After Retirement

Up rovers in anticipation of my retirement in a few years I've started getting involved in local groups . You could get involved with local tidy towns, town development groups, residents association, men's sheds, alone, meals on wheels
 
Up Rovers said:
Hope you don't mind me asking but what do you volunteer at? I am thinking of volunteering myself but Covid can make this tricky. I have had a quick look at https://www.volunteer.ie/
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I volunteer in Oxfam now, but I also used to teach as a volunteer in a few locations. Usually people who had issues in early education or challenged in various ways. It is so rewarding.
 
We discussed that topic recently on this thread -

Retirement spend. A calculator or list of assumptions?

Hi all, There are numerous calculators for savings and pension pot size, but is there something to forecast retirement spend? One of the first articles at the top of a google search is a Motley Fool one suggest 80% of pre-retirement income. That seems very excessive for anyone who is fortunate...
www.askaboutmoney.com
Most surveys/studies seem to suggest that a (net) income of around €50k pa would fund a very comfortable lifestyle for most couples, with a mortgage-free home.
 
I find that €3k per month is more than enough to fund our lifestyle but then again I am as happy having a panini or Menu del Dia rather than something more gourmet.
If the local bus or train is going to our holiday location then I will take the local bus. We only use taxis when there is no local service. Happy to shop and wait for Ryanair specials or similar.
At home we shop around for good deals on insurance and utility bills. Use supermarket websites to see what this weeks deals are and vouchers as needed.
We like to upgrade our rooms in hotels though. Sea view, larger room etc. Prefer hotels or apartments in the middle of things rather than a mile out of town.
 
When I returned to Ireland one thing I found quite strange / comical was advertising for the over 60s (sometimes as low as the over 50s). It was all about funeral insurance or life insurance for when you die, almost as if once you hit your 60s you are just waiting to die.

This thread is a great example that life is far from over in retirement!
 
Everything advertised for over 50s, but featuring fix o dent types in their 70s, but hey we are all going to live till 120 and work into out 70s according to Gov, or later if the the avocado toast types are still paying off mortgages...
 
Try watching Golf on Sky Sports - ads for hearing aids, erectile dysfunction, equity release etc. Not very subtle!
 
I had a few drinks over the weekend with a friend in his mid-50s who retired 4 years ago. He is an accountant who had a big job in one of the big 4 firms which involved a long hours, stress and a lot of travel. He described the initial period of his retirement as unsettling, especially from a financial perspective because he arrived at this decision relatively quickly and had not made any real financial plans. After a period of belt-tightening he began to relax and now describes the decision to retire early as the best one he ever made (out of earshot of his wife I guess!).

He also mentioned that out of a fear of being bored he over-volunteered for various charities which took him some time to extricate himself from. I guess that faced with so much free time he felt the need to do something productive with it but then regretted his initial enthusiasm.
 
I suppose it is a bit like summer/winter. When the winter is here I say that when the summer comes I will be out every day, going here there and everywhere. I will use my free travel pass until it wears away. Then when summer arrives I don't actually do these things. Yes, I use my travel pass to go from my home down to Ballsbridge/Donnybrook for a stroll around the park or out to DunLaoghaire for a stroll on the pier....but not every day.
I find just pottering about the place even more relaxing. Knowing that the warm weather is out there is enough for me. I can dip in and out as needs be. I have been watching the Tour de France on TG4 most days. Just sitting there with the patio door open, sunny day outside, nice breeze coming in. Some days I might just get the urge to treat myself to a Big Mac or takeout pizza....head off for a stroll and get a take out coffee.

Then I get my guilty days where I feel that the "job jar" needs to be looked at so. So some cleaning, painting, tidying up type jobs get done.

I am not sure that I would purchase abroad, even though I have the funds to do so. I am me, so initially I would do all the tourist type things but eventually I would end up doing what I do at home, except I would be doing it in Spain or France or where ever.

In retirement, I find that deciding on the day, with a few changeable plans is the way to go. Spontaneous is a nice term.

Having good health is very important.
 
In my 3+ years of retirement, almost every month one of my former colleagues contacts me with "Hey Lep, we need some help with work or fundraising for whatever "charity." On obliging, I found that it became "Hey Lep, we want you to continue the work as we're fed up of doing" or "I want to get out of my promises and your help will help" etc. All that is fine if you want to commit time and effort, but if if like me, you are fed up with people asking to give something back don't be embarrassed to say "No."

Anyway, heading to Spain for August, bought one way tickets; don't know when we'll be returning, but if Cork get into the All Ireland final, it could be sooner than planned. But, we'll be off to Spain again a few days later.
 
@Leper enjoy, looking to hit the campsites in Andalusia in September myself but keeping options open.
BTW chances of Cork reaching the all Ireland hurling final are remote
 
I recently went on a good pre-retirement course which dealt with a range of topics including tax, inheritance, lifestyle etc. I thought nothing in it would come as news but these were my main takeaways (in no particular order)

1. Your priority for retirement should be your health followed by your finances.

2. Retirement is the first time in your life where your structure isn’t dictated by other factors (I.e. school, college, work). Dealing with this is more of a challenge than you might immediately consider.

3. The free time you have in retirement is time you’ve earned. How you choose to spend it should be your decision only. Others will invariably think that you’re now free to ‘help out’. Don’t feel pressurised to respond just because your diary may be otherwise free.

4. Never begin a day without having planned something to do that day, however minor it might be. That’s a recipe for unhappiness.

5. Make a conscious effort to contact people in person, however difficult it may be at the outset. And don’t take in personally if these efforts aren’t alway reciprocated.

There was lots more good advice but they’re the bits I took particular note of.
 
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Leper said:
Anyway, heading to Spain for August, bought one way tickets; don't know when we'll be returning, but if Cork get into the All Ireland final, it could be sooner than planned. But, we'll be off to Spain again a few days later.
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No fear of it being sooner, enjoy the long "unbroken" stay
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I think €5k a month in today’s money is a really good number.
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Sarenco said:
Most surveys/studies seem to suggest that a (net) income of around €50k pa would fund a very comfortable lifestyle for most couples, with a mortgage-free home.
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It is very much an open ended question and really depends on what type of lifestyle an individual or couple wants to pursue in retirement
While €5k per month and €50k a year might seem like excessive amounts to some people I can see very easily how this much can be spent and then some when providing for a "very comfortable" lifestyle but the thing is everybody's Idea of "very comfortable" is going to be different

I've mentioned here a few times that I track all of our spending and have been doing it consistently on Excel for the last 20 odd years.
It has given me a great insight into how and where I have been spending but more importantly it gives me a fairly rock solid idea of how much money I'm going to need for essential and non-essential spending for the coming year and the foreseeable future.

So for pig-iron, we are a mid fifties retired couple living in a 3 bed semi D with no kids or loans of any kind
Essential spending for us is all our grocery shopping, all utility bills, all running costs for two cars, medical insurance and all other medical expenses (very small at the moment), eating out at least once a month and a takeaway once a week and any small house or appliance repairs or replacements.
This cost has averaged out over the last five years at €15k per year, I should add that there is plenty of wiggle room in that should the need arise
Non-essential spending is everything else like personal spending, foreign travel, cigarettes for herself, cycling stuff for myself etc etc
Its hard to put an actual figure on this as it can very so much from year to year compared to the essential spending but the average spend per year would be somewhere €20k and €25k
Our most expensive year was 2018 where we spent just shy of €50k but this included 4 months for me in Spain, a week for herself visiting me in Spain, a two week road trip with herself traveling back from Spain, a months road trip in North east America and finally a week for herself in Spain with a friend (travel total just shy of €23k)
So for us €35k to €40k a year usually is more than enough to provide us a "very comfortable" lifestyle with a good bit of foreign travel

PaddyBloggit said:
The thread has lots of couples enjoying their golden years together.
So how what's the experience of somebody who is single with retirement?
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I know your question is aimed at a single persons experience but I would just like to add that I don't think a persons relationship status should be a barrier to a person enjoying their life, if there is something you would like to do or some place you'd like to travel to don't be afraid to give it a go just because your single, you never know where it might lead you to and likewise if you're coupled up and would like to do something that you know your partner would have no interest in, talk to them you might be surprised by their answer
 
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My dad keeps a record too. Excluding mortgage it was 40k in 2020 and on course for 40k this year he tells me. Includes a car loan repayment of 4k. Holidays included at approx 3k. Like Cervelo my dad and mother now in their late 60's live a very comfortable lifestyle.
 
This made me laugh, funny when taken out of context!
 
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