Thanks 50and Out, looking forward to your update
20 Years Of Tracked Spending And How It Helps Me Plan For The Future
- Thread starter Cervelo
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This is a fantastic post. Many pension providers seem to say you need x % of your salary when u retire. The Irish Life calculator on my pension fund show ' you have a shortfall of x000'. You need to increase your contributions.
The only way to know if there is a shortfall is to monitor your own expenditure and lifestyle costs.
The only way to know if there is a shortfall is to monitor your own expenditure and lifestyle costs.
Thanks Bronte, the reason I'm giving so much detail is comparison otherwise it's just numbers, and for people like yourself to ask questions
Heating: In another thread I've explained my switching on of the smart meter and availing of a "Free Electricity" on Sunday for year '23
In '24 I changed the plan to an EV plan which gave me very cheap electricity between 2am and 5am that with the reduction in rates reduced the yearly cost, I'll be updating that thread as soon as I get the final bill from BG, already waiting 6 weeks
Waste: I currently don't have a waste provider due to an ongoing dispute with my provider since March so am using alternatives at the moment but most likely will sign up with the only other provider in my area soon, so that will most likely end up in the €200 for the next year
BB: Yes broadband but don't forget that 20 years ago there was also the cost of a landline while now the landline is replaced with the mobiles
The mobile column is just what we pay for our unlimited sims from GoMo, handsets are in the house column but would only be upgraded when necessary and most likely bought second hand once their in perfect condition
Car: Yes and making the move to one car is something we will probably do in the future but at the moment I'm willing to absorb the cost of my car
Medical: Yes that includes a Laya plan since 2015, with last years costing €3092 for the both of us and yes I agree with you that it's only going to get more expensive as the years go by
Clothing: Yes near enough, I was hoping on doing an American road trip last summer and normally when over there we go shopping but it didn't happen but will in the next few years
Holidays: It is what it is, we think we've travelled well but would agree going forward the type of holidays we like are getting more and more expensive. we have already booked this years trip in April to China and Japan for €12k plus spending money
Long Term Care: I presume like everybody I hope that I won't need it but if it should come to pass there is the equity built up in the house that should cover it
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Thanks redstar,
One of the reasons for the second post about my pension was to give real figures rather then an indication
Yes it means nothing in real terms as to how your pension preforms or preformed compared to how mine is performing or will preform
But when I was starting to look at this area 25 years ago, I used to be very sceptical about the performance returns I was getting quoted
So I used to ask the sales person can you show me an actual persons pension who started a pension 20 years ago, how much they actually contributed gross and net and how much that is worth today, do you think I could get an answer??
I guessing for most people it's not a normal question but for me and how my mind works it's something I'd have like answered
Thanks Cervelo for your posts!
I think there is a vested interest in getting people to put more & more money into pensions and it's driven by fear. Those vested interests charge based on the fund amount so it's to be expected I suppose.
My father is retired a good few years now and has told me countless times that you don't need nearly as much money to retire as you think you do. There are also lots of options to save money when you're time rich - I am thinking holidays & flying off-season, mid-week breaks and of course, free travel! Obviously there are different types of retirements, but like you, as time goes on, I appreciate more & more activities which cost very little.
I think there is a vested interest in getting people to put more & more money into pensions and it's driven by fear. Those vested interests charge based on the fund amount so it's to be expected I suppose.
My father is retired a good few years now and has told me countless times that you don't need nearly as much money to retire as you think you do. There are also lots of options to save money when you're time rich - I am thinking holidays & flying off-season, mid-week breaks and of course, free travel! Obviously there are different types of retirements, but like you, as time goes on, I appreciate more & more activities which cost very little.
That's the way it used to be done in the olden With Profits days. Eventually, without the benefits of smoothing, it became a bit of an unhelpful comparison.
Gordon Gekko
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The counterargument, I suppose, is that it’s better to have too much rather than too little.
SlugBreath
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We run two €5 off vouchers with Dunnes. We struggle to spend €50 per week on groceries.....a quarter of what you anticipate you will spend. At the moment we are still trying to get through our Christmas purchases and as a result will probably drop one of the €5 off vouchers for at least another month.
In that €50 spend we have built up a stock of non food items...bleach, dishwasher tabs, toothpaste, shampoo....etc.
We eat very well, keep an eye on the discounted items, stock up on specials....often purchase the 3 items for €10...........it's amazing how creative you can be with a €3 chicken.
We are not mean either.....we spend circa €9k per annum on holidays and like Cervelo will be doing the Hong Kong trip this year, to include Business Class seats.
I laugh at myself sometimes....saved €50 on not renewing my car insurance with Aviva but instead signing up as a new customer but will blow €5k on business class seats.
Your welcome,
Yes I'd very much agree with you here about the "vested interest" but isn't it the same with nearly everything we spend money on in our capitalist society and how it's marketed to us in a way of how it will improve our lives and the fear of missing out if your not doing it or owning it or living your life in a certain way
I find it funny how sometimes when I read things here, I realize that's what I'm doing but now there's a name to it or a term for it
Being "Time Rich" is something I've never really thought about till the other day when it was mention earlier in this discussion by misemoi
but it's something I practice nearly every day, if there is something I want that's not essential I wait until I feel I'm getting the best value,
I go to the cinema in the afternoon because it's cheaper then the evening and way less people, when we eat out, it's mainly during the week when there are mid week specials or early bird options and as you say when it comes to holidays we generally travel when it's cheaper
You're 100% correct about the "different types of retirements", it is very much a "horses for courses" situation but I definitely feel I found my "course", I'm happy, she's happy and at the end of the day all that matters is that we're both happy with our lot and if some of that happiness stems from spending less on our lifestyle choices, well that's a win win in my book
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Agreed and I can't really argue with that train of thought but I will say knowing when enough is enough is a very individual perspective
If your asking about the OAP, yes it does,
but if you're asking about additional payments on top of the OAP, I've no idea what they are and will only become relevant at the time
Yes this is one I find funny as well, how we prioritize our spending and what we'll try and save money on, only to go and blow it on something else
For us we fly economy, yes it's going to be a rough 24+ hours of traveling but what we do is book an extra day at the beginning of the trip and one at the end so as we can recover from the flight there and get ready for the flight home and if necessary on these touring type holidays
if we feel we're going to need a little breather in the middle of it we book an extra night there if possible
I am referring to this
Payment for people who retire at 65
If you retire at 65, you may qualify for a benefit payment until you reach 66. The payment is similar to Jobseeker’s Benefit, but you don’t need to be looking for work or sign on at your local Intreo centre.
This payment can be available to people who cease employment before age 65.
Thanks for that S class,
we're both 58 this year so it's a good 8 years away, so we have plenty of time to plan for it should it still be available
The critical year for this is the year of your 63rd birthday, so it's only 5 years away.
Make sure to remain in the Prsi system.
This can be by signing on for Jobseekers credits or from class S on your investment income if its over 5k per year.
If at any stage you are out of the Prsi system for 2 years you would need 26 weeks of paid class A to requalify for the Jobseekers credits necessary for BP 65.
Yes - that's why I suggested something similar earlier in the thread:
20 Years Of Tracked Spending And How It Helps Me Plan For The Future
Presumably that means you won’t retire your PRSA until you are 66 - what do you live on in the meantime? Also, you must have both started working young if you both already have at least 2080 PRSI contributions in your 50’s to qualify for full State Contributory pensions. Incidentally, I very...
www.askaboutmoney.com
20 Years Of Tracked Spending And How It Helps Me Plan For The Future
Little or no holidays / Spain last two years. Have you finished the Go Go years Cervelo ?
www.askaboutmoney.com
Interesting post and fair play to logging expenditure for years.
Two dogs that I enjoy and walk most days through the forest food and vet etc probably 1k per year.
Drive up to Dublin from Gorey to the home place once a week to take father out for coffee or pub lunch 2.5k per year. I could go on.
No offence to anybody but if I had to give the likes of the above a second thought I would consider my 40 plus years of work a disaster.
My wife bought 3yrs of service to finish at 62 and hopefully enjoy a long and healthy retirement.
Fair play to anyone who wants to log every euro they spend. I know what I spend in my head. I know what and how much I have in our bank accounts and investments in my head.
Anymore detail would drive me mad.
Two dogs that I enjoy and walk most days through the forest food and vet etc probably 1k per year.
Drive up to Dublin from Gorey to the home place once a week to take father out for coffee or pub lunch 2.5k per year. I could go on.
No offence to anybody but if I had to give the likes of the above a second thought I would consider my 40 plus years of work a disaster.
My wife bought 3yrs of service to finish at 62 and hopefully enjoy a long and healthy retirement.
Fair play to anyone who wants to log every euro they spend. I know what I spend in my head. I know what and how much I have in our bank accounts and investments in my head.
Anymore detail would drive me mad.
In recent years this exercise (at least the data collection part - whatever about the analysis part) often involves little or no extra effort since most or all expenditure (and access to cash) is automatically tracked via one's debit/credit cards and banking, so downloading historical statements (e.g. into CSV format) and categorising/analysing them in a spreadsheet or just on paper or whatever will usually give most or all of the picture in most cases. That's what I do anyway - my statments provide probably 95%+ of my expenditure details and I can easily manually adjust/update for anything missing where necessary.
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