(NON FINANCIAL) Retirement plans/ dreams/ discussion.

MallyGirl · 15 April 2019 at 2:12PM

I currently have a spreadsheet as a daily planner that I keep up to date and then reprint on a regular basis. It is colour coded for the 3 of us. It is the only way I can keep track of where we all need to be, with what gear and at what time. If it isn't added to the planner then it probably won't happen The print out is on a clipboard in the kitchen so everyone knows where to check first before committing to anything.
A lot of it is DD (pink) but DH is quite often in either London, HQ or offsite planning meetings which affect when he leaves in the morning and when he might get home. I have to go to the office about once a month these days which is an overnight and fixed time trains. I really, really look forward to the point when this is no longer needed. I had a 3 visit SPA membership for xmas last year and struggled to fit them in during the year. This year I got 6 visits as it removed the peak time restrictions but I haven't managed 1 visit yet.
When I am stressed, or tired, I eat which doesn't really help in the long run.
I think I need to prioritise myself more but I am the glue that holds it all together - WFH means it is easier for me to sort the bills, shop, cook, etc. Retirement for me means become less sticky!!!

Tahlullah · 15 April 2019 at 2:40PM

Hello. I have been reading and see so many similarities with my aspirations.

I will shortly be 54 years old and have been thinking about retirement more frequently than I should. I enjoy my work but it is no longer the be all and end all it used to be. I am ready to go.

Unfortunately, I have a really poor pension pot to rely on, as my field of work paid so poorly when I was younger. It hasn't really improved, it's just that I became more 'aware' as I got older and attempted to mitigate against retiring with nothing except the State Retirement Pension.

I am in the process of trying to pay off my mortgage, which was anticipated to be in 5 years time-ish. However, I am conscious of my own mortality and so have decided I want to divert some of this money into buying a camper van. I just feel it seems sensible to buy it now whilst I am earning, rather than waiting until retirement, when I am 60 or 67, depending which one I get to first, and so reducing my money pot for living on an expensive buy. So, trying to get it now and enjoy it whilst I can.

I don't have plans to buy another house as I already own one by the sea (one of the sensible things I did when I was younger and could afford it). So, in theory, I should be set to give up work, earn enough to survive in a pt job until my pension kicks in, have a camper van to take me on holiday around the country when I feel like it, while retired to the coast.

After that, I don't really have any plans. Just to make hay whilst the sun shines. Until then, keep paying off the mortgage, which keeps increasing whenever I think of something else I want to do before I shuffle off this earth.

Parking_Trouble · 15 April 2019 at 4:46PM

Resigned end of March. Retiring end of June. I'll be 61. Wife carrying on PT for up to 5 years longer.

Initially just want to not be tied to a laptop waiting for an email to arrive or for next meeting to start.

Live in London. So much to explore. Got a dog and have many, many miles of walking on our doorstep.

Got plenty of little projects in mind. Friend wants his classic car recommissioned. Food hygiene certificate for some catering ideas.

Somewhat constrained with lengthy holidays due to dog and wife working.

bugslett · 15 April 2019 at 5:57PM

Tahlullah wrote: »

Hello. I have been reading and see so many similarities with my aspirations.

I will shortly be 54 years old and have been thinking about retirement more frequently than I should. I enjoy my work but it is no longer the be all and end all it used to be. I am ready to go.

Unfortunately, I have a really poor pension pot to rely on, as my field of work paid so poorly when I was younger. It hasn't really improved, it's just that I became more 'aware' as I got older and attempted to mitigate against retiring with nothing except the State Retirement Pension.

I am in the process of trying to pay off my mortgage, which was anticipated to be in 5 years time-ish. However, I am conscious of my own mortality and so have decided I want to divert some of this money into buying a camper van. I just feel it seems sensible to buy it now whilst I am earning, rather than waiting until retirement, when I am 60 or 67, depending which one I get to first, and so reducing my money pot for living on an expensive buy. So, trying to get it now and enjoy it whilst I can.

I don't have plans to buy another house as I already own one by the sea (one of the sensible things I did when I was younger and could afford it). So, in theory, I should be set to give up work, earn enough to survive in a pt job until my pension kicks in, have a camper van to take me on holiday around the country when I feel like it, while retired to the coast.

After that, I don't really have any plans. Just to make hay whilst the sun shines. Until then, keep paying off the mortgage, which keeps increasing whenever I think of something else I want to do before I shuffle off this earth.

Have you thought of renting.g out your house as a holiday let?

I stress that I am only pondering multiple options, one is to get a narrowboat and lliveaboard, sell my house and buy another in a holiday area that I can let out. That may not be suitable for you. My current house is too much my home to let out, not that it's in the right area!

geoffers4 · 16 April 2019 at 12:55AM

What a great thread.
We are in a v.similar position to many on here - I'm 56, still working full-time but will definitely finish work at 60 or before. OH a few years younger but has been unable to work for 2-3 years because of a chronic illness. The illness is helped significantly by sunshine and warmth so we've been spending increasing amounts of time in the Canary Islands, especially in the winter months. So this is likely to become a central plank of our retirement plans. Some friends have recently bought a property out there and it's quite inspiring to see how they've turned this into an income stream as well as a holiday home.

What other interests will we pursue? parkrun, learning Spanish, growing our own veg, walking in the Lake District... we're only really limited by our imaginations, aren't we?

Tahlullah · 16 April 2019 at 10:02AM

Hi Bugslett, like you I cannot rent out my home because that is what it is, my home. A shame really because as an income stream it would serve me well, but I like going home at the weekends and relaxing.

I love swimming and paddle boarding, both of which I can do at home. I'm not a keen gardener and running is a bit too strenuous for me.

I have yet to discover my passions in life which will determine what I do with my time when retired, outside snowboarding, swimming and paddle boarding. There are always thousands of older people skiing and enjoying the sport when I go on my winter holiday, so I intend to join them.

This is where the camper van would come into play by allowing me to take advantage of the ski slopes in Scotland and perhaps Germany and France without the costs associated with flights, transport of equipment, hotels and then food and lift passes on top.

Looking forward to it!

As geoffers4 says, I am only limited by my own imagination.

mark5 · 16 April 2019 at 7:29PM

ex-pat_scot wrote: »

i have five years. I'd like to say "more or less" but it's "more". Won't be "less", as I am very heavily reliant on SIPP access at 55.

I have pipe dreams of lots of exercise - Parkruns, cycling, duathlons, mountain walking, skiing. Trying to get back to an 18 minute Parkrun. Exploring. Touring. Long distance path walking. Camino de Santiago.

What I wont be worrying about is deposits for children's houses. I have 4 (children, not houses). There would never be enough, and I would have to work for a few years extra just to earn the money (I have a huge marginal tax rate, so 2/3 of what I would be paid would get taken off me in tax/ NI and 1/3 as funds for the children.)

I want to enjoy the end of the weekend, without the dread of having to head down to London, and the guilt of not having done enough work over the weekend to keep afloat of my monster workload. I want to be able to make plans on a whim, not to be dictated by the schedules of my children.

I want to wake up one day and think "what should I do today" and decide there and then to do it without any guilt of work avoided, commitments missed, or jobs building up in my absence.

I want to be a lion-tamer.

18 mins at 50 is good going.

MallyGirl · 16 April 2019 at 8:58PM

Blooming amazing- as a novice runner my PB is just under 33 mins and that felt like I was dying!!!!

Marine_life · 16 April 2019 at 9:36PM

I was a big runner in my early 30's with a 10k best of 36:40 and a half marathon of 1:22. But running was a sport I loved to hate. I trained a lot, sometimes twice a day and raced almost every weekend. I was always sore or injured and when my times stopped improving I became disheartened and I eventually gave up running completely.

I returned briefly in my 40's to tick the box on a marathon (completed in 3:40) and was so disappointed (with my time) that I ran another one three weeks later (in 3:46!), but then gave up again.

Looking back I wish I have savoured those days. I wish someone had said to me "enjoy this, because its the best you'll ever be". Sometimes in life its almost like we need that outside in view to give us some perspective.

I started running again last year (at age 53, now 54) and am determined to enjoy it for as long as possible. My knees give me the occasional problem which I can manage by keeping distance below 10k and not running more than two days in succession. Can now run a relatively relaxed 5k in 25 minutes. I may do a park run but at the moment I want to make sure I enjoy every run...who knows how many more there will be.

k6chris · 16 April 2019 at 9:42PM

Over the winter I stupidly entered a 40 mile Ultra, taking place in May. Over the last 6 days I have run 110 km in training. I bloody hate running now :rotfl:

(NON FINANCIAL) Retirement plans/ dreams/ discussion.

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