the cost vs benefit of work

lippy1923

I couldn't imagine a life of no work. Even if I won the lottery I would still find a job of some sort to keep me occupied (After I had taken a long break and spent a good chunk of the winnings on everything I could think of)

I'm lucky as I work from home and from the office (which is only a couple of miles up the road) so I get the best of both worlds. It's nice to not have to even get dressed on the WFH days. But it's equally nice to go into the office and socialize with my colleagues.

andybenw

Having retired at 41 can I just say I love it. Currently spending winter in the Algarve with the missus playing the Frenchies at 'Boules'. Only thing is the rest of the retirees are 20 years older.

If the finances don't work out then I might have to go back to work, but absolutely no plans to do so unless it's a necessity.


Edit.. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is absolutely fantastic. No more worries about aligning holidays and stressing over should we visit family or go away.

pelirocco

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Mistermeaner has been v busy the last few weeks and was thinking today about the cost and benefits of all this business

The most obvious cost is time, and possibly a bit of stress. Obvious benefit is getting paid and I think we all need some form of structure and challenge in our lives.

More subtlety though I think there's lots of other not so obvious costs (and benefits).... perhaps these become most pronounced after retirement when the differences become clear.

Costs

- buying work clothes
- grooming.... that perhaps wouldn't otherwise do
- convenience items.... a function of having traded time but a double cost? E.g. ready meals
- car / transport
- extra stuff around transport... eg aa membership because you 'can't afford to be off the road'
- paid childcare
- paying someone else to do stuff you would do yourself with more time (cleaning etc)
- lack of time to research purchases properly (I had to buy a new car this weekend, went to one place, didn't shop around)
- doing stuff at premium times.... Fri travel, peak everything, no mid week deals(Orange weds etc)
- lack of time and energy to sort personal financial stuff out
- inefficiency of buffers required.... eg emergency cash fund as benefit safety nets don't support workers

Bit glum that so on the benefits...

- social interaction. If you like your colleagues and don't ave friends
- reduced spending to fill the empty hours (can't remember last time I went out in the week)
- self respect and well being
- ummm


Don't know if I have a point. Just musing.

Should some work expenses e tax deductible as a paye? One man band Ltd seem doubly advantaged with dividend efficiency and deductibles. My mates company spends alot 'entertaining clients'

Unless you are working stupidly long hours , there is no lack of hours to do cleaning , personal finance etc . I really wonder how you would have managed in the good old days of working long hard hours in dangerous jobs with no holidays and zero employment protection , no free health cover etc etc etc

mwpt

andybenw wrote: »

Having retired at 41 can I just say I love it. Currently spending winter in the Algarve with the missus playing the Frenchies at 'Boules'. Only thing is the rest of the retirees are 20 years older.

If the finances don't work out then I might have to go back to work, but absolutely no plans to do so unless it's a necessity.

Edit.. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is absolutely fantastic. No more worries about aligning holidays and stressing over should we visit family or go away.

Would you mind sharing how you managed to reach financial independence?

andybenw

mwpt wrote: »

Would you mind sharing how you managed to reach financial independence?

No kids,2 lodgers and lots of saving.

Leading to a no mortgage HMO rental(my former house), and small mortgage residential. Backed up by an armed forces pension(and a gratuity on leaving was a big help to cutting the mortgage on my current place) .

Pension does not increase with inflation until 55 so that could cause problems. And obviously a lot of eggs in one basket with the HMO.

Not 100% free as the HMO takes up time to manage, but not very much.

So it's fingers crossed, hope for not too many bad tenants, hope for continuing low mortgage rates and inflation.

To be honest I didn't think it would last too long as I imagined I would be eating into savings, but 2.5 years on savings are still at the same level and I'm currently on my 3rd winter in the sun.

mwpt

andybenw wrote: »

No kids,2 lodgers and lots of saving.

Leading to a no mortgage HMO rental(my former house), and small mortgage residential. Backed up by an armed forces pension(and a gratuity on leaving was a big help to cutting the mortgage on my current place) .

Pension does not increase with inflation until 55 so that could cause problems. And obviously a lot of eggs in one basket with the HMO.

Not 100% free as the HMO takes up time to manage, but not very much.

So it's fingers crossed, hope for not too many bad tenants, hope for continuing low mortgage rates and inflation.

To be honest I didn't think it would last too long as I imagined I would be eating into savings, but 2.5 years on savings are still at the same level and I'm currently on my 3rd winter in the sun.

Nice work! I've managed to save and invest fairly well (except for not buying a house earlier) over the years, relying on high income to do the work. But as time goes on I realise I'm not quite where I want to be financially (financially independent of work by 50) and have mostly ignored long term goals. I'm changing that and really starting to look at what I want, where I want it and how I can achieve it. I try to absorb any information I can get first hand.

EDIT: No kids is definitely a game changer but I don't think that's an option for me. The time draws near.

kabayiri

I know people who have effectively retired in their early 50s.

This isn't because of shrewd financial planning, so much as loss of work has had a big impact. Ageism is not supposed to be an issue in our society, but people still have preconceived biases.

How will this all play out when we are expecting people to retire later and work longer?

lisyloo

We're those individuals seriously unable to find any work? Or we're they simply wealthy enough to chose not to considering the options available?

I know it depends on skills, but I can't see why an experienced driver couldn't train to become a self employed driving instructor?
Not a magic wand, but a viable suggestion.

My FIL was a unskilled factory worker and not articulate so he retired mid 50's as no one wanted him post redundancy, but articulate experienced people should be able to find something if they have some skills e.g. Driving.

michaels

mwpt wrote: »

EDIT: No kids is definitely a game changer but I don't think that's an option for me. The time draws near.

It would be a huge saving though if you could just palm them off until they had got over teenage tantrums and were financially self-sufficient....

kabayiri

lisyloo wrote: »

We're those individuals seriously unable to find any work? Or we're they simply wealthy enough to chose not to considering the options available?
...

It's a good question and I can only offer as I find. It wasn't wealth.

I think as a society we are in a period of transition.

Some were in jobs which they thought were "for life", and yet increasingly there are fewer such jobs about.

That's hard when you have spent your whole career in modest retail banking or working for the Post Office. It's depressing to see someone just give up.

On the plus side I have worked with a lot of young grads and they seem fully aware that they will have to adapt and change. It may just be transition pains.