How much to live on

[Deleted User]

otb666, maybe you would be less worried if you subdivided those two lots of £600? For example, £250 for food and household, £50 for petrol and say £300 for personal spends. Likewise for the other £600, so much for annual bills, Christmas, clothes etc… Just an idea, whatever works for you. 

As you both retired early have you checked your state pension forecasts to see if you need to make up any years to get the full ‘new’ amount?

You say your income will not increase when you get to 67 but it may go up a little. Assuming you both get full SP that would be £18600 plus your £5500(Today’s figures). You will pay a little tax on your bit but after that I make it about £1970 a month. This assumes your partner’s DC pension is exhausted by then. Not loads more, but better than less. Another plus is that your pensions then will be index linked.
Best wishes.

Farway

MovingForwards said:

Thanks HBF I've got to the point of being stir crazy now, which I know sounds bad, but that's why it's given me a taste of what retirement would be like if I don't find a few more things to do. 

I've recently started swimming on my days off, but it's a huge shock walking out afterwards and waiting for the car to warm up again. Took me a couple of days to warm up the other week, which isn't good now, let alone when I'm older still.

I am interested to see what people get up to in winter as my go to thing is gardening, but there will be a few months a year that's just not happening! 

I try & combine gardening with photography, macro with a flower for instance, it doesn't need thousands spending on posh camera & lenses, some mobiles have a macro stteing as well. Or could be trying still life style with some twigs indoors

Plenty of decent second hand cameras around, and magazines are available to download from my County library so I expect you have similar

Just a thought

MovingForwards

@Farway one of my existing hobbies is photography and my profile is one of mine. In winter I seize up, pain levels increase and mobility reduces further. I've taken up painting too.

GunJack

otb666 said:

No increase as DC pot will eventually dry up after 10 years or so
My DB approx 5500k pa 440pm
1850 per month

600 bills  
ctax 138
gas and electric 120
broadband sky 120
phone 25
water 31
tv12
meds 9

600
food petrol miscellaneous

600
annual costs insurances and car service and presents and to do what we want with.  
savings 30k
Children sorted
Bit rough sorry 

dunno what you're worried about, more than enough to live on there

thriftylynny

Sorry feeling fed up today & wishing i maybe hadn't retired as early as 58 , which is now 5 years ago & definitely wishing i hadn't downsized to a cheaper area since 5 years on my old house  (expensive area) has increased in value  by a whopping  150k , current house has increased nothing basically during that time & my investment which was the residue from selling old house, has been hardly worth it  for the gain of what 10k over 5 years.  Would have been better staying put to be honest rather than the downsizing/ investing for income nonsense ...so lost out on quite a bit having been careful & frugal for a long time now ... a big wrong decision on my part.. I should maybe stay away from Rightmove along with the pensions board !!

[Deleted User]

Thriftlynny, you had a wobble like this before. Remember we said avoid the ‘what ifs’! You have had 5 years of rest and retirement. You are doing fine. Keep going! Best wishes.
if you really feel you need to do some work there are lots of part time jobs at the moment. Maybe give it a go. 

[Deleted User]

Thriftlynny. You can always take fresh advice about investments but be careful. Slow and steady might be fine just now.

MovingForwards

Thriftylynny you can't change the past only influence the future. 
A home you live in isn't an investment and the last couple of years have seen property prices get a little daft in some areas, remain stable in others. Mine hasn't gone up either.

If you're concerned about money, hop on to be a Christmas temp, hop off again when no longer needed. Or even come out of retirement for a few years.

You set the rules.

thriftylynny

Thank you guys so nice to be able to come on here & get realistic thoughts ! I guess i have just got weary of the frugal lifestyle for so long now & living off 800 p/m roughly for 2 of us !! No mortgage thankfully on small house, but it's been an uphill struggle every month to make ends meet  . Think the problem is i daren't dib into any investment income as i originally intended as a top up because the markets are so up & down . even within a safe withdrawal limit  Feel horrible saying this ( a long story & not appropriate on here ! ) but partner has nothing , no private pension, no savings nothing, just a recent part time m/w job . I think your ideas of maybe on/off working may be something to look into , may give that some thought ! 

Dazza1902

Reading Thriftylynny's post makes me question my retirement plans. The only thing worse than working my backside off  5 days a week would be to have to scrape by and have no luxuries at all.
 £800 per month for two, bills, food council tax etc must be so tough.
 If you are fit enough ,  I think part time work would be the answer. Seemingly there is plenty of work about. You have to think what an extra £400 a month would do to your finances. Hopefully ou have the state pension to look forward to in the not too distant future?