Bold leap into retirement

Smudgeismydog

Huge congrats @Pat38493, 

Some impressive travel plans there.

How are you feeling?

eastcorkram

@Pat38493

Well done 👍. 
I finished last Christmas. My plan is a bit like yours, but without the travel!

Pat38493

Smudgeismydog said:

Huge congrats @Pat38493, 

Some impressive travel plans there.

How are you feeling?

I am feeling great about finishing work - I have had enough of that company to last a lifetime although I did enjoy working there up until about 5 years ago.

I suppose I’m a bit concerned about having a lot of unstructured time available as I’ve always tended to be a creature of routine, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

Yorkie1

Pat38493 said:

Smudgeismydog said:

Huge congrats @Pat38493, 

Some impressive travel plans there.

How are you feeling?

I am feeling great about finishing work - I have had enough of that company to last a lifetime although I did enjoy working there up until about 5 years ago.

I suppose I’m a bit concerned about having a lot of unstructured time available as I’ve always tended to be a creature of routine, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

As a teacher, my dad had been governed by structured school bells from the age of 5 to 60, when he retired. He started out with a piece of paper on which he divided his time into (if memory serves right) 2 hour slots for each weekday. Then after a short while, it became half days, and then to a regular calendar.

I think it helped him decompress within a structure that suited him.

He also then became a governor of the local CofE primary school, so was busy most days anyway!

dont_use_vistaprint

Smudgeismydog said:

I’ve started to have the sinking in my stomach feeling at the thought of going back to work on the 2nd. How many emails will I have? How can I look like I’m interested in my 1:1 that my manager treats as a tick box exercise, scheduled on my first day back?

I have just found @c’est moi’s thread, which documents his bold leap into retirement at the age of 48. Whilst he has now moved into part-time employment, this was not driven by financial reasons, and he sounds very fulfilled, with no regrets about the decision he took.
I have also been catching up with @sea-shell, who took early retirement. She clearly takes an interest in understanding her finances and reflecting on her income/expenditure, but I never feel they are counting the pennies or reigning in costs, they appear to live the lifestyle they want. Even over the last year, when investments have been uncertain, and inflation has been high, their total assets are higher at the end of the year than they were at the start.

Similar to @MetaPhysical I have tried to analyse my anticipated income/expenditure and impact of withdrawals on assets. Of course this is important, but as we are both in the position of having guaranteed income already in payment this of course takes away a huge amount of pressure.
As per one of the comments on MetaPhysical’s thread, and I’m sure Sea-she’ll and c’est moi would confirm, retirement expenditure is not going to be linear. Life is unpredictable and my plans will need to adapt and change, but reading these threads, and taking on board comments from very helpful posters will, I’m sure, allow me to take my bold decision into early retirement too

I retired a couple of years ago aged 52. I will soon have access to my SIPP & DBP but for the last two years living on interest mostly and some capital really sharpens your financial skills. Moving money around often, 4.6 vs 4.4 does make a difference - the difference is the gas and electric bill !  Since retiring I gained the most important asset - Time. Time + Internet = huge savings on everything from self transfer flights to building materials on facebook market place & clothes on LOOPI. The shift from having £15-20K a month to spend to around £1000 has not been difficult at all, im so much  happier being poor ! 

You are so right about spending not being linear. So many of the plans I’ve seen here &  and friends seem wrong to me. In my spreadsheet I added a large number of extra columns for infrequent purchases like vehicles, holidays, house renovation projects. I did a 50 year plan to see how reduced levels of spending later on when state pension kicks in & modelled variances in CPI & savings rates. 

My plan is to run out of money and die, ideally in the same week. If anything’s left over I retired too late or didn’t live extravagantly and generously enough while alive 

I chose to  keep my very low mortgage so that I can help children reduce their borrowing and in turn have an income from them that’s far more useful to us all now than inheritance when they’re old. 

Life is unpredictable and my plans change often. I stay invested in high volatility assets unlike others, the timing is controlled by me when I enter and exit markets. I don’t have or need a ‘number’ if investments do well my family and friends will benefit more from
my generosity while I’m alive & the flights will be direct and hostels might become hotels but the locations & activities won’t change. 

disgruntled1234

Well today is my first day of retirement.  A few of us went into the office yesterday and went out for a pub lunch. Quite an emotional day as I'd worked for the company for 20+ years.

Excited about starting a new chapter in my life!!

Tried to lie-in this morning, but still woke before 7:00 so I guess it will take a while before my body allows me to start getting up a little later!!

MallyGirl

Congratulations. 

2 months in for me and the only structure I have implemented is around exercise. With similar goals around getting fit and hopefully losing a bit of weight I am making the most of the ability to attend classes during the day. I prefer classes to solo YouTube videos and it gets me out and about. After a couple of injuries in recent times I now do Pilates and a couple of body conditioning type classes a week - one each weekday leaving weekends free as OH is still working - plus a bit of running as and when and some walking. I have got the cycle back to being usable but not taken it out yet. I want to be physically well enough to do the sort of travelling we like once he stops (hopefully next year). An aged and infirm dog is limiting our use of the camper right now but sadly that won't be a constraint for much longer. 

katejo

MallyGirl said:

Congratulations. 

2 months in for me and the only structure I have implemented is around exercise. With similar goals around getting fit and hopefully losing a bit of weight I am making the most of the ability to attend classes during the day. I prefer classes to solo YouTube videos and it gets me out and about. After a couple of injuries in recent times I now do Pilates and a couple of body conditioning type classes a week - one each weekday leaving weekends free as OH is still working - plus a bit of running as and when and some walking. I have got the cycle back to being usable but not taken it out yet. I want to be physically well enough to do the sort of travelling we like once he stops (hopefully next year). An aged and infirm dog is limiting our use of the camper right now but sadly that won't be a constraint for much longer. 

I have just (last week) reduced to working 3 days a week. I know I need to increase exercise but I am more motivated to do some types than others. I should do more yoga or Pilates but will find it harder to keep it up if I don't get quick results.  My favourite is walking and I already do a fair bit of that. 

cfw1994

Congrats to those joining (or planning to join) Team Unemployable 🎉

We treat the garden as a free gym….less into organised classes - last time we went to a yoga one a few times - ended up injured (perhaps trying too hard 🤪).  I enjoy cycling - managed a sublime 40m on a sunny day around half the Isle of Wight on Monday, before the rain & winds set in.  Have a 4 day camping/cycle mini-adventure with a pal in Devon in a couple of weeks, so I needed the practice….
Walking is also good for keeping fit/mobile, I believe….

It’s interesting to me how some like structure.  For me, a key joy of not having a day job is the flexibility to be a bit more random.  

Sure, some things take planning, and we are into a bit of a groove on some holiday things, but I love the ability to make snap decisions without having to refer to a manager!  Key is having an online diary we can both check & access - makes it easier to book shows/gigs etc when you can quickly check you are free.  Google calendar is a free one that works for us.

DillonTheCatMSE

dont_use_vistaprint said:

My plan is to run out of money and die, ideally in the same week. 

Finally, a strategy I can get behind... 😂