What do you want to do in retirement? I’m buying a chicken patch

It’s hard to visualise what you want in retirement. Mouthy Money editor Edmund Greaves has some thoughts.

What do you want from your retirement? It’s a big question. The younger you are, the harder it might be to have a clear picture in your head.

There are plenty of stock responses we’re all probably conditioned to consider:

• “Take a cruise!”
• “Travel the world!”
• “Buy a house with a sea view!”
• “To the Lamborghini show room!”

But retiring plans don’t have to be ambitious. Having a plan, or at least a vague idea, is worthwhile though.

For my part, I have an image of a comfortable (and easy to maintain) country cottage, with a patch out back big enough for some chickens (and a labrador).

A nice study with a leather chair where I can read and write (and probably fall asleep in) with a cosy fireplace.

In short, I want somewhere quiet, self-sufficient and sustainable.

I love to travel, visit new places and learn about new cultures. But truly, I don’t think I want to have to do that when I’m 70.

I want to take my son to these places and open his eyes to the wide world out there while he’s still young. And I want to be able to do things while I’m still spritely enough to enjoy them too.

What does that mean in practice? It means I don’t have to be so hard on myself while I’ve still got something like youthful vigour. I have very little interest in living in penury in order to maximise my cash pile when I’m geriatric.

All too often, the message is rammed down our throats by financial services and Government alike that we need to plan for infinitesimal retirements where we could live to be 150 and need barrels of money to keep us going. But it’s not true.

What you need is a plan and a sustainable way to achieve that without making your life a total misery.

And once you reach some of those goals (or at least, the financial equivalents therein), you need not be so worried about using the resources you’ve built to actually go out and have the life you want to live.

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This was the subject of this week’s podcast with guest Dan Haylett. Dan has some very enlightening views on why people should actually set out to enjoy their hard-earned wealth instead of sitting on a pile of gold coins like old Tolkien’s Smaug.

But if for nothing else, the problem with sitting on all that money forever is financial firms love it because they can keep charging fees, while the Government loves it because you’re not their problem if you take care of yourself (despite the fact your taxes paid for others to enjoy those same benefits today).

I really loved Dan’s suggestion in our podcast catch up that you should break the journey down into much smaller steps. Where do you want to be in nine years? What about three? Keep pushing forward but don’t let the horizon be so far off that it seems like you’ll never get there.

Make a plan. It doesn’t have to be exact, but have one. Even if it’s just a general direction of travel, so to speak. Future you will thank you. My future chickens, Henrietta, Mildred and Prudence will thank me too.

Photo credits: Pexels