How much could you live on – very early retirement question

The inflation issue is one reason why rental property is such a good long term / retirement investment.

I could live on £776* a month quite comfortably and happily for the rest of my life. No fancy holidays, no car (cheap hire van when needed), no dependents, no mortgage, loans or credit card repayments.

It would be a simple lifestyle, modest home and nothing flash. That’s kind of how I am just now anyway so wouldn’t be a problem.

Fixed costs would be council tax, gas and electricity, mobile phone, broadband and house insurance. This comes to £249 a month.

£427 a month for groceries, leisure and general pocket money.

Leaves me with £100 a month to put away in-case anything else comes up.

I have most of the stuff I would ever need to fill my days already like bikes, fishing, camping and hillwalking equipment. Most of it will likely outlast me.

If it ever looked like going wrong pick up a part time or temporary job or grow some weed and sell to the young uns.

*At today’s rate.

The inflation issue is one reason why rental property is such a good long term / retirement investment.

Agreed, my rental income earns me 50% of what I would like to live on when I retire. Well not like, ideally I’d like millions, but could happily get by on.

(ie final salary_ pensions just don’t work these days, the numbers are too big

Tell me about it, I’ve effectively lost my 1st 7 years of pension when my employer folded and took the pension fund with them…..

The house maintenance costs were my biggest consideration before deciding that I’ll jump ship. Hopefully I have enough put aside and if not then my question to the forum in years to come will be, ‘how much is a 2003 Orange Sub 5 worth?’

I wonder how our imaginings compare with the basic state pension (w. Pension credit) giving a single pensioner, c.£150 pw (or £600 pm) and 100% council tax relief (assuming you have no savings)?

having looked again at my current outgoings I could live on £961.76 a month if I ditched sky and that’s budgeting £100 a week spending money on food etc.

£600 a month with no council tax is doable.

I wonder how our imaginings compare with the basic state pension (w. Pension credit) giving a single pensioner, c.£150 pw (or £600 pm) and 100% council tax relief (assuming you have no savings)?

Do you not get other things such as rent etc paid for? Pretty sure the pensioner across the road has her house rent paid for by the council…

I expect you get housing benefit if you are on pension credit, yes. Wont help if you own your house outright though.

@footflaps – my Dad’s firm folded after he’d served 30 years. Fortunately the Government introduced a compensation scheme and although it took 10 years he got back a decent chunk if nowhere close to what he’d lost. For 10 years he’d had half the pension he should have done.

To answer the OP’s question (and at the risk of being flamed) I would like something like £35k pa net of taxes. If I had to I could live on £25k and probably less.

BTW It’s quite interesting how much money you can save by being vegetarian and drinking less/nothing at all booze wise.

BTW It’s quite interesting how much money you can save by being vegetarian and drinking less/nothing at all booze wise.

But tee-totallers dont live longer, it just feels like it 🙂

@footflaps – my Dad’s firm folded after he’d served 30 years. Fortunately the Government introduced a compensation scheme and although it took 10 years he got back a decent chunk if nowhere close to what he’d lost. For 10 years he’d had half the pension he should have done.

Yep, my scheme is stuck in limbo. It’s so large that it would fold the compensation scheme, so it’s not been accepted and has been stuck in legal wrangling for 10 years +. As a deferred member, I’m not expecting to get anything back as I suspect the fund is paying out to current retires and there won’t be much left for me….

My wife and I are 32 and are now mortgage free homeowners with no kids.

This topic is relevant to my interests as I’m thinking of retiring.

About 2k per month gives a good standard of living IMO. Retiring early is really not so had for a dinky professional couple. After all, your dad probably brought up a family on 40y earnings (ballpark). So 25y x 2 people with no dependents should be is ample.

My wife and I are 32 and are now mortgage free homeowners with no kids.

There’s always one isn’t there! I’ve written some other slightly less pleasant replies to this and deleted them, only because I’m envious though! 😈

My wife and I are 32 and are now mortgage free homeowners with no kids.

Well kids will come then she’ll divorce you and take everything so don’t be so smug 😉

I’m 61 and I would hate to retire. Hobbies, holidays and pastimes are great when they are fitted in around other obligations and commitments, like working. Without that structure they’re pretty pointless. Having too much to do feels crap sometimes but it’s not as bad as waking up in the morning with nothing to do.

I’m on a second career. I describe myself as a carpenter (self taught), after many years in software sales. This week I’m busy making and fitting some really smart bespoke bedroom furniture for a bloke whose bathroom I transformed earlier this summer. I’ll be riding down to the pub this evening, fettling the bike tomorrow, trying to fit in a Thursday night ride on Cannock Chase and am spending the weekend windsurfing at Aberdovey. Oh, yes, I’ve got my 4 yr old grandson to look after tomorrow afternoon. I’ll put him on the kiddy seat, and strap his bike to the back of that and we’ll ride down to the park and let him play on the half pipe.

If I was retired I probably wouldn’t get round to any of that! I’d be hooked on daytime TV 👿

I’m 30 and mortgage free… 4 kids to feed/support though so that’s any chance of me retiring in the next 20years scuppered… Maybe after that though (possibly maybe).

BigJohn – that sounds great.

I kind of understand what you mean about not having a structure to your day… Although I’d like to give it a try for a while 😉

… it’s not as bad as waking up in the morning with nothing to do.

Bad? Sounds good to me!

We’ve done it! If you take out the exceptional, one off purchases from capital, we are spending somewhere just shy of £2k per month and thats not going beserk – we dont eat out (diet reasons), smoke, or drink in pubs (much). Everything is paid for – no debt, but, I’ve just gone back to work 30 hours a week to ensure that we can maintain the lifestyle, sub the kids as required and not have to worry.

I kind of understand what you mean about not having a structure to your day… Although I’d like to give it a try for a while

I did.

I’m with BigJohn on this. The idea of having nothing you have to do is great. The reality is that I missed having goals, aim, therfore of social chatter that comes with a job. Hell, even the stress. I’ve managed to keep myself amused through various part-time jobs and some voluntary stuff. My daughter called me a job hoarder last week. That there’s another wee bit of cash coming in is, of course, welcome too.

It’s only another 3 years until I’m 60, so maybe I’ll slow down a bit then.

this thread shows just how much of an unsustainable pyramid scheme the ‘pension plan’ is. especially if you start adding house price increase into the inflation figures.

Our joint net monthly income is currently about £3k and we’re managing to bring up two kids, own two dogs, pay a mortgage, run a car, and do up a house* on that.

(*new kitchen, new bathroom, some structural work, new boiler, new radiators, new external doors, some new windows, and lots of decorating in the last five years.)

Now that the house is sorted, we should be able to overpay the mortgage to clear it quicker. Once our youngest starts secondary school, in three years, my wife’s going to up her hours and/or change jobs so we should have some more cash coming in for the kids’ university years. Then, we’ll both go part-time.

So, when we all retire and live the dream, what are we going to do to add structure to our day and to reduce outgoings/costs?

I’m thinking veg garden, allotment, foraging, and home brewing. Fun, cost-neutral(ish), and time-consuming.

I’m thinking veg garden, allotment, foraging, and home brewing. Fun, cost-neutral(ish), and time-consuming.

cool. looks like im semi-retired already then 🙂

Trailbuilding of course Mike!

Semi retirement for the win. To those who are worried about structure there are many voluntary positions out there.

I consider having nothing I have to do a luxury, but do lots, none of which brings in any money.

Run, make things, ride, fix things, swim, read, ski, play guitar and sing, waste time on the Net, clean house, walk, watch TV, siesta, dance, do voluntary things, wander around town, shop, garden, think… . many of these things in good company.

41 year old male self employed joiner,no kids or wife,get to play with tents,bikes and kites 2.5 days a week,go to work the rest of the days.

Mrs North and I are going seriously wrong somewhere. I think it falls into the “so busy with work we just throw money at everything” problem.

Time to take a set of shears to our costs. I cannot possibly own up to how much we spend each month….

Spend, or have to spend? If you had less, wouldn’t you just spend less?

A lot of spending is is fixed in with specific life choices. Friends decided to move to the new town, just outside of the town where they both work, because they could get more got more house for their money. They’re now tied into owning and running two cars, which probably costs them more than a bigger house in town.

It’s also quite hard to give up what you’re used to, which can make the jump to retirement harder. If you’re used to a new car every three years, a foreign holiday every summer, meals out every weekend, and a cup of coffee on your way into work, those are hard habits to break and you risk being miserable in retirement.

They’re now tied into owning and running two cars, which probably costs them more than a bigger house in town.

Commonly known as The Commuters Fallacy…
http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2010/03/30/commuting/

Commonly known as The Commuters Fallacy…

It’s a good job I have a short, bike commute. I can’t imagine how much of a miserable bugger I’d be if I were driving for an hour a day.

Commuter’s Fallacy?

I’m in London at least a day a week. I live north of Manchester….

Likewise, I have a 12min bike ride and a (smallish) house in the centre of town.

I’m in London at least a day a week. I live north of Manchester….

That’s known as Commuter’s Insanity….

I’ve actually done this, it costs more than I expected.

Without mortgage I reckon it costs me about £1300 a month. Mrs OD, is still working, and spends the same. That includes running and depreciating two vehicles though and we could get rid of one if both not working. We don’t have mega extravegant lifestyles, but equally our days of camping are over, so three holidays a year add cost. There is also the cost of bikes and tech, both of which I could spend less on, but don’t want to.

In the end I am going back to part time work as I was starting to drift a bit. Been great though, rode loads, surfed loads, fitter and leaner. I did voluntary work and an MA, but ultimately looking forward to the challenge of working again.

Haven’t totalled it up – the annual CC bill (which includes a lot of stuff) is quite high but could be trimmed.

Still contributing to pensions which obviously could stop.
Not one for a new or nearly new car every 3 years (last one lasted 12 years); swapping houses every 5 years (have lived in 3 homes in last 30 years) – or even the big holidays, new bikes, clothes, kitchens and stuff.

But as for annual running costs at current levels – not sure at all. Don’t have any commute expenses either at the moment, so that’s a saving that can’t be made..

Although i do save heavily for a pension which is doubled by work, and have several personal investments for the future, I could be dead tomorrow.

So I provide for my kids and set ourselves up to enjoy life while we can. No point saving for a future I can’t predict where that means living in poverty today. As regard the future, I’d want only for regular communication with my kids, my bikes, a small quiet abode with accessible countryside, a wood burning stove and enough heartwarming good quality booze to give me a warm glow in the evening.

Not necessarily the this location by this ideology: