prescriptions are free over 60, so that is a good thing, I know it all sounds so corny now when you hear of todays 'poverty' allegedly everywhere, but like you, me and many more grew up on hand me down clothes etc etc, walking to school with a hole in each shoe, threadbare carpets etc etc Yes I can laugh now, start life with nowt and you miss nowt, anything you get is a bonus !

My dad died when I was 17 MONTHS old, my mother got a widows pension and didn't work as she was blind, as I write this I can see the comical side, it all sounds like a Dickens story, yet it all began for me in 1955 NOT 1820 or whatever.

But like you say Yorky, short in cash, but I can only recall happiness and laughter . . .

 2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
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1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
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1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)

Yorky Bob wrote:

.......Maybe Mrs Yorky will be jetting off on her own leaving me at home with the budgie ......

Northcroft wrote:

........We managed in the last 3 years to have varied between either 5 or 4 holiday cottage weeks away in the Yorkshire Dales, which is perfect for us. I have never been ambitious in anyway (as you can tell ) I have no desire whatsoever to go abroad........

Bob, as Northcroft is unable to help, ............ I was not planning to go to Canada this year, although I would step up to the plate and offer to accompany the 'young' Mrs Bob to Canada.

.

and its all in B.A. Business Class Flights.  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Yorky Bob wrote:

We are blessed to have been in the era of final salary pensions.

RPI has been robbed, now most are CPI. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

For those who have been a member of occupational pension schemes , if you haven’t had a State pension projection for your retirement date you may ( or may not ) be surprised to find out that you do not have enough qualifying years for the full payment of the “ New state pension “ . I worked in a pensionable role from the age of 18 to 60 . Due to a large proportion of that time being “ contracted out “ of the State additional pension ( for which I have received a benefit in my occupational pensions ) I will be around £1000 a year gross short or maximum . This is because 1 contracted out year does not equal 1 qualifying year . However I can buy the extra years to top this £1000 up for a total cost of around £4000 to be paid before I qualify for the state pension in 2021. I’m doing this by a couple of cash payments , plus voluntary class 3 NI.

Obviously this is taxed so payback will around 5 or 7 years depending on prevailing tax bands/rates etc , but with a fair wind , a bit of luck and a continuing supply of beta blockers and NOACs ... it’s not a bad return on capital .

I don’t know if your wife has had that forecast Bob, but it’s worth a look 2009 GS Auto Zermatt Silver - Sold June 21 after 10 years of ownership

2016 Subaru Outback SE 2.0 diesel SE Premium Lineartronic Sold 2024 after 8 years and 80k miles . Best Car I ever owned !

2023 Toyota Hilux invincible X 2.8 Auto .

Last edited by MartynB on 27th Jan 2019 7:08 pm. Edited 1 time in total

yes, very relevant post and something I didn't appreciate at the time.

also my wife who is now 61 had intended to retire at 60, but will now need to work for another 5 years before she can retire on her state pension.


Iain

This is a really difficult one and can only be answered by the individual concerned, who knows their own circumstances and desires/needs.
In my case I have 2 final salary pensions, both of which I opted for the max tax free lump sum and invested. That's is a risk but I'd rather have the cash to pass on if early death becomes me, as the draw down made no difference to the widows pension value. Also I don't pay (or only minimal) income tax on the investments.
Between my wife and I we are on around £32k pa pension (taxable) income (no state pension for us for more than a few years). With other investments I can draw down around 10k pa for life's niceties assuming a further 20 years of holidays before infirmity and insurance costs gets the better of us.

Stay away from financial planners, down under we have had a Royal Commission into the banking & pretty much whole finance system. Final report yet to come out, but pretty clear how the industry has bled everyone dry.

As others suggest, do a spreadsheet, or write down all your outgoings from council rates, electricity down to the last potato you bought.

If you do not have receipts simply start today. Build up a picture over the next month or three. It is not difficult but you have to be brutal & honest with yourself. It really does not take that long to do. A couple of days & you will have 95% of your data written down.

It is easier to save than earn a dollar! We are not tight arses by any stretch of the imagination, but like to buy non perishable items on special, one has to buy ahead, down under you can save a fortune. We always, if we don't forget, check our receipts. 1 in 4 receipts has an item we are over charged for. Some supermarkets then give it to you for free. If they don't you at least get you money back. & Besides that it is the principal. Look at unit pricing on shelves, sometimes the sepcials are dearer!

Don't use paywave on debit or credit cards as you are charged another 0.4% for the card scanning facility. Better still put a scalpel blade through the card's aerial so the paywave does not work. A bright torch behind the card & you will see the aerial. The card will still work with a pin number.

Grind your own coffee instead of buying cappuccinos, you will save a fortune. We use a hand grinder & hand press, but buy top quality coffee, still works out vastly cheaper & better quality!

Walk more & drive less for those in general unnecessary trips. We are lucky as we only live a kilometre from the shops & walk, but it would take longer to find a car space anyway! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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I agree with lightwater saying that you can best plan forward using a spread sheet.

Its been 20 years since I retired and it seems to have worked.

I started several years before I retired and input my expenditure, wage, savings. etc.

I modelled forward using 3% pa inflation on prices/expenditure, 2.5% pa increase in pension, and savings, (guessing 5% pa savings drawdown would be ok).

Cars I modelled in at losing half their value in each set of 3 subsequent years (ie. 50%, 25%, 12.5%, and so on), and expecting a 3% pa inflation on the price of the next.

I have been lucky in the government during that time, which have, on average, run a steady economy well within my 3% firm's pension annual increase limitation. This is why I would appreciate a stable government in the future.

One other thing, I did not take any pension lump sum, despite the 'financial advisors paying for a very nice weekend away for wife and myself in a lovely hotel, in a bid to convince us to let invest our money.

If you then keep your spreadsheet up to date, you should gain 'peace of mind' for your future. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
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(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

In a way I have been lucky, I had very large income then nothing for months, so learnt very quickly to not spend when the money was there.

I think for people who have had a steady income for decades it is harder to adjust to a new normal. But it is not that difficult to sit down & put in a bit of planning, don't stress, just do a bit each day & it will fall into place. It's your new job that you are retired. As they say don't retire, you won't have time for anything! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Recently I did a spreadsheet for every last item we put in the car for the outback. http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32876.html Still finding things I forgot to count! (a few laughs in the link to destress on this topic!)

Freelander has a payload of 500kg..... We had 550kg! (above our means so to speak) Big things like extra fuel, water & over weight people (me) are easy to account for! It is the little things at the end of the day, pointless things that are a burden, which ever way one looks at it are the biggest problem. A few grams or in other words dollars here & there add up very quickly.

Key things weighing down the car which I could easily relate to saving money are not actually the issue.

Of the 550kg, not including food, clothes & shoes & beer!, another subject in its own right!

All the items that weighed up to 1 kg accounted for 24kg of our payload.

All the items that weighed up to 2 kg accounted for 48kg of our payload.

It is the little pointless things that add up frightening quickly without realising either their weight in the car or dollars/pounds exiting one's wallet!

Do a spreadsheet!

P.S. Turn things off at the wall & save $50 a year in electricity! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I remember a few years back talking to a senior guy running the IT department in a government agency. He had left school at 15 and had gone straight into their apprentice scheme and worked his way up. The upshot was that by age 55 he had accumulated 40 years service and that meant that he was on the maximum pension which in his case was 2/3 of his salary plus a substantial lump sum. He did a big spread sheet where he worked out the cost of coming to work ie car, new suit every year or two, commuting, petrol, lunch in the staff canteen etc etc and discovered that after tax benefit of coming to work and running a big department with all of the hassle and stress was about £60/week which was less than he was paying the cleaners. He opted for early retirement. An extreme case perhaps but people have very varied needs and financial circumstances. 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
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Dorset, I too left school at 16, enrolled on an apprenticeship (GEC - in digital electronics) and worked my way up. I had an ambition to buy a house at 20 and become mortgage free at 40. Further I wanted to retire by 50. I achieved the house part and retired at 48.
What I didn't allow for was divorcing my first wife (expensive !) I still see her even after 35yrs and she remains very attractive ...... only NOT to me, and separating from my second wife (not so expensive )
Life has been good to me and as a single man with wealth I feel very comfortable.
Who knows what my future will hold ??

.

still plenty time to get another wife under your belt

Iain