(NON FINANCIAL) Retirement plans/ dreams/ discussion.

MovingForwards

I've a couple of decades before SPA but I'm hoping to retire a few years before that. My plans are based on a largers scale to what I do now.

I'm hoping between now and retirement I get allocated an allotment space, get that all established and can fill my then non-working time with that and my garden. I also plan on having more time for photography and art (painting), plus visiting a lot more of Scotland.

Maybe not the most exciting to everyone, but definitely achievable, provided my health doesn't decline further than it has already.

bluenose1

Unlike most of you Covid has made me decide to stay working a bit longer, mostly as I no longer have a  2 hour daily commute. Plus allows me to build up the pension pot for a bit longer.  That decision will probably be rapidly reversed if I have to return to the office, though rumours that we may only be expected to physically go in a couple of days per week. My sister works for a housing association and they have been told they won’t be returning to work at all. !!! 
We were very fortunate to move to the Coast in February this year so have loved all the walks/runs on our doorstep and the chance to explore the area. Also joined the local hotel gym  which has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room etc. Feel really lucky to live here and feel that I am on my holidays.
Don’t really have many hobbies. I get very excited by something for a few weeks, buy all the paraphernalia and then get bored. Think - knitting, sewing, upcycling furniture, learning a language etc etc.
I do love my holidays, but cos of the move not missing them yet.
I am worried that I am basically quite lazy and if I let my instincts take hold can imagine me spending a lot of time watching Netflix. 
My ideal day at moment (post lockdown) is either gym or walk in the woods/ beach, pub lunch  with oh or friends, potter around the house for a couple of hours.  Early evening go for a swim, sauna and read on loungers around pool. Bit of TV with a G&T, bed, repeat.... 

drummersdale

That’s why I fancy partial retirement as a happy medium - still a little bit of work to keep my mind ticking over - but no staff to manage so no staff reports etc - and a few additional years to build up a little more CS Alpha pension until my wife decides she’s had enough. If I take partial retirement I think I can still take my CS Classic lump sum but when I checked the CS Partial retirement calculator I would also build up a small amount of additional pension too. The idea of a 4 day weekend and a 3 day week - which will more than likely be home based - is something I’m looking forward to!

cfw1994

bluenose1 said:

Unlike most of you Covid has made me decide to stay working a bit longer, mostly as I no longer have a  2 hour daily commute. Plus allows me to build up the pension pot for a bit longer.  That decision will probably be rapidly reversed if I have to return to the office, though rumours that we may only be expected to physically go in a couple of days per week. My sister works for a housing association and they have been told they won’t be returning to work at all. !!! 
We were very fortunate to move to the Coast in February this year so have loved all the walks/runs on our doorstep and the chance to explore the area. Also joined the local hotel gym  which has a swimming pool, sauna, steam room etc. Feel really lucky to live here and feel that I am on my holidays.
Don’t really have many hobbies. I get very excited by something for a few weeks, buy all the paraphernalia and then get bored. Think - knitting, sewing, upcycling furniture, learning a language etc etc.
I do love my holidays, but cos of the move not missing them yet.
I am worried that I am basically quite lazy and if I let my instincts take hold can imagine me spending a lot of time watching Netflix. 
My ideal day at moment (post lockdown) is either gym or walk in the woods/ beach, pub lunch  with oh or friends, potter around the house for a couple of hours.  Early evening go for a swim, sauna and read on loungers around pool. Bit of TV with a G&T, bed, repeat.... 

Sounds perfectly fine to me!
I had originally planned to “step away from the work keyboard” last spring....so COVID kept me going another year!
Our work has already said no-one will be forced back to offices (worldwide) until at least July....but I’ll be gone by then....
Evenings for films is cool too: I put a 120” screen in a few years ago, we have used it more the past 9 months than in the years prior!
I imagine if you find any hobbies you love, then you’ll maybe stick at it.  Trying new things is all good though, why not!
We have a cottage on the IOW, but frankly we’re not chasing guests this season: we hope to spend more time there ourselves this year, travel permitting.  Of course, if anyone is interested, msg me! (& if that breaks forum rules, happy to delete the line!)

becky_rtw

Hello!

Hope you don't mind if I jump in?
I'm 38 but my husband is older and so about 4 years away from retiring at 55. At that stage we plan to sell up assets we have and both retire. We paid off our mortgage 4 years ago so that has helped massively. 
We'll have a decent cushion of money and I'm doing all I can to save some extra (I should have about £100-125k) by that time. 
We are planning on moving to France, but may spend 6 months to a year travelling first. Husband wants to get a camper van whereas I prefer to do a combination of hiking and trains to get around!

We've been learning French for almost 5 years to help. Covid has been brilliant for saving, but definitely made the desire for a slower pace of life stronger. 
We also both run, although a lot less these days that we used to. I can't wait to live somewhere/be somewhere with hills on the doorstep. 

atush

crv1963 said:

Like DQ and many others our plans are fluid and more a work in progress than cast in stone! Since this thread started there have been so many changes, not all Covid-19 related, although that has impacted in unexpected ways, not just the canceled trips and  holidays.


On my way home every week (since April) I go to the same Fishmonger in a famous Seaside Town, buy Crab and then motor home. Talking yesterday to the owner she explained that if forced to close she'd meet me weekly outside the shop and I can get my crabs, this is because her husband and father can't just mothball their small fishing boat and ride out a close down, so she is making plans to keep all of their livelihoods going by ensuring regular customers orders are met. So it brought home to me the real life impact of all that is happening now. I'm busy saving and planning to retire at some point, they are fighting to stay afloat.

So our plans have changed slightly - increased saving because of limited spending opportunities, trying harder to support our small shops/ business with our spending as well as supporting sons where needed. As we move forwards we hope to work out (like everyone else) how we can live a life we enjoy, with travel and holidays somewhere in the mix. We have also learnt that we are happy where we live, can keep ourselves occupied and most of our problems are as DQ puts it "first world problems". 

I buy lobsters, crabs off a boat in my local harbour.  They even deliver!  As does my local fish shop, which si also run by a fisherman and his family.

So they get money, lockdown or not, and i save money cutting out a middleman,

Cottage_Economy

Shamelessly bumping this because I love reading about all your dreams and plans and want to read more...

sheslookinhot

I was wondering where this thread went.
I have 4 weeks annual leave to take before end June. After which I will drop to 3 days a week. Plan, ( have never liked plans) to retire end March 2022. I’ll be 62 1/2. OH plans to retire around same time at 61. Started doing some long distance walks, so will be doing plenty of those. Neither of us have been hill walkers, so plan on bagging some easy Munro’s, to start. 

Also intend to buy a Campervan this year,  new or max 2 yrs old. This will help us on our walks, as well as allowing us to travel to the Peloponnese region, Spain and Portugal, trying to avoid the maddening crowds. Will also do  Northern Europe. Would love to see the Northern Lights. I was a sun worshipper but had some melanoma removed end of 2020, so it will be a different style of holiday and attitude to the sun for me now. I have visited Japan many times for work, but I would like to go for leisure with the wife travelling about the country seeing the sights. 

NedS

Loving this thread. I'm not quite there yet (4-5 more years to go), but you guys are keeping me going with your stories knowing there is light at the end of my tunnel

SomeMadeUpName

Ideally will slow down in 6 years time when I'm 60 and my daughter will finish Uni (on the assumption she goes).
We have a holiday home in the French Alps which we have used exclusively for us (about 12-14 weeks of the year at the moment) plan would be to buy a second holiday home in Spain and renovate the French one, then use each for about 3 months of the year and let each for as much of the rest as possible. Downsize to an apt in UK, somewhere AirBnB'able and let that too whilst out of UK, but be in UK for 27 weeks to stay resident here.
All sounds great, but no plan survives first contact with the enemy, and both I and my wife have had significant health scares in the last few years (being over 50 sucks) seems to have settled down now, but we'll see what reality throws at us