NICOLA Richardson and her husband Dave are doing a \"no-spend year\" so they can retire by the time they turn 50. <\/p>\n
The mum-of-two has worked out they can achieve their dreams of quitting work early if they cut out takeaways, clothes and toy shopping for a whole year, reports Times Money Mentor. <\/p>\n
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Nicola, 33, and postman Dave, 37, are six months into the 12-month challenge and so far they've saved 3,297 on a combined income of 42,000 a year. <\/p>\n
They hope to live off 18,000 a year in retirement and estimate that they need 306,000 before they can give up their jobs. <\/p>\n
This is on top of their state and workplace pensions but the couple won't be able to claim them until they turn 67 - the expected retirement age for men and women by 2026.<\/p>\n
The family-of-four hopes to save 10,000 in 2020 but admits that the family have had to cut out a lot in order to achieve it. <\/p>\n
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Nicola said: \"So no clothes for us adults and only when needed for the children. <\/p>\n
\"There has been minimal purchasing of toys they dont need any more! No meals out, no takeaway food. <\/p>\n
\"We dont pay for any streaming services. No books, magazines. Our food budget is 50 a week for a family of four.\"<\/p>\n
The couple from Darlington, County Durham, have two children - Alfie, four, and Charlie, two - and put away 700 every month into a stocks and shares Isa. <\/p>\n
They've now got 38,000 tucked away in the account, five years on from when they first opened it. <\/p>\n
Our 'no spend' year<\/p>\n
THE family have made some sacrifices to enable them to save 10,000 in their \"no spend<\/p>\n
Of course, the risk with an investment Isa is that you can lose cash if share prices drop - Nicola says they were on track to gain around 1,600 this year from dividends but it now seems unlikely due to the coronavirus crisis. <\/p>\n
They're strong supporters of an extreme saving movement called the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE), which focuses on breaking free from the conventional system of work until state retirement age.<\/p>\n
FIRE is US-based ideology that emphasises becoming self-sufficient through investing and home ownership.<\/p>\n
The super savers started their own FIRE journey back in 2015 but have adjusted the strict saving habits to suit their lifestyle. <\/p>\n
Nicola blogs about her restricted spending habits - which she admits didn't come naturally overnight - atthe Frugal Cottage and on her YouTube channel.<\/p>\n
They say the aim is to retire by 50 but if they end up retiring at 55 then \"that's okay too\". <\/p>\n
They've done the maths and worked out they will need to save 306,000 to be able to live off 18,000 a year in the 17 years between retiring and being of pension age. <\/p>\n
They hope to have paid their mortgage off by 2030 so it won't eat into their living costs by the time they give up work. <\/p>\n
As well as the cash they plough into their Isa, they try to overpay their mortgage by 185 a month. This is on top of the 737 monthly payments.<\/p>\n
But it's not always possible to be so frugal - last month they had to dip into their savings to pay for an MOT, and last year they spent 45,000 on an extension on their house. <\/p>\n
Nicola says that her followers often get the impression that she denies herself some of the more fun things in life but she insists that's not true. <\/p>\n
\"We have a lovely home, car, go on holiday, and the boys have gymnastics and football classes, swimming and soft play,\" she added.<\/p>\n
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A version of this story first appeared on Times Money Mentor.<\/p>\n
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See the rest here:<\/p>\n
Were on track to retire at 50 by living off half our salaries on no spend year - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NICOLA Richardson and her husband Dave are doing a \"no-spend year\" so they can retire by the time they turn 50. The mum-of-two has worked out they can achieve their dreams of quitting work early if they cut out takeaways, clothes and toy shopping for a whole year, reports Times Money Mentor Continue reading