Living a meagre existence so you dont have to work ?

[Bearbonesnorm]

You can do your own research and do everything yourself for free, but based upon some of the well intentioned "advice" posted above its probably best to speak to an expert.

Give over. It's the internet, we're all experts.

[Chew]

but now as i have said, we are unsure. as i said, when you aint had nowt, the thought of handing what you get, over is a very alien thing to do.
or am i just being stupid.

No, not at all.

I'm sure you wont mind me saying this, but you're just a normal bloke, who is embarking on a big change in their life.
All this 'numbers' stuff is something that you wont be used to dealing with and will feel a bit alien.

As long as the IFA is regulated, and all of these investments fall under the regulation of the FCA then you'll be protected.

Its easy to check the above, and if you want help with that I can always pop over for a beer sometime

[benp1]

FWIW - I'm pretty financially literate but I use an IFA

I started out by thinking I could do it myself, but in reality, a bit like paying a pro (mechanic, tradesman) to do a job I could probably have a go at, sometimes it's better to let someone in the know do it. First of all, they do it, rather than procrastinate like me, and second of all, it's their job so they should know how to do it properly

[slarge]

thing is tho, we have been speaking to a IFA since the wife retired in early November.
and the plan she has given us will work for us how we want it to. it is very low risk, if there is such a thing.
minimal notice is needed to get to the funds if we need it, and the return is ok if we dont go mad with the lump.

but now as i have said, we are unsure. as i said, when you aint had nowt, the thought of handing what you get, over is a very alien thing to do.
or am i just being stupid.

Definitely not stupid. Cautious maybe.
And asking on here helps give ideas and options, and a view of how others have managed. But you'll need the right guidance that suits your appetite for risk and lifestyle etc. It's always a good sounding board that if 99% of people say "that's a bad idea" then maybe it's a bad idea.

[bluebus200]

anyone do it ?

I have been living in camper vans since I left home. Self employed similar work when I want and choose my work. It's no bed of roses but it has afforded me enormous freedom over the last 20 odd years. The main thing I think is if you want freedom you have to avoid debt. There are many ways to do that that but for me the simplest is to have very very low overheads.

Side question. How have you found this in pandemic times? Are you constantly bothered by pitchfork armed locals?

No because after 20 odd years of practice you get very good at finding safe harbours. I have friends with land in England, Wales, and spain. Even without those bolt holes ive never really encountered any pitchfork waving locals. Van life has become very normalised in the UK, and is incredibly normal in Europe. In Spain and France they even have free facilities for campers. Anytime I have wanted to be in a specific area I look up people on work away or wwoof and exchange a few hours work a week for a park up. As it goes I am looking for a patch to buy on the north coast of Spain where they really could not care less about people parking on their own land.

[tobasco]

And to show how mad the world of finance has become, earlier today Elon Musk tweeted a single word - Bitcoin, and it shot up 20%

[PaulB2]

And to show how mad the world of finance has become, earlier today Elon Musk tweeted a single word - Bitcoin, and it shot up 20%

Have you been following the GameStop kerfuffle? Now, that's mad.

[tobasco]

Crazy world

[Mythste]

Ton - I hope you find peace with whatever decision you choose to make.

Everyone else - Thankyou for the open and honest depictions of your own situations. I've just turned 30 and feel like I'm starting to hit my career "stride" having dicked about through much of my twenties. I've committed to a few years of pushing to 110% to build up some years back later in life, going part time sooner rather than later. It seems there's nothing here to convince me that I've been nothing other than sensible and that's the gratification I need after a tough week.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Everyone else - Thankyou for the open and honest depictions of your own situations. I've just turned 30 and feel like I'm starting to hit my career "stride" having dicked about through much of my twenties. I've committed to a few years of pushing to 110% to build up some years back later in life, going part time sooner rather than later. It seems there's nothing here to convince me that I've been nothing other than sensible and that's the gratification I need after a tough week.

A decade out but similar ... I started a business when I was 18 and flogged my bollox off all through my 20's. When others were going on holiday, down the pub or generally doing something enjoyable, I was working. It's not the kind of thing you can do forever and after 15 years or so, I'd largely had enough. However, at that point I was in a position where I could have a complete and utter change of lifestyle. Almost a fresh start with a clean slate. I suppose some would perhaps even view it as retirement in the strictest sense, although those less kind, tend to call it 'nobbing about'

[Chew]

I've just turned 30 and feel like I'm starting to hit my career "stride" having dicked about through much of my twenties. I've committed to a few years of pushing to 110% to build up some years back later in life, going part time sooner rather than later.

Me +10 years, but i'm starting to think of it the other way around.

I doubt that our generation will have the opportunity to retire at 55/60 as others have done so. The world is different and things such as final salary pensions and large house price increases are a thing of the past.

Theres a balance between living for today and saving for tomorrow.

I'm actively enjoying myself now with the realisation that I wont be able to retire until 70+.
Take the time to enjoy things while i'm youngish, as I could get run over by a bus tomorrow.
Fortunately i'm an #OfficeWanker, so as long as I keep my marbles, im sure I can keep pressing a few buttons.

As they say: Youth is wasted on the Young

[wriggles]

I took redundancy in 2016, aged 51, and haven't worked since. I had worked for a large company for 21 years and it was a good leaving package so the business decision to leave was made straight away but I still miss the place, people and work very much.

I can take my pension now but am hanging on so it isn't so reduced. I am currently seriously mulling over selling my house in Berkshire and moving to Wales or Scotland and using the surplus to commit to retirement. At the moment I seem to be in a half life undecided either way. I keep reminding myself, though that my Father worked until he was 67 and then died 6 months after retiring.

My pension was one of the few things in life I didnt **** up. Yes its a final salary scheme so I am very lucky, but I was hammering AVCs into it in my 30s when all my peers were laughing at me from their Greek beach holidays. Having no kids helped but I dont think you can start saving too early.

The last two years have been tough financially and I think I have pretty much been living off £8k a year. That will more than double when I retire which with no mortgage will make me very comfortable by my standards.

[frogatthefarriers]

....... but I still miss the place, people and work very much.

I can sympathise with this. I’ve been asked to stay at home for the duration of lockdown - HR have done a risk assessment or something - so I’ve been hanging about at home since March. Have you ever seen a dog that’s had it’s collar taken off? I feel a bit like that. Sad, isn’t it?

[Keith74]

Some really interesting views on this. I’m in my mid 30’s and spent from 16-30 working every hour I could and now fell like I have nothing to show for it and missed out on so many things. Now we both work part time earning just enough to pay the bills while doing odd jobs to pay for adventures and get a few pounds for rainy days.

Have been pretty lucky with adventures and for both of us looking at retirement is just a guessing game as retirement age will keep climbing so probably won’t get a pension till 70’s the rate.


Are we both happy definitely but sometimes it’s a struggle to make sure we can pay the bills but definitely worth it for the time we have to go exploring.

[woodsmith]

Feel like I'm a little late to the party on this on, as usual.
Left a rural secondary school at 16 in 1982 with half a dozen "O" levels into the depths of deprivation that the North east was suffering ay that time. Unable to land an engineering apprenticeship and took the first job I could find and drifted through my 20's and 30's happily and aimlessly through a series of different jobs, content that they kept me in beer and motorcycles.

In my early 30's I trained in tradtional wooden boat building and worked at that on and off for almost 20 years including about 12 years in Denmark. About 6 years ago I had a bit of a meltdown , quit my job, and went hiking in Turkey for 2 months before returning to the same job. The following spring i quit again and spent 6 months hiking from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. The following spring, 2017, (after another winter working in the same job) my house finally sold and I made the decision to return to the UK. ( a whole different topic). I spent that summer hiking around the UK then worked for a year in a job I absolutley hated for 95% of the time before quiting in late 2018 to bikepack around Turkey for 2 months.
2019 saw me hiking from Mexico to Canada again, this time along the Continental Divide.

I did a lot of thinking that winter and decided that it was time to stop half-arseing it and do things properly. So in early March last year i set off on the bike to travel the world on an open ended trip. Three weeks later I was back in the UK two days before the first lockdown.

Sometimes it feels like I've made a mess of my life when measured against the societal norm but I never really had aspiration to have the things by which the majority of people measure themselves. I've always lived frugally, driven old ,used cars, buy my clothes from the supermarket and wear them til they're worn out, etc. The only thing I spend lots on is outdoor gear/ biking stuff and travel.

So here I am in my mid 50's, 2 years younger than my dad was when he died, no house, no partner, no kids, no stability, but I've no debts and no responsibilities. I planned to travel ( and still do) until my savings are greatly depleted. It does worry me about the future ( old age) and I may live to regret it, but a far greater regret would be to never do it or wait too long and be physiclly unable to do it.
I decided to use my last years of physical health for my enjoyment rather than to produce wealth for someone else.
I'm probably facing a retirement of working stacking shelves in Asda and I'm ok with that, mindless manual labour has often been my lot.
Sure I'll envy the folks I'm bagging groceries for with their nice gardens, Nissan Jukes and final salary pension schemes but i'll never regret walking out of jobs to crew on a wooden sailing ship for a summer or skivvy in a ski chalet or youth hostel.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Sometimes it feels like I've made a mess of my life when measured against the societal norm but I never really had aspiration to have the things by which the majority of people measure themselves.

What's normal? What many see as 'normal' I see as social conditioning. It does suit some people without doubt but many more wish they'd led a life like yours.

Sure I'll envy the folks I'm bagging groceries for with their nice gardens, Nissan Jukes and final salary pension schemes

Don't you mean 'pity' You should only ever be impressed by someone's car if they've built it themselves

[Jurassic]

I f#cking love this thread.

[ledburner]

.. then worked for a year in a job I absolutley hated for 95% of the time before quiting in late 2018 to bikepack...
So here I am in my mid 50... no house, no partner, no kids, no stability, but I've no debts and no responsibilities.

You have a skill I'm lacking, the ability to say no, to it all when you have a sub standard job (after redundancy) and it crushing you... You also follow your dreams that's good for the soul.

I have no confidence that I'll find a better job and stay put.. At least I have a good growing family... Who seem to be doing well. Some thing to be proud off.
So that's where your nick name comes from..

[woodsmith]

You have a skill I'm lacking, the ability to say no, to it all when you have a sub standard job (after redundancy) and it crushing you... You also follow your dreams that's good for the soul.

There are certainley several occasions where I've stayed in jobs ( and relationships) well beyond the point where the common sense option was to walk away, and quit ones that I probably should have stuck at for longer.

Sadly for most of us everything is compromise and while I'm determined to travel for several years I'm also consious of the fact that it means I'll most likely never have a place of my own again with the benefits that brings like a workshop or a space to indulge in hobbies. That's the true benefit of wealth, the removal of forced compromise from so many facets of our lives, not the ability to buy endless amounts of stuff.

[ledburner]

Quite profound.
keep your chin up in these uncertain times.

[Verena]

I f#cking love this thread.

Me too. Have just read it all properly, time well spent.

[RIP]

I f#cking love this thread.

time well spent.

Perhaps a better yardstick than "money well spent"...

[Verena]

I f#cking love this thread.

time well spent.

Perhaps a better yardstick than "money well spent"...

Wow, this is getting deeper by the minute... I shall be spending much of today pondering about my contribution to this conversation...

[middleagedmadness]

After carefully reading this thread(for once) I believe there’s a big difference in those of us who have kids and those who doesn’t or have flew the nest , as I said in my first post I can comfortably go at 60 but if it’s left to me I won’t , our lives have now got to the position where the daughter is 25 and looking at moving , the mother in law is dead (lived with us for the past 17 years) and apprenticeships for my son are far between due to last years first years still being first years due to COVID so he’s looking at spend a year in Thailand at a Thai boxing camp . This in theory means it’s time to down size which would mean no mortgage and we have very few other bills , but my hobby is work , not just riding bikes and paddling , it’s given me a great 15 years of experiencing life in other countries.Everyone has different views on what should make us happy ,but I’ve learnt over the years to make yourself properly happy you need to live life on your terms not what the social norm says it should be , everyone on here seems to be trying to do that in their own way , there is no right or wrong way of spending our short time on this earth, it’s really quite good to see how others spend their time trying this , you can pick up a few pointers and see if they work for you or just ignore all of it . The one great thing throughout this thread there’s not been one hint of self pity or jealousy of how others live which is quite refreshing

[Jurassic]

As someone who tends not to be a risk taker when it comes to lifestyle decisions I find it really interesting to hear the experiences of those who have taken a less conventional path in life. I think it's natural to reassess things as you mature (and the whole Covid thing has only reinforced this). I'm coming to a point in my life where there is going to be a change in my lifestyle one way or another due to retirement so it's great to read what others are doing or have done and possibly open my eyes to alternatives that I could consider in the near future. Over and above that, it's just fascinating to hear people's experiences so thanks to everyone who's shared their story here.