roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Le Grimpeur qui ri?
Signs you are doing well financially.
- Thread starter SpokeyDokey
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Le Grimpeur qui ri?
It’s the same on all forums, none seem to have a mortgage, all pay cash for their cars, have pots of savings and retired at 53.
OP
OP
- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
It was nice taking a company pension at 53 tbh - legislation has slightly shifted that age back now of course.
In my lifetime money has progressed through 4 distinct phases with me:
1 - I bought 'stuff' for myself, not thinking too much for the future apart from saving for a house deposit.
2 - keeping said house(s) roof over my head as well as climbing the property ladder.
3 - saving v.hard to dump the mortgage and build up reserves that generate a decent income in themselves.
4 - live off of income from reserves and pensions.
In '1' I thought about '2' a lot. And '3' & '4'? Well, I was young, immortal and was never going to get old and didn't give them a thought.
'2' was far and away the most stressful; big mortgage, high interest rates and young family - they were hard years. Divorce from first wife compounded the situation too.
'3' career/income peaked and with some serious planning and commitment it was a relative breeze compared to '2'.
'4' happened young and is absolute bliss. Reserves buy you a safety net and unearned income is the reward for a life of grafting and a little good fortune along the way. I make no apologies to anyone for being in this position - we both had crap starts in life and toiled long and hard for this outcome.
Maybe, for many, that is a typical cycle - hence the 'I'm okay' posts?
You forgot the 'and a loft full of racing pigeons and a fry up everyday'.
That's it.
I knew there was more but couldn't remember it all. Although Jack can keep his pigeons. I can quite happily do without them!
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Is compaining about being poor OK with you?
We need neither your permission or approval to either be doing OK or to talk to others about it.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Why did they retire so late?
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Retired at 47, not quite 48. I could have hung on but that @#£%& Tom Winsor was threatening to punish people like me who were victims of assaults while on duty by reducing our salary.
So rather than wait a couple of years to take my regular pension and risk Tom Winsor screwing me over before I got there, I instead went on a medical. The irony is having gone down that route is costing them a fortune as they're paying more more than when I was actually working (well, a bit less but the medical part is tax free so I end up with more), so well done Tom for your expensive idea to save money. Twit.
I did well out of my first wife who was on the board of a large electrical manufacturer, and I used the settlement to buy a tiny two bedroom cottage at 36. I still had my original house back home and used the rental income from the to pay off the mortgage on it a few years back, so ended up with two houses with no mortgage. That was pure accident rather than design, but when you're earning £600,000 a year plus share dividends and you're the one named as at fault in the divorce you can expect to pay your husband a fair wedge in settlement. It means we get to keep everything the current Mrs D earns, and more besides.
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Because they don’t all live in the North West of England
I disagree, if you read from the beginning it’s not a very nice read, lots of smugness and plenty of boasting.
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Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
There's boasting and boasting, though.
IMHO there's nothing wrong with much of what's been said. On the other hand, my best friend from Uni (who was always broke and couldn't budget and used to take the p*ss out of me because I've always done) now has a wealthy partner, and they spend more time on holiday than they do at home. They got back from a Caribbean cruise a fortnight ago, and now they're mooching around the Disney resort in Florida.
Those types of hols (cruises and resorts) are admittedly my worst nightmare as I much prefer days away doing interesting stuff or simply just kicking back at home, but I despair at their lack of discretion as it's all over social media. But some of their other friends are beggaring themselves trying to keep up.
I've declined an invite to my mate's partner's 50th birthday cruise as I can't justify spending nearly two grand on something that's not my thing, while being lumped with a bunch of people I have very little in common with.
I don’t disagree @Reynard there is that type of boasting which is all over social media (which I don’t personally do) and there is this slightly sinister smugness that exists on forums like this which I personally find a bit insensitive when not every member of the group enjoys the same levels of prosperity.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Fortunately I’m not on the usual social media sites, and don’t get to see the curated life of others. You do get a little bit of the humble bragging at social events, but it just washes over me, and they are likely disappointed by my response not being what they expected.
You went on a cruise, oh how terribly dull…
You went on a cruise, oh how terribly dull…
we only ever did it once, an experience never to be repeated.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
The thing is though, we're all different, and one person's prosperity is another's penury. It all depends where you stick the goalposts.
Guess it's right that we here on CC are largely middle-aged, savvy with spending and not terribly fussed about what other people do and don't have.
Some of my friends think I'm wasting money because I collect motor racing ephemera.
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