When did you feel financially secure?

Linton

leosayer said:

...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/10/the-7-levels-of-financial-freedom-according-to-a-millionaire-50percent-of-us-workers-are-at-level-2.html

I have never felt financially insecure, even when out of work for 6 months after being made redundant, as we have always saved a reasonable % of our incomes.

I reached level 2 when I went to Uni at 18 with a moderately generous free maintenance grant, Level 4 perhaps a couple of years after starting work, level 6 when taking early retirement in my 50s and level 7 about 10 years later once my main annuity started.

Brenster

Linton said:

leosayer said:

...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/10/the-7-levels-of-financial-freedom-according-to-a-millionaire-50percent-of-us-workers-are-at-level-2.html

I have never felt financially insecure, even when out of work for 6 months after being made redundant, as we have always saved a reasonable % of our incomes.

I reached level 2 when I went to Uni at 18 with a moderately generous free maintenance grant, Level 4 perhaps a couple of years after starting work, level 6 when taking early retirement in my 50s and level 7 about 10 years later once my main annuity started.

Good post, mid 40's and somewhere between 4 & 5, with a realistic target of reaching level 6 by 50.  I think its harder to go up the ladder (1-7) at the lower end and get out of levels 1 and 2, however with a bit of financial maturity, the later levels are more easily acheivable after level 3 once your money isnt swallowed up by debts etc.  

MeteredOut

QrizB said:

That's an interesting chart.

In my case I was probably at level 3 in 1994, 4 before 2000, but didn't reach 5 until ~2020 and the final years of my mortgage. Now close to 6 - which is handy, as I'm hoping to retire in the next couple of years!

I think there's a gap between 5 and 6.

6 is living off the income your investments generate - I'm assuming this means with capital retention

I think there should be a 5.5 which is your expectation to be able to live off your investments till the day you die but with capital reduction.

nicknameless

Myself and my wife have just retired.  Both age 54.  I am writing this on hols when I'd normally be nose to the grindstone.

This is a good question and I think my answer atm. is that I first felt financially secure when I was offered the redundancy package which provided the icing on our financial cake allowing us both to retire a little earlier than anticipated.  We'd been planning for years to that point and I now realise when I modelled the figures having been offered a package that was the first time we weren't chasing financial security / independence.  We were there.

Now I don't know what I don't know and it will hopefully be a long road from hereon in, but I am as calm about finances as I've ever been.

Mortgage not a factor in this - still runs till we are 75.  Couldn't (perhaps naively?) care less.  Have some DB provision that will kick in next year and the remainder in SIPPs / ISAs.

A significant market crash might shake the faith but the modelling says we'd still be ok.