Have you got to this stage of life ?

I've lived on the breadline for years and managed by not having a car or holidays or treats, but it's been fine because living in Cornwall is a daily joy in so many ways anyway. The beaches are free. However, a strange turn of events means I now have some extra funds so I can afford to take trains to places, go to the cinema and buy decent shoes and M&S salmon. 😂

If you need a carehome grandMattie, you will get one, whether you have savings or not.

It might not be the one you would choose if you were paying yourself, but you won’t be on the streets.

We are not rich, but if future care is needed for DH or myself (or both) of us, I know full well we shall be funding it ourselves.

So yes, after years of working, saving, being ‘careful’ with our money, I now think if we would like something and can afford it, why not?

We visited family in Australia last year after not going for several years, and we flew business class. Expensive, but worth it.

DH changed his vehicle for one he really liked, not brand new, but more than we usually pay.

Things like this, just don’t see the point of doing without now we are in our 70’s.

I had, a rather substantial sum of money for holidays, meals out etc.
A couple of years ago, I idiotically handed it all over to spammers. The financial ombudsman decided it was all my fault, the bank behaved impeccably…
So now, I’m managing on my pension with enough not to struggle, but I feel rather like a student, watching (almost) every penny. It can be very tiresome.
What will happen when I need a care home, goodness knows?

It depends on how we want to die. In the UK, it’s possible to have care at home but at a price. In the UK, means testing is a process which can take months as local authorities are badly resourced to handle the volume of forms.
Even a moderate contribution to care at home results in bills being paid every 4 weeks so all income can be wiped out for a month with 2 payments.
Plus of course the concept of tax in advance so it’s a real minefield trying to budget for the very elderly in the UK.