Plotting for an early retirement - anyone want to join me?

selloptape

Really interesting thread, have enjoyed everyone’s tips and stories!

I’m so inspired by FIRE but am a single parent in my 30s with an average salary so it’s not an easy aim. Hoping to stay motivated by lurking here

MrsVanderkamp

Really interesting thread. I turned 55 last year and initial plans were to work for another 3 years when DH retires. However following a stressful year last year including the funeral of a friend who didn't make 60, decided to bring my plans forward and give up work this year, hopefully end of March.

Some days I feel really excited, some days I feel scared, but at the moment I am going into work going through the motions, not enjoying my days, and feel there must be more to life. If I miss the social side too much hopefully I could find a little 2 day a week job to top up the pension, and I have already joined a gym in preparation of more free time!

I don't like to think of it as retirement as that makes me feel old, but am seeing it as the start of new opportunities.

Twoplus

I would like to join you on your journey.
OH and myself are both 50 and are hoping to retire before 60. The other half spent a week in intensive care 2 years ago and the odds of him making it were not in his favour, so I am very aware of how fragile life is.
OH has a deffered 20k DB pension at 60.
I have a 12k DB pension at 55
12k per annum from rental properties.
We will need about 40k as our youngest child will still need support.
We have started to put what we can afford into DC pensions to fund the time before the OH can get his DB pension at 60.

JoeEngland

Imelda wrote: »

I am following this with interest.

Regarding finding the job you like -I left a high paying job that I hated 10 years ago and re trained to one that I find more interesting but pays about half what I was earning. It is a gamble! Work is still work to me.
Post children I have gone back part time which is the bonus of this career choice (I would not have had that option in my old profession). My husband still works in my old profession and so is paid highly but doubts he will be able to continue past 50/55 at a push.
Our plan is to shovel in as much money as we can into pension and savings whilst my husband still has his job and then I will continue part time until 60 or so (there are several in their 70's at my firm!)

I am finding it hard to plan without any certainty in terms of job security/ DB pensions especially with all this Brexit malarkey....

All financial planning for the future is based on uncertainties. Given that the political class are doing their damndest to stop Brexit that may not affect you at all.

barnstar2077

MrsVanderkamp wrote: »

Really interesting thread. I turned 55 last year and initial plans were to work for another 3 years when DH retires. However following a stressful year last year including the funeral of a friend who didn't make 60, decided to bring my plans forward and give up work this year, hopefully end of March.

Some days I feel really excited, some days I feel scared, but at the moment I am going into work going through the motions, not enjoying my days, and feel there must be more to life. If I miss the social side too much hopefully I could find a little 2 day a week job to top up the pension, and I have already joined a gym in preparation of more free time!

I don't like to think of it as retirement as that makes me feel old, but am seeing it as the start of new opportunities.

Let us know how you get on! I am interested in how you find the adjustment. The gym is a good idea I hadn't thought of before. You get some exercise and I am sure you will start bumping in to the same people a lot so it could end up being a bit social too. Do you have a friend you could encourage to sign up too? Might make it a bit easier to start with before you find a routine.

bugslet

barnstar2077 wrote: »

Let us know how you get on! I am interested in how you find the adjustment. The gym is a good idea I hadn't thought of before. You get some exercise and I am sure you will start bumping in to the same people a lot so it could end up being a bit social too. Do you have a friend you could encourage to sign up too? Might make it a bit easier to start with before you find a routine.

I've made an A4 sheet of things I want to do, it divides into doing more of what I do now, things that I used to do and would like to 're-start and a big list of new things, some of which I might not get round to, from learning the harp, taking up gliding, buying a narrowboat, all sorts of weird and normal things.

It's fun to do and you can be as silly as you like, it's just nice to have a plan of sorts.

MallyGirl

I have a 'blue sky' list too. Learning piano and tenor recorder (already have both instruments), relearning to sail (somewhere warm) and picking up my O level French are all on it. Quite a lot of it is travel - mostly wildlife based.

JoeEngland

MallyGirl wrote: »

I have a 'blue sky' list too. Learning piano and tenor recorder (already have both instruments), relearning to sail (somewhere warm) and picking up my O level French are all on it. Quite a lot of it is travel - mostly wildlife based.

Are you planning to do a safari for the wildlife? One place I'd like to go for wildlife and landscape is Namibia.

MallyGirl

We will probably do another safari - we have done one in Kenya and one in Tanzania, before we had DD. Last summer we did bears and whales off Vancouver Island. I quite fancy Costa Rica as there are sloths and all sorts of other species, would like to see penguins again as we only saw 1 little one in New Zealand, more otters would be great, polar bears are a definite, would like to run sled dogs on snow in Norway or Finland preferably with some Northern Lights thrown in, its a long list. We could probably retire at 55 but wouldn't have the extra funds to do all of these things so will work a bit longer.

Snowdrop08

Hi Everyone, very inspiring thread so can I join in please?

We are both turning 60 this year and would really like it to be the final one of full time work. The plan is to go travelling next year, but frail parents are a problem! People say “ oh, you must live your life the way you want to!, but we can’t just abandon them!