Pitfalls of early retirement

pickarooney · 09-12-2015 04:20PM

valoren wrote: »

You mentioned the rat race.

Find out what you are passionate about then figure out a way of getting paid for it.
Essentially get paid for having a hobby.

So we should all become prostitutes?

biko · 09-12-2015 04:33PM

Buy boat, sail the seas.

WhiteWalls · 09-12-2015 04:37PM

Sign on the rock and rool (dole) and you will be OK for many years. Do a retirement course, stay relatively busy and have a routine

LeeLooLee · 09-12-2015 04:44PM

Are you serious? At 43, you want to retire and just laze around? Jaysus, you have opportunities most people could only dream of and all you can think to do is lie in every day and go to the pub? After a few months of travelling/relaxing and recharging your batteries, you have the chance to retrain and work in pretty much anything you want, without worrying about study costs or supporting yourself. Or if you really didn't want to have a conventional job again, you could give loads of time as a volunteer to help others. That would surely be more satisfying and make you happier than sitting in the pub half the week?

Strumms · 09-12-2015 05:01PM

I would not in your circumstances make a conscious decision that ok.. thats me I'm done and retired at 43. Especially being single and having no kids.. that is going to leave a lot of time in your day to fill. I have taken some time off work recently due to a back injury and I have been crawling the walls with boredom. Like you no wife or kids, I don't live with the girlfriend however I have a lot of interests and hobbies but I was still bored to ****. You also spend money much faster as you are always after an outlet to kill the boredom so go shopping.. eat out.. down the pub a bit more... a weekend away a holiday here and there.

What I would do is make a plan and give yourself a year or 6 months to enjoy yourself... Book a few trips away... Buy yourself that guitar and get a teacher... try and get involved in activities with others such as join a 5-a side football team or something along those lines that you would enjoy so that you have stuff to do that takes up your time and you have things to look forward to during you week. That ramble down to the pub a few times a week can become a little too easy and frequent. By all means take some time but don't enter a mindset that you are done. Not healthy and not all that financially viable even if you have land and a few quid its a long way from 43 to 73.

B.A._Baracus · 09-12-2015 05:09PM

One of the biggest pitfalls of retirement, doesnt matter if it's early or not, is alcohol.
My Dad is recently retired but over the years leading up to his he would see other guys retire and bump into them later on and so many turned to booze as they didn't really have much to do now. Sounds strange but it's a fact.

Even long periods of being on the social welfare can do the same. When you got no job a tuesday afternoon to get pissed is no different than a saturday night.

vienne86 · 09-12-2015 05:16PM

I think you're a bit early to retire and anyway I don't think you have enough money. Anyway I think you would really need to have some serious plans or some consuming passion which you want to pursue, and I don't see those any sign of those in your description. But it is an opportunity to take a course and change the direction of your work......but there needs to be something you really want to change to IMO.

Good luck anyway.

09-12-2015 05:17PM

You don't have remotely enough money to retire at your age. You certainly won't be off on mad holidays on that
Retrain and do something else

Robbo · 09-12-2015 05:19PM

Just be careful when you're exactly one day away from retirement. That day is the most deadly of them all.

Avatar MIA · 09-12-2015 05:24PM

bluewolf wrote: »

You don't have remotely enough money to retire at your age. You certainly won't be off on mad holidays on that
Retrain and do something else

What are you, an actuary?!?

Oh, right :pac:

Agricola · 09-12-2015 05:42PM

A relative of mine who was given two months off her mind numbing factory job due to physical injury was almost climbing the walls with boredom and seriously contemplated going back earlier than agreed because she could not fill her days with anything better than what that god awful job provided. People like that would not want to be retiring early.
Others, myself included would happily spend 40 odd years doing pointless arts courses we always wanted to do but never could cos they were pointless, joining clubs, sport, exercise, travelling..... just living fully without the constant nagging problem of money and how to get more of it. You could be one of those people OP, and so maybe VERY early retirement looks attractive. It does to me too. But the problem both of us have is while you have a lot more money than me, neither of us can quit work at that age because we sadly havent the money to last us to 53, let alone the 80 odd years I hope to be knocking around til.

Conall Cernach · 09-12-2015 05:50PM

If you intend signing on until your pension kicks in you will get JSB for a couple of years but then your stamps will run out and you will be on JSA which is means tested so if you have money in the bank or property you will get feck all. Also if you think you will some day have to rely on the state pension you will only qualify for that when you're 68 or possibly later if the rules change again. You might not have enough stamps to get the contributory pension so again you might have to be means tested for the non-contributory one.

ScumLord · 09-12-2015 06:55PM

bcklschaps wrote: »

Thanks all for the useful contributions.

I see that I have a couple of options.

1). Go ahead with the plan. Take the loot in March and never look back. It might involve some fairly thrifty living down the line because my nestegg is modest, but I'll never be a fulltime 9-5 work-aday drone again. (a seasonal part time job might be a reasonable compromise to keep the machine greased and my sanity intact)

2). Take the summer off and see how I feel in the Autumn. Perspective is everything.

3). Try to line up another similar job to the one I have now, before I get layed off... 'its easier to get a job when you have already got one etc.' but maybe negotiate a start date later into the summer to allow for a decent holiday of maybe a Month or two.

I'd take option 2. The money you've saved has given you some options but it's not really going to allow you to live out your life without working.

You could set aside €30,000 and spend a year traveling. I'd look into reeducating yourself after that. You may well find that retirement doesn't suit you. You could end up frittering away your money on things that get presented to you, invest in this or that. It's very easy to spend money. Maybe even easier to spend big amounts because you can make big purchases.

The money does allow you some time to reassess and start a new phase in your life. You're probably only half way through life, do you really want to tie down your future to doing nothing?

09-12-2015 07:03PM

Its a sobering thought, but even if you had 1 million rather than 165k, you would still have to really watch what you spend to be able to never work again! at 43 you would probably need in the region of 2 million to be able to never work again and be sure of even a modest lifestyle... a sickening thought really, that it take a lotto win amount! better to use your hard-earned savings to take a break and then re-train for something else.

Spanish Eyes · 09-12-2015 07:10PM

I think you are a bit young to give up all work related activities altogether. Hope you don't mind me saying that.

I took an early retirement package like the poster Srameen above in mid 50s. I had carefully planned for it, paid down debt, no mortgage, no kids needing my help etc. and so forth.

TBH I was also a bit burned out, but I was so happy to go, the time was absolutely right for me.

For the first year I did absolutely nada. Just travelled and dossed around, it was fantastic.

Then in year two (which is now), I got up off my big fat ass and did voluntary stuff. Hmmm. didn't really suit me.

Now I do guiding in St. Patrick's Cathedral and for DCC in the Summer for the tourists. I love it. The interraction, and I have two other languages (one of which is BAD!).

I structure my life around being a lazy fecker, doing what I enjoy as above and eating and drinking ABROAD. Every two months or so I'm off.

Anyway, it won't work for everyone, but state of mind and ARE YOU REALLY READY are very important.

Take a year off. Doss around, travel, eat, drink, be merry. Do all the things in your own time that you couldn't do when working.

An important thing to remember is that if you retire, all your peers will still generally be working. They may HATE you lol, and you may miss their company too.

I'd say after a year you will know what to do. And at your age you will get another job doing something now that the economy is rising again, not like five years ago.

Do a trial run first. You are quite young.

curiosity · 09-12-2015 07:20PM

I'm taking it that you're not a parent, and single, OP. Have you worked out what your yearly income/expenses would be? From the figures you mentioned, you couldn't go spend/travel crazy, but you could easily manage to take a year out, travel a bit, mooch...

MadDog76 · 09-12-2015 07:31PM

Single, no job and 150k .......... Vegas!!!!!

JJJJNR · 09-12-2015 07:35PM

Take a break and try mushroom growing, its a great hobby and you could make a nice profit at local markets/veg shops.

tara83 · 09-12-2015 07:37PM

Plan to take six months doing the things you've wanted like sleeping in, travelling and then assess your next step.

You might want to return to a similar job, take a handy part time role go back to education etc.

Don't panic that a year out of the workforce makes you unemployable. Taking the opportunity to enjoy life after redundancy is common and won't go against you. If anything you'll be able to take greater chances like temp or contract roles which you wouldn't have risked when you were in full time permanent employment

Fleawuss · 09-12-2015 07:49PM

Don't spend your declining years saying "if only". You have a chance not to fritter a small nest egg away on bullshyte but a chance to take stock of where you are on your road. Take that chance to find something that gives you life not burn out.

imitation · 09-12-2015 09:02PM

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Your house is paid for. Take a mortgage out of the equation and you'd be surprised how little money you can get by on.

I would counter that with: you would be suprised how much you would spend on non mortgage household costs.

Lets say per annum some modest costs living on your own.

Esb 500
Heating 500
Internet/phone 400
Tv license 160
Lpt 500
Water 160
Bins 200

Thats 2420 euro starting out

Then personally i have nice to haves, may not be needed, but you'll have some for sure.

Health insurance 1200
Motoring 2-3000
Cable tv 600

Thats a fair bit of overhead before you start eating, paying for hobbies, clothing yourself. If you expect to live in a house for another 40 years you will probably need at least one renovation, and you'll have plenty of broken windows and broken bits of plumbing and electrics that need to be fixed. Considering all the crap life can throw at you I wouldnt enjoy living that close to the line myself.

bcklschaps · 15-12-2015 06:07PM

Thanks all for your inputs. Will update this thread in 2-3 Months time (if possible) and let ye know how it all plays out.

Galwayguy35 · 15-12-2015 06:35PM

Sounds like you will be kept busy OP with the farm and looking after your folks so if you think you can live off what you have then go for it.

bcklschaps · 15-12-2015 07:27PM

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Sounds like you will be kept busy OP with the farm and looking after your folks so if you think you can live off what you have then go for it.

Thanks GalwayGuy35.

To be honest, I do not do any farming, I picked up the land with the house when I got it. I rent the land out to a local farmer who gives me feck all for it .. but its better than it growing weeds. Eventually I would plan to probably sell the land off as farmland or for development, if I ever got stuck for money.

(I will be stuck for money in about 10 Years time by my own reckoning) so hopefully land prices will be back to 2006 high's and I'll be in looking at 200-300k :rolleyes: and that would keep me going until state pension age.

The folks aren't too bad, but will need care in the future. Not sure how that is going to work out ? They have pensions etc. and are financially self sufficient so will not be relying on me, so not including them in my calculations.

Wompa1 · 15-12-2015 08:19PM

Sounds like an incredible plan. I wish I was in your shoes and hopefully some day I will be. I think maybe, though...you need to reign it in a bit. Don't retire. Just take an extended break...maybe you could go back to college and pursue a passion and turn that into a career?

It seems like you're well aware that you won't have enough money to have security for the rest of what's hopefully a long life.

If I was you. I would travel. If you want to relax, I suggest Hawaii, it's expensive but amazing. Maybe go inter-railing around Europe or drive across America.

Get back home, take some guitar lessons and study something that interests you. You're in a great place! Try to enjoy it!

Corpus Twisty · 15-12-2015 08:39PM

Sounds idyllic OP, tbh. Go for it. You're a long time dead. You also sound pretty financially secure. Ignore the fears and go have a bit of fun. Post back on your adventures!

CIP4 · 15-12-2015 08:40PM

I think probably the best option is take 6-12 months out relax travel rest and then either get another job in the same area your in or retrain and change to something you would prefer to do. Now that's been suggested a lot on the thread.

But what hasn't been suggested and it may work for you if you really don't want to do the whole 5 days a week work thing ever again. Is go part time 2 or 3 days per week. To me that would be the best of both worlds. Either go back to what you are doing part time if that's possible or if you are sick of responsibility get a job in a coffee shop, supermarket clothes shop, warehouse etc etc.you would still get at least 10 euro an hour and probably more meaning it's more than you would get on any dole. You would end up paying fcuk all tax on it. You get loads of time off but also get to go into work a few days a week have a bit of craic meet people and it still gives you something to do.

Lux23 · 15-12-2015 08:47PM

I don't like the idea of retirement, I spent about two years of the last five out of work and I don't function well without my routine. I think getting a part-time job is your best bet, maybe 20 hours a week to keep a bit of money coming in to cover food and bills, then you can dip into your nest egg for the extras. You probably only need to bring in €200 or so a week to keep things ticking over.

maudgonner · 15-12-2015 10:25PM

The best of luck with whatever you decide to do OP, and I'll be looking forward to hearing how you get on. You seem like you put a lot of thought into things so I doubt you'll go too far wrong anyway. Enjoy it!

bcklschaps · 30-03-2016 11:04PM

Hi guys,

Just checking in, like I said I would. I am redundant/retired/superannuated now since start of Mar. Got all my redundancy sorted etc. Pension is a bit slower.

First week felt a bit strange, like when you have a few sick days .. you kind of feel guilty on the first sick day but by sick day no.3 you basically never want to go back to work again. By the second week I was starting to get into my new routine, by week 3 and week 4 (now) its become the norm.

I have actually been very busy getting Unemployment benefit sorted and have been doing lots of odd jobs at my own and at my parents house and some upkeep on my land...things that I put off for basically years.

My routine at present consists of Breakfast/Lunch/Brunch about 11am, read the papers for an hour or two (online obviously, can't be getting out of ones PJ's to go down the shops for the pulped timber version, don't you know !!!), then I line up my work for the day ....eg. tip into town, or else its housekeeping tasks (wash dishes, laundry, hoovering etc.) or head out on the land or over to parents house.

Every day I try to make time for some exercise eg. go for a power walk/run and at least 30 mins of quite reflection time. (redundancy advisor/councillor suggested this ..called it "mindfulness" or something)

Have had one short trip abroad so far and a few more are planned now for later in the summer. I am doing stuff like flying on Tuesdays etc. with the lowest cost airlines, to keep the costs down

Have been out on a few beer sessions too, one of which was a spur of the moment Tuesday night affair ...it was great not to have to worry about work the next day.

Anyway, all is going swimmingly well so far. Will check in again in a few Months time.

In the words of singer Brian Kennedy "Get on with your short life"

:-)

Pitfalls of early retirement

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