Sunday was a day at home alone, busy full of household jobs and gardening, but loads of time to think, not sure if that is good or bad.
Soon we will have a new path to walk, hubby retires early September, just two wages left, we are lucky his pensions are enough for us, but unlike these bird footsteps I took last week, we want to be sure we are going on the correct path.
In our world things often look the same, but much like these pebbles each one is different, how do you know which is best.
If we have planned well, and I think we have, we should be able to continue much the same as we have been in the last few years, just a bit more careful on how we spend our money.
I am looking at my pensions, I have three small ones, neither will pay out much, so we are thinking to cash them in, pop them into savings( with interest rates rising later this year) and ISA's. After 2010/11 we have not recovered much savings.
We no longer do the Saturday shopping for things we don't require, what a joy, we do like bargains and will purchase things when we see them at a good price, recently I had comments says 'we don't like to shop for clothes', I'm the same, my last two pairs of sandals were purchased at garden centres good brands at half price. We have replaced bigger items, my car last year, I chose a new Hyundai i20, perfect for me and not paying extra for a brand name, the hope is for it to last until we only require one car.
We have done everything we can to ensure the loss of hubby's' wage will not cripple us, I intend to work for a few more years, part of me wants to stay at home, but I know it will be good to stay at work, I have to wait until I am 66 (unless the government change it again) for any state pension, but that's 6 years away, and I hope to stop working before that.
Our main thing is we travel this path together, as a close couple, we have our health, our sense of humour, our family, children, grandsons. I just hope our path is the scenic route.
Sounds like you've planned carefully Marlene, just as we are trying to do now. It's going to be quite an adventure, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteIt's a case of living within your means. I stopped working five years ago, I was only 41, but that's our choice. We don't have any debts, except our mortgage, and we don't spend more than we can afford. We don't go without, we're just careful. It sounds like you've worked everything out so it will be fine when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you've made a good plan. My retirement is some way off yet & as Mike is over 8 years older than me he will certainly retire first & he has a much better pension too! We've started making our plans for the next 20 years it's never too early to start x
ReplyDeleteWe have been retired for 10 years. It was a scary step even though, like you, we had prepared. I am so glad we took that step!
ReplyDelete10 days in the Welsh mountains with no internet = way behind on blog reading lol.
ReplyDeleteHad a lovely catch up read, your new alpine pot is beautiful, we did one of those last year.
This is a lovely post Marlene and like you a too love the sound of the waves on the seashore and the simpler life.
Your visit away looks beautiful, I remember Lyme Regis from our visit a couple of years back.
Congrats to your daughter and her fiance
Good luck with your future plans. It sound as though you have things under control. The recent changes made by the government regarding pensions has made us rethink the future too.
ReplyDeleteTeresa x
Take it from someone who was also worried about finances when I retired.
ReplyDeleteA friend who had retired several years before me was my source of info. He taught with me, I had known him and his family since I was young, his brother was my brothers best man when he married. Anyway, I knew he would be brutally honest with me.
He said he was amazed at how much less money he and his wife spent once they retired. I know Mom had said the same thing, but she didn't have a very active life. SO I was hoping he was correct.
He was. I don't know what it is . . . maybe all the "little stops" one makes when driving home from work. I don't know. But my smaller pension lasts me longer than my take home pay when I was working.
Oh, and it is a good thing Kev is retiring while you are still working. I wish Gene had been working when I retired so I could have gotten use to being home alone doing what I wanted instead of what "we" wanted . . . but. alas, it wasn't that way. SO I learned to be a retired "couple" rel quick :)