How much to live on

oceandreamer

Can I ask a question to those of you who have already retired? What did you buy ie new car, solar panels, that proved to be a good investment for your retirement?  I want to be as prepared as I can be when I take early retirement in (hopefully) just over a year and so would love to hear your thoughts.

DairyQueen

Last year we bought an a/c unit for the garden room extension of our kitchen. We have a lantern roof and, despite the protective glass, it was super-hot. Not now. Works wonderfully. It's also a heat pump so morphs into a heater during the winter. 

I am now able to cook in comfortable temperatures year-round.

Love it.

Savvy_Sue

oceandreamer said:

Can I ask a question to those of you who have already retired? What did you buy ie new car, solar panels, that proved to be a good investment for your retirement?  I want to be as prepared as I can be when I take early retirement in (hopefully) just over a year and so would love to hear your thoughts.

I've used 25% lump sums from pensions to replace double glazing - and the house is much cosier as a result! - and getting the outside re-painted and some nasty cracks in the rendering repaired. So glad I did the latter: we discovered that the cracks above two of the ground floor windows were because wooden lintels had been used, and these had badly rotted. 

OK, not really 'things' we bought, but each fairly major pieces of work which we'd have struggled to do from regular pension income. We still have some savings (not as much as I'd like) and DH still works part-time. 

Car: we bought an automatic 15 years ago when I clobbered my shoulder. 2 years ago (I was still working) it felt as if we replaced all the major parts of the engine, in quick succession, but it's been OK since (touches wood very firmly!) and so we're not rushing to replace it. DH isn't confident enough in the robustness of electric cars / the national charging system to want to get one just yet, so this car may yet see us out! And fortunately we have excellent transport links nearby. 

Smudgeismydog

oceandreamer said:

Can I ask a question to those of you who have already retired? What did you buy ie new car, solar panels, that proved to be a good investment for your retirement?  I want to be as prepared as I can be when I take early retirement in (hopefully) just over a year and so would love to hear your thoughts.

Generally I see people complete outstanding jobs or maintenance around the house in the run up to retirement. For some people they will also need to factor in buying a car to replace a company vehicle.
A cash buffer is essential, but to be fair, I think that is true whether you are employed or retired, but without a salary to fund emergency or unexpected costs, it does become more important.

annielyn

oceandreamer said:

Can I ask a question to those of you who have already retired? What did you buy ie new car, solar panels, that proved to be a good investment for your retirement?  I want to be as prepared as I can be when I take early retirement in (hopefully) just over a year and so would love to hear your thoughts.

We used some of our 25% TFLS to put in new Gutters, Facias, Double glazed windows and doors and a new central heating system. We also have funds earmarked to do the bathroom, removing the bath and putting in a walk in shower to help in later life. The garden also needs some work to make it easier to manage, removing some worn out decking and putting in paving slabs. We have no intention of moving again so anything that can be done now to be make our lives easier the better.

otb666

replaced oven hob dishwasher fridge freezer washing machine, new front door, new boiler and had trees chopped down in garden. replaced fencing in garden and New beds.in bedrooms.

Organgrinder

Not quite the same - but have used the tfls for the following:

Kitchen and all appliances, bathroom, ensuite, car, mortgage (though not paying it off till 1.64% rate finishes).

angieb15edin

New boiler and heating system new windows and doors window shutters and just about to replace the kitchen 
would ideally like a new bathroom as well but will need to calm down the spending for now to save for our six weeks in Asia February/March

Arthurian

Just curious as to what happens 20 years down the line. If you retire and spend your tax free lump sum on upgrading the house with new windows, solar panels, new kitchen, etc, will you be planning on gradually saving up again to replace these in 20 (or every 10) years? 

dreaming

oceandreamer said:

Can I ask a question to those of you who have already retired? What did you buy ie new car, solar panels, that proved to be a good investment for your retirement?  I want to be as prepared as I can be when I take early retirement in (hopefully) just over a year and so would love to hear your thoughts.

When work was relocating I decided to take redundancy and also my company pension. I was 58 at the time so had 8 years until state pension kicked in but I used the redundancy payment to pay off the mortgage so that was a huge saving per month, and still had some left over for some other work on the house and garden.  As we had several months lead into the change I upgraded insulation and had solar panels fitted, and applied for FiT (back in 2013 the rate was good - not sure what it is now). I don't have batteries etc. but as I am at home in the daytime now I soon adjusted to the best times to put the washing machine on, etc. and so far the FiT payments have more than paid for both gas and electric usage annually (I live alone and am a low user anyway). I now receive my state pension and always allocate a percentage to savings. The other good thing about being retired is that I have the time to research for the best interest rates etc.