Tag: retirement

Winter 2025

It has been some time since I posted on this blog, which is primarily about me and my very significant other getting to our retirement in a financially secure and healthy space.

Finances
I have read a few more books, blogs, listened to more podcasts and completed a free online course. The outcome is for the KISS principle (keep it simple stupid) to come back into force. Over the years have been lured (easily and being just plain dumb) onto different investing platforms with individual shares (some that I have had for decades), index funds and managed funds. So as a consequence have had a number of fund managers all clipping the ticket with fees.

So after reading and listening to the Happy Saver (aka Ruth) and doing the Donegans FREE Rebel Finance School 10 week course have started to sell and consolidate investments into one index fund through one provider (okay two). Was thinking about keeping a couple of favourite shares, but came back to the KISS principle.

I am redoing the Rebel Finance School, that started in early June 2025 and picking up aspects that I had missed first time around plus there are a number of new calculators.

We have also put our rental property up for sale, but a bit of a glitch with the Council Records that slowed the process down but is now all sorted with settlement date coming up later this month.

In New Zealand we don’t have a capital gains tax but do have a “brightline” test to tease out those that trade properties. We have had out rental for 14 years so the test don’t apply to us. The proceeds from the sale (after lawyer and real estate agent’s fees) will go into TWF ETF index funds and top up our emergency fund to six month of expenses, currently sitting at four months.

In NZ we are a bit limited with low fee options for TWF EFT (or equivalent). Currently have two pockets basically doing the same thing; SMART and InvestNow. SMART is through the NZX but you need a broker to sell like ASB Securities or you can sell through InvestNow. I haven’t looked into the fees for this yet but is on my “to do” list. The other fund that Ruth the Happy Saver discussed on her blog was the InvestNow Foundation Series TWF. Have a very annual fee of 0.06 but incurs a buy/sell fee of 0.5%. Seems high and MoneyHub NZ (Chris Walsh) did a comparison and long term appears to be offset by the low annual fee.

Travel
On the way to our retirement, we will continue to plan for events and activities that we enjoy. Last year we enjoyed a reunion with fellow work colleagues at Mt Maunganui that was great to meet up with with after some thirty odd years., and then our bi-annual winter escape to Rarotonga, which is always fabulous. Hired e-bikes and rode around the island which is pretty easy until your battery fails even though was fully charged when you left!!! This time did the mud buddy tour which was fantastic, a wee note that the soil colour will never ever come out of your clothes so don’t where t-shirts that you want to wear in public again😂😂. Ms S had her birthday in Raro and had a fabulous dinner at Antipodes Restaurant, complete with a “Happy Birthday” chorus from the team there.

This year we had Easter break and Matariki with my brother and his family, complete with an overdose of bubbles and chocolate. Following that we had a week in Melbourne catching up with a couple of friends and having a great look around as we have never been there before. We would recommend the Complete Melbourne Walking Tour that lasts three hours and gives a bit of history, walking through the laneways with some great and not so great art, viewed key historic buildings (complete with Ned Kelly’s armour) and not to mention a coffee and a beer, although not both together unless that is your thing.

Next year we are planning to do the three day Rakiura walk on Stewart Island in Feb/Mar with friends next March which does mean we will have to do some training for this, as we will have carry all our own gear including food, but we should be ok as is only a three day walk. Weather is what it is, and it is Stewart Island. Will pack out good wet weather gear, thermals and other key pieces only trying to keep the packs as light as possible.

Fitness
We have continued with our fitness over 2024 and in 2025. It helps to have two dogs that need walking everyday, complete with adding in a trip to the river to wash off all the dirt Lottie rolled in.

But do notice the smile on her face…priceless

We will have to start adding in carrying a pack especially with the hike next year planned, and have both started a shuffle, I call it that as you can’t really call it jogging, let alone running.

Ms S still bikes to work at least 3-4 days per week, I on the other hand have been slack as a tad busy with a new job I started Feb 24. Still have yet to add in Mark Sisson’s PEM (Prime Essential Movements) but we are heading in the right direction – again thank goodness.

Nutrition
Still working on the health side, which will always be needed. A reminder if you are woman and of a certain age, we read of a good book by a kiwi author Nicky Pellegrino called Don’t Sweat It. She explains it well and gives you a no nonsense list for your GP.

Still doing ketovore (okay not over long weekends 😉), trying to lean more towards the carnivore. Have done quite a bit more reading and the research seems to be firm. Does make me annoyed that all the mainstream information that we were and are feed is based on weak evidence aka observational studies. Caught up with my older cousin and her hubby recently and they are both hooked, and have a good group of friends doing the same. They have noticed fabulous side effects from this namely; weight loss, decease in inflammation and less fog with memory and brain function.

If you are interested start with watching the Fat and Fat 2 documentaries on YouTube, and then read The Carnivore Diet by Shawn Baker, then Dietician’s Dilemma by Michelle Hearn. One aspect I am quite surprised with is the amount of meat you have to eat to get the amount of protein and fat but you still loose weight – fabulous!!!

We are still doing IF primarily 16-18 hours daily which seems to be working well. I do find it much easier if I am in the office and busy as you forget to be hungry and are not tempted by food and thus opening your eating window early.

Home and Property
We have continued with our DIY projects building compost bins out of old pellets and then seeing the results from those bins being used on our gardens. Have popped some dahlias in to add colour and for the bees, the bees always being thought of 😊

We engaged a builder to extend / build an overhang for the front door as it was affected by the northerly weather. Was all completed well before autumn and blends into the house so well, that the neighbours thought it had been there all the time.

Community
Our community continues to be strong with sharing of ideas, bartering and our Friday Night Drinks (FNDs). These occur every 3-4 weeks and is a hoot, always funny stories to share mainly about recapping mishaps that have occurring on our properties.

Working on our properties does minimise stress and nudges you into including activity as part of your daily life, which is probably the only one verifiable outcome I got from reading the Blue Zones.

Aug – Dec 25
So over the rest of this year we will continue with ketovore combined with IF, doing 10,000 steps, start on PEMs, complete the 2025 Rebel Finance School course (did I mention that was FREE) more projects on our property, complete the sale of our rental, invest in index funds (after researching the Foundation Series TWF), complete the KISS investment accounts and complete the share sale.

Righto simple!!!

More on the money stuff

Knowing when you have enough money to retire and then to actually retire are massive decisions, and for me very very scary. We have all had to make the big calls in our lives and this one is up there!!!

But how much do we actually need to retire? There are so many discussions and threads about how much you need in retirement; from $1 million to $2 million and up to 25 times your annual salary. Also, everyone’s circumstances are different; do you leave a legacy for your children – if you have any, or do you ensure as Martin Hawkes said in one of his books something along the lines of “aim to ensure the last cheque you write to the undertaker bounces”. He was in essence using the decumulation principle leaving no funds behind. For us if we end up having money leftover after we both die then that is a bonus and that will go to our family as part of the final estate.

Speaking of the decumulation principle, I did find the author and he actually calls it “flawcasting” as the only thing he can guarantee is that it will be wrong. This is a link to his website https://wealthandrisk.nz/ and if you look for his podcast on flawcasting.  

One of the blogs that I regularly read is from Mr Money Mustashe, which is about FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early), which as you may know has grown into a huge movement. One that I go back to every now and again and kick myself is called the shockingly simple math of retirement. Looking at this, we should have started on this with a more focussed view many years ago but didn’t – hence the kicking. But here we are with around six years to go until we cease full-time employment. Which in essence is pretty good. One or both of us may still work, but what that work looks like who knows. 

The money. For us – mainly me, have tracked how much we’ve spent per month for a number of years, (ok about 10). I’ve grouped these under various “buckets”; bills, living, and frillies (not my name, I blame our advisor for this). Bills are the regular monthly or yearly costs; things that go into this bucket are rates, insurances, power, internet, Sky, cellphones, etc. I haven’t added in our mortgage as know that when we retire that will be paid off, so didn’t factor that into our yearly/retirement spend. Next is the living bucket; groceries, dog food, vet, doctor, petrol, pharmacy, and so on.

Lastly is frillies. These are things that are extras and planned (or meant to be planned) like; hair, movies, concerts, presents, dinners, holidays etc. This area is where you can drastically cut if required. 

From there worked on how much we currently spend per year, then after a bit of a gasp, looked at what we could trim so we could have enough savings to retire at 60. As chatted about previously lockdown has shown us that we don’t actually have to spend money. We do have a financial advisor who has helped us with our properties, insurances, and investments. She does not tell us what to do (althought at times she wishes she could) but gives advice around the pros and cons of ideas we come up with. Admittedly some of the ideas I have come up with over the years have been a bit hair-brained. She does take on a holistic approach and she was amazing with options for my late Mum when she was in her last years of life. Another story.

Back to yearly spend, we tracked what we were spending and looked at where we could trim; insurances, groceries, superannuation, takeaways, coffees, and vehicle costs. Insurances were mainly were about medical and life insurance. We have no kids and so there is no reason to pass on any lump sums-if we actually have anything leftover🤣

Ms. S has free life insurance with her work of $100k and I have superannuation from a previous role super that she is entitled to half if I died before her. So we have enough to cover expenses, and decided to scrap the life insurance. Medical insurance, boy is that a minefield. As you get older your premiums will go through the roof as things wear out. With emergency surgeries covered by government funding, and accidents by ACC, what is left are the costs of the more aged related stuff; cataracts, hip, knee, shoulder replacement, breast reconstruction (after cancer surgery) and teeth maintenance, which more than likely will be removal-groan.

Takeaways and coffees are a no brainer, and groceries, we have meal plans and shop with a list. There is a good app we use “Buy me a pie” which all members of the household can use to build your grocery list. You just add on things as you see you need them. Saves of that hassle of trying to remember how many packets of coffee you have on the pantry shelf when you are in the grocery shop!!

We have saved quite a chunk and have invested these to accrue some interest. However with COVID-19 still rampant around the world and severe recession looming, we are looking at our options for our investments that are sitting gathering limited interest. Thoughts are around subdividing our rental property and build some new houses. With the Government trying to have shovel ready projects going and with a shortfall in housing, it seems like a very good idea. Have no idea where to start but am sure there are some good websites and information from the local Council. Did some rough calculations and may be worthwhile.

Right, you get the picture; know what you spend per year, look where to trim, save the difference, and then determine what to do with it to get you to ceasing full-time employment. I do think it is worthwhile to get an advisor, one that does have the appropriate accreditations. I thought I knew quite a bit about all the ins and outs about finance and tax, but in the end, this is their full-time job. I found out that Google doesn’t have all the rights answers.

A couple of posts ago I set myself some tasks for June:

  • Complete spare bedroom declutter – half done
  • 4 items actually up on Trademe – yes completed
  • Items not sold to either the Op Shop or Transfer station – not yet
  • Veggie plants still alive – regular check slugs haven’t nailed them – yes
  • Native plants arrived and planted in the ground (novel approach) – done
  • Walking 3-4 times per week – yep all good

For the rest of July;

  • Clean out the garage (actually a big task)
  • 4 more items actually up on Trademe
  • Items not sold to either the Op Shop or Transfer station
  • Order veggie seeds from Kings seeds
  • Walking 3-4 times per week
The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement

Next time – What if things go wrong in retirement

Pets in Retirement

I thought I would change tack slightly and talk about Pets in Retirement. You will understand why as you read on.

We have always had pets and currently we have two dogs; a retriever, and a rough collie and two cats Lily and Mr Merkin. All the pets as you can imagine have so enjoyed Ms S being home during lockdown especially the dogs and have now become “inside dogs”. The cats, well they just do what they want anyway as humans, as we know are just staff 😂.

As I write this Mr Merkin (or just Merkin) has just been diagnosed with cancer and has a very short lifespan left. We took him to the vet as he had lost weight and wasn’t eating. Is very sad as he has a fantastic personality, hangs out with us, follows us to the neighbours and around the property. Let me tell you a bit about him.

Merkin is a ginger ex-tom, and was around four years old when we got him from the SPCA cat. Silly me though that when you buy one it would be relatively cheap as you are essentially doing everyone a favour. Not on your nalley. $150 thank you very much. But when I roughly add it up there is the cost of neutering, chipping, worming, de-flea treatment and then staff and building costs. So all in all it is all worth it as you do get to re-home a pet.

You may be thinking Merkin is an interesting name for a cat. Well the story goes like this…….. When we got him in 2010 he was named Icon by the staff (really what sort of name is Icon). Anyway we were reading a newspaper back then and Lucy Lawless a NZ actor was starring in a TV production called Spartacus: Blood and Sand. She was commenting on the costumes they had to wear or actually lack thereof, as there was quite a bit of nudity. She discussed that she and her fellow female actors had to wear merkins. Now we had never heard of this we read on, and essentially they are fanny wigs or wigs to cover your shaven pubic area (Google this I dare you – but not on a work computer).

So we thought it would be a hoot to call our new cat Merkin. Was all fun until we were building our new house and we were living with friends at the time when Merkin went missing. Ms S pushed me out the door early in the morning to go call out for the cat. She gave me further instructions that in the event that I still couldn’t find him, I was to go house to house asking if they had seen my Merkin. You can imagine that when she was saying this, she was roaring with laughter just at the very thought of me doing this 😂. But luckily for me, oh and Merkin cat, he came back to the house in his own good time, he had just been out scoping out the new neighbourhood.

But thinking about retirement and pets, I suppose the question out of this post is; do you still have pets? Then if the answer is yes, at what point do you say no more? It may be when you can physically no longer care for them, or can’t afford to have them or you go into care. Perhaps all of the above. Something to ponder.

However unfortunately for dear old Merkin his ventures around the property with us will soon cease. We will find a nice place to bury him and plant a tree, perhaps an olive or plum tree to always have this reminder around the property where he used to walk and hang out with us.

Merkin enjoying the summer sun on the back deck (Dec 2019)

Next will be back on task with – what will retirement look like for us.

The Plan

Retirement for me (and therefore my other half as well) was always going to be at about 60 years old and I suppose that came from our parents who in their day did retire at 60 as this was the time when they were entitled to Government Super. So, the plan had always been around this age.  We, like many others would love to retire earlier, but building our new house did mean we had to take on a mortgage again and does feel like a millstone as we hadn’t had one for a number of years. 

Our financial position is good, I am fond of spreadsheets and done a number over the years to see how we are tracking for various projects. I suppose the key thing for retirement is how much will we spend and need to spend once we retire (versus want). The lockdown has really shown us that we don’t need to spend, actually use our preserves and food in the freezer in a thoughtful way, and rummage through the garage for scrap pieces of wood and the many nails that the builders left when they were building our house. 

We also had the neighbours skip bin to rummage through as well. They are building a new house in front of us and before the lockdown their builders had completed the retaining wall, kitchen and some other house bits. As a consequence, they had binned numerous off cuts, retaining wall cloth, some broken down pipes, laminated kitchen wood and many other useful items that we gethered. We did our gathering in the early morning as dumpster diving isn’t really our thing, but the things you have to do when Bunnings isn’t open.

The other aspect is to actually finish projects that you start before taking on new ones. Coming out of lockdown we have now completed the new vegie garden and now has soil in it (apparently not a new concept) complete with vegie plants. 

So back to the plan, you know the usual concept – earn more, spend less and save the difference. This will allow us to do the things that we have thought about doing once we finish full-time employment, more on that in the next installment. Back to money. I remember Brian Tracey talking about Parkinson’s law (I think it was called that) and more commonly if you earn more, your expenses rise in line with your salary increase. The key thing in his talk was don’t increase spending and save the difference. Seems pretty simple to me. 

So currently our net worth is primarily made up of our house and rental property along with some shares, managed funds, KiwiSaver and a couple of retirement savings plans. Retiring at 60 we will have a super scheme from a previous role which isn’t a huge amount, but coupled with other savings we will have a good amount per year to live on. Have allowed for inflation (which I hope I have got right), with other aspects like holidays and renovations factored in on top of this figure.

I found a really good youtube tutorial about a concept called decumulation. I tried to find the link so I could credit the author, but unfortunately I can’t. If I do I will let you know. Have added the link below, start with either the 55 or 60 year tab, them start with the amount in the green cell. See what happens the graph and have a play. Lots of fun and perhaps a tab scarey 😉

Decumulation templateDownload

Well that is the plan, as rough as it is. We shall see how we go.

Next – what we want retirement to look like for us