break even. The tax piece is complicated but it’s nice to be able to use my qualifications for something that benefits me/us rather than other people.

I’ve joined the local library and taken up some new hobbies / returned to old ones but haven’t really found a ‘purpose’ as such. But no sure I really need one and I may indeed have underestimated my capacity for sitting on the couch and doing nothing….and not feeling guilty about it!

Nevertheless, I’m still not sure that being fully retired is where I want to be. I have looked around at a few things, mostly paid roles but also a few volunteering positions. Given that I am only looking for part-time work its incredibly hard to find something other than minimum wage work which is a bit frustrating. I really sympathise with those who really need to find a job The ‘gig’ economy sounds very hip and ‘digital’ but in reality, the only beneficiaries are employers! I could waffle on about that but I’ve had some interesting discussions which may lead somewhere and one very interesting offer along the lines of ‘you do what you want, where you want to do it’ which sounds like it might work.

More to follow….

DairyQueen

Suggest you pursue the voluntary options.

Nothing beats 'giving something back' whilst under zero obligation. It's quite different from paid employment and a great social leveller. Nobody gives a hoot about what you 'did' in your previous (pre-retiirement) life and without the hordes of (mostly retired) volunteers our communities would be poorer socially and financially.

westv

Most of the volunteering jobs near me are in charity shops. Not my bag at all.

JoeEngland

westv wrote: »

Most of the volunteering jobs near me are in charity shops. Not my bag at all.

Are there any National Trust properties in your area? They may have volunteering opportunities.

JoeEngland

Marine_life wrote: »

How time flies when you’re having fun!

A recap on where we are.

Hung up my suit for the last time (ahem…) at the end of May and have been enjoying the summer both at home and abroad. We’ve had three trips away and I can see being a big chunk of our retirement spend. It's in the plan so not a drama.

Gradually settling into a bit of a routine which originally involved getting up a bit earlier than when I was working (about 7:00 am) although that has gradually drifted out to 7:45 ish and will probably stay there.
As you can imagine, I am getting a lot more exercise not only in terms of ‘formal’ exercise (i.e. running, cycling etc.) but also generally walking a lot more. Consequently, have lost about 3 kg to bring my BMI into the ‘ideal’ range. I feel that I probably need to do some more mobility work and have a session with a physio planned to work through some issue.

We’ve spent a little time working through some money things, namely transferring one of my DB pensions into cash and sorting out our tax position with regard to overseas income. I discussed the DB transfer in another thread and while there were some naysayers there, in reality I couldn’t see any way in which the very worst I could do would be to break even. The tax piece is complicated but it’s nice to be able to use my qualifications for something that benefits me/us rather than other people.

I’ve joined the local library and taken up some new hobbies / returned to old ones but haven’t really found a ‘purpose’ as such. But no sure I really need one and I may indeed have underestimated my capacity for sitting on the couch and doing nothing….and not feeling guilty about it!

Nevertheless, I’m still not sure that being fully retired is where I want to be. I have looked around at a few things, mostly paid roles but also a few volunteering positions. Given that I am only looking for part-time work its incredibly hard to find something other than minimum wage work which is a bit frustrating. I really sympathise with those who really need to find a job The ‘gig’ economy sounds very hip and ‘digital’ but in reality, the only beneficiaries are employers! I could waffle on about that but I’ve had some interesting discussions which may lead somewhere and one very interesting offer along the lines of ‘you do what you want, where you want to do it’ which sounds like it might work.

More to follow….

This is the peoblem trying to find part-time work, many occupations want FT or nothing. People with office admin skills seem to have the best option to go PT judging by job ads in my area. Otherwise, as you say, it's mainly min wage stuff in hospitality, retail and care sectors.

westv

JoeEngland wrote: »

Are there any National Trust properties in your area? They may have volunteering opportunities.

The nearest is miles away.

Linton

westv wrote: »

Most of the volunteering jobs near me are in charity shops. Not my bag at all.

There should be a Social Car scheme in your area. It involves volunteers a few hours a week driving mainly old ladies to hospitals, doctors, shops etc etc. You meet a very wide range of people who you would never have met any other way. They are often lonely and very happy to chat. I find it very rewarding.

barnstar2077

Linton wrote: »

There should be a Social Car scheme in your area. It involves volunteers a few hours a week driving mainly old ladies to hospitals, doctors, shops etc etc. You meet a very wide range of people who you would never have met any other way. They are often lonely and very happy to chat. I find it very rewarding.

This does sound very rewarding. Everyone has a story, but old people have the best ones! : )

NedS

westv wrote: »

Most of the volunteering jobs near me are in charity shops. Not my bag at all.

Find out who is your local Association for Voluntary Services (AVS). They are normally an umbrella organisation that represent all voluntary organisations in your County/area/region. Part of their remit is to act as a link between volunteers looking for a volunteering opportunity and local voluntary organisations seeking volunteers. They can help match one against the other, and their volunteering officer will be able to tell you all about the wonderful local volunteering opportunities.

I worked for my local Association for Voluntary Services of a year or two in an IT role, helping and supporting local voluntary organisations with their IT and it was very rewarding. High street charity shops are just the tip of the iceberg!