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Your spending habits - how they may change when you retire

Suppose today was your retirement day. Your life could be very different from how it actually is today. You would probably do a lot more of some things, and a lot less of some others. Think about what this would mean for your spending habits. Here are some thoughts for starters - some of them may not apply to you.

You might spend less on:

• your kids
• your mortgage if you have one
• the other costs of going to work - like season tickets, business clothing and lunches from the canteen
• contributions you make to a company or personal pension

You might spend more on:

• your grandchildren
• hobbies and going out
• going on more holidays
• fuel bills (because you may be at home more of the time)
• healthcare if you fall ill

Your future wallet will ask you to write down the things you think you or your household might spend more or less on. It will let you know what this may mean for your future money.

Using your future wallet

None of the information you provide while using your future wallet will be stored or shared with anyone else. It will only be used to work out a budget for you to print out and keep. Your future wallet has three stages and takes about 10 minutes to complete. You don't need lots of paperwork to hand but it's useful to have:

• a recent payslip
• recent bank and credit card statements
• a travel season ticket, if you have one

Your future wallet is a simple tool that helps you get a rough idea of what you may need when you retire. You will be imagining that you are retiring today. So don't worry for now about how prices will change in the future. Think about what things cost you today.

More useful links

• Working past State Pension age - your options

Useful contacts

• Retirement contacts

• Financial advice and support contacts

• Over 50s contacts