What advice would you give to the younger you?

Scrudgy

Start saving earlier
Use ISA’s earlier
Invest in equities only when I was younger
Find a career with a DB pension (although who even knows about pension in their 20’s)

and now I could be giving a lot to Rishi in LTA tax

davidr1964

Start buying my Civil Service added pension much earlier.

MrMister44

Listen to my friend and join the workplace DB pension back in 2003. Ouch!

jennystarpepper

Increase your pension with every or every other pay rise, you will not miss 1%.

Don't waste money on cars and mobiles, do you need a mobile that costs about 1k, could you buy a car that is a couple of years old and not new?

Have a life, you still need to treat yourself be careful but don't be cheap, have a pot of money for the odd nice holiday or treat, you don't want to get to an age and think ...'I wish I had done this / that'.  

WYSPECIAL

Don’t buy things you don’t really need.

Don’t marry.

bostonerimus

Another one for start earlier. I've been perfectly happy with how I've invested.

Ibrahim5

Keep away from financial advisers. Research it yourself. It's easy these days with the internet.

Anonymous101

jennystarpepper said:

Increase your pension with every or every other pay rise, you will not miss 1%.

Don't waste money on cars and mobiles, do you need a mobile that costs about 1k, could you buy a car that is a couple of years old and not new?

Have a life, you still need to treat yourself be careful but don't be cheap, have a pot of money for the odd nice holiday or treat, you don't want to get to an age and think ...'I wish I had done this / that'.  

Good sensible advice. I've tried to follow this logic throughout my 30's. I wish I had through my 20's too!

The most powerful advice I've followed was to give half of every pay rise to my future self (pension). I'd add, you can also go further than that by contributing all of your pay above the higher tax threshold. £50k pa enables a very comfortable standard of living in most parts of the world and therefore to my mind all income above this should be invested in one way or another until you're financially independent.

cfw1994

Many wise words already!

Pensions tend to be the best long term savings, especially if you are a high rate taxpayer….but don’t forget S&S ISAs to allow you to bridge the gap before state pension (assuming it exists then…& it would be a brave/foolish government who would try to remove it).

Keep fees/costs to a minimum….over 25-35years, that 0.5-1% can have a massive impact.  If you can get wise guidance that doesn’t cost you an annual fee, perfect!

Most importantly….Have fun!  

None of us know what tomorrow brings, much less 20-30 years away….don’t wish your life away, enjoy the journey!  

If you have kids, get involved with their interests…get them walking, cycling, camping - all low-cost pasttimes that get them outside enjoying themselves!

MallyGirl

I wish I had been more pension aware - up to my late 40s I was still focusing on paying off the mortgage even though the rates were pretty low. I have always sal sac'ed enough to get the max from employer but now in the run up to retirement I am sticking £40k a year in when that could have been done more smoothly over a longer period (and with better results).

Other than that I am very happy with my choices