Beating Lifestyle Inflation and Staying Mortgage Free!

savingholmes

Make the most of it and make memories

Karmacat

This is one of the things that money's for - a lovely weekend when times have been tough.  Enjoy yourselves!

earthgirl2

Thanks all who wished me a good weekend!

It was good, we did enjoy it.
 Total cost including fuel was about £212. I also got to see my family. My dad isn't doing too well but had not told me, so visiting him was priceless. I will interfere a bit more now

I ate quite differently to my normal diet, and it didn't agree with me and I had symptoms of IBS for a few days. I've never had it before so I will keep an eye on it.  Apparently you are supposed to keep exercising with IBS, but I could hardly walk, so I sat around for a few days researching and now I feel I know the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pensions

I am in a wonderful position and I am so grateful, but because I am sooo risk averse, my money is shrinking rather than growing with inflation. Throw in a bit of lifestyle inflation, that I am trying to kerb hence this thread and things are not looking so rosy for the future.

We paid off the mortgage fully yesterday! yey! Dramatically risk averse though...

I need to figure out what to do. I am 41, no mortgage. OH has a pension that will pay 15k (or more) per year coming in 7.5 years, when I am 49. I have one pension paying 5k per year (or more) in 19 years (aged 60) and another 2 pensions totalling 15k per year (but will be more than this as I am still paying into it.

So roughly we have:
2029 15k OH pension 1 deferred final salary - I will be 49, OH 60
2027 10k OH pension 2 - state pension - I will be 57, OH 68
2040 5k my pension 1 deferred final salary (plus 14k lump sum)-  I will be 60, OH 72
2049 15k my pension 2  CARE pension- I will be 69, OH will be 81 (or, as he puts it, probably dead!).

So I feel like my pensions are going to be paid so late in my life - and with OH being 12 years older, we will probably not get the benefit of them when we are 'free' and able to travel or relax. Hopefully we will have a comfortable later life, but what could we do to give ourselves financial freedom earlier, when we are a bit younger and more energetic? I suppose the answer isn't pensions but something else...

The kids will be 18 and receive some money towards uni/car/house in around 2030 - we will probably drip feed this over a few years. I will be 50. Can I stop working then if I want to? Semi retire and just do a little bit of work when I want?

Some options I am considering and questions I need to find the answer to:

Buying early retirement on my pension 2. This would mean I could take the CARE pension at 65. I would be 65, OH would be 77. Still feels so late and probably quite expensive - get a quote for this.

Investment 
Get some sort of investment that will pay out between 50 - 69 for me, that is then replaced with the CARE pension.
I am not keen on annuitites as I think they cost a lot to administrate, but I am really a novice so I may be completely wrong.

The house as an asset
If we were serious about travelling/ living life to the full and working less, we could sell this house. It is far too big for our family of 4, so will be way too big for OH and I once the children leave. I know that children don't just leave when they are 18. It's worth about £385 k now, but could go up or down. 

Buy another property when market conditions are right.
I could buy another property and have it managed,  looking to make a profit if it appreciates.

Other things
I have probably not even thought of other options and I feeel so out of my depth!

Karmacat

earthgirl2 said:

I am in a wonderful position and I am so grateful, but because I am sooo risk averse, my money is shrinking rather than growing with inflation. Throw in a bit of lifestyle inflation, that I am trying to kerb hence this thread and things are not looking so rosy for the future.

We paid off the mortgage fully yesterday! yey! Dramatically risk averse though...

Please stick with the "wonderful position" and "we paid off the mortgage" longer than 5 seconds!  Congratulations!  Yay!  You did brilliantly!  That's not so much "things are not looking so rosy for the future" - keep researching about the next step to take, you can draw breath  

badmemory

Surely the PAID OFF THE MORTGAGE should have been at the top of the post not as an end bit?  Congrats!

apple_muncher

Whoop! Whoop! Well done on paying off that mortgage and having options!

earthgirl2

Thanks, because we had the money in savings it didn't really feel like an achievement, more of a tilly tidy!  I am happy and grateful though! If a bit bewildered by the 'being very old when I get a pension' thing

apple_muncher

A tilly tidy 😂😂😂😂!!!!

earthgirl2

I'm showing my mse age 

apple_muncher

Tilly would be proud of you and honoured to be of use!