Future Finances: Time vs Money

lessonlearned

The bungalow I am buying already has a loft conversion, and I'm aiming to use that bedroom (my Physio said keep using stairs as long as you can.....use it or lose it, were her exact words). I am thinking of adding an en suite up there too. Like you say it will add value if or when I need to sell in the future.

The more I think about it I don't think this will be my final home, I'll probably start thinking about moving again before I'm finally done.

Nothing is written in stone......:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Hi LL - this will be our final home I think - well has been our ONLY home for the last 30 years (both have been married before). I fell in love with this bungalow when I first saw it and we have done such a lot to it to make it ours over the years. Most people do it the other way round i.e. downsize from a larger property to a bungalow so that there are no stairs - we did the opposite!!! Although OH is 77 he is very fit and active - more so than me I might add at age 62 - and the stairs are no problem. Like you say, nothing is set in stone. You cannot always plan - life has a way of turning out differently!

If anything ever happened to OH and I was left alone, I would probably move into an apartment- i.e perhaps a gated development where I would feel safe, pay a service charge for amenities etc. I would miss my garden though, although I have no interest in gardening, but would miss the outside space. An apartment with an outside terrace would suit me fine! I hope that is a long time in the future and, of course, anything could happen - it could be OH moving into retirement accommodation without me - who knows what lies ahead.

Definitely think about adding an en-suite - it will certainly add value. Where we live, bungalows do not come on the market very often, and when they do, they sell pretty quickly. Ours would appeal, not only to a retired couple like us, who perhaps had adult chindren and grandchildren visiting, but also to a middle aged couple with a teenage son or daughter. An en-suite is definitely a plus.

Good luck on the house move! Bet you cannot wait to get out of limbo!

crv1963

lessonlearned wrote: »

The bungalow I am buying already has a loft conversion, and I'm aiming to use that bedroom (my Physio said keep using stairs as long as you can.....use it or lose it, were her exact words). I am thinking of adding an en suite up there too. Like you say it will add value if or when I need to sell in the future.

The more I think about it I don't think this will be my final home, I'll probably start thinking about moving again before I'm finally done.

Nothing is written in stone......:rotfl:

That is exactly what we tell our service users, don't get a bungalow until it really is the last resort, Mum's GP told her when you need one I'll tell you, stairs really are the hidden keep fit device for older people!


Having said that I live in a bungalow, without stairs although I'd love to do a loft conversion. We are on a steep hill of our own though- 17 steps from the drive to the top where it is, and of course bungalows often have larger gardens which if you like garden provides allsorts of exercise opportunities!

Savvy_Sue

S&R I just LOVE your

* IF (situation)
* THEN (problem)
* DOT (danger of this = implications for LTP - long-term plan)
* AID (action in defence = what we could do to try and fix the situation)
* FFT (food for thought = other thoughts relating to this, likely to be random ponderances, not necessarily sensible ideas)!

bit. I've sent it to myself at work where I think it may help me work through a few things on my 'to do' list.

sukysue

Been a bit preoccupied lately, DH has been poorly with a shoulder injury & what with the Dr, Physio & Dentist appts and looking after my elderly parents it has been mad. My sciatica has been giving me gip too. The Gp gave me some Gabapentin but they made me feel drunk it was awful!Am going to put up with the pain , the treatment is worse!!
Not done the wills yet but it is on the cards .
With the cooler weather l have been back to cooking our meals and really enjoying the feeling of providing nice healthy meals again.
Made DH a lovely blackberry crumble it is his favourite bless him .
Also been using the freezer stuff to try to clear one of the freezers to get rid of it. On its last legs l am sure and we have too much food here as it is !
Retirement is just wonderful days of just doing what we want to, no worries about having to go to work, despite being ill and even though we are not really up to it . I had a phone call from my old work yesterday , they asked if l would be interested in bank nursing , l wasted no time in telling them thanks but no thanks. I thank my lucky stars we are able to be at home together. Life is too short and the sooner we realised it the better .
To quote, joansgirl earlier
' All in all I have no regrets about retiring early and time (for me) really is more precious than money.'
DEFINITELY

thriftytracey

sukysue wrote: »

Been a bit preoccupied lately, DH has been poorly with a shoulder injury & what with the Dr, Physio & Dentist appts and looking after my elderly parents it has been mad. My sciatica has been giving me gip too. The Gp gave me some Gabapentin but they made me feel drunk it was awful!Am going to put up with the pain , the treatment is worse!!
Not done the wills yet but it is on the cards .
With the cooler weather l have been back to cooking our meals and really enjoying the feeling of providing nice healthy meals again.
Made DH a lovely blackberry crumble it is his favourite bless him .
Also been using the freezer stuff to try to clear one of the freezers to get rid of it. On its last legs l am sure and we have too much food here as it is !
Retirement is just wonderful days of just doing what we want to, no worries about having to go to work, despite being ill and even though we are not really up to it . I had a phone call from my old work yesterday , they asked if l would be interested in bank nursing , l wasted no time in telling them thanks but no thanks. I thank my lucky stars we are able to be at home together. Life is too short and the sooner we realised it the better .
To quote, joansgirl earlier
' All in all I have no regrets about retiring early and time (for me) really is more precious than money.'
DEFINITELY

Hi Suky


Regarding your sciatica. I don't know your history but I developed sciatica 4 years ago which was agony. GP advice was physiotherapy for 6 weeks BEFORE I could even be referred and obviously there were waiting lists for both. I was fortunate that I had PMI through work so saw a consultant, had an MRI which identified I had a prolapsed disc. I had the op in 2 weeks and have my back has been as good as new since then. I knew that if I had gone down the NHS route I would have had to resign my job. I was lucky and I couldn't have afforded PMI personally.


I just think you have to be very assertive with your GP if they are sending you away with painkillers. I hope you have had all the tests.

pollypenny

We also live in a bungalow, not really by choice. When we were looking to move to this town, for the kids to go to a good school, we had the choice of about three properties. We were just about to put in an offer on a house when we discovered it had oil heating.

We bought this rather neglected bungalow, thinking we might do a loft conversion. It wasn't needed, though. We have three double bedrooms

Now its ideal for us, with a great situation, lovely view and good neighbours. We are growing into it.

I do use stairs when I have the opportunity, though, and do tai chi exercises which I call bungalow legs!

thriftytracey

ShyAndRetiring wrote: »

Extra post here separately so I can copy / find it as needed later and so I can separate out my thoughts a bit.

So, as has been pointed out by insightful visitors, the mid-term part of our long-term plan could do with a bit of extra thought. It has a lot of work to do after all, to allow us not only to head for early retirement but to also fund the 'enough' side of the money so we can take the extra time we'd love to have.

What follows is based on thoughts shared at Bored Meeting and extra conversations / ideas. I know I have a slightly weird logic and methodology but the way I've laid out our thoughts is the way it helps me to think about it all. Basic premise behind it all is strengthening the mid-term plan because:
* In the long-term we could be much better off than we are currently as both pensions, lump sums for both of us and state pensions (if still in existence) should all be part of income.
* But the lump sums still being intact and SPs still being in existence can't necessarily be taken for granted so we need to be responsive to life situations in ways which will also support our LTP / LT income.
* Assumption that basic income (after tax) will need to be £1 k a month in order to maintain a comfortable and simple lifestyle / budget.

So we've started to 'test' our mid-term plan by identifying those what-if scenarios and working out contingencies which will allow us to keep on doing what we're doing and heading for that early retirement time together. Scenarios explored as follows:

* IF (situation)
* THEN (problem)
* DOT (danger of this = implications for LTP - long-term plan)
* AID (action in defence = what we could do to try and fix the situation)
* FFT (food for thought = other thoughts relating to this, likely to be random ponderances, not necessarily sensible ideas)!

#1: My £ planning
IF - I am in a position to take early retirement at Xmas 2023, just before my 58th birthday, there will be a glaring gap between me taking early retirement and accessing my primary work pension at 60.
THEN - The gap is about 25 months and will need to be funded from a float pot (as in keeping me afloat pot)!
DOT - It'll be enough to do to make up this shortfall over those 25 months, without also needing to add to the long-term retirement pot.
OH's pension is around £600 a month so there will be an income gap of £400 a month (assuming he's not going to be working then either as of course the plan is to be retiring early together).
AID - I've done some more projections in the NEST pension calculator (current work pension). If I can put around £200 extra into there each month until the DRD, then I should be able to take the lump sum on my 58th birthday and draw down from this at the rate of £400 a month to fund the gap. Any extra I also add will help ensure that I can still save during this gap period.
FFT
* If I can earn more and bank / pension pot any raises and extra income, then this would be adequately covered and we can still retire early.
* Changing my job is real FFT here, influenced by CRV1963's 'five year' plan / limit for his new job, which has really set me thinking (thanks CRV)!

#2: OH's health / job
IF - OH has enough of his job (antisocial, excessive tiredness etc) or his health takes a dip again.
THEN - His part-time job will have to go and he'll be retired extra early!
DOT - OH does not have full NI contributions as he worked abroad for years in his previous life (his 1st marriage). He has no chance of making up to full contributions but every month he pays NI the better off he'll be, particularly if I die first accidentally taking my full state pension with me
AID - Will look at creating a self-employed opportunity and paying his NI through self-assessment. Lump sum shouldn't need to be accessed to meet income needs, so long as I'm still working.
Or scenario #4 AID could come into play to help here (see below).
FFT
Not sure. What am I missing?

#3: My health / job
IF - My own health takes a downturn (relapse of long-term condition, cheeky arrival of anything else which has a horrible impact on ability to do my job) ...
THEN - We'd lose my income (higher income currently).
DOT - My income's important as I need another 5 years on my NI for full SP, and also to keep us where we want to be for early retirement.
If I can't earn then the LTP goes a bit belly up as we'd have to start drawing down from OH's lump sum, to use as income in the intervening years before official early retirement, rather than for later on in actual retirement.
AID - I've always reverted to self-employment during recovery phases, so I would do this even at minimal hours in order to pay my NI.
Could also look into accessing my primary pension at 55 but this too has implications for LTP?
FFT
* The more I can put into the pot (as in #1) now, whilst well will really help off-set problems arising from the above. Even if I got ill again 2 years down the line, we'd be in a much better position.
Hmmm, need to not get sick, obviously.

#4: Carer role
IF - My mum or stepdad start to not be able to cope, or their health (collectively or individually) starts to deteriorate (both have medical conditions, mum's is a chronic condition).
THEN - Myself and / or OH are the obvious ones in the family to take up a role in caring for them.
DOT - One of us would have to give up work to do so. We live approx 40 min drive away so the round trip alone makes the whole thing unwieldy around working as well.
This of course means that all of the DOT issues that come from loss of income would then come into play - particularly SP.
OH feels he is the one who would be the obvious choice to stop work and start caring as his job pays less than mine, is unsocial hours and feels (to him) easier to step away from than mine.
He also feels that his own physical fitness to support someone else who's ill might be better than mine.
AID - Could look into claiming Carers Allowance to get NI credit and minimal income injection. This would mean we'd still be within the £1k needed to keep us afloat, whichever one of us stopped work to do this.
FFT
Claiming Carers Allowance has implications for parental household's income, so needs careful looking into if / when the situation arises.

#5: Major emergency / expenses with house
IF - A major problem occurs with the house: roof blows away, flooding etc (we live in a high-risk location for this).
THEN - It's likely we'd have to access the lump sum to pay for repairs.
DOT - Reduced lump sum means reduced income in retirement.
AID - Have started house emergency fund (around £1100 at the moment); robust buildings and contents insurance is in place, regularly renewed. The £1 k monthly budget now allows £50 a month into the house EF so this can continue all the time we're working and even when we're not so long as we're covered by the £1 k income.
All the time we're working we can also top up any lump sum money we have to use in the event of a big emergency, on a 'borrow and pay back' basis with ourselves!
FFT
* Key phrase there is 'all the time we're working' ... so does that mean this plan should be more robust or is it actually one of those scenarios you can get too caught up in planning for (at the expense of everything else you're trying to do) and then it never happens!

So this is where we are so far. Clearly at any given time there could be a combination of these things going on, almost too many variants to consider, so just taking the stance that the contingencies we sort out for some main (more likely) scenarios could well be applied to those we haven't thought of yet.

Speaking of which, I know we've touched on health / jobs and loss of income but there's an obvious scenario missing here which is the loss of one or other of us. We're going to come back to that one alongside the Will doings, so I'll bring that one in later.

This is all work in progress, hence it's own post because I know we're going to need to keep coming back to this. So if anyone wants to chip in there thoughts / ideas across those AID and FFT sections particularly, it would be great to have some fresh thoughts on it all.

In the meantime, I'm off to try for a better night's sleep! Night, night all S&R x

Hi Shy


Your planning is exemplary but I think there is a danger of obsessing on the "What If" situations. For example your house maintenance, do you live in a typhoon area or flood plain in Bengal? Unless your insurance has exemptions you have that protection and as long as your house is in half way decent condition it should be OK? Unless you live on a eroding cliff of course!


Your parents - do they have adequate income to pay for care if they need it? Presumably that could be a some years away? I have heard too many stories of children in penury and having health issues from looking after their parents. There has to be a balance, also my mother died suddenly so not everyone has a gradual decline.


I know that my pension pot will run out aged about 83 if I retire as planned next year and will have 50% Mr T DB pension if he goes before me. But you know what? I am not fussed, I will have SP, we could downsize before then I have heard people on this forum live OK on SP and small income well and one's income at that age will be reduced.


But my attitude is to "Seize the Day". Enjoy the good years before old age and frailty. Mr T is well with his Type 1 Diabetes but we are starting to see issues, several laser surgeries on his eyes and the latest - now diagnosed with anemia!


Sorting - Obtained Mr T's notes. What was helpful was all the test results. I have now enrolled him on a research project low carb diet. (Much to his disgust).


Have a good weekend Over 50's!

crv1963

[QUOTE=thriftytracey;74675327]Hi Shy


Your planning is exemplary but I think there is a danger of obsessing on the "What If" situations. For example your house maintenance, do you live in a typhoon area or flood plain in Bengal? Unless your insurance has exemptions you have that protection and as long as your house is in half way decent condition it should be OK? Unless you live on a eroding cliff of course!


Your parents - do they have adequate income to pay for care if they need it? Presumably that could be a some years away? I have heard too many stories of children in penury and having health issues from looking after their parents. There has to be a balance, also my mother died suddenly so not everyone has a gradual decline.


I know that my pension pot will run out aged about 83 if I retire as planned next year and will have 50% Mr T DB pension if he goes before me. But you know what? I am not fussed, I will have SP, we could downsize before then I have heard people on this forum live OK on SP and small income well and one's income at that age will be reduced.


But my attitude is to "Seize the Day". Enjoy the good years before old age and frailty. Mr T is well with his Type 1 Diabetes but we are starting to see issues, several laser surgeries on his eyes and the latest - now diagnosed with anemia!


Sorting - Obtained Mr T's notes. What was helpful was all the test results. I have now enrolled him on a research project low carb diet. (Much to his disgust).


Have a good weekend Over 50's![/QUOTE]



Hi All,


Worry over repairs/ damage is something that a lot have and doing your best to keep up with minor repairs to stop them worsening is all you can do, we had an internal flood (water pipe leak slowly over at least a year) and only became aware that it had happened when the hall floor lifted! The leak was in the loft and the water had seeped down an internal wall then along under the floor! The house insurance paid for the repairs, so much for living at the top of a hill, no flash floods but still water damage!


I too come across people who sacrifice their health in the care of others, I think worry over aging parents is real, I help out financially where I can, do minor jobs, and take shopping etc, but full time caring is really hard work, and not to be taken on lightly.


I think the procrastination over how much to save, rate of drawing it down vs how long it will last must be the hardest part of deciding when to go. Our plan is to try to save into Mrs CRV pot, and draw it down from when we go to the start of her SP, maybe 54-67, no danger of it lasting until she's 83, we won't be able to save that much! The idea being SP+ Survivors Pension from my pension should give her enough to live on.


We've decided when we're going and will make it work, time vs money is a funny thing to work out! Seizing the day!


Diet- oh what a horrid word. I make myself eat healthier, am really not a fan of salads but am having one daily and getting used to it, thoughts of the alternative being the driver. Mind having a day a week eating (not excessively) things I like helps.


CRV

lessonlearned

thriftytracey wrote: »

Hi Suky


Regarding your sciatica. I don't know your history but I developed sciatica 4 years ago which was agony. GP advice was physiotherapy for 6 weeks BEFORE I could even be referred and obviously there were waiting lists for both. I was fortunate that I had PMI through work so saw a consultant, had an MRI which identified I had a prolapsed disc. I had the op in 2 weeks and have my back has been as good as new since then. I knew that if I had gone down the NHS route I would have had to resign my job. I was lucky and I couldn't have afforded PMI personally.


I just think you have to be very assertive with your GP if they are sending you away with painkillers. I hope you have had all the tests.

thrifty......you raise a very interesting topic here and one which only last night I was thinking about. That is PMI.

I have a similar story to you....about 18 months ago I hurt my knee. Went to GP who immediately reached for her prescription pad to fob me off with painkillers. I mentioned I had PMI. Immediately she changed her tune and said "oh yes this needs to be investigated, you need an MRI - after all you could be at risk of long term damage."

Turns out I had damaged my meniscus, as my Physio had suspected. Only an MRI could confirm the diagnosis, but I had to pay to find out. (well the insurance paid of course).

As I am now Retired I fund my own PMI (and other things like Physio etc). Problem is, the older I get, the more expensive the premiums become.

Last night I was reviewing my finances and I found myself starting to wonder if I should stop the insurance and "self fund". However, your experience, which mirrors my own, makes me loathe to give up PMI. It's a tricky one.

I think For now I'll keep the policy going and then review when it comes up for renewal. See if I can trim the budget elsewhere to cover any increase in premiums.

One thing is for sure......the older I get, the more high maintenance I become.....lol.