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

@Greenfairydust
Lovely to hear that you are now doing well. Good luck going forward and enjoy your new life!

Loving reading this thread - can I ask those of you who have downsized do you miss the space you had before? We need to heavily declutter and downsizing could be my driver.

I haven’t read the whole thread but your OP is perfect. Good luck, congratulations.

Do it, do it, do it and never, ever look back!
My friends brother is currently at the end of his life at 57. He was earning £200k per year, working all hours and now he has no life to look forward to at all and a huge amount of money left in the bank.
I’m 50, DH is 51. I’m lucky to only work 2 days per week but DH wants to give up ft and work pt by the time he’s 55.
I want to rent out house out and go and live somewhere by the sea or deep in the countryside and spend our adventures in our caravan, touring round the U.K. and Europe.
Good luck on your adventures, I am very envious but hope to live the dream one day too 🤞

@erikbloodaxe
I went coast to coast Vancouver island to Montreal and Quebec City in my 20s. ExH is Canadian but came to London as a teen. It's fabulous and I thoroughly recommend it. We went by Greyhound buses then train from Toronto. Took 8wks. Went back again with toddler daughter in our 30s and drove part way then flew from Calgary to Montreal. Again was amazing. Enjoy!

I think it is very smart to reduce the hours as we get older. It is still very good for our morale to work though. As has been mentioned do find your part time job first it is not at all wise to give up work just like that.

Part time jobs and online jobs can be hard to come by. I work online at home and I am also mortgage free but income can be up and down self employed. I live as cheap as possible though which helps plus I could justify selling my car. I still have to put more hours in than I planned though since the cost of living crisis.

Well done OP I did it three years ago.
I'm so much happier.
I "downsized" to a much cheaper home but in Somerset so I've got more space than the expensive house I had in the south east and I've paid off my mortgage.
I chose a much smaller garden though as I want to spend more time going out and less time weeding.
I don't regret it AT ALL.

I love this - enjoy!

I don't know about OP but I'm an NHS podiatrist. They will grab anyone of any age because they can't find staff anywhere. They want me to work until at least 70 and I can even work to 75 if I want to, or go private.

I'm 56 and newly single. I'm trying to keep the marital home going as I still have DC at home. In 2 years last DC goes to uni/ 5 years till she finishes. I will reassess at that time but will be past ready for the same.

We are doing the same. Have been retired for 6 years. We kept the house ; space is nice. We spend time with our grandson ( 10 minutes up the road) and do what we want when we want. Worked out our finances until we are 96 ( no more space on the spreadsheet). The children are adults ,married and own houses We have no mortgage. Enjoy it Op it's absolutely brilliant.

What are lovely thread OP, go for it!
I retire in a few months after 31 years in the public sector and will only be 52. Adult kids are almost financially independent. Then I'm hoping the fun will begin!
I hope to do casual/ PT work but that will have to fit around my travel plans!

It's great and I think you should go for it. I have done similar. I am self-employed and have most of the summer off every year.
However, I would advise caution with regard to this "partner" whom you went on an online date with in November - if this is indeed the same person. You have only been together 6 months and you don't know each other that well.
Throwing your lot in with him and buying a small property with him is very risky indeed. You would be foolish to do this at such an early stage.
If you can afford to sell your property and buy your own small property without input from him, that would be a better plan. But then don't let him cocklodge at yours.
I mean, he could be a great guy and maybe everything would be fine but if that goes tits up when you've made a decision to earn less and have purchased a property with him, you might find yourself at 60 in a precarious financial situation. You really need to think about that carefully.

Best of luck OP. This is my dream, albeit a campervan instead of a house!

Who cares what Jeremy unt thinks. We owe our woeful political parties nothing*
Amen to that.
The wealthy and powerful can only stay that way if the rest of us are prepared to work hard for very little money (compared to what they have)
Lots of us in our 50s have paid down our mortgages and are in a position to live happy healthy stress free lives not working at all or just working a minimal amount of hours.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, *unt

Throwing your lot in with him and buying a small property with him is very risky indeed
I agree with this, I'm in a long-term relationship but I will never live with anyone again, it's too stressful and you are too much at their mercy.

It's wonderful! Enjoy every minute.

Oh well done, good for you. Great stuff.

For those concerned about my Mr and how long I've known him, risk, money, dont be. I can affird to buy outright by myself.

I could play safe and dull or take a risk and have an adventure. I'm going for the adventure. Safe is overrated.

Hello my people, I am so looking forward to doing this when I hit 55 later this year. I will be quitting my job and enjoying life.

Pre Covid I was quite career driven, in the office at 8 every day, usually still there at 6pm 5 days a week. I worked throughout Covid from home, and my employer was awful, but I counted myself fortunate to be able to stay stafe and have regular income and be there for my family as needed.

Now I am supposidly back in the office or at least hybrid, employer still awful and I have zero motivation (which is why I am on here in the middle of the day!).
I am not sure if it is the menopause or what but I just can't be bothered with office politics or making money for people why swan around doing F'all and ignoring me.

We were able to but a reasonable sized family home before we had our DC and didn't upsize to a bigger one like many of our friends so the mortgage was paid off a good few years ago. I also started contributing to my pension pot when I started work 37 years ago so I have enough to do what I want. I may take on some part time work or volunteer if the mood hits me.

DH says he is working to 60 (4 more years), but he is still motivated and respected by his employer and has enough leave to join me on my planned adventures as I don't like being away from home for too long.

HUGE admiration for you! You go girl and live your best life! Love posts like this!

Sounds amazing!

Sounds perfect
Enjoy life.. Tomorrow is not guaranteed

Just please make sure you register as tenants in common in the new property if your equitable share is bigger than your partner's contribution. Also ensure that your share goes to your children in the event of your death. Get your will done at the same time. I am not putting a dampene r on but cover yourself for all eventualities. I used to do legal secretarial when younger and any good solicitor would tell you this.