"Big Up Retirement Massive"

[Auvergne]

Sitting here feeling the freedom of retirement with the caravan is a far too distant utopia. Work stuff permeating my every waking thought this weekend and I've been up since 5.30am as I'm unable to turn my brain off! How I am looking forward to retiring, hitching the van up and just trundling off where I want, doing whatever I please and just being in my little caravan world where I'm at peace and in control...... of nothing very much. Well, won't win the lottery this week as I haven't bought a ticket, but I'm jealous of all your retirees as you've already hit the jackpot as far as I'm concerned.

Am just wondering what the best thing about being retired is for you?

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

The upsides.....

Not HAVING to get up in the morning

Going away when WE want

Having time to indulge our hobbies

Freedom from the pressure of work

The downsides.....

Reduced income just when we have the time to take all these holidays!

 

[Guest]

I agree with Jennifer. However, to get retired one usually has to work the '40 year stretch' unless you are in a chosen career such as an MP etc. The big problem is you have so many ideas while you are working but when the time comes, you are usually so worn out, or unforeseen illnesses strike, that many of them fall by the wayside. Also your ideas are not based on any realistic financial plan, and then at retiral the truth hits home. The finances are not what you hoped.

So, you make the best of what you have got, and then tell the world to 'Get STUFFED!'

 

[Terry_5112949]

I retired last Friday July 31st after working one year past normal retirement age, and after one week of doing what and when I want I`m loving it, just feels like every day is a saturday or Sunday. People say to me that I`ll get bored, no chance of that I`ve lots of hobbies and things to do, looking forward to going away more with the caravan mid week when it`s not so busy as weekends

 

[Chris_374413356]

I thought before I retired I would have time to get all my jobs done, including the decorating.

Now I have retired and have loads of free time, the decorating still doesn't get done because I have loads of time next week or even next month... to do it. Between caravanning.

I'm really looking forward to those cold and frosty mornings when I can just roll over snug as a bug.

Still, having a bus pass, free prescriptions and free eye tests can't be that bad

 

[602]

Hi,

My mate was a rather high level Civil Servant. The Director kept hinting that his career was on hold for as long as he kept coming into work in sandals.

My mate is now retired, we met him for lunch on Saturday. His T-shirt proclaimed that "SUCCESS MEANS NOT HAVING TO WEAR A SUIT"

Whatever, he is now happy.

602

 

[Heethers]

I retired at the age of 55, 11 months, not through choice as Gordon Brown supported our Companies plan to invest in India and China, in fact he was seen congratulating our American Chairman in China on the new plant that was opening.

We here in the Uk had the best Pharmaceutical plant for producing Heart drugs, Cancer drugs and a RND site that discovered some of the best drugs the UK produced, l wont tell you its name but it was once a division of good old ICI.

At 54 when we realised this was about to happen to me l pondered long and hard what l would do, we had borrowed the father-in-law's motor home the previous year.

On the 30th of June 2008 l retired, we had bought a Ace Bright star in 2007 to see if we would take to caravanning again after a 25 year break.

You guessed it in October last year we traded it in for brand new Ace Firestar we are loving it, so up yours Mr Brown,.

But he has had the last laugh, hardly any return on our savings and to top it all my wife's a nurse who has worked for the NHS since she was 16 but now has been told she wont be able to retire until she is 63 and half.

Sorry about the rant but retirement is only good if both of you can enjoy the time together.

All is not lost in couple of years l l have pursued her to go part time so both of us can enjoy or hobby

 

[jaffasdad]

I read an article once about retirement, which helped me to make my decision about if/when to retire. To paraphrase a very long article, it essentially said that to enjoy life you need three things: time, enough money to the things you want to do and good health. If you think about it we generally have two out of the three for most of our life.

Sadly, the bombing economy will mean that many people will not be able to afford to retire while they still have their health. I was very fortunate; I could and I did and have not regretted it for one second. Work out how much you need to maintain the lifestyle you need and go for it. I have seen too many people hanging on to get their full pension and not living to enjoy it. Again, apologies to the folk who may not be in a position to make the choice.

 

[Guest]

All excellent stuff.

My only comment is many of us seem to work from 'the top down'. In other words we look at what we were doing while working and try to do the same in retirement. It is not necessary. Forget you were once the boss, indispensible partner/employee, or whatever. Once retired you become an insignificant human again. Wonderful. Look at the basics you need to live on and use that as your guide. Yes, you cannot go out and buy all the things you might like, and using a credit card is a 'no, no'. But once time is no longer your enemy, things can be sweetened without major expense. As mentioned the bus pass can afford movement at low cost. Simple things like the B&Q discount card, discount leisure cards from the Council, even a very simple thing like our local garden centre offers a loyalty card at

 

[Gumbo]

You will be bored to tears was one comment mmmmm I have learnt how to kill a day as good as anyone else in the world.

You need something to do!!!! OK I will play Golf 3/4 hours depending on the time spent in the Clubhouse, and always home in time to start the tea, and run the Hoover around.

Grandaughter 2 days a week ( best job I have ever had ) Don't want her to be 5 just yet ( starting school ) but that's being selfish.

Money is OK have a few bob saved and a decent pension.

Time Now that is difficult how much is left is anyones guess not many people know when they are going.

PLEASURE now are you enjoying your Retirement ?? Only You can answer that. Me I'm happy and I am enjoying my retirement, I really hope you are enjoying yours to.

Just back from a weekend in Blair Drummond and no need to bother about getting up for work tomorrow YES YES YES

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

We have a foot in both camps, we have a son of 39 with wife and grandson age 3 1/2, and a daughter of 24, who was a student needing our support, but is now doing a PhD with funding.

However, with students, I don't think anything is certain, we do have to help DD out every so often.

We are lucky, OH has a final salary pension, plus state pension, so we are on about 50% of what he had the year he retired.

Plus, he is in great demand, so much so he could still be working full time! If he did he could earn (with pension) twice what he did while still employed!

This however is not what he/I wants to do, so he has done a few wee jobs, but mainly we have been away enjoying ourselves.

3 months in 2007 (when he retired), 3 months in 2008, and a projected 5 months this year.

Our plan was to tour for 4/5 months per year, so we are getting ther.

This plan does have downsides however.

Our garden is looking extremely neglected. And maintaining the house is quite a challenge. We are home 14/07 to 01/09, and it is a struggle to get all the woodwork painted in that time......the weather is not helping either!

 

[Auvergne]

Monday morning is here all too quickly, hope you're sleeping well Gumbo!

Food for thought in these comments indeed. My husband is twelve years older than me so thats a bit of a problem as he will obviously be straining at the leash to get away in the van whilst I'm still chipping away for a good few years. Maybe he will have an opportunity to work on, who knows. I have two teenagers from a previous marriage to put through Uni - first one starts in September so I won't be in a position to retire early unfortunately.

What a tangled web we weave!

 

[Gumbo]

Hi Jennifer.

" Our garden is looking extremely neglected. And maintaining the house is quite a challenge. We are home 14/07 to 01/09, and it is a struggle to get all the woodwork painted in that time......the weather is not helping either"!

This is a difficulty most of us have to face, we are going through this at the moment. My senario is to sell the House and buy a very nice apartment with no garden to maintain and no structual things to go wrong. Now my OH does not like the idea of giving up the house with the garden etc.I am in the process of trying to convince her that

 

[Alex_374373826]

Well I've got six years to go.

I think that NGH has a good point, it's only good if you can retire together.

The thought that keeps me thinking about doing something earlier is the health bit. I was told that 1 in 3 get cancer; by 60, 75% will get it. The average bloke snuffs it at 76 and a woman 81.My parents didnt quite make thatm, so I'm seriously considering the options.

This is really rather morbid but positive in another light.

On another point, if dear old Gordon had not lowered interest rates so much, those retired people would probably have got the economy going, as they chase the bargains with the cash that they are making on interest on savings.

 

[Gumbo]

" 1 in 3 get cancer; by 60, 75% will get it "

Agree but not the kind that is fatal most tumours are benign !!!!

I had a tumour removed 5 years ago and I go to see the consultant for an annual visit to make sure it's not coming back !!

So don't worry to much about that Alex the chances are not that great of having it.

 

[Alex_374373826]

" 1 in 3 get cancer; by 60, 75% will get it "

Agree but not the kind that is fatal most tumours are benign !!!!

I had a tumour removed 5 years ago and I go to see the consultant for an annual visit to make sure it's not coming back !!

So don't worry to much about that Alex the chances are not that great of having it.

Thank you for that. However the statistics keep me focussed on retirement, otherwise the fear that you will never have enough cash rears up.

Government just wants us to pay taxes today and drop dead tomorrow, not have a retirement

 

[Guest]

I agree with the idea of selling a house and buying a flat, in fact thta is what we did in 1992, and never regretted it. I sit with a wisky in hand watchingt he garderners, especially if it is raining. The communal stairways are cleaned once a week and any faults are repaired by contractors. Yes, we pay a service charge each month but compared to the upkeep of a house, it is buttons. I live on the 3rd floor so if a thief can get in then it is a long way down out the window.

However, the idea of pocketing a wodge of cash on the downsize did not materialise for us. We looked at apartments that were in the budget for saving capital, but they were all too small or not in the areas we liked. We then saw the apartment we liked and by the time we had added the extras we wanted, it was virtually a 100% swop. OK, you cannot win them all as we have a home that will suit us till the 'end of our time' and also allow the remaining partner to happily survive in a safer community. We als moved to the big city so Council Tax was higher, but the upside was we had more facilities on our doorstep and in much later life when we do not have a car, we can still get around easy.

Unfortunately, you will only get what you pay for, and sometimes the great ideas have to remain just that...ideas.

 

[Guest]

I agree with the idea of selling a house and buying a flat, in fact thta is what we did in 1992, and never regretted it. I sit with a wisky in hand watchingt he garderners, especially if it is raining. The communal stairways are cleaned once a week and any faults are repaired by contractors. Yes, we pay a service charge each month but compared to the upkeep of a house, it is buttons. I live on the 3rd floor so if a thief can get in then it is a long way down out the window.

However, the idea of pocketing a wodge of cash on the downsize did not materialise for us. We looked at apartments that were in the budget for saving capital, but they were all too small or not in the areas we liked. We then saw the apartment we liked and by the time we had added the extras we wanted, it was virtually a 100% swop. OK, you cannot win them all as we have a home that will suit us till the 'end of our time' and also allow the remaining partner to happily survive in a safer community. We als moved to the big city so Council Tax was higher, but the upside was we had more facilities on our doorstep and in much later life when we do not have a car, we can still get around easy.

Unfortunately, you will only get what you pay for, and sometimes the great ideas have to remain just that...ideas.

apologies for typing errors. Twitchy fingers tonight

 

[Gumbo]

Ours will work for us, moving from (still)High Price City area to the coast 30 miles from Aberdeen. So we will still have relatively good health facilities on the doorstep, and of course sons within a few miles.

Everything depends on luck really but if you do plan don't go over the top, you will be very disapointed if it dosen't work out. So always have a back up !!!

 

[Guest]

I moved from Aberdeen (small town that thinks it is a city, but never will be) to Edinburgh ( Big city that is one). Explains the costs I think. My son has realised the same when he looks at the flights and costs from Aberdeen to get anywhere.

 

[Gumbo]

I draw your attention to the following post

" If anyone is thinking of visitng Edinburgh for the Festival then I suggest they may wish to re-consider. Not only is the main street closed to all traffic for the eternal tram works, but the bin men have been on strike for a month. They call it 'working to rule' which basically means nobody's bins have been emptied for weeks. Contractors have been hastily called in to clear the mountains lying on the streets but it is certainly not very attractive. The city centre is getting first call, so the rest of us council tax payers have to wait.

The trams are now so far over budget and so far behind schedule that they have become the new 'sick joke' of Edinburgh. The only good news is that parking in the centre is probably easier because most locals have abandoned it for the suburbs. Shops are empty if you wish to browse.

It is a shame because we are all proud of our city but the Council have done an excellent job in destroying it. If you do decide to come then you are welcome, just remember there is no change given on the buses and Roslin Chapel is 5 miles outside the city boundary. The poor drivers must get sick of being asked 'are we there yet?

Never posted that about Aberdeen LOL

 

[Guest]

Yes, but that is merely a temporary state of affairs, not a permanent situation. And despite all my, and the Council's best efforts it appears that hordes of tourists have descended on the city this month. All you get in the bus is Italian, German, Dutch and of course the odd ijit from Gorgie. Ooops sorry lads.

 

[Gumbo]

With the best military tatoo in the World you can't really go wrong

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

We have discussed "downsizing", but OH is not keen. We built this house 20 odd years ago, to our own design, so it it is very special. We did a lot of the work ourselves, so have a much better house than we could ever have afforded to buy "off the shelf".

Once you have "done your own thing", it is VERY difficult to just go out and buy someone else's idea of what a house should be like! Ideally we would like to build a nice bungalow somewhere quiet but not remote, but here (just NW of Glasgow) building plots are like gold dust, and way out of our reach.

We have considered moving to Aberdeenshire (I am from Aberdeen) where it is still possible to find a steading to convert, or to Ayrshire where I grew up and houses are half the price of here. But with both our children in Glasgow, we think we really want to stay around here.

Number 2 grandchild is on the way, so son and family will need a bigger place soon, and daughter has maybe 2 years to go till gainful employment, so we are hanging on here for a couple of years yet. See what they all do and then decide.

The house is paid for, we know it is well built, and we can keep the caravan at home, which we like as it is easy to prepare for the holidays, and OH does enjoy tinkering! I cannot see him being happy in a flat, his hobbies need a workshop! The only downside is the Council Tax, some

 

[Jennifer_374461363]

What!? No coments!++