Wednesday, 16th. September 2026

Another fine late-summer day and another indoors. Today I am waiting for a Miele engineer to service my washing machine. My income does not cover the cost so the £135 bill will be paid from savings, but that is considerably less than I would have to pay for a new washing machine. I am so glad I planned for retirement by buying everything I would need whilst still working, with a strong focus on quality.

I am reminded of the lengths I went to back in 2017 to prepare for retirement in 2022. I spent a great deal of money after I moved into the bungalow, a pleasant home that, at the time, I suspected I could afford to live in for up to ten years. The early years of my retirement would be reasonably comfortable, or at least that was the plan. I did not anticipate the steep, and in my view unjustified, increases in rent. Rent increases or not, I assumed I would have a few good and comfortable years of retirement before I would have to move into a more modest property. Something else I did not anticipate was the virtual collapse of the rental market and the extensive greed of landlords.

However, despite my lack of foresight in some areas, I took the decision on moving into the bungalow in 2017 to spend a great deal of money on furniture, rugs, blinds, television, hi-fi, computer – and washing machine. I bought wisely: quality products that would last a long time and, in the case of electrical items – like counter-top cooker, espresso machine, kettle, toaster and washing machine – items that would be energy efficient and therefore less expensive to run than many of their superficially cheaper counterparts.

Consequently, almost everything in my home was purchased over just two to three years whilst I was still working and, sure enough, by the time I retired I had just about everything I needed, knowing that I would not have the money to buy more. I even ensured I would have sufficient savings to replace the washing machine and the television when they finally gave up the ghost.

Well, my Miele washing machine is still going strong and works just as well now as it did when it was plumbed-in by John Lewis in 2017. A year or so ago I received an email advertising a ‘proactive maintenance visit’ and I have thought long and hard about whether I should fork out for one. I took the plunge and telephoned yesterday, and to my surprise an engineer will be with me at lunchtime today. My reasoning was that the cost would, in all probability, ensure that my machine carries on working for another nine years, giving me peace of mind and putting off the need to fork out for a new machine. The service is very thorough, and involves a lot of deep-cleaning, including of parts that the user has no access to. I consider this a worthwhile investment. My decision to buy a quality product has paid off.

Now, whilst I am thinking about it, my Sage Nespresso machine is not working so well – much to my surprise. If I had the money I would buy the Miele espresso machine I have wanted for some years now, ever since the Sage started playing up. I made a mistake: I should have bought the Miele whilst I was still working. That is a mistake I shall have to live with.