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

Sea_Shell

Never underestimate the ability to relax and just "drift" 

I've drifted for over 3 years now.    Floating along, with little purpose or burning desire to do much at all.

Works for me.

pensionpawn

Kim1965 said:

Interesting replies. As i am working full time (day off today) I struggle to envisage life without work, having said that, i know i dont want to work full time., but i will need to do something pt to make the numbers work. 
 So i wonder how difficult was it to acclimatise to retirement? It also seems that if the Gov are to "encourage" retirees back to work, they have very unwilling subject. 
 

Ask to reduce your hours. To refuse your employer HAS TO PROVE that accepting your request would be detrimental to their business. My wife reduced her hours over a 15 month period before fully retiring and I have dropped mine with a view to fully retiring after 2 years. It avoids the cliff edge, keeps the money trickling in (which, after 55, you can top up with your pension) and subtly signals to your employer that you now only turn up because it suits you. That last one is such a pressure valve as employers know you will retire if they continue to push / dump on you. You may even find that your job satisfaction increases!

QrizB

pensionpawn said:

Kim1965 said:

Interesting replies. As i am working full time (day off today) I struggle to envisage life without work, having said that, i know i dont want to work full time., but i will need to do something pt to make the numbers work. 
 So i wonder how difficult was it to acclimatise to retirement? It also seems that if the Gov are to "encourage" retirees back to work, they have very unwilling subject. 
 

Ask to reduce your hours.

I think Kim1965 is self-employed

quirkydeptless

Sea_Shell said:

Never underestimate the ability to relax and just "drift" 

I've drifted for over 3 years now.    Floating along, with little purpose or burning desire to do much at all.

Works for me.

..........

Rustin

michaels said:

Roger175 said:

Albermarle said:It is not just the size of the house, but its design/age. Your usage is pretty much double the poster above, who lives in a 5 bed detached.

So either you have a pretty large house, or it is an older one maybe, with high ceilings, solid walls, not fully double glazed, open fireplace etc ?

There's a lot more to it that that. I work in the construction industry where there has been much talk in recent years about something known as the 'performance gap'. What has become very obvious is that the workmanship involved in the build process, and particularly the installation of the insulation and the air-tightness measures, have a huge influence on how a building performs. It has been proven that many new houses fall very far short of their intended targets, simply due to poorly fitted insulation etc. I see this all the time and it drives me mad, the difference between getting it right and leaving it poorly fitted is sometimes only a few minutes of time. Having spent the money buying the insulation, you'd expect the contractor to spend a bit more time supervising the fitting. The trouble is, the poor sod buying the house doesn't know what's going on behind the plasterboard.
The new revision of the Building Regs (Part L) which came in earlier this year, at least seeks to address this with it now being a requirement to provide photos of the insulation before it is covered up.
I would urge anyone to at least check their loft. I have seen new houses, signed off by Building Control and the NHBC etc, where you can see the back of the plasterboard due to huge gaps in the insulation.

Useful.  I am kind of suspicious of how well the insulation in our 10 year old extension was done.  Do you have any tips on how to check (as you say it is all hidden when finished)?

Similar with camper/motorhomes. When researching, many a handy type had removed a panel or two from a coach built and found a bit of insulation stuck to the side with gaffer tape. 

Albermarle

pensionpawn said:

Kim1965 said:

Interesting replies. As i am working full time (day off today) I struggle to envisage life without work, having said that, i know i dont want to work full time., but i will need to do something pt to make the numbers work. 
 So i wonder how difficult was it to acclimatise to retirement? It also seems that if the Gov are to "encourage" retirees back to work, they have very unwilling subject. 
 

Ask to reduce your hours. To refuse your employer HAS TO PROVE that accepting your request would be detrimental to their business. My wife reduced her hours over a 15 month period before fully retiring and I have dropped mine with a view to fully retiring after 2 years. It avoids the cliff edge, keeps the money trickling in (which, after 55, you can top up with your pension) and subtly signals to your employer that you now only turn up because it suits you. That last one is such a pressure valve as employers know you will retire if they continue to push / dump on you. You may even find that your job satisfaction increases!

I have a feeling of deja vu about this discussion 

With some jobs it is either difficult to go part time just due to the nature of the job, and/or you go part time, but end up doing a similar amount of work for less money.

and subtly signals to your employer that you now only turn up because it suits you.

Again this can not work in all professions/jobs/careers. If you are seen as being demotivated, then they would rather not have you at all. Plus it can cause problems with team members, if you are not pulling your weight.

For me there was effectively only one practical choice. Work full time until I decided the time was right, wait a few months whilst a replacement was found, and worked their notice in their old job. A couple of months handover, and then stop. 
I suppose in theory I could have just worked my notice and walked, but it was a good company/boss to work for, so that did not seem right.

bluenose1

Sea_Shell said:

Never underestimate the ability to relax and just "drift" 

I've drifted for over 3 years now.    Floating along, with little purpose or burning desire to do much at all.

Works for me.

Think it would work very for me as well……. 
I have had a few family members die in last year in their 70s  and definitely made me far more aware of my and my husband’s mortality and making the most of life while you can.
At 56 I can definitely feel my knees aren’t as good as they once were, so want to be able to retire while still active enough to enjoy good health.

I have also been trying to actively change my mental approach to life and trying to stop worrying about things that in most cases never happen, also stopped watching news as all it does is depress me.
My mum when she was alive was very anxious in general and I think I have inherited that quality. I look back and think where did all that worry get her. Read somewhere that you may not be able to control events but you can control how you react to them. 

Have found meditation very calming, even though I spent years thinking one of my son’s was mad for doing it. 
Hoping to finish work end of May 23, my retirement dream is daily long walks, going the gym, Zumba, reading, meals out, plus lots and lots of holidays. 

I also keep saying I would like to learn to cook more than the normal meat and two veg I normally prepare. Not sure how that will go as I got a U in Cookery O Level

frugal90

In my view when you retire, you have to have some sort of plan of what you are retiring to. For us that is currently European cycle tours in June/July, trekking in the Alps/Pyrenees etc in Aug/Sept, Scottish October (lovely colours), Cyprus in November, Scotland Dec, Jan, Feb cross country season and winter mountain walks, Cyprus in mid march to start of May. Start all over again. Planning cycle tours and treks happens over winter months, quite a lot of work but so rewarding. Add in there, veg plot, cooking from scratch, house maintenance, arts and crafts, music (brass band) etc etc. Ageing parent helping. Trying to do stuff we want to while we can. There will come a time when we can't. It ain't no rehearsal!!! Seize the day!

Sea_Shell

Not everyone loves travel.

frugal90

You don't have to travel, my point is what are you going to do. The beauty is you can choose.