Retirement at last

Do you have a vast collection of photos to put into some sort of order [that took up my first few months!]. What I have found is that my heating bills have gone up, as I'm at home more during the day. My list is/was pretty much the same as yours. I have joined the gym at my local leisure centre which is £19 a month if you're retired. Once the thought of retirement sneaks into your head there's no going back is there; I kept thinking 'work another year and put the money towards a holiday' etc but one day decided enough was enough. I still can't believe that I no longer have to get up at 7 each day and I'm two years in . You could also come to some of the gransnet meet ups .

Congratulations mischief on your imminent retirement. You sound as if you have really thought about this big change in your life and prepared very well for it I too live alone and am not terribly flush with money so I can understand your apprehension.

Something that might be well worth researching is to see what discounts you can find - of course, the obvious ones like bus pass, train and coach cards if you like travelling - but one of the things I did when I first retired was to scrutinise all my regular bills and see where I could make savings. This was the sort of thing I never seemed to have the time for when I was working, as that sort of shopping around is quite time consuming, but I managed to save quite a bit and now I am quite brazen in ringing up and asking for a better deal.

My hairdresser offers a Wednesday 10% discount and I am also clued up on local pubs and restaurants that offer early doors deals or 2 for 1's. If you don't already subscribe, it's worth signing up for websites such as voucher codes that offer regular deals.

Just remember that you worked hard for your retirement so enjoy it

I would agree 100% with not committing to anything for the first 6 months. I got sucked into "coffee mornings" with people I was not particularly friendly with before retiring. After forgetting once and cancelling a second time, I have been given up on!
It's a bit like your first maternity leave if you don't know anybody else with a baby, you can be lucky or you find that actually your friends are to be found elsewhere.
Keep an open mind, enjoy doing whatever you feel like doing, a National Express coach card and /or a Senior railcard make getting around the country a bit cheaper if you feel like an away-day and Sunday nights take on a whole new meaning without Monday looming over you!
Good luck and enjoy!

Wow! Welcome to the club. You've obviously thought it all through. Its not the end of work but a mutation into another sort of life -in my case anyway a much better one. Its almost a year now and I can honestly say I've never missed work. Good luck and sincere best wishes!

I was PA to a director for 33 years and retirement couldn't come quick enough. I am enjoying every minute.

Congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy one!

You seem to have prepared for it well.

I took early retirement aged 57 in 2008 (actually my job had disappeared but my employers offered early retirement instead of redundancy) and I'm enjoying every minute of it too. It's true that you have to adapt your lifestyle to your reduced income, but that is surprisingly easy.

Get your bus pass if you haven't already done so - and have a look at the U3A in your area. There are lots of things to do at little or no cost, all it takes is a bit of research.

Happy retirement!

Thanks for all your good wishes.

I have a rail card and a bus pass but I will enquire about a National Express card, although I do live in the country so it may not be so easy to get to a collection point.

I do get Groupon and HDUK emails and I'm always looking at cheaper deals for Elect/Gas and insurances so all that is taken care off.

Must enquire at the hairdressers, I forget I can go during the day now instead of their late night evening.

Yes, increases in the gas/elect bills is a worry, hence the purchase of cashmere jumpers, but I can always go to the library for a read or go for a walk during the day, I guess.

I retired 18 months ago ( aged 56) and I love it. My hubbie retired 6 months ago and we moved house because we were in a tied house. We have joined the U3 A and do all sorts of interesting things with them. I love being able to walk, read, cycle, go to the cinema and theatre when we wish. Have a great time mischief!

Congratualtions Mischief on going for it - sounds like you have prepared well, and most people seem to manage fine, must take some getting used to, but sounds like you're ready mentally too.

I am in a similar position, thinking of retiring but only have the basic state pension, so worried if I can cope financially. I work 3 days and have asked to go down to 2, which they are considering. It is quite a daunting idea for me.

Have a lovely new life

Enjoy retirement Mischief. I finally retired on Thursday of last week. Granted I was semi retired for 9 years but have been working for 2 days a week during my semi-retirement. It feels weird for me. I am on 'half-term' in my head but will have to accept reality when schools reopen. You appear to be a lot more prepared than I am so I am sure it will all work out well for you. There is a new grandchild due shortly, so hopefully that will keep me occupied for a month or so!

I've thought about U3A, my cousin is a big member in the Oxford area, but I'm not a joiner. Having said that, I have joined the local Rock Choir and I'm really enjoying it, so I might have a look.

This is the last Sunday when I'll be thinking about what I'm taking to work tomorrow. The count down is really on now. Aahhhhhh!!

I did my family tree. It was incredibly absorbing and I was able to use organisational and problem-solving skills a lot.
I found the first months hard though; it is a big adjustment to make after years of paid employment.

If your retiring just on the state pension don not forget to check your entitlement to benefits. You may be entitled to Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Go down to your nearest Age UK and see if they will do a benefit check or direct you to where you can get one done.

A lot of businesses offer special benefits to pensioners on certain days of the week; not just hair dressers, but B&Q give older people 10% off all purchases on Wednesdays. Some restaurant chains do special offers on 'pensioner meals' at lunch time. Likewise theatres, museums and art galleries. It is amazing what you can do and where you can go at relatlively little cost if you are over 60.

Also check out offers such as the John Lewis scheme that gives you vouchers for a cup of coffee and a cake every so often [combined with Waitrose I think but we don't have Waitrose round here].M&S have cards that you get stamped and when they're full you get a free coffee [also National Trust properties do the same in the larger ones but don't seem to publicise it very well]. I'm currently trying to cut back on energy use [the house not me personally] due to my bills going up...I am very bad at leaving things on standby and turning the heat up when I could put on another jumper. I've saved a lot by having a water meter and save bath water etc to flush the loo; I know it sounds petty but it does all mount up. Have a shower at the gym which covers the cost of petrol getting there. There are a couple of walking clubs there as well which I haven't yet joined.

A widowed friend was told of a scheme from her energy suppliers British Gas that if your income is below a certain level (don't know what that is) you can get a rebate of £140. She did it online and has got it. I had not heard of this before.

I have just googled this info. I think you need to be on pension credit.

Congratulations Mischief. I have been retired now for 15 years from the main job and 8 years from the part time job I took on. I often wonder how I ever had time to work. Youthful energy I suppose. The best advice I was given by a lady who retired before me was that financially the first year was the worst. You still have that expectation of the full salary hitting the Bank every month and it does take a bit of adjustment. But....the rewards are worth it once you get your routine going and you can change that routine as often as you like. Enjoy to the full.

Congratulations. I retired in April my DD has been on maternity leave and just returned to work , so my first 6 months were mainly spent enjoying time with her and the baby. So I am now adjusting , I am going to see how things go before I commit to much as I am helping 2 days a week with DGC. It is strange not rushing all the time.

Enjoy! I am semi retired and only work to cover holidays or sickness and so enjoy the amount of time I have now. I have worked since sixteen and through two pregnancies. Having our own business meant I could put the carrycot behind the counter! Good and bad!!! My boys are now nearly 40 and my grandchildren 8 and 12 and now it is me time. We have been away on lots of short breaks and it is so lovely not to have to be anywhere at any time.
The best bit is waking up in the morning and thinking what do I have to do today and the answer generally is whatever you like!!

Well here I am, 5 days into my retirement and I'm enjoying it so far. I know it's early days.

Annsixty, you are right about the Warm Home Discount and I think I will qualify but the goverment dept is still assessing my benefits and I'm told it could take up to 12 weeks. So I'm not spending anything I don't have to, till I know what I have to live on.

At the moment I am going through all the websites I use for payments such as Ancestry, Amazon, PayPal etc and changing my passwords. I've heard so much recently about online scams and I now have the time to do this. I have made up an 8x8 matrix of numbers and letters and write all the websites down in a book using a cross reference code. It also means I can't spend money online while I'm away from the house (I'm a terrible spur-of-the-moment spender if I see something online) because all the codes are next to my laptop, but they are all in code, so even if someone can get to my book, they won't understand the codes unless they have the matrix. Quite proud of myself.

I love the fact that I have a bus pass and rail card which makes it cheaper to visit family. The cinema and theatre are cheaper if they provide for seniors but I wasn't aware of the M&S & John Lewis schemes, I will enquire about those. Thank you.

Sorry I'm going on a bit but I think the things that have struck me most are the facts that I'm not doing things by the clock, (making sure I'm out of the house at the same time each day,) which is wonderful, and having switched the alarm off and waking up according to my body clock is so liberating. I put off retiring for 7 years because I was terrified of the thought of it, but I knew it was right this year. So far I'm loving it but I suppose my brain could just be thinking I'm on holiday at the moment. Hope I feel the same in a month's time.

Oh and I've re-discovered Woman's Hour on Radio 4!!!!!

Thanks for all the good wishes and advice.

You will spend more on gas and electricity if you are at home more during the day so have you considered changing gas & electricity suppliers? I changed last week and will save £19 a month- as Asda says, every little helps.

I have been retired for 13 years now and found it difficult for the first 6 months- especially expecting my salary to be in the bank each month.

Some supermarkets give good discounts on food to be used by the next day. It is usually around 5pm in the evening that the offers are available. You could always freeze it, again, every little helps.

Enjoy your well earned retirement.

Interesting thread as I officially enter full retirement today !

I could have retired two years ago on reaching State Pension age, but went down to 2 days a week when my elderly father moved to be near us. I'm also his carer/secretary/driver, etc, but he also dog sits for me in return

Still recovering from knee replacement surgery back in September, so between exercises and physio, and Dad, I'm catching up on emails and paperwork/filing/shredding/turning out ...............

For the future, who knows, as we have a few more long haul trips to make before my husband retires in 3 years and the travel insurance goes through the roof !

Hi Charleygirl

I have done all I can to keep the bills down. I have a woodburner which I can use during the day instead of putting the heating on out of normal hours and I have changed all my light bulbs to LEDs, which use 0.016kw/hr. I can't do more than that unless I use candles.

Re gas/elect, I am on a fixed tarrif until March next year so I haven't had any rises for 2 years now. In March I shall look again and hopefully find another good deal.

I am in my small office as much as possible, it's cheaper to heat and faces South so keeps reasonably warm. I also have joined a few websites which give coupons on groceries and discount codes. It's quite a challenge and I'm enjoying rising to it at the moment. What I shall feel like if we get a bad winter - I shall have to wait and see.

Thermal undies....