How much to live on

Albermarle

We have a very good standard of living on around £32k and are by no means roughing it! We live in a very efficient £1m property have 3 cars between us, mine a top of the range Jaguar XF and go on several holidays a year. (4 this year incl 3 weeks in Canada).

Normally you would not think £32 Kpa would cover the costs of 3 cars and several holidays a year, plus normal living expenses?

The cost of the cars depreciation a year is probably £10K, if not more. Plus their servicing and maintenance costs.

I guess you are not religiously counting all costs into that £32K, and there is maybe a separate fund for certain expenses ?

Roger175

Normally you would not think £32 Kpa would cover the costs of 3 cars and several holidays a year, plus normal living expenses?

The cost of the cars depreciation a year is probably £10K, if not more. Plus their servicing and maintenance costs.

I guess you are not religiously counting all costs into that £32K, and there is maybe a separate fund for certain expenses ?

Probably not, if I'm totally honest, but it's not as bad as you'd first think. Firstly, we have never bought a new car and always let someone else loose a load of depreciation and secondly, I do all my own maintenance on both the house and cars etc. If fact, I built the house in true Grand Designs self-build style and very rarely admit defeat when it comes to a car issue. I have a very well equipped workshop and enjoy nothing better that a day up to my elbows in oil!

[Deleted User]

Roger175 said:

[Deleted User] said:

My view is that you accumulated that pension pot so you should be the ones to mainly enjoy it in retirement. I do not understand why people worry so much about leaving something at the expense of their own needs. I am not a selfish person but my family know that anything I leave is a bonus for them and not a given. Fortunately most of the family have the same view.

Baron Dale, I don't know where you picked up that we were worried about leaving so much to the kids or that it would be at the expense of our own needs?  The point I was making is that we have worked hard to save for our retirement and in the end it is looking like we have achieved our objectives fairly easily.

We have a very good standard of living on around £32k and are by no means roughing it! We live in a very efficient £1m property have 3 cars between us, mine a top of the range Jaguar XF and go on several holidays a year. (4 this year incl 3 weeks in Canada). If we choose to leave what's left to our kids, that's our choice, but we most certainly aren't fixated by it as you somehow seem to have concluded

If you plan to continue with that lifestyle £32000 a year retirement income will be tight. However, if you have substantial savings and investments it is doable plus plenty of scope to downsize from a £1 million house.

With my just over £30000 a year after tax from this July, I would need to save quite hard to buy a very average newer second hand car in a couple of years. I certainly couldn't afford several holidays a year. 

I did not say you were fixated. I was simply making a general point about the attitude of some people towards inheritances. Unlike yourselves, there are indeed some people who do 'rough it' when they have the means to have a better quality of life in their senior years.

Roger175

Barron Dale, it's not tight, not even close. Perhaps the post above (the one just before your last) will give you a flavour of our lifestyle - we live extremely frugally, not by choice because we lack the money, but because this is how we've always lived and we were brought up by 'make do and mend' parents. 

This is the whole point of a thread such as this, and the similar 'the Number' thread. We all have different lifestyles and therefore different monetary requirements. I can turn my hand to almost anything. When we built the house for instance, I taught myself to drive a digger and have done all my own groundworks, having borrowed diggers and dumpers from friends (I work in the construction industry). So we saved tens of thousands by doing this. We do the same with almost everything we do, whether it's my wife making/mending clothes, to me servicing/mending cars. We enjoy it and it saves us an absolute fortune. 

As to downsizing, it's never going to happen - it took 8 years of my life building this house and I'll only be leaving it in a wooden box!, but honestly, we won't need to.

Best wishes

in_my_wellies

This thread is interesting, it inspires me to work out my numbers in more detail!

My mum had a saying when it came to money - 'we live financial life the wrong way round'. Not enough money/time when we have a young family and in old age, if we have managed our finances sensibly and perhaps had an inheritance we suddenly we find ourselves with too much money to spend. 
My mum saw this with her parents and was determined not to repeat it. She sold her business in her mid 60s and gave me the money when I had four pre/primary school children at home. It changed our lives and I am eternally grateful. 
She still had enough to enjoy life (19 cruises +) 
When the time came she downsized twice and finally came to live with me - she called that 'payback time' but not really because she was still able enough to have fun.

She lived until her mid 90s and I'm passing her money on to my children. My problem now is I have my money, would love to do more holidays, but my DH died so I'm on my own. 

jackieblack

Indeed, this is where different lifestyles and financial expectations are so interesting - I’ve never had anything remotely approaching £30k pa, even before tax, so that sounds like a fortune to me, but to someone accustomed to a higher income it might seem very different 

Organgrinder

We have to remember everyone's figures are based on their lifestyle.

I have no doubt @Roger175 has his figures correct. My projected income is very similar and I too expect to be able to afford 3 holidays abroad every year.

To highlight differences let's look at a couple of things from recent posts. Although excuse me if my figures are incorrect, my purpose is to show how different spending patterns for similar incomes result in different outcomes.

@[Deleted User] you spend a significantly higher amount on clothes and glasses than I do. My glasses are £120 for two pairs in Asda. You spend £400 plus I believe in Boots. Apart from my work suits I buy my clothes in Primark. I doubt I spend more than £100 a year. My work suits all come from outlets....two suits a year inc shirts and shoes for £150. Now from memory the difference in your clothes and glasses spends is enough for me and Mrs O to have a week all inclusive in Egypt. 

Each of us has or will have an after tax income of £31k or so. How we choose to spend our money can result in huge differences in outcomes. 

[Deleted User]

Sorry just can't see the point of frugal when having enough in the bank not to be.

Floss

[Deleted User] said:

Sorry just can't see the point of frugal when having enough in the bank not to be.

Maybe because that money in the bank has to last a lifetime? Not everyone has the pension that you have accumulated.

Organgrinder

[Deleted User] said:

Sorry just can't see the point of frugal when having enough in the bank not to be.

Because it frees money up for things you might not otherwise be able to afford.