24 and wanting to retire early

Sea_Shell

I'd definitely agree with the "look after yourself"...mind, body and soul.

It's easy to take good health for granted when you're young, but easily slip into less healthy by the time you're in your 40-50s.   It creeps up on you!

Lbs can accumulate like the worst kind of compound interest!!!

2nd_time_buyer

MEM62 said:

Thus far, nobody has stated the obvious - don't stop living today and look after yourself.  Many have lived frugal lives in the hope of a long and comfortable retirement only not to live long enough to enjoy it.  Tomorrow is not a given.  

Good point. In my eyes, these are the big financial wins in your twenties:
- save up for deposit using a LISA
- don't pay rent. If/when you buy, take advantage of the rent-a-room scheme before you get used to living alone

- pay enough into your pension to get the full employer contribution

Other than these, as long as you don't get into debt, enjoy as much of the rest of the money as you can. And do things your parents wouldn't approve of 

diystarter7

MEM62 said:

Thus far, nobody has stated the obvious - don't stop living today and look after yourself.  Many have lived frugal lives in the hope of a long and comfortable retirement only not to live long enough to enjoy it.  Tomorrow is not a given.  

Excellent point and I agree with you.

None of my family or my wife has ever lived in social housing and we fear that.
For that reason, we have all inc great grandparents, g/parens, parents, us and our kids saved hard. However, we have had cars since we can recall, hols in the uk then abroad, done up our property, enjoyed - and good balance of work/life and play can still easily get you to retire early as we have.

IMO, we were able to as our family told us, drove into us never to borrow money for other than business/property/home etc.

You can save tens of thousands but not get almost everyhting on credit, on the go, living hand to mouth. Once you see your bank balance rise its an incentive to save more IMHO. It is for us until we retired early.

jimi_man

Enjoy your life, it seems that current evidence suggests that you only get one shot at it.

Not sure I agree with the 'don't have kids'. If you want them and can afford them then have them, don't let finances solely dictate that decision. 

Save constantly and regularly but if you have to reduce your quality of life excessively to achieve this, then you're probably doing it wrong. Find the balance whereby you can save but still enjoy life. Far better to enjoy your working life and have a slightly reduced retirement than having a miserable working life just so you can enjoy life when you're older.

Bravepants

Don't weigh yourself down by buying lots of useless stuff, or stuff to "keep up with the Joneses" or colleagues and friends!

If I had my time again I would make sure I learned that lesson and tried to be more minimalist. I still regret buying all those Star Trek VHS videos in the late 80s and early 90s...what was I thinking?! Hehe!

Once you have a bit of money and settled into a home try to get decent stuff that will last decades. For example, over the years I've managed to buy proper oak furniture (bedside cabinets, chest of drawers,  dresser etc.). They will hopefully last me the rest of my life, or at least longer than the fibre board efforts from certain stores that always seem to have a sale on!

Sea_Shell

I can't speak for everyone else, but my "don't have kids" comment was done tongue in cheek!!   

Of course people who have them wouldn't be without them, but OTOH, you don't miss what you don't have (unless you were desperate for them and couldn't - and i appreciate many people will be)

They are expensive over their lifetime, even into adult-hood (if you let them), and could de-rail any aspirations one has to retire early.

The old lyric "life is what happens to you whilst you're busy making other plans", couldn't be more true.  

Ibrahim5

Wasn't that song called Beautiful Boy about John Lennon's love for his son?

Albermarle

Salary is a priority to increase, at younger ages investing in yourself has amazing returns, so seeking out training, skills and new opportunities is key, especially in your 20s. I think the ideal salary to aim for would be at least £50,000 so you can fully use 20% income tax band and ideally up to around £80,000 as then you can use pensions to stay tax efficient, anything more than that leads to very high tax rates so isn't such a priority.

Apart from the 'live your life' comments, I agree with the above post. 

You need to be aiming at a significantly better paid job, or at least be on a career path that will take you there. Normally (but not always) you need to move jobs (or threaten to), to get your salary moving up more quickly than just inflation.  Although of course being careful with expenditure helps, this will get more difficult when you have a mortgage etc.

JoeCrystal

Bravepants said:

If I had my time again I would make sure I learned that lesson and tried to be more minimalist. I still regret buying all those Star Trek VHS videos in the late 80s and early 90s...what was I thinking?! Hehe!

Once you have a bit of money and settled into a home try to get decent stuff that will last decades. For example, over the years I've managed to buy proper oak furniture (bedside cabinets, chest of drawers,  dresser etc.). They will hopefully last me the rest of my life, or at least longer than the fibre board efforts from certain stores that always seem to have a sale on!

Ha! My VHS collection was Babylon 5! Thankfully, they were primarily cheap when sold in The Works back then! 

I agree with the general feelings; covering your immediate, short-term, medium, and long-term desires is essential. I spent ten years saving up purely for house deposits and putting aside a large chuck into my pension pot, loads of overtime, and hardly any holidays. I got my own home with a mortgage but is it worth all the efforts? I am not so sure anymore. All I know is that I wish I got my ten years back and perhaps spoils myself a lot more.  It is much easier to have fun and enjoy life in your twenties than cranky thirties!   

Bravepants

JoeCrystal said:

Bravepants said:

If I had my time again I would make sure I learned that lesson and tried to be more minimalist. I still regret buying all those Star Trek VHS videos in the late 80s and early 90s...what was I thinking?! Hehe!

Once you have a bit of money and settled into a home try to get decent stuff that will last decades. For example, over the years I've managed to buy proper oak furniture (bedside cabinets, chest of drawers,  dresser etc.). They will hopefully last me the rest of my life, or at least longer than the fibre board efforts from certain stores that always seem to have a sale on!

Ha! My VHS collection was Babylon 5! Thankfully, they were primarily cheap when sold in The Works back then! 

I agree with the general feelings; covering your immediate, short-term, medium, and long-term desires is essential. I spent ten years saving up purely for house deposits and putting aside a large chuck into my pension pot, loads of overtime, and hardly any holidays. I got my own home with a mortgage but is it worth all the efforts? I am not so sure anymore. All I know is that I wish I got my ten years back and perhaps spoils myself a lot more.  It is much easier to have fun and enjoy life in your twenties than cranky thirties!   

Get the hell out of our galaxy!

Aw! Babylon 5 probably the greatest sci-fi show of all time. I've watched the entire series three times or more by now. I read that they are rebooting it, but it won't be the same!

I agree that more fun should be had when younger as, hopefully, one's salary should increase as one gets older. I came to investing late in life because my salary was quite low. If it hadn't been for continuing to invest through the Global Financial Crisis when it started in my forties I wouldn't be in such a good financial position.