It's time to start digging up those Squirrelled Nuts!!!!

Goldiegirl

About 18 months ago they opened an Aldi in location that is convenient for us, so we started shopping there. We like most of the things we get in Aldi, but there's a few things we aren't quite so keen on. In a four week period, we normally would do 3 weekly shops in Aldi, one in Sainsburys, and a few bits and pieces from M&S.

Goldiegirl

I've been reading this thread with a great deal of interest.

I'm now in my 5th year of retirement (time has gone very quickly)

I stopped working when I was 54, and my husband was 63.

At that point our income was from my final salary pension that I'd taken a few years beforehand when I was made redundant, so I got an enhanced pension, and my husband had bought an annuity from a private pension. He had a guaranteed annuity rate, which was helpful.

Our annual joint income was £18000, and covered all our day to day living expenses, bills and leisure. For the first year, I was very cautious, and logged and recorded everything to an almost forensic degree. I felt quite bogged down by it all, so I stopped this high level of monitoring expenditure by the end of 2015.

In October 2016, my husband got his state pension, and this made a big difference to us. Our current joint income is £30,000, and we feel we live very comfortably on this. I intend to take a small Barclays pension next year when I'm 60. I'll get my state pension in 2026. I've got to make voluntary NIC for three more years to get the full NSP.

In the years leading up to our retirement, we were focused on saving. This meant that we didn't do much in the way of decorating and home improvements. Since we retired, we've been decorating the house' including a major refurbishment to the lounge and dining room, and currently we are having the bath room and cloakroom refitted. Next is the stairs and landing, and next year I plan to give the kitchen a face lift, with new doors to the units and new flooring. Then the house should be 'done', and fit for a hopefully long retirement. My husbands state pension has been used for these improvements, plus a bit from savings.

We've also used some savings to do the 'big' holidays that we had promised ourselves. However, even though we have spent from savings, our savings pot isn't too dented, as our SIPPS and S&S ISAs have been doing ok, and we have no plans to drawdown from investments.

By this time next year, I envisage that all our home improvements will be done, and going forward, we will be paying for holidays from income, and not savings.

On a day to day basis, we live fairly simply. We like walking, and often go out for the day for a walk with a packed lunch. We like a meal out from time to time and enjoy days out on coach trips. One thing we do more often now is go out for a coffee, maybe two or three times a week. But we can afford it, and we like it, so why not!

It was a big decision for us to give up work, and it took a while for us to relax fully into our new life, but I have now got quite good at spontaneity, instead of living to a quite rigid plan..

No regrets at all

Goldiegirl

BoxerfanUK wrote: »

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like 'less is more' as you get older? Spent most of my life accumulating things as indeed we all do, but seem to spend more time getting rid of 'stuff' lately and weirdly, I feel much better for it. It seems to de-clutter my mind.:)

Don't get me wrong, we are certainly not hoarders or anywhere near packed to the rafters, but just getting rid of stuff we don't use anymore that's just taking up space I'm finding really satisfying.

We still like nice things of course, and if we really want something we buy it, but I'm getting as much pleasure out of letting go as I do from 'acquiring'. Find myself walking around the house or up in the loft thinking 'what can I get rid of next' :rotfl:

Decluttering seems play a part in the pre-retirement and early part of retirement for many people.

For a couple of years before we retired, I was madly decluttering everything that was surplus to requirements. I sold a lot of things on eBay and gave a lot to charity. I felt I needed to clear the decks before the next stage of my life.

Decluttering is now ongoing, as I don't want to let 'stuff' build up again.

In the autumn, we are planning to have another sweep of the loft and shed, and get rid of some larger things that survived previous decluttering sweeps.

JoeEngland

We started doing a lot of our shopping at Lidl last year having previously avoided it due to nothing other than snobbery, and had been doing our main shop at Sainsburys. Each week I bore my wife by still sounding amazed at how much we're saving! There's only a few things we either can't get at Lidl or have tried and not liked. The fruit and veg from Lidl seems to last longer which is another benefit. There's an Aldi opening soon nearby so we'll try that. I think the gravy train days for the big name supermarkets are coming to an end because of Lidl and Aldi.

atush

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

No idea who says it was wrong as it was not me.

I have made no comment on what is right, or wrong.

People are entitled to spend what they like. I just cannot work out what they are finding to spend it on.

No you didnt overtly say it was wrong. But you did intimate that you thought it was profligate.

Our council tax is over 1500 alone, maintenance is thousands. Although w plan to downsize, the house was converted 25 years ago so need to spend thousands updating before that. So far one bedroom, one bathroom and downstairs hall done. Will take a while as is 5 bedroom 3 bath.

some people live in very expensive areas, some of you dont

GSP

Goldiegirl wrote: »

In the years leading up to our retirement, we were focused on saving. This meant that we didn't do much in the way of decorating and home improvements. Since we retired, we've been decorating the house' including a major refurbishment to the lounge and dining room, and currently we are having the bath room and cloakroom refitted. Next is the stairs and landing, and next year I plan to give the kitchen a face lift, with new doors to the units and new flooring. Then the house should be 'done', and fit for a hopefully long retirement. My husbands state pension has been used for these improvements, plus a bit from savings.

Each to their own, but this part I don't understand. Sounds like your house was in need of updating and freshening up. You had to end up doing the decorating anyway so why not do this when you needed to, then you could enjoy it for longer. If you were saving sounded like you had the money.

Suffolk_lass

GSP wrote: »

Each to their own, but this part I don't understand. Sounds like your house was in need of updating and freshening up. You had to end up doing the decorating anyway so why not do this when you needed to, then you could enjoy it for longer. If you were saving sounded like you had the money.

For me it was the time taken to do these bigger jobs - I was working in London (2 hours in, closer to 2 and a half hours out) and this meant a 12-14 hour day - I was just too tired to take this on so we have done the same, and postponed some of the jobs.

GSP

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

For me it was the time taken to do these bigger jobs - I was working in London (2 hours in, closer to 2 and a half hours out) and this meant a 12-14 hour day - I was just too tired to take this on so we have done the same, and postponed some of the jobs.

Yes, there is that.

[Deleted User]

Spider_In_The_Bath wrote: »

No idea who says it was wrong as it was not me.

I have made no comment on what is right, or wrong.

People are entitled to spend what they like. I just cannot work out what they are finding to spend it on.

atush wrote: »

No you didnt overtly say it was wrong. But you did intimate that you thought it was profligate.

Our council tax is over 1500 alone, maintenance is thousands. Although w plan to downsize, the house was converted 25 years ago so need to spend thousands updating before that. So far one bedroom, one bathroom and downstairs hall done. Will take a while as is 5 bedroom 3 bath.

some people live in very expensive areas, some of you dont

I did not do this at all.

You are just making things up.

I have not intimated, insinuated, or judged in anyway. I did not say that it was profligate / wrong / incorrect only that I could not work out how I would spend these amounts

Stop trying to stir things.

Now I remember why I don't usually post on the Pensions board. Won't bother again - not worth the hassle.

P.S. I live in an expensive area - another assumption of yours that was wrong.
P.P.S. I pay more Council Tax than you do.

MallyGirl

My council tax is £3200 per annum . Eventually we will move somewhere cheaper/smaller but certainly not in the first 10ish years of retirement