Early-retirement wannabe

hugheskevi

Why the high credit card debt? Stoozing?

Yep. Although it isn't stoozing in the usual definition of putting the money in current/savings accounts. I use it for whatever the next financial priority on my list is (pensions, ISA, mortgage overpayment or whatever).

I ensure I can pay all the monthly and final payments over the course of all the deals from income, adjusting savings as required, to ensure that even if I can't get any more 0% deals I will be able to meet all the repayments.

For about the last 5 years or so I've had about £40-50K on 0% deals spread across about 10 cards. I'll keep doing it whilst it is offered, using an MBNA nil-fee card for bank transfers to avoid all transfer fees, so it truly is 0% money.

nicknameless

You look to be in a great position at a relatively early age. Presume you are both in well paid jobs.

Ahead (chronologically) but behind financially. Timescales similar though.

Andy1977

atush wrote: »

My thoughts are, you have an awful ot of cash. Are you using your partners S&S isa allowance in full each year? Are you married? What is your partners pension provision?

You could afford to put more into pensions, even using savings to live on to do so.

I do have a lot in cash and am looking to rectify that after years of using my full cash isa allowance and only switching to S&S isas in the last couple of years. One issue I have is a large sum in a 5 year fixed isa paying 2.4% until 2020. I suspect I'd be better off paying the penalty (3 or 4 months interest I think) and transferring to a stocks and shares isa.

We are not married and I need to look into what exactly that will mean in various scenarios (I do have a will though which is a start I suppose).

Will look at my partner's pension situation as well.

Thanks,
Andy

Andy1977

muhandis wrote: »

Many thanks for sharing your story. Congrats on taking the decision to retire early and good luck with the journey!

Out of interest, can I ask why you would choose to pay in 4k into the LISA and not your work pension or a personal pension?

Thanks,

K

I already contribute enough to my work pension to ensure maximum employer contributions - and more beyond. I had been intending using my full £20k isa allowance next year anyway so it seemed logical to allocate £4k of that to the LISA and get the £1k government top up. I understand that money becomes available to me at 60 and although I may leave it invested at that point, I like the idea that this pot may finance age 60 until I can draw my other pensions. This then leaves me with the task of ensuring my S&S isa can finance the period between when I retire and 60.

Having said all that, there probably isn't much in it in terms of using the LISA or a SIPP. It may all be academic anyway as I believe there is a possibility the LISA may not launch before I turn 40 anyway.

Thanks,
Andy

Triumph13

1,000 Days To Go !

Not that I'm counting or anything...:D

I wonder if ML will be retired by then?

ex-pat_scot

Triumph13 wrote: »

1,000 Days To Go !

Not that I'm counting or anything...:D

I wonder if ML will be retired by then?

1,704.452 working days for me.





Approximately.

atush

Andy1977 wrote: »

I do have a lot in cash and am looking to rectify that after years of using my full cash isa allowance and only switching to S&S isas in the last couple of years. One issue I have is a large sum in a 5 year fixed isa paying 2.4% until 2020. I suspect I'd be better off paying the penalty (3 or 4 months interest I think) and transferring to a stocks and shares isa.

We are not married and I need to look into what exactly that will mean in various scenarios (I do have a will though which is a start I suppose).

Will look at my partner's pension situation as well.

Thanks,
Andy

Marriage is more of a legal contract than anything religious. So if you are together enough to buy a home or have children, you probably should be. Lots of advantages tax wise, and ease wise should anything happen to one or the other of you.

as for your large sum at 5%, if you have other cash isas, move those first. And use some of that large sum as your emergency pot and only cash it in if you really need to? Or rates rise (fat chance lol).

If you have other emergency cash, or available credit ( i have many tens of thousands I could borrow tomorrow if I needed to but dont usually use it).

For instance, if you are married, your spouse can inherit your pension tax free, and your s&S and cash Isas tax free. If not married, the process is harder, and you'd lose the tax free status. You can also use part of your spouses PA against your income, if they have allowance to spare. If you have assets outside of tax wrappers from equities to property, you can transfer half of the ownership to a spouse, before disposal, to use 2x CGT allowances instead of 1.

bigadaj

ex-pat_scot wrote: »

1,704.452 working days for me.





Approximately.

Looked like there were two commas for a minute there, optimistic about life expectancy was my first thought.

Muhren

So I have been reading through bits and pieces of this thread as early retirement is something that I would very much like to achieve.

So my current situation is I am 33, single and just about to move back into my own property. I have a mortgage of £78k with the house worth approx £160k.

I earn around 33k a year and pay 6% into my company pension with 9% added by my employer. I have shares totaling around £20k all in the company I work for. My first shareshave has just finished so I am going to buy the shares at the option price then set up an ISA and go down the vanguard route.

I don't really want to work past 60, but if possible I would like to finish working or at least be in a position to not have to work at 55. At the moment I am paying £250 a month in to a sharesave, £150 in to another type of share purchasing scheme at work. Once I have set up my ISA I will be able to invest £250-350 a month. I wanted to find out how viable it will be for me to achieve my goal and any tips and pointers you can give me to help me along the way.

Bishop_of_Bath_&_Wells

You say you are 39, nearly 40. The chances of the state pension age still being 68 in 28 years time are I'd guess less than nil. I would suspect it will be nearer to 75 by then so I reckon you need to adjust your plans a bit. It is interesting that this thread was started 6 years ago when savings interest rates were worth factoring in. They are next to useless now