54, had enough of the daily slog so I'm not going to do it anymore....

[erikbloodaxe]

Well I have plan at least.

1. Sell this house
2. Buy little house
3. Give notice at current job.
4. Find remote PT job
5. Earn enough to cover outgoings (no mortgage thankfully)
6. Spend my time doing what makes me happy.

I'm not spending what time I have left bloody working full time. The time between now and retirement will just be wasted years.

Wish me luck! Adventures here I come

Good for you, I did similar, work is overrated (and for anyone who wants to comment I worked non stop for 40 years and have never claimed anything and still don’t). I now work part time mostly during the winter months and have never looked back.

Wishing you all the best.

Go for it, I would! I'm 52, 9 year old child, will be a long time before I can do it but otherwise so yes! Life is short, you need to ease the stress and live life! Looking forward to the day when I don't have to work and parent full on x

Good for you xx

You are so lucky. I rent, no inheritance coming and will have to work till I die. Enjoy your adventures.

I'm not in the UK and believe the system here is much better. I could keep all the money I currently have, and will inherit, and the state would still pick up the cost of my care.

I do hope you are paying for your own healthcare, children's education etc. btw - or are you happy for the state to be picking that up .....

Sounds fab op. I'm a similar age and last year I gave up my ft job without a job to go to. I now work 3 days a week doing something far less stressful. Enjoy

There's a lot to be said for opting out of big housing costs if you're able. They're a scourge.

@erikbloodaxe Canada coast to coast? Have you just seen the latest series of Race Across the World, or is this a long standing ambition? It made us want to fo coast to coast too!!

Do you genuinely believe that the state pension alone is going to give anyone a comfortable retirement? In ten years' time it may have lost even its current value.

Yes @DozyDelia . For those people who aren't motivated by material things. Or who are used to doing without. Lots of what some people consider essential really isn't. People who can make the most of the free things in life and be content with that would do fine on state pension. Those who don't look at what others have with envy. Optimistic people. People who make it their life's mission to choose happiness wherever possible regardless of the situation. People who practice gratitude or who've had a hard life and naturally feel it, without any effort, just in the absence of misery. You need to open your eyes to the fact an lot of people will have nothing but the state pension and there's nothing they can do about it. If they managed to save up even £10-20k over the course of a lifetime (and lots won't even have that opportunity) there's more efficient and effective things they could spend it on, in terms of happiness and contentment, than a pension pot. "Comfort" to you means financial security, high enough income that you can pay for all your needs and most of your wants without state help, you have worries about the future and this eases it for you. For others, "comfort" can mean something entirely different. Some people have very few wants, know how to meet their needs cheaply or for free, are used to the art of frugality. Not everyone shares your worries and even if they do, not everyone has the opportunity to do what you plan to do about it. People find their own ways of coping with life. Right and wrong in this context isn't black and white because we're all individuals with our own beliefs and priorities.

Well said @SusanMaria!!! I'm not in the UK, but my state penison will be slightly more than what I am getting in my current part-time job. I do spend more than necessary at the moment, but am looking on cutting back. My needs are very simple, and it really isn't necessary to spend a lot of money to enjoy life. I am very content with what I have, and most of the things I do in my spare time don't cost anything. I seem to be happier than many who have far more in the way of material things. I wouldn't turn down a Lotto win obviously, but even then I would only want a modest one, and as it is very unlikely to ever happen I look forward to a happy retirement regardless.

I love your style. I'm 59 and would do this now if I could, but unfortunately that's not an option right now. Good luck with it all. X

I chucked it all in at the end of January at the age of 55. It’s best thing I have ever done. Good luck!!

You never know lol.

Amazing, very inspirational.!! I'm single, 52 and work FT and am burning out. Time to plan!

@SusanMaria

Thank you! So perfectly put.

This is so interesting. There have been a number of threads about the ethics of retiring early on here recently, but they have all been about just that. I’ve always wondered why there isn’t similar controversy about people choosing to work less than they could. I have a friend who hasn’t worked full time since her 20s and gave it up long before she had a child. If she continues in that vein until state retirement she will escape the judgment heaped upon early retirees, whereas someone working full time up to, say, 58 and then quitting the whole thing would not.

You can make a similar argument again about people who don’t pursue promotions and higher paying roles - are they shirking their tax paying duties?

It makes no sense other than as an exercise in authorities making scapegoats out of certain groups.

@SusanMaria That's all very 'preachy' but those moral values don't pay the bills. Trying to sound superior and make poverty some kind of attractive way to live is not going to wash.

It's all very well trying to make people who are financially prudent feel guilty, shallow, or whatever else you are implying- but it's nonsense.

Poverty in old age is not fun. If you think it is, you're deluded.

I'm not sure if you have done the maths. At the moment, some people on the lowest state pension are living on £163 a week. (And most are living on under £10Kpa.)

Have you any sense of how hard that it is? It's almost impossible.

But, carry on, preaching about how being poor is somehow superior. If that makes you happy, fine!

It's only perfect if it fits your own narrative, which does come across as perhaps financially naive.

Loads of people cut back on work in their 50s if they can afford it. It's hardly headline news.

But most have put some effort into thinking how they will live in their old age, if they are not contributing to their savings or pensions 15 years earlier than they might have.

@DozyDelia

As I said earlier in the thread, My finances are just fine thanks. I'm certainly not naïve. I haven't disclosed any details because that isn't the point of this thread for me.

What an inspirational thread.
You’ve really got me thinking.

Gook luck🍀 not that you’ll need it, I bet you both won’t ever look back,

Following!

That's great then! And I wish you happy travels and a super future.

I know you didn't ask for advice. But I wondered why you felt the urge to 'tell everyone' on a forum rather than just do it? Because sometimes when people broadcast a decision and create a dialogue with complete strangers who have no idea of their actual circumstances, it's because deep down, they are a little unsure and hope people agree they are doing the right thing (and even offer advice!)

@DozyDelia

I thought there must be others who felt the same. I haven't asked for advice because I don't need it.

OP you're not telling us the whole picture nor are many of the women on this thread working part-time or very little.

How much does your husband bring in and what portion of the bills does he pay? His income is often what will give you the freedom to work less or not at all.

So many women get to step back because they are being subbed by men on larger salaries and then they go on about their one day a week work, work life balance and easier life etc. it's a bit of gloating.

Ladies don't forget to get a man for an easier life!

I'm not reliant on any man! Jesus Christ. Are people so unable to see beyond there own small bloody lives and see someone else may be different to them.