Clear plan

MexicanDream

Morning all

I suppose what I am asking for is a collective plan.

I try to do too much, lose focus, give up. Try to do too much, lose focus, give up.

Details. Am 50. We had kids later in life. They are 10 and 12. £28k left on mortgage, at 1.6% fixed till next year.

I work in a supermarket. Hate it to be honest. People who dont work retail, should try it. You would be nicer customers if you saw what we have to put up with. I would leave if I had any opportunites.

I have £1600 savings in a bos savings account, add £50 per month. Pays 2.72% aer monthly

I would like be mortgage free, esp with % likely to be over double what we currently are.

I also am panicking that my pension is no where near where it should be for the future. Plus with the kids getting older, budgets are getting tighter!

Can the clever folk help me come up with a step by step plan, so I dont panic and lose focus?

ManyWays

When does your current fix and and what is the current term?
You are contributing to the emplyers pension? Any previous pensions?
What is your partner's financial situation like?

gwynlas

Perhaps you could complete a SOA so that you could receive more focussed advice on your current budget.

Regarding your work life it is somewhat easier to get a job from a job so think about what you would prefer to be doing and what transferable skills you might have.

Would you perhaps consider a job in the NHS, lots of different careers available and there is still a well regarded pension scheme?

Exodi

Financial Advisors make a career out of providing what you are asking.

Of course we can offer advice or suggestions, but I don't think anyone can give you a bespoke clear step-by-step plan as you ask. To save re-inventing the wheel, I'm aware of a general flowchart that gets shared a lot on the UKPF subreddit: https://ukpersonal.finance/flowchart/

One thing that would be useful is understanding your situation a lot better.

Firstly, you have posted on the debt-free wannabe forum, however (except for the mortgage) it's not clear whether you have any debt? If you don't, there is a mortgage-free wannabe subforum https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/mortgage-free-wannabe or the Pensions, annuities & retirement planning subforum https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/pensions-annuities-retirement-planning that may be better suited.

Secondly, you haven't really given any numbers behind any of this, except your mortgage balance and savings. How much do you earn, how much does your partner earn? What is your discretionary income? It might be helpful as suggested above to complete a SoA.

Your savings accounts pays a pretty low interest rate at 2.72% (you could find an account paying at least 4% with little effort) however for the relatively low amount of savings, it might only make £20 or so difference a year so not a priority.

What is your pension situation? You mention it's nowhere near where it should be. Do you know what type of pension you have, and the details of your employers contribution? Increasing pension contributions is usually the best idea for most people.

Unfortunately forming a financial plan for the future is not a one-size-fits-all for everyone as everyone has different expectations from retirement and plans in life. For example, did you want to help your kids with uni or getting their first car/house? How much do you think you'll to live on in retirement?

You mention £28k is left on your mortgage, but what is the term? Obviously when that is finally paid off, that should help a lot with the costs of the kids getting older.

You sound quite down, but you are incredibly lucky to be one of few fixed at such an incredibly interest rate of 1.6% - most have been paying 4-5%+ for a couple of years now and would give their left arm to have such a rate.

I agree with your comments about 'some' customers, I wish everyone was conscripted to work in customer service for a month to give some perspective/appreciation. You see the toxicity evidenced on this very forum (e.g. the consumer rights board) where people almost gloat about how much they unloaded on the customer service person because they didn't like or agree with that they were saying…

RAS

An SOA would be really helpful. You may be feeling like you are playing whack a mole at the moment, but you need to send a bit of time looking at your situation.

A few thoughts:

Have you checked your NI/state pension situation? Sometimes paying a little money to top up years is well worth it.

Do you have any work pensions from previous employment?

Review things like insurance, utilities.

You've not mentioned if you have a partner or are a single parent?