Retiring at 51

I thin this is where im headed.
Decided to take 1 year off and then if the money situation does not work out as I expect it to there is always Aldi :)
I think though once I get a taste for it i'll stay retired :)

I think you should do it. Many women do just the same as you and no one bats an eye and you have a lot of advantages with your main mortgage paid off. Your living expenses do drop with no commuting, lunches, childcare expenses. Think of the fun you will have with the 7 yr old rambling over the hills after school. Being there for drop off and pick up. Having time to shop and cook saved money compared to working and dashing to shops for something quick but expensive. Think of the time you can have to volunteer at clubs your kid might be interested in - scouts, camping, hiking - whatever really.

And your health should improve with less stress, more sleep, more chance to exercise. You say you have done it before for 3 months and loved it so that sounds like you will love the lifestyle.

The mortgage going frees up a lot of money and going down to one car would as well. I suppose knowing roughly what your monthly average outgoings will be would help a lot in the decision making. And having lump sums and AVC’s banked will help cushion unplanned expenses.
 
I'm the same with the some of the other posters, before FIRE was a thing I have been saving where I can and as much as I can where I'm still comfortable. Of course "comfortable" is different for each person, but I think of it as I can save to have nearly anything I want just not everything all at once.

We don't save so hard that we are missing out on the things that give us pleasure like food and travel, but we do try to max out retirement vehicles and live off the rest, pay down a mortgage for a more affordable home then our peers/friends live in, buy cars we can afford in cash. etc.

Financial Independence ( FIRE, early retirement, whatever name it is) is just another goal that one tries to plan for and achieve as best as on can like buying a house or saving for a wedding. Same as those goals, you hope for the best and try and plan for the worst.
 
In last Sunday Times, Baldrick of Black Adder said that retirement should be 1/3 work, 1/3 pension and 1/3 other. I'm not sure if he meant money or time. If money, then your pension should be 1/3 of income, other income another 1/3 and work the final 1/3. I'm considering the situation!
 
Just a quick update. I did it :)
Well im retired now for about 2 weeks. And was using my holidays the 2 weeks before that. So altogether 4 weeks now without being at work.
Loving it :)
Already the 2nd car hasnt moved once. Will probably sell that when the insurance is up on it. I do the school run and drop the wife into work.
Then home and getting stuck into projects I had around the house.
Making great progress and enjoying it. And things are getting done quickly which is great. They used to take me ages to do because I hadnt the time.
Also done a lot of things that would have cost me a lot of money getting other people to do the work.
I'll see how it goes until Christmas but I cant see myself not liking this lifestyle.
But the extra time with the family. Priceless. Really enjoying it. And no childcare costs now either.
Turns out too that having sorted out all the financials (actually still a lot of things to iron out), we are actually better off now than we were when I was working and we had 2 mortgages at the beginning of the year.

So in case anyone is interested in the financials and I can see from others posts that some are, here they are. And this is rough at the moment. Its a work in progress.
And I should have done all this accurately BEFORE thinking about retiring, but the redundancy came out of the blue and forced me to act, and tbh I didnt thik I was anywhere near being able to retire. Not even in my wildest dreams. But when I was forced to do some research, I was.

Im actually finding things subscriptions and savings that I had forgotten all about almost weekly since I have decided to go through the finances.
Also some things were costing me even more than I thought they were when I went through statements and receipts. And things like we are paying €90PM for our two mobile plans. And I can get the exact same service from another provider for about €15 each. So just changed that too. This is ongoing, but the figure I have so far are below. Also the FA was saying we are over insured and have several policies we should just drop.

Expenses eliminated this year so far.

Mortgage 1 : €1220 PM
Mortgage insurance 1 : €52 PM
Mortgage 2 : €551 PM
Mortgage insurance 2 : €128 PM
Fuel : €150+ PM
Parking Space : €100 PM (€25PW)
Creche €440 PM
Charity Donations : €120 PM
Savings : dropped them from €1500 to €750 PM
Also had about €120 PM in subscriptions that are now stopped, that I either dont get the use out of, or had forgotten I was paying for them (either way, they are now cancelled).

So expenses now gone at the moment are over €3600pm x 12 = €43,000 PY. I was only taking home roughly €34,000 PY from my job (It has to be said that AVCs now will not be added to. Whats there will have to do with only growth and no additional money added to it. Also savings are down to €750 PM, which we could put back up if we wanted).

Car number 2 will probably be gone in 3 months so thats another (Car tax) €370 PY and (Insurance) €450 PY.

Plus from this week I will be on the dole too. Dont know how long that will be for. I'll get kicked off it at some stage im sure.

Also there are tax implications that I might go further into when I get them all sorted out, where we will be paying less tax too.
I already had one session with an FA and have another soon to sort that out.

So the upshot is that once the mortgages have ended this year and all the work related expenses that I incur ended, we are actually far better off financially. My job was literally paying those expenses (not even enough to pay them).
The big thing is the stress has just lifted. Its like a totally new life. I have 60 hours or more per week back to myself. Must work out exactly how many hours I spent commuting and working last year.
 
That's brilliant OMG. Its pretty amazing the costs that you will no longer incur....

Can you maybe stick a date in your diary to give us an update in a year or twos time also..? I'd anticipate some part time gig will be undertaken, for some additional pocket money and to fill all that extra time, but would be interesting to hear sometime down the line how you fare.

All the best with it.
 
That's brilliant OMG. Its pretty amazing the costs that you will no longer incur....

Can you maybe stick a date in your diary to give us an update in a year or twos time also..? I'd anticipate some part time gig will be undertaken, for some additional pocket money and to fill all that extra time, but would be interesting to hear sometime down the line how you fare.

All the best with it.

Thanks.
I'll be sure to do that. People have been a great help here, so thank you all.
I might update every month or 2 or im happy to answer any questions. Or i might be back to ask more questions. I'll have the time :)
Turns out we have far more spare cash now than we ever had, by a long way. We've booked some holidays for next year. Pity we cant go this year though with covid.
I dont think i'll be going back to work ever at this rate. Im getting more comfortable now in this retired skin than ever :)
But the gain of over 60 hours a week has done such wonders for me. I feel like a new man.
 
I cannot offer you any canny financial advice but this might give you another perspective...sorry I can't copy the link !,
You Tube - Everybody Dies but not Everybody Lives
Prince Ea . Enjoy !!
 
One thing you must do now with all that free time is a proper budget from the bottom up. You think you are financially better off but you are adding and subtracting numbers that don't go together. You can't save on 'savings' so it is not an expense. You have listed expenses that are not dependent on you working. The mortgages, donations and subscriptions can all be saved whether you work or not. And I would also look at whether your savings of 750pm are actually savings or is it just budgeting for the yearly one off expenses (holidays, insurance, tax etc)

In reality, by not working, you only save on creche, fuel, parking space and probably some other casual expenditure (lunches etc), approx 9k but your income has reduced by 34k plus 20k pension contribution (I'm guessing it was about 30% of your 68k based on take home). If you stopped pension contributions and include your bonus, your take home is probably closer to 50k

I'm not going to say whether you should or shouldn't retire/semi-retire but you owe it to yourself (and your family) to be fully aware of your financial situation. You may be right that you can cover your lifestyle on one income but you are definitely not financially better off. You are time rich and stress free right now and will benefit mentally and physically from this experience.

Echoing some previous comments, it sounds like you hated your job and just wanted out which you see as retirement. You don't have a plan of how or what you will spend your newly found spare time on. Its easy in the beginning because there are always lots of jobs to do around the house and it is summertime so it is easy to enjoy the outdoors etc. But if you want to make it this a permanent 'retirement' then you need to find something that will keep you engaged and give you a purpose. Whether that is getting involved in clubs/societies, returning to part-time education etc etc But you need something that will fill 10-20 hours per week of your newly found freedom otherwise it will get boring very fast.

I hope I don't sound too negative, I actually hope it works out for you and I look forward to seeing your updates. But knowledge is the key to your happy retirement. With a proper budget, you will see exactly what you situation is and whether you can afford retirement
 
I hear you.
I actually have always had a budget. I just hadnt gone through things in detail. I always just rounded things off to the nearest tenner or so.
Im correcting that now and going through statements and deciding what I need and what I dont need to keep.

What we did when I first heard of the redundancy was work out how much disposable income we have that is different to the amount we had before.
We still have good savings. What we used to do with the savings was pay 50% of it off the mortgage every year. And 30% into the college fund.
The college fund has enough in it now and there is no mortgage to pay off as of early this year. The investment mortgage will be paid off within the next month. It did have a few years left, but decided to just end it.
We saw those as expenses. Both gone now. So they would have cancelled out most of the savings in the past. Along with buying a new car a while ago. Looking back if I knew what I know now I wouldnt have gone for such an expensive car, but it will do us another 10 years or so :)
Pretty much made our minds to sell the other one.

So pretty much we have always been very comfortable and had a lot of excess cash which we invested. We havent led a frugal life by any means.
We just never were able to spend what we earned. So always had spare money at the end of every month.
So, deciding that we had plenty of cash left over after bills we used last December as our yardstick.
Income - expenses left us very comfortable at that time and at all times up to then.
A lot of expenses that we had then, we now dont have. So now Income - expenses leaves us with even more left in the bank account at the end of the month. I dont see a need for it to be any more complicated than that.

I know you mention holidays, but the way we always did it was we had a nice chunk of money in equities. We decided if it increased enough each year to go on holidays we would go and if it didnt we would skip that year. The way its worked out since we started doing that 10 years ago we have had at least 3 foreign holidays a year out of that and a few weekends away. This year all holidays are cancelled so dont have to worry about that this year.
Also my sister has an apartment in Spain that she lets us use whenever we want, so if we only had that it would only be the cost of flights really for a break away from Ireland, so holidays are not a problem for us either. We have only ever gone to that apartment with my sister and her husband for a week the odd year, but its open to us whenever we want it. I just never had the time before. The wife and kid have gone over a few times with my sister though without me.

As for the pension, you are close. It was 25%. There were also a few other things I had to pay into in work, that would have come out of salary too. But I never counted that money as income as it was never in my pocket to spend anyway. I realize that the pension will not be added to, but I feel if I leave it there it will probably grow a bit more. At the moment and for the foreseeable future I actually dont need to tap the pension.
When my wife retires we will probably draw down both our pensions.

Funny every time I speak to people who havent retired yet they ask me how I am going to fill my time. My answer is always the same "however I feel like it". That to me is retirement.
And ive spoken to lots of people lately who are retired, some younger than me. And not one of them is worried about filling their time. I dont think i'll will have a problem with that either. I have so much time now to do family stuff.
Ive done so much that I didnt have time for in the last 4 weeks. Fishing, Golf (dont think ill keep up the golf. Never liked it. But ive a few friends who i play with the odd time.)
Going to climb Carauntoohil with some friends next week, as well as a camping session for the week. Havent done that in 20 years. Really looking forward to it. Also going to get back into the hiking. Some people I used to do it with before I got too busy are in a local club, so i'll be down to join up there in the next few weeks.
But if im bored, and ive never ever been bored in my life yet (I just think of something else to do), I guess I could think of things to do that dont involve clocking in :)
Basically its all leisure time as opposed to wage slave time.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Thats just my long winded way of saying.
There is far more money left in the current account at the end of every month now than there was in any month up until the start of this year.
I know we have reduced savings and eliminated payments into one pension. We could actually increase the savings back up and still have more in the current account at month end. We might do that if we still have spare money.
 
OMG - I'd just like to add to those who are wishing you luck on this next stage of life. Updates from the promised land would be welcome! It sounds like you have a good handle on the financial side of things. For the non-financial, I'd definitely recommend that you google Simple Living in Somerset. The author of this site retired at around the same time as you and from a toxic work environment (as he perceived it). While the site is UK-centric and details features of the UK personal finance space that do not translate across the Irish Sea, his musings on the psychological aspects of early-retirement and the decompression from corporate life are worth a read, particularly his 'Two Years In' post. Anyway, enjoy the road ahead.
 
OMG - I'd just like to add to those who are wishing you luck on this next stage of life. Updates from the promised land would be welcome! It sounds like you have a good handle on the financial side of things. For the non-financial, I'd definitely recommend that you google Simple Living in Somerset. The author of this site retired at around the same time as you and from a toxic work environment (as he perceived it). While the site is UK-centric and details features of the UK personal finance space that do not translate across the Irish Sea, his musings on the psychological aspects of early-retirement and the decompression from corporate life are worth a read, particularly his 'Two Years In' post. Anyway, enjoy the road ahead.

Thanks for that. I'll be sure to read that.
Ive been reading a lot about it lately. What is noticeable the most so far is all the time I have to myself and my family that I never had.
I feel guilty now about working and commuting so much before so much.
 
My angle would be that the working and commuting got you to where you are now - which is a reasonably good place! Time to yourself will be the best investment you'll ever make. Having the time to prepare proper food will do wonders for you and your family's health. I can't begin to think of all the positives - there are so many. You don't strike me as the sort who will lapse into daytime TV nor suffer an identity crisis without having a 9-5! If this does happen, Viktor Frankl's The Will to Meaning is cheaper than a psychologist!
 
I actually have always had a budget

I'm glad to hear it. I was a little afraid that you were working backwards from the top and getting to the wrong conclusion. But it sounds like you have a great handle on your budget/outgoings so good on you. Your spouse has a good salary and you also have rental income so I don't see any reason why you can't live comfortably on that as a family considering you have no major expenses of mortgage/cars/childcare.

I guess I could think of things to do that dont involve clocking in

This is exactly what I mean when I say find something that will give you focus for 10 hours other than leisure/hobbies. It doesn't have to turn into a job or salary but could still be meaningful in some way to you. Random example but learn a language or study a subject you've never had time for before. It will help you support your child with school/homework and would be very rewarding to watch them succeed knowing you have helped. And it would double as family time too :)

You have clearly worked hard to be in a healthy financial position so why not enjoy it. And if after 6-12 months you actually want to return to some type of part/full time work (paid/unpaid), then go for it too. You are in the enviable position where you have choices to do whatever you feel like. Best of luck with it OMG!!
 
My angle would be that the working and commuting got you to where you are now - which is a reasonably good place! Time to yourself will be the best investment you'll ever make. Having the time to prepare proper food will do wonders for you and your family's health. I can't begin to think of all the positives - there are so many. You don't strike me as the sort who will lapse into daytime TV nor suffer an identity crisis without having a 9-5! If this does happen, Viktor Frankl's The Will to Meaning is cheaper than a psychologist!

I draw the line at cooking :)
Nobody ever lets me cook a second time.
 
I’m seeing more and more of this FIRE stuff being talked about. In my opinion, it’s a load of horse manure. Most people can retire early and live on Aldi baked beans. But why would you want to do that? Not that many people love their job, some like it, some tolerate it, some dislike it, and some detest it. But you just get on with it. When I read about this FIRE stuff, my read through is that a lot of the people have either failed in their careers, they just can’t handle work due to some underlying mental or physical issue, or they’re just lazy. But in the world we now live in where nearly everyone seems to think that they’re special and that they should have an Instagram life, punting this FIRE stuff is probably smart as any number of loonies will latch on to it. If “Financially Independent, Retire Early” means getting out to smell the roses at around age 60, I’m all for that, provided that the lifestyle I enjoy now can continue. But if it’s some waster who couldn’t hold down a decent job because of his nerves pointing at a flipchart and telling me how great Lidl baked beans and cheap holidays are, I’m out.
How Judgemental are You
 
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