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How much do you need in savings to feel comfortable?


sugarfree
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I am hoping to retire to France permanently one day.  I still have about 13 years left to go.

I will have a reasonable pension, but on top of that, how much of a cash pile do you think I will need (in today's money) to cover big-ticket purchases, emergencies, etc.?  

If you're retired and living in France, can you put a rough figure on the amount of savings you personally need to feel comfortable? 

 

 

  

 

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That is really an unanswerable question as there are so many unknowns.What sort of lifestyle do you want? What is the euro/pound situation going to be?

From a personal point of view-we retired early and bought our house in France outright. We have the full amount each in Livert A accounts plus invested savings in the UK plus our UK property(mortgage paid off) which is rented out supplying another income and we both have company final salary pensions.We are lucky I know and planned ahead as did many others who post on this site.

Others may be able give you better figures. One piece of advice that may help is to go to a good property show-like the France Show at Olympia and take part in some of the seminars organised by financial and tax experts. That may give you some idea and you can often have a private chat with their people who may be able to steer you in the right direction.

Good luck.
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We keep about half a million Euro spare cash in our current account just in case we want to make that little purchase for the chateau or in case something goes wrong with the Leaejet or the yacht when we are on holiday.

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The level of savings that will give you comfort is directly related to your pension and any other income and your lifestyle, if you are someone that likes to spend every last penny that comes in you are likely to need more of a comfort cushion;

Do you envisage saving any of your retirement income?

I live on an amount that most people disbelieve, I dont expect to have any retirement income for another 20 years if at all, my savings are now at a level that many retired, early or otherwise woud not feel at all comfortable with yet I bet I have 10 times the amount of the average wage earning household.

Its all relative to how much you want to spend, if you cannot answer the question "how much is enough" then you will just carry on the treadmill, I could so I stepped off the ride at 44 years of age, my sisters are both over the retirement age but still cannot answer the question so continue to work, probbaly till it kills em. They put a higher value on modern day consumerism than I do.

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What I would need money for, if I moved back to France.

Firstly for journey's to and from UK, to see family and friends and emergency visits. They were not always as cheap as they are these days, so budget for possible lack of cheap flights and ferries going up in price.

Health care.

Some people live on a little, some need a lot. It is possible to shop around in France and get bargains and cheap things, but some things can be expensive, like employing artisans, if you cannot do things yourself or become to old and wobbly to do them yourself.

 

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Idun said "Firstly for journey's to and from UK, to see family and friends and

emergency visits. They were not always as cheap as they are these days,

so budget for possible lack of cheap flights and ferries going up in

price."

That shows the impossible question that the OP has posted as I never return to the UK.

We all have different things that we consider it necessary to have a little money put aside for.

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And that is unimaginable to me. Not that we did it that often those first few years, every couple of years had to suffice due to the costs. Anyway, I travel, I like travelling, and I have friends who I care for and love to see.
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A long way off retirement yet but even earning,the money just flows out of the door as soon as it comes in. You should not think it is cheaper to live in France than the UK and currently work on the same prices as its swings and roundabouts in both countries and if your pension  is going to be coming via the UK bank, you must allow for currency dropping and rising. This sort of question cannot receive a definitive answer because a lot depends onyour living circumstances here, e.g. type of property purchased, region and taxes relevent to that area plus your own personal health and financial situation. Most folks I know, us included do not have huge reserves of money to fall back on, we have to go and get a bank loan to finance major purchases and our customers, the same to finance their property renovations or repairs.
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You're right, I may well have snuffed it by then.

But assuming, just for fun, that I'm still alive (my Granny's 103 next month so the odds are good), how much dosh do you think I should have in savings when I retire?  Not investments, just boring old savings languishing in an interest-paying bank account.

There seems to be a (British?) reluctance to talk hard figures, so I will re-frame the question slightly.  What level of savings would you personally need to feel comfortable with in retirement, i.e. six months' worth of expenses, a year's worth, 2 years' worth?

I don't want to "over-save" given the long-term effects of inflation.  I suppose I'm basically looking for encouragement to go out and blow most of my salary on patisserie and nice underwear. 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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It's not a reluctance to talk hard figures, it's the sheer impossibility to provide a hard figure for some-one with so many unknowns.  Who knows what level wealth tax in France will be in 13 years time, Who knows what the exchange rate will be then etc etc etc. As a rough guide I would assume similar costs of living between France and the UK then you should know the sort of figures you will be happy with.
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When we first came here (retired) we had about £20,000 left over from the sale of a property in the UK.

This soon disappeared to be spent on improvements on our house here, plus another vehicle,  and has never been replaced.

In fact we are now paying off a loan.

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Why do you think it's a wind-up?  I'm genuinely curious what other people think is a good level of savings for THEM.  Not for myself.  As has been pointed out, no one can possibly make that kind of assessment for someone else because there are too many unknown factors.

Forgive me if I'm being nosey (I am) but since this is all anonymous, I didn't think people would mind giving a ballpark figure. 

 

 

 

 

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[quote user="sugarfree"]

Why do you think it's a wind-up?  I'm genuinely curious what other people think is a good level of savings for THEM.  Not for myself.  As has been pointed out, no one can possibly make that kind of assessment for someone else because there are too many unknown factors.

Forgive me if I'm being nosey (I am) but since this is all anonymous, I didn't think people would mind giving a ballpark figure.   

[/quote]

That's not what you said.....

[quote user="sugarfree"]

I am hoping to retire to France permanently one day.  I still have about 13 years left to go.

I will have a reasonable pension, but on top of that, how much of a cash pile do you think I will need (in today's money) to cover big-ticket purchases, emergencies, etc.?  

If you're retired and living in France, can you put a rough figure on

the amount of savings you personally need to feel comfortable? [/quote]

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[quote user="sugarfree"]

Why do you think it's a wind-up?  I'm genuinely curious what other people think is a good level of savings for THEM.  Not for myself.  As has been pointed out, no one can possibly make that kind of assessment for someone else because there are too many unknown factors.

Forgive me if I'm being nosey (I am) but since this is all anonymous, I didn't think people would mind giving a ballpark figure. 

[/quote]

Don’t blame the British for being reluctant in giving you some figures. As has been mentioned, it is impossible question to answer like ‘how long is a piece of string’.

 

Well I will give you some numbers, bearing in mind I think you said ‘for a comfortable lifestyle’.

 

In euros:

100,000 in the bank

Yearly income 30,000

House and car paid for.

 

These amounts are not my own personal figures

 

I know some who live on much less and others who need much more.

If these numbers are wrong you can adjust your lifestyle up or down as you wish but don’t sue me.

 

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[quote user="Simon-come-lately"]Can anyone give sugarfree a 13 year projection please! How absolutely ridiculous and pointless ! Simon[/quote]

 

2024 =10x my earlier estimate of 2011 and you will possibly need yen and not euros ( I will leave that calculation to you)

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Simon, I'm not asking for a 13-year projection.

Forget about me.  Just tell me what you personally consider a good level of savings for yourself.

I realise this is terribly nosey but what can I say?  I'm female.

 

 

 

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sugarfree, you have noted that you are in Strasbourg, so you know France and it's prices and probably the cost of travelling to and from UK or where ever else you may be from.

So isn't this a strange sort of question unless you are one of those hyper rich eurocrats, who is simply curious about these things?

And if you are an hyper rich eurocrat, then my spending and yours will likely be light years apart, so I could never tell you.

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