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

Albermarle

NedS said:

Albermarle said:

barnstar2077 said:

NedS said:

gambleruk said:

Albermarle said:

gambleruk said:

Somebody said:

What are the insured values and excess for house insurance at £54pa? The cheapest premium I’ve come across. 

Building is unlimited and contents £250k with Quotemehappy, I just renewed last year at that price as the year before was similar but had £20 discount from Moneysupermarket.

£74 per year for buildings, and a very high contents insurance still seems exceptionally low.
Out of interest I just entered my details on Quoteme happy and it was a low quote of £200 pa, with £50K contents. When I put £250 K in it said it could not quote on that amount.
Still will include them next time my renewal comes around.

I have no idea why it is so low, I have had house insurance for over 30 years and never claimed so maybe that helps ? I was surprised when the renewal was virtually the same as the previous year, due in May so will let you know what it is later in the year, just checked and it was £200k contents not £250k, Buildings cover £31.70 and contents £22.83 looking at the breakdown.

I would assume quotes are largely driven by postcode areas and crime rates, assuming the house is not built on a flood plain or has known subsidence etc. Looking back at my own records, we paid £94 with £30 cash back (£64 total) last year and renewed this year at £95 (down from £125 after 2mins haggling on phone) for £500k buildings and £50k contents. I tend to accept anything under £100 as being reasonable.

Wow, and I thought I was doing well at £152 for the year!  Building up to £500k, contents up to £75k and a £500 deductible.  No claims in the last twenty years.

Just checked and mine is £240 with LV =  ( and I did some of checking other offers at the time ) Similar amounts insured to you, but I have added legal expenses, accidental damage and personal belongings cover, which probably adds around £75.
I found a couple of cheaper quotes, but they excluded water damage from leaking pipes etc, which is probably the most likely major thing to happen !

I should add that my quotes have all the extras stripped off, so no legal protection, no freezer cover etc - anything that can be removed to keep the quote low has been removed. I see no point claiming for accidental damage to an item that costs £500, only to pay a £350 excess and then my premiums increase by £50/year for the next 5 years having made a claim. It's cheaper to be careful with your possessions and not accidentally break stuff in the first place, and if you do pay the £500 to replace it. By keeping the quote low, we have probably saved more than the £500 over the last 20 years of buying insurance we have never needed. I am paying to insure against catastrophic loss (e.g, house burns down and we lose everything)

Probably the best way to do it. I think we just started including them and never changed it. Also the premiums have been coming down in recent years which deflects ones attention. I will keep the personal belongings one though, as that is something we have claimed on.  It covers all the household for expensive smartphones, cash  etc and also when abroad.

gele

Well, I have spent the bulk of this afternoon reading this fascinating thread.
I too have been contemplating retirement. I am 58 and hoping to retire on my 60th birthday.
I have been given lots to think about but what I have taken from  this is as much as anything is, life is for living and if you can enjoy the simpler pleasures its not as expensive as you think. 
If retirement, for you, is about multiple holidays abroad cruising or in 5 star hotels, and eating out regularly and not wanting to ever have to count the pennies then yes, you do need a mega pot. 
My pot will be considerably smaller, less than the OPs, but then I have a lot less time to make it last.
Likewise my other half is likely to continue working part time for a few years yet so we may find ourselves trying to live off one small income and topping up if and when needed as he is doing now.
Thanks to all who have made this a great, inspiring read, in particular the OP who I hope will continue to update it and I along with many others will enjoy reading and contributing to it. Good luck to all embarking on this slightly nervous journey. I will be with you in spirit if not in person to begin with.

barnstar2077

I have just completed my annual review of my finances.

I put a total of £6k into my ISA, SIPP and works pension (including my employers 10% contribution) and have ended up about £3k up on my combined position from this time last year.  I increased my ISA contributions mid year when I panicked a bit about inflation levels and how much money I might need in retirement.

So, technically a loss of £3k for the year, but I am okay with this though as I still have many years to go and the global companies I am investing in should not be going anywhere any time soon.  So, in theory I have just bought the same units for a bit cheaper this year and it will all pay off in the long run!

My bills have gone up a bit, but I have managed to keep to my usual food allowance of £5 a day by cutting back on the rubbish I was eating before and just buying food that I need for meals.  I have acquired some ailments and injuries over the years that mean I am now not as able as I once was to burn off the calories, so I view this as a positive thing (I am still having some treats, just not as frequently.)

I was lucky to fix my gas rate before prices went crazy, and with the £66 a month from the government I have not suffered the way others have (Plus, it helps that I don't like to put the heating on anyway! :  )

All in all not a terrible financial year, but clearly not the 5%+ increase in my assets that I would have hoped for.  This year has definitely brought home the fact that despite my best guesses, I really have no idea how much money I will have by the time I wish to retire at 55!

My gas rate runs out in September though, so next years results could be a bit more interesting! :  )

I hope the rest of my fellow paupers didn't lose too many nuts this year?

gambleruk

I was thinking of resurrecting this thread earlier this week so now seems the perfect time to do it, it is exactly 3 years since I did a days work, didn't officially retire until October 2020 due to covid but the only time I have had to set my alarm in the past 3 years is when we are going to the airport early in the morning. Still not a single regret even with the way our finances are at the moment. In fact I have stopped keeping a close eye on every transaction and just balance the books every month like I used to when working.

We are back off to Spain in a couple of weeks for 8 nights so already doubled our holiday costs from last year, the Natwest group have funded this holiday with their bank switches incentives, 3 x £200 each so well worth a little messing around, Ulster was a challenge but got there eventually.

I enjoyed reading the Pull the Trigger thread and were some very good posts and ideas for people, a lot of people always seem to want to travel and I was one of them before I retired but now it holds very little interest for me, I am more than content with 2 or 3 holidays in Spain rather than planning city breaks or travelling through America/Canada which I have been lucky enough to do five times and might consider one more in a few years time. So for everyone reading this and working that one more year to travel you may find that in retirement you enjoy day to day life so much that holidays are not really needed.

I have turned 53 this month so I am 2 years off accessing my pension pot and at this stage the plan is to take out the tax free amount every year and put it into the same funds in an Isa, been toying with the idea of transferring into HL from II for the £1500 bonus, I signed up for the 6 months extension so going to do some more research before I decide what to do. The best thing for me was the MPAA going up to 10k from 4k in the budget so if I ever did go back to work I would not be to limited into what I put into a pension.

We have managed to virtually half our electric consumption so we are well in credit for the Summer months where we will obviously use less, our shopping bills have gone up a little but was usually under our £400 per month budget anyway, I now have a spare cupboard which I stock up on anything and everything when it is on offer which really does help.

I have managed 30 x 10km runs so far this year so keeping fit and healthy still which I certainly would not be if I was still working, in fact I was thinking the other day if I was still working I bet I would have less savings and still be spending way to much money on stuff we do not need, as much as I was always careful with money it amazes me looking back how much we did waste. The only benefits I can think of if I had carried on working is that my pension pot would have grown but I would certainly not have the knowledge I have now on what to do with it and that we probably would have had a couple of extra holidays/city breaks, would that be worth all the stress and hassle of working the past 3 years........hell no not a cat in hell's chance I would go back and work.

One last thing I will mention is the decision on having a dog, or 2 in our case, they are worth their weight in gold to me as I am out 4 times a day with them but they do tie you down like people have said, they are both approaching 9 now and we have agreed we will not get another straight away when they pass away and enjoy the freedom for a while, like everything though you can plan ahead as much as you want but we have no idea what is around the corner.

As always welcome any feedback positive or negative and hope this thread helps anyone who is undecided on when to bite the bullet  

bluenose1

Great updates barnstar 2077 and gambleruk. I continue to put the maximum per month into my DC pot but as intend to spend it over next 3 years it is in cash. Not great with inflation but am at least getting 3% on it. 

I think my husband is hoping like you Gambleruk if we get a dog and I am retired I won’t want to holiday so much. Though I am not so sure….. 
What has surprised me is the ongoing costs for a dog - insurance, raw food, flea/worming, vaccines plus we are getting a Cavapoo so there will be 6 weekly grooming costs. The monthly costs are going to be at least a £100.
Work is not stressful for me at moment and I work with a lovely team, so I am plodding on for at least another 3/6 months. That’s the trouble when you are in a job that is reasonably well paid and comfortable, deciding when enough is enough. Good to know though if that changes for any reason I can just walk away and very inspiring to read about someone who has and is obviously loving it. 

Albermarle

What has surprised me is the ongoing costs for a dog - insurance, raw food, flea/worming, vaccines plus we are getting a Cavapoo so there will be 6 weekly grooming costs. The monthly costs are going to be at least a £100.

Not sure why you need raw food, most dogs are happy enough with kibble topped up with a few nicer bits.

I would say £100 a month is about right, and then have a couple of thousand set aside in case they need some expensive vet treatment that is not fully covered by the insurance 

ForestBluebells

I mix 30% soaked porridge oats into my dogs raw as advised by a dog nutritionist and it cuts the cost but they still get the best food (in my opinion)

hugheskevi

gambleruk said:

I enjoyed reading the Pull the Trigger thread and were some very good posts and ideas for people, a lot of people always seem to want to travel and I was one of them before I retired but now it holds very little interest for me, I am more than content with 2 or 3 holidays in Spain rather than planning city breaks or travelling through America/Canada which I have been lucky enough to do five times and might consider one more in a few years time. So for everyone reading this and working that one more year to travel you may find that in retirement you enjoy day to day life so much that holidays are not really needed.

I think the idea of traveling is alluring, but in practice can be something which in practice is difficult if you have never traveled much in the past. I wonder how someone who has never done much more than a fortnight away once or twice a year would adapt to suddenly doing lots of additional travel. It all seems good on paper, but there is a big difference between occasional travel and very regular or even continuous travel.

There is also the question of age - at age 45 and currently doing a long trip, I am very aware that most of the other travelers I meet along the way are much younger, and on some trips involving physical things, I am sometimes twenty years older than the rest of the group. This is fine for now, it is easy to keep up, but if I was 10 years or so older and maybe not in good condition I don't think I would enjoy traveling nearly as much if I was limited in what I could do physically. Perhaps I am being premature, but I just don't think I would enjoy travel when a lot older - the long trips I did in my 20s were much better than travel in my 40s is now, and I expect the same difference to apply to travel in my 60s compared to travel in my 40s.

I expect that when I fully retire I will plan to travel on some short trips for around a month to some of the places I very much want to see, but once I've done those I will be more than happy with staying in the UK, traveling overseas less than I would when working. For me, I am very much looking forward to being able to dedicate more time to things like closely following the Tour de France, rather than just watching one or two mountain stages of the race which is what I usually do each year.

I have managed 30 x 10km runs so far this year so keeping fit and healthy still which I certainly would not be if I was still working,

I've managed 22 runs covering 171km this year whilst traveling. Although this is far less than I would run if working, as I found it much easier to get into a regular running routine built around work. It has also been blisteringly hot where we are traveling most of the time, and running is brutal, even at a slow pace.

Having said that, the most regular running I've ever done has been with a running club, and if retired it would be easier to build that into a regular routine than it is when working - for example, working outside London meant not running with my club, and when we changed office and moved across London that disrupted everything. Those sorts of things wouldn't happen in retirement.

I was thinking the other day if I was still working I bet I would have less savings and still be spending way to much money on stuff we do not need, as much as I was always careful with money it amazes me looking back how much we did waste. 

I very much agree with this. I am very glad that my wife and I cycled into work every day and made our own lunches at home. That meant we very rarely spent anything at all at work whilst also getting in exercise and eating healthily. It was amazing how much my colleagues were happy to waste on transport, food and drink.

I did find our expenses went up quite a bit when COVID hit and we were working from home - not just an increase in utility bills, but we also spent more on food as I immediately got out of the routine of preparing lunch and just bought things which didn't need any prep to grab in the middle of the day. Hopefully, in retirement my wife will be making most of my food - she likes cooking, and I am not fussy, so always happy to eat whatever she is having

Interestingly, my work has just decided to move back to where we used to be based. That is a huge benefit for me, as I can once again cycle in (the new location was too far) and also go to a couple of my running club's sessions which are based very close by. This is actually so significant for me that I might go back to work for a bit longer than I was planning to once our travels end sometime next year.

One last thing I will mention is the decision on having a dog, or 2 in our case, they are worth their weight in gold to me as I am out 4 times a day with them but they do tie you down like people have said, they are both approaching 9 now and we have agreed we will not get another straight away when they pass away and enjoy the freedom for a while, like everything though you can plan ahead as much as you want but we have no idea what is around the corner.

We are very much looking forward to having dogs in retirement. We have looked after a friend's dog a lot over the last few years, including for weeks at a time when they are on holiday, but never had our own dogs due to not being in a position to look after them properly.

As much as they will be an additional expense, due to the tie-down factor they will also reduce expenditure in some areas.

ForestBluebells

I don’t think it’s fair to say you can’t travel when older. My mum is 70 and goes away many times a year on adventurous holidays including walking long distances and camping in yurts for example 

SouthCoastBoy

I plan to travel more in retirement, this year we have just come back from oz, plan to spend much more time there once both retired, spent a lot of time surfing, no plans to slow down, currently run between 100 and 130 miles a month. Hopefully once retired this will increase and also plan to do more cycling