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

nellis10

Hi Folks,

I'm in the late 40's panic stations mode at the moment where I am constantly fretting, obsessing and pouring over my spreadsheets (Which I am NOT convinced are detailed enough, so if someone has a REALLY detailed one, I NEED IT!!! lol) to see when/if I can afford to retire early.

I've created budgets for different periods in my future life - Now, 48-54, 55-62, 62-67 and 67+
I'm in a fairly OK paid job, but it's a young persons industry (cybersecruity) and I can't see myself doing what I am doing beyond 55. I intend to go part-time from about 55 and use investments if possible to see me through to 62 as top ups. From 62 I intend to only use investments to fund until SP kicks in.

I'm single and will probably stay that way (Unless a 6' Danish hunk sweeps me off me feet :rotfl: ) so my outgoings will be for me and my pooch. From 55 I'll likely not be supporting my son any longer as he will theoretically be finishing Uni around this time, so part-time seems like a plan to me just doing a regular shift 3 days a week in a retail store will keep me happy.

In theory I hope to be mortgage free by my 62nd year if not before.

Some minor numbers:

2 DC pensions - Totalling today around £160K
I pay 18% SalSac and Employer pays 7%. Due to panic mode I am intending to up this to 25% SalSac from April. Yearly contributions in theory around £12-13K increasing to £17K if I can keep it up!
Also pay net 2-3% into older work pension just to keep it topped up.

I invest £300 monthly into Vanguard trackers but only been doing this for a couple of years and slowly built up to the £300, so stands at roughly £4K today with intention of upping to £500 monthly over next couple of years. I'm debt free, buy used cars and have £55K left on mortgage which I overpay by £200 a month.

I'm not a big spender and believe I could live happily in today's money on around £18K-£20K per annum. Most of my wage at the moment is the basics of Mortgage, Investments, Pensions plus Bills. I already have an Emergency fund in cash of £12K which I think is enough for now, so any spare cash will be pensions/investments.

Anyhoo, that's roughly me in a nutshell and I'm interested to see how this thread develops and how close we all come, barring apocalyptic scenarios playing out, to retiring early.

Right now, retiring 4 hours early is a pipedream lol!

Thrugelmir

nellis10 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm in the late 40's panic stations mode at the moment where I am constantly fretting, obsessing and pouring over my spreadsheets (Which I am NOT convinced are detailed enough, so if someone has a REALLY detailed one, I NEED IT!!! lol) to see when/if I can afford to retire early.

I've created budgets for different periods in my future life - Now, 48-54, 55-62, 62-67 and 67+
I'm in a fairly OK paid job, but it's a young persons industry (cybersecruity) and I can't see myself doing what I am doing beyond 55. I intend to go part-time from about 55 and use investments if possible to see me through to 62 as top ups. From 62 I intend to only use investments to fund until SP kicks in.

I'm single and will probably stay that way (Unless a 6' Danish hunk sweeps me off me feet :rotfl: ) so my outgoings will be for me and my pooch. From 55 I'll likely not be supporting my son any longer as he will theoretically be finishing Uni around this time, so part-time seems like a plan to me just doing a regular shift 3 days a week in a retail store will keep me happy.

In theory I hope to be mortgage free by my 62nd year if not before.

Some minor numbers:

2 DC pensions - Totalling today around £160K
I pay 18% SalSac and Employer pays 7%. Due to panic mode I am intending to up this to 25% SalSac from April. Yearly contributions in theory around £12-13K increasing to £17K if I can keep it up!
Also pay net 2-3% into older work pension just to keep it topped up.

I invest £300 monthly into Vanguard trackers but only been doing this for a couple of years and slowly built up to the £300, so stands at roughly £4K today with intention of upping to £500 monthly over next couple of years. I'm debt free, buy used cars and have £55K left on mortgage which I overpay by £200 a month.

I'm not a big spender and believe I could live happily in today's money on around £18K-£20K per annum. Most of my wage at the moment is the basics of Mortgage, Investments, Pensions plus Bills. I already have an Emergency fund in cash of £12K which I think is enough for now, so any spare cash will be pensions/investments.

Anyhoo, that's roughly me in a nutshell and I'm interested to see how this thread develops and how close we all come, barring apocalyptic scenarios playing out, to retiring early.

Right now, retiring 4 hours early is a pipedream lol!

Enjoy life while you can. Never leave until tomorrow what you can do today. As the one cetainty in life is uncertainty.

Personally I'd recommend a balance. Rather than a fixatation with planning and monitoring.

As for work. The retail sector and other labour intensive industries. Maybe those hit the hardest employment wise in the decades to come.

barnstar2077

nellis10 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm in the late 40's panic stations mode at the moment where I am constantly fretting, obsessing and pouring over my spreadsheets (Which I am NOT convinced are detailed enough, so if someone has a REALLY detailed one, I NEED IT!!! lol) to see when/if I can afford to retire early.

I've created budgets for different periods in my future life - Now, 48-54, 55-62, 62-67 and 67+
I'm in a fairly OK paid job, but it's a young persons industry (cybersecruity) and I can't see myself doing what I am doing beyond 55. I intend to go part-time from about 55 and use investments if possible to see me through to 62 as top ups. From 62 I intend to only use investments to fund until SP kicks in.

I'm single and will probably stay that way (Unless a 6' Danish hunk sweeps me off me feet :rotfl: ) so my outgoings will be for me and my pooch. From 55 I'll likely not be supporting my son any longer as he will theoretically be finishing Uni around this time, so part-time seems like a plan to me just doing a regular shift 3 days a week in a retail store will keep me happy.

In theory I hope to be mortgage free by my 62nd year if not before.

Some minor numbers:

2 DC pensions - Totalling today around £160K
I pay 18% SalSac and Employer pays 7%. Due to panic mode I am intending to up this to 25% SalSac from April. Yearly contributions in theory around £12-13K increasing to £17K if I can keep it up!
Also pay net 2-3% into older work pension just to keep it topped up.

I invest £300 monthly into Vanguard trackers but only been doing this for a couple of years and slowly built up to the £300, so stands at roughly £4K today with intention of upping to £500 monthly over next couple of years. I'm debt free, buy used cars and have £55K left on mortgage which I overpay by £200 a month.

I'm not a big spender and believe I could live happily in today's money on around £18K-£20K per annum. Most of my wage at the moment is the basics of Mortgage, Investments, Pensions plus Bills. I already have an Emergency fund in cash of £12K which I think is enough for now, so any spare cash will be pensions/investments.

Anyhoo, that's roughly me in a nutshell and I'm interested to see how this thread develops and how close we all come, barring apocalyptic scenarios playing out, to retiring early.

Right now, retiring 4 hours early is a pipedream lol!

Seems like you have all of your bases covered, good luck!

I like you wonder how many of us will be able to retire at our target dates, but I figure that even if I end up tagging on a few years where I work part time at the end to make the numbers work I am still going to be in a much better situation than if I did nothing. I feel a lot better when I am at work now. I guess I am like a prisoner who can smile at the guards because he knows his tunnel is being dug a bit more every month! :rotfl:

gallygirl

nellis10 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm in the late 40's panic stations mode at the moment where I am constantly fretting, obsessing and pouring over my spreadsheets (Which I am NOT convinced are detailed enough, so if someone has a REALLY detailed one, I NEED IT!!! lol) to see when/if I can afford to retire early.

Personally I think the best retirement planning spreadsheets are the ones you make yourself, I'm not that excel literate but I understood mine and couldn't trust others I saw as they looked too complicated . However, I'd recommend you look at cFIRE sim - you can put in pots appearing at various stages and it runs it through stock market cycles for the last 100 years (plus some random ones) to see how likely you are to end up in the gutter :cool:.

Although I advocate saving in ISA's and pensions rather than OPing the mortgage I was on a short time scale and the latter was the best option for me. I had a spreadsheet which showed how much interest I was paying every day and what the projected end date was. I loved looking to see how much I needed to change the end date - it often wasn't too much as I had money going to the mortgage most weeks, not just once a month. And then of course I had to try to find that amount :rotfl:. I remember a colleague asking me if I wanted her to get me a coffee from Costa (when we had free tea and instant coffee at work). Good grief no I replied, that's 4 hours off my mortgage end date. Oh how funny she thought that was ....... little did she know . Last I heard, she was still working, still buying coffee and still couldn't afford to retire .

barnstar2077 wrote: »

I feel a lot better when I am at work now. I guess I am like a prisoner who can smile at the guards because he knows his tunnel is being dug a bit more every month! :rotfl:

:rotfl:I know the feeling :rotfl:. It helped that I knew what I wanted to do, which was retire to Spain, so in boring meetings I could actually picture myself sitting on the terrace in x,xxx days and counting. Metaphorically shaking the earth out of my trouser legs every day when I left work felt good .

Fatbritabroad

barnstar2077 wrote: »

Seems like you have all of your bases covered, good luck!

I like you wonder how many of us will be able to retire at our target dates, but I figure that even if I end up tagging on a few years where I work part time at the end to make the numbers work I am still going to be in a much better situation than if I did nothing. I feel a lot better when I am at work now. I guess I am like a prisoner who can smile at the guards because he knows his tunnel is being dug a bit more every month! :rotfl:

Yep I'm far from retirement but being in a good position financially means I'm able to pick and choose what I want to do at work now knowing if it doesnt work out I have a big safety net. I'm finding more and more it helps me enjoy the journey

bluenose1

nellis10 wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm in the late 40's panic stations mode at the moment where I am constantly fretting, obsessing and pouring over my spreadsheets (Which I am NOT convinced are detailed enough, so if someone has a REALLY detailed one, I NEED IT!!! lol) to see when/if I can afford to retire early.

I've created budgets for different periods in my future life - Now, 48-54, 55-62, 62-67 and 67+
I'm in a fairly OK paid job, but it's a young persons industry (cybersecruity) and I can't see myself doing what I am doing beyond 55. I intend to go part-time from about 55 and use investments if possible to see me through to 62 as top ups. From 62 I intend to only use investments to fund until SP kicks in.

I'm single and will probably stay that way (Unless a 6' Danish hunk sweeps me off me feet :rotfl: ) so my outgoings will be for me and my pooch. From 55 I'll likely not be supporting my son any longer as he will theoretically be finishing Uni around this time, so part-time seems like a plan to me just doing a regular shift 3 days a week in a retail store will keep me happy.

In theory I hope to be mortgage free by my 62nd year if not before.

Some minor numbers:

2 DC pensions - Totalling today around £160K
I pay 18% SalSac and Employer pays 7%. Due to panic mode I am intending to up this to 25% SalSac from April. Yearly contributions in theory around £12-13K increasing to £17K if I can keep it up!
Also pay net 2-3% into older work pension just to keep it topped up.

I invest £300 monthly into Vanguard trackers but only been doing this for a couple of years and slowly built up to the £300, so stands at roughly £4K today with intention of upping to £500 monthly over next couple of years. I'm debt free, buy used cars and have £55K left on mortgage which I overpay by £200 a month.

I'm not a big spender and believe I could live happily in today's money on around £18K-£20K per annum. Most of my wage at the moment is the basics of Mortgage, Investments, Pensions plus Bills. I already have an Emergency fund in cash of £12K which I think is enough for now, so any spare cash will be pensions/investments.

Anyhoo, that's roughly me in a nutshell and I'm interested to see how this thread develops and how close we all come, barring apocalyptic scenarios playing out, to retiring early.

Right now, retiring 4 hours early is a pipedream lol!

I am in my early 50s and similarly obsessed with my spreadsheets.:)
My strategy has been rather than overpay the mortgage etc has been to pay as much as I can into my SS work pension scheme to maximise benefit of salary sacrifice. I don't think there is a better return for my money. I will then use my Pension D.C. pot to pay off mortgage. Even if I pay tax on my D.C. pot I should still be 17% up on what it has cost me.
I am up to the max of Salary Sacrifice allowed so I also save £300pm to a 5% regular saver account.
Good luck meeting your Danish hunk:heartsmil

crv1963

bluenose1 wrote: »

I am in my early 50s and similarly obsessed with my spreadsheets.:)
My strategy has been rather than overpay the mortgage etc has been to pay as much as I can into my SS work pension scheme to maximise benefit of salary sacrifice. I don't think there is a better return for my money. I will then use my Pension D.C. pot to pay off mortgage. Even if I pay tax on my D.C. pot I should still be 17% up on what it has cost me.
I am up to the max of Salary Sacrifice allowed so I also save £300pm to a 5% regular saver account.
Good luck meeting your Danish hunk:heartsmil

I'm with you bluenose1- I think pension up lift and maybe using some of the TFLS to pay down the mortgage is a better strategy for us. I do understand the allure of being mortgage free but with interest rates low there isn't a pressing case unless to get a better LTV on the next mortgage.

Whichever route someone takes hindsight always can be a not so wonderful thing!

EP456

Hi everyone and good luck with your plans

I have also become obsessed with early retirement and wish I had acted earlier in the paying into pension game!

I feel so lucky to have started my working life in an organisation where paying into the pension was mandatory as I would not have trusted my younger self to have made the payments, given an option!

I am now 56 and look forward to a DB Pension at 60. It is not large compared to some I have read about on here, but without it, I would have to work until SPA.

My husband turned 60 last year, and received his CSP from then.

We are both working full time, and my husband is paying the maximum into his current work pension. He goes down to 2 days a week in December, and I intend to work for another 3 years. I am in a LGPS.

I have only just applied to start paying AVCs via the Prudential.

My escape date will hopefully be September 2022.:j

I look forward to following everyone’s progress, and any advice (especially with spreadsheet layout) gratefully accepted

Mrs_Z

Hello to all

Just thought I post an update as it’s already been some weeks since the last post...longer than I intended.

So, here I am, in a foreign country. Commuting back and forth, more or less on a weekly basis. It’s quite scary when you start to spot familiar faces on the flights. Popular route for the commuters obviously!

So, how has it been so far?
Well, not to too bad I guess, but it’s summer and the light evenings are here so that makes a difference. It’s a strange thing to say but landing at 9.30pm in the daylight still fools my brain thinking it’s not that late.

Has anything changed in my circumstances?
Well, yes. I mentioned an elderly pet which sadly has since been put to sleep so is no longer in the picture. This means that the OH can also take turns to visit me instead of me doing all of the commuting. So going forward from next month, I will spend at least 1 weekend abroad every month with OH which will be nice as that’d get me an opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing as well!

What has gone well?
Surprised to say this, but the work has. The work itlsef has been a bit of mixed bag for the last few years and it was very tough between late last year up to the relocation, but now that things have quieten down a bit we’re back to ‘tolerate’ state.
Food in the new canteen has also been a surprise hit, not to mention fraction of the cost compared to previously so this has been a massive bonus.
The new work commute (from the accommodation to work) is a walk in park. Almost literally. No more stuffy overcrowded trains or signalling problems. I’ve wowed NEVER to commute again for longer than 30min one way. And walking is free.

What have I discovered about myself?
I knew that sharing accommodation would be a challenge and so it is…. we all do things differently and have different standards but I keep reminding myself that it could be much worse. At the end of the day, the flatmate is also commuting so we only share max 2 night a week, and it’s enough!
Another surprise has been how homesick I’ve been. I never considered myself a homesick type of person but I really miss our home, OH, garden, even the elderly pet who’s no longer in the picture. Makes you evaluate things.

But the biggest surprise has got to be the FINANCE side of things. I’m not quite sure what has happened as it seems that despite paying for rent, bills and flights, ie. expenses that I did not previously have, I seem to have MORE money left on my account the day before payday day compared to before. How does that work? I’m somewhat puzzled. Ok, I know my expenditure abroad is minimal and at the weekend I don’t always even go to the shops anymore but then I never thought of myself as a big spender anyway. Pleasant surprise of course, but something I need to keep an eye on...

Despite all of the above, the current thinking (and it does vary from day to day) is to pack it all in at the end of May 2020. OMG! Scary. :eek:
How’s everyone else getting on?

RueyE

Hi,
After having a week off from work I have just started following this thread, and like everyone else I will be following this with interest.

I'm also heading for the early retirement door, with my current end date set to July 2021, by which time I'll be 58. OH will only be 54.
One thing I'm trying to sort out is how to convince my OH to stop work at the same time as myself, so we can do all the fun things retirement permits together.
One thing I'm finding is that it is a mental battle to overcome accepting that less money will be coming into the coffers than the amount being spent, especially as there will be about 2 years to wait before my half-decent company pension kicks in. We have been preparing for this by saving very hard, but with kids at university for at least three more years the costs are currently quite high.
Once we can accept the situation (and that we have prepared as best possible), I'm sure it will be fine.

Anyway good luck with everything.