Early-retirement wannabe

Options
1…266267269271272…607

Comments

  • slowlyfading
    slowlyfading Posts: 13,429 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    edinburgher wrote: »
    http://www.retirementinvestingtoday.com/2016/07/thats-it-im-calling-it-its-my-financial.html

    RIT hit 2 commas, good for him, still jealous of his 6 figure salary :o
    Such a good read, thanks for sharing!
    Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
    Personal Finance Blogger + YouTuber / In pursuit of FIRE
  • Sjmb
    Sjmb Posts: 21 Forumite
    Options
    Recognising the point at which retirement is possible is hard. We spent years and years saving, investing, increasing our pension contributions, that it became difficult to change our natural behaviour . Enforced redundancy at the age 57 made the decision for us. Now a year down the line, we have a great lifestyle and we live comfortably within our expected expenditure. We budgeted for £3000 per month but find that £2500 pcm covers everything including holidays. We still find it difficult to spend our excess capital, it took us 40 years to accumulate it, so I guess it might take us a little while longer to divest it. If you are thinking about early retirement, if you subscribe to these forums, if you have spent a lifetime saving, then in all probability you are ready, you just don't know it yet 😀
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Options
    edinburgher wrote: »
    http://www.retirementinvestingtoday.com/2016/07/thats-it-im-calling-it-its-my-financial.html

    RIT hit 2 commas, good for him, still jealous of his 6 figure salary :o
    Keep the faith Ed.

    You are investor
    Hear you roar :D.

    Great tale GK :T.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • gadgetmind
    gadgetmind Posts: 11,130 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    Options
    Sjmb wrote: »
    We budgeted for £3000 per month but find that £2500 pcm covers everything including holidays.

    I don't feel we have an extravagant lifestyle, no sports cars, no skiing, no fancy watches, no yachts, but we're still trying for twice that pcm in retirement.

    Even the fixed energy+insurance+council-tax+health bills rip out £12kpa without even trying!
    I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.

    Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
  • bigfreddiel
    bigfreddiel Posts: 4,263 Forumite
    Options
    gadgetmind wrote: »
    I don't feel we have an extravagant lifestyle, no sports cars, no skiing, no fancy watches, no yachts, but we're still trying for twice that pcm in retirement.

    Even the fixed energy+insurance+council-tax+health bills rip out £12kpa without even trying!

    Are you saying you need £6k/month? £72k/yr?

    You must have some huge house and bad health to need £1k/month just for those basic bills, maybe some of Martin's tips could help you save some money. Cheers fj
  • madeinireland_2
    madeinireland_2 Posts: 381 Forumite
    Options
    Sjmb wrote: »
    Recognising the point at which retirement is possible is hard. We spent years and years saving, investing, increasing our pension contributions, that it became difficult to change our natural behaviour . Enforced redundancy at the age 57 made the decision for us. Now a year down the line, we have a great lifestyle and we live comfortably within our expected expenditure. We budgeted for £3000 per month but find that £2500 pcm covers everything including holidays. We still find it difficult to spend our excess capital, it took us 40 years to accumulate it, so I guess it might take us a little while longer to divest it. If you are thinking about early retirement, if you subscribe to these forums, if you have spent a lifetime saving, then in all probability you are ready, you just don't know it yet 😀

    You are absolutely right. I've now reached the point where I believe I will have a chance to retire at the end of September if I am correct that my company will offer a voluntary redundancy scheme this week.

    I've done all the calculations I can think of - my spreadsheet says I'm ok to go - retireeasy says I am ok - but I'm still worried that I'm not in the right position. I can't put my finger on it but a nagging feeling is telling me no don't do it. I'm not sure what I need to do to convince myself.
  • westv
    westv Posts: 6,084 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Options
    gadgetmind wrote: »
    I don't feel we have an extravagant lifestyle, no sports cars, no skiing, no fancy watches, no yachts, but we're still trying for twice that pcm in retirement.

    Even the fixed energy+insurance+council-tax+health bills rip out £12kpa without even trying!
    Too many gadgets?
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
    Options
    madeinireland wrote: »
    You are absolutely right. I've now reached the point where I believe I will have a chance to retire at the end of September if I am correct that my company will offer a voluntary redundancy scheme this week.

    I've done all the calculations I can think of - my spreadsheet says I'm ok to go - retireeasy says I am ok - but I'm still worried that I'm not in the right position. I can't put my finger on it but a nagging feeling is telling me no don't do it. I'm not sure what I need to do to convince myself.
    If you retire too early you can fix it but you can never fix it if you retire too late! It is a step into the unknown but if you know you're ready then ignore that little inner voice (easier said than done I know!).

    Good luck on the redundancy.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • edinburgher
    edinburgher Posts: 13,463 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Options
    GenghisKhan wrote: »
    I wouldn't be too jealous. It's good for FIRE and is why I went for it but brutal when measured just about any other way. Certainly not sustainable for somebody trying to work to State Pension Age.

    Important to also highlight that the salary came because of my journey to FIRE rather than FIRE being considered because of the salary. Since starting my journey I've been able to increase my salary 2.7 times in real inflation adjusted turns.

    The 2 commas and FI targets being reached feels pretty darn good though.

    I know the jealousy is irrational and negative, but I still think 'imagine how quickly I'd get to my goal if I earned £100k'. It's stupid, I don't believe for a second that my goals would be the same if I earned that much!
  • gadgetmind
    gadgetmind Posts: 11,130 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    Options
    bigfreddiel wrote: »
    Are you saying you need £6k/month? £72k/yr?

    Hmm, "need", now there's a word! I have got £50kpa in as our "essentials" figure, but TBH we could get by on less if forced to. We could downsize, cut down to one car, forget health and dental insurance, sell the scuba gear and some bicycles, etc.

    However, I set out to put in place plans to let us retire early without having to make sacrifices, so have £60kpa in as my target, and £72kpa as my "if I just worked a few more years ..." figure.
    You must have some huge house and bad health to need £1k/month just for those basic bills
    House and car insurance = £3.5kpa, Council tax = £2200pa, utilities = £3kpa, health insurance = £1.5kpa. And then there's house fettling; just having the outside of the house painted cost £2k!
    some of Martin's tips could help you save some money. Cheers fj
    Hey, I just use the energy switching section to get our utilities *down* to £3kpa!

    Maybe I ought to put downsizing higher up my priority list?
    I am not a financial adviser and neither do I play one on television. I might occasionally give bad advice but at least it's free.

    Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorns is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that they are pink; we logically know that they are invisible because we can't see them.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards