I must admit, I’ve been taking things easy for the last few weeks,but I guess life is telling me to get back to pension planning! Most things going to plan Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a change in pace in my life. I guess this is in part dictated by the lockdown. It’s not like I can get out and do much more than shop for groceries. But also I’m starting to find a natural rhythm about things. I gave myself 3 plans at the start of my retirement. Which were to Get up at 7:30am No daytime TV Use your time to do what you want to do Overall I’ve stuck to that, which I’m really pleased abou ..read more

Playing and making music has been one of my life long passions, and while I’m in lockdown because of this virus, why not! No Hollywood Action Hero I don’t know what it is about myself, but whenever I hurt myself, I seem destined to do it in the most rediculous way. If you imagine a spectrum of Hollywood action heros with Bruce Willis on one end and Mr Bean on the other, I’m definitely on the Mr Bean side of things. So it was at the end of last week. I had a half-drunk cup of coffee next to me going cold, so I decided to nuke it in the microwave to warm it up. For some reason, I’d completely ig ..read more

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know that part of my retirement plan is to re-establish a healthy lifestyle and see if I can stick to it… A Lifestyle Reset I guess I’m not alone in using my retirement as the starting point of a lifestyle reset. It’s kind of interesting that I’m doing nothing that I couldn’t have started at any time in my past, but there’s something about the milestone that gives it a certain impetus. If you’ve ever waited until Monday morning to start a diet or created a New Year’s Resolution then you’ll know what I mean! The first goals! Anyway, the ..read more

I need to decide who will be the best income drawdown providers for my wife and myself. Let’s take a close look at an “Interactive Investor” SIPP. Before I start, I should say that I’m no financial advisor… not even close… In fact, why you would consider taking anything seriously from a guy who models himself on Baldrick from Blackadder is beyond me… Do your own research, create your own plan and take responsibility for yourself, this is just how I approached things. If you do any research on Investment Brokers in the UK, then one of the names that appear very regularly is Interactiv ..read more

One of the big things I want to do in the next year is to improve my fitness. Indoor Rowing was the cardio that seemed to suit my personality best… Rebuilding my Fitness I used to be pretty fit and strong, though no one would believe it now. This is going back a decade or so though! I was never a sporty type, but weight training seemed to suit me and I loved the physicality of free weights, especially deadlifts. I tried various types of cardio, but nothing really suited me until I discovered indoor rowing. My old logbooks say I was OK at it but never really good (my best time was 6:48 ..read more

I need to decide who will be the best income drawdown providers for my wife and me in the next 12 months! Time for us to set out some criteria to make that decision. I’ll be 54 in late May this year, which means in 14 months I could conceivably start drawing down from my pensions. Right now they’re still with providers that were set up through my working life for accumulation. It’s time to make some big decisions though, over the next 12 months as to who the best income drawdown providers are going to be for us. Very personal view I’m going to be very focus and specific to mine and my ..read more

I set myself a few goals when I was planning to retire. One that fills me with more trepidation than I’d prefer to admit is quitting alcohol. My guilty secret I don’t remember how it started, but these days I drink 4 pints of beer every evening, before going to bed. It doesn’t matter whether I’ve been out for the evening or have stayed in all night, I still do it, but I really can’t remember when it started. I have a strange relationship with it though. I have no cravings during the day. Even when offered a daytime drink I’ll mostly say no – it gets in the way of me getting anything d ..read more

I wonder if this is why so many self-help gurus espouse the value of feeling and showing gratitude? I had no idea it would affect me like this! End of an era Monday of next week is my very last day in the office. There is still a retainer in place until the end of April. In reality, the demands on me have dropped away to almost nothing so I very much doubt they will ask me to come in again. Passwords will be revoked. I’ll return my PC’s, phone, office keys, etc. and don’t expect to ever return. I handed my notice in around the middle of November. I did this for lots of reasons, some g ..read more

I tried to find an online calculator that would help me estimate the pension drawdown tax and thus the income when I come to make withdrawals, but I couldn’t find one, so I decided to work it out myself. Before I start, I should say that I’m no financial advisor… not even close… In fact, why you would consider taking anything seriously from a guy who models himself on Baldrick from Blackadder is beyond me… Do your own research, create your own plan and take responsibility for yourself, this is just how I approached things. Also, the rates and allowances are as of 9th March 2020. Clear ..read more

This morning was a day to look forward and think about how I’m going to use my time in these next stages of my Early Retirement. It’s Thursday 27th February 2020 and the start of my second week of early (semi) retirement. I’m currently working 3 days a week, doing hand over stuff, then Thursday and Friday are my own. My last official day in the office is Monday 16th March. Then they keep me on the payroll until the end of April. Planning the days Everything is still so new, that I haven’t found a rhythm to it yet. There are a couple of rules that I’ve made for myself. Get up before ..read more