How much to live on

Humboldt

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82065650#Comment_82065650

Some interesting retirement goals on your list @Organgrinder

My DH is retiring later this year and he has already been asked to volunteer for several local causes. I have suggested that he take a bit of time out before committing to anything and to just allow himself to get a feel for this new chapter in his life.

It took me over a year to settle into retirement. Initially, I felt that if I wasn't filling every moment of my day, I was wasting time, or being lazy. Now I hold value in actually just having space and taking things a bit slower. That said, I also spend time with my DH, socialising with friends, volunteering, etc. When choosing my volunteering I wanted to do something that allowed me a degree of flexibility rather than a commitment to set days and the need to request holiday when required.

When DH retires we want to take advantage of not having to worry about the constraints of holiday entitlement, and to be more spontaneous in terms of travel. I will be encouraging him to play golf more, because I feel it is important for us to have time apart and for him to build on his own friendship base. He is looking forward to running on a more regular basis and is considering joining a local Park Run. I'm sure at some point he will decide what else he wants to include in his days during retirement and I look forward to seeing what choices he makes.

Farway

When choosing my volunteering I wanted to do something that allowed me a degree of flexibility, rather than a commitment to set days and the need to request holiday when required.

That was exactly as I wanted, not tied in or being relied upon to show up on certain days.

helensbiggestfan

hi Everyone.

Organgrinder. Not long now. Interesting goals. Re the maths. My son has a doctorate in Maths, he works as an engineer. He was always a bit of a geek. Lol. If I remember rightly I think it was a two year programme. 3 years for his bachelor degree, one for his masters and two for his doctorate. That's dedication!!!

I no longer volunteer. I volunteered for over 30 years, helping out at my kids schools, helping with reading, and the girls swimming classes, and then, later, being Secretary of the PTA at their secondary school. Then later still helping out at a charity shop.

Now I enjoy La Dolce Far Niente. (The sweetness of doing nothing). 😂🤣. Not quite true, I still enjoy my art and design projects and my garden. And I seem to be busier than ever. I'm currently enjoying brushing up on history, always my favourite academic subject. There are some great history channels on you tube.

My son has bought me a keyboard. I have never played an instrument in my life (other than my voice) I used to sing in a choir and in my miss-spent youth I even sang in a rock band for a while. Lol. A looooooong time ago. I can barely croak out a tune these days. My aim is to find a piano/keyboard teacher next winter. Apparently learning an instrument or learning a second language are excellent ways to ward off dementia.

A good idea to start concentrating on healthy eating and fitness. Health is wealth and all that…….I hate gyms with a passion (other people's sweat and bacteria ugh!!!) So I have converted one of my bedrooms into a mini gym. It's free and I don't have to commute. I also have stack of fitness DVDs and of course good old you tube videos.

And of course I love to dance my way to fitness. I am currently relearning the Thriller dance routine to impress my grandkids because they have discovered Michael Jackson.

The days just aren't long enough……..I watch with horror as so many of my age group seem to be dropping like flies……this week Bonnie Tyler and Sam Neill. I was 75 on Monday……😱.

My youngest grandchild asked me if I was going to die……I said not today. 😂🤣

Organgrinder

NIce to hear from you again - always enjoy reading what you're up to or have done!

Ordered a new guitar yesterday (not for me - for my son's birthday) ended up banging out some tunes myself - not sure the neighbours appreciated it given that the windows were open but hey "you and I are going live forever!!!"

This morning I applied for a 34 month balance transfer card - a couple of months early but I want to make sure I'm eligible for another in about 9 months time so I figured best to get it out of the way - another £7000 or so will be winging it's way into the long term stooze pot and over 34 months after the fees that's another £700 or so in interest over the term. Stooze now at about £47,000 and earning almost a month's budget in interest every year.

helensbiggestfan

wow. Your stoozing is seriously impressive.

Organgrinder

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82070063#Comment_82070063

I'll be trying to eek it out a few more years yet…..it should be up to about £52,000 by the end of the year - and then I'll see what to do - I have a few offers to use which should mean I don't pay it back in full until 2029.

helensbiggestfan

Aha. The true secret of wealth building…….using other peoples money. 🤪. A secret that at one time only the privileged few were privy to. I just wish I had learned that little wheeze 50 years ago. I grew up pre internet so flailed around for decades, letting money slip through my fingers, not understanding that we need to make money work for us.

At least youngsters today have access to this kind of knowledge, thanks to the likes of the Blessed Martin Lewis (All Hail) 😂🤣. I also listen to Dave Ramsey sometimes but don't like him very much. He seems a bit fake somehow.

I've read quite a few money books. I liked the Millionaire Next Door. However, speaking as a woman one of the best books I ever read was "Nice Girls Don't Get Rich". It's written by an American so some of the advice doesn't really cross the pond (stuff like 401ks and various legal bits and pieces), but the guiding principles work just as well here in the U.K. as they do in the US.

The best takeaway from that book was "never let anyone else handle your finances". Even if you do employ professional money managers you should still monitor what they are doing. This rule should apply to both men and women of course but it was especially pertinent to women of my generation. This was rammed home to me when I decided to monitor my husbands accountant.

A lot of younger people don't always realise that until the 1975 Equal Opportunities Act (Sex Discrimination Act) women couldn't obtain credit in their own names without a male guarantor!!!! This meant no loans or mortgages, no real autonomy. I bought my first property in my own name in December 1976, taking full advantage of the new act.

One of my smarter financial decisions……

Albermarle

The best takeaway from that book was "never let anyone else handle your finances". Even if you do employ professional money managers you should still monitor what they are doing. This rule should apply to both men and women of course but it was especially pertinent to women of my generation. This was rammed home to me when I decided to monitor my husbands accountant.

In the Investments/pension forums, the question is often asked 'do I need an IFA' or similar.

One good response to this is - even if you do employ an IFA it is still sensible to learn some basics about personal finance yourself. So at least you can understand better what they are saying. It is like taking your car to a garage- if you know a bit about cars it is more difficult for a mechanic to bamboozle you ( either deliberately or not).

Regarding your husbands accountant - obviously I do not know the backstory to this, but probably worth clarifying for anybody reading that an accountant and a financial advisor are two different things. We see in the other money forums plenty of instances where accountants have given bad/wrong advice about pensions etc. Of course some will be knowledgeable in this area, but some clearly are not.

jackieblack

Helensbiggestfan:"A lot of younger people don't always realise that until the 1975 Equal Opportunities Act (Sex Discrimination Act) women couldn't obtain credit in their own names without a male guarantor!!!! This meant no loans or mortgages, no real autonomy. I bought my first property in my own name in December 1976, taking full advantage of the new act."

When I first started working at 'The world's biggest building society' in the late 1980s, amongst the mortgage files (cardboard folders filled with paperwork) there were some for unmarried women, all of whose file contained a consent form as they had had to obtain their father's permission to take out a mortgage…

helensbiggestfan

Yes there is quite a backstory but I won't bore everyone with the details. Lol. We engaged him purely as an accountant for our business, not for our investment advice or retirement planning. I always felt he was rather patronising because we were new to running our own company and he thought he could bamboozle us.

At first I thought it was just me being over sensitive but once I started paying closer attention I realised he wasn't interested in giving "best advice", he was just coasting along doing the bare minimum. I found out years later that he had several people file complaints against him for his lazy ways and unhelpful attitude.

I did actually train as an IFA at one point in my checkered career. It was interesting work but not quite my thing.