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

Kim1965

QrizB said:

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

Indeed, on my day off the phone rang 6 times and a neighbour saw i was at home and knocked my door to ask mě to Re washer her kitchen tap! 
 
 

Albermarle

frugal90 said:

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!

For many people, including me, that just seems too much like hard work/crammed schedule. Each to their own of course.
On a practical note , is it not rather expensive, having all these foreign trips; flights + accommodation etc ?

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. 
On a similar note, the only item I have spent significantly more on in retirement than budgeted for is holidays, mini breaks etc.
Unless you really go for budget travel and accommodation, the costs seem to mount up, even when you do not go for luxury or even go that often.

zagfles

Albermarle said:

frugal90 said:

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!

For many people, including me, that just seems too much like hard work/crammed schedule. Each to their own of course.
On a practical note , is it not rather expensive, having all these foreign trips; flights + accommodation etc ?

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. 
On a similar note, the only item I have spent significantly more on in retirement than budgeted for is holidays, mini breaks etc.
Unless you really go for budget travel and accommodation, the costs seem to mount up, even when you do not go for luxury or even go that often.

Varies massively with where you go - our most expensive holidays in the last few years have been UK holidays! Been on a lot of holidays to eastern Europe, you can get flights for virtually nothing, eg £10-20, if you're flexible with timings (as I guess most retired people will be) and you can get decent quality accomodation for around £30 a night or less in a lot of places. Stuff like local transport is very cheap and eating out is relatively cheap too. Southern Europe is quite cheap too (eg Spain, Portugal, Greece, even Italy).

We went on 4 UK holidays and 3 foreign ones last year, spent under £7k in total which was well within our holiday budget. I've budgetted about £10k a year for holidays as it's a big part of my retirement planning, I'm not fully retired yet and definitely won't fully retire if I can't afford that budget! But I'm quite enjoying semi-retirement anyway.

Albermarle

Been on a lot of holidays to eastern Europe, you can get flights for virtually nothing, eg £10-20, if you're flexible with timings (as I guess most retired people will be

My flexibility is not good due to family pressures, so this is probably why at least my foreign holiday bills mount up. Plus the OH is not keen to stay in cheap accomodation, so.....

zagfles

Albermarle said:

Been on a lot of holidays to eastern Europe, you can get flights for virtually nothing, eg £10-20, if you're flexible with timings (as I guess most retired people will be

My flexibility is not good due to family pressures, so this is probably why at least my foreign holiday bills mount up. Plus the OH is not keen to stay in cheap accomodation, so.....

Does s/he associate "cheap" with "grotty"? I've stayed in £20 accomodation in Eastern Europe that was far nicer, cleaner and comfier than accomodation I've paid £140 for in the UK! You need to educate her/him into the ways of MSE rather than believing the old myth that "you get what you pay for"   Everywhere is reviewed these days, tripadvisor, booking.com etc, so you don't need to use price as guide to quality, it's rarely a good indicator.

saucer

I've still got 3 to 4 years to go.  Work is not too bad but I am tired of it.  I have always had a bit of imposter syndrome so there is a bit of 'can I really get away with it?' right to the end of my career!  I doubt I will struggle with having more time, although you never know.  The plan here is also for a lot of travel, some of it in a motorhome that we have been researching for some time.  We travelled a lot in our early years together and it will be good to get back to that if we are lucky to have the opportunity. I take nothing for granted. 

enthusiasticsaver

People have different approaches as to how they spend their time when retired.  I had worked part time in the past so was used to finding other things to do other than work and never get bored or run out of things to do.  I am fitter now than I ever was when working as I now have time to exercise and walk or swim or cycle and it is certainly lovely not to have to go out on the daily commute if raining and dark outside in winter.  I don't feel any guilt in leaving work 8 years early.  We also help our daughters and son in law by doing childcare for grandchildren so enabling them to work and I volunteer at my grandchildrens primary school so still contribute to society. We certainly won't be returning to work as in the last working years both of us found that management in both our sectors seem to have lost their way.  I don't think that will have changed. 

We saved and planned for early retirement since our 20s when my Dad died at 63 still working.  He didn't need to financially but he would have struggled with retirement as he lived for his work. DH and I have found a different path. We do travel abroad and in the UK but not all the time but I know some plan continuous trips away.  We like a a balance of going out and about, time to do our hobbies and socialise or just to relax. Whatever suits people is fine by me.  I know lots of people who are in their late 50s or early 60s and say they cannot afford to retire until SPA though.  

cfw1994

saucer said:

I've still got 3 to 4 years to go.  Work is not too bad but I am tired of it.  I have always had a bit of imposter syndrome so there is a bit of 'can I really get away with it?' right to the end of my career!  I doubt I will struggle with having more time, although you never know.  The plan here is also for a lot of travel, some of it in a motorhome that we have been researching for some time.  We travelled a lot in our early years together and it will be good to get back to that if we are lucky to have the opportunity. I take nothing for granted. 

Pretty sure imposter syndrome is a common one in the world of IT....I saw enough people faking it to know 🤣

pensionpawn

Albermarle said:

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.

Yes, themes do have a habit of re-occurring on forums. I agree that reduced hours are not always straightforward, however there is more than one way to skin a cat. I teach so I work flat out, 37 hours a week (33 in front of the students) for around 6-8 weeks and then I have 2-3 weeks (or more in some cases) off. So I bank hours when I'm working instead of always having say a day and a half off each week, which doesn't work for me or my employer, though may work for others. It's just a way of gradually sliding into retirement if you don't want the cliff edge.

jimi_man

zagfles said:

Albermarle said:

frugal90 said:

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!

For many people, including me, that just seems too much like hard work/crammed schedule. Each to their own of course.
On a practical note , is it not rather expensive, having all these foreign trips; flights + accommodation etc ?

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. 
On a similar note, the only item I have spent significantly more on in retirement than budgeted for is holidays, mini breaks etc.
Unless you really go for budget travel and accommodation, the costs seem to mount up, even when you do not go for luxury or even go that often.

Varies massively with where you go - our most expensive holidays in the last few years have been UK holidays! Been on a lot of holidays to eastern Europe, you can get flights for virtually nothing, eg £10-20, if you're flexible with timings (as I guess most retired people will be) and you can get decent quality accomodation for around £30 a night or less in a lot of places. Stuff like local transport is very cheap and eating out is relatively cheap too. Southern Europe is quite cheap too (eg Spain, Portugal, Greece, even Italy).

We went on 4 UK holidays and 3 foreign ones last year, spent under £7k in total which was well within our holiday budget. I've budgetted about £10k a year for holidays as it's a big part of my retirement planning, I'm not fully retired yet and definitely won't fully retire if I can't afford that budget! But I'm quite enjoying semi-retirement anyway.

Sounds similar to us. We enjoy travel and it will be a big part of our retirement budget. We like long haul trips and also need to factor in decent (Business or better) seating, though will probably do slightly less trips but maybe for a longer period, in retirement. 

I will keep a zero hours contract type job going that I do, that’s reasonably well paid and I can just work enough to pay for holidays if need be.