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The Humans vs Retirement Podcast

The Humans vs Retirement Podcast

By: Dan Haylett
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Humans vs Retirement is the podcast that proves retirement isn't just about money, it's about life. Hosted by me Dan Haylett, I dive into the real, human side of retirement: the emotions, the mindset shifts, and the messy, wonderful journey of reinventing yourself for the next chapter. Through honest conversations with experts and inspiring stories from retirees themselves, you'll get the tools, ideas, and encouragement you need to retire to something, not just from something. If you want to make your second half even better than your first, hit subscribe and join the Humans vs Retirement community.©️Dan Haylett 2026 Economics Personal Development Personal Finance Personal Success
Episodes
  • Ep 110 - The Permission Paradox

    Ep 110 - The Permission Paradox
    Jun 2 2026
    You've got the money. You've got the time. You've got the freedom. So why can't you actually enjoy it? In this episode, I unpack the Permission Paradox! The reason financially secure retirees still order the cheap coffee, skip the trip, and quietly guard a fortune they'll never spend. It's not a money problem. It's a permission problem. And it's fixable. FULL SHOW NOTES Open your banking app. Look at the number. Now answer honestly: when did that number last get smaller because you actually enjoyed yourself? Not the boiler. Not the tax bill. Not inflation. You — on purpose — spending money on something that made your life better. If you can't think of a date, you don't have a money problem. You have a permission problem. That's where this episode starts. And it goes somewhere you probably didn't expect. What I cover: The Trap — For forty years, your spending had structural alibis. The bonus paid for the holiday. The salary justified the car. The job title covered the nice restaurant. Retirement vaporises every one of those vouchers, and suddenly there's no external authority signing off on anything. Just you, your money, and a question you've never really had to answer before: Am I allowed? Why You're Like This (Not Your Fault, Still Your Problem) — Three reasons. Four hundred years of Protestant work ethic quietly teaching you that unspent money is virtue performed in public. Four decades of training the saving muscle and ignoring the spending one. And the uncomfortable truth that a lot of high-net-worth retirees don't actually believe they deserve it. Imposter syndrome doesn't retire when you do. It just changes its uniform. What's In The Vault — The fears keeping you from spending are almost always fog. "The future." "Care costs." "Inflation." "Something I haven't thought of." When you press on the fog with real numbers, it usually dissolves. You're not protecting against ruin. You're protecting against a story you inherited from people who genuinely did have to worry about the workhouse. You are not your grandfather. You are a millionaire, pretending to be a peasant. And the cost of that pretence is the entire second half of your life. The Good News — The permission problem is a skill problem. Not a personality problem. Not a values problem. A skill. And skills can be learned. Dan shares what it looks like when people finally flip — and what the three permissions actually are that make it happen. The Three Permissions — Permission to enjoy what you've built. Permission to spend the window (that active, healthy retirement window is twelve to fifteen years — not thirty). And permission to become someone new. CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK Do one thing this week that feels slightly uncomfortable. Order the proper coffee. Book the flight you've been talking about for two years. Pay for something for one of your kids without making a thing of it. Take a Wednesday afternoon off, from nothing. Buy the silly shoes. Whatever it is — do it once. Notice the sky doesn't fall. Then do it again next week. That's how the muscle gets built. One flat white at a time. KEY QUOTE "You are a millionaire, pretending to be a peasant. And the cost of the pretence is the entire second half of your life." CONNECT WITH DAN Subscribe to The Retirement Fix newsletterFollow me over on YouTubeConnect with Dan on LinkedInBuy Dan's first book, The Retirement You Didn't See Coming IF THIS EPISODE LANDED FOR YOU Share it with someone who needs to hear it. That's how this work spreads. And if you've got thirty seconds, leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify makes a genuine difference to who finds the show next. This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute regulated financial advice or a personal recommendation. Dan Haylett is a financial planner regulated by the FCA, but views expressed are his own.
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    17 mins
  • Ep 109 - What You Lose When You Retire

    Ep 109 - What You Lose When You Retire
    May 7 2026

    Retirement is sold to you as a gain event. Freedom. Time. Choice. The world is your oyster.

    It is, in fact, one of the biggest loss events you will ever go through. And almost nobody warned you.

    In this episode, I walk through what actually dies when you retire — the ten things that quietly come off in the first five years and that nobody puts in the brochure. Identity. Status. Mastery. Tribe. Structure. Progress. Stimulation. Purpose. Validation. The future tense itself.

    But this isn't twenty minutes of doom. The second half of the episode is the gift: the five moves the people who genuinely flourish on the other side of retirement actually make. The moves that turn the second half of life into the most fulfilling, richest, most genuinely good chapter you'll ever have.

    If you're heading into this transition, in it now, or watching someone you love go through it — this is the episode you'll wish someone had played you five years before you retired.

    WHAT YOU'LL TAKE FROM THIS EPISODE

    • Why retirement is a loss event, not a gain event, and what nobody in the industry will tell you about it
    • The three reasons nobody warns you what's coming (and why the third is the most damaging)
    • What disenfranchised grief is, and why ignoring it costs you the second half of your life
    • The ten things that actually die when you retire
    • Why the spreadsheets are the easy bit
    • The five moves that separate the retirees who flourish from the ones who just survive
    • Why "spend it, or it will quietly spend you" might be the most important sentence in retirement planning

    CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

    Sit down — on your own, or with your partner — and write down three things on a piece of paper. Three things you're quietly worried about losing. Or three things you've already lost without giving yourself permission to feel sad about. Don't fix them. Don't problem-solve them. Just name them.

    LINKS AND RESOURCES

    Subscribe to The Retirement Fix newsletter

    Follow me over on YouTube

    Connect with Dan on LinkedIn

    Buy Dan's first book, The Retirement You Didn't See Coming

    IF THIS EPISODE LANDED FOR YOU

    Share it with someone who needs to hear it. A friend, a sibling, a colleague heading for the same cliff edge. That's how this work spreads.

    And if you've got thirty seconds, leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify makes a genuine difference to who finds the show next.

    This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute regulated financial advice or a personal recommendation. Dan Haylett is a financial planner regulated by the FCA, but views expressed are his own.
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    19 mins
  • Ep 108 - Have You Worked Too Long and Saved Too Much?

    Ep 108 - Have You Worked Too Long and Saved Too Much?
    Apr 16 2026
    The episode where we say the unsayable

    Everyone's worried about people not saving enough. That's the crisis. That's the narrative.

    But there's another problem. One the financial industry almost never talks about.

    Some of you did everything right — and it cost you everything that matters.

    This week, Dan goes against the grain to talk about the people who optimised so well for the future that they destroyed their present. High earners. Diligent savers. Responsible, prudent, disciplined people who maxed out their pensions, lived below their means, and delayed gratification for decades.

    And arrived at retirement with knackered knees, an empty marriage, and a body that can't do the things they saved up to do.

    This one's for you.

    What we cover

    The David story — 68 years old, £1.2m in the bank, house paid off, income sorted. And filled with regret. Not because he failed. Because he succeeded too well — and worked until 66 when he could have stopped at 60.

    The narrative that's been selling you a lie — Work hard. Save more. Sacrifice now for security later. That story made sense at 30. But if you're 55 with a bad back and a partner you barely know anymore, it stopped making sense a long time ago.

    Why more isn't always better — There is a point of enough. Past it, every extra pound you save and every extra year you work is a net loss. Not financially. Holistically.

    The health calculation nobody does — Your knees at 62 are not your knees at 70. Your energy at 58 is not your energy at 68. Every year you defer is a year you're spending an irreplaceable asset. You can't buy it back.

    The relationship bill you're racking up — Your partner, your kids, your friends — they didn't pause while you worked. They adapted. They moved on. And you'll find that out when you finally stop.

    Six questions to ask yourself right now — Are you staying "just to be safe" when the numbers say you're already fine? Are you mistaking fear for responsibility? Do you even know your enough number?

    The line that hits hardest

    "You're not banking time. You're spending it."

    If this episode is for you

    You might be past enough if:

    • The numbers work but you're still saying "just one more year"
    • Your health is declining from stress but leaving feels wrong
    • You're on track to die with more money than you'll ever use
    • You've been saying "when I retire, I'll..." for five years and never pulled the trigger
    The challenge

    Look at your actual numbers. Not your fears — your numbers. If you're already at enough, stop. Just stop.

    You've already won. Now stop playing.

    Links & resources
    • 🌐 humansvsretirement.com
    • 📩 Subscribe to The Retirement Fix newsletter
    • 💬 Got a reaction to this one? Drop Dan a message — he wants to hear it

    Humans vs Retirement is hosted by Dan Haylett of TFP Financial Planning. This podcast is for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute regulated financial advice.
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    18 mins
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