Enjoy life while you can.

Anonymous101

Chickereeeee said:

Having retired with a fairly good pot, I still look for the 'value' options, much to the frustration of my wife. I tend to research and make sure the item/service is optimal for my needs, and at the 'right' price, before buying. She is (now) more of the attitude 'if you want it, buy it. If it is not quite right, get rid of and buy the right one. We can afford it'. The time used looking for the best fit being time wasted when I could be enjoying said item/sevice.
I a bit afraid that, if i got used to buying things on a whim, and automatically selecting the 'luxury' options (expesnsive chain lube for the bicycles, business class flights, high end hotels, premium fuel for the car etc.) then expenditure would get out of hand....

I can identify with that. Although I must admit business class flights for any journeys over say 4 hours could perhaps find their way into my budget!

colmel16

All this talk about saving has made me thirsty, is Blisteringblues mortgage free house still open.?

Chickereeeee

Anonymous101 said:

Chickereeeee said:

Having retired with a fairly good pot, I still look for the 'value' options, much to the frustration of my wife. I tend to research and make sure the item/service is optimal for my needs, and at the 'right' price, before buying. She is (now) more of the attitude 'if you want it, buy it. If it is not quite right, get rid of and buy the right one. We can afford it'. The time used looking for the best fit being time wasted when I could be enjoying said item/sevice.
I a bit afraid that, if i got used to buying things on a whim, and automatically selecting the 'luxury' options (expesnsive chain lube for the bicycles, business class flights, high end hotels, premium fuel for the car etc.) then expenditure would get out of hand....

I can identify with that. Although I must admit business class flights for any journeys over say 4 hours could perhaps find their way into my budget!

Understood, but its the 'automatic' part that mainly worries me. Fair enough after a detailed cost/benefit analysis, but first it's 'oh, 4+hr flight, that means its business class'. Then it becomes anything over 3.5 hrs, and next thing we know, we are on the streets begging for food.

DT2001

It is about the balance between saving for the future and enjoying the present when accumulating.
Retirement depends on your enjoyment or not at work. Maybe even part time. Then your take on the pot that you require to give the hoped for income. Is there the option to downsize etc
When decumulating it depends on whether your pot reducing worries you and/or if you want to leave an inheritance.
I think spend, spend, spend is unrealistic for most of the posters on here even if it was financially sensible as ‘we’ are savers and planners.

Has the OP taken his neighbours advice and changed his spending? Has the neighbour?
Hindsight is wonderful so I’d be interested to know what the neighbour thought when he was coming up to retirement - maybe it was correct at that time so not something to be rejected.

I would disagree about the enjoyment of spending  being greater when you are younger unless that means sub 80! My M-I-L backpacked around the world in her mid 60’s and visited India just before she was 80. She said the opportunities were so much more than when she was younger. My aunt and uncle went to the States in their 90’s.
So it is about trying to find the balance which is so difficult with no end date!

cfw1994

Chickereeeee said:

Anonymous101 said:

Chickereeeee said:

Having retired with a fairly good pot, I still look for the 'value' options, much to the frustration of my wife. I tend to research and make sure the item/service is optimal for my needs, and at the 'right' price, before buying. She is (now) more of the attitude 'if you want it, buy it. If it is not quite right, get rid of and buy the right one. We can afford it'. The time used looking for the best fit being time wasted when I could be enjoying said item/sevice.
I a bit afraid that, if i got used to buying things on a whim, and automatically selecting the 'luxury' options (expesnsive chain lube for the bicycles, business class flights, high end hotels, premium fuel for the car etc.) then expenditure would get out of hand....

I can identify with that. Although I must admit business class flights for any journeys over say 4 hours could perhaps find their way into my budget!

Understood, but its the 'automatic' part that mainly worries me. Fair enough after a detailed cost/benefit analysis, but first it's 'oh, 4+hr flight, that means its business class'. Then it becomes anything over 3.5 hrs, and next thing we know, we are on the streets begging for food.

& here’s me wondering about cargo ship lowest cost options for exotic travel 

IAMIAM

gambleruk said:

Ok here is a thought, take early retirement at 50 with enough to get by on with a smallish pension pot in the future to bridge the gap to state pension. You enjoy the next 25 years staying fit and healthy and spending your money wisely, you then fall ill and are stuck in an average at best care home for the rest of your years for as long as that maybe as you have very little money left, do you think you would lie there and regret retiring early and enjoying your life at an early age and think damn I really should have worked another 15 years so I could pass away in a better care home ? Not trying to be morbid but just wondering where other peoples stance would be on this ? 

Pemanent Income Protection until age 65 will stop this

IAMIAM

I love this thread as it is thought provoking and interesting readings peoples ages and experiences resulting in a certain outlook.

I am an absolute firm believer in financial independence, coupled with the mentality of you cannot take anything with you. 
Most people, me included, see a defined benefit pension as one form of this, alongside any other passive income that can be generated for life. I have maximised permanent income protection at a higher amount than current salary (to take into account inflation and rising costs/salary) as a permanent fixed premium until age 65. The total cost of this policy over the lifetime policy equates to only 3 months of successful claiming, which is more than worth it. On top of Life with CIC fixed until age 70 too. I think I cannot do anything more to protect health wise.

Lastly, I generate around 1-1.2k into civil defined benefit pension per annum and already have about 9k in there, with another 20 or so years to go. I do not intend to work beyond 60 at the absolute maximum, with a view to stopping at the next earliest age of 58 for me.  This 30k indexed and inflation proof income is more than enough for me. I have stopped overpaying the mortgage and maximise the pension instead. As is more and more common these days, I will take the pension, state pension and potentially the house value sold to live and do what I want and potentially rent/lifetime mortgage until death!
You cannot take anything with you and I do not have offspring to inherit, so I am pretty straightforward in my thought process! 

So with all the above happening, I spend what I want when I want. I have had too much trauma in life to worry that the future is bleak, but then I've been lucky to be able to do all the above and for that I'm grateful. Keeping up with the jones's left my system many years ago.

blisteringblue

colmel16 said:

All this talk about saving has made me thirsty, is Blisteringblues mortgage free house still open.?

I would let you in but Pritti says its an £800 fine now 🤣

Durban

smutput said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

It means getting good value for whatever is bought.  We are not bothered by cars which many buy as a status symbol but when we do holidays we do them in 5 star hotels and we eat in nice restaurants rather than cheap and cheerful.  

A little but judgemental methinks. If expensive hotels and dining out is your thing, then great. A passion for cars, however, is not necessarily a status thing and a car could actually be a good investment.  We'll always have something to sell after our years of enjoyment with it. 

A car , unless a classic or rare old car, is very , very rarely an investment.
Enjoyable maybe but not an investment

smutput

Durban said:
A car , unless a classic or rare old car, is very , very rarely an investment.

Enjoyable maybe but not an investment

Not going to start debating classic cars and their merits, or otherwise  . I was just trying to point out that we all might find value in spending money on different things so let us not judge the choices of others based on our own preferences.