The Senior Wonder Years!

[Deleted User]

Just a comment on the TV licence. I struggle to understand why people consider this not value for money!  For £169 a year plus iplayer. It is great value. Also lots of free stuff on the other main channels plus their free on demand services. What I can't understand is why people pay pounds and pounds for Sky, Netflix and whatever. For me my much cheaper BT box and Freeview provide everything I want.
I am definitely on my soap box this morning.

SuzeQStan

Your plans sound sensible, balanced and enjoyable at the same time @[Deleted User]  - glad to hear you will manage well if anything happens to your domestic arrangements.  

would you want to live in the same area if you have to move? 

We will be retiring hopefully in just a couple/few short years and it’s good to see various approaches as to ‘how it’s done’.  We’ve always been frugal - I’ve got notebooks from the late 80s onward till the digital age with budgets, wages and dreams in them.  And glad to see many of them came true (own home, travel etc) and laugh at those that didn’t (my 20ish year old self apparently fancied a brand new Corvette - 🤣 didn’t happen)

My own retirement may happen sooner rather than later if overseas family need my care (only child) if that happens I would need to look into volunteering at some point to attain full compliment of NICs.  Paid up some gap years as well a year or so ago so suppose could just do that again if the option arises.

most of my relatives drive into their 80s/90s but they live overseas where public transport is nonexistent. And there have been some serious RTAs. I know public transport can be hit or miss but like you I hope not to be driving beyond mid 70s. Suppose we might feel differently when we get there! 😉

luvchocolate

Also the How much to live on...thread on this board is interesting..how many financial threads do we need on this board?

[Deleted User]

luvchocolate said:

Also the How much to live on...thread on this board is interesting..how many financial threads do we need on this board?

As many as people want lol!

helensbiggestfan

Not contributed here recently but do read along.  I do enjoy your ramblings, Baron.  

Re budgeting......I am quite relaxed really. I don't have various "pots" or set amounts for each category. I have set up direct debits/standing orders for all bills so I know that what's left is pretty much available to spend as I please.  Some may consider that all rather casual and haphazard but it works for me.  In the past I had to run a very tight ship, every penny was a prisoner.  Thankfully now  those days are behind me.  

I am pretty sure I get the balance between needs and wants about right but I do think there can be quite a bit of blurring round the edges. For example this week I bought two new sun loungers, not technically a need because one can live without sun loungers, lol but then again my last one died on me so I could argue replacements were needed.  

My late husband used to say that life would be very dull without "fripperies". I wholeheartedly agree.  You pays your money and takes your choice.   Nice clothes, good restaurants, and holidays may not be necessities but a life reduced to bare necessities might not be a great deal of fun.  

I come from a fairly modest background and "made good" through diligence and hard work.  Now I can relax the purse strings a little and it feels good.  I am not rich as such but I actually consider myself wealthy in the things that matter to me.  I wouldn't like to endure the rigours of my early life again so I probably do sometimes err on the side of caution.  But I have peace of mind knowing that I can pay my bills and be self sufficient.  I save and splurge as the mood takes me.  

This year I had quite a splurge.  I saved hard for a few years, going without holidays and being generally quite frugal so that I could have dental implants.  Cost me an arm and a leg but to me it was worth every penny.  Going without fancy holidays for a few years was no real hardship (especially during covid) because I am now the proud owner of a new Hollywood smile.  

I do what I can to stay fit and healthy and don't worry too much about long term care needs.  I gave my children deposits for their houses about 7 years ago as an early inheritance, figuring I would rather they have a leg up when they needed it most than wait until I have died.  Hopefully I have another 25 plus years yet, 😂. They can have whatever cash/property is left. Their wives, my sister and niece will get my jewellery and personal effects.  

Baron - don't feel obliged to apologise for your love of clothes.  Spend freely, it's your money to indulge your inner fashionista.  I see nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel our best.  In fact dressing well and taking care of our appearance is a very worth while investment.  Those who make an effort to look good get the best partners, the best jobs and earn the most money !!! 

I know you are now retired but even so looking good and cutting a dash still reaps rewards such as good service in shops and restaurants, sometimes even upgrades on flights.  Besides when we put our best foot forward it does wonders for our morale.  Doctors always say they can tell when their patients are starting to get better because it shows in their appearance.  

I do indulge in clothes, especially high quality vintage.  I have a sideline business selling antiques and vintage clothing so many of my purchases end up making a profit or are at least cost neutral.  I also like nice toiletries and beauty products but as a trained beauty therapist I often make my own potions and do most of my own treatments, other than haircuts, massages and an occasional visit to a dermatologist.  Having had skin cancer in the past I do consider regular dermatologist visits a worthwhile investment.  

I think financial threads such as those found on MSE and other sites are extremely helpful.  The more the merrier.  

If I had had access to such knowledge when I was younger I would be a millionaire now. 😂

Rich1976

We do something pretty similar to the previous poster. We don’t have set pots but also not too strict on our spending budget.
we tried having annual pots for all the once a year items and another pot for holidays and another pot for car and house maintenance. The problem we found though was that whatever amount was decided upon eg for holidays was not enough and we should have budgeted at least 25% extra.
House Maintenance was another area that was under budgeted . We had our bathroom upgraded and that came in at 3k more than I’d estimated. It’s almost impossible to know how much to set aside especially with the rising cost of materials and that you don’t know how much something will cost until you start getting quotes.
our car had about 1k worth of costs 2 years ago. I had only budgeted about 700.
the figures I had used were just a finger in the air guesstimate and not based on any previous research.

so now we set aside savings each month for medium and long term needs as well as our emergency fund and that all goes into one account. If something needs repairing or replacing then it just comes out of that account and because there is a decent amount in there we don’t need to worry whether we’ve saved enough. It also helps with stress levels because then I can’t worry that we haven’t saved up enough for something when there is plenty available in the account.

Spending money, we aim for about £300 a month between us but there are occasions where it can be up to about £500. Not necessarily worried about this as long as are still able to save every month. 

We have low monthly costs and only a small mortgage remaining so have quite a bit of headroom not to be too strict.

FreetodoasIlike

No budgeting as such here. We are both retired and my partner is 15 years older with a teacher’s pension. I have a Local Government and state pension, and a private pot of around 50k. I drew down on this pot to bridge the gap for 4 years, so that I could retire 4 years early to receive my state pension. I took my Local Government pension at 60, took the lump sum to pay for house improvements, and invested the rest into my private pot (was still working at the time and my employer contributed 9%,  so it was a no brainer).

I’m just very grateful that we are fortunate enough not to worry too much about money. Like most people, we have our bills paid by direct debit and have ISA investments and savings in our personal accounts (never had joint accounts) which pays for any emergency we might need. I know we are lucky, but both have worked over 40 years (my partner has adult children, but I never had any) and it is reassuring to know that we have the money to pay for a new boiler etc. I used to spend a lot of money on good clothes when I was working, but as these were of a good quality, they have lasted (some a very long time). We don’t go on holiday (our choice) and run two average cars (although my partner did invest in a classic car). His choice, and if I were to work it out, I would have probably spent the same as him over the years. He’s very frugal and really only spends on necessary clothing, good shoes and electronic stuff. So I guess, what I’m saying is that I’m not a fan of budgeting per se, i.e, allocating money to certain categories. We just spend as required/wanted. Our “wants” are very different. We would both spend (if we could) on private health care. I too, like @helensbiggestfan have spend a lot on dental implants and have also paid privately for a cataract operation. I again know I’m lucky, but it was worth it to me. I wanted the cataract op quickly as I needed to drive to see my mum in her care home.

Have to say, I disagree with your view about the TV licence being good value for money.  I do think, however, that only the poorer pensioners should get it free. My partner received a free licence when he turned 80, but was very happy not to, when it was means-tested. I think the BBC licence is a rip-off and that people can be criminalised if they don’t pay it. In my opinion, it should revert to a monthly streaming service, like Netflix, Discovery+, Apple TV etc, so that people can choose what they want to watch. I like to watch many programmes on BBC and would happily pay a subscription, as I do with others, but feel strongly that the licence shouldn’t be compulsory. If it were a steaming service, most people (particularly older people) would pay it AND maybe some won’t - just  my view! Yes, I agree that with the licence you get BBCIPlayer, ITVhub, ITVX etc, but a lot of the programmes I like to watch are on Discover+/SKY Atlanta. If the licence was made into a streaming service, I could put the saving (say, around £7 a month) towards another streaming service (would still subscribe to BBC). I believe that people should have the right to choose, not to be criminalised if they don’t pay. Right, off my soap box now. Just dislike the fact that most of the news presenters on the BBC are so biased and don’t try to hide it. What was once a national treasure, alas, I feel, is no longer.

I know you’ve mentioned your own care needs in later retirement. Have you given any thoughts about funding if your older relative ever needed residential care? Obviously, any assets they had would be taken into account for the financial assessment process (including owing 30% of a property and any savings they may have, bar a nominal amount - I think around 16K (maybe wrong). Have you given any thoughts to this scenario? I’m sure you have, but just want to add (as it’s a financial forum anyway) that my mum is 102 and is in a care home. Her savings have reduced drastically over the years (with new hearing aids/glasses/£20 disabled taxi each way for a hospital visit/personal needs) and have dwindled to practically nothing.  I pay a top-up fee of £3,700 a year (assessed weekly) so that she can stay in the residential home of her/my choice. I now pay for all her sundry expenses as well, as she only receives £30 a month for personal spends, which doesn’t even cover the cost of her weekly hair do, let alone any extras, like mini-bus travel to outings/lunches!!

You sound as if you’re doing well, so I’m sure you have considered what may happen in the future. But then again, who knows what might happen (to any of us).  I like financial forums (the more the better) as I love reading about other people’s views/experiences. 

Nebulous2

[Deleted User] said:

I think I am increasingly becoming a 'MSE outlier' lol! (and personally I couldn't care less lol )

Of course I have an outline budget, but do not see my retirement years as ones of cost cutting and making do. With maybe only a few years left, I am not going to deprive myself of 'wants' to have money left in the bank when I am gone !

I like to look and feel good, so do spend money on my appearance including clothes and my body lol  . I enjoy eating out in restaurants. I have only had a few trips within the UK and abroad since retiring, but this is mainly due to care commitments at the moment.

I am single and have no children of my own, but lots of loving nephews and nieces who know full well that anything I leave is to be considered a lucky bonus and not a given.

I realise I am in the fortunate position of living in a paid for house and I have a guaranteed pension income for the rest of my life. However, I don't have a huge amount of savings and investments. At the moment no more than £30 plus thousand. I will probably save more when state pension kicks in.

I have no inheritances due either. If anything happens to my elderly relative I will own 70% of the house, which will need to be sold to give her beneficiaries their rightful shares. This will leave me about £350000 to buy somewhere for myself. I will be fine.

Should I need some kind of care when much older the house can be sold. I am not going to spend time worrying about that or hoarding money for something that may never happen. Fortunately my pension income will be enough to buy in services and help with house stuff should they be required.

Next year I may replace my current car which is approaching 8 years old. I am looking into leasing one for a couple of years. I will enjoy driving a new car! I have a preliminary budget in place for that. Although fit and healthy I do not see myself driving much beyond the age of 70. I will see how it goes. I actually believe that there should be a medical and annual driving check for people over 75 to drive anyway.

Many thanks for all your recent comments. Keep them coming.

I think you're not as much an outlier as you think. There are plenty of people scattered across the boards, particularly in the pension forum, with years of data on everything they spend and very detailed budgets for expenditure. 

I don't think I'm cost-cutting and making do. I genuinely see no value in buying clothes, or in spending money on clothes in most instances. I spend freely where it suits, but not where it doesn't. 

I'll try to put some figures on this, which doesn't come readily to me, you are very open with figures, and most of the rest of us talk in generalities, rather than specifics. 

So clothes:- I spent most of my working life in sports jackets, trousers and formerly in ties, latterly in open-necked shirts. Generally bought from M&S. I was glad to leave that behind on retiring.

I now live in cotton fairtrade t-shirts, usually from Sainsburys at less than £10 each, and jeans from Sainsburys at less than £20. At the same time I'll pay £300 for a pair of Meindl hiking boots, and about the same for a decent waterproof jacket. Both of those would last around 3 years. 

For cars: - we bought a new vehicle just before covid, which was fortunate, and it's now about 4 and a half years old. There was also an idea that we wanted to front-load expenditure before retiring, as there was going to be a significant gap between that and us getting a state pension. So a new vehicle could be expected to last a long time.  Cost was around £30k. I then leased an additional electric car to commute when I took a part-time job after retiring. It is also a £30k vehicle, but was a bargain at just over £200 a month. When I give up my part-time job we are likely to go down to one vehicle. 

So as you can see - I'm not spending on clothes, but I'm certainly making up for it on vehicles. I'm driving around 15,000 miles a year though, which is about double average, and my wife will be driving about 5,000, so we regard cars as money well spent. We're currently planning a trip to France, which given we are about 700 miles from Dover will see us doing some 4000 miles in a month. 

 

[Deleted User]

@Nebulous2 said

'I'll try to put some figures on this, which doesn't come readily to me, you are very open with figures, and most of the rest of us talk in generalities, rather than specifics.'

That is exactly my point. Maybe I just like specifics lol. I and I am sure others find them interesting and informative.

Many thanks for your response.

[Deleted User]

FreetodoasIlike

I do disagree with your comments about the TV Licence. I like not having commercials lol! I actually think the programmes and associated services are good quality and objective. But each to his own.

Years ago the fee was never an issue until certain extreme tabloid newspapers started a campaign to destroy it as the organisation refused to go along with their outdated views and outlook.

Funny how newspapers like the DM and others can accuse the BBC of bias, but somehow outlets such as GB News never are!  

I would never spend on private health care. In fact I would have it totally abolished. If everyone had to use the NHS including the very rich and powerful you would be surprised how quickly it would suddenly be properly resourced!

As far as care costs for my elderly relative goes, we as a family will be fine. Most of my relatives have lived to a good age and always received care from the family. However, none of them had medical requirements. My grandmother lived with me until she was a 102 with no issues. If it happens, it happens.

Many thanks for your interesting comments.