Another one from the UK

[saving-10-years]

Hi, I'd like to introduce myself.

I will start in the traditional way by saying that I have been reading your posts for weeks and have learned lots from these forums, the wiki and the book. I've adopted the name saving-10-years - which I now realise is a little ambiguous. I am very near to taking retirement from paid work and have been putting a little extra aside into my pension for 20 years. Thanks in part to this I will have a pension equivalent (after tax) to 49% of what I currently take home (after tax and various pension deductions). I will also be able to buy a property from savings to rent out. I am therefore, at 57, in a position to take retirement nearly 10 years before I will draw my state pension. (Yes I am another Brit with a pension that seems to be getting further away from me each year rather than nearer).

Before I discovered ERE and the book I had already done the maths that said that at 57 I could live reasonably comfortably by being careful with money, buying property to let and doing some small craft-based business or very part-time work. When I say 'I' I mean 'we' as my husband was made redundant nearly three years ago and has been acting EREish (very happily) since. The final part of the family is school-age son (16).

I currently am an academic and am sure (because they say so) that colleagues think that quitting right now is a strange thing to do. I have invested a lot of time in building my reputation and have completed a handful of degrees, incuding a PhD - long drawn out and only finished in the past couple of years after a lot of grief. But having a partner who is frugal and who has proved that we only needed 60% of our former income has led me to realise that we could live on (say) 30% of former income (which just happens to equal my pension). Adding some extra sources means that we can live somewhat comfortably and more creatively (which takes time). So we are becoming extreme by stages. Doing so at this time in our lives means that we have property paid for and no debts, plus substantial money in the bank. Yes, investments are something we have not yet successfully grappled with.

Other relevant introductory facts are that I know how to shear a sheep (it would probably be quite a messy job), can process the wool, spin it, weave/braid/knit into things that people would pay money for (I hope) or that we/they can wear (this already happens). We have a smallholding of 4 acres and some sheep so this is a relevant skill. Husband can make most things with wood. For example he has since his 'retirement' built us a teardrop trailer (micro-caravan) in wood/aluminium. He's learning how to create handmade books and plans to do craft bindings.

I am INTP (was on previous test INTJ) and son and husband are both INTP (what a household!) I wholly agree with Jacob's comments on specialisation and the time taken to keep up with the field.

As I see it I have 'saved' myself ten years of working for someone else and created this extra decade to try my hand at being a craft/maker and pursuing general and family interests. I will be starting a journal. At this rate of procrastination it may however be the journal of a retiree.

[GandK]

Welcome!

A household full of introverts. That sounds so amazing and peaceful. Other than myself, my household consists entirely of extraverted boys.

[saving-10-years]

@ GandK
On the plus side there is not usually a problem on deciding where we want to go on holiday or leaving each other in peace to read a book, etc. That might be a problem at your house?

On the downside we could be a little 'uni-mind'? On a recent weekend crafts course I was told that my son and I 'think outside the box'. I am not sure we know where to find 'the box'. It may have been a compliment? Certainly used to being considered different - which will come in handy for next stage of ERE.

[1taskaday]

Hi saving-10-years,

Your situation sounds set-up to take flight and get free!
Best of luck with it all and I hope that you enjoy it as much as your DH is.

[saving-10-years]

Hello 1taskaday,

Just over 3 months to go. Before I discovered the ERE world I thought I was giving up one very full time job for a smaller workload and more autonomy. Now I realise that with a bit of frugal thinking I can swop for not needing an income other than pension. So a whole other level of freedom beyond what I thought would be possible.

[CelticTiger]

Hi, I'm mostly a troll but I do drop by from time to time. Congratulations.

[saving-10-years]

I don't think that I'm the only one to be feeling rather nervous at this stage. Checking and double checking the figures and feeling altogether very strange. Too good to be true?

[train_writer]

I think it is really cool that you can shave sheep as well as processing the wool! How is your stance now on double checking figures? Did you convince yourself yet?

Off topic:
I am not even half your age but I wanted to thank you for your thoughtful comment in my thread on whether to take on a double load of paid work (aka compromising valuable other time/ 'work').

[saving-10-years]

@train_writer your comment about sheep shaving made me smile. Unfortunately I am very sat-in-one-place for most of my working life so I aim to be fit enough to stand a chance of chasing and catching a sheep this year by shearing time. Sheep are surprisingly fast and I have been getting very slow.

At the moment I am doing a new speadsheet every day. But they all say good things. In fact the message is improving.

Off topic (although its the Intro thread so there is no off topic?):
You are welcome. I am very impressed (and envious) that you youngsters are thinking things through that took such a long time to catch up on me. Best of luck with the decisions.

[saving-10-years]

Met up with another* UK ERE type (@Storapa and his LM) this weekend. We live very close to each other. Their campervan and our teardrop trailer were admired and tips on these and other things were swopped. Hope to be meeting up again soon.

If any other UK people would like to meet up in the Midlands get in touch.

* another is probably a misnomer. They are well established in their uncluttered ERE habits/budgets and we have a lot of ground to cover. In our household are going about face at ERE - I will be retired before I get seriously into the budgeting and the decluttering is something we are barely started with. Just done my food shop and worked out what gets spent and what gets used. 20% this week spent on food luxery items and gifts. Hm, that's a good clue about something that is going to change ...