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

Sea_Shell

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

OldScientist

SouthCoastBoy said:

I changed jobs just over 12 months ago, rather than retire, I was 58 at the time. New job was a 40k pay cut but has meant I can work 100% at home rather than commuting 4 hrs a day, and has enabled me to top up my pension a little longer.

Not too sure when I will retire, I did a review of my current savings yesterday, total pot is 1,669,810, pension is 838,586 and savings/investments 831,224 I have calculated we need 2500 per month net of tax.

I may retire at 60, which is early next year, or continue for another year or two.

The point about financial independence is an interesting one, I'm always concerned about a stock market crash and 40% gets wiped off the value of my pensions and investments, which is I guess, why i've not retired

Someone has already mentioned an annuity - joint life RPI protected annuities with 100% survivor benefits currently have payout rates of about 3.3% (assuming you are both 60). A £300-350k premium would see an annual income of about £10k which combined with your state pension would see you close enough to providing your expenditure floor. Some of the remaining portfolio would need to cover the seven years until state pension - you could use a ladder of saving accounts or inflation linked gilts to provide income independent of the stock market (about £160k would be needed for this). The remaining portfolio (~£1100k) could be then drawn down on a percentage of portfolio, ad-hoc, or natural yield basis to provide extra, but variable, income.

If you really want to retire, then it would appear that your financial situation is not what is holding you back.

michaels

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

Triumph13

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

An excellent set of answers.  Thank you.

Sea_Shell

Triumph13 said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

An excellent set of answers.  Thank you.

🤣 You make me feel like I'm resitting my GCSEs 🤣

Sea_Shell

michaels said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

Well, I might not do the big ticket things, like drive an EV or have Solar Panels, but we do do lots and lots of little things to not be wasteful, spend for spend's sake or buy tat.

We haven't flown since 2018 either. 😇

kimwp

michaels said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

This is what I ponder when people talk about needing £50k+ - sure, it's possible to spend any amount of money, but surely there's a point where it's just spending to purchase things that don't really add anything to your life and then there's really no justification for the environmental impact.

cfw1994

Sea_Shell said:

michaels said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

Well, I might not do the big ticket things, like drive an EV or have Solar Panels, but we do do lots and lots of little things to not be wasteful, spend for spend's sake or buy tat.

We haven't flown since 2018 either. 😇

I think you are something of a role model for many of us here…
….but you know I take my role of encouraging you to spend very seriously 💪

I would, in your shoes, consider solar panels (maybe with a small home battery) - it could help make your home cheaper to run over the long term (unless you plan to move in 5-10 years).  

That said, I suspect you are a much lower user of electricity than many, so maybe do the sums and rule it out 🤷‍♂️

I’m also a big fan of our EV - without derailing this too far, we have done 50k miles in our little Kona, at an average “fuel” cost of around 2.5-3p per mile.  Helped a little by the solar free energy in summer 🌞

Failing all that, get into fine dining - that could take your annual spend up a little 🤣👍

Keep up the good work, & don’t worry about the Rumsfeld “unknown unknowns”: as my Dad used to tell me: if there is something worrying you & you can do something about it, then do it.  If you can’t, then don’t worry 😉

Sea_Shell

cfw1994 said:

Sea_Shell said:

michaels said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

Well, I might not do the big ticket things, like drive an EV or have Solar Panels, but we do do lots and lots of little things to not be wasteful, spend for spend's sake or buy tat.

We haven't flown since 2018 either. 😇

I think you are something of a role model for many of us here…
….but you know I take my role of encouraging you to spend very seriously 💪

I would, in your shoes, consider solar panels (maybe with a small home battery) - it could help make your home cheaper to run over the long term (unless you plan to move in 5-10 years).  

That said, I suspect you are a much lower user of electricity than many, so maybe do the sums and rule it out 🤷‍♂️

I’m also a big fan of our EV - without derailing this too far, we have done 50k miles in our little Kona, at an average “fuel” cost of around 2.5-3p per mile.  Helped a little by the solar free energy in summer 🌞

Failing all that, get into fine dining - that could take your annual spend up a little 🤣👍

Keep up the good work, & don’t worry about the Rumsfeld “unknown unknowns”: as my Dad used to tell me: if there is something worrying you & you can do something about it, then do it.  If you can’t, then don’t worry 😉

Re Solar panels.   We only use about 1400kwh of electricity each year, and we haven't ruled out moving in the medium term, so that's not something on our "do to" list.   Our electric costs about £300 a year.    How much would a good size array cost?  

As for an EV.    That's DH choice, his car.   He doesn't want a "modern" car, never mind an EV.    So lets park that here shall we (pun intended )

As for "fine dining"....Nooooo.   I can't think of anything more wasteful (or pointless frankly) than sitting in a fancy restaurant, being served tiny portions for extortionate prices.     Give me good pub grub, with a pint of IPA 

Or better still my own home/garden...where I don't have to dress up, its lovely and quiet, and I have all the drinks I need in the fridge!  

westv

kimwp said:

michaels said:

Sea_Shell said:

Triumph13 said:

Hi Sea_Shell.  It's great to see that your FIRE is going so well.  I FIREd five years ago too, with not too dissimilar gaps until DB and state pensions came on line, so I'm intrigued by how different your strategy is to mine. 

Apologies if this has already been covered at length (400 pages is a bit daunting to catch up on) but do you mind if I ask the reasoning behind your approach?  It's pretty clear that you could probably double your current spending level if you were prepared to spend though more of your funds before the pensions come on line - eg by setting aside £10k a year until DH's pension comes on line, another £10k pa until the first state pension comes on line and then drawing down sustainably from the rest.   Are you particularly wanting to leave a large legacy? No, not really.  We only have S/Niblings, so not our "responsibility" to provide for them.  We will likely gift more as time goes on.  Or just hate the idea of spending capital?  We would happily spend capital on something we need, or want, but we'd still want value for money 😉. Or distrust the future of the state pension?  A little bit.  Maybe it will get pushed back further, meaning we have to wait longer for it.  Or planning to have a really big income in old age to cover care needs?  It's something we are aware of, along with the need for odd-jobs that we'll need doing, once we can't.  I plan to be waited on hand and foot.  Domestic staff aren't cheap 😉.   I'm hoping it's just that you are perfectly happy as you are and can't imagine any higher spending making you happier .  Quite.  Bigger spends don't necessarily mean bigger smiles , plus I really don't like shopping 😁

Answers in bold ^^^

Not forgetting your commitment to minimise your carbon/environmental footprint rather than just spending for spending sake....

This is what I ponder when people talk about needing £50k+ - sure, it's possible to spend any amount of money, but surely there's a point where it's just spending to purchase things that don't really add anything to your life and then there's really no justification for the environmental impact.

It's partly the quality of what you buy too.
You could buy 50 "toothpaste" sausages for £2 or 1 organic local sausage for £2.
When on holiday you could stay at the YHA or you could stay at the best 5 star Hotel.
It soon adds up. Not necessarily to £50k but still a lot.