Can I retire now? (age 40)

itsthelittlethings

Ibrahim5 said:

I think it will definitely work. Just get the wife working full time on minimum wage for the next 20 years. Easy.

I think the OP is female.

noitsnotme

itsthelittlethings said:

Ibrahim5 said:

I think it will definitely work. Just get the wife working full time on minimum wage for the next 20 years. Easy.

I think the OP is female.

What makes you think that?  They mention their wife in the first post.  (I realise there are same sex marriages).

barnstar2077

If you do end up borrowing money on your mortgage, be aware of the temptation to spend more than you planned!

I asked to borrow a few thousand some years ago, they pre approved me for ten thousand "Just in case I ever need it."  I of course found reasons to need it! :  )

Not saying you would do the same, but as it was my biggest financial blunder, I think it is worth mentioning. 

itsthelittlethings

noitsnotme said:

itsthelittlethings said:

Ibrahim5 said:

I think it will definitely work. Just get the wife working full time on minimum wage for the next 20 years. Easy.

I think the OP is female.

What makes you think that?  They mention their wife in the first post.  (I realise there are same sex marriages).

My bad, I didn't read that bit.

Shimrod

ent_moot said:

There is so much that doesn't make sense. My hobby is my career, but I have to stop everything now. The only objective seems to be the ability to tell everyone "I retired at 40". Your daughter would probably prefer you to do a bit of work for holidays and entertainment and securing her future rather than just sit at home with her eating porridge

I didn't say my hobby was my career. I said the skills that I'm valued for in my career are the same skills that I use for my primary hobby, which is to create software. My job is extremely stressful - I suspect most high-paying high-responsibility jobs are.  

Have you considered asking your company for a sabbatical? You're obviously valuable to them so this might be an option giving you a safety net if you discover your annual spend is higher than expected - or you just realise you needed a long break.

Alternatively have you considered contracting - even taking a step down the career ladder you can gross £130-150K. You can work six months and have six months off to spend time with your daughter, and you don't get any of the stresses or long hours of being a permanent employee. That might be an option to ease into full time retirement while helping the finances.

Ibrahim5

I remember when I was retiring one of my collegaues had just spent over £100K on getting a commercial pilot's licence for his daughter. I remember checking with my kids whether any of them wanted to be pilots. Another of my colleagues gifted a house to their daughter. I wouldn't have bothered at all with this thread only the shock of someone retiring without any thought for their child's finances. If it was just an adult I wouldn't care how they lived. I just think it's different with a child involved. I guess she's never going to be a pilot - she's going to be a software engineer.

ent_moot

Given that we'll have more than the average household income, plus she's an only child, plus we'll have much more than the average equity in our home, I think she'll be fine. The plan is of course for her to inherit the family home, though I have no idea how inheritance tax works, so I would need to optimise that closer to the time. 

...plus she's a high achiever and super-conscientious. I'll be surprised (though no less supportive) if she's not very successful.  

I think "no thought for my child's finances" is definitely an exaggeration.  If I felt that she was "missing out" in any way, I would certainly consider going back to work. I doubt I'll need to though.

kimwp

ent_moot said:

Given that we'll have more than the average household income, plus she's an only child, plus we'll have much more than the average equity in our home, I think she'll be fine. The plan is of course for her to inherit the family home, though I have no idea how inheritance tax works, so I would need to optimise that closer to the time. 

...plus she's a high achiever and super-conscientious. I'll be surprised (though no less supportive) if she's not very successful.  

I think "no thought for my child's finances" is definitely an exaggeration.  If I felt that she was "missing out" in any way, I would certainly consider going back to work. I doubt I'll need to though.

Just for info, smaller amounts earlier in life have a much bigger impact than large amounts later in life. (£50k per child in today's money puts them in a good position for a first house purchase, meaning lower interest rates, more saved etc - it has a compounding effect)

grumpsthegit

Its seems you are open to stepping back into work in the future, and as long as that remains a viable option, I think this is key to your plan. Being a SW developer I am guessing you are more clued up than most regarding the use of AI in your field so as long as you are confident of retaining value and try to stay current via your hobby, sound like you have a plan with a fallback option.

I would just add (as others have also) that future costs as you get older do seem to come out of the woodwork all the time though. In the last 12 months for us a new dishwasher as the 15 year old one finally gave up, New sofa as the last one was threadbare, new bed as the other half's back was playing up, etc plus Dental bills can be shocking as you get older! My daughter is going to Vietnam for a year to teach English language so I want to help her with flights and the first months rent. The other daughter is buying a house so want to help her with Stamp Duty and a deposit. In a few years if we are lucky there may be grandchildren too and no doubt the bank of mum and dad may need to help then also and I aim to be in a position to be able to do so. I guess the difference is when i retire I want to know its for good, and only go back to work if I want to rather than need to.

Best of luck, hope it all works out for you!

SarahB16

Shimrod said:

ent_moot said:

There is so much that doesn't make sense. My hobby is my career, but I have to stop everything now. The only objective seems to be the ability to tell everyone "I retired at 40". Your daughter would probably prefer you to do a bit of work for holidays and entertainment and securing her future rather than just sit at home with her eating porridge

I didn't say my hobby was my career. I said the skills that I'm valued for in my career are the same skills that I use for my primary hobby, which is to create software. My job is extremely stressful - I suspect most high-paying high-responsibility jobs are.  

Have you considered asking your company for a sabbatical? You're obviously valuable to them so this might be an option giving you a safety net if you discover your annual spend is higher than expected - or you just realise you needed a long break.

Alternatively have you considered contracting - even taking a step down the career ladder you can gross £130-150K. You can work six months and have six months off to spend time with your daughter, and you don't get any of the stresses or long hours of being a permanent employee. That might be an option to ease into full time retirement while helping the finances.

I agree, this is also what I would have suggested too, either taking a sabbatical or asking your employer if you could continue to work for them for six months a year (working from 1st October to 31st March) and leaving the warmer months and summer holidays free to spend more time with your daughter.