Welcome to my blog on….
Who am I?
My name is Nick and I am sixty-three years old and live in the town of Chippenham in the West of the UK. I am divorced and own a modest three bedroom semi-detached house which is the basis for my life in retirement.
I’m a self-confessed geek who loves to embrace technology and use it to enhance and simplify my life. In recent years have invested heavily, both in my time and my modest financial resources, in electric energy systems that underpin my home and my life.
I love the concept of saving, whether that be on a cheap flight to an exotic destination, filling my fridge with reduced produce from the co-op or by charging my electric car for free on public chargers.
Why I have decided to create this community
Over recent years as I’ve become increasingly interested in investing, finance and particularly what it takes in terms of wealth to fund/underpin a happy and “successful” retirement. Through this research, I have come to realise that most of us haven’t the faintest idea what it takes to fund retirement. How much do you need in terms of savings, pensions, and assets to live comfortably? And more importantly, what strategies and hacks might be available to underpin the dream of a happy and fulfilling retirement.
While I had a successful and reasonably lucrative working life in Telecommunications, due to the financial impact of my divorce and other factors outside my control, I approached retirement with modest wealth in terms of savings, property and pensions. I reached a point where, along with my partner, I wanted to live the dream and grab the moment! But recognised that without a reorganisation of my finances and some pretty drastic changes in my lifestyle, spending habits and thinking, this simply wouldn’t be possible.
How to have a happy & successful retirement on a budget?
I therefore decided to focus my attention and actions on preparing myself and my affairs for a life with less, living a more modest and balanced existence, but crucially retaining quality of life and of course fun and happiness…. The fundamentals of this “less is more” existence, are based on careful planning and organisation and embracing a new way of thinking, acting and spending! Therefore, this blog is designed to document this evolution, sharing my journey and what I’ve learnt with anyone who want to read it and come along for the ride. I would hope that over time it might be possible to create a community of those who themselves are on this journey and can share and contribute to the knowledge base.
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