As a new retiree I have found I don’t need to spend money as an escape from the drudgery of the working world. I think I used money to medicate myself and give me short term happiness. I don’t need that anymore and I spend a lot less.
To an a extent we are finding the same if we discount the costs of the house move and renovations🤣 We are just enjoying being out in the countryside and pottering. We have also found that we have plenty to keep us busy. A lot of our friends and family thought we would be bored and struggle to find things to do but at the moment that is definitely not the case. Happy retirement to you x
We are retiring next year and just told my husband's mother, which was a big step. A friend of mine retired in her later 60s from teaching/principal last summer and her husband died suddenly that November. It just strikes home that, if you can swing it, you should! I think your delightful partnership makes early retirement even more valuable.
We have certainly had no regrets so far and are really loving the time and freedom to travel. I lost both my teaching job share partner at the age of 32 and my teaching assistant at the age of 57 within a year of each other and decided life is too short and to make the most of every moment you can! Happy retirement, hope your mother in law took it well 😬
Hi both of you, you have become a bit of an inspiration to me 😊 I own a motor home and am considering retiring in 7 months at 55 to travel more, it’s a bit scary, I go from definitely retiring to maybe another year or two, you two are giving me a lot to think about. I am really enjoying your videos. Thanks Lee & Vikki.
Thank you. It is a scary proposition deciding to retire early, we keep seeing we can always unretire if needs be but so far we are loving the freedom to travel 🧳
Wow, I’m delighted to stumble upon your channel, it’s wonderful to see a snap shot of your journey so far. Wishing you continued success on your early retirement journey, thank you for sharing your story and lighting the way for the rest of us fed up 50 something’s!
A former teacher of 20+ years in the U.S. I retired about the same time you did and just crossed 50. Very much the same experience, and similar financials (pension in a few years, 67 for full gov't benefits). Now I just have to convince the wife to join me!
It is certainly a benefit that we are taking on the adventure together but we look at my mum as an inspiration - she has spent all of her 70's travelling independently - mostly to the USA on a quest to visit all 50 states. She has travelled to NZ and likes to spend the winter months somewhere warm and joins the local community centres there and goes to classes like yoga and card crafts to meet people. She Is awesome!
Hi guys, I'm sort of at the same place , 51 now and going to retire at 52, my Brass pension kicks in with a big hit at 55 to.I also have a VW T6 and going hopefully sell my house in Stockport. Im into long distance throw Hiking and plan on doing some of the Americas big trails which take up to 6 month each. Thanks for talking about this it is making it all seen more real for me. I'm not going to say good luck , but rather its got to be dun. You know when you know, right.
Ooh the hikes sound great. Richard wants to ease me in gently by doing the tour de Mont Blanc in the next year or 2! It is at times a scary thought but no regrets so far 😊Thankyou for your kind words
Our family initially thought we were mad! Having seen how much healthier and happier we now are I think they have realised it was the right decision for us.
Still working my way through the early retirement vlogs. When I took early retirement from my career in 2021 I remember telling everyone I would take a year off and then get a little “job” for extra cash and because I didn’t feel I could fill my time as my husband is still working at the moment. The job hasn’t happened yet 😂 but I still feel a bit embarrassed saying I’m retired if people ask. We are planning for my husbands retirement in 3-4 years once subsidising Uni has finished and the girls are settled in jobs. We know we would like to move area and downsize but have elderly parents with health issues so are working out how we can do this and balance supporting them and the girls. I hope I’m travelling in my seventies like your mum Jackie!
Thank you for watching our videos. It does feel strange saying we are retired at such a young age but we are still really enjoying our journey and making the most of every day and every opportunity that comes our way. We do still think we may have to do some sort of part time or seasonal work at some point before we get to 67, but for now we are still enjoying travelling too much. It helps that the van means we can get away as much as we want and many trips do not have a cost implication bar a couple of nights campsite fees. Moving to the Dales was not as drastic as it sounds for us as it meant moving closer to Richards mum who needed the most support. We were really fortunate that our son bought a house in the same town as my mum and it means we visit really regularly as all our family are still in that area. My mum is just awesome and is planning a 5 state trip to the states this autumn to complete the 50 states before she is 80!
I am in complete agreement with your philosophies. Grasp the experiences now while you are able! Things can change dramatically. Early onset Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Bodies Dementia has become our reality with my husband’s diagnosis’ at 48 (which was 5 years ago) I am sooooo grateful for all the experiences we had prior to his extreme health decline. Now I am in the throes of trying to figure out my path because very recently he has had to be admitted to a care facility.
Hi. Thanks for reaching out and sharing this information with us. We are so sorry for what you are having to deal with at this moment in time and obviously our thoughts are with you and your family. Hold on to all the wonderful experiences you shared together. Life can be so cruel at times, that is why we are working hard to make sure that we value each and every day we are gifted. Thanks again & take care, Richard & Jackie.
Love your videos, great attitude to life. We both retired aged 56 and now have just over 10 years to wait until our state pensions kick in. We always believed work is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Why continue working once you are able to retire? These are our best years and we want to enjoy them. We have occupational pensions which we can access now and managed to build up significant savings in the 10 years leading up to our retirement, whilst also clearing our debts. By retiring early you suffer an actuarial reduction to your pension but this simply reflects the fact that it will be paid over a longer period. It is the same pot of money spread over more years. Yes the pot of money would be greater if you worked another 5 or 10 years but you would have less time to spend it. Good luck 👍
Thanks for this Charles- we absolutely agree 100% with everything that you have shared. We went through the same decision making process and came to the conclusion that we valued the time more than anything else. So far we are loving what we do. The maths of the actuary reduction makes perfect sense to us and it may come as no surprise that we have modelled out a spreadsheet which gave us various "breakeven" ages that we are quite happy with👍 Enjoy your adventures! R
It is one of the big differences we have noticed since we retired....as well as the significant cost savings. We love our adventures at any time of the year, but we are particularly loving our early and late summer breaks as you point out, they are such quieter times. Thanks for the comment, Richard & Jackie
Thanks for this. A full pension accessed at 65 is around this figure. Obviously, by choosing to access it at 55 (in 2 years time), there is significant financial compromises to be made on that and it will be a fraction of that. 👍
Great videos. Have you all considered becoming house sitters for different destinations across the world. There are several UA-cam channels dedicated to this and I know there are websites that look for people to come and watch their house for days/weeks at a time. Sometimes there is even a stipend with that house sitting. It might let you stretch your money further and go to some different locales that you didn't anticipate.
Hi you two! I am approaching retirement and just subscribed to your channel as I'd be interested to learn from you. I wish you all the best for the future out of the rate race! Just a minor suggestion is that audio is more important than video, so a couple of decent radio microphones would lift the whole video quality
I'm 46 and retired comfortably. Your approach is standard teacher. Why pay down mortgage debt when it is lower than savings? Put that money in an account for liquid and pay the mortgage down when advantageous. Using a 3 year approach is nothing more than a deferred work arrangement, it isn't retirement. Your approach is wishful SKINNY FIRE.
Out of interest, I'd love to get a dog but it's not easy to own one and also travel. Do you leave your dog with family and would choose to have a dog during retirement if traveling regularly? I looked into 'borrow my doggy' type services but it's hard to find one locally.
Hi the dog we have in some of our videos is my sisters that we dog sit for occasionally. She is great company when we have her however we do find it quite restrictive when travelling and the places we can go. I dont suppose it helped that we had her for the 2 hottest weeks of the heatwave this summer which was hard in a van. We do chat to loads of others retired van travellers who take their dogs all over Europe x
I appreciate the openness and honesty in your videos. However, I don't know how useful your advice will be a wide audience. From what I can tell you planned to retire early but didn't do anything to make it happen. You are fortunate (as you acknowledge) to have one of the last few good defined benefit pensions left as teachers so although you have never been savers this aspect has been taken care of for you. Your savings, such as they are, simply have to get you through the last few years till your pensions kick in. Perhaps this is similar for others of your generation but for the younger generation savings for a pension is a much more involved process. Still achievable but requires more work. This is not a criticism just a limitation I thought I would highlight if people watching are hoping to emulate your success.
As a new retiree I have found I don’t need to spend money as an escape from the drudgery of the working world. I think I used money to medicate myself and give me short term happiness. I don’t need that anymore and I spend a lot less.
To an a extent we are finding the same if we discount the costs of the house move and renovations🤣 We are just enjoying being out in the countryside and pottering. We have also found that we have plenty to keep us busy. A lot of our friends and family thought we would be bored and struggle to find things to do but at the moment that is definitely not the case. Happy retirement to you x
We are retiring next year and just told my husband's mother, which was a big step. A friend of mine retired in her later 60s from teaching/principal last summer and her husband died suddenly that November. It just strikes home that, if you can swing it, you should! I think your delightful partnership makes early retirement even more valuable.
We have certainly had no regrets so far and are really loving the time and freedom to travel. I lost both my teaching job share partner at the age of 32 and my teaching assistant at the age of 57 within a year of each other and decided life is too short and to make the most of every moment you can! Happy retirement, hope your mother in law took it well 😬
Hi both of you, you have become a bit of an inspiration to me 😊 I own a motor home and am considering retiring in 7 months at 55 to travel more, it’s a bit scary, I go from definitely retiring to maybe another year or two, you two are giving me a lot to think about. I am really enjoying your videos. Thanks Lee & Vikki.
Thank you. It is a scary proposition deciding to retire early, we keep seeing we can always unretire if needs be but so far we are loving the freedom to travel 🧳
Wow, I’m delighted to stumble upon your channel, it’s wonderful to see a snap shot of your journey so far. Wishing you continued success on your early retirement journey, thank you for sharing your story and lighting the way for the rest of us fed up 50 something’s!
Thankyou 😊 we are certainly trying to make the most of our retirement and enjoying it so far. Still no regrets
A former teacher of 20+ years in the U.S. I retired about the same time you did and just crossed 50. Very much the same experience, and similar financials (pension in a few years, 67 for full gov't benefits). Now I just have to convince the wife to join me!
Hopefully she won’t take too much convincing - it’s always nice to hear from fellow teachers x
The other difference is, you guys have each other. Fabulous adventures to have together.
It is certainly a benefit that we are taking on the adventure together but we look at my mum as an inspiration - she has spent all of her 70's travelling independently - mostly to the USA on a quest to visit all 50 states. She has travelled to NZ and likes to spend the winter months somewhere warm and joins the local community centres there and goes to classes like yoga and card crafts to meet people. She Is awesome!
Hi guys, I'm sort of at the same place , 51 now and going to retire at 52, my Brass pension kicks in with a big hit at 55 to.I also have a VW T6 and going hopefully sell my house in Stockport. Im into long distance throw Hiking and plan on doing some of the Americas big trails which take up to 6 month each. Thanks for talking about this it is making it all seen more real for me. I'm not going to say good luck , but rather its got to be dun. You know when you know, right.
Ooh the hikes sound great. Richard wants to ease me in gently by doing the tour de Mont Blanc in the next year or 2! It is at times a scary thought but no regrets so far 😊Thankyou for your kind words
So helpful. Discussing this with family and friends - difficult with the varying opinions. So hearing your thoughts ideas etc is really helpful.
Our family initially thought we were mad! Having seen how much healthier and happier we now are I think they have realised it was the right decision for us.
Still working my way through the early retirement vlogs. When I took early retirement from my career in 2021 I remember telling everyone I would take a year off and then get a little “job” for extra cash and because I didn’t feel I could fill my time as my husband is still working at the moment. The job hasn’t happened yet 😂 but I still feel a bit embarrassed saying I’m retired if people ask. We are planning for my husbands retirement in 3-4 years once subsidising Uni has finished and the girls are settled in jobs. We know we would like to move area and downsize but have elderly parents with health issues so are working out how we can do this and balance supporting them and the girls. I hope I’m travelling in my seventies like your mum Jackie!
Thank you for watching our videos. It does feel strange saying we are retired at such a young age but we are still really enjoying our journey and making the most of every day and every opportunity that comes our way. We do still think we may have to do some sort of part time or seasonal work at some point before we get to 67, but for now we are still enjoying travelling too much. It helps that the van means we can get away as much as we want and many trips do not have a cost implication bar a couple of nights campsite fees.
Moving to the Dales was not as drastic as it sounds for us as it meant moving closer to Richards mum who needed the most support. We were really fortunate that our son bought a house in the same town as my mum and it means we visit really regularly as all our family are still in that area.
My mum is just awesome and is planning a 5 state trip to the states this autumn to complete the 50 states before she is 80!
I am in complete agreement with your philosophies. Grasp the experiences now while you are able! Things can change dramatically. Early onset Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Bodies Dementia has become our reality with my husband’s diagnosis’ at 48 (which was 5 years ago) I am sooooo grateful for all the experiences we had prior to his extreme health decline. Now I am in the throes of trying to figure out my path because very recently he has had to be admitted to a care facility.
Hi. Thanks for reaching out and sharing this information with us. We are so sorry for what you are having to deal with at this moment in time and obviously our thoughts are with you and your family. Hold on to all the wonderful experiences you shared together. Life can be so cruel at times, that is why we are working hard to make sure that we value each and every day we are gifted.
Thanks again & take care,
Richard & Jackie.
Just came across this journey. Watched 2 of them now so looking forward to catching up the rest.
It’s felt like quite an epic journey at times! Thanks for watching 😊
Such a great channel! Binge watching now, I’m in my mid 30s and taking note of your experience.
Thank you ☺️ a great time for you to start planning if you are wanting to retire early!
Great info....thanks for sharing, & enjoy your early retirement! 😊
Thank you - we are certainly trying to make the most of every minute!
Love your videos, great attitude to life. We both retired aged 56 and now have just over 10 years to wait until our state pensions kick in. We always believed work is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Why continue working once you are able to retire? These are our best years and we want to enjoy them. We have occupational pensions which we can access now and managed to build up significant savings in the 10 years leading up to our retirement, whilst also clearing our debts. By retiring early you suffer an actuarial reduction to your pension but this simply reflects the fact that it will be paid over a longer period. It is the same pot of money spread over more years. Yes the pot of money would be greater if you worked another 5 or 10 years but you would have less time to spend it. Good luck 👍
Thanks for this Charles- we absolutely agree 100% with everything that you have shared. We went through the same decision making process and came to the conclusion that we valued the time more than anything else. So far we are loving what we do. The maths of the actuary reduction makes perfect sense to us and it may come as no surprise that we have modelled out a spreadsheet which gave us various "breakeven" ages that we are quite happy with👍 Enjoy your adventures! R
It’s good to still plan holidays and trips around school term times just to get the peace and less busy holiday location.
It is one of the big differences we have noticed since we retired....as well as the significant cost savings. We love our adventures at any time of the year, but we are particularly loving our early and late summer breaks as you point out, they are such quieter times.
Thanks for the comment,
Richard & Jackie
Love your work colleagues! 😮Wow! Very lucky! You guys on defined benefit pensions right ? What’s that 40-50% of your final salaries?
Thanks for this. A full pension accessed at 65 is around this figure. Obviously, by choosing to access it at 55 (in 2 years time), there is significant financial compromises to be made on that and it will be a fraction of that. 👍
Great videos. Have you all considered becoming house sitters for different destinations across the world. There are several UA-cam channels dedicated to this and I know there are websites that look for people to come and watch their house for days/weeks at a time. Sometimes there is even a stipend with that house sitting. It might let you stretch your money further and go to some different locales that you didn't anticipate.
Ooh I do like the sound of that. We will do some research 🧐
Hi you two! I am approaching retirement and just subscribed to your channel as I'd be interested to learn from you. I wish you all the best for the future out of the rate race! Just a minor suggestion is that audio is more important than video, so a couple of decent radio microphones would lift the whole video quality
Hi thanks for subscribing we are still finding our feet with both retirement and UA-cam!!! It’s exciting and scary all rolled in one 😊
I'm 46 and retired comfortably. Your approach is standard teacher. Why pay down mortgage debt when it is lower than savings? Put that money in an account for liquid and pay the mortgage down when advantageous. Using a 3 year approach is nothing more than a deferred work arrangement, it isn't retirement. Your approach is wishful SKINNY FIRE.
Out of interest, I'd love to get a dog but it's not easy to own one and also travel. Do you leave your dog with family and would choose to have a dog during retirement if traveling regularly? I looked into 'borrow my doggy' type services but it's hard to find one locally.
Hi the dog we have in some of our videos is my sisters that we dog sit for occasionally. She is great company when we have her however we do find it quite restrictive when travelling and the places we can go. I dont suppose it helped that we had her for the 2 hottest weeks of the heatwave this summer which was hard in a van. We do chat to loads of others retired van travellers who take their dogs all over Europe x
I appreciate the openness and honesty in your videos. However, I don't know how useful your advice will be a wide audience. From what I can tell you planned to retire early but didn't do anything to make it happen. You are fortunate (as you acknowledge) to have one of the last few good defined benefit pensions left as teachers so although you have never been savers this aspect has been taken care of for you. Your savings, such as they are, simply have to get you through the last few years till your pensions kick in. Perhaps this is similar for others of your generation but for the younger generation savings for a pension is a much more involved process. Still achievable but requires more work. This is not a criticism just a limitation I thought I would highlight if people watching are hoping to emulate your success.