Early-retirement wannabe

crv1963

Clive_Woody said:

ffacoffipawb said:

I went at 55, best thing i ever did.

That's my target age for calling it a day, or at last having the option to retire and start spending some money.

That was my original target age but circumstances have meant a revision of plans over the past decade and now the plan is to retire before 60, taking DB pension this year and plan on saving into DC pension for a couple of years then drawdown that pot at an equivalent rate to what the SP is, so hopefully smoothing retirement income. 

Mickimus

Hi folks. Having been planning since 2009 I've got 3 weeks to go on the countdown clock. A wee bit earlier than I had planned but the stress of the job was going to end me and I wanted to have the summer to enjoy the great outdoors. As mentioned above somewhere it's all about time and having the health to enjoy it so if you can afford to stop work you should. Thanks to all the many posters in this thread and others that have shared their wisdom and experience - I've found it really helpful and inspiring. It's like taking a leap in the dark (but into the light if you know what I mean).... really excited and can't wait now.....

Bravepants

MallyGirl said:

You sound like me. Also 52 and counting the days. I could go at 55 but DH won't - he'd rather work a bit longer as he, in his own words, is not frugal. We do also have some big/expensive travel plans so he is probably right. I am aiming for 58. I bought an electric piano to learn on. That was 20 years ago and I have not made any progress - since then I have had a daughter and watched her reach grade 8 in 2 instruments, one being piano. I also bought a tenor recorder to learn as I love the sound. Again no progress!
I joined a running club last January and am entered for my first 10k in May. I just want to get round without resorting to walking or being pulled up because I am so slow and they want to reopen the roads!!!! I have also joined a triathlon club but that is just to get access to swim sessions as all the local pools have been closed due to lack of funding - I had to learn to swim crawl before I could join. I am never going to do a triathlon.

Yes, I think I may be retiring before my partner too! She is 4 years younger than me. So I will get 4 years of peace and quiet! (Don't tell her I said that! ). I made no progress on my guitar until I learned a bit about how music is put together when I started piano! I mean like "Oh so THAT'S how chords work!", "Oh, so that's a semi-tone!" Hehe!

I'm 4 weeks into "Couch to 5k", our local running club does it once a year ready for a local Park Run in April. My running partner is Sarah Millican on the BBC App (and the missus of course)!

blisteringblue

Some of these posts are just what I want to hear.  I'm also 52 and trying not to wish away the next 2 1/2 years.  I'm still looking good the SIPs are ticking over, I have all my state pension years and a small DB pension at 65 as an extra backstop.
Plan for the next couple of years is nail down the spending so I have a good idea what I need.  Without the mortgage which will be clear I'm thinking 2K net a month to begin with, but still a work in progress.

Early_Retire_Free

Last post

It feels like the "wannabe" tag has run its course.
As many of you who've followed this thread will have experienced, actually getting to retirement has been a very difficult (mental) journey.  For most, the financial decision and working towards the financial goal itself becomes all-consuming.  But for us (and this isn't bragging), our finances have been sorted for some time and the real challenge was always the mental side of retirement, finding things to do and finding a purpose.
But I now wonder whether "purpose" is just a media creation.  Do we actually need a purpose to feel valued and valuable?  Maybe it helps in the overall scheme of things but its possibly overrated.
I've increasingly been describing myself as "retired" and more comfortable with the term.  I haven't done anything that could be regarded as gainful employment for the last six months and I think I've underestimated my capacity for being happy doing very little indeed.
That's not to say I've become a couch potato because time has been filled with exercise and holidays (indeed I'm writing this from over 11,000 miles away).  But I am now able to reflect logically and rationally and face to the fact that the world of work is gone .....but I love my new life.
I've aligned my MSE username with my web presence but the key message from this post is that the "wannabe" is no more.  I am early retired.

Suffolk_lass

Early_Retire_Free said:

Last post

It feels like the "wannabe" tag has run its course.
As many of you who've followed this thread will have experienced, actually getting to retirement has been a very difficult (mental) journey.  For most, the financial decision and working towards the financial goal itself becomes all-consuming.  But for us (and this isn't bragging), our finances have been sorted for some time and the real challenge was always the mental side of retirement, finding things to do and finding a purpose.
But I now wonder whether "purpose" is just a media creation.  Do we actually need a purpose to feel valued and valuable?  Maybe it helps in the overall scheme of things but its possibly overrated.
I've increasingly been describing myself as "retired" and more comfortable with the term.  I haven't done anything that could be regarded as gainful employment for the last six months and I think I've underestimated my capacity for being happy doing very little indeed.
That's not to say I've become a couch potato because time has been filled with exercise and holidays (indeed I'm writing this from over 11,000 miles away).  But I am now able to reflect logically and rationally and face to the fact that the world of work is gone .....but I love my new life.
I've aligned my MSE username with my web presence but the key message from this post is that the "wannabe" is no more.  I am early retired.

What a great post - and it totally reflects how I feel. I packed up my permanent job a year ago and it has taken me a year to accept I might not want to do another job (I still might, to cover the gap until SPA, to top up my state pension within the new state pension). I fill my life with no trouble and the value I attach to what I do has completely changed. I was so worried that I would feel worthless after stopping work, but I don't. I just feel happy that I don't work

gfplux

Early_Retire_Free said:

Last post

It feels like the "wannabe" tag has run its course.
As many of you who've followed this thread will have experienced, actually getting to retirement has been a very difficult (mental) journey.  For most, the financial decision and working towards the financial goal itself becomes all-consuming.  But for us (and this isn't bragging), our finances have been sorted for some time and the real challenge was always the mental side of retirement, finding things to do and finding a purpose.
But I now wonder whether "purpose" is just a media creation.  Do we actually need a purpose to feel valued and valuable?  Maybe it helps in the overall scheme of things but its possibly overrated.
I've increasingly been describing myself as "retired" and more comfortable with the term.  I haven't done anything that could be regarded as gainful employment for the last six months and I think I've underestimated my capacity for being happy doing very little indeed.
That's not to say I've become a couch potato because time has been filled with exercise and holidays (indeed I'm writing this from over 11,000 miles away).  But I am now able to reflect logically and rationally and face to the fact that the world of work is gone .....but I love my new life.
I've aligned my MSE username with my web presence but the key message from this post is that the "wannabe" is no more.  I am early retired.

I and many others told you so.

cfw1994

Early_Retire_Free said:

Last post

It feels like the "wannabe" tag has run its course.
As many of you who've followed this thread will have experienced, actually getting to retirement has been a very difficult (mental) journey.  For most, the financial decision and working towards the financial goal itself becomes all-consuming.  But for us (and this isn't bragging), our finances have been sorted for some time and the real challenge was always the mental side of retirement, finding things to do and finding a purpose.
But I now wonder whether "purpose" is just a media creation.  Do we actually need a purpose to feel valued and valuable?  Maybe it helps in the overall scheme of things but its possibly overrated.
I've increasingly been describing myself as "retired" and more comfortable with the term.  I haven't done anything that could be regarded as gainful employment for the last six months and I think I've underestimated my capacity for being happy doing very little indeed.
That's not to say I've become a couch potato because time has been filled with exercise and holidays (indeed I'm writing this from over 11,000 miles away).  But I am now able to reflect logically and rationally and face to the fact that the world of work is gone .....but I love my new life.
I've aligned my MSE username with my web presence but the key message from this post is that the "wannabe" is no more.  I am early retired.

I’d echo that this is a great “Last Post”, and great to hear the exercise and holiday period is well underway!!
Please drop in from time to time to encourage the rest of us....stop “OMY syndrome“ from taking over 

atush

No last post unless you are the OP.

Otherwise quite rude

Bravepants

atush said:

No last post unless you are the OP.

Otherwise quite rude

Maybe he/she means it to be HIS/HER last post?