Plotting for an early retirement - anyone want to join me?

Anonymous101

Terron wrote: »

I disagree with those FI websites. Rather than look to reture very early from a job you don't like I suggest changing to a job you do like whilst you are young. I did find a job I liked, and did not save much to begin with. The company pension scheme was only open to managers. After a few years I was doing a lot of overtime so I started a pension. A few years later I moved jobs and the new company had a final salary scheme. Later the part of the business I was in was taken over by our main competitor. We kept doing the same job supporting our existing customers, but there was no longer any real effort being made to sell the products I worked on. It looked like there was a time limit on our jobs so I started saving more especially through the pension scheme. I survived a couple of rounds of reductions, but lost my job when I was 54.


I had enough savings outside my pensions to live in reasonable comfort (~20kpa) until I was 60 when my pensions were set to start. However rather than living directly off my capital I put it into BTL and have been living off the income from that. This year my pensions will start and I will be close to the HRT threshold. I took 5k out of my SIPP last year to make the change more gradual.

I don't think its necessarily disagreeing with the F.I. websites. Many of them give that advice too. I'd agree with you that working on something that you enjoy is really important, at any time in life.

MallyGirl

JoeCrystal wrote: »

All I can suggest is making sure that you get much money as possible from your employer and the fact that you have salary sacrifice will help a lot.

You should make sure that you contribute a sufficient amount (Auto-enrollment at 8% is not enough for most people). In my case, I always try to aim for 25% of my basic pay which is a bit overkill, but I much rather contribute what I can while I have a good income even though it means I would not be able to do everything I would like to do at the time. Who knows what the future brings after all, especially if it means minimum wage jobs.

I only contributed enough to get the max employer contribution - but at least I did do this, and had a personal pension when I worked for a company without a pension offering.. I didn't wake up to how short sighted this was until I was approaching 50. As a result I am now contributing 45% on top of employer's 10% to try and get to where I want to be. I wish I had been asking the right questions in my 20s as I could have been contributing a lower percentage over a longer period of time to reach the same goal.

bugslet

Console yourself Mally, there wasn't that much information out there when we were younger;).

MallyGirl

true - no t'internet even!

They don't know they are born today ....

Spreadsheetman

MallyGirl wrote: »

true - no t'internet even!
They don't know they are born today ....

Although that makes us sound like a bunch of old farts, that is so true. I remember being in my teens and there was no accessible information about any of my hobbies or interests anywhere apart from the odd out-of-date book in the local library and a few monthly magazines that I couldn't afford to buy.

Now we are awash in great information and resources, there's so much stuff out there it's impossible to keep up. Kids are so lucky now.

crv1963

MrSaver96 wrote: »

Will follow this thread with interest. I’m only 22, currently contributing into a pension alongside my employer via salary sacrifice. Currently don’t save outside my pension as just applied for a mortgage. It would be interesting to know what people do/did early on in terms of their retirement plans? Any advice/ thoughts welcome!

My advice would be along similar lines to that which I was given at 21, and incidentally the same I have given my sons when they started work now age 20 and 21:-

Spend a bit here and now- ie live a little, save a bit - for what you want, house, car, holidays and gamble a bit- save for a pension, try for 10 or 11% for the whole of your life, the later you leave it the higher the amount needed. I've paid around this all my working life- Started at 18 years.

Try to find a job/ career you enjoy, anyone can put up with a job that they don't like for a while, couple of years maximum, any longer and it impacts too much on your happiness and health. Even if you don't see or feel the impact it will be there!

I've been very fortunate in that I love my work, there have been times I hated parts of it and moved, because I wont stay in a role I don't like. Never be afraid to take a pay cut to find a role you enjoy, as long as you can meet your basic needs. If you can get a professional qualification and/ or a set of skills- that makes life easier to move about.

Well done you for looking at such a young age, many here are like me older and some like Mrs CRV are playing catch up because they didn't plan and think about it until much later in life. You may think that you have ages to go but life flies by, throws curved balls at you and opportunities it is often difficult to tell them apart!

If you get your property then if you can take a lodger to help you keep the costs down.

YKNA

Important day today for Brexit let the caos begin!!!

All I can say is cash is king!

crv1963

So true, I remember my Physics teacher in the 70s telling us that our calculators (which were not allowed into our exams) had greater power than the rooms full of computers used for the Apollo landings!

Mobile phones were in the future and who'd have thought they would have internet, camera etc., when they first came out?

greenglide

, I remember my Physics teacher in the 70s telling us that our calculators (which were not allowed into our exams) had greater power than the rooms full of computers used for the Apollo landings!

I remember starting university and having to get a new slide rule as the one I had at school wasnt good enough!


Log tables beyond four figures were huge - seven figure tables were around 200 pages!

bugslet

I can remember in the late 80s working in a freight forwarders and we got a fax machine.

It was such new technology that we allowed the sales people to bring potential customers to come into our office and marvel that you could put a page in a machine in Ireland and it would appear moments later in Trafford park. Truly astonishing stuff:rotfl::o