Featured Retirement

From an economic perspective, I think I share a similar upbringing to yours. My parents were hard working and didn't have a lot of money, so they always spent wisely. I grew up wearing 'hand-me-down' clothing (to be fair it didn't really bother me) but to this day I still struggle to buy new clothing... hence my wardrobe is full of used ebay & Vintage clothing (I still don't mind).
And do you struggle when it comes to dining in a fancy restaurant? I can do it, but it's not usually very enjoyable.
Sure, we are a product of our environment, but luckily I do take enjoyment from a few extravagances where I try not take too much notice of the price tag.
Have you got a 'bucket list'? If so, perhaps put some substantial funds together for that?

 

Same here...honorary Yorkshireman...there are a fair few on the forum. It does flow in the face of modern consumerism culture, but I think that is a good thing... Absolutely everything gets mended here where possible, done the bearings in my Makita router twice, the dishwasher pump twice, the Dyson motor...and on and on. Built my own house too...though that may be a tad extreme.

 

Can’t quite go the used clothing route, but I rarely buy anything clothing wise unless it is in a sale. Likewise golf equipment, recently stocked up on golf balls but on a Black Friday deal meaning they were half price. I hate the way that modern stuff is almost designed so that you can’t repair it but are pushed to buy new. Recently bought a couple of older HRMs in order to get the parts to keep the current one running rather than go for one of the new all singing all dancing models.

 

I hate waste, always try and repurpose if possible.
On the other hand I do spoil myself nowadays, you can’t take it with you, and if you keep it you get taxed on it.

Took the missus out for her birthday Friday, the bill was £195 just the two of and 1 drink each

 

As a fellow golfer thaat really makes me laugh. We spend two minutes looking for a halfpenny Tee peg but quickly move on when our £3 Pro V1 goes sailing into the field next door

 

Completely agree with the logic of this suggestion but it's still one helluva struggle. I have a stepson in BC, Canada and my wife would love to travel around it a bit by train. I have spent a good hour looking at flights and train schedules only to find that even a modest and very economical trip is likely to cost between £10 and £15K for a 14 day trip. We have both discussed it and cannot even begin to think about shelling out that sort of dough even though we know we can't take it with us. Some things these days are just so eye wateringly expensive that they are easily dismissed.

 

My Dad passed some years ago not long into retirement, having outlasted Mum. Once the estate was settled, we put some down as a house deposit, but made sure we kept some back and did a lot of the trips that we wanted to do whilst we were young enough to do it comfortably and to make sure we didn't miss out; New England in the fall, West coast of the States, 3 weeks of theme parks in Florida, an East coast road trip including Martha's Vineyard, Providence & Salem amongst others. People thought we were mad at the time.

Twenty years ago we visited Canada & fulfilled an ambition to take the Rocky Mountaineer from Banff (having played Banff Springs) to Vancouver. In 2006 it cost us £429 each for the 2 days in Gold Leaf; 20 years on, it would cost an eye-watering £2,301 each! I sometimes wonder if we should have ploughed more into the house and waited to travel more in retirement; having looked at that I think we made the right decision as we probably wouldn't be doing it.

 

£3 Pro V1; where? They are £52 a dozen now (RRP), or £4.33.

I'll make do with my £1.88 Bridgestone Tour B's from the Black Friday deal; if they're good enough for Tiger, they'll do everything I need of them with room to spare.

 

On a personal note I'm so glad you had those wonderful experiences when you did. Before golf found its way into our lives we were very keen skiers and in 1993 we skied Lake Louise, Sunshine and Banff and over the next 7 years all over Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah; they are memories that we cherish for ever. I say sadly, but not in a bad way, but my wife is now 80 and the insurance for North America is like taking a third person with you. It's just crazy and some things have to be compromised. New England in the fall has always been a dream destination but now likely a pipe dream.We had a place in Southern Spain for 20 years but sold it last year and apart from the need to visit our son in BC we tend to do more European City breaks and local golf trips. Having said that, two nights at the Oxfordshire in August really hurt with Guiness being charged at £9.90 a pint. Prices are becoming ridiculous and even when one is prepared to say "to hell with it" it really starts to urk.

I did plough more into our house but you have made me realise that perhaps it was not the right decision!!

 

I’ve been retired for about 7 years now. We always lived fairly modestly, reasonable cars, decent holidays. We supported our girls with cars and helped with house purchases.
I still wait until the sales to buy most things and will spend ages searching out a discount code.

What we do spend money on is experiences, we’ve visited most of our top destinations: Galapagos, Australia and NZ, America, Maldives, and best of all Antarctica. And I don’t regret a penny, lifetime memories are worth more than any ‘designer’ clothes and all the other crap we accumulate.

My best friend died in his late ‘50’s and it really open my eyes to what’s important.

 

It will be a shame if you don't get to go, but I know exactly where you are coming from re North America & insurance; I had a heart attack 6 weeks before a bucket lister to Nashville, Memphis & New Orleans, and talking to people over there, they could not get their heads round the concept that the NHS fixed it for free at the point of service. It's not something you can afford to risk over there either.

As for golf, that is getting ridiculous in terms of cost. I've just renewed my society membership for next year but if the costs for the days next year goes up like it did this year, it will probably be my last; it makes more economic sense to get a second membership at a distant club than it does to go to society days. There were some courses that were still on my bucket list that I'm resigned to missing out on because however good they might be, I'm not prepared to part with that much cash for 4 hours entertainment. We now look for Open competitions to get on better courses for decent money (Royal Porthcawl next February for £115 including food, cheaper than some of last year's society days; £170 for 2 rounds over 2 days at Littlestone next August).

Re city breaks, keep an eye on British Airways sales; Mrs GG and I went to Madrid in May; 4 nights B&B in a central hotel (Hotel Opera, opposite the opera house) and legroom seats on Iberia at decent times was about £730, which we thought was very good. We've managed similarly good deals to Berlin & Munich with them.

 

If you enjoy your city breaks, have you considered getting a Eurorail pass and setting off for a few weeks?
I know a few retired friends who really enjoy their European train travel, and stay in some wonderful AirB&B or boutique hotels. The train pass is cheaper and easier than messing around with airport travel.

https://www.eurail.com/en/plan-your-trip/trip-ideas/top-destinations

 

I hadn’t but I will, thanks for the suggestion.