Retired 5 years – how’s it been?

In a word, wonderful, quite likely the happiest time in my life.  In late July 2018, aged 56 I walked out from the blummin Council for the last time.  I had quit my job and retired.  That was just over five years ago, so how’s it been since?  Has everything gone to plan?  Any regrets?

I will never forget the time when I left and drove home.  A boiling hot day, car windows open and loud music playing – I felt like the happiest man in the world!  Also a rather apprehensive one, I wondered if the money would hold out okay, had I made a huge mistake and so on.

Happily I’d say it was definitely the right decision.  Here’s a few pointers to how it has gone.

1. Stress free

Stress, it seems, was a major feature of my life in the blummin Council and probably in the criminal justice system before.  I found myself instantly feeling so relaxed and free from a tricky burden which had been haunting me so much.

Being free of stress did seem a little strange at first but I was never going to argue with it.  My last job was quite structured with monthly meetings, performance targets against annual metrics, budgets, contracts and the slightly distant presence of governance and inspections.  In the weeks and months that followed, I often reflected on what would be happening at various points, genuinely hoping that all was okay.

Although my mind clicked into retirement mode almost instantly, I still thought about the world of work which I’d left behind.  Adult Education, although important in society, was not gripping my thoughts but instead the plight of the criminal justice system which I had left three years beforehand.  I kept in touch with the main events and have life membership of two connected charities.  That’s quite enough, I have no desire to go back in any capacity in order to remain stress free.

2.  Things haven’t gone to plan

Perhaps this was me being a little naive although we couldn’t have foreseen Covid which came less that two years into my retirement.

Our elderly mothers have changed our direction somewhat.  We sadly lost Rachel’s mum in late 2020 and my mother has become more needy.  Both of our mothers have steered our direction, to a certain extent.

My health, although generally not too bad, is a consideration and to be honest neither of us are getting any younger.  I am fearful of going far, or for too long.  I once dreamed of jumping in our car and driving to Instanbul.  It’s not impossible but I doubt it now.

Speaking of driving, we also thought we would drive less, and therefore save some money, possibly even drop down to one car.  In fact we have proved many times that we still need two cars.  Besides, this spreads out the wear and tear.  Our annual mileage has gone up, not down, and last year we clocked up 20,000 miles.  Thankfully both cars are fairly economical and haven’t broken down at all.  They are a Honda and a Toyota – both British made, rather boring, reliable and cost effective.  As both cars are elderly (13 and 16 years respectively) the depreciation is minimal.

When I retired I had grand plans of training for another marathon and beating my previous PB of just under four hours.  Kidney issues, urology issues and now arthritis have ended those plans, unless I risk things for the future.  Food for thought?

3.  Money is holding out

I knew we would need to “tighten our belts” and budget according to a reduced income.  The reason for this is living off savings and then drawing my occupational pension nine years early.  However, with a fair wind behind us (a.k.a. an independent financial advisor) and a couple of other favourable outcomes, we are holding our own.

We cannot be complacent though.  This year we have spent a considerable amount of money on the house but this was an important update of the house, while preserving its heritage.  Someone commented that we were “spending our kid’s inheritance” but I tend to think of it as investing in our kids inheritance.

The bottom line with our finances is our expenditure is higher than we planned.  Somehow or other, we have managed to keep our heads above water.  For me it is important to keep the right balance with our finances and assets – cash levels, investments and money tied up in property.  I do not want these to be out of balance, to avoid putting too many eggs in one basket.

With investments, we are committed to the ESG agenda (that’s the Environmental, Sustainable and Governance line of thinking) with the hope our money will do some good out there.  I think it costs us some percentage points for our capital growth and so to balance this I have asked for some funds to be kept in the FTSE 100, normally a solid place in the longer term.  We are medium risk investors and this is appropriate for our stage in life.  Within this we have some funds which are designed to be left untouched for a few years and some untouched for another 10 years.

I, along with many others interested in the ESG agenda, have been challenged by the Ukraine war.  We may have staunchly said before that we don’t want to invest in the arms trade, defence etc.  However, the Ukraine war brings all of that into question.  For different people, the answer will be different, according to their conscience – and that is absolutely fine – it’s personal choices in action.

As a Christian, I am so aware of God’s grace towards us as a couple and us as individuals.  I do not deserve such good fortune.  When I look around at the state of our country with the increase in poverty and hopelessness, I feel despair.  The rich are getting richer (through government policy) and the poor are getting poorer (arguably as a result of government policy, or lack of).  Life, for so many, in the third world is not improving.  I keep in touch with Kenyan friends, known since our family visit in 2005, and hear of failed harvests and problem after problem.  Their faithfulness is a real example, immensely humbling for me.

Rachel is still my “Finance Manager”, keeping the accounts, to make sure day to day spending is on track.  She moves money between accounts according to cash flow needs and always has an eye on interest rates.  It is also fair to say SHE KEEPS ME ON TRACK!

4.  In my mind…..

I am just as hopeful and as optimistic as before.

Also, it is fair to say, I am more outspoken now I don’t have the corporate niceties to worry about.  Having said that, I do need to step this up further.  I haven’t written to our MP for yonks.

5.  My biggest worry

My biggest worry is wasting time.

Without the pressure of work etc it is easy for life to drift by.  I still need my life to have some meaning and purpose.  None of us know how long we have, how many years, weeks or even days or hours.

I tell myself “now the summer is fading away, get your teeth stuck into a few things”.  I already have plenty to do.  I need to use my time much better and achieve more things, more worthwhile things.  Getting the balance right between things is always a juggle – good causes, fitness, hobbies, house maintenance, being sociable and so on.

I sit here typing at my desk, giving myself a talking to….

6.  Regrets?

Nah, not at all.  Full of thankfulness.