How I Manage My Money: Architect on £4k a month who has a mortgage until he is 75 ...Middle East

In our How I Manage My Money series, we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.

This week, we speak to Darryl Shear, a 52-year-old architect and business owner living in Hove. Darryl, who has a 19-year-old son, recently secured a mortgage which runs until he is 75. Following a divorce, he does not expect to retire by the age of 75. Darryl thinks VAT on residential projects should be scrapped.

My monthly income: I pay myself a wage and dividend from my business, Shear Architectural Design, giving me an income of about £4,000 a month.

My monthly outgoings: My outgoings are lower than normal at the moment. Following a divorce, I am living at my parents house and am paying them money each month as rent and to cover bills. My other expenses include: Car fuel, £240; mobile, £17; life insurance, £35; gym seven days a week, £36; Amazon Prime, £8.99; pub quiz nights, £40; eating out, £250 to £300. I usually add about £10,000 to my work pension towards the end of the financial year. My car insurance is £450 a year. 

My parents were both hairdressers and we all emigrated to South Africa from the UK when I was two. However, by the time I was about eight, my family had relocated back to the UK. After leaving school, I studied architecture at the University of Greenwich in London.

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I was a teacher for 18 years before setting up my architectural design business. I taught 11 to 19-year-olds design and technology, and absolutely loved it. By the end of my time in teaching, I was vice principal of a school, earning around £53,000 a year.

I decided it was time to pursue my passion and do something other than teaching. Teaching is a young person’s game and runs on goodwill. So, eight years ago, I quit teaching and set up my architectural business, Shear Architectural Design. We do a lot of residential projects like loft conversions and extensions, but we have also done small commercial projects.

I still don’t enjoy running my own business as it is just so stressful. Working in a sector like teaching, I feel you are somewhat protected from the world and what’s happening in the economy. However, running my own business, it’s all on me and that is a lot of pressure to live with. That said, I love what I do and enjoy helping clients.

I think Chancellor Rachel Reeves should abolish VAT on residential projects. Once VAT is added, many homeowners simply cannot afford to get a project done and rethink their priorities. Because of VAT, getting home improvements or extensions done is out of reach financially for too many people.

While in the past I enjoyed shopping and impulse buys a little too much, I am watching the pennies now following a divorce. I am trying to rebuild my finances.

I’ve always worked hard and tried to set aside money in pensions as a priority throughout my career. I always added extra money to my teacher pension. I have a pension from teaching and about £50,000 in a private pension. I also have a few other old work pensions from years ago.

I never wanted to struggle in old age, but now I expect to be working until I am 75. This is not what I had planned or hoped for, having previously wanted to retire in a couple of years. I recently took out a mortgage, which runs until I am 75, making it more unlikely I will be able to retire. I always wanted an income of about £4,000 a month in retirement, but this is unlikely now.

I don’t think the state pension is enough to survive on by itself. It is scarcely enough to cover food, rent and bills, and I have no idea how people live off it. I worry that some people living on the state pension are surviving as opposed to living. Encouraging people to look at private pensions is, in my view, a good thing.

I’ve got a few different savings pots, including £10,000 in a cash ISA, £10,000 in a cash savings account and a smaller sum in a separate savings account. I’ve also got about £14,000 in cryptocurrency. I don’t have a credit card. If I can’t afford something, I don’t buy it.

I’ve been living with my parents for the last two-and-a-half years due to my divorce. My former family home was sold as part of the divorce. I recently had an offer accepted on a bungalow in West Sussex.

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It needs to be completely renovated, but I have contacts, including an electrician and a builder, who are willing to help me out. The three-bedroom bungalow, which is next to a pub, cost £280,000 to buy. I’m keen to buy properties and sell them on, but at this point, I need a home, so I plan to live in this bungalow.

Over the next decade, I plan to flip two or three other bungalows and sell them on for profit. If these plans go well, I may be able to retire a bit earlier.

Given how expensive divorce can be, I am doing alright financially. Money doesn’t motivate me as much as it did, but it can give you time and experiences. I hope my business can survive a Labour government.

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