FIRE Girls Pension Diary - Aim High & Dream Big

Firegirl

Work misery is hitting hard these days!

I’ve booked holidays all spread out through the summer months this year to get me through😆

NormalNorman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81979622#Comment_81979622

Same here. With permanent wfh I want all the nice days off 🤞

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81979797#Comment_81979797

Once you are retired/fire then every day is a nice day :)

Firegirl

FIRE goals in mind, had a check of my numbers as things have improved since TYE.

Pension 1-£297,000 (No more to be added)
Pension 2-£77,000 (No more to be added)
Pension 3-£54,000 (Current work pension)
ISA-£127,500
Money Owed - £10,000

Total £565,500

10 years until I’m 57 and can start drawing down on my pension, so now it’s about closing that gap!

Firegirl

Work misery is improving. I call my Mum nearly every day and now she asks me what age are you retiring today, as a measure of how the day has been. It ranges from 49 to 50 to 52 to 55.

What it’s made me realise is that even at its worst I plan to stick work for 2 more years for the financial gain. That 55 is to long and rarely crossed my lips even on the best day. I think it’s likely I’ll leave at 50 or 52. By that age my kids, now 16 and 18, will be launched into adulthood.

What has settled me in work is that I realised I didn’t have to be there. I can leave if I want and look for another job. I could even get a low paid job and take income from my investments. Then I realised I’m happy enough where I am for now, with a new exciting project on the horizon working with lovely people.

Onwards and upwards!

NormalNorman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82006750#Comment_82006750

FI really does give a sense of freedom especially when unhappy.

I was in a job I enjoyed but thanks to a takeover not so much now but getting into the retirement mindset helped. In other words live like retired but with a job hanging on for another couple of years until sprog fully launched as you put it, lol! Permanent WFH so kinda works, for example, off doing local volunteering this morning in countryside conservation then doing my two hours along the road for the public sector afterword's. A PT role I plan on keeping on until 67. All that PT money is 100% pensioned to avoid paying HRT. Fiscal drag does not mean they get lots more tax out me :)

Cobbler_tone

Reading the recent responses I think you can end up 'dreaming' or obsessing too much over the future. One thing is for sure is that you can't predict what the future will look like. You could lose your job, get a new job, lose a relationship, have good/bad health etc. If I predicted where I would be today 10 years ago I never would have believed it! In my experience it is good to have some best laid plans but in terms of work, you either have to knuckle down and make the best of it….or change it.

HedgehogRulez

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82006896#Comment_82006896

This is very true.

I can be accused of endlessly wishing my life away until i hit 50 and (in my mind) will have a more secure sense of FI….but that's still 4 years away so best to live life as your hand is dealt now!

barnstar2077

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82006750#Comment_82006750

It took me a very long time to decide on my current plan, going at 53 with a minimum of £400k. There is a good chance I will change my mind in the next 3 years and 10 months, but like you, knowing I have the money to walk away today and still be okay is a great relief.

Your numbers look good. I take it you are doing the same as me and stocking your ISA as a priority, and just matching the employer on your pension?

hugheskevi

I always think that one of the most valuable lessons I learnt in 2004-05 was that I would never do a job I did not like. For those 12 months, I worked in a role that, on balance, I would say I didn't enjoy. That was due to the work content not matching what I like doing - that is not good for either side, I didn't enjoy it, and I'd rate my overall performance as average because you are unlikely to be very good at things you don't like doing.

Since then I have never done a role that I disliked, leaving positions when things changed for the worse, and remaining in roles I like even though I could get more elsewhere. I am extremely happy with those past decisions.

Once a certain level of income has been reached, I think job satisfaction should become far more heavily weighted over remuneration considerations.