You need LESS than you think! A Step-by-Step Guide!

[@2GoRoam]

Hey everyone, thank you for the great comments. Some of the comments misunderstood Fixed assuming this mean that this cost is required. Fixed in this context is they the sum is the same each month regardless of whether it is discretionary or required. Also note that this is an example. These are unrelated to what we spend on. We want you to use this as a catalyst to put your own numbers in. This includes healthcare of course. This simple example is put together to nudge your thinking. As the weeks go on, the deeper we will go. We realise that the depth we are going to be heading towards isn’t for everyone, we want to help people that were in the position we were in before we took finance seriously. If that's you, you're in the right place.

[@davesfc1]

0:41 😢😊😊😊oh

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

I retired at 53 with £500k. It's absolutely doable. If you're a homely person who like to be at home mostly, you'll also find that you'll spend less. Even if you're the type to sit in read in the park etc., you'll spend very little. £65/month for internet?? Could cut that in half by shopping around. If you have a TV for live broadcasts, don't forget the license fee. I don't think you'll need to spend £100/month on clothes either. One thing I've found is I prefer to do the cleaning and gardening myself as it's something to do because you won't be always out and doing the more leisurely things. Plus it's good for fitness.

[@tomwright5738]

Is that £500k per month or per year to live that sort of lifestyle?

[@MaryannCn]

Sarah! You’re back and you look fantastic! I saw your pinned comment. I think the main takeaway is (1) run your own numbers because of course this list is not covering every possible cost and (2) most people will naturally need less money in retirement. That’s great news! It’s a reminder not to fixate on what you need today, but what you’ll truly need tomorrow. I can only speak for Americans, and I would say whatever you think your healthcare costs in retirement will be, multiple it by 3-4x. Elderly people have more serious dental issues and none of it is covered by Medicare. Neither are routine vision exams or glasses/contacts. If you need home health (to cook, clean, or help with bathing, etc), it’s only covered by your state if your income is below a certain level and even then, there’s a waiting list, often years long. If you have to go into assisted living, it’s astronomically expensive. Finally though 🎉 prescription medication costs are supposed to be capped next year at $2k annually out of pocket for people on Medicare. But who knows if that law will remain depending on the results of the election.

[@newlife8318]

I absolutely 💯 agree agree with you on medical costs! I knew it would be intense but didn't expect them to kick in so early! In Australia our hospital system has flattened since Covid so you cannot guarantee a government funded surgery even if you are quite ill. You cannot guarantee getting treated for a heart attack or stroke either because of ambulance ramping. Or a broken hip. You very much feel you are on your own. I suppose we all are as we get older. But we learn to accept these things. We are no longer as important as we think we are when we have jobs. It is lovely not working!

[@MarcIverson]

@@newlife8318 What is ambulance ramping?

[@MarcIverson]

That's my main problem with this video. Nothing for increased medical costs. Which themselves will increase over time.

[@nicobass1966]

Love it and thanks very much, done this myself many times and it's scary to be begin with but when you work things out it's not so bad facing into retirement and I'm planning this for next year at 59, looking forward to the next videos, cheers Nick

[@mauroaurelio6534]

Hi Neil&Sarah, thanks for your video. Very interesting. I have watched you with interest from your trauma in Greece to the Thai "C" incident. I am past retirement age....and still working - fear of pulling the trigger AND have not worked out what to do!!!Besides I did not start saving until 50! I think thnk the basics food/shelter/energy/tranport are the essentials and now we should have those covered...its the ACTIVITY in retirement that I am struggling with...agree with Sarah..the discretionary stuff is VERY important ...i have travelled a bit, lived abroad for decades...now back in the terrible UK climate, but as my son pointed out who travels a lot for work, Turkey, Spain, USA etc. he said often he sees "retirees" in those places in small groups in cafes/bars etc. and has the impresion they just drift around eating and drinking....of course its just an "impresion", and in the end, he said (he lives in Swizerland) UK does have a lot to offer culturally castles, national trust, amazing museums like York and tons of fascinating history...and at least you can get away by plane fairly cheaply. So the discretionary stuff would be for us most important - hobbies/interests etc. to preserve metal sanity! Its just ...what!? Wish you both health & happiness.

[@FlorentGulliver]

Amazing video, A friend of mine referred me to a financial adviser sometime ago and we got talking about investment and money. I started investing with $120k and in the first 2 months , my portfolio was reading $274,800. Crazy right!, I decided to reinvest my profit and gets more interesting. For over a year we have been working together making consistent profit just bought my second home 2 weeks ago and care for my family.

[@ЕленаФирсова-ц6м]

I’ve been forced to find additional sources of income as I got retrenched. I barely have time to continue trading and watch my investments since I had my second daughter. Do you think I should take a break for a while from the market and focus on other things or return whenever I have free time or is it a continuous process? Thanks.

[@ЕленаФирсова-ц6м]

@@FlorentGulliver Oh please I’d love that. Thanks!

[@FlorentGulliver]

@@ЕленаФирсова-ц6м MARGARET MOLLI ALVEY

[@FlorentGulliver]

Lookup with her name on the webpage.

[@ЕленаФирсова-ц6м]

@@FlorentGulliver Great , i will do that now . Thanks for sharing

[@janellr6321]

Never disappoint. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[@2GoRoam]

Ahhh thanks Janell!

[@robertcroft2905]

Spending £800 on groceries and £270 eating out and £100 on takeaways is wild. We are a family of 4 and we regularly spend less than £600 a month on food...

[@JBLegal09]

Agreed, in Australia grocery prices are higher, as for eating out and takeaway, I think the more you're at home the more you cook. So my budget as a single Aussie would be $AUD600/month (£320).

[@deborahb.277]

It might depend on where you live and if you have dietary issues.

[@odnilniloc]

Totally agree. We are a family of 3 and I eat as close to 100% meat as possible and our monthly food bill would be around €5-600. We live in Ireland btw.

[@billhambelton7698]

Many years ago went out to dinner with an old college friend who jad retired. They asked me if i had considered doing the same. I relied by sayimg that i couldn't possibly afford it. She then said something that has stuck with me. ' youll always spend less in retirement than you expect'. Roll on a few years and i was made redundant just before COVID and decided to take early retirement on 3 db schemes. Low and behold her words were spot on and im very happily managing on much less.

[@darrenholden7447]

Might I ask what sort of ballpark is much less?

[@Walk-retirement-travel]

I have this same experience. My current monthly spend is 7k American every month. My biggest expenses is mortgage, car payment, will have car paid off soon. In 3 years I’m retiring I will still have a mortgage for many more years. My next biggest monthly expenses is Food. I’m always looking at my list and looking for ways to lower or do away with a bill. Like Netflix etc. I discovered long ago the only way to save is pay yourself first. Then figure the rest out. Life comes at you hard and if you don’t pay yourself first next thing you know at the end of the month stuff happens and now you didn’t save anything

[@deborahb.277]

Wise words. I live in Southern California and I spend about $4500. I try to be thrifty, but home repairs always kill my budget.

[@markpowellmp]

My budget was split 2 ways Non discretionary & discretionary and it totalled to £3000 pretty much equally split It allowed for 3 x 1 weeks holidays to Spain for us £150 private health Mortgage paid Both retired 66 on full basic state pensions a year ago I don’t think we have any money worries but I’m not going to spend my life worrying about it if we go out with nothing = result!

[@mrplodge1]

This is another world to me although I only have 1 bed home and total monthly direct debits is £400. Then add on food maybe£60 a week. Then have 300 a week to spend on anything I want like 6 months of holidays. Amazes me what people waste their money on

[@VivaciousOM]

“10-11 minutes of gambling” was so funny! Great video all around. Love the lemon water, too!

[@davidhumphries3614]

It’s a good analysis and as you say, everyone is different. I’m in the lucky position of having 3DB schemes cutting in at 65 and one I will start next year having recently retired. This does skew the analysis as there will be a much higher drawdown rate from my and my wife’s DC schemes from 61-65, if for no other reason to get the money out of the pension pots at 20% marginal tax. I did an estimate of retirement spend by taking the prior year’s actual spend and removing work costs. That gave ongoing spend at around £4.5k pm albeit with some nice holidays.

[@malcolmlowe9722]

Great video, very practical. Looking forward to the drawdown model

[@deborahb.277]

All makes great sense. Thanks.

[@markandannette]

Common sense approach to retirement budget guys, must be flexible and willing to change the variable costs if needed. It really is all about expenses and spending on what really matters when time are tough. Your video confirms what Annette and I have talked about for so long

[@KathAhern]

Thanks for your practical tips and for simplifying things, with a bit of welcome humour :) Look forward to your weekly updates 🙂

[@johnristheanswer]

Very good. I'd put Gas and Electricity should be classed as a fixed cost , not variable. Via direct debit you build up a kitty in the summer which gets you through the winter. Much better to budget monthly that way.

[@johnsonajayi7846]

Gas and Electricity are variable costs because they change monthly based on usage.

[@johnristheanswer]

@johnsonajayi7846 Usage is variable, I agree. That wasn't my point, however.

[@dodgeysolenoid5567]

Why would you need a cleaner if you're now retired?

[@jagman999]

Nice to have both of you on screen

[@clivehall5829]

Thanks for another great informative video, you guys are right up our street and we cant wait for the next two instalments. Could i ask what is the situation with your motorhome please?

[@stewartmacdonald601]

Nice video, and a good explanation of budgeting. Although, I am quite sure that you have missed something there. And to be honest, every single video I see like this does the same. And that's the car payment. Sure, you may well wish to keep your car much longer in retirement. However, everyone seems to miss the fact that you are potentially retiring for 30 years. I mean, if you are retiring at 55, you are probably hoping to live until at least 85. Now you might not be fit to drive at 85. But you might be. I see very fit and sharp people at 85 who are perfectly able to still drive at that age. And how many people nowadays are driving around in 30-35 year old cars? Some do, and that's great. But as you age further, you will be less able to do work yourself to keep them on the road, and at some point, the maintenance costs of running the older car will go beyond the cost to replace. Thus as you go on, your car maintenance budget will likely need to increase if you are to continue with the same car. So, are you likely to keep the same car for 30 years? I suspect not. You say there you plan to keep your car for 10 years. And that being the case, you may need 3 cars for your 30 years of retirement, but you have not budgeted anything for this. Whilst you wont likely need the same monthly budget you did to keep up with a 4 or 5 year car replacement cycle, you WILL need something budgeted none the less for a 10 year car replacement cycle. Just something else to consider.

[@newlife8318]

Excellent points. I find local mechanics very handy to help you work this through....mind you, the really good ones tend to be a bit older as well!

[@travellinman382]

Another great video! Good information. Without a mortgage and less discretionary costs, it is much easier to afford retirement.

[@jcm9356]

Good content. For most UK residents (and I guess the US and other countries as well) two state pensions/Social Security cover a good portion of the luxury lifestyle and all of the retirement lite options.

[@resterAnonyme]

I looked up what Council Tax is and I think it closer aligns with property tax in the U.S.

[@2GoRoam]

Thank you for clarifying.

[@whyme5024]

Excellent, thank you. Better start cutting back the luxury items like gym, subscription to everything, cloths etc at least a couple of years before planned retirement as a trial. Helps reduce anxiety and improves confidence. Also focus on health via life style/eating/exercise. It is not fun to be unhealthy in golden years.

[@damiangrouse4564]

some of items can be moved from the category they are in. for example GYM can be eliminated...buy a bike or walk an hour a day, buy a 100LB weight set and/or rubber bands and do contrast shower maybe consider a red light panel after some research. lets face it very few of us can get full benefit from a membership other than a case of MRSA from the dirty equipment...I'm retired OR nurse and I've seen many debridements surgeries for just that reason.

[@KharmaComa123]

Very insightful video. I know this video is high level however would suggest considering impacts of inflation.

[@puppetsnippets6830]

Loved this, I am just looking at this right now. I love that you are realistic for lower numbers and not smug about having saved enough. As artists we will be relying on the state pension with a bit extra from other savings. We never had huge earnings to save from. There are so many people like us who have lived the dream of being professional artists throughout our lives, but the reality is we have always budgeted like this and wouldn’t change a thing.

[@666cowie]

When I see the list of expenses the first big hiter for me is the mortgage. Assuming that's gone by retirement your final figure drops by £300,000 to 1.2 Million which could be a few years earlier to acheive.

[@andrewrobinson2565]

Really enjoyed this one. Thanks 🙏+1.

[@ijharley68]

I’m just early retired and our monthly costs are closer to £5k, rather than £3k. We have a dog and a 22 year old still at home. There is no way that our costs will ever be £3k per month (no mortgage or loans) even when our son moves out.

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Is your son not contributing to the household costs?

[@ijharley68]

I would prefer that he saves for his first flat.

[@reekie19]

I guess that shows you how no one else can say how much you need to retire, as we all live to different means. You need to work it out for yourself.

[@newlife8318]

How long can you afford to do this?

[@davidhumphries3614]

I came to £4.5k, once my daughter leaves college next year.

[@Walk-retirement-travel]

I enjoy this video and content. Everyone has expenses that they have to pay. It’s interesting to see how other people do there budgets and ways they think about prioritizing what they do

[@SpecialReserve]

Removing the PCP on a car and a mortgage is a huge saving. I was laid off but fortunately with a payout, but we have have been able to make do with £1.2k a month, from that. We are not looking to retire early, and are also fortunate to have 2 small pension. Once I become eligible for retirement things will improve greatly. But £1.2k is really feasible, as the small pensions are used to add to a contingency fund for unknown expenses, so not really used month on month.

[@drewsykes8152]

What about inflation over 25 years?

[@TheFirstRealChewy]

Just remember that your property tax and homeowners insurance isn't a part of your mortgage. That said, I do my calculations with the assumed spending in retirement, not spending today. So I already account for the house being paid off, etc. I still have a long way to go.

[@ollie1317]

I am 50 and hope tro retire at 58 or hopefully a bit earlier.Circumstances dictate i wont be able to travel,have a disabled daughter and also a wife with MS so want to be available when needed for them for hospital trips etc.I think my budget can be far more modest than most peoples. I am at the stage of just saving as much as i can into company pension and cash and hoping for best and haven't yet done this kind of detailed budgeting. Although i dont necessarily know what exactly i spend on each thing i know exactly how much i currently have after tax,pension cons,savings etc each month, A few costs can be cut but fuel will go up as the beach is too far away, but i can tramp it in van for a few days if need to! I think my basic needs are pretty easily achievable from pension pot so long as i can keep my job till i decide to jack it in.Premium bond wins here and there will hopefully add some extra luxuries.Assuming i am still fit theres always the possibility of a bit of part time in winter if i need more, just got to be brave and go for it at some point i reckon.My relative modest lifestyle actually makes it easier for me than most that have to accept substantial lifestyle cuts to retire i reckon.

[@yanmamabear5734]

In the USA, for a house, you will typically have mortgage, property tax, home insurance, and some times HOA. Some times older people have their home fully paid off, so that would eliminate mortgage during retirement.

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Plus in the US, you can get 30 fixed rate mortgages at very low rates. These products are not yet available in the UK.

[@debmitch1781]

You should have the goal of paying off your mortgage before you retire.

[@FrankieBr]

looking forward to the next two videos. great work.

[@craigrethman5014]

Its impossible to budget further out than about 3 years given the inflationary environment we are now in - some of the prices I have seen recently are shocking...

[@millionaire2billionaire]

QQ, don't you need to add the cost of housing if you are travelling? Also you may have higher cost for life / health / travel insurance? In the US, we have to pay for health insurance, mine through work is around $700/month + $6000 annual deductible for me and my husband. If I don't work, that will cost around $2000/month for same coverage... I am worry about insurance costs and that's why I am still working. Travelling requires costs to get around (renting a car / motorcycle / air tickets etc). Could you share your life / health / travel insurance coverage and costs? Current living expeneses around $70-80k/year, expect drop to $54k/year if not working and we rent out the house and live somewhere with lower rent.

[@sonjak2395]

I just realized that I probably could 🫣 that‘s a bit scary 😅…

[@RedLaurie21]

I like them both 👍🏻

[@tootietatum8737]

Excellent as always.

[@1st1shot]

Council tax would be property tax in the USA, yeah?

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Yep!

[@albedo0point39]

Its interesting that two full stste pensions come to around £1900/month… so the extra funds you need at 4% come down to around £120k

[@BoninBrighton]

Well yes but as additional income to other pensions/investments then it’s more like £1400 the a couple. It’s £900 every 4 weeks with £200 in 20% tax which is taken from other pensions.

[@albedo0point39]

@@BoninBrighton I was looking at the minimal/lite example. Yep, tax needs to be considered.

[@jagman999]

Let’s hope the state pension survives beyond current retirees

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

@@BoninBrighton And if you do it within an ISA, you don't even pay any tax :)

[@BoninBrighton]

@@OneAndOnlyMe the state pension tax is taken from other income …

[@JennyKoh-gi4py]

I am 61 and I would like to retire. I am putting my budget together to see what my monthly costs are. But i am so scared to pull the pin and retire. I wish I prepare 5 years prior and save as much as possible to build more into retirement fund. What about living on the investment earnings only without depleting the principal retirement pot.

[@petergorton6618]

Costs have rocketed since covid and the Ukraine war, putting more pressure to raise retirement funds - especially as so many Russians and Ukrainians have fled to Southeast Asia causing housing and food increases. Geoarbitrage is harder than before. Many thanks for all your videos - amusing and informative ☺️

[@Savannah-ed4rv]

I believe your council tax would be similar to our property tax here in the US.

[@nickcastings1568]

Only a little add on but if you have a £75 a month sky subscription, remember by law you have to buy a tv licence, it’s a BBC scam but it’s the law!

[@dac545j]

I disagree that it is a scam. £169.50 a year for all that TV/radio programming?

[@nickcastings1568]

@@dac545j maybe it wouldn’t be a scam if the programmes we have paid for did not got repeated so often!

[@MarcIverson]

You must figure in increased and ever-increasing medical costs, at least for most countries in the world. They don't stay static and indeed then can catastrophically increase ... and not just for an acute problem that then goes away, but for a chronic one that will haunt you to one degree or another for the rest of your life.

[@TheFirstRealChewy]

One of the most expensive things you get is something that has a reoccurring expense.

[@Lulu-1212]

@2GoRoam hi, I wanted to ask what is your plan after the 10 years of travel? As you mentioned you have sold your house? I’m not sure if you have covered my question in one of your video or not? Ps I’m enjoying the advice and your journey 😊

[@kayeh6186]

Did you set up your travel site? Can you please tell me where to find it. I've been retired 10 years, money sorted, I just want to see pretty places.

[@AG-so4gl]

Geo Arbitrage all the way 😊

[@resultuk9700]

What's happened to the Motor Home???

[@Myminimalistlife_x]

Hello - I mentioned you guys on my channel this week as I was curious about your travel, but also, how do you plan to live when you finish your travels. Some of my viewers are also fans of your channel. I was wondering, do you plan to buy a place in a lower cost area once you return to the UK after 10 years? Just curious as I am doing the same at some point, and love hearing the ideas.

[@JH-me]

I don’t understand all this pension stuff .. I only have a Civil Service pension which at the moment pays me £6,000 pa 🤷‍♀️.

[@resultuk9700]

Your not the only one they don't either 😢

[@wildnfrantic1015]

I'm due to retire shortly, at 60, also on a civil service pension. I'm sure I'll be ok as half the expenses people mention are alien to me. Thankfully, I'm mortgage and debt free

[@kaymilstead4374]

Budget seems too light. Appreciate two can live more cheaply but no allowance for pets, pet insurance, pet food, annual jabs etc. Allowance seems insufficient for repairs and one off replacement items in UK. No contingency or pocket money allowance, minimal toiletries . Sounds a bit like a miserable existence rather than an enjoyable retirement.

[@ayfisher8943]

And that is why they have mentioned multiple times that we can adapt this model according to our personal expenses so there is nothing stopping us from adding pet insurances etc onto the costs section and then calculating what we need for retirement. I believe miserable existence is unfortunately what we have been conditioned to i.e working and working and paying bills and still not properly enjoying life. If you love your job that’s great. But imagine how much cooler it would be if you don’t have to work to pay bills and then continue doing your job that you love if you wanted .. just for the love of it!😊

[@nickd1973]

Probably going to need to be a larger pension pot as there will be some tax on the withdrawals

[@drygulch100]

If you need £900,000 to retire ... £3,000 a month your income each month from state pension would be £840 + any pensions you recieve so it isn't really £900,000. Also at 84 will you be driving, skiiing & all associated activities ?

[@jenniferlowery7170]

We live in the United States and you didn’t include state and Federal income taxes, property and auto insurance, and health care insurance.

[@36KIKAPU]

They did talk about property and car insurance. NO need for Health Insurance in the UK. Taxes may not even apply if the Investments/Savings are fully within ISA's

[@jimmyhvy2277]

Inflation will Blow all of this Out Of The Water !

[@resultuk9700]

Well said Sir

[@36KIKAPU]

they are assuming some form of growth on their investments. Throughout history the markets have produced greater than 4% growth even when you take inflation into account.

[@SandraT1107]

Somewhat alarmed by the 500K comments. We have far less... Also surely we are not the only ones with other family dependents?

[@sheilarudkin4584]

Mobile phone contracts?

[@porschecarreras992cabriole8]

To retire early but have enough money just to stay home is not retirement but imprisonment. Either you have enough to enjoy or work another few years. I am working now to have enough to buy and maintain a yacht in the Med. and I would rather achieve this goal than retire now and not have what I want in my free years

[@davidhumphries3614]

I think this comes down to what you want as an individual. Many years ago, I met a couple on holiday who always went to the same place and spent 2 weeks reading on their balcony. I’m sure that retiring and staying home reading would have been their idea of heaven. He was a don at St Anthony’s at Oxford.

[@porschecarreras992cabriole8]

@ true we are all individuals after all. Just reading books in a balcony is not my idea of enjoying life.

[@Mens-Wisdom]

1.5m to spend 5k a month is wrong, unless you have a special deal with hmrc.

[@davidhumphries3614]

I reckon that comes out at around a 4.5-5% yield. Split the taxable income equally with a reasonable proportion in ISA’s and it’s not unreasonable. It becomes comfortable once the state pension kicks in.

[@rickelliott3277]

Audio?

[@weareallamericans7358]

In America the Trap is Health Insurance Cost 🤑 which is Tied to your Job So Retire Early And you go broke 🤮

[@reubenjuster627]

Remember Labour have already stated they plan to make pensions means tested. So no one can assume the state pension will be there for them

[@RobinHood-us7sg]

That’s just BS that the tories spread 👍🏻

[@reubenjuster627]

@@RobinHood-us7sg from the new finance minister

[@sid35gb]

Tory propaganda jog on.

[@JamesKerr-z4o]

Even if pensions are means tested at some point by any government, the levels talked about in the video wouldn’t be affected. Why not means test pensions? Anyone with net wealth of say £10,000,000 surely doesn’t need a state pension. Let’s be bold and say £5,000,000. On a 4% rule £5,000,000 of investments gives £200,000 a year of income. It’s worth asking the question to Rishi, will he take his pension for life since he is no longer Prime Minister, surely if he is worth £700,000,000 he really doesn’t need it.

[@reubenjuster627]

@@JamesKerr-z4o who knows what they will set it at. I'm simply stating that the new government have stated all benefits should be means tested whilst also stating the pension is the most expensive benefit the country pays out. It's strange how simply stating facts and that people shouldn't assume a state pension is there for them in the future causes such angst it's not like it's my decision.

[@Walk-retirement-travel]

Where is the cell phone

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Ah, that could be wrapped up in the internet costs, possibly why it's £65.

[@sid35gb]

Sim only plan unlimited calls and text, 25tb data about £10

[@johng3292]

Why are steaming services on the fixed side? Just do some binge-watching of shows you wanna see and cancel that subscription asap. A Gym, membership!? Cancel that also because when you need to keep up the garden and cleaning the whole house you will have enough exercise, just don't eat to much sugars and fats.

[@drackkor725]

Thankfully I didn't gain anything from this video. So many people lack common sense savings skills. Also retiring in America most people always have a medical insurance payment.

[@resultuk9700]

Who did they talk utter bsht people in UK think there Delusional 😢

[@paulr1]

Missing health insurence here, and other health costs

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

Yes, but it'll be at the lower marginal 20% which won't be much after personal allowance.

[@36KIKAPU]

No Health Insurance required in the UK.

[@stephengiles8526]

Great video. I was going to retire at 58 but 1.5 years ago did the figures and stopped work at 55 even though I have 2 kids still under 18. No mortgage, no debt, no car payments and no work! Best decision I have made. Last year I spent more than when I was working but have about £1k more than when I started due to my sipp doing well in Vanguard. My wife is 10 years younger and still working and we are saving so she can finish at around 55 as well when the time comes. We both pay equal amounts into our budget and both save the same into our main savings for family holidays etc. I keep my pension totally separate to our main savings as my future wage packets 🙂.

[@CoreyLloydo]

The incompetence and corruption that runs through this administration are getting more ridiculous. I feel for people with disabilities not getting the help they deserve. Thank you Leah Foster Alderman, imagine investing $1.5k and receiving $6.5k in 4 days.

[@RhysHuntoffice]

That woman totally changed my life for good. I have come across individuals but none is as honest as Leah. So surprised you know her too.

[@TheKhurrem100]

But over years leading to the year of retirement..all the costs will rise with inflation or otherwise.. so the numbers are not realistic. However, I could be wrong if I've missed something.

[@lissajeri1492]

Yoohoo....you failed to budget for medical care. And if you say that's under insurances, your estimate is terribly low And...it appears you budget only for couples with no children or grandchildren. We might not eat out as much, but we do have to budget for family get-togethers, weddings, etc

[@OneAndOnlyMe]

The family get togethers don't actually cost me much. There is some cost for kid's birthdays but we stop doing that at 18 and we tend not to do anything big for adult birthdays, we treat ourselves instead. Weddings, if it's going to be expensive, I decline the invite. Health insurance is a tricky one. Serious illness, probably going to need NHS anyway, but still maybe worth having for some of the minor things that may come up. Although you hear lots of complaints about NHS waiting lists etc. for the most part you will be treated and now we have a Labour government, they've pledged to cut the waiting lists.

[@sid35gb]

They’re in the U.K. healthcare is free at point of access. The cost comes out of wages as national insurance. American healthcare is price gouged also the NHS will not buy drugs that don’t work 54% of new cancer drugs don’t work so it gets controversial when drugs get rejected and the cancer charities shilling for pharmaceutical companies start complaining.

[@anthonyrthomasuk]

You don't need health insurance in the UK

[@lissajeri1492]

​@@anthonyrthomasuk yes, but if you follow this dynamic duo, you know they have a lot of US and Aussie followers. So non-UK readers have to factor in family and medical costs into the plan. You CAN trim significantly in retirement...I've been retired for 10 years...but you have to take personal situations into consideration

[@lissajeri1492]

​@@OneAndOnlyMeForgive me, but you sound like you're a me-and-only-me kinda person. For some people, family get togethers can be a significant consideration by the number of children and grands. Just not go to a wedding? Lovely...but what if you're the parents of the bride or groom. Only saying, for some people, the budget has other line items.

[@himchannel3624]

What the f r u talkin’ about. Hard economic times are ahead for everybody anyway. Learn new skills and work as long as you can!

[@cseosborn892]

Are you actually physically fitter now that you’re retired? Constant travelling usually means that you don’t eat so healthily in my experience. Also, how reliable and consistent is your exercise routine?