Opinions and advice - what to do next!

BigTerryWogan

Hi all, apologies straight of the bat as not sure where to post this!!

My wife and I are debt free, have savings and don’t know what to do next!

Maybe a bit of background information might help.

We are in our 40's, have a son (aged 10), we have no debt whatsoever.

Mortgage is paid off on a house roughly worth 450K, savings - ISA's - £80k, SIPP - £165K, current accts/instant savers, etc - approx £50K

In recent months we were forced to sell our share investment as the company was sold and the new company did not want shareholders, this resulted in receiving £250K

Apart from a handful of people, and I mean a handful of people not including my parents no one knows the financial position we are in! And here lies part of the issue.

I would like us to move to a slower pace of life, possibly moving to part-time, enjoy the ever decreasing time we have as a small family, in a flash our son will be doing his own thing!

My wife and I have different opinions on risk. She feels we need to keep working full time for another 10 years or at least until he is 18. why?

Questions I need help with:

1. How do I explain to my wife that we are in a very very good financial position?

2. What would you do in our situation, so far we’ve had everything ranging from sell up and move away to start a business to just carry on exactly the same?!

I’m really interested in completely changing, whether that's volunteering, having a small part-time job or retraining and doing something I truly might love to do.

As you can see, this might be part rant/vent and part needing help/advice/guidance from you wonderfully savvy people.  I know you will see me right. 

Thank you

Grumpy_chap

BigTerryWogan said:

Hi all, apologies straight of the bat as not sure where to post this!!

My wife and I are debt free, have savings and don’t know what to do next!

Maybe a bit of background information might help.

We are in our 40's, have a son (aged 10), we have no debt whatsoever.

Mortgage is paid off on a house roughly worth 450K, savings - ISA's - £80k, SIPP - £165K, current accts/instant savers, etc - approx £50K

In recent months we were forced to sell our share investment as the company was sold and the new company did not want shareholders, this resulted in receiving £250K

Apart from a handful of people, and I mean a handful of people not including my parents no one knows the financial position we are in! And here lies part of the issue.

I would like us to move to a slower pace of life, possibly moving to part-time, enjoy the ever decreasing time we have as a small family, in a flash our son will be doing his own thing!

My wife and I have different opinions on risk. She feels we need to keep working full time for another 10 years or at least until he is 18. why?

Questions I need help with:

1. How do I explain to my wife that we are in a very very good financial position?

2. What would you do in our situation, so far we’ve had everything ranging from sell up and move away to start a business to just carry on exactly the same?!

I’m really interested in completely changing, whether that's volunteering, having a small part-time job or retraining and doing something I truly might love to do.

As you can see, this might be part rant/vent and part needing help/advice/guidance from you wonderfully savvy people.  I know you will see me right. 

Thank you

Congratulations - you have done well and enjoyed some good fortune by the sounds of things

Is the £250k released from the shares in addition to the mortgage-free house and other assets listed?  Or is that sum wrapped up within and the reason for the mortgage-free house and other assets?

You are in a good financial position - if you find a way to explain that to your wife as per question (1), please let me know how it is done.  I have the similar challenge as my wife is convinced we need to live on the breadline.  They say you marry someone like your mother and, in this regard, my wife is exactly like my Mum

There is a lot of value in good quality family time while your son is young.  So many people only realise that when the children are leaving home.

Your pension provision looks to be inadequate to provide for retirement so, whatever strategy you take moving along, you need to be sure to build sufficient pension as you travel along life's windy path.  You also need to consider accruing your full state pension.

Your wife's rationale to keep working for another ten years is also sound.  By then you'll be early 50's and able to consider retirement soon, assuming the retirement fund is adequate.

I have massive admiration for people that decide to do something completely different.  That challenge is finding what will your completely different be that can still generate a suitable income and not turn into a drudge / chore once it becomes an essential rather than a hobby?

Good luck

BigTerryWogan

Thanks for speedy response.

So.

Numbers again:
House - 450K
Everything else at our disposal - 550K
Total assets - 1M
Should also add that our combined annual income is roughly around £80-90K depending on bonuses, we save well.

In ten years - we will be 52 and 57.

"I have massive admiration for people that decide to do something completely different.  That challenge is finding what will your completely different be that can still generate a suitable income and not turn into a drudge / chore once it becomes an essential rather than a hobby?"

love this insight - think this is the part i'm battling with the most, starting to resent my current paid employment - safe job, but doesn't spark me anymore.

Albermarle

Not really the right forum. You would be better off in one of these. Probably does not matter which one as the same people tend to inhabit both . Worth reading through as many similar questions are asked regularly.
Savings & investments — MoneySavingExpert Forum
Pensions, annuities & retirement planning — MoneySavingExpert Forum



My own immediate question is why no mention of workplace pensions for both of you?

Also in terms of calculating assets to retire with, you can not really count the family home, as you have to live there.
From a sum of £550K from age 45 say, you could get a safe income ( where the money should never run out) of say £12K pa. Maybe a bit more to begin with, and then reduce when state pensions kick in.
Personally I think your wife is more on the right track, packing in reasonable jobs in your 40's is not sensible in my opinion.
Maybe if you had a Million plus the house, then it could work, with modest expenditure.

BigTerryWogan

Thanks, I did think of posting over there, but couldn’t decide which one.

workplace pensions - mine is minimum but have been overpaying for last couple of years to the tune of £300 pm, can’t remember my wife’s, think it will be only the basic level, rest has been already been transferred into SIPP.

thanks for your explanations, safe to say my wife would continue in her current employment (all being well) for at least 5 years. She works 4 days and I work compressed hours into 4 days as well. I would love us to both to drop down to part-time.