Less is More: Our Minimalist Living Hacks for Early Retirees

[@waggytail289]

I'm 3 days away from moving out of my house and into my campervan. I'm going to live in it on a campsite for free and work as a warden. I have been a teacher for many years and am looking forward to the simple life. I have minimised my possessions to about 10% and it all fits into my detached garage. I'm renting out my house to provide additional income alongside my campsite warden pay. It feels a bit scary but exciting too and I'm really looking forward to being part of the camping community in a natural woodland setting. Thank you for a great video!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Wow that sounds an amazing plan - a job that sounds interesting, fun and stress free hopefully! A real bonus having free site fees for the summer too - hope it all goes to plan for you. We had seen job adverts for campsite staff at various Huttopia sites this summer - however our french is sadly lacking! Good luck 🚐

[@garywateridge]

Best wishes hope it goes well for you.

[@rebeccarendle3706]

Sounds fantastic! Something I would love to do.

[@MJWINNER_Sketchbook999]

Sounds wonderful hope you are really happy. If you want to avoid conflict is thought you would be moving out of UK but that's your choice

[@mollyo3558]

How exciting! Good luck!

[@alanbarnes3569]

Great video thank you! I took early retirement at 55 and moved to Worthing. The key to retiring early is to be debt free from the start. I moved into a flat where all the bills were included in the rent. I eat one good healthy meal a day, which I have at lunchtime, as long as I’m eating home-cooked fresh food, that really is enough for 24 hours. Instead of eating 21 meals a week I’m only eating 7, so that’s another great saving on food shopping. I adopted this new eating habit and I lost 35 pounds last year. I’m the leanest and fittest I’ve ever been in my life. Our health is our wealth. Thanks 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Our health is our wealth is a great way of looking at it - we now have the time to look after ourselves properly. Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences so far.

[@tracker1009]

Brilliant, one meal a day is all we need , and even one meal every other day is still okay , we've all been brainwashed into thinking that eating every 5 minutes is the best way of eating , great for the pharmaceutical industry and the food industry.. but, horrendous for humans ! Go with what you want to do , being a little scared means it's exciting 👍 Good luck , hope you love it !

[@melissasprayberry5047]

What do you do for health insurance? That’s my number one problem with retiring early.

[@melissasprayberry5047]

?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi in the UK we do not need to take out any health insurance as we have the NHS system and have free access to medical care. I understand from many viewers in the US that this is a big consideration in your retirement.

[@SoCalLAKid]

"If you lost this thing, would you replace it? If yes, then keep it. If not, then get rid of it." Awesome advice.❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - it definitely helped when we were in full on declutterring mode!

[@jablot5054]

Two teachers who admit teaching is well paid, i have alot of respect for your honesty.

[@alanbuckingham8788]

And also an almost unrivalled pension

[@stuartdouce]

it should be well paid, like nursing, policing etc its a very difficult job.

[@CaptApril123]

@@alanbuckingham8788 My mother-in-law was a teacher and yes she got an excellent pension but was very foolish with money and was always cash strapped. I've never made much money but pretty much lived a minimalist lifestyle and i'm retired now in pretty good economic shape. Sometimes it's not what you make but what you do with it.

[@rayneprendergast3338]

Yeah I am glad someone picked up on that fact!! 13 weeks holiday and paid 🙌 teachers rule, 😂

[@tanyageyer4251]

@@alanbuckingham8788 I think that depends on where you live…

[@NicoVeenkamp]

Totally recognizable. We went through exact the same situation. We de cluttered a lot. Now we live in our own ‘cottage’ for two years and there is still room to de clutter more.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It is amazing how much stuff you acquire after living in a house with a lot of loft space for over 20 years. We still have a little bit more to clear out but are loving having the clutter free spaces in the new house (and no useable loft space )

[@gupndors]

I took the plunge last year at 57. I have not looked back, it's been wonderful. We are about to sell off the excess possessions and will list our home and find something smaller and more rural. Life is simply too short! Time is our currency.😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Love your last phrase- time is our currency. It is so true! Glad that you have never looked back- us too. We sometimes question why it took us so long to take the first step. Thanks for reaching out.

[@melissasprayberry5047]

Do you mind me asking what you do for health insurance? That is the number one game stopper for my husband and I. I watch many videos about retiring early, but never figure out what people do for health insurance.

[@gupndors]

Hi, health insurance is not a thing here in the UK, we have the national health service which means its paid out of general taxation and free at the point of use. So everyone has contributed all their lives while working, so its technically free.​@melissasprayberry5047

[@gupndors]

Just to add, I always take out a policy when travelling overseas though.

[@melissasprayberry5047]

@@gupndors Wow! I wish we had that here! We are taxed to death all the years we work too, but get nothing like that. You have to be 65 to qualify for Medicare which an insurance for older people that doesn’t pay all that well. We have to take out a Medicare supplement to pick up the difference of what Medicare doesn’t pay. It’s very expensive to get a good Medicare supplement policy. Thanks for your answer. I just always wonder what anyone under full retirement age does for health insurance. I sure wish it worked the same here. I’ve asked on many videos here and no one answers. Thank you and you are very fortunate to have that. ❤️

[@helenvwalker7919]

I found letting go of my teaching files and stuff one of the hardest tasks. Like you, downsizing the house was a huge part of the move towards being in nature more, travelling more, walking more. These are our top priorities. We love our not so new life (I'm in my 9th year of retirement , next year I can claim my pension) now in a tiny flat in Spain. Still ❤ing life!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Moving house just weeks after we retired from teaching made it really easy to get rid of all my physical teaching resources!! I was a primary teacher and had sooo many files and text books but knew I was never going back, not even for supply. Richard cleared all his books but kept some digital GCSE maths resources as he had thought about doing some tutoring remotely. I did keep some lovely illustrated Harry Potter books I had bought for to share with the class. It is amazing how quickly your priorities change - we love having more time to focus on ourselves and our family and like you say getting into the great outdoors. How lovely living in Spain! Thanks for watching our channel x

[@kimgordon3695]

Enjoyed your practical on going transition. Very admirable! 😊

[@hywel3143]

Thanks for these useful tips. One tip I have for clearing out items that are of sentimental value is to photograph them before clearing out. I've found that keeping a photograph (using a backed up photo archive!) is as effective in helping to recall pleasant memories as having the object itself.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

A fab idea - I know our kids took photos of old reports

[@sandragerhardt2309]

Your story is so familiar. My husband and I have downsized in the past year to an over 50's living community and went through exactly the same process when packing up to sell our house and then unpacking here. Our new home is about 2/3 the size of our previous house. I'm still working through scanning paperwork and photos etc but slowly getting there.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We found it quite a rewarding process and so worth it now we live in our little house. As a family we had so much fun looking through all the photos together.

[@richardbutterworth3714]

Hi guys we did the same, and sold our London house to buy a small village house in Spain. We now travel the world on a regular basis.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

How amazing having a small place in Spain! Happy travels.

[@JamesBoslem-fh9gr]

How do you manage the 90 days rule imposed by the lunacy and self harm if Brexit ?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@JamesBoslem-fh9gr at the moment we only travel in Europe for upto 6 weeks at a time as we like to visit our mums regularly. We use a Schengen calculator 90/180 that we did a video on a few months ago. It is a little more tricky for us going in and out of Schengen to keep track of it than if we did a straight forward 90 days!

[@richardbutterworth3714]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust we have a retirement visa. Lots of paperwork, but worth it. I was 49 when i stopped working, and don’t intend to start again.

[@richardbutterworth3714]

@@JamesBoslem-fh9gr you can get a digital nomad visa James

[@judepoynter3850]

Fabulous! Thank you both for your excellent tips. Happy Retirement!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️

[@A222Z]

I'm a minimalist as well, but I purchase things not only bc I might need them = the item may bring enjoyment, esthetic beauty, convenience, & comfort to my life. I hate waste & I love investing, so I do consider carefully my purchases.😊 Enjoyed content.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Sound advice...we absolutely agree! It is a big question "will this purchase bring me joy?". We do feel that in the past we have been quite wasteful with our purchases, so like you, we take time to consider our purchases now. Thanks for your insight, Richard & Jackie

[@yvonnearnold8763]

Thank you for sharing! We downsized our home 3 years ago and I am still “purging”. On round 3. It has gotten easier and I do find it resent stress level. I find I waste energy dealing with it, so getting rid of it. However it’s a challenge when your other half struggles with letting go. I also retired Feb 1 this year and have reduced my digital footprint- that is great as well. I am a fan of y’all- thanks again

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊 we were both pretty bad at letting go of our things - especially books. But moving to a house where it simply won’t fit was a great incentive as I was determined to be clutter free and we have no loft space in the new cottage - which is great 😊

[@deedavies887]

Just discovered you! We are 61/67 and retired. We have been decluttering for around 6mths with lots more to do, the local charity informs us they have raised over £500 from our unwanted clutter, clothes and objects! Emails are slowly coming down (I contacted training clinical systems under my own company for years, so lots of agents have my email address, but I plan to change this very soon). OH worries about if he will be kept busy enough, but we have a reasonable sized garden that needs lots of work which will keep him busy this year, and we will be growing lots of food too. As he is a retired veteran, we travelled a lot with his job so holiday abroad was usually coming home to see family, so one overseas trip every 5 yrs does us. I’m a bit of a home bird these days! We downsized to a bungalow in Norfolk around 10 years ago from a 4 bed detached, due to my various health issues. We hope to get out walking more, improve our fitness and make more friends in the process.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We also have a garden project to get underway now the house renovations are finished! I think our local charity shop will also have made a fortune from us which is great. I like that it is easy to stay clutter free now we have made the move and downsized. We love hiking so as long as it is not chucking it down we are always out and about in the mountains. You said in your other message you are considering a move to France which would be very exciting! Hope all your plans and your summer go well x

[@doreenhayden-cote553]

I just happened upon your video and loved it! I live in the US and have followed several people who focus on minimalist living. I am finding their advice very helpful but enjoyed your fresh take on being minimalists. Love the idea of having a van as a spare bedroom! I just did my first "car camping" in an SUV but may decide to get a van one day. I have recently been widowed but went to a "meet up" with single senior women. Experiences certainly win over having too many possessions. The less I have to manage at home the more free I will be to get out and live life.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Doreen, thanks for the lovely message. We are sorry for your loss, and cannot imagine what that loss is like to deal with, but you seem to have such a positive outlook that is really inspiring. We like to keep things simple, but could never go to extreme minimalism. Like most things, we like to reflect on what will work for us and then adopt it in our own way. Like you, we just love the space that it brings. Thanks again for reaching out & take care. Jackie & Richard

[@marybutlin5605]

You covered alot of good points.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@donaldsivewright903]

Very interesting piece. I retired 7 years ago at the age of 61 (my wife had already retired from teaching some years earlier) so we have also gone through a streamlining exercise although I wouldn’t actually call it minimising. We have a large 4 bedroom house but have no plans to downsize yet despite the fact that most of the rooms are hardly if ever used now. The main reasons for this is that we don’t really need to cut costs and downsizing isn’t going to free up a huge amount of money anyway plus it is still an asset that is making money, essentially our daughters inheritance as we are very unlikely to need any money from it (hopefully). We think we will downsize at some point to accommodate age but hopefully that won’t be until we are 80 or so. After retiring we went through a gradual process of clearing out the house (loft!!) and garage of stuff accumulated over the last 40+ years of married life. The stuff went to a combination of the skip, charity and for sale. We are not adding to the clutter now and the next big clearout will probably be if and when we downsize although we do get rid of a bit more every now and then - we are very tidy people anyway which helps. We used to have a camper van (Vantage Neo) but we sold that 4 years after I retired as we had had enough of camping having done that throughout our time together. We now tour around the UK and the continent in a convertible Mercedes using B&B / hotels and that is wonderful. We have travelled extensively throughout the world and even lived in Malaysia for 4 years so long haul holidays no longer have much interest to us. We don’t have an expensive lifestyle and prefer simple pleasures really and would rather go for a hike than go out on the town (never out on the town actually). We don’t skimp on the cost of things that we feel we need to buy such as clothes, cars equipment etc as we like good quality things. We are lucky that we have good salary based pensions so there will never be any money problems and hope that our good health continues to last. In the meantime we are making the most of it. We feel we have a fairly minimalist life as it’s just the two of us (no other friends and not interested to be honest) but it by no means a poor or miserable one. Money does not guarantee you a happy life but it sure makes it easier than not having enough so we feel blessed. Have a happy life yourself - you have the right idea.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Donald- many thanks for reaching out- your experiences are so interesting...and very similar in many aspects to our own. We love the vision of you cruising around Europe in the Merc'- although we are still defiantly in love with our campervan for the foreseeable. We absolutely agree with the value of leading a simple life of experiences- it really is so fulfilling and we are only 18 months into our adventures. We only hope that we have similar adventures to those that you have had- it's a big world out there. Take care, Richard & Jackie

[@kimgordon3695]

Our mum waited til 80 & widowed to downsize the Craftsman Estate she & Father owned. The cost was astronomical & She wished she'd done so when they were younger & healthy. 😢🙏🙋

[@travelingexpats]

We retired last October in our early 50's and still trying to figure out what will work best for us. Love your content and look forward to learning more from you two!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you. We definitely feel like we have fallen into a rhythm now and a nice balance of being at home in the Dales, travel and spending time with our close family. All the things that are important to us 😊

[@flyingshutters3438]

Thankyou for this! One thing I would say though is that by moving all your money into one account you are simplifying now, but at the expense of a lot of stress if something goes wrong. If for some reason you are locked out of your account temporarily (which does sometimes happen) then it’s a lot more stressful if you don’t have a fallback. If someone manages to hack your account, you could potentially lose access to it all. Similarly if the bank fails you could lose it all (or at least everything over the savings guarantee if it is a covered account). I would consider splitting it over at 2 accounts with different institutions for greater resilience. Yes it’s a tiny bit more complex, but it’s a lot less stressful when things don’t go quite to plan, and with a (hopefully) long retirement the chance of some sort of hiccup at some point is quite high.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We have one ‘working’ account that all our DD and SO’s go out of and our weekly spending money but we do have an ‘emergency’ building society account and another account with all our savings separate that we take a monthly allowance from. We have just streamlined everything so that the one working account is what we use on a daily basis. Hopefully we are safely covered 😬 thanks for watching our channel x

[@barbarajeroux9542]

I had the same thoughts of having 2 separate accounts at different financial institutions. Don't put all your eggs on one basket!

[@Thecrownlichfield]

love the delivery, how concise it is. You make a great team when it comes to plain simple production values. Thanks for your efforts, I really enjoyed this.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

😊thank you - it must be the inner teachers still in us!

[@janetbowen7854]

Thank you. Note to self. Start now, don't wait until retirement ( coming soon 😄). Hope you're both ok in the snow which arrived today in the north. Horrible heavy persistent rain in the south 🚿🚐❤️

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Some things were easier to get on with than others. We found the first round of clearing the loft fun but tiring because we were just up and down the stairs taking stuff to the tip. Our minds were really focussed on moving day from Cheshire as we got all our final goods downstairs in the house and had hired a van (That's how much we had decluttered - 2 trips in a crafter) we couldn't fit everything in so we had a last declutter into our neighbours skip - the mantra was - is it worth doing another 4 hr round trip to take it to Yorkshire!! The snow didn't stick so all is good here in the south dales

[@jacintalarkin]

I've found your channel whilst looking at vanlife vlogs. Myself and my partner are in the planning stages of doing what you have done. I've managed to watch your progress from when you started to the present day and I can see such a difference in you both since you started, so content. We can both identify to exactly the way you guys felt. I'm 47 and my partner is 51 so we are going to sell up this year and see how we go. We don't have children so don't have to make the hard choices of cutting the sentimental stuff. We also have a small apartment in Spain as a base and the camper van. Our plan is to sell up and use Spain as base and then travel. That would mean leaving our country of birth (Ireland) If we buy in Ireland that would eat up the money we would have to live on. That's my biggest worry is having no base in Ireland. We have lots of family in Ireland but then no home here. Giving up work doesn't bother me a bit, I own my own business so I can sell on (not worth a huge amount) but it paid the bills. Life is too short that is for sure. I find when I do "mention" our plans people are shocked.... "what will you do with your time etc etc, how will you survive" I have plenty of living to fill my time. I've worked since I was 15 so I feel I've done my time. Good luck to the 2 of you and I look forward to keeping up with the adventures.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you for your lovely comments, we are definitely feeling more at ease now in front of camera and also with-in our selves and the new lifestyle that we have chosen. We genuinely feel so much more content and happy with our lives and know that we are extremely fortunate that we were able to retire so early. When we decided to retire, down size and relocate we wanted somewhere small and cheap to maintain that we could return to whenever we weren't travelling. We get asked all the time if we are bored yet and what do we do all day to keep busy - my reply is, we don't have enough time to do all the things we want to!! We are actually enjoying the process of keeping to our budget as it makes us so much more mindful of what we spend our money on. We carefully plan our weekly menu and enjoy looking for recipe ideas - its become part of our routine, even when we are travelling. Spain will be such an amazing base to explore from. With you being from Ireland, are you exempt from the Schengen travel restrictions? Good luck with all your plans - it's an exciting time! x

[@skent714]

Thank you from USA, Macon, Georgia! You make it sound lovely, and we're going through the process now. God bless you!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you, we have certainly had no regrets so far and try to make the most of every day as we don’t know what the future holds for us. Good luck with your journey- it’s both scary and exciting!

[@marybethcaputo3605]

Love these tips , I too have a 3 bd house , I have been decluttering , when my kids were away at college, my goal is also a 2bd , or tiny house . I have a Jeep that I travel and camping on the weekends . I’m 58 single . I’m excited about my next phase , may just need to sell my house . I have already emptied 2 bedrooms completely ! Feels amazing ! Less is More , indeed !! MB

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for sharing! We have had no regrets downsizing to a 2 bed house and can still fit all of the kids and their partners in for the odd weekend. Good luck with your plans.

[@motorroamingaround]

Great tips guys. Karen & I bought a plot of land and built a 5 bedroom bungalow which we lived in for 18 years. When we decided to sell the house, buy a house in Florida, and move into an apartment we had to do some amount of de cluttering and like you the starting point was the loft and we couldn’t believe the amount of stuff we had up there that just went straight to the tip. Love your ideas as to how you keep things as minimalistic as possible. Thanks for sharing. Irvine & Karen.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Wow that was quite a big change for you! I assume you still have a base in the UK? At least we can't accumulate much stuff in our new cottage as there just isn't the space and we have purposely left the loft unboarded! Thanks for your continued support of our channel. Jackie and Richard.

[@motorroamingaround]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust You're welcome we love your channel. Yes we have a 3 bedroom apartment near Glasgow. We do love to travel but wouldn't give up our bricks and mortar. We're heading back to Florida for a month a week on Saturday so looking forward to that. Take care. Irvine and Karen.

[@MarianneMcKenna1]

You guys are so cute! We are not retired yet but downsized. We have four married kids and were scared to move somewhere too small. We sold our house and got a 3-bedroom apartment. But now we're still minimizing and think we could probably move to a 2-bedroom or even 1-bedroom. We'd rather be out & active!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Ah thank you! One of the main reasons for our downsize was to release enough money to live on until we get our pension but also we wanted to live in the Yorkshire Dales and definitely would not have been able to afford anything bigger as it is in a national park! I agree - we would rather be out and active - we are loving skiing at the moment in the Alps!

[@jen-x-erplansstuff5407]

So much great information in this video! We will only be half-retired next year (as in my husband retires the end of 2024, but I will continue to work for a bit), but this gives us some places to start to simplify things before I join him in retirement. Thank you!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - hope all your plans go well 😊

[@amdelorey]

i found your video inspiring. We are in the process of downsizing for other reasons but your video helped me reframe this in a more positive way. Thanks to you both.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Glad it was helpful! Once we were into the process we actually found it quite easy and cathartic, I love a tip a few people have given about taking photo's of some things - as it is for most parts the memory the object triggers, not the object itself. Hope all goes well for you x

[@deneward8194]

Great video. Straight from the heart, simple, actionable and relatable. Subscribed 👏🏼👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️

[@A222Z]

I like what Dana k white said = we each have our own 'clutter threshold' of what fits. I find myself looking at various areas & saying 'that's too cluttered for me'. However, during the Christmas holidays, i seem to be able to tolerate more decor about myself. .. i also downszed = from a 4 bedrm to currently a studio.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Like the idea of a clutter threshold- we think we have now found ours and we are comfortable with it. It is probably different to other people, and that is fine! Thanks for the comment, Richard & Jackie

[@marisalabonte4121]

Thank you for this video, so inspiring!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

You are quite welcome! Thanks for the comment👍

[@juliekinsella1798]

I worked in Corporate Finance but was made redundant in 2020, at first I was actively seeking employment, I got two different jobs but left them both after 3 months…I had been unemployed for 18 months by then and just didn’t enjoy being back in the working world! My husband is still working and will retire in 3 years….until then I am busy declutterring ready for downsizing to the coast somewhere!….

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

That’s sounds like an exciting plan - we did deliberate for a while between mountains or coast. Hopefully after 3 years you will be totally cluttered free!! We have said the same about our work ethic now - I am not sure we would last long in a proper ‘career’ type job. We have said if we needed money we would do short term temp jobs or seasonal work somewhere. Good luck with your plans x

[@mikeb1195]

Just found your channel and watched this video. I’m planning to retire at 50 in 4 years time. Still in the big family home at the moment but love the idea of downsizing ‘everything’! Great channel. Looking forward to watching some more of your videos.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Mike, many thanks for your kind words and for leaving a comment. We found the lead up to retirement so exciting...if not a little scary at the same time! 4 years gives you lots of time to get everything in place and time to enjoy the process. We made our decision pretty quick after some life changing moments so it was a little frenetic! Downsizing really does feel liberating and genuinely builds more space and time into our lives. Good luck with your plans and enjoy.

[@jeanettesmart9990]

Omg you need to go into our loft🤦🏻‍♀️ I think we moved boxes from our previous home to it unopened? 23 yrs ago. ….. I’m going to give it a go. It will save the kids later 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣 clearing the loft was quite cathartic in the end, as most of it was junk! Under the beds was interesting too!

[@tracker1009]

Loved your video, you seem just lovely people . Just chuck your phone in the bin, then you'll increase your life by 90% ..go back to the old school of life and you'll thrive! ❤❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️

[@keepitreal1547]

I'm retiring imminently & with it in mind for the past few years, i've bought nothing whatsoever than what i've needed. I've also got rid of unnecessary monthly outgoings via d.d/standing orders & my outgoings werent that much before, but are since very very low...I live a simple & frugal life. My next step is to declutter the house & i've left it until now because the thought of it has always overwhelmed me, I think due to being on my own with just the one daughter who lives away. Doing such things, any important tasks alone causes me anxiety. On downsizing your home, was there capital gains tax to pay on the profit made in your sold home? I don't know whether to downsize or just rent it out, as my retirement (proper) will be spent overseas & travelling various countries before deciding on a place to settle overseas.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Congratulations on your up and coming retirement. It felt like such a huge step for us both retiring and downsizing at the same time but also felt like it was a completely new start. Because the house was our family home and only property we did not have to pay any capital gains tax - I am not sure what the situation is if you have rented it out? Once we actually started tackling the 20 years of clutter in the loft - the first couple of rounds was quite easy and cathartic! Most of it went to the tip or a charity shop - the worst bit was the motivation to get started!! The hardest part was all the sentimental things that had lots of memories attached to them. Good luck with all your plans x

[@keepitreal1547]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust Thank you so much for your reply. Yes it's the motivation to declutter that I find horrible, actually thinking about it, is no doubt worse than getting stuck in & actually doing it. I must pull myself together & get started. Thanks on the info re capital gains, I never knew that. I've subscribed I hope to learn more from you. Enjoy your day.

[@NaturesInfiniteWELLth-fo6rs]

Less can never be more. More does not define better.

[@hp-cs7mx]

It helped me to visit a large Salvation Army Opportunity Shop. They had everything there! I realised that if my house burned down I would be able to replace “stuff” easily and cheaply, and be more up to date. So now I am concentrating on saving a money stash as a security back-up which helps me to minimalise items in the house.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

A great way of thinking about it!

[@jilleljadi5496]

Minimalism is life !!🎉

[@slamer2158]

teacher from vienna 53 send thanks ! beginn to plan now, means beginn today with my clothes and shoes

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hello Vienna! Many thanks for your lovely comment. Good luck with the clothes and shoes sorting. It's a great place to start👍 Thanks again, Richard & Jackie

[@slamer2158]

have to get out of this job very soon. follow you now here! enjoy! danke!@@earlyretirementwanderlust

[@craigo2142]

I have defined minimalism, for me, as the least amount of stuff/things/whatever that I can live a happy, fulfilling life. And, like you, it all started at retirement.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

And it is so amazing how little we actually need! A true minimalist would probably say we have far too much - but we are at a happy medium and more importantly out of the cycle of just buying ‘stuff’. Happy retirement x

[@derekmorgan65]

I sure appreciate your practical tips and common sense approach. You share some great advice which I had not thought about before

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you, we had to really focus our mind when we down sized and have been commited to keep the house clutter free ever since.

[@davidviner4932]

I'm minimalist, I keep what matters, nice big warm house, nice large garden, 2 big dogs and 4 holidays a year, thank you

[@angeladawn805]

I love giving away my stuff (I've always bought quality and functionality over bling)- I've often not had a home base, so I like the idea of living out of a backpack, and I live in a precarious country, subject to civil defense emergencies, I like not being burdened with stuff

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It feels so good being clutter free - not quite as minimalist as living with just a backpack! Keep safe x

[@simplylifeau]

Well done and thanks for sharing! We are planing a house move so will be a great opportunity to clear the clutter and finding the digital footprint is a lot more work than expected. Enjoy 👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Yes our digital clutter, although not taking up much physical space is proving harder to keep on top of! Photos particularly! Good luck with your house move 😊

[@simplylifeau]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks, we’re also selling our big family camper trailer and started looking at camper vans after your vid, good idea 😎

[@mminc4026]

It’s an on going process - just started again with de- cluttering. Cleared our loft completely , sorted the Xmas decs, kept 1/3. Have a few camping items to sell and called in the scrap man to collect as well. 😂 I’m liking the cash is king plan 🤔thanks , Claire

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It helps that our loft is unusable in the new house so it will stay completely empty. The only junk space is under the bed 🤣 the cash budget is something we have done in one form or another for many years. It really makes us think about what we spend!

[@kimgordon3695]

The digital dollar will vaporize cash in the near future.

[@Kiwitripn]

Thank you so much for your time and effort to make these videos. As an international teacher we've also made the conscious decision that very soon we'll be early retirees. When you have enough passive income to take care of your expenses .... its a huge weight off your shoulders. If possible it would be cool to see a budget episode e.g. how much you guys spend per month especially in the campervan AND your decumulation strategy e.g. how do you withdraw $$ to sustain you for the year. All the best to you both!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for the comment. We are a bit reluctant to share in a video our more detailed finances as it is such a divisive subject. It really does depend on individual circumstances and everyone is different. We have been open about our "Cash is King" methodology of living off £200 a week to cover all food, diesel, wood and travel costs as much as possible. We have an additional monthly budget that covers our fixed costs (Utilities etc) and this has a contingency to cover additional costs like van services, etc. Hope this helps and you appreciate where we are coming from. Thanks again, Richard & Jackie

[@rangelet]

Great video! Appreciate your insight and thanks for sharing! All the best!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@ellon118]

Oh how I wish I was on the other side like you guys. I'm in the identical place you guys were in, family home for the last 22 years, kids all left and a loft full of stuff...... halloween outfits, lego, board games etc etc. We are getting through it, but as you say it's difficult. .....and thats on top of the garage that, oh can you keep this as I cant fit that in my flat!!!! ha ha. Has KZbin started to feel like a job yet? Your videos are very good and consistently being uploaded. cheers Richard

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We had converted our garage into a study 20 years ago and only bought a small shed so at least we didn't have that to worry about! We did chuckle when we were homeless for the 14 weeks and we emptied some of our stuff into our sons house until we got the keys - he not very impressed! Good luck. Thanks for watching our channel - I think we are getting into a regular groove now with filming and editing and still enjoying the process.

[@kimetherington7219]

A wonderful video. So glad I stumbled across your channel. We are retiring in 7 months and are faced with the huge hurdle of decluttering and moving to another country. We really need to embrace a more minimalist approach as it will help tremendously with the task ahead. Thanks for the detailed video and many useful tips

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Wow I thought we had made some big decisions on our retirement 😯 how exciting! There is nothing better to focus the mind on declutterring than the knowledge you have to be out of the house by a certain date. We had hired a sprinter size van to move ourselves and all our worldly possessions and only wanted to do the journey twice! Good luck with all your plans x

[@ColinW1158]

I've just paid off my mortgage and decided to retire at 58. I have a small pension which pays my side of the household bills/food/car etc. On top of that I have a small savings pot. This all has to last me until I'm 67. Looking at small side hustles to top that off. Never want to get into the 9-5 again.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Colin. It's always good to hear other peoples' plans. I think that you will be surprised at the number of side hustles and little employment opportunities there are in retirement. Everyone seems to have something, and it is different for everyone. Enjoy the freedom and the time and all that it brings. Have a good one👍

[@susannabutkus4064]

Congrats on your retirement!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️

[@CraftyDragonflyCrochet]

Thank you for that video, it's been very helpful. We're about 3 years away from retiring, hopefully at 57, and once our youngest goes off to start his military career at the end of the month (the other 2 boys are grown up and have already moved out), we have already planned on starting to sort through everything in our house (including the loft and the garage loft, which my hubby thought was a good idea to build at the time, not so much now though) before we think about moving. We have a campervan and have travelled a fair bit already. Weekends away tend to be in the Yorkshire Dales, as we are not too far from there but our goal is to move to Scotland, if all goes according to plan. Let the sorting commence 🙂xx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Exciting times ahead for you then, getting ready for retirement. It is a strange feeling when the kids have fled the nest! The Dales are a great place to explore in the van 🚐 even now we get out locally overnight 😊

[@paulmoore120]

Great post. Very thought provoking. Thanks.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for the comment Paul- always nice to hear👍 R

[@simonkelsey6297]

What a great video which seems to touch on a kind of spiritual emptiness that clutter often encourages. I can see that with our own small house with the bewildering amount of clothing, knick- knacks and tranklements that our two grown ups constantly buy to literally stuff into rooms, cupboards and spaces that are already overflowing. This results in tension, arguments etc and I long for a minimalist approach of the sort you describe. Like you , I am a teacher and recognize the accrued resources you tend to build up whether physical or digital that will come in handy for the next cohort. There’s a lot of focus at the moment on how people can’t afford retire or need to keep working until they drop ..almost trying to shame or make people feel guilty about retiring early. I am not sure what their agenda is by trying to promote-indirectly- endless work ( could be large state/ high tax advocates!) but it’s not an appealing one. I will be 60 next year and want to retire soon..many teaching colleagues have taken early retirement in their 50s and you articulate well that this is about choices , lifestyles and planning-thank you for sharing your experiences.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Simon, thanks for taking the time to comment. It sounds a bit twee, but we really do believe that the less stuff we have in our lives leaves more space for experiences and the things that we really believe in. Regarding our own decision to retire early...we have never once regretted it so far. Our lives seem so much richer, even though we no longer have the salary! I guess the two go hand in hand, as we are happy to have less disposable income, as long as we have the precious gift of time. Thanks again, Richard & Jackie

[@lifeonthehighway6917]

Hi Richard & Jackie: Thank you so much for your dedicated time sharing of your experiences within your video. I’m in the center of my 50’s and owning of a leasehold property living independently so I know sometime crunch time will have to set in for Minimalizing of my own belongings if I’m to move on within my own life by the selling of my own home plus the pennies from the sale of the property will be useful for my own retirement. It’s a strange thing within human life as though when we get to a stage in our lives it’s something we realize the need to have to do this.. You video has proven very aspiring for given thoughts in my mind. I used to be a DJ some years ago where I’ve accumulated hundreds of Vinyl’s, I’m at the helm a loss of what to do with them other than to understand surely these can’t be disposed of at the recycling point. I was just curious would you have any suggestions from your own experiences when minimalizing, Because your spot on it is so difficult. I noticed too, a comment mentioned about the Security of your money in your bank. Banks I’m to believe don’t pay a lot of interest today nor are they as they were once thought to be the high security points for our monies, Have you thought about Premium Bonds, My friend is in semi-retirement and has for a little while put a set amount into Premium Bonds and seems to be doing well with it, Just thought I’d mention it to you both. All the very best for your good future ahead from me Steven in Manchester, You will notice too, My thumbnail showing a Mercedes Vario Van, I’ve started the process of converting it to a Motorhome to live in, independently. Take Care, I have subscribed to your Channel too.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Steven & thanks for the comment.

[@charcro]

I can really identify with this. Thanks for another thought-provoking video.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - it did help we were forced to minimise with the house downsizing - we have not boarded our new loft so it will stay completely empty 🤣

[@hattyflame3889]

Thats terrific!! Well done!! Im in the middle of it now ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you and good luck x

[@ginatheng9506]

Thank you it makes sensed. ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you for watching

[@robertchandler3914]

Love your channel - Great information.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you so much we are glad you find some of the information we share useful. 😊

[@leannearnold8326]

Excellent 👍 our twins are 16 and about to leave school this year...I am absolutely wracked with guilt when it comes to clearing out their nursery reports, paintings etc😢😢...but with 5 years until hubby retires it's time to make a start ❤ our motorhome is all we need - makes you realise how much, or how little, you actually need to be comfortable - Food, heat, water, wine ...and definitely a loo..cdnt be without that 😂😂 great vlog guys - will implement a few of your ideas. Thanks, Leanne

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

The kids kept some of their reports etc but in the end they only took away 2 medium plastic crates each - we had all their first few years of shoes and baby clothes and all primary school books! We looked through them then tipped them 😮

[@russmcsporran]

One tip re getting rid of paintings, reports etc is to digitise them. Take photos of anything which has strong sentimental value but no real ‘use’. These can all be stored on cloud/ssd so take up no space but are available to look whenever you want.

[@leannearnold8326]

@@russmcsporran good idea 👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Yes the kids took photos of reports they wanted!

[@gailkoursari2599]

I think I’m a work in progress 😂. Still got the family home and it’s stuffed with stuff. Initially got rid of work clothes ( suits etc) but I look in the loft and despair 😩. I feel we decluttered so much after retirement but the fact I’m embarrassed to say the number of wardrobes I have is a clear indication I need to do more. I did however do really well with sorting finances so I’m on the right path. Great video though!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Down sizing definitely focussed the mind - clothes were quite easy, we donated loads to the charity shop particularly work clothes. We have a lot of hiking outdoor gear and a few jeans and casual clothes but we are down to a tiny wardrobe and a few shelves. Books pulled at our heartstrings - we had hundreds and still have too many. My one small obsession is buying second hand travel books in charity shops for places in Europe we want to visit. I get really excited when I find Cicerone hiking guides 🤣🥾🏔️

[@jamesbaker5908]

Great video, really enjoy your content. You both now seem very comfortable behind the camera and your delivery style is very warm and friendly. Have you tried taking photos of things before you let them go ? A glimpse of a photo of an old item can trigger happy memories. Regards to you both.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for watching the channel, I think we are finally getting more used to being in front of the camera - the ex teachers in us maybe. A few people have recommended taking photo's - a great idea for in the future!

[@janehutchinson9999]

Great helpful video. I agree the loft Is the first place to sort, especially kids uni stuff that has been left with us.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Under the beds was pretty interesting too!

[@davidhopkirk2455]

Another good video guys, Looking to retire ourselves in about 1 year at 55 and we also have a campervan and Ski etc. Your videos are really helpful in showing people where to start especially this one. Now thanks again I'm away to start emptying the loft 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Luckily our cottage loft is not boarded so will stay completely empty 😊 good luck with your retirement plans - we have never regretted it!

[@BoninBrighton]

We downsized in 2017 and it took us 2 years to achieve it. It took a further year after moving to get rid of even more stuff.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We are the same...and we think that is absolutely fine. We always wanted minimalism to work for us. If that takes a bit of extra time, we are ok with that. We have still got some things that we are undecided about, and a little time will let our thinking develop. Thanks for sharing, Richard & Jackie

[@gail101242]

Love the way that you begin with your objectives! Good teaching practise - can't wait to see if you finish with "what we learned" :-)

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣 we may have retired but not lost the 30 years of teachers in us!!

[@VictoriaGetsVocal]

I love this, it is so true, I sold up in Dec and for the last 9 weeks have been living in my part converted van full time, it took me 5 separate ‘culls’ of my belongings over a 6 month period to declutter my stuff and I was so surprised afterwards how much better I felt about having so little. It is so freeing. I can relate to SO much of what you have said, it’s just a bit newer for me. Thanks for another great video. Ps I roared with laughter about the digital declutter, I’m defo with Richard on that matter. 😂 I have friends with thousands of unread emails and it freaks me out. 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Wow you must have had to really declutter to be living in the van! But yes I agree it felt quite liberating in the end. We realised after travelling for 6 weeks at a time that you just don’t need much and I love having a clear and tidy house with a place for everything - something we have never had before 🏡 I promise I have been better on the digital front but Richard still won’t let me near his computer 🤣

[@DaveH-t9s]

Fantastic and we are in the last couple of weeks before we move into our motorhome. My wife has been brutally honest about what we don’t need!

[@VictoriaGetsVocal]

What helped enormously was my buyers bought anything I was prepared to leave for them, but even so, gosh I had accumulated a lot in my 56 years!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@VictoriaJeffsMindset it’s amazing isn’t it- the things that you keep 🤣

[@VictoriaGetsVocal]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust I used your 1 in 1 out strategy today too 🤣 only it turned into 2 bags of out and I only ordered a new cycle helmet and an orbital sander, my van isn’t quite as finished as yours. 🤣

[@Will67267]

Retiring in December 2024. Thanks for the info!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Will- we are glad you found something of use. Have a great time leading up to December and then beyond...they really are happy times. Richard & Jackie

[@michelelee5648]

Love this video. I am 54 and have 32 years in as an educator. Would love to retire. Have many worries about quality of life when I retire this young. Can you please do a video that explains how you find your new purpose when retiring from education? I’m afraid I’ll fall into sedentary behaviors and I’m always concerned will my money last as my body ages . Have you addressed those issues as well?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Michele- we have a video in our back catalogue that may be of use: "Finding purpose and avoiding boredom in early retirement". Sorry- we cannot put a link to it in comments but we think it will be of use. In essence, we believe that our working persona is only one aspect of what makes us us. In our early retirement we focus on our health, our relationships and our personal development, and have much more time to do that. We hope you enjoy the video. Thanks for reaching out. Richard & Jackie

[@suewheeler5795]

OMG the stuff! I swear it breeds! We find it hard with many hobbies and the stuff that comes with hobbies. The biggest thing I struggle with is when things are too good to throw away but there is no where to give them away.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

I have a lot of card making craft stuff that is at my mums that I need to donate somewhere 🤣

[@suewheeler5795]

🤣🤣 What about all you furniture, clothes, etc? Did you just skip it (or charity shop)

[@Cityjacko]

​Me please re the card stuff!😂​@@earlyretirementwanderlust

[@Cityjacko]

Decide to go for one cupboard a day after seeing this. Feel like I need to hire a skip after the cutlery drawer! X

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣

[@DaveH-t9s]

We have another couple of runs to the storage unit and then we are done. Not easy but we feel better it is done. For me the next step is hand giving my notice in at work. I seem to be putting that off however I need to get that done. Great video Dave

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Handing in our notice after being at both of our schools for over 15 years each was quite a daunting prospect! I think it's the finality - no going back. But 18 months later, we have no regrets and know we did the right thing. Good luck with your new Vanlife, I hope it is all going well.

[@DaveH-t9s]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks and we have a park up sorted for a few months at a friends wedding venue near Loch Lomond. First night tonight!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@davidhall8745 oh amazing - I hope the weather is kind to you on your first proper full night 🚐

[@vanessaday1886]

Great ideas - thanks

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@elisabethdorrer4831]

As someone who is looking to declutter as soon as I retire I find your tips very helpful! One question about downsizing. Was your cottage in the lovely Cotswolds so much cheaper than the family home you sold? If I soldmy home on the border of Brussels, Belgium for 550k I would have to spend probably all of that money to buy something much smaller, without the big garden and garage.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Elisabeth- thanks for the comment. Our house in the Yorkshire Dales is considerably smaller than our family home was in Cheshire. For the money that we had from the sale of our family home, we didn't think that we would get a garden or parking space in the Dales so we were really lucky. The cottage needed a lot of renovation work to get it to where it is today...and that cost. We are still mortgage free, but inevitably building projects always cost more than we would like. We hope this helps? R

[@denismichaeljames]

Has your van proved a good choice in terms of your travels. Your keen on minimalism, this must mean a small camper van has less room than many regular travellers may accept. I ask because we love that van. But don’t own one yet, and are looking to retire early next year. We’ve been gradually downsizing slowly, aiming to travel and shrinking our UK living down into a small 2 bed retirement flat. With Parking for the VW. And our plan is not to be in the UK for winters at all. We have been inspired by your story and applying your less is more approach to our own future. Would you survive quite comfortably in your van for 3 months at a time away from base? Will you stay with that size vehicle, or do you aim to trade up for bigger. We like the idea of being able to squeeze into small villages and narrow park ups thinking it blends in as an ordinary vehicle. We also like cities and may wish to enter car parks easily too. Do you see any negatives? Thank you.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi, lots of good questions there! We have had our van Nelson for over 6 years and have spent nearly 700 nights away in it. We bought it as a 10 year ish investment so we could get away most weekends while we were working and on extended trips in our school holidays. It is a great size for being able to park and drive anywhere - ideal on the narrow Dales country lanes and in Scotland on the single track roads. We have been away on trips of up to 6 weeks in the summer and the lack of space has not really been an issue as we put the roof up to store stuff and live outside - bbqing and sitting out. When we take toys like the Kayak and our bikes and boogie boards it does make it bit of a pain when we are only stopping in places for a night as we have to clear the van to get the bed out in parks ups. Up to this point it has been ideal for our needs even the ski trip we recently did spending 3 weeks on a campsite in the French alps. But it has come to the point where we are looking to upgrade in the next couple of years and we are starting to look around. We have made a few decisions - we want a bigger van that we can stand up in at all times (not just when the roof is up) - we want a toilet as when we were travelling up the French Atlantic coast - wild camping was not really tolerated and we couldn't stay at lots of the aires as we have no facilities and there was nowhere to have a wee. luckily travelling in June we could use the ACSI card and the campsites were pretty cheap - we want a fixed bed and a little seating area so I can lie in and Richard has his own space. We are travelling much more in winter so find the lack of space harder as you are in the van from late afternoon when it goes dark. We have decided to stay with a panel van and go for a 6m van - only 1m longer than the VW. There are also 6m coach built motorhomes that are slightly wider than the panel van, but not as wide as a motorhomes. We are going to have a good browse round the motorhome show at the NEC this week to see what is out there. A long reply but hope it helps Jackie

[@denismichaeljames]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust Thank you so much. Lovely of you to offer so much information. This has given us real food for thought. We love your travel videos of adventures and these key points have helped us to rethink our plans. We did have a van for a year, a coach built with a bed in the roof. It proved an unsuitable layout and just didn’t work for us. The bathroom took up too much valuable space and parking on narrow roads were tricky and we felt we missed out on seeing certain viewpoints. Not sure if you watch on you tube. ‘Life is too short’ Ken and Carol in their Little Red Camper. They’re just moving up from their small Nissan NV200 to a larger panel van with shower and loo. They were going for a new VW but cancelled due to waiting lists times. They have now purchased from Consort Motorhomes. We watched their process of decision making. You may get some inspiration and ideas from their thoughts? We were always amazed how far they travelled in their small red camper, Spain, Norway etc. we have been watching them for a couple of years now. We thoroughly enjoy watching our camper-Van travellers. It’s a lovely community. We are all curious and different. You’ve both created a wonderful future of early retirement, and we shall continue to enjoy your beautiful videos of your many adventures. You’re living your best lives. Thank you.

[@UllaMarieMears]

Interesting I would like to know what kind of teacher you were. If you have a specific subject you are interested in. I guess biology and geography. My husband and I have bought a little house in a village near a lake, a forest, a small mountain and I've got a big garden. We sold our flat in Spain and decided to stay in Sweden when we will retire in a few years time. We have very few things even though I find something to declutter every day. I do agree that LESS IS MORE. I think it's very important to have dreams and to make the dreams come true. I wish you good luck with your new life.❤ Ulla-Marie

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

How wonderful, living in the mountains and lakes. Sweden is a place we really want to visit in the future. We both trained as PE teachers - I changed to teach Primary school children with a specialism in science but I had to teach everything! Thanks for watching the vlog and good luck in your future retirement x

[@andy14barnes]

Fascinating , about to embark on similar journey, great resource thanks

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It' been quite a journey! Hope it all goes well, thanks for watching.

[@louquiambao8382]

Thank you

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Your welcome

[@jayt5970]

I need to get my wife to watch this 🙏

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣 the thought of getting round to it is much worse than the reality of starting- it was quite cathartic for the first few rounds of trips to the tip and charity shops 😊

[@jablot5054]

Just do things for yourself not other people even a partner.

[@FrugalMrB]

Congratulations on reaching 5000 subscribers! 🥳

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you! Wow that seems like such a huge milestone 🎉

[@FrugalMrB]

It is - and it’s very well deserved! Here’s to the next 5000 🙂

[@marylowe3487]

Well done guys. I'm on a similar journey but have 20+ years more stuff than you 😊. Look forward to reading more about your retirement.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you ☺️ we are determined to stay clutter free now - no loft in the house is helping!

[@saywellhq]

Great video guys, really enjoyed this!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - we realised after living in the van for 6 weeks at time when travelling we don’t need much - not even a big house!

[@michaelsalter4457]

My wife and I are longing to do something similar. Down size and travel. When decluttering what did you do with books, records, family photos etc?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

CDs caused me a lot of angst as we had spent so much money on them but I bit the bullet and took them to a charity shop. Our son has the few records we owned - we have a family subscription to Spotify so we can all still listen to any music we want! We had a family night sorting through photos and got rid of hundreds that were not great but we still have a big shoe box and a few albums full under our bed - I love getting them out occasionally. Books were tricky as we had hundreds of them. Teaching/professional ones went to the charity shop and school, most novels went to the charity shop and we still have lots of travel books. I like a house with books 📚 our village has a book exchange shed so I do donate books there and swap rather than buy now!

[@ianthomason8563]

Thanks for sharing your honest, heartfelt decisions about your new minimalist life ....... I really empathise with your views. I watched your vlog on the Picos ( I really love this place ) but having watched your videos (we really do know what you look like) perhaps your mugshots on most of the stills are a little distracting !

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

🤣 thanks for watching - true, the scenery in the Picos is much better than us 2! We loved Northern Spain after having no idea what to expect. A place we will return to someday 🚐

[@alannorman1773]

Again a very thought provoking vlog. I’d be really interested to know what the subject areas that you taught were and also how you have adapted to the change in role that you have now you’re “just” human beings rather than teachers I suppose the declutterring helps you adapt to the change in personal role Thanks again ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Alan, thanks for the comment. We were both secondary trained PE teachers...we met at Uni! Jackie moved into the primary sector and taught all subjects, I taught Maths towards the end of my career and was also a Deputy Head. We thought it would be quite difficult to get used to the change of roles, yet it has been surprisingly easy. We think that the relocation and renovation of our cottage really helped in the transition as a bit of a project to keep us busy. Likewise, the KZbin channel has really helped us to keeping learning...we have not done anything like this before in our lives! We do find it hard to answer the question "what do you do?" as inevitably for 30 years we answered teachers. We just explain that we are early retired and people are very kind! What we really enjoy now is focusing on the roles that we know are so important, but often got neglected when fulfilling our working role. We devote a lot of time to our relationships, maintaining our health, learning new things and building memories together. Many thanks again, R.

[@alannorman1773]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust thanks for the reply. The declutterring must have been quite a therapeutic exercise for you both as part of the process. I’m interested as I am due to retire from my job as an NHS doctor at the end of March. The change of role is mentally proving to be quite a challenge but I think engaging in a process like this may help. Thanks again for such a thought provoking vlog. Sending you both best wishes from sunny Cheshire!

[@mikesoutside6559]

Great advice thanks, ive gone with the wait a couple of weeks before buying tactic for years on things I think I need and it gives you time to reflect if you want yet another thing cluttering your life! Also being content with less money is an important skill to learn as with my situation things are changing and I will be a sole parent in the future sadly, and looking at what you can do without by planning expenses is quite a reassuring and necessary process. In the end we all need way less than we have been led to believe and if one can break the cycle it becomes a very freeing and pleasant process even if through a difficult period. All the best and I hope you enjoy your time together very much

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Mike, apologies for taking our time to respond to your comment as we didn't know really how to start. We are so sorry for what you are going through, we cannot imagine having to deal with it. One thing that we do know is that human resilience is a truly great thing and you will get through the challenges ahead. We are glad that some of our thoughts resonated with you and we hope that you get similar things from our little channel in the future. The community that we have around us is such a strength and we feel privileged that you felt the motivation to leave a comment. Thanks again, Richard & Jackie

[@DoodahWest]

Great video thank you I early retired a year ago and am starting to feel hemmed in by "stuff" it's hard ... what did you do with old photos? I thought about photographing them again as I now use cloud storage so can dispose of old one but they are a tactile thing .. flipping boxes of my late dad's pictures ❤ any advise welcome and hope u2 continue to get out and enjoy life ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks - photos have probably been our nemesis - we still have albums full under the bed and a box full of loose ones. We did spend a lovely evening with a bottle of wine (or 2) with our adult children and go through them - about 1/2 got binned but like you say - I like touching them and looking through them occasionally. We do still print off a small yearly photo book as I am paranoid about the cloud losing all our files - at least we would have some memories!

[@DoodahWest]

@earlyretirementwanderlust what a great idea 💡an annual photo of life lived 😀 thank you have shared your videos with himself and we are going to clear our spare (but very full no room to move) room this weekend eek ... seeking headspace 😎

[@chrish9155]

Love your video! ❤That’s exactly what I want to do but don’t know if I have enough money to be able to afford early retirement?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@ianjames3078]

Love your style and approach. Subscribed.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Many thanks Ian. We are glad you enjoy what we do. Have a good one. 👍

[@reinmansmith]

All very sensible advice 👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you 😊

[@quentinsf]

I think if I ever had to put stuff in storage, I'd label each box. "This contains X,Y and Z. If you haven't needed to open before (date four years from now), discard without opening." 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Great idea! We love this. Really sensible minimalism. We thankfully have very little in storage at the moment- mainly hand made toys that my Dad made that we are holding on for any future grandchildren(!), our adventure gear like kayak and wetsuits, and our seasonal clothes that will not fit in the cottage. We found the decluttering experience really rewarding and we definitely got more brutal in our decisions as we did more of it. Less is definitely more! Thanks for comment. R

[@игорьигорь-ы5ш2я]

Really inspiring! Thank you

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

You are welcome. Many thanks for reaching out and leaving a comment.

[@traceyelliott2902]

Sound advice!

[@stuartdouce]

i retired from teaching at 47. was a great decision to get into teaching but an even better decision to leave 20 years later.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We really enjoyed our time teaching and were at our last schools for over 15 years - I miss the kids and school life but not the government interference and constant changes in policy - all now a distant memory!

[@lanodramallama]

I admire what you're doing, but I think it would be tough to emulate for those of us who had children later in life, which is something of a growing trend I think. Add to that the quintupling of house prices in the past 30 years, while the average salary has doubled, and you can see it will be nigh on impossible for successive generations to cash in on their real estate, because they simply won't have any. I do think that retiring early is a state of mind and can be achieved anyway, but your position, partly by dint of demographics, is quite privileged. I'm not suggesting you haven't worked hard. But hard work is only just paying the bills for most right now. Good luck to you, and I hope you do inspire more people to jump off that treadmill. I certainly plan to follow roughly in your footsteps. I'm about one generation behind you, and also in a more fortunate position than many, for which I'm grateful. Cheers.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Sadly for many, including our children, you are right. When we embarked on our teaching careers we did not realise just how lucky we were with our pension! Good luck to you x

[@Lizapendleton]

What a helpful video! Do you have a little car as well as your van?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

I have a fiat 500 that we sometimes have with us in Yorkshire but my son uses it most of the time as we are away so much.

[@chilldutchie8166]

We’re in process of downsizing, not so much as you have but healthcare in US is soooo $$$. $1500/2 healthy adults. 😩 so I continue working as a travel nurse which allows me more time off but not easy.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Oh wow- that is such an expense...we have no idea of those costs in the UK. It must make any form of retirement really challenging? A lot of people try to knock our National Health Service in the UK, but whenever our family has been in need it has been there for us. We are very grateful for what we have. Richard & Jackie

[@Nordkapp65]

Now that we are in our mid-late fifties, with one son still living with us, we are consciously trying to stop adding to Xmas decorations and trying to put less up in the attic each year. Each Friday is email unsubscribe day, at least one subscription is novated. Amazon has been great for tools, led lights and incredibly cheaper than bricks and mortar shops, but this year I do Amazon free days, how many days can I get without a purchase of items in my basket

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Our new house has a great solution to the attic problem - it is unusable so completely empty still - we are not going to board it so there will be no temptations! Mum did remind me that we may have decluttered but I still have a few craft boxes at her house. Living in the Dales is great, there are no shops to buy stuff!

[@Nordkapp65]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust that's the key, no shops no clutter!

[@karenwaddilove7671]

Hope you don’t mind me asking how do you afford to live if no longer working? We want to do this but worry how we can 😮

[@Shinycoat]

Good question. Perhaps a video around the numbers associated with budgets, yearly expenditure, income etc. might be something you guys could go into a little bit more depth on?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Down sizing and being mortgage free, owning our van and car outright is a massive help- we worked really hard in the years leading up to our early retirement to clear these big debts. Our monthly outgoings are now a fraction of what they used to be so we can live off savings and a bit of our equity. We know we are extremely lucky and fortunate to have a teachers pension we can access at 55 with a lump sum each to replace the savings we will have spent. We always included this in our plans. We did retire a few years earlier than we had originally planned after family tragedy in 2021, but have never regretted our choices. Using a weekly cash budget really helps to keep us on track. Some weeks are easier than others!!! We fund a lot of our travels from freelance writing, but campervan travel is relatively cheap compared to other adventures.

[@karenwaddilove7671]

Thanks so much for being so open.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

@karenwaddilove7671 hope it helped a little

[@Robonthemoor]

Be nice to see your budget.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

In essence we are now living on £2K per month. This covers everything. We have fixed costs of £700/month, and look to target a weekly spend of £200 cash is king for food, fuel, campsites, coffees out etc. This leaves us with a bit of slush for the inevitable unexpected expenses. We are managing to stick to this at the moment. We get a small income from freelance travel writing and KZbin that supplements our savings. We keep this income in a separate pot that funds our travel adventures. If there are no funds...we do not travel! Please note as part of our clearing of debts in the run up to ER we paid off the campervan so we only have service and fuel costs for Nelson- which we are really grateful for. Hope this detail helps? We are by no means experts on this, we are just muddling though and checking our plans are on track each and every month. We don't think there is a blueprint for this, as everyone's circumstances, values and aspirations are different. Thanks, R&J