Is £30k enough to live off

[Desdemonadryeyes]

I realise it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question but I’d appreciate views. My DH died a few months ago and I think I’m now receiving the amounts which will be my monthly income (got his full works pension for a few months) and surprised to receive an extra £2k on my state pension.

Think I’m being over taxed but that will all be sorted out eventually.

My income is £30,600 per annum after tax. No mortgage. Last year I also won £1950 on PBs which is tax free plus I have other annual bonds that should bring in about £3,200 in interest some of which will be taxable. I’m taking out every year to top up my cash ISA.

I have increased expenditure due to requiring a dog walker following an injury but hope to get that sorted eventually.

I like good food, and mid price wine - drink about 3/4 bottles a week. I run a car. Have lunch out with friends probably once a week. Netflix and cheap Sky package. My yearly outgoings on bills etc is £12,400. Need to add in car and house insurance which are due soon but don’t what they will be yet. Dog walker £3,750 per year 🫣

Never really needed to budget before. DHs pensions covered day to day living expenses quite comfortably and I used my inheritance from my dad for life’s luxuries. And I didn’t need a dog walker. Now I’m alone I feel a bit daunted. My injury means I can no longer fly economy.

I could live for a couple of years on the contents of my store cupboards and freezers. When my DD comes home I pay her train fare and uber journeys. And she then shops for her expensive recovery eating plan.

I’ve lost a significant amount of weight recently so need to update my wardrobe. I do enjoy buying stuff. I really don’t need ‘stuff’ but we only pass this way once.

i intend to downsize when I’ve recovered from my injury, and after paying DHs care home fees hope to have about £250,000 left over to put somewhere to earn some interest.

So I will have about £15,500 per year for food, going out, holidays, clothes, gifts etc. I have got savings I van dip into if necessary but for some reason I don’t like doing that. Think I’ve developed the mindset that I should be saving it for my DD to inherit. But my dad had that attitude and it used to annoy me that he wouldn’t spend money on what he needed to make his life more comfortable.

So is that a reasonable amount to live comfortably?

Thanks for reading.

Have you thought of a lodger if you have a spare room?
Of course you would have to research carefully but my elderly neighbour has a young woman who was in college with her grand daughter move in as a cheap lodger.
She walks her dog, does some jobs for her and it has been a lovely success.
She was a country girl who was finding inexpensive lodgings while at university, difficult to find.
Wishing you well.

So approx £1,300 per month after bills. Seems ok for one person. Do you know whether your income is index-linked or fixed? It will buy a lot less in 10 or 20 years if it doesn’t go up at all.

When my DH goes, I expect to be devastated. We've been together 50 happy years.

But i shall have more money than I need. Before you all volunteer to help me spend it, I shall send it all down a generation. And still afford two or three bottles of nice wine per week!

I live on that and I’m a single parent and pay rent out of it.

So yes it absolutely can be done but if you’re not used to budgeting, then you’re going to struggle.

You need to live the next 6 months as basic as possible, to work out what’s a luxury buy and what isn’t (some MNers seem to find this confusing).
Literally bills and food.
You can then work out how much you have left over.

Honestly, I would look into downsizing if possible as you can then use the money to live off too.

I realise it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question but I’d appreciate views. My DH died a few months ago.

Trust MN's to exhibit little to no sympathy or demonstrate out and out hostility in their responses.

Unfortunately I can't offer any advice on your finances. Just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss. 💐

I don't know how to put it politely but £250k is not a lot of money, unless the OP also has a pension paying out alongside. It sounds like riches, but spent over 20 years retired, it allows a very modest degree of comfort.

You'll be absolutely fine and i'm sure you know that as you seem to already have a detailed overview of your outgoings vs income. Defo time to look at reducing wine consumption though. Thats more than double weekly macimum reccommended units. Sorry for your loss.

Part of the answer to your question depends on how old you are - I.e. how many years of very active life you think you may have in front of you.

My parents are in extreme old age and lucky enough to be able to live independently with a little help from us. They are comfortable at home, and their outgoings now are extremely small.

If you are lucky enough to be like them, you will find you spend a fair bit in your early retirement and then very little towards the end.

However, the biggest unknown is your health, which affects how many years you have to fund, but also whether you will have expensive care fees at the end.

You need to account for the things you don’t expect though. We had damage to our house in a storm. £60k worth of damage! And you know what isn’t covered by the ridiculously expensive home insurance we have? This particular type of storm damage. 🙄 We were coasting by just fine on one income (I can’t work due to advanced cancer) and then bam, 2 years worth of my former salary in building works we had to dig up from the sofa cushions so our house wouldn’t collapse on top of us. Life is full of surprises. Would you be able to pay out £60k to builders and still be able to fly business and pay for Ubers?

I don't think OP was here to ask about her wine habit, but I agree that it is rather a lot.

OP you come across as being very savvy. I don't think you need our help!

Good luck with it all.

Just see how it works, you seem to have plenty you could cut if necessary. You could also have a reasonable extra income off the £250k, another £10k?. I think you will be fine.

It's a reasonable amount of additional income at 4%. They said there is a good pension as well and other savings already giving income.

OP if you have reduced mobility from your injury, have your heating bills shot up? Mine have, due to being more sedentary with bad knees.

I hope things gradually become easier for you.

£250, 000?? Jesus why are you worried.

Sorry about the loss of your dh. It sounds to me like you should be pretty comfortable, with no mortgage and £250k put aside gaining interest on top of your pensions. That is not the sort of finances that would keep the average person awake at night with worry, so not really sure what you’re concerned about.

If you’re worried I’d prioritise cutting down the wine, for your health as well as your pocket.

It’s a lot of money to be able to put away. OP has no mortgage and she has pensions. If she is sensible she should be able to manage well enough.

@Desdemonadryeyes I don't think you need to worry about money, but on this income you are definitely not so rich that you can spend without limit, so do get into the habit of budgeting. But so long as you do budget and stick to it, you'll be fine. Don't go crazy, but don't worry.

It sounds like you and your DH have planned well, to make sure you can enjoy your retirement in comfort.

And seriously, if you've made it to state pension age, don't deny yourself a few glasses of wine if you enjoy them. You'd think most people on Mumsnet had a glass of sherry at Christmas and that was it from some comments, but I suspect different. 😉

I don't think op is asking "is it possible for someone to live on this", she's saying this is how I live, will i be able to live comfortably in the way I'm used to, on this.

Her husband just died. Everything feels different and new. It may be he handled all finances so budgeting like this feels intimidating and also a little emotional.

That's £7,500 to £10,000 a year at a safe withdrawal rate. Very nice to have. Not really lap of luxury without additional private pension.

Does the 250k include amounts freed up from downsizing? Nb stamp duty if you haven’t taken it into consideration.

You drink way too much, cut down to one bottle a week and you will save at least £100 a month.

Sounds like you are doing quite well and also will have a large inheritance soon, so just spend and enjoy. We’re only here once

Depends on where you live. Anywhere South of Cambridge: No, that's a joke of a salary. And I say this as someone who lived on minimum wage for some years.

My thought too……..sorry but that amount is not essential and I’d sooner spend on the dog walker facility than alcohol.