Quit everything , and start again over 50?

harz99

Not sure I agree there Smodlet.

The brutal truth is that AC will not have sufficient spare funds to consider being out of work for a very long period, and in my view his first priority after settling into his rental and sorting doctor/dentist/financial matters must be to secure employment sufficient to meet his living expenses, or he will soon run out of capital and be back to square one.

Where AC finds work should also have a significant bearing on where he buys his forever home as he relies on public transport to get around, not much use buying a home nowhere near place of employment!

So in actual fact the Jobcentre and signing on are going to be necessary evils until work is found in my view.

lessonlearned

I tend to agree with Harz.

As harsh as it might sound I think that, given ACs lifestyle preferences he does have to think about finding work sooner rather than later. ........at least if he wishes to remain in an area which has high property values - such as Poole.

If AC were to adopt a different strategy i.e. Take a more radical approach to downsizing and adopting a simpler lifestyle, then he Could Move to an area where property values are cheaper - say around £150k, with no service charges. If he did that then he could take an extended sabbatical or even semi retire.

However, To put it bluntly AC appears to want to maintain his current lifestyle, buying a high end property in an expensive postcode and, worse still, one that will also incur high running costs. This being the case, realistically he cannot afford a lengthy sabbatical, not if he wants to purchase at £200k.

His rent and storage costs are going to come to roughly £1k a month, so that is £12k a year for starters, so even living simply on roughly £6k a year he's going to make a dint in his capital.

Like Harz says, it makes sense for AC to find the job first so that he can then Find a home near to his workplace.

lessonlearned

Enthusiasticsaver......you say you are impressed by my ability to live on £7k.

Btw....this figure does not cover holidays or major capital outlays such as buying a car or furniture.

It does include running a car at approx £1500 so if I were prepared to.live car free I could probably get that down to around £6k

You call it frugal living, actually I call it "simple living" because I can live very well on that figure....I don't do hair shirts and I admit I like the finer things in life. :rotfl: I am not exactly the "knit your own yoghurt" kind of girl. .....I can be as frivolous and spendy as the next person.

However, I have found that when you are retired your day to day living expenses do decrease. I think going out to work each day does cost money.......obviously travel, clothes for work, lunches etc but also I think there are hidden costs - what I call "lost opportunity costs".

When you are out at work every day you are time poor so you often go for the convenient but more expensive options.......food is a prime example. When you retire then you have more time to do the moneysaving things.......savvy shopping, bargain hunting, cooking, DIY etc

Since retiring I have been pleasantly surprised to find that my money does seem to be able to stretch that bit further with comparative ease. I don't feel in the least bit deprived.

I am perfectly happy with my lifestyle, I can still run a car, go on holiday and treat myself - all within reason of course.

There is a frugal living thread on the debt diaries board......well worth a read. A lot of people,on there manage on around £6k a year.

Also if you have a good Google you will find lots of blogs about how you can live well for less.

You can still "live it large" even on quite a tiny budget :rotfl:

I think The magic ingredient is time. If you are time rich then you really can live very well on a surprisingly small budget.

MrsPorridge

Thanks for that last post LL. DH and I are planning to downsize, release the equity in our home and try and retire early. Once DS finishes Uni which is next year - and once he is settled.


It struck a cord with me about the time factor. We both work 9 - 5 five days a week and often in the evening go out to the pub or buy convenience (can't do takeaway as the nearest one is 12 miles away), but would if we could! Just because we are tired after work or can't be bothered.


I am aiming to base our figures on £12k per year - and after your posts and further thinking on reading this fantastic thread I think we could easily lower that right down.


How are you feeling today AC?

enthusiasticsaver

LL I think yes if needed we could get down to probably about £10k by living a more frugal lifestyle (there are 2 of us), less if we downsized to a smaller and less costly house. Our council tax is around £170 a month and we pay south west water prices which are around £60 per month even on a meter. Add in an OH who feels the cold and there is £100 on gas and electric too. broadband, tv and insurance, phones and running the house is £400-£450 alone.

If we had to live within a reduced income we would economise but we have effectively been saving more than 50% of our income for the last 10 years in pensions and savings so we are lucky to have a higher than average income in retirement. I don't need much in the way of things but we like our theatre and concert trips,meals and days out, gym and country club membership and holidays. As I still work part time we run two cars and my husband who is early retired now does the shopping at Waitrose rather than lidls and is not at all frugal. For an easy life I don't worry about it as we can afford it.

You sound as if you enjoy a comfortable retirement and your circumstances I know have been different as you cared for your husband for such a long time which obviously affected your finances and ability to save for retirement and I guess downsizing was the thing which enabled you to live within a lower income. I think AC should follow your advice and live more frugally due to his pension situation and get a cheaper house in a less expensive area so that he does not have to worry about getting another job. I am not sure he wants to make those compromises though.

lessonlearned

Hi mrs porridge.....£12k should be plenty.

That is roughly my net passive income after tax so as you can see if I keep my living costs to around £7k, it still leaves £5k to play with and that's not counting any bits and pieces I can earn.

I also dabble a bit with antiques and collectibles - just a hobby really but That can net me around £2k.

I bet you are really looking forward to being retired. I can certainly recommend it.

Once I've eventually found a home of my own I might start a little business working from home.

I'm actually a trained beauty therapist so I was thinking about a "mini spa". Just a couple of days a week.

My dad was admitted to hospital yesterday.......more fun and games. I guess I will be going to and fro for a while.

I'm shattered already.

PS. The actual household bills are roughly £3k, the other £2.5k is food etc and a further £1500 for th car.

So a rough breakdown

Council Tax. £1000
GAs and Leccy. £1000
Water. 250
Home insurance 250
TV licence. 120
Broadband (not sure). 250. (Estimate)

Total. £2870

Rounded up to £3k


Food approx £1500
Car approx. £1500. (Tax, insurance, maintenance, and fuel).

Brings us up to £6000 - again all figures rounded up.

Which leaves roughly £1k for misc, hair, clothes, dentist, going out and treats.

Our family have decided to adopt a "small gift policy" so Christmas and birthdays are generally around £300.

My dentist bills were low this year and my biggest expense has been Physio, roughly £1100, fortunately my car insurance covered me for £500 of that.

Clothes??? I have wardrobes full. Other than undies I probably never need by any clothes, boots or shoes ever again. I will of course - I have a keen and healthy interest in nice clothes. But......I am a savvy shopper and don't actually spend a lot.

My big luxury is holidays and travel. And I have to admit I like to travel in style and comfort.

I have 3 cruises booked for the next 12 months and doubtless a few odd weekends away. I have a senior railcard and always travel first class on the train. If you book in advance it keeps the costs down.

Yes I could shave that budget, I know some people spent less than me on food, and heating, cut their own hair, dont spend on clothes etc and never treat themselves to a meal out or trip to the cinema or theatre and all that. I don't want to live like that.

Last Friday DS2 andi went to Chatsworth for the day, had lunch in the posh restaurant. It was not a cheap day out but it's nice to have a little splurge every so often.

On Sunday we are having a family gathering for lunch At a very nice little French bistro we like. Again not cheap but it is fab.

AS I said before I am not going to wear a hair shirt and live like Scrooge.It isn't necessary.

I tend to run my finances the way I used to run our business. I keep a tight rein on cashflow And try to keep costs low.

One thing that I think we retirees and boomers have to bear in mind is the effect of inflation on our base line costs. We need to be vigilant and keep those costs down. .

enthusiasticsaver

MrsPorridge wrote: »

Thanks for that last post LL. DH and I are planning to downsize, release the equity in our home and try and retire early. Once DS finishes Uni which is next year - and once he is settled.


It struck a cord with me about the time factor. We both work 9 - 5 five days a week and often in the evening go out to the pub or buy convenience (can't do takeaway as the nearest one is 12 miles away), but would if we could! Just because we are tired after work or can't be bothered.


I am aiming to base our figures on £12k per year - and after your posts and further thinking on reading this fantastic thread I think we could easily lower that right down.


How are you feeling today AC?

It was our plan to downsize eventually but one of our daughters works and lives away up country so uses her bedroom here when she comes back to visit and we look after our granddaughter every week, sometimes overnight so still use all 4 bedrooms. When we were working out our retirement number I calculated a minimum of £15k income a year simply because we are not yet ready to give the house up. It makes a difference if you can live in a smaller abode.

MrsPorridge

We are four bedrooms in the south west so are lucky that house prices here have gone up. Our mortgage will be paid off early next year so we are in a good position. We are looking to move up north just below Carlisle, left of Lake District kind of area to a small 2/3 bed bungalow.

Smodlet

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

I think AC should follow your advice and live more frugally due to his pension situation and get a cheaper house in a less expensive area so that he does not have to worry about getting another job. I am not sure he wants to make those compromises though.

Does it make sense for AC to look for work now? Yes. Does he want to? I think not. I also think he would not be entitled to claim anything for some time as he left his job voluntarily and the only grounds on which to appeal are ill health ones.

Hi AC :wave::hello:

wendym

And in the Brave New World for benefits claimants, looking for work, and proving that you are doing so, is a full time job.

I do still think it would be a good idea to do a recce in South Shields, where buying a small leasehold house would save thousands. I don't know about employment prospects, but his buffer would last longer. I do get what a daunting prospect that must seem.

Hi AC from me too.