Time or Money or Happiness - What is your choice

Albermarle

Ganga said:

barnstar2077 said:

For me the answer is time.  I have so much I want to do and work gets in the way.  As soon as I can afford it, I'm gone.

Family and friends think I'm money focused, I'm not, I'm just very aware that money equals time, and I would rather save it to exchange it for time. 

That is one thing you cannot do ,when the grim reaper knocks on your door it is no good trying to bribe him 

Although you could jump the waiting list by paying for treatment, so he has to knock a bit longer !

Simon11

barnstar2077 said:

Simon11 said:

I am currently 35 and have been pension focused for the last few years with the target to retire at 50.

At the moment, the 'maths is mathing' maximising wealth and I remain on track, with still plenty of money & time to enjoy everything that I love at the moment.

But what I have realised is that 50 may not be the actual retirement age, as

• Having two young kids leads me to think whether it is worth giving up time/ money now for more time with the kiddies and thus retire slightly later. I am already really lucky to have plenty of time to enjoy time with my children (currently enjoying three months paid leave to look after them and plenty of leave/ wfh options) however have started to wonder if its worth going to 4 days a week despite the big impact on pension saving.
• The ambition of 50 as a target is primarily is to give me the financial freedom and along with another poster here, I would love to work on min-wage part time doing something that I really love and is stress free.  But for now, I have to take advantage of a high-paying job and all the benefits, keep up to date with trends/ technology then slowly 'quiet quit' over time.

However I still focus on 50, as you need some sort of target. The key is to save as much as you reasonable can now to give you options later in life.

I assume you are also taking advantage of your ISA to bridge the gap until you can access your pension? 

I am lucky to have a B2L which can easily cover the gap till at least the minimum age I can access pension. Unfortunately it doesn't really give good returns and would likely be beaten by a Cash ISA rates, but may as well keep it for now. 

Simon11

michaels said:

Simon11 said:

I am currently 35 and have been pension focused for the last few years with the target to retire at 50.

At the moment, the 'maths is mathing' maximising wealth and I remain on track, with still plenty of money & time to enjoy everything that I love at the moment.

But what I have realised is that 50 may not be the actual retirement age, as

• Having two young kids leads me to think whether it is worth giving up time/ money now for more time with the kiddies and thus retire slightly later. I am already really lucky to have plenty of time to enjoy time with my children (currently enjoying three months paid leave to look after them and plenty of leave/ wfh options) however have started to wonder if its worth going to 4 days a week despite the big impact on pension saving.
• The ambition of 50 as a target is primarily is to give me the financial freedom and along with another poster here, I would love to work on min-wage part time doing something that I really love and is stress free.  But for now, I have to take advantage of a high-paying job and all the benefits, keep up to date with trends/ technology then slowly 'quiet quit' over time.

However I still focus on 50, as you need some sort of target. The key is to save as much as you reasonable can now to give you options later in life.

So quick maths 5 years at 4 days a week equals one extra year to retirement although it will probably be slightly less due to progressive tax rates.

I have done this pretty much since my kids were born, oldest is now 19, and the afternoons off watching their sports matches, plays etc have definitely been the highlights of my week.

Thanks for the logic, which I hadn't really thought of. Doing a quick calculation, the reality is that I am looking at a ratio of 2-3 years at 4 days would result in one less year in retirement but this also ignores the snowball effect of investment over 2-3 decades.

Thus very difficult to make that a financial decision based on logic and with a flexible working environment, which provides room to wfh and to work around childcare commitments. Maybe for now, it makes sense to keep the 5 days a week and take advantage of the benefits with the knowledge that this job may not last for ever.

Nevergonnaretire

Time for me 100%. I know it sounds morbid but for some reason even being a relatively healthy 50 something I've always thought I'm not going to be one of those who make it to 80

Of course as people point out you need the funds to retire and not live on beans on toast for the rest of you life but the focus is definitely on retiring as soon as possible. Unfortunately I've only really been able to focus on pensions and saving since finally paying off the mortgage, but I should be on target to go by 60, maybe 58/59 if I'm lucky!

Ganga

Albermarle said:

Ganga said:

barnstar2077 said:

For me the answer is time.  I have so much I want to do and work gets in the way.  As soon as I can afford it, I'm gone.

Family and friends think I'm money focused, I'm not, I'm just very aware that money equals time, and I would rather save it to exchange it for time. 

That is one thing you cannot do ,when the grim reaper knocks on your door it is no good trying to bribe him 

Although you could jump the waiting list by paying for treatment, so he has to knock a bit longer !

As long as you can be cured ,there have been plenty of posts on this forum of people who have found out that their time on this earth is very short.

Ganga

Nevergonnaretire said:

Time for me 100%. I know it sounds morbid but for some reason even being a relatively healthy 50 something I've always thought I'm not going to be one of those who make it to 80

Of course as people point out you need the funds to retire and not live on beans on toast for the rest of you life but the focus is definitely on retiring as soon as possible. Unfortunately I've only really been able to focus on pensions and saving since finally paying off the mortgage, but I should be on target to go by 60, maybe 58/59 if I'm lucky!

Have you seen the price of baked beans recently ? almost becoming a luxury food 

horsewithnoname

I suppose being able to afford it is sadly the main thing. So I’ll be retiring at 67 - hopefully - when I can afford it. Was going to be age 60, but the best laid plans and all that 😳

Simon11

Nevergonnaretire said:

 Unfortunately I've only really been able to focus on pensions and saving since finally paying off the mortgage, but I should be on target to go by 60, maybe 58/59 if I'm lucky!

Why, Why??

Focusing on just financial mindset and taking on an average risk, you would have been far better off long term focusing on putting money into the pension than paying off mortgage (particularly if in the 40% tax band).

Pensions are likely to grow higher per year than the cost of paying interest on your mortgage and with salary sacrifice you also take advantage of the tax free payments into your pension scheme. Then when you do retire, you can take out 25% of the pot tax free which should easily pay off your mortgage.

This is where I feel that MSE advice is rather poor as the article below ignores investing & pensions alternatives! https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgages-vs-savings/

Rich1976

Simon11 said:

Nevergonnaretire said:

 Unfortunately I've only really been able to focus on pensions and saving since finally paying off the mortgage, but I should be on target to go by 60, maybe 58/59 if I'm lucky!

Why, Why??

Focusing on just financial mindset and taking on an average risk, you would have been far better off long term focusing on putting money into the pension than paying off mortgage (particularly if in the 40% tax band).

Pensions are likely to grow higher per year than the cost of paying interest on your mortgage and with salary sacrifice you also take advantage of the tax free payments into your pension scheme. Then when you do retire, you can take out 25% of the pot tax free which should easily pay off your mortgage.

This is where I feel that MSE advice is rather poor as the article below ignores investing & pensions alternatives! https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgages-vs-savings/

Some people prefer the psychological benefit though of paying off the mortgage. Who wouldn’t get rid of it if they could. It’s one less outgoing each month should something happen.

Or they may have other reasons for treating the mortgage as a priority .

Sarahspangles

Pension-backed interest-only mortgages have been around for decades. I seem to recall one reason they were rare was the risk that for some reason you wouldn't be able to work and service your mortgage, nor draw on your pension to secure the roof over your head.