A day in the life of our Early Retirement

[@joshuaparr3279]

I must say it is nice to see what a typical day make look like for you both. But what a fantastic decision to move up to the dales and I am sure it is very peaceful up there. I am glad I am watching this in my mid-twenties because it is so eye-opening that early retirement or the need to work can be reduced if forward planning is done some years prior.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We absolute love living in the Dales and having such easy access to all those wonderful places that we can potter about in - we have never regretted that decision. I love that you are watching videos about early retirement in your 20's because in reality it is much easier to achieve if you start your financial/pension planning with so many years ahead to work on putting it in place. Our son Luke who is a pension financial advisor has already put lots of his plans in place and sorted his sister out!

[@joshuaparr3279]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust It sounds like you’ve found a true gem in the Dales! You really cannot put a price on having easy access to picturesque places like that -there’s something so calming about being surrounded by nature. 😊 As for early retirement, you’re absolutely right. Starting the financial planning journey early can make a world of difference!. It’s like building a solid foundation for the future, one brick at a time.

[@JooUpdate]

good morning from bali my dear friend, thank for taking us with this beautiful video

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@jeanniemullinder9038]

meditation, stretching, exercising, journalling, oh dear !!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣 it’s a busy morning for Richard!

[@brendamchale2683]

This is a lovely video, showing that life doesn’t have to be dramatic to be beautiful.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

So true... I guess this sums up our life!

[@woodviewbandbdewhirst1877]

Hi Richard & Jackie. Just wanted to say how much we enjoy your videos! We moved to the Dales from Lincolnshire 20 years ago & have never regretted it. We are now approaching retirement & bought a camper van last year, with the intention of seeing new places & making the most of our free time. Keep up the good work & enjoy your adventures - we'll be watching! David & Sue, Austwick.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Austwick is so beautiful, we love going to the Gamecock Inn after our walks or on our cycle rides. We used to stay at Woodend farm campsite before we moved to the Dales. It's good to hear that 20 years on you still have no regrets moving to the Dales - neither do we. I hope you are enjoying getting out in you camper as much as we do. We are really excited for the clocks to change and spring to kick in, we want to spend time exploring Swaledale and the wildflower meadows we have heard so much about. Thanks for watching our channel, no doubt we will bump into you at some point in the future, please say hi if we do!

[@woodviewbandbdewhirst1877]

Thanks for the reply, will certainly make ourselves known, if we spot you!

[@lindaauld9752]

So happy I found your channel! Linda from South Africa x

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@lindaauld9752 thank you!

[@janeridding9114]

A perfect day , walking in the Dales. My husbands parents used to live in Settle its a great town x

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We have really settled here and love it. Thank you 😊

[@foreverirish132]

This was like a behind the scenes 💚 nice to see 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️

[@jillchapman286]

I loved this! Living in the States it was interesting to see your local area and what you do in day!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thankyou. We live in a national park which is very beautiful. We did have to laugh when we were out in Colorado that we were living above 5000ft for all those weeks which Is higher than any uk mountain! We did love exploring your home ground!

[@tinaharris7629]

Hello Richard and Jackie, just found your videos by accident this morning. I live in Cheshire, and I have enjoyed watching this video, it has given me food for thought. I am not quite there with retirement as I still have kids in education, but I must say I am looking forward to watching your videos. Thank you for sharing. Xx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Tina- thanks for reaching out from beautiful Cheshire. We found it really exciting to start the thought process for early retirement...and probably wished that we had done it a little earlier in terms of our thinking and planning, but life events took over. Hope that we can be of some use to you in the coming months. Have a good week. Richard & Jackie

[@stevezodiac491]

Not very far from our local stomping ground.We regularly stay in our caravan / campervan at Woodhouse farm Winksey. Going from there to Nidderdale, Fountains Abbey, Malham Cove, Brimham Rocks, Ripon, Pateley Bridge, Gouthwaite Reservoir area. Lovely !

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We love it up in nidderdale and stay at studfold farm but still need to explore more of the Eastern dales around fountain abbey and knaresborough side. There are just so many beautiful parts to still discover!

[@jo-annoconnor3]

Hi there! I've been enjoying your videos. I've been retired 7 years now (wow, that's hard to believe! Time really does fly!) and, you're right, no day is the same. No alarm clock and I get to decide every day what I what to do. Retirement really is the best life. Btw, I live in Lively, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦. That's about 5 hours straight north (and I do mean north!!) of Toronto.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We are definitely still enjoying our early retirement! It has been over 18 months already which feels like it has flown! It was such a shock to our system having to set an alarm last week when we needed to set off at 7.30am for an appointment! I looked up where Lively is on a map - we absolutely love Canada but have only visited BC and Alberta so far. Thanks for watching our videos x

[@motorroamingaround]

We love watching your videos as we have so much in common. We also love to create KZbin videos, we love to travel in our motorhome, we love to travel in general, we love to keep a healthy diet and exercise and we love to cook. The footage in Settle takes us back to when my sister lived in Skipton, and before the bypass was built, we had to drive through Settle and we always commented on how beautiful it looked. She now lives in Micklefield near Leeds so we take a different route now unfortunately. Keep safe guys. Irvine & Karen.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We enjoyed your outer Hebrides vlogs. We definitely love the same things including Florida 😊 it’s still worth a diversion through settle occasionally. We are trying to decide where to go next in Scotland over Easter

[@motorroamingaround]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust The other thing in common that I forgot is Duolingo. Karen and I are learning Spanish and are both on streaks over 1400 days. Just found you guys on Instagram so have followed you. Looking forward to reading your article in MMM when we return from Florida. Glad you enjoyed our vlogs on the Outer Hebrides.

[@jcascroft]

Enjoyed that, thanks! Very jealous of you both 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️ we know it is real privilege to be in our situation so will try to make the most of every day!

[@onthetrail202]

I miss the cottage looks even cosier with the fire and Christmas decorations ☺️

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It’s really cosy and ready for a visit from you both when we get back from skiing 🥾🏔️

[@onthetrail202]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust sounds good to us

[@DaveH-t9s]

Great video and Richard has a very similar morning routine to myself. Interested in the gratitude journal although I am interested in Stoicism. Jo likes a lie in! I have done a hill and got back and she did not know I had gone!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We all sound very similar then. Richard has been using a gratitude journal for the 18 months since we retired. It is called the 6 minute diary.

[@eunicef1]

Looks like a great life. Your vid editing skills are great, Richard.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks- always nice to hear. We are loving the process of KZbin and trying to improve day by day. Thanks for the comment. R

[@WilliamMillar-g2w]

Another great video, thanks for sharing a day in your life where you are both in control of your diary. I really like the fan you use over the wood burner. Would you mind let us know where you bought that from, thanks.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊 the fan was actually from Lidl in their middle isle only a couple of weeks ago at £15! It was perfect for us as it is low and wide so fits in the small space between the burner and mantle. It does make a difference spreading the heat out.

[@jamieh2239]

Perfect video. we are planning retirement and what we do day to day between travelling. How to make retirement meaningful is the next stage of planning. Well, as much as you can before life and everything else gets in the way. I'm reading the Retirement Cafe at the moment and listening to a few of his podcasts. I like the daily diary idea and learning a language via an app. looking forward to seeing more of your videos!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you. We have not heard of the retirement cafe so will take a look. We have found that with the van, even though we are home for a couple of months between big trips, that we are still away frequently on night/ weekend stopovers. So when we are home we are really enjoying our time and routines we slip into. The days seem to fill themselves!

[@FrugalMrB]

Those breakfast eggs were huge! I always find it amazing that hippos, rhinos and elephants once roamed around settle (their bones have been found in Victoria Cave). A lovely look into your day. To help with a lack of work routine, I write a weekly to do list to help put some structure in my week.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Got to love the double yolkers!! The hikes out of settle and Langcliffe are pretty stunning. I write a list of sorts but never quite get round to doing what’s on it. Richard is far more organised that way!

[@theroadhome_Liz_Summers]

This is the first video I've watched on your channel and I loved it!! I am just retiring at 68 ... BUT I have been a self-employed work from home software developer so in a way I feel like I have had a lot of freedom for the 38 years that I have been SE WFH AND from a rural location. (NW Montana US). I haven't set an alarm for those 38 years and as an early bird am often up 4:30 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. with a quiet start in my quiet home with dog and cat. At any rate, I look forward to following your journey!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊 we have recently returned from a trip to the US and visited Montana. My mum at the age of 80 is trying to complete visiting the 50 states so hired an RV so we could visit Wyoming, Montana, Dakota’s and Colorado. We loved it but want to return to Montana as we didn’t get to the west or north. Especially Glacier Park area. I hope you enjoy your retirement as much as we have!

[@theroadhome_Liz_Summers]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust I am an RVr ... travelled the US and now concentrating on Pacific Northwest and Southwest Canada so am downsizing my RV for shorter trips. My home with RV facilities is on 8 acres ... 7 miles north of Bigfork/Flathead Lake and 40 miles south of the west entrance of GNP ... so I am currently in the area you missed. Who knows ??? maybe our paths will cross sometime :) Cheers!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@theroadhome maybe they will! We want to visit Canada and explore BC from Vancouver island across to Banff and down through the kootenays into Glacier NP potentially. Just need to get saving 😬🚐

[@theroadhome_Liz_Summers]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust I think that is a great plan! I often tell people (US who want to visit Glacier) to consider flying into Calgary and then driving to East Glacier via Waterton (the Canada side NP) … then to West Glacier and back to Canada. Between Waterton, East and West Glacier it is like 3 parks with varied terrain and types of hikes. And Banff/Lake Louise area … seriously over the top stunning … several degrees more spectacular than US Rockies! Vancouver Island is on my list as well as the San Juan Islands and WA-OR coastal areas. Lots to explore! One of my challenges is that as much as I like/want to explore, I live in a spot that is pretty much my ideal and have plenty of hobbies that I enjoy as well as just sitting on my front porch or walking in the woods with my dog and cat! I sometimes have a hard time gearing up to “go do”!

[@bluemanchester4344]

As a long time runner, cyclist and walker (all sagittal plane of motion) the best thing I’ve done is to start strength training in my early 50’s together with an increase in daily protein to help stave off the effects of sarcopenia as I age. I carry two 24kg kettlebells, adjustable dumbbell and suspension trainer while travelling. That Booth’s secretary bird merlot is nice!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

I think that strength training is something that we all come round to as we get older. As you say, all the research suggests the importance of maintaining strength as we age. I also agree with your views on protein- got to love the protein! I miss my CrossFit gym, but we just cannot afford a membership on our limited early retirement budget, but the training principles stay with us and I try to incorporate functional principles into all my training. Wow two hefty KB's for training on the road- not sure I am up to that yet...but I do love a bit of KB work. The challenge for me this year is to take my strength training on the road and find ways to make consistency easier. A drop of Merlot also makes life complete! Thanks for taking time out to comment. Have a good one, R

[@peten4043]

Another great video guys. I hope you buy your Beer from Booths, I do the buying for all their stores 🍺😂 what video editing software do you use? I’m really keen to give it a go, but never know where to start.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We do sample a beer or 2 from booths. Love the Saltaire brewery beers and the Christmas Delerium bottles 🍻 we film on iPhones mostly and edit using imovie on a MacBook. I used to have to teach imovie editing at school (well the children taught me as they are so In tune with iPads) and Richard learnt the finer skills using lots of KZbin tutorials of which he has enjoyed the learning process.

[@peten4043]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust Glad you liked the Delirium and Saltaire, both great beers 👍🏻🍺 thanks re the editing will try the IMovie as a starter 😊

[@chilldutchie8166]

lol, my hubby retired early at 60 and after my Camino walk in Spain he’s obsessed to learn Spanish and has been part of his daily routine as well.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Oh the Camino...what a challenge that is! I am hoping to get a multi-day trek in this year just to dip my toe in the water- but nothing as challenging as the Camino! Hope your hubby is doing better than me with his language acquisition. I am on over a year long streak on Duolingo French and I am still pretty hopeless! Thanks for the comment. R

[@jooconnor1974]

Hi there I’m really enjoying your videos but I’m dying to ask how you fund your life and do you have any budgeting tips? we are a retired couple in our 60’s and despite pensions,struggle to fund our lifestyle.Joxxx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It is definitely a bit of a juggling act at times! We know we are really fortunate to be in the position that we are mortgage free and we own our van outright so our monthly overheads are minimal. The house when we are away is very economical - no gas in the village and our electric bill for January was only £27. Any travels we do in the van we try to do as cheaply as possible. We plan a weekly menu and shop for most products before we go, or at least the basis of the meals and buy fresh produce locally. We try to look at our trips away as travel not holiday, so we don't eat out very often. If we want a treat we will maybe eat in the van then go out for a pint, or coffee or wine somewhere. I love that it now feels like a real treat when we do eat out. When we were working and earning it was just something we did far too regularly! We use park for the night to find free or cheap places to stay and go to campsites every 2 or three nights for showers and electric hook ups. Even when we are away we have a weekly cash budget that we try really hard to stick to. We have played around over the last 18 months with this and have found our realistic budget to fit everything we want to do, so we take £200 cash out each week which must pay for petrol, food, campsite fees and any treats. Some weeks are easier than others, any money we have left, we put in an envelope and put it towards campsite fees for another week or it helps out if we have a week using more petrol. We do get a little bit of money from freelance writing and KZbin that we save and use for ferries, campsites costs and big petrol bills. We were really lucky on the American trips as we were joining mum who paid the accommodation - we could not have afforded the trips otherwise - and she likes the company and not having to travel alone. We were also really fortunate (we always look on the bright side) that our flights were cancelled on the last American trip and the compensation from BA is paying for our next flights (well worth a 48 hour delay in my mind!!). We did try a smaller weekly budget when we first finished work and kept it up for a while - but it stopped us from being able to travel as much as we would like and at the end of the day - travel was the main reason we retired early. Hope this helps a little? We are constantly amazed at how far we can make our budget stretch and we are loving the freedom that our early retirement has given us.

[@mminc4026]

Great video ! We haven’t been to settle but will definitely be having a van stop there ,explore and have a walk. I’m a Duolingo addict too- Spanish. I do Wordle every morning too- this gets my brain working. I’m doing my excercise as well throughout the week. Like you both, we relish our main meal and always discuss and plan what we fancy. We also enjoy the process and prepare the meal together , sit together and enjoy it. I’m especially keen to try more vegan ingredients this new year as we gave up meat 2 years ago. We still eat fish so this will be a challenge to go all the way. Like your book plan for Xmas - As always , thanks and look forward to more.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Settle is definitely worth a stop off. You can stay on green foot carpark if you have facilities and there are a couple of campsites out towards Langcliffe and stainforth that are a great base to explore. There is loads to do including the train upto to the Ribblehead viaduct where you can do several different hikes. Just thinking about our New Year’s resolutions 😊

[@dominic8218]

Looks as though you are both into a great routine 👌🏻

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thankyou 😊 we do feel really settled now. We have a routine when we are at home, a van routine and then just the love of travel and exploring

[@RodSayers-u2e]

Interesting video thank you. I know the video was just edited inserts so your morning routine may have not been played out of order. Just in case it was not can I recommend you save your static stretching until after your workout, to allow your muscles to warm up. Before the workout do dynamic stretching it will help avoid injury.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this- really good advice 👍 One of the things I am trying to establish is the routine/habit of stretching as it is something that I have actively avoided my whole sporting life. My lack of mobility, particularly in my hips and shoulders is starting to catch up with me at the age of 52. Oh the naivety of youth😂. R

[@RodSayers-u2e]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust You’re welcome, 52 is young to me I’m still increasing my weight lifting goals at 60. My advice is use it or lose it. I think what you two are doing is great keep it up and keep inspiring others to follow.

[@OnTheRoadAgain-NikkiandBilly]

Ha ha it’s the other way around here. Nikki is up early doing yoga etc. I stay in bed. We’ve just put in for retirement in September

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Richard is used to it and I think secretly enjoys a couple of hours of peace! A very exciting time for you both then! Any big trips planned for after September?

[@OnTheRoadAgain-NikkiandBilly]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust first one will be winter in Spain and maybe Morocco. We did a couple of weeks this Xmas because of work.

[@stevegreenwood8168]

Nice video. As a bloke in his mid fifties, one of the best and healthiest things I'm doing is cutting out meat and dairy. Eating plant based food has opened up a whole new world of cooking and eating. Just saying.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊 we do eat less meat when we travel but probably more dairy and cheese! We love bacon butties too much!

[@DanKeeley]

Presumably you've ridden the train then too? Isn't settle to Carlisle the most scenic in the whole UK?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

The train is great. We sometimes catch it to Horton or dent to do a hike rather than driving. Did the Carlisle trip once in the rain but the views were still amazing! Also goes straight to Leeds centre which is handy!

[@kineticrail]

I'm not if I may have missed it. Would there be a video of the financial workings out you went through prior to taking the plunge. I'm in my 30's and thinking what you have done is great and would be something I would love to aim towards

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this lovely feedback. We did an early video on the 10 steps we took prior to retiring that focused loosely on some financial matters. You can find it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l4iXlYuFbs6Ng6c We did map out our rough financial plans and projections, and talked our plans through informally with our son who is a wealth management consultant and financial advisor. At the end of the day, we knew we had our teachers pensions to fall back on that we can access at the age of 55. The pension scheme is a very good one and we know we are very lucky to have it even though accessing it at 55 comes with significant financial penalties. We have weighed it up and 55 works well for us, as we value the time that it affords us to get out and enjoy our lives together. R

[@TinaD-qm6mu]

I'm leaving this comment for Jackie. No need to respond but it will give you an added excuse for a little more time in bed. I'm the exact same way with my husband. I like to wake up slowly and quietly.🤣

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

I see it as giving Richard his space to do all his morning routine without me interrupting him 😂 I am pretty impressed with myself that I am up and about most days now by 8.30 - 9 as I was always one to have a good lie in and it would be so easy to just get in a routine of getting up late.

[@zorangrozdanic5883]

Im sorry for asking but what job did u use to do before reteriment?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi we were both teachers

[@knockedoutloaded279]

read, watch tv....