A Paupers Pension Tale (Not many nuts to dig up)

zooks

Nothing to add to your thread gambleruk other to say its been very inspiring reading your posts.

I have decided to retire in July next year as 20 years of shift work has taken its toll and I just can't do it anymore.

Obviously I have concerns with losing half my wage and the current cost living crisis but encouraging that despite this you are making it work. Well done Sir.

Albermarle

 So my point being not having grown up with the sort of luxuries (or does everyone take these kind of things for granted nowadays) which our son has then I find it so much easier to live a simple life which does not cost much money, those of you who have read this thread all the way through will know I love nothing more than a good book and long dog walk.

Ones background certainly can have an effect on future behaviour, but I suspect your basic personality plays a part as well.

Some people brought up in the way you describe, maybe well go in the other direction when older. So splurging any money they get to try and compensate for their poor childhood.

but as the old saying goes money does not buy you happiness  
but it can buy you a more comfortable kind of misery 

barnstar2077

gambleruk said:

Thanks for all your comments and I will keep this thread going now I realise there is still a lot of interest in it.

A couple of more observations I will add to the pot, the first one is I actually drink less alcohol nowadays, usually just at weekends with friends and family unless during the Summer it was a lovely sunny day then a few beers sat in the garden with my book, the reason for this is that I do not come home after a rubbish day at work and head straight to the fridge for a beer which was happening more and more as time went on due to the stresses of the job, the one thing I do miss in a silly way is that first beer on a Friday after a long week at work but certainly not enough to contemplate going back lol.

Now this one I have though of mentioning a few times but not sure whether some people will not like it but here goes. This is not a cry for sympathy this is just how it was and I am sure there are others on here who will have had it worse than I did but simply put I think one of the main reasons I can live on such a small budget is because I grew up as an only child with one parent my Mum who worked in a factory all her life, drank, smoked, never passed her driving test etc, so I was left to fend for myself especially through my teenage years, lost count on how many times there were no 50p's for the electric during the night whilst my Mum was in the pub. We have never been on holiday in our lifetime, a day trip to Blackpool was as good as it got. I am still close to my Mum and she did the best she could under the circumstances. So my point being not having grown up with the sort of luxuries (or does everyone take these kind of things for granted nowadays) which our son has then I find it so much easier to live a simple life which does not cost much money, those of you who have read this thread all the way through will know I love nothing more than a good book and long dog walk.

So going back to my point is that I have known what it is like to be poor so I do not take anything for granted, I have had great holidays, decent cars, new gadgets etc but as the old saying goes money does not buy you happiness (Ok I admit it can help but this is a money saving forum lol).

Interestingly, I grew up under similar circumstances and can also live on less than the average most people seem to consider necessary.  Although, as I get older, I do intentionally spend more on things these days as life is too short to not enjoy a few luxuries after all!

My mum worked several jobs to make ends meet when I was a kid, I don't think she got anything like the benefits from the government that people can claim these days.  She was terrible with money though, even when she remarried and had two incomes and no children at home she would struggle.

So, growing up poor and seeing my mum spend money on things that we didn't need made a big impression on me.

Strangely, one of my siblings, that grew up in the same way as me, didn't learn the same lessons I did and is just like my mum when it comes to spending money they haven't got.  People sure are complicated!

sgx2000

Albermarle said:

even as we sit on our Million pound pension pots 

Love it.... lol.... if only

hostertlady

interesting point about state pension
I have topped mine up, as i had to, but i was under the impression that i cannot draw my state pension until
official government retirement   date,  in my case september 2024 ( not too long away) thank goodness

Albermarle

hostertlady said:

interesting point about state pension
I have topped mine up, as i had to, but i was under the impression that i cannot draw my state pension until
official government retirement   date,  in my case september 2024 ( not too long away) thank goodness

You are right you can not start to take your state pension until the official government date. ( It is not really correct to call it a retirement date, because your actual retirement is not connected to when the state pension pays out)

LHW99

Albermarle said:

hostertlady said:

interesting point about state pension
I have topped mine up, as i had to, but i was under the impression that i cannot draw my state pension until
official government retirement   date,  in my case september 2024 ( not too long away) thank goodness

You are right you can not start to take your state pension until the official government date. ( It is not really correct to call it a retirement date, because your actual retirement is not connected to when the state pension pays out)

Although you could take it afterwards (deferred) if you really wanted to. I suspect not many here would, and its not as good a deal as deferring the old state pension.

sgx2000

Deleted_User said:

I'm 3 months away from retirement age (66).
I am entitled to two full state pensions from different countries, have a 400k executive pension from my company which I have just sold,80k in a SIPP and have been taking a private pension of 600 a month since I was 60 thanks to my dear old Dad insisting I get a fixed-rate annuity when they were at 8%.
I have a couple of properties which bring in 2k a month in rent.
And I have around 600k in cash after tax from the company sale.
And I'll be frank with you - I'm dreading retirement.
I have no hobbies and I hate golf and gardening.
The only thing I'm looking forward to is travelling.
Other than that I don't see the point of retiring.
I give it a year before I set up another company and go back to work.

OMG you did see that this is the pauper thread ???  Lol

Set yourself challenges.....
i.e.  see every major tourist attraction in the world...
Take up  chess, drama, pole dancing...lol
That will keep you busy....

c'est_moi

OP it seems that you and I both have gone down very similar paths!

I 'retired' two years ago - aged 51. I had 4 years left until I could draw on my work pension, so we are also now living on one salary. I was by far the larger earner too, so going down to £1500 a month was scary to say the least. Being mortgage free  makes it much easier to take the plunge.

The plan was to bridge the gaps by drawing on our savings. So far we would have managed without doing that, but we had a very urgent and expensive builders bill which has taken an eye watering 20K out of that pot. I have done some temping work and other bits and pieces and managed to 'pay back' 10K of that.

I have also found that our living costs have been lowered as I have time to look for bargains and shop around. We also have free or cheap hobbies but have still been able to have several lovely holidays and 'mini' breaks. We are certainly not living a life of poverty by any means.

I also had a frugal childhood and I do think it has had a huge impact on my attitude to saving and not wasting money.

I am now well over half way through that 'no man's land' of retirement and pension. When I get there we will be over 1K a month better off. I am still short on my NI contributions and will pay for one year after April - I already have paid some this year through my temp work.

I also have no regrets. I am mentally and physically in much better shape than I was two years ago. I can't pretend I don't read the current news with trepidation, but as I have never put my money into investments that is one worry I don't have - though inflation is clearly eroding at our savings pot.

 

It is nice to read about someone who has found things very much the same as we have.

gambleruk

Great to read your comments c'est_moi and also to see that as you say your mindset is very similar to mine.

Off to Manchester later to see The Lemonheads then back there again on Tuesday to see Counting Crows so still getting my live music fix though the difference in the price of the tickets is quite scary, £28 for Lemonheads £70 for Counting Crows and they were bought last year as it has been rescheduled. I think I might have mentioned before that high price gig tickets are going to be a thing of the past for us but Counting Crows in my top 3 bands so exception had to be made even though I have seen them a few times before.