The Senior Wonder Years!

Baron_Dale

I have decided to open my own thread in this section of the forum. 

I am doing so to give myself an outlet to describe and reflect on my ’retirement’ as well as documenting how finances are hopefully supporting my ‘Wonder Years!’

I will still contribute to the ‘How Much To Live On’ thread which has been part of my life for three years now and from which I have learnt so much and met many interesting contributors. However, I also like the idea of now having my own space.

Please feel free to comment on, or just read, my ramblings. I would like to feel that some of you may be able to relate to my experiences both negative and positive and therefore also make suggestions that could enrich the lives of us all.

I will post some background details in the next few posts.

Baron_Dale

For those who do not know me, I recently fully retired after 6 years of semi-retirement. I had  a career of 42 years working mainly in the Secondary Education which I thoroughly enjoyed and found very fulfilling. I am a single male who has just turned 65. I am fortunately in good health with a young outlook on life. (Thanks to the many years or working with teenagers!)

I am blessed with a supportive and loving extended family of sister, brother, nephews and nieces and their families as well as friends and other relatives. My mother is in her mid-80s and, although mentally very strong, now has some physical health issues, which means I cannot always be as spontaneous or free with my plans as I would  like to be. However, things are manageable, and I am happy with my lot.

I try to keep fit by exercising twice a day with stretching and some resistance work. I have never been a gym person as I have tended to be a little self-conscious in such places. I am 6 3 tall and  naturally slim which is helpful as I do like good food! I do not drink alcohol and I have never smoked. Until Pre-Covid I was also a regular swimmer and I plan to return to swimming in September. I find it a bit irritating that casual swims seem to be less available these days but I think I have now found a place that is a bit more flexible. Lane swimming is ok, but I find I am too fast for some and too slow for others!

I also go for walks in our local forest a few times a week. I used to go daily when my two Labradors were alive. Unfortunately, I lost the pair of them in 2020, one was 14 and the other died younger as the result of an illness. I still miss them but have decided not to have another dog as they can be a tie and with my mother needing increasing time it is  not practical.

My next post will deal with finances.

Baron_Dale

So, for the next 12 months(July 2023 to June 2024) my total income will be £21699 gross or £1656 a month after tax. However, this amount may change after next April as my teacher’s pension is index linked. Any increase from next April will match the inflation rate this coming September.

I have put together a 12-month budget covering all planned normal expenditure, and which will also allow me to add £2400 to long-term savings.

In addition I have created 5 'pots' on a spreadsheet  that are contained together in one savings account. (They are not actually visible within the savings account). Four of these pots I have already filled in preparation for the 12 months between fully retiring and receiving my state pension.
Four of the pots contain the following funds:
Pot 1Reserve Pot or Emergency Fund £3800
Pot 2Travel Pot £5000
Pot 3Presents Pot (In addition to Christmas and Birthday Funds) £500
Pot 4Voluntary NI Pot to cover July to next April as I am now fully retired from employment. £600 I need to pay this final amount to reach the full new state pension. I will have paid 47 years’ worth of NI as I was contracted out for most of my working life.

The 5th Pot is the Annual Bills, Annual Subscriptions and Annual Spends Pot  which has a balance of £300 at the moment ,but will have £300 added to it each month for the next 12 months (starting July 2023) So this pot will receive £3600 in total over the course of the year.

Any funds above £1200 in my main current account on the last day of each month will be transferred to my Cash ISA.

My other savings and investments (which I will not need to use) are in the following
Premium Bonds
Cash ISA. Any surplus funds from main current account will be added monthly to this account on the last day of the month.
S&S ISA £2400 will be added to this account over the next 12 months. (£200 monthly)
Online Fixed Term Bond. This has another year to run.

I also have second current account which is 'fed' monthly from my main current account has budgets for Christmas, Clothes and Dentist. This is with a different bank and also acts as a back-up account.

There is also a joint current account with A.N.Other which also receives funds monthly from my main current account to cover my share of the household bills, charitable donations and fuel.(I co-own the house with an older relative)

I do not have a huge amount of savings and investments but enough to feel secure and able to plan some future treats and travel.

When my state pension begins in July 2024 my annual pre-tax income will rise to just over £32000 before tax or about £2360 a month after tax (at current values). I feel this will allow me to have a comfortable retirement. I am fortunate that at the moment all my income is index linked.

I must admit I am not particularly frugal but do budget carefully and keep detailed records of my spending. I like to eat out a few times a month. I also spend money on looking after myself with regular haircuts, private dentist, chiropodist and I use good quality toiletries. I also enjoy keeping my wardrobe up to date.

Perhaps I am not the typical male retiree, but I don’t care what other people think lol! I have worked hard during my career and did not retire to worry about every penny I spend. I intend to relax and enjoy whatever the number of years I have left.

On a more practical note, my will is up to date, my funeral paid for, and a grave plot purchased. I didn’t want my family worrying about such things. Forward planning like that also enables me to also forget about those things and enjoy life.

Baron_Dale

As said above I do like to keep my wardrobe up to date. From July 2023 to June 2024,  I have a budget of £960 for clothes and shoes of which I have spent £97 so far. I am an M&S man! However, I also buy quite a bit from Tu and independent online sellers. Having long legs, I sometimes have to look very carefully for a decent fit!

I do look around for deals and usually buy during sales or when there are special offers.

I am going to a wedding this weekend and budgeted £350 for my outfit, accessories,   and the wedding present. (This was purchased before the start of my current budget). I bought a good 3-piece suit from my favourite place got a 20% discount using their Sparks card. Total cost for the suit, two shirts and two silk ties came to £220 well below my budget. After the buying some gift vouchers for the couple the total outlay for the wedding came to £270 so £80under what was allocated.

One thing I have learnt in recent years is to budget realistically. I do tend to over-  estimate which I feel is easier to manage. Much better to be able to allocate any underspend to other pots or savings rather than scrambling around raiding pots to make ends meet.

For the next 12 months I have budgeted  £228 a month for miscellaneous spends. These include meals out, magazines, books and small one off spends. Everything else is covered by some budget! I usually visit local charity shops or second-hand bookshops for reading material. Managed to get 10 great books for£10 last week from my local hospice shop.

I had my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I decided to ask for vouchers rather than presents. As a result, I now have £240 worth of Boots and M&S vouchers to spend! I was really very grateful! The former will take care toiletries for a few months and the latter some winter clothing purchases.

Baron_Dale

Fear not I will not always be posting in such detail each time or on the same day! I just wanted to get my new thread off to a solid start. Also, the weather has been rather wet today and I am up to date with all my chores. Actually,there is now a break in the weather so I may go out for a quick walk in the forest.

I will post when the mood takes me, or I have something I want to mention or talk about.

However, I will give a monthly financial update.

My hobbies and interests tend to be non-expensive. I like enjoy reading, gardening, current affairs, political debate as well as meeting friends and family and meals out. I also enjoy travel when the opportunity arises. I will also be up front by saying I am left of centre politically and pro-Europe but do not preach or close my mind to any other ideas!

Well, there you have it!

I am going for that walk now before the wet weather returns.

Best wishes to all.

joedenise

Agree with you that it is better to overestimate and then move money to other pots.  I have rather more pots than you as have everything separated out - for example under my Holiday pot I have sub-pots of UK breaks; motorhome overseas holidays; package holidays.

I have a separate Eating Out budget rather than trying to pay for it out of my Grocery budget!

In total I have, I think, about 40 different pots!  It works for me.

Have bookmarked your thread as I'm sure I can pick up some ideas from you even though I've been retired for over 10 years!

Baron_Dale

joedenise, many thanks for your comment. Although I have fewer pots, each item within the individual pots has its own budget. For example, within the annual spends pot, car maintenance, car insurance and MOT all have their own allocated budget.

MrsPorridge

Happy New Diary Baron Dale - looking forward to reading over the coming months.

Baron_Dale

One other question I had to consider when fully retiring in June was, ‘Could I manage all the household bills in the unlikely event that I was left alone in the coming twelve months before state pension begins?’

Fortunately, the answer is yes. At the moment, I contribute £550 a month and my relative £450 to a household joint account. That £1000 a month covers all our household bills, some charitable donations, and my fuel costs. It runs at a small surplus each month. We also have BG Homecare. We also enjoy our or food and often have other family members to dinner.

I calculated that with the 25% single person council tax discount and saving about £150 a month on groceries plus deceasing my monthly savings for a while I could easily manage. Hopefully, the situation will not arise.

mummytummy

I too I have also bookmarked your thread Baron_Dale, I enjoy reading your posts 😊 

Baron_Dale

I would like to buy a ‘newer’ car in the next couple of years. I already have some money in a car replacement pot, which hopefully I can add too when my state pension becomes payable. I may also investigate leasing a car. I have heard that lease arrangements that include servicing and other extras can be quite attractive. Does anyone have any views or comments in this?