This is not a mid-life crisis

Voyager2002

You talk about doing voluntary work, perhaps abroad. Why not build on that so you can get paid for doing something you find rewarding? Perhaps that might require further training and perhaps even another degree, but you have adequate capital to finance that. It is entirely possible that an investment in re-skilling yourself might be the most profitable investment possible.

Fundamental to your plans is an adequate occupational pension that you have already earned, but is it index-linked? If not, what do you expect inflation to do to it?

Reaper

One thing to beware of is inflation. It's been low in recent years but that doesn't mean it will continue. 14k might sound OK today but if inflation was 5% (for example) then you will have £700 less to spend next year, and so on.

If your work place is flexible there may be other options to increase your quality of life. For example I am about to ask work if I can drop down to a 4 day week. A friend of mine persuaded their work to allow her to take extra unpaid holidays instead so she goes on lots of holidays abroad.

Flobberchops

I think in reality, you don't have enough capital to live off risk-free passive investments. There needs to be some compromise. Either you magic up some more money, or find some investments that meet your needs and risk appetite, or continue some kind of paid work.


At its simplest, £200k plonked in a 2% account would give £4000 a year. Checking the best-buy fixed savings, there's actually a Shariah account (Gatehouse) giving 2.75% on a 5 year fix, which is £5500. So, you'd need to supplement that with £9000 to £10,000 a year to meet your 14k goal. That should be attainable by finding a job which is either seasonal, part time, very low-stress and low-pay, or if you have some niche skills, maybe explore self employment in some cottage industry where you can be your own boss and only work when it suits you.


I sympathise because checking out of the rat race and having the financial security to roll out of bed at 11 each morning if I so choose is my dream too. I wish you luck, and if you achieve it, please let us know how.

Albermarle

At the present time my 200k is sat in a bank accounts earning around 2%. It would be nice if this could increased to 5-6% with little worry.

Probably you need to do some more reading about investing and then you will get a better idea about what a sensible risk/reward attitude is, and what your own personal risk tolerance really is .
In simple terms , investments in 100% shares/equities are volatile ( and for some people frightening )but historically over a 10 year period have produced good returns ( typically around 7%pa but not guaranteed). To reduce volatility it is popular to invest in so called multi asset funds, with only a proportion of equities ( 60% for example ) potential returns are reduced but so is the risk of very large drops.

ruperts

Exodi wrote: »

Your whole post sounds immature (and sounds like you're genuinely having a midlife crisis) - if you feel you're wasting your life under strip lights at an office then get a different job.

Remember that even if you do buy a house, and house prices subsequently plummet - as you have no children and may opt to live in it for a couple of decades, the price of your house is immaterial.

A 46 year old that is unemployed and lives at home is unlikely to attract many prospective partners if you're single? I actually think your idea is wasting your life more than working.

You won't be able to go on many holidays (unless you won't pay bills at your parents) and I feel sorry for the parents whose child intends to milk them until their demise.

Probably not what you want to hear (actually certainly not).

Harsh.

I think the idea of abandoning a pointless existence under office strip lights for the reward and adventure of doing worthwhile volunteer work sounds like an excellent decision. OP has no dependants and has the financial means to support themselves so why shouldn't they try to find meaning and value in their life? I think yours is the type of philosophy on life that leads to people getting old and regretting all the things they didn't do.

Go for it, OP.

xylophone

Do you have skills that you can use on a self employed basis?

Have you checked your state pension forecast?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

Are you able to buy into your parents' property so that you are tenants-in-common?

System

slapup wrote: »

Housing isn’t an issue as I can use my parent’s home as a base.

I hope you're going to pay them an appropriate amount of rent/board and not like my 50 year old brother in law who lives with his 77 year old mother who still washes his clothes, cleans up after him, cooks his tea, buys his food out of her sole income of pension credit and despite him being in a £20k job he thinks that paying the gas and electricity bill is paying his way,

We worked out the true cost of him being there was £90 a week. It isn't a surprise her meagre savings have dropped to next to nothing whilst he has six figures in the bank.

jamesd

Make gross pension contributions up to your earnings or £3600 a tax year, whichever is lower. Pay in the gross amount times 0.8 and 25% will be added to what you pay in to give you basic rate tax relief. You're entitled too this even when paying no tax and [URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5580163£2880 into pension when retired[/URL] has much discussion.

You won't be able to take the pension money out until you reach 55 unless you get ill. You should probably invest in a bond fund inside the pension but you could use a very low risk and low paying money market fund instead. You can just keep it as uninvested cash if you like.

If you have available personal allowance when you take out the taxable 75% you will make a risk free tax gain of £720 for each £2880 net / £3600 gross that you pay in. You can choose how much you take out to stay within your personal allowance. At a minimum you make £180 if the 75% is all taxed at basic rate.

I've assumed that earnings won't exceed 40k and that the pension lifetime allowance won't affect you.

MEM62

This is not a mid-life crisis

I love these kinds of plans, really I do!

What was an enjoyable, rewarding job for me turned into pile of poo about a year ago. When Kate and I bought a house together three years ago I kept my flat. Bad days at work are made so much better by the thought of "!!!! it, we are selling the flat and running away to a Greek island until the money runs out!"

How long do you think £300K will last? :rotfl:

worried_jim

You are a long time dead- I would go for it. Find a nice beach and go sit on it for 14 years.