What advice would you give to the younger you?

Dazza1902

If I could go back 25 years I would have stayed with a large employer with a dB scheme. I'd be comfortably retired by now.

michaels

Oh yes - find out what the charges are with your default employer scheme and if they are D Turpin Esq move your funds elsewhere (I paid 1% for the crappy default fund for 20 years before the penny dropped, the only good bit was at least my pension fund was smaller in those days)

Kassiopea

Slightly at a slant... I've just been granted my pension...husband has just had a bad stroke and is paralized on one side.  So...just as we thought, new car, some great holidays... ...
So my advice spend a little, save a little and take every chance you can to get an employers contributions every time.

ducatidemon100

Assuming you have a rainy day fund...
Some suggestions (and apologies if they have been mentioned before):
Overpay your mortgage by as much as you can (there may be limits placed by the lender as well as your own pocket)
Salary sacrifice can be used to put money in your pension and reduce your tax, possibly your tax band - ask your employer if they will also add the NI they are saving
Make sure your partner has a pension - a better one than you have is ideal!
Teach your children as much as you can about finance (I remember the struggle my parents had at the start of each term to fine 3 lots of diner money for that term (it was a grammar school))
SIPPs are daunting but better to have, like I did, a pension with Aviva - who never ever stated what they they had charged in fees. You might make mistakes running your own pension/Stocks and Shares ISA, but monthly investing can even things out in terms of share price - NOT ALL PROVIDERS offer monthly investment; ETFs are a "safe" choice, and don't put all your money in 1 country or 1 share
If you can, start Child ISAs but remember they get control of the money and might not spend the money the way you might want them to.
Junior SIPPs give your children a start in their own retirement (or you can finance one as a grandparent), but not all providers offer them or even offer with monthly investment, or only allow you to purchase of funds, not shares, so choose wisely. £50 per month costs you £40, plus £10 from the taxman.
Follow Martin's tips! Can you afford it? Will you use it? Do you need it? Is it worth it?
Follow Richard Beddard on II
I stoozed my daughter's 5 years of vet fees (this was after her 3 yr degree) - about £80k in total, 3 credit cards each year and countless balance transfers (plus a few things added on top - some retirement travel, son's wedding) and the cost after about 17 yrs about £1.6k (would have loved it to be £0!). But this requires discipline. Sometimes it's best to pay it off IN FULL.
Good luck to all and thanks to Martin Lewis.
Remember that Facebook, Amazon,  Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Google and Netflix all want global domination so, if you can,  just once in a while shop somewhere else. And maybe Amazon are not always nice to their employees. But then, nor were my employers to me...

BankofMumandDad

Wherever you work, join the pension plan as early as possible. I had a financial adviser in the early 90s, that told me not to join the pension at my new place of work (started early '93) as I may not enjoy the work there, so only join when you're settled. This was possibly the worst advice I could have received. Without that advice, I would have joined straight away, and I worked there for the next 26 years. I joined the pension scheme a whole year later, so I feel missing out on that first year of no pension contributions cost me more than I was paying my adviser.

BankofMumandDad

Always take advantage of any employer matching contributions. As you get closer to your desired retirement age, start increasing your voluntary contributions. By the time I turned 50, I was contributing >30% of my gross salary.

Plasticman

Remember that you both need a decent pension. We left it far too late to get a pension for my wife and although we're still planning early retirement we could have retired early with a much better income. 

skull

Advice to my younger self:

1)Having had many low paid part time jobs, (mostly due to lack of full time employment in my rural locality) over the decades, I would have moved to where the work was rather than stay close to home, at least in the meantime. 

2) I would have insisted my husband, who works for family firm, get a job elsewhere so he could have a proper wage. (Tried Tax Credits but  we later had to pay back £8000. Now told by them that it's a grey area when it comes to this type of family industry in my part of the country, despite asking at the start if we truly qualified for them, as I specifically said we would not be able to afford repay them. Half paid back by parent out of future inheritance, rest paid by me at £35 per month.)

3)I would have ignored my boss, at age 16, when he advised me not to get a 10 year life policy (remember those) as I would probably be getting married in a few years! 

4) I would have found work with a company that had a pension plan they they also contributed to and opted to pay in the maximum I could afford to from my salary.

5)  I would advise to always buy a safe reliable but second-hand vehicle. But buy the best house you can afford - allowing for interest rates to go up or get a fixed rate mortgage as I did. Also get the most comfortable bed and footwear you can afford as you are in one or the other. If the footwear is very comfortable and well made buy a few pairs, styles and quality change not always for the better.


Things I am glad I did:

1) I stayed in a soul destroying job just long enough (10 years, but first 8 or 9 were fairly OK) to qualify for the non-contributory pension that had a young retirement date. Check the details before you jump ship and hang on if you can!

2) Bought my own home as soon as I was able to.

3) After many short-term jobs finding a permanent one, which although low paid has low responsibility and stress, with a great pension matching plan, great workmates and atmosphere.

4) Keeping the joint account for household bills and each of us having private accounts. Saves arguments and see 5 below.

5) After each of us taking turns at being in charge of bill paying and the budget, finding that one of us was more responsible than the other and agreeing that they should be in charge of household bill paying, while the other paid for their own vehicle's bills etc. I would not want to repeat the Spring when all the utility bills came in at once and we had to scrabble to pay them.

Not everyone will have the same priorities or make the same choices and there are many schemes that are wise to go into,  but to a youngster all these unknown acronyms and abbreviations can be scary and off-putting. 

bigjuicygrasshopper

My late dad gave me sound advice to start a private pension when I was 20.

I put £150 a month into it, which, during my 20s (and 30s!) was crippling. But I got used to it, and I now (at 46) have a cracking private pension pot, which I still contribute to every month. Looking at early retirement with a nice "wage" from it. (Sorry I don't understand all the initials on other posts!)

I'd recommend starting really early, you do get used to it, and you can still have fun.

Keep on top of it too. Once a year check how it's doing.

Join your employer's pension too.

Also when taking out your pension, I took out insurance in case of health. I was diagnosed with cancer at 37 and had to take three years off work. The insurance paid my contributions until I was back achieving at least 80% of my pre cancer wage (5 years total).

Don't ignore letters from the scheme.

Don't spend a fortune on your wedding day. It's a day. Invite only those precious to you. And remember it's your day, not your mum's (or whoever) to live vicariously over. We had 30 people at ours, we didn't do it cheaply, but we didn't blow a fortune. We didn't do it traditionally either. We didn't have photographers (your guests do that!), cake, or speeches. A chilled day with a lovely lunch followed by a wander around the streets of Glasgow getting all the guests mildly hammered in different pubs. It was the best.

Don't spend a fortune on cars. They get you from a to b and they should be a workhorse, not something you are scared of chipping the paintwork on.

Save for things, don't rely on banks or credit cards. Save. It took us five years to save up to replace our house's rotten windows (which were like that when we bought it, but hard work every summer stripping them and repainting meant we got a few more years out of them).

Pay attention to home maintenance, it will save you in the long run!

Don't worry about stuff you can't control. Cancer is awful, but worrying about it doesn't get you better. Accept that there's things you can't change.

Tell your parents you love them at every opportunity. Hug them often.

Make hay while the sun shines, and don't assume a windfall will carry you through. Things can change in a heartbeat (hello, covid).

I was lucky as my husband had bought a property in the 90s so we haven't had a mortgage in a few years, but what I would say is that home ownership is not all it's cracked up to be. I loved renting, and with no kids, we don't have to worry about passing the house on. The money saved on rent goes into a house fund, so we're not blowing it on nonsense.

Pay attention to your finances. I do ours once a month.

Arrange Power of Attorneys as soon as you can. It is never too early.

Make a will and keep on top of it once a year too. Just check nothing has changed 

Finally - have fun.

Brie

say no to some gifts from parents and other well intentioned individuals.  Sometimes free stuff can cost you a lot!!!  (mom gave me a car and it nearly broke me financially - I simply couldn't afford the upkeep)