Modest pension but want to splurge when the time comes.

[sparklingpinkenergy]

Im a divorced Mom of three. I’ve worked full time
all of my life . Raised my children solo, two of whom have mild SN. My life has been so good despite some ups and downs and my work has been my saviour when times got hard. I love it and will miss it but will continue to work in my field voluntarily and paid , now and again after retirement
the majority of my income has been spent on my children over the years , like so many of us parents , and I’ve done that lovingly .
However , I’ve always, since a teenager , wanted a Chanel classic 2.55 bag.
I will receive a decent sum on retirement and a lump sum also. My income will halve but my children will be financially independent by then I expect .
my dream is to fly to Italy solo or if I have a partner by then, with him .. for a weekend
f decadence and luxury and include a trip to one of the Chanel stores to buy my bag of dreams. It’s ridiculously expensive , I know and guilt is beginning to set in.
the guilt of splurging on myself I expect .
AIBU to do this or should I keep an eye on designer exchange stores? I can do a trip anytime but it seems like an extortionate thing to do . Then again, forty years of work outside home and raising my children solo deserves celebration too!
Id be interested in your thoughts!!

Definitely buy it abroad. Shopping in the EU is now tax free. That bag is just under £9k pounds...but you'll save with the tax refund and the exchange rate. Use a credit card with no exchange fees and collect points too! That pension is very good, particularly if indexed to inflation. Invest the lump sum into a high yield savings account - 5% will give you another 5K a year additional income in interest... You will pay some tax on that interest but the interest is money from old rope anyways! I am also after that bag - and think you can always tell who's is real and who's is fake by whether they wear it in the rain or under a coat... It's a beautiful bag. Classic. Do it!!!

YADNBU!! Do it, it’ll make you so happy why not

Where's that modest pension you mentioned in your OP?

As I understand, Chanel bags hold their value pretty well? This one is £6,500, so there’s a saving of £2,500 already, I’d try and roll all my fun into 10k total. Given the bag is an asset, I don’t see the issue.

www.fenwick.co.uk/products/wgaca-chanel-black-lambskin-2-55-9-black

As an over 60 myself, with no interest in expensive bags, I am still flabbergasted at the ageism in your post.

How come the lump sum is only £100k if it’s a £40k pension from age 58? Or is that how it works with DB pensions, that the lump sum is sometimes much less than 25%?

I e no idea tbh. These are my numbers but I guess I always have to remember that those sums will be my entire household income fr the future

Absolutely, go for it!

It's hardly ageist to point out carrying an expensive status symbol makes one a target for a snatch n grab and when older, an even more attractive target because less likely to effectively fight off a robber or chase them down and get your bag back.

You want to spend 10% of your savings on a bag?

I don't want to hear from you again OP until you've gone and bought that bag. I sort of work in pensions and it depresses me how many people with decent pensions like you seem determined to avoid enjoying them in the name of tax efficiency or whatever, with the goal of being as rich a corpse as possible. You're doing it the right way IMO. Now go away and book the sodding plane.

Go for it @sparklingpinkenergy, sounds fab

Go to Italy, live your dream. I deeply regret say no to my DH when he offered to buy me one when they just under 4k.

But all the examples but one given by that poster were of young people being victims of crime. I think it's the height of foolishness to go through your life being so fearful you deny yourself the things or experiences that feel meaningful to you.

Similar lump sum but lower pension, I skipped off to Venice with some pals - I was sorely tempted by a Gucci bag but couldn't face the cost - bought a Furla one instead.
I did buy a £5k painting though.

What? So bloody ageist. I’m older and if I could afford a Chanel bag I’d wear it with pride.

Most females of any age could not physically fight off an adult male assailant.

I wouldn't advise any one of any age to chase their assailant to aim to retrieve an item, but maybe my age has me mature enough to risk assess more effectively .

Don’t you have to pay UK import tax on goods over £390 which wipes out the tax you save in tax-free shopping? https://www.gov.uk/bringing-goods-into-uk-personal-use/arriving-in-Great-Britain

Blimey - that is a large pension! Is it public sector?

And you will get state pension too when the time comes

well, I bought a classic Chanel in 2018 and just sold it for £500 more than I paid back then. I also had an 80’s classic Chanel I paid £1k for and sold for the same a year later so what I’d say is that they’re investment pieces. Buy the bag, enjoy your retirement & if you need to, later on down the line you could sell it!!

Bet you’re sorry you mentioned the size of your pension now OP 😂

But going against the grain, that wouldn’t be for me. To spend 10% of your lump sum on one luxury item when you have no idea how your retirement will look, seems a bit reckless to me. Especially at 58 when you may have a long retirement ahead of you.

I know people are saying it’s an investment but isn’t that when it stays in mint condition? When it is used and knocked about the value depreciates considerably.

I don’t know your bills or your living situation, but your household take home income will be around £2500 - do you want to commit four months income on a bag?

I admit I am not a bag person so am a bit out of the loop here but equally wouldn’t spend that on jewellery or art. Would a compromise work? Leave it a year, see how your numbers are stacking up and how much of that lump sum was needed. If you put that £100,000 into a bond for a year it will pay you £4000 interest (some tax due). If you buy it for yourself for your 60th, the next couple of years interest will mean it’s almost free. I know prices will go up but you might also lose your desire for a posh handbag when you’re not going to work everyday.

buy the bag!

But please please do not build up the purchase to be an exciting event. It should be, but some of the assistants are awful and in Rome I’ve had particularly bad (and good service).

Paris I’ve found the Chanel store to be good - you inevitably have to queue but security are charming and fast with the big umbrellas. Staff are Parisian in nature but helpful.

Rome as I say very mixed - fine if you’re not invested in the experience but if you are (and why shouldn’t you be) it can prove disappointing.

London ime is the worst, hate that being true about my home city but there it is.

if you really want a lovely Chanel buying experience my recommendation is Dublin. Jannette in the Brown Thomas concession is lovely. It’s a while since I was in there but if she’s still there shes worth the flight ticket.

Ultimately as someone else pointed out, you need to decide how much the whole.experoemce is worth to you.

Yes, you could buy secondhand and it would be the same bag, but if you're wanting the bells and whistles of marking an occasion it's not going to feel the same.

I think if you're chasing the "moment" then you need to do the trip and do it.

But it is just a bag and if you feel uncomfortable with spending 9k on it then it's worth stopping to pause and think it through.

To spend 10% of your lump sum on one luxury item when you have no idea how your retirement will look, seems a bit reckless to me.

But she does have a pretty good idea of how her retirement will look as she's got a £40k defined benefit pension. In isolation if somebody said on here that they'd got a £40k pension from 58 plus a 90 grand lump sum you'd have hordes of posters telling her how lucky she is and that the great majority of people can only dream of that kind of retirement. So to say it's reckless to get yourself a £10k treat out of a £100k lump sum with a £40k DB pension to look forward to seems almost miserly. What's the point of building up that sort of pension if you're not going to treat yourself?