Can I retire at 45

Terron

kidmugsy wrote: »

And then Mr Lloyd George interfered with the rents: in other words he stole some of the property rights of the landlords. The widow and orphans were left to whistle. The 1915 Act, which he assured everyone would be temporary, wasn't finally binned until 1989.

I know controlled tenancies were abolished in 1977 so oit of curiosity what part survived to 1989 and was abolished then?

zagfles

vulcanrtb wrote: »

Quick point about the alps in summer, it can get very warm indeed. We go every year and lots of people often ask us why we go on holiday to somewhere cold (because in their mind the alps = snow/skiing, therefore cold).

Have you not seen the tour de France cyclists being poured with iced water?

They're cycling up mountains! That'll get you hot in any weather

Just checked first Alpine town I thought of, St Moritz, really doesn't look like open top car sort of temperatures, according to this even at the height of summer the max temp is below typical room temperature and then you need to account for wind chill... http://www.holiday-weather.com/st_moritz/averages/

Sorry a bit off the point here...other towns lower down might be warmer...

zagfles

Cottage_Economy wrote: »

Because it's a load of old twaddle designed to make the masses believe working every day for money can be enjoyable. It's not. I've worked for myself doing something I loved and I still felt the same. Employed or self-employed, working for money will always be work, with all the restrictions that comes with it, whether you enjoy it or not.

I have a good job I enjoy, decent money, work from home, complete autonomy over my day, no travel, no stress, excellent life/work balance.

I still look forward to the day I don't have to do it, which for me will be 55. I look forward to the day it won't occupy any part of my brain. I look forward to the day I can wake up and spontaneously decide to take off to XYZ for a week/month because I can. I look forward to never again having to request annual leave or having to liaise with colleagues over the timing of it, then sit and wait until it rolls around.

It all depends how flexible your job is. For instance I can "buy" extra leave and get 40 days leave a year, plus I work shifts which are flexible and colleagues who are willing to swap, so with shift days off on top of leave I have easily enough time off to get all the stuff done I want to do. Can also work from home, or basically anywhere with wifi. On top of all that I can take sabbaticals, which I might do next year.

zagfles

jimi_man wrote: »

Learning to fly is better done in a shorter space of time, rather than spread out over a longer period. It reduces the amount of ‘relearning’ that is needed every time you fly.

No firm plans yet, will see how it goes. Only had one lesson! Think I still remember most of it...

GavB79

OP here. It's been pleasing to see this develop into a "why would you want to/why wouldn't you want to thread". It seems a good even split.

I don't hate my job but I could do without it. For those that have a vocation and don't see work as work, good for you, I am still trying to find what I want to do with my life at 38 - hence wanting to have more spare time to figure it out. I'd quite like to write in some form. I envy people like teachers or nurses who have a passion for their work and devote their lives to it, though neither sector seems to be particularly appealing these days. For those running their own business, I commend your drive and motivation but I don't thrive on stress.

For those that are happy to work purely to put a sports car on the drive and a certain logo on your clothes, you are the people I can't fathom, but each to their own. Working 47 weeks a year to have 5 weeks of 'fun' doesn't seem fair trade-off to me.

My own motivations for FI were nearly dying aged 30 from sepsis, which led me to realise life is very short and there's no guarantee getting to 55, let alone 85. It also made me appreciate the simple things. The second was the birth of my son this year, for whom I'd like to play an active role in his formative years.

For the couple of people that asked, my DB pension will be around £22k deferred from 45 (22 years service), so more than I am intending to draw in the intervening years to 68. I won't get full SP but I can claim the child benefit for NI credits for 10 years as my partner will be working, so that would help.
I don't intend on claiming any other benefits; I hadn't even thought about eligibility for child tax credits if ISA funds are excluded from eligibility calcs.
For agency work to top up if I need to, any sort of admin work would do me just fine. I've thought about a little term-time part-time job in a school, or alternatively working 3 or 4 months over winter and taking the rest of the year off. As someone above mentioned, it's having the choice to do this that is the main thing, rather than feeling trapped in the rat race for another 30 years. Most of threads on here featuring people who retired early are rarely people saying they wish they hadn't done it.

zagfles

ISA funds are completely excluded from tax credits calculations, however tax credits are being replaced by universal credit which does have capital rules, including capital in ISAs. See:

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Universal-Credit-timetable/Universal-Credit-(UC)-roll-out-2018

kidmugsy

Terron wrote: »

I know controlled tenancies were abolished in 1977 so oit of curiosity what part survived to 1989 and was abolished then?

Too late: the reference was in the dock on my Mac and I cleared it last night. Try googling Lloyd George 1915 or the like. It was a WKPD piece, I think.

Paul_Herring

OP here. It's been pleasing to see this develop into a ...

Well, from a more reasonable basis, it went better than the other thread

Ta for the update.

ermine

zagfles wrote: »

It all depends how flexible your job is. For instance I can "buy" extra leave and get 40 days leave a year, plus I work shifts which are flexible and colleagues who are willing to swap, so with shift days off on top of leave I have easily enough time off to get all the stuff done I want to do. Can also work from home, or basically anywhere with wifi. On top of all that I can take sabbaticals, which I might do next year.

Each to their own, but after 30 years of working I found that sort of choice a pittance I was able to buy extra leave and pay less 40% tax, and all the other stuff. But in the end I was still frightened of not having a job - there is always someone else keener for the prize. Realising I was able to get to FI freed me of that existential fear, and I found nothing tastes as good as freedom feels. I can't honestly say I sweat every 24 hours for all it's worth. But they're mine. All mine. I'm poorer in money and richer in time.

That's what matters to me. Sure I probably can't afford to fly my own plane and stay expensive hotels. But my time is my own, and I am over halfway through my lifetime. It's a tragedy that when you're young you ain't got no money, and when you're old you ain't got no time, but for me it's getting control over my time that mattered, and I am deeply grateful for having had the privilege of having the choice.

ams25 wrote:

PS to those in their 20s, 30s and 40s who find the idea of stopping work at 50 or earlier sad or bizarre, i would only say that I would have thought the same in my workaholic younger days when I thrived on work, but for most people (not all) that changes as you get older and if you no longer have to work for the money (due to frugal/sensible past saving and investments) then putting up with a stressful job become very hard. And what was fun at 30 is not so much fun at 50.

Let's hear it from Carl Jung on this, he knew a thing or two:

“Thoroughly unprepared, we take the step into the afternoon of life. Worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us as hitherto. But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.”

atush

For those that are happy to work purely to put a sports car on the drive and a certain logo on your clothes,

Those of us who prefer to have a larger pot/higher income dont always spend in this profligate way. We buy second hand cars, and shop at high street stores and online. Only buy posh logo stuff at vastly reduced prices (and even then maonly for our 3 boys).

We are saving harder and longer to fund 6 months a year in the USA, fine wines and holidays now along with the odd meal out.