Can O/h and I afford early retirement ?

balmaiden

I finished work last year at the age of 50 ( job I loved for 14 years, Boss I hated ) Hubbie and I decided we could afford for me to stay at home. O.K, but husband is now 60 and I would love him to give up work now.

We have investments and own our own home and have another property which we rent out. All in all we would have an income of just £280 p/w.

Husband is very unsure but life is short I feel. we are at the moment in very good health. What do you guys think ? I know some will say it depends what you want to do, thats right of course but is £280 a realistic amount just to live and take life easy ? I have done a budget planner but I am still unsure.

Forgot to say we have a little money in ISAs which should give us a holiday every year or so, but when its gone its gone.

Garnet_Gem

If you get on well together, retirement is the answer. If you don't, get him to take on another job!
Lol - I think he should retire or at least find a part time job. Time together is worth more than money and you seem to have enough.

Willman_Rodders

Hi balmaiden,

As you have eluded to in your post, only you know the answer.

However ... a couple of points you might want to consider. (This by the way is me rambling - please accept my apologies if we change direction frequently)

At 50 you could have another 20, 30, 40+ years on this planet.
Your husband statiscally less, but nevertheless he could live a couple of decades (or more).
Your £280 a week spending money now, will that still be £280 when you are age 75, or does your calculation include capital growth to allow for inflationary growth of your income? If no allowance has been made for inflation, then inflation will eat into your income, reducing your standard of living year on year, reducing your choices, your options, your quality of life. If you are wishing - to use your own words - 'just to live and take life easy' at 50/60, what life will you have when 70/80? Strapped for cash? Scared to put the gas fire on because you can't afford to?

You have worked for 14 years. Last year you had off, and I guess enjoyed it. A years break is nice. What happens when your 'honeymoon' period ends, and boredom sets in. Will you want to return to work? Indeed, and please don't take this as a personal attack, is the reason you want your husband to stop work because you are already bored at home, and want to do more? I interview so many people who don't have the financial resources to do the things they want; they sit out their lives waiting for nature to take its natural course.

Could I ask how you would feel if the 'shoe were on the other foot' i.e. you were working, and enjoying work (as you clearly did) and your husband was at home. How would you feel if your husband asked you to stop working?

Your husband may be fearful of the finances; he could also be even more scared of the loss of working; in effect the loss of self respect.

Also, enjoying sitting at home at the weekends, pottering around the garden and in the garage and greenhouse on a Saturday and Sunday is enjoybale. Doing this on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday ... I suspect is tedious.

Your husband, an active man, with a goal ... work. It is well known that you must plan for retirement; to stop working and have no goals, no interests, is the usual onset of ill health. Again, I see it often in my business. I come across the 80 year olds who still travel around the world, they organise events for friends, go to keep fit, and enjoy life; they wear me out with the zest for life. I also come across the 62 year old, with no interests, who can't understand why their health is failing rapidly.

There are options. Can your husband work reduced hours? Could you find work on a part-time, or even full time basis, to give you an interest in life, and ease the burden on your husband to keep on working? That way you could both enjoy a better lifestyle now, and improved retirement options.

And finally, if I have not disuaded you yet, do a trial run. Place every single penny your husband earns into savings pot (which you don't touch), and life off your other income. Don't touch those savings and see what life is like without his income.

So, as I said at the start, the choice is yours - but I hope these ramblings have been helpful to you.

balmaiden

Thank you Willman for your detailed post, We would expect that figure to increase yearly so no it will not stay at £280. Also of course we will have our state pensions to look forward to (ha ha) one in 5 years and one in 14 years.

I think the fact that I worked with the elderly in my job gave me a different perspective on old age I saw so many who "wished they had done things when they were able" that and the fact that there is 9 years between my husband and myself makes me feel as if we should live for now.

I guess what I am really asking is there anyone who retired with such a low income and made it work?

Errata

It's easy to retire on a low income. You cut your cloth according to your means!
Perhaps you need to ask yourself if you want your OH to stop work so you can do things together you can't do whilst he's working - backpacking round Greek Islands, throwing yourselves into voluntary work etc Or do you want him to stop work to keep you company?
Many older people regret the things they didn't do when they were able, but they would have had good and solid reasons at the time for not doing them. Bit like 20/20 hindsight. Everyone has regrets about things they didn't do - whatever their age!

balmaiden

Errata, No I dont want him at home to keep me company I want to make sure we dothings together while we are able.

balmaiden

Errata,

No I dont want him at home to keep me company ( I have three Grand children who make good use of me! I do voluntary work for an animal charity and now that I am "retired" I am catching up with all old friends reading all the books I have not had time to read and enjoying having "me" time.

I want to make sure we do things together while we are able. Of course we all have regrets , but I do not want my regret to be the fact that he worked till he was 65 just to keep us at the standard of living we have now.

we are going to Oz for 5 weeks in three weeks time, that for the moment will be our equivalent of back packing around the Greek Isles.

I want him home because I love him and enjoy every minute we spend together. He has worked for 45 years rarely having a day off for sickness so believe you me he is ready to say goodbye to it, but he worries about the money.

May I ask, have you retired on a low income, is that how you know it is easy?

If so any tips?

margaretclare

Hi

I think the advice 'cut your coat according to the cloth' is sound.

When you retire, I assume you'll have paid off the mortgage. That's a huge chunk out of people's income these days, and once you no longer have that drain on monthly income, you'll be able to see what you have left.

Being retired, you no longer need smart clothes for work, shoes, travel to work, lunches, contributions to colleagues' leaving/baby/wedding, all those kind of things. You have time to do things like e.g. grow your own veg, which is good exercise, is an interest, saves you money and is cheaper.

DH and I both worked until we were 67, that's more than a century in the workplace for both of us. There were reasons why. There are also things I'd do differently given the time again, and I don't believe those people who say 'if I could do it all again I wouldn't change a thing'. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Perhaps someone who has spent 45 years 'at the coal-face' has by now 'paid his dues to society', and deserves a bit of 'time off for good behaviour'!

Have just looked at your post again. With no mortgage, yes, £1213 a month is enough to live on. You'll both have state pension coming to you in addition.

Good luck!

Margaret

balmaiden

Thanks Margaret,

I was rather hoping you would post a reply as I have read other posts by you and agree with you more often than not!! I really just wanted some like minded person to say go for it.

We do actually grow our own veg and have done for many many years, this year being the exception as we will be away in the summer.

seven-day-weekend

If hubby is worried about the money, why not do something like trading on E-Bay, which as well as bringing money in is something you can do together and as much or as little as you like.

Our story is this, we live on around £550 a month - retired in our mid-50s to southern Spain where the cost of living is much lower (admittedly we did have a house that my husband had inherited to fund buying a house in Spain). This is what we wanted to do before we couldn't. It all started from something a friend of my husband's said. She and her husband had taken early retirement to the Isle of Sky, but after five years had to come back due to health reasons. But, as she said 'We had five years of living our dream - that's more than most people have'. That really made us (me especially) sit up and take notice, especially as my husband was finding his job more and more stressful.

So he took early retirement at 55 and we came here to Spain to live on his Teachers' Pension. We will almost certainly return to the UK at some point, but for now, we are 'living our dream' in the sun.

We might not have been able to do it if we'd waited another ten years.

Go for it!

balmaiden

cheers seven day weekend,

I have read about your life in Spain on other threads. Another like minded person!

Its all I need to hear really, other people who have done it and have no regrets. watch this space!!