The cost of living

fatbeetle

The figure of £25k pa seems to be the doable one, and the one we will base our calculations on then. Paying off the mortgage next month, then retiring Sept 2018.

Noice!!

Worried_of_wakefield

Hi everyone, interesting and often funny thread here, personally I'm working on £25k/ annum, 6 months into retirement I think I have it about right but unsure going forward, could I ask your views and suggestions on extrapolating the figure into the distant future. Whilst I need to ensure comfort into older age ( presently 61) it would be nice to sneak in another holiday or two if funds allow.

At the moment I'm compounding my annual spending budget by 2% / year, nothing scientific just unsure what else to do.

JoeCrystal

Hmm, something to bear in mind is the energy cost, I believe that it went up a lot higher than 2% per year over last few years.

HappyMJ

JoeCrystal wrote: »

Hmm, something to bear in mind is the energy cost, I believe that it went up a lot higher than 2% per year over last few years.

Energy? As in gas/electricity bills? They've fallen.

Our cost over the last 11 months with the £140 Warm Home Discount and the £12 Government Electricity Rebate has been £408. £34/month is quite cheap and I'm not being frugal with energy usage.

atush

Murphybear wrote: »

We are both retired for a few years. My OH cashed in a pension and with a small part of the lump sum we kitted out the kitchen with large fridge, large freezer, small under worktop freezer, washer-dryer and dishwasher. All Miele products, we got a good deal from a specialist supplier. We expect these appliances to see us out. Our last Miele washer-dryer lasted 18 years, you get what you pay for:A

My hoover washer lasted well over 20 years (the tumbler dryer is still struggling on at over 27 years), and didnt cost as much as a miele. Having said that. i replaced it with an LG. But I have an LG big us fridge freezer (with ice and water on door) in my US house, and that broke down (luckily within the warranty).

woolly_wombat

Well_excuse_me. wrote: »

That would scare me.
In fact it should scare you, because if your beloved continues to gift money, you will be working for ever.

Reminds me of a retired teacher who kept popping up in the department where I used to work to cover maternity leave etc.

The last time I saw him he was clearly finding one group of students very trying and when I went to commiserate after one particularly difficult lesson he told me that he had only come back on that occasion because his son was getting married and his wife had casually offered to pay half the cost of a very expensive wedding in a castle.

He must have finally put his foot down because we never saw him again after that stint ended!

Murphybear

fatbeetle wrote: »

Fair point.



Our plan, such that it is, is rather beset with complexity.

We intend retiring back to Blighty in 2020.
We will have two super funds in Aus, we will also have a house in Aus which we may rent out or sell for the capital.
We have a house, without a mortgage, in the UK which we may return to, or if selling our Aussie house may buy another and keep the present house as an investment / rental for income.
I will get a UK state pension at 67 yrs old, having paid sufficient NI contributions before emigrating.

Hence this thread, to see how much roughly, we would need to live on in the UK, with the intent of retiring earlier if poss.:beer:

I hope you are not getting swamped by all this especially the fridge freezer discussion:T

If you retire to Cornwall then your heating bills will be lower than some parts of the country. If you use a gym regularly then your water bills will not be that bad. We live in the South West water area, use the local council gym (lovely swimming pool) and we currently pay £15 PCM for water. Plus you will be living in the best part of the country (ducks the brickbats:D). Seriously we live in Devon and holiday around the rest of the country;)

northernsoul

I thought a bit of realism is needed to be added this thread.

I have been off work for the last 3 years due to ill health. I was living off my savings until they run out earlier this year. I now, being just over 55, draw money out of my pension.
I live in a terraced house in Yorkshire with bills of about £320 a month, £3800 a year. I have a 15 year old car, insurance £350 a year.

Last year I survived on £9500 a year. It was not good. I could not afford to do anything but it’s a good example of what you can survive on if you have no choice. I am not saying it is a reasonable living, just a surviving living.
I thought that was hard, but I was yesterday talking to my 85 year old neighbour. She is coping on £167 a week, £8600 a year, and she is happy. She does not have a car and I can only think of the winter fuel allowance she will get extra. This is for a single person. A couple can live cheaper per person (think heating, water etc divided by 2 people).

Some people have more options than others. People in large houses can trade down to a cheaper house, even if it would mean moving away from family. I, like my neighbour, with a 100K house do not have this choice (unless we move to somewhere really rubbish).

So, to sum up, if you move/live up north, living on £9000 a year is possible, as proved by my neighbour.

atush

I have been off work for the last 3 years due to ill health. I was living off my savings until they run out earlier this year. I now, being just over 55, draw money out of my pension.

Why did you not claim ill health retirement? Benefits of some kind?

doesnt sound 100% right if you were living only on savings, and are now claiming a pension early when you could have waited?

greenglide

Why did you not claim ill health retirement? Benefits of some kind?

You can only claim ill health retirement if you have an employer scheme that provides this or a defined benefit pension that would pay out.

ESA or other benefits seems more likely.