People in their 30's - future financial plans?
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im in a position where i dont really know where the next stages of my life will go. i left finance hoping to never go back but then i am left with not knowing what to do so i end up applying for finance jobs. i keep thinking only a few more years in finance will enable to be a bit more financially comfortable.
True, must be difficult if that is all you've known. You've clearly done the decade of city banking work, been well paid but have been one of the smart ones who has clearly invested well and not just squandered all the cash. Fair play for that as it gives you an incredible platform at 34. I can understand how you get drawn back to applying for finance jobs if that is all you have known career wise (making an assumption) and I have experienced the same with accountancy.
Agree, but I am a realist and there really isn't much out there that I can do to earn the same or more hence why I stick with it. Things that are enjoyable generally tend not to be well paid so I am old and wise enough to know that there is no fairytale to be had there.thats not really the right attitude one should have. i know it is quite tough for those with lower savings and income (im not saying you, im just generalising) but its better to focus on doing things that make you happy, keep the spending less and saving more goals as well, but also develop your skills in areas you like and see what happens. if you like accounting then maybe you can setup your own practice? what about moving to a bigger practice or london for higher wages? or if you dont like accounting then try something you do like and see what happens. of course easy for me to say this and i do think its very difficult / impossible for those who are financially "just getting by".
Moved out of practice as it wasn't for me (pensions and benefits are terrible in that arena!) overall so am working as a Finance Business PArtner in a large organisation. I like it, but don't love it. Don't have enough passion for it to move up and up and up, and may not have the ability to anyhow.
I think we are digressing here and moving into a different topic, but interesting all the same.0 -
I find myself at 34 on 32k which is obviously quite depressing. .
please please keep some perspective
there ALWAYS will be more successful people than one if by success you understand income wealth. it is so sad that you class your income as depressing. please do not forget that the vast majority of earth population either has lived or is living in conditions unthinkable to you - they are no less desrving than you are , they just been born jn a different era and place. please appreciate what you have and don't class it as "depressing" because someone else got more. You are not any less valuable than economic is.The word "dilemma" comes from Greek where "di" means two and "lemma" means premise. Refers usually to difficult choice between two undesirable options.
Often people seem to use this word mistakenly where "quandary" would fit better.0 -
Firstly, incredible position to be in. I am incredibly envious, but it is what is is.
Totally agree, but the part about increasing the income is really rather difficult at this stage of life. Been through an accountancy qualification and I find myself at 34 on 32k which is obviously quite depressing. Short of retraining (and taking a big pay cut for 5 years) I don't see where significant increases in income will come from so I guess I need to go down the frugality route.
It's curious how much perception plays a part. 32k is above average, albeit not a lot and you are certainly savvy with your money as you are waaay ahead of a lot of individuals on the same money that have been more spendy.
At 34, I was probably earning around 15k so that was mid - late 90s. It wasn't until my mid40s - late 2000s - that I earned distinctly more. But I felt comfortably off, probably because I live in a poor area and some of my friends are financially worse off than me. Some are better off, though not by a huge amount.
So I wonder if the area you live in and the people you are friends with, make you feel richer or poorer. Not that I recommend going to live on a council estate and hobnob with only minimum wage earners:p.
Edit - cross posted with justme - we both think the same!0 -
I find myself at 34 on 32k which is obviously quite depressing
I find it depressing that someone earning well above the average wage and still young enough to change careers is depressed!
As the above post, we live in a country with huge differences between rich and poor so everything is relative, but being money savvy on an ordinary income is worth a lot. I know plenty of people earning more who just spend it all and have nothing.0 -
Makes sense. So the e'er contribution method works the same, for example the Local Authority pays in x% as an e'er contribution and that, in addition to her contributions, goes towards paying for the 24k per year in retirement?
Not exactly. LGPS Fund is a funded pension scheme (one of the largest in the world with £217 billion in asset) and at overall funding level of 85% of the liabilities, it is quite healthy and the only public sector pension scheme that I do not complain about (along with the military). The rest however...
Your partner on other hand is paying toward the pensioners instead. All the contributions that these public sector are paid directly to the pensioners. If there is a shortfall, then the Treasury (aka the taxpayers) fund the rest. According to the TPS account for 16/17, the income for it was £6.3 billion (both employee's and employer's contributions), and TPS paid out £7.8 billion as pension (if I am reading its annual report correctly?).0 -
I find it depressing that someone earning well above the average wage and still young enough to change careers is depressed!
Maybe young enough to but another 5-6 years of starting on circa 20k and moving up doesn't really reconcile with my current financial commitments and aspirations. I started accountancy late (in the sense of when I qualified) so understand the impact it has to start a 'career' job late and am already playing catch up so unsure I can afford to do it again.It's curious how much perception plays a part. 32k is above average, albeit not a lot and you are certainly savvy with your money as you are waaay ahead of a lot of individuals on the same money that have been more spendy.
So I wonder if the area you live in and the people you are friends with, make you feel richer or poorer. Not that I recommend going to live on a council estate and hobnob with only minimum wage earners:p.
Most earn more, so I guess peer envy plays a part. Live in quite an expensive area so I guess this increases my perception that 32k is not a lot.0 -
I'm surprised there aren't more opportunities for a qualified accountant to earn more. I'm on a similar salary to you in my 40s but with no real career type work qualifications and one of the things I'd looked at to re-train into was accountancy!0
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Regular poster but using a new account as I don't want my finances linked to my main account.
Me - 33 - Accountant, on £80k + bonus which in the last few years have been £30k-£50k range, with 10% ee pension contributions
Wife - 28 - Accountant, on £75k + bonus which in the last few years have been £8k-£10k with 11% ee pension contributions.
I put 16% into pension for a total 26%, wife puts 9% to make hers 20%
After a long while studying, doing more qualifications, we are now in the jobs that will let us plan for our eventual retirement.
Current position.
House recently bought for £700k with a £250k mortgage (£450k equity)
£140k combined pension posts (only started hammering cash into these in the last few years)
Investments of £100k, split between S&S ISA and cash ISA (which is our safety net of 24 months expenditure, excessive I know, but it would also cover a car if one went pop).
Plan,
I max out pension contributions to keep me under £100k, wife increases contributions to match pay rises, we save/invest the rest in S&S ISA's to bridge the gap between retirement and pension access date.
All done as soon as possible as you never know when the pension drawbridge will be pulled up.
Planning to retire at 55 but will be disappointed if I haven't gone sooner.
We both earn really really well, but we also live like we did when we were on half the money, which means we save like crazy, we drive sensible cars, holidays are our main weakness, but we could be a lot worse, 3 holidays a year, but not crazy extravagant.
I was brought up poor, and had getting value for money drilled into me, and I haven't changed.0 -
Totally agree, but the part about increasing the income is really rather difficult at this stage of life. Been through an accountancy qualification and I find myself at 34 on 32k which is obviously quite depressing.
Don't think like that! You have done well to get to that point. According to provisional 2016 ASHE table, the median annual gross income (without bonus or overtime) for all employee jobs is £23,099. The 70th percentile is £32,244. So an employee on that income is already better than two third of the employees in the country. (To be in top 90%, an employee would be earning £50,220 at least) 0 -
I'm surprised there aren't more opportunities for a qualified accountant to earn more. I'm on a similar salary to you in my 40s but with no real career type work qualifications and one of the things I'd looked at to re-train into was accountancy!
There are many many flavours of accountants and of accounting roles.
I have found that your choice of industry, whether you work in practice, your flexibility and willingness to move around all pay a big element in your marketability.
Location is the biggest differentiator. I have worked for many years in the regions and there's quite a ceiling for both salary and seniority of roles, whereas in London there's a huge uplift and potential for advancement.
There's no right answer, but I have found that staff willing to travel, work away from home, and willing to move regularly, are those who progress and have the best packages.
I moved from a regional FS business to a London consultancy, and more than doubled my package, but have to travel a lot and stay away from home 4 days a week.0
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