Retirement Advice

If possible two cars are a good idea.
DH goes away a few days each month to visit his family and I need to get out to choirs and to visit my local family whilst he is away.
My car costs me very little, just tax and insurance plus annual service and may also add some extra costs eg new tyres. I shall keep it going as long as I can, then replace it, probably with an electric one or a hybrid.
I use my bus pass a lot though as we have an excellent service into town.

I would also add that we have cut our food costs by shopping at Aldi for many things, but we also shop at local independent shops which are not cheap, but the produce is good quality and we like to support them.

This really made me laugh.we own our house outright ... so no rent. We live on 2 state pensions which is about £14.000. No car... no holidays for passed 12 years... and sorrowfully no repairs can get done to house. If it breaks , it stays broke .... bit like us really!, Enjoy your £30.000 a year.... you’ve no doubt earth it. Of course it’ll be enough!

Saggi, I really can't believe you are only scraping by. £14,000 after tax would be wonderful to me and I run a car, go on lovely holidays and eat extremely well.
Where does your money go?

I have no advice to offer but do wish you a happy and healthy retirement!

Well we live quite comfortably on less then that. You want to consider Brexit and how food and bills may be more expensive.

As everyone says £30000 is more than adequate. Make sure buses are nearby. We do well on less than that and find we save a bit - what for I do not know!!! Good luck.

£30,000? Sheesh! I never earned that much when I worked full time, let alone retired on. Just a state retirement pension here I'm afraid.

Yawn.

Yes people survive on less

But the OP doesnt want to just survive does she?

I have not only lived on half of 30k but have done it with kids to support.

Would I chose to do it again? NO

It was so scary only having enough for day to day food/bills knowing that there was no safety net for unexpected expenses!

Its sad to always have to say no to anything that'll cost money.

30k is comfortable. But its not exactly rolling in it!

It is enough to have some luxuries if you are sensible.

There was a recent article in Money Mail which suggested a couple needs £24.000 pa for a comfortable retirement which includes running one car, one holiday a year and the odd meal out. For a more luxurious lifestyle ( several holidays a year , a new car every 3 years, eating out once a week) you need £39.000.
Of course it all depends on where you live, and your shopping habits etc....

My husbands pensions give us £1500 a month - I won’t get my state pension for another six years. I earn part time £150 a week. We don’t have any problem managing and we aren’t frugal I.e. we eat out quite a bit. The only thing we don’t have is enough for long haul holidays.

As previous posters have said, 30k net will buy you a reasonably comfortable lifestyle. If you want to travel and have 5* tastes, you will need to allow another £10k or maybe more. I'm another one saying try to manage with one car. We've managed very well with one for years.

I hope you enjoy the next chapter of your life.

Many young families have much less than £30 000 a year after tax and manage ok.
You will live very comfortably on that and I wish you well in your retirement.

We live on less than 30K and run 2 cars, one of the cars is only £30 tax and is cheap to run. We have plenty of days out costing no more than the petrol and cakes and coffee when we stop. We have several breaks, at least 2 longer ones and at least one two day break a month.

It will all depend on the area you live in, we live in the South West near Bristol and Wales. In our little town we have excellent Doctors, new library, leisure centre, transport links and outdoor space and find we live her comfortably within our means.

We returned from France last July after 10 years. We returned on the birth of our only Grandson. We bought a house and have no mortgage. My husband has retired and I have a private pension (I retire next year). We have £27,000 per annum. It’s a good process to go through.
We realise that we are better off than most and we do not have an extravagant lifestyle. We do have 2 dogs, a cat, 2 horses and 12 chickens ..free eggs! Good luck!

Plumcushion I've just looked at my household accounts for last year.
We spent £7K on food, alcohol, cleaning materials etc.
£5.6K on council tax, water, energy costs, phone, TV licence, insurance
£3.5K on transport costs - running 2 cars, trainfares, taxi fares, parking costs.
£2.5 K on house maintenance.
These are all more or less fixed costs. I don't shop at the cheapest supermarkets because they're too far away, but I don't waste food and I mainly cook from scratch. We still live in the family home in the north of England.

All the other items are discretionary spending, and very much dependent on your own choices and lifestyle.

Clothes & personal costs
travel & holidays
Entertainment & days out, meals out
Donations to charity
Christmas and birthday gifts.

Hope that helps.

To be honest, if we were managing to live on £14k/ year I would be amazed that a couple with £30k were wondering if they could manage on more than twice that.

If you are used to living on £60 then it looks scary.
I don’t know where plumcushion has been living, maybe somewhere nice but perhaps one of those countries where life isn’t pleasant. Abroad doesn’t always mean fabulous.

I wish you could all have at least £30k but life has never been
the same for everyone, some are lucky, some are born into wealth and some work bloody hard. Some work bloody hard but don’t get the breaks. Life isn’t fair.

30k EACH is beginning to getting into "well off" territory in the UK.

But a joint incoms of 30K is 15k per person which isnt a high income per person in the UK

Just because others have less, doesnt make £30k between 2 a lot!

It seems a lot to me?

My thoughts are that you know how much your budget is and have to be satisfied with a lifestyle that fits within that budget

Our combined income after tax is £42 000 approx. We have no mortgage but have an interest free car loan at the moment. We can live quite comfortably on that amount. Husband is disabled now so holidays a bit curtailed but we eat out and are able to go to the theatre occasionally . Can also be quite generous to adult children and grandchildren at birthdays etc. Worry about Nursing Home fees but hopefully we’ll not need them. Also there will be a big drop in income when one of us dies.

DH and I live in rural North Yorkshire - 4 bed detached with 2 cars. Would put our essential annual expenses for food and to run cars and house at £14,000/ 15,000 not allowing for house repairs/ improvements or clothes etc.. That should give you an idea or confirm what others have said.

Macgran you are very well off indeed on that .
Count your blessings , you should be living a very luxurious life on that income.
Well done to you to achieve that.

We have something called Groupon which has a lot of cheap weekend breaks both in UK and overseas. There is a good section on city breaks. We have stayed in many 4 star hotels with spa for weekend with breakfast and evening meals for £199. Things like this stretch money further. You could also consider getting a btl and renting out. The first £12,500 each is tax free. You can also deduct some expenses for repairsxand upkeep. Interest in banks is very poor in UK. If you have pot of money also it will depend on how long you live. If you have money or a house you will currently have to pay own care home if you need it at any point in future. Buy a house near a GP with not too long waiting list. You can ask their average waiting time for non urgent appointment. It varies hugely. We wait about 5 days but my inlaws wait almost 3 weeks.

I've found this thread very interesting and informative. I've lived in the UK all my life and at 63 am pondering the same questions as the OP. I think that when you are working full time there is a strong urge to do things that cost a lot of money in your leisure time whereas in retirement perhaps you get a lot of pleasure out of simpler pleasures like gardening?