The cost of living

fatbeetle

AnotherJoe wrote: »

So, retire at 65, OP stated car was for about 15 years, that leads us to...errm, about 80 :-)

I don't think I did actually.

fatbeetle

Triumph13 wrote: »

Washers and driers maybe not so much. Fridges and freezers definitely.


I very much agree with greenglide about the repairs as well. Sometimes it doesn't even need a new part, just cleaning or unblocking. In these cases I'm sure 'I'm bored with it and fancy a new one anyway' is part of the equation for many people.

I certainly find this to be the case. It's useful, money saving wise, t be able to wield a spanner should the occasion call for it.

AnotherJoe

fatbeetle wrote: »

I don't think I did actually.

My bad but in that case if you will buy another car when this one is at the end of its life it seems to me you should be accounting for its eventual replacement.

Or is your plan / intent that you have a sum of savings set aside for large purchases such as this, and therefore they don't count for day to day expenditure as it's not coming out of income such as pensions and drawdown? Because if that's the case, whilst that works for you, in the general case, it is indeed an expense that needs to be accounted for.

Wednesday2000

If white goods started breaking down and you were worried about paying you could always try and get them replaced with second hand goods or look on freecycle.

I think we would be okay on £20,000 a year, but would be happier at £25-£30k a year. It's hard to tell how much inflation will affect everything in the future.

Someone I talked to yesterday is retiring next year (at 55) and getting a £120,000 lump sum and then about £1,200 a year. It should be more than enough for her as she only has a tiny mortgage.

GunJack

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

Someone I talked to yesterday is retiring next year (at 55) and getting a £120,000 lump sum and then about £1,200 a year. It should be more than enough for her as she only has a tiny mortgage.

If that were the case I'd be looking at giving up some lump sum for higher pension, that's only £100 a month :eek:

saver861

Triumph13 wrote: »

"A shiny silver one will be much prettier than white" (or whatever the latest fashion is)
"I want a twin door US one like the Jones's next door"
"I NEED to have an ice-cube dispenser"
etc

Sure that does happen. However, I'm guessing that happened a lot less since 2008 crash for instance. While there will always be people that will be sucked in by the latest gimmick, I think more are reserved. Obviously there would be a valid case for getting a bigger freezer for growing families etc. but I don't think people change generally until it has broken down. If it is then 5+ years old people will more likely change for a new one.

I think the point is that older models that are 8+ years old might well be inefficient and thus not saving money. Certainly the 1980 freezer mentioned earlier would have been a power guzzler an a very expensive piece of kit to run in comparison.

Therefore, it is sensible to check older models for efficiency etc and make a decision for replacement on that basis.

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

I think we would be okay on £20,000 a year, but would be happier at £25-£30k a year. It's hard to tell how much inflation will affect everything in the future.

Well most pensions will be index linked and if your savings and investments are outstripping inflation that would not be a problem. I think it is a case of the amount needed to be comfortable. To be able to turn on the heating when required, replace the washing machine or TV when it goes kaput rather than having to search of freecycle for a replacement etc etc.

Wednesday2000 wrote: »

Someone I talked to yesterday is retiring next year (at 55) and getting a £120,000 lump sum and then about £1,200 a year. It should be more than enough for her as she only has a tiny mortgage.

I'm not sure you made a typo there but £1,200 a year won't be enough.

Wednesday2000

Lol, oops, yes, sorry I meant £1,200 a month.:rotfl:

greenglide

Well most pensions will be index linked

A bit of a generalisation.
People who have taken fixed rate annuities (a lot of people seem to got for this "default") get no indexing. DB pensions, other than public sector, often index link only up to 2.5% for anything after 1997 or so.

Anyone with a GMP and a SPa after 6/4/2016 (private sector) or December 2018 (public sector) will probably get non of the pre 88 GMP uprated (currently paid with SP) and only 3% indexing of post 88 GMP.

I wouldnt classify that as "most".

westv

If you include the SP then most people's pensions will be partly index linked

Malthusian

I plan on ensuring a comfortable retirement by reading lots of online debates about how often you need to replace a fridge freezer. The resulting early death from sheer boredom will ensure I don't run out of money.