Originally posted by coolhandluke
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I think the push came to shove when I absolutely had to make the decision to sell up in the UK, and found I couldn't. Everything had changed since I conceived this plan some 20 years earlier. The cost of everything had gone through the roof, including out in Spain. Maybe not as much as in the UK, but enough for me to look at my financial provisions and realise that in 2026, they just don't cut the mustard.
When I made my plan in 2005 I was on a day rate of £ 450, close to home, IR35 wasn't much of an issue, and I was hungry to get into the London investment banking scene on day rates of £650+. Whilst that kind of happened, I hadn't factored in the true expenses of travelling and staying in London. It ended up chopping off around £ 100 a day from my rate and I didn't break into that scene on £ 650+, more like £ 500+. But what really broke my financial plan was the financial crisis and a ruinous period of being on and off the bench, racking up huge debts and other calamitous damages. No sooner had I recovered, maybe a decade or more later, covid came along and wiped out all that recovery with a 17 month stint on the bench, no covid support packages other than the BBL (which is debt, not support).
So, when my US client closed their business, 6 months earlier than my contract end date, a loss of £70k+, and I was thrust into the tulip again, I though "you know, I've had enough, I'm done", so I decided to retire right then and there. We jumped in the car and drove down to our place in the sun. So, what went wrong? Like I said, costs have really risen down there and I was reluctant to go out and do the things we used to do. Rounds of golf are approaching 100 euros or more. My company car (Tesla) was due to go back. I have to sell the UK property, or perhaps the one in Spain. Was that the kind of life I wanted, sat there worried about money? Leaving my home land? Leaving our holiday home? Leaving a 20+ year contract/business? Losing a sense of purpose?
I think it's one thing having this idea of downsizing, retiring to the sun, etc. but it's only when you are faced with making that decision, that reality check. Then there's the issue on visas. I looked into the DNV for Spain and I really couldn't see it working. I even put a post up on this forum about it. The other option was the Non-lucrative visa, where one of the requirements is that you have the financial means to support yourself. But that visa means you absolutely cannot earn a single penny from working. There were other undesirable factors to it as well. Then there are other 'imminent' issues. I discussed it with my wife and concluded that neither of us wanted to die in Spain.
So, I plod on. Picked up the new Tesla at the weekend, so I'm hooked for another 3 years. 3 months into a rolling 6 month contract, which will hopefully continue. I may 'try again' in another 3 years, or sell the Spanish place and retire in the UK. The trouble with that though is the cost of living and inflation is even higher here, and that looks like it's not going to end, certainly in my lifetime.
IO
IO
It's off to work we go!!
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