Millionaire Challenge

spock007

Wow, many pages to this thread.
I'd love to read them all for tips! I assume most of you have no children and/or have high-flying careers? Unfortunately I'm an engineer so I'll never earn lots (mid 40s). Biggest thing I could do is move country or change jobs. I've £60k to my name, age 30. I think that's really poor. No debt, no mortgage but then I live with somebody right now who's paid theirs off. Pension has £25k in it. Pretty depressed about it all now

Broken_Biscuits

spock007 wrote: »

Wow, many pages to this thread.
I'd love to read them all for tips! I assume most of you have no children and/or have high-flying careers?

hi spock,

most, if not all, of the posters here are not in what you would call high flying careers. The thing that stands out the most is that we all have a high flying positive mentality.

my personal approach is to aim to save 50% of my wages. This is achieved through pension payments and saving into high interest bank accounts, peer to peer and more recently investing into a stocks and shares isa. passive income streams are the way forward too. I have a lodger who adds to my monthly income.


although this weekend was a bit boozy for me, im trying to cut back on over spending on things like that... As a result i actually saved 67% of my paycheck this month.

some of the people here are buy to let landlords. Some are self employed with the potential to earn as much as their hard work and determination allows.


at 30 you have decades of earning years ahead of you. Financial independence or a specific number like a million is definitely achievable.

my advice would be to go through your expenditures/ liabilities and find out where you are overspending. Make positive changes. Maybe a spending diary would help at first. Once you have a control on spending you can start looking at ways to increase earning potential.


best of luck

Karmacat

I agree with Broken Biscuits Spock - read monevator, and firestarter, both uk based, the blog links in their sidebars will give you lots of other info, a lot of it American but its about attitude, absolutely. You're not in debt and you actually have savings, you have a good start right there.

spock007

I've read those - all good advice! I save 66% of net income right now but then I read threads like this and think I'm seriously underpaid or something is wrong:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67558140#Comment_67558140

I actually feel really, really depressed about it a lot of the time. I do really complex work which seems to pay little when you look at some threads like that, look at my age and savings and the fact I don't have a home and my chest goes tight and I get really angry at it all. Wish I'd done something else that pays more - feel a total failure, to be honest.

If it weren't for my current and past situations (VERY low rent) I'd never be able to save so much.

Karmacat

Spock, to be honest, if you're getting physical/emotional reactions like that, in your current situation, you've got a situation you need to get to grips with. That sounds like its all blocked energy, and your energy is no use swirling about inside you. It needs to be expressed - hopefully in something positive. So here's my action plan:
- are your savings in the best position for you? Getting the best rate, locked away/easy access, all of that?
- what are your aims? Do you know? If you don't, start thinking about what you want. Don't just drift on that sea of resentment, its not good for you.
- can you get promotion where you are? Can you get extra training in your current profession? Do you enjoy your current profession? Would you like to train to do something else? What? And why - is it **only** for the money? My advice is to go for something you like. And that may be accountancy, sure, it sounds like your current work is both numerate and detailed, thats a good crossover.

I also think you need to understand that you're comparatively well off for someone your age. You work in London, yes? Someone with that salary and those savings could surely get a flat within commuter range of London. If what you want is your own home, i.e. buying somewhere presumably, you could do it. You *can* have what you want, if you work smart for it, and go for it.

HTH.

Listerbelle

spock007 wrote: »

I've read those - all good advice! I save 66% of net income right now but then I read threads like this and think I'm seriously underpaid or something is wrong:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67558140#Comment_67558140

I actually feel really, really depressed about it a lot of the time. I do really complex work which seems to pay little when you look at some threads like that, look at my age and savings and the fact I don't have a home and my chest goes tight and I get really angry at it all. Wish I'd done something else that pays more - feel a total failure, to be honest.

If it weren't for my current and past situations (VERY low rent) I'd never be able to save so much.

I am sorry to read that you feel this way. You have saved a lot. Remember, it's not about how much you earn but how much you hold on to. Best wishes

Broken_Biscuits

i don't want to make light of your situation. Depression is a terrible place to be at.

however, saying you save 66% of your wage is the same as saying i earn 3x more than i need. Most people are not in this truly comfortable position, whatever their inflated salary may be.

if you feel down because perhaps you want and need certain things but deprive yourself of them... Well maybe " just" 50% would be a better lifestyle for you. You need to keep both your mind and your bank balance equally happy!


don't get too hung up on what other people are doing. We were encouraged at school to compete with each other and most cant let this go into their adult years. Play your own game. Most people on those list your job and wage posts are there to brag. I believe the average uk wage is 26k. I bet the average of that thread is much more. Could some of those posts be a work of fiction? Probably.

saw a signature on here the other day... Something lthis...

"the trouble with "facts" quoted on the internet is that you never know if they are true or not" William Shakespeare.





check out www.mrmoneymustache.com

if you can save 66% of your wage for 7 years... Well you will never have to work again. Financial independence before you hit 40.

lessonlearned

Good morning people.

Kay - so good to see you are bursting with ideas, good luck with the new one about the app. Hope you manage to develop it .......

Karma - hope you are feeling a little better now. Just pace yourself, remember that for most of us the road to wealth is a marathon not a sprint.

Ultimiate NYC - great to see you again. Sounds like you've started 2015 in a happy place, good luck with your January target. Like you I feel 2015 is going to be a bit of stepping stone up for me. I just feel good vibes out there......and I'm ready to grab those opportunities.;)

Mr Crime Fiction - sounds like you have for off toa flying start, getting organised and setting up,saving s plans. I see you have joined a few money challenges - good idea. I do think they help to keep us on track. I've joined the £10'a day one, although I set mine at£5. Having said that I've smashed January's target so Am well chuffed.

Hi Spock and welcome to the thread.

All our regular posters have already said what I was going to say so I won't repeat it. Biscuits directs you to Mr Moneymustache. I recommendhim too. It sounds to me with what you have achieved so far you can easily emulate Mr M's achievements. You could easily be financially independent within a decade.

I would definitely agree with biscuits, try not to compare yourself with others. We are all unique individuals, we need to go at our own pace. Remember the old Aesop Fable, the tortoise and the Hare.

You are young, you have achieved more than most atyour age. I tend to agree with Biscuits perhaps you need to take a step back and perhaps have a little fun now and then. 50 per cent savings would still be a remarkable achievement

Listerbelle - hi there, how's the little one. Are you getting any sleep yet. :rotfl:

Well I've had a good week, nothing dramatic just quietly getting on with stuff, adding a few

pennies to the pot. Am pleased with my attempts to earn a little extra this monh and have started thinking ahead to what I can do next month.

A lot of my time will be taken up with clearing my parents house over the next few weeks. It's a pretty daunting task and of course it's a labour of love rather than a money making exercise.

On a personal level I'm finally getting to grips with a couple of minor health issues, am sleeping well and starting to feel more human at last.

Yesterday we started setting up our new office in the spare bedroom so I shall get that finalised and organised this week. Itwill be so nice to have a proper designated workspace again.

There's an old saying "let the dog see the rabbit". - for me having a proper desk, with my desktop computer, printer, files etc all in one place helps me focus and be more efficient. I dislike clutter and like to work from a place of order and calm, so I'm more than happy to sacrifice the spare room.

Right I'm off to start the day.

Hope you all have a good week.

happy money making and saving.....;)

Karmacat

lessonlearned wrote: »

Karma - hope you are feeling a little better now. Just pace yourself, remember that for most of us the road to wealth is a marathon not a sprint.

Thanks LL - you're right, I know. It *feels* like it needs to be a sprint, I'm sure all of us feel that way at times, but you're right, wealth and health aren't about sprinting ...I think I may have made that mistake several times

Hi Spock and welcome to the thread.

All our regular posters have already said what I was going to say so I won't repeat it. Biscuits directs you to Mr Moneymustache. I recommendhim too. It sounds to me with what you have achieved so far you can easily emulate Mr M's achievements. You could easily be financially independent within a decade.

I would definitely agree with biscuits, try not to compare yourself with others. We are all unique individuals, we need to go at our own pace. Remember the old Aesop Fable, the tortoise and the Hare.

You are young, you have achieved more than most atyour age. I tend to agree with Biscuits perhaps you need to take a step back and perhaps have a little fun now and then. 50 per cent savings would still be a remarkable achievement

Agreed :j all of it :j

A lot of my time will be taken up with clearing my parents house over the next few weeks. It's a pretty daunting task and of course it's a labour of love rather than a money making exercise.

On a personal level I'm finally getting to grips with a couple of minor health issues, am sleeping well and starting to feel more human at last.

Those both sound good. My mum has been giving me, my brother and sister some directions for this situation over the weekend! And as for sleep ... such a basic need, I think we forget it at our peril.

Yesterday we started setting up our new office in the spare bedroom so I shall get that finalised and organised this week. Itwill be so nice to have a proper designated workspace again.

There's an old saying "let the dog see the rabbit". - for me having a proper desk, with my desktop computer, printer, files etc all in one place helps me focus and be more efficient. I dislike clutter and like to work from a place of order and calm, so I'm more than happy to sacrifice the spare room.

You know what you said up at the top of this post about 'marathon not sprint' - this is one area where I sprint, and Iknow I do - my office is a mess, but even without spending money, it could be better. I've got my French accounts to do, and my professional re-accreditation this week, which are both almost finished. Then comes the office. Thanks LL!

droopsnoot

spock007 wrote: »

I've read those - all good advice! I save 66% of net income right now but then I read threads like this and think I'm seriously underpaid or something is wrong:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67558140#Comment_67558140

I actually feel really, really depressed about it a lot of the time. I do really complex work which seems to pay little when you look at some threads like that, look at my age and savings and the fact I don't have a home and my chest goes tight and I get really angry at it all. Wish I'd done something else that pays more - feel a total failure, to be honest.

If it weren't for my current and past situations (VERY low rent) I'd never be able to save so much.

It's easy to feel that way, especially if you have the kind of mind that prefers to feel negative than positive. I sympathise with that, as I tend to think in the same way. But as everyone else said, you've achieved a lot in terms of savings if nothing else, many people of your age just have credit card debts and nothing else. It's easy to look at people who have what appear to be a "better" lifestyle but things don't suit everyone the same. I've worked with people who are getting more income than I am, but in many ways they're also the people who spend most nights away in hotels to be ready for early meetings the next day (and not in "nice" places, in some grotty Travelodge outside Watford*) so can't plan anything, or spend all their days driving around the country in our lovely "traffic".

You have to get away from the "if only" thoughts. If you really seriously want to be doing something else, then you're young enough to drop what you're doing, train up and get going with it. And what's more, you've got money saved up to live off while you do it, which is more than most people who have the same thoughts. But you have to be very serious about it, because you could jump out of a very technical career into something else, find it doesn't suit you, but be so far out of the loop in your previous career (due to technical advancements that you'll have missed in the meantime, for example) that you can't go back. So you have to have the mindset that if something like that happens, you'll be able to deal with it positively.

I've done some reasonably technical things before now, and been frustrated that they're not better paid, but very often it's the ideas people that are getting the big money - not just because they had the idea, but because they risked everything to set up a company, employ people to do the technical bits, and stand to lose the most if it all goes wrong. Try to focus on what you have, rather than what everyone else has, or hang around with people who have worse lives to make yourself feel better. If that works, come back and tell me how you did it.

(* Nothing against Travelodge, or Watford, honestly, just an example)