I have £5000 savings at 35. Is my life over?

If you're able to save £5k "easily" then how much can you save if you work a bit harder at it while keeping an acceptable lifestyle?

Even £5k well invested compounded over 30 years will turn into well over £300k in today's money assuming somewhere near average historical returns.

Renting is an issue for you as it is for many of our generation, what are your prospects for getting on the housing ladder?

I was late 30's before I even started my first mortgage!

appletree89 wrote: »

Apparently I should have at 9 or 10 times that by now, plus the pension, plus a completed mortgage, plus alternative property, plus vehicles, plus children who should now be completing their university degrees and so on. This is devastating to me, because I have nothing at all like that.

You usually complete university around the age of 21, so I think you were wise not to have your first kid at 14.

I was in a similar position to you in my mid 30s and I didn’t even have a stable job. Now fast approaching my mid 40s, I am doing just fine. I was also single and with no ties, so had the freedom to just get things done. It can be hard at first and you may need to take opportunities that are not all that pleasant, ie get out of your comfort zone and take a new job, maybe in another location, that you don't particularly enjoy. It may be a grind, but if you’ve got a plan, you have the comfort of knowing you’re doing it for a purpose. Have you looked into retraining or taking a job in a field that you may have never considered before? Within a couple of years you could get the skills and qualifications to more than catch up and overtake others that you view as being way ahead of you now.

35 is still very young and the most important thing is that you’re already aware of your situation. Too many people only realise when it’s too late. Also, don’t forget that there’s more to life than money: if you have your health, you’re already rich.

Remember the following wise words because they could very well apply to you:

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years
— Bill Gates

@appletree89 you paint a very depressing picture of someone in a really quite favourable financial position. Is it really your finances that are getting to you?

The idea that life has to follow a specific pattern like marriage, kids, cars, alternative properties and tens of thousands saved is rooted in the fantasy world that is lifestyle TV and fashionable glossy magazines. OK, some are lucky enough to have the wealth early on but, generally speaking, it isn't like that. You need to live your life, not somebody else's and not according to some media-invented fantasy.

Does that sound harsh? I haven't written it with harshness in mind, rather I've written it in annoyance at what the media portrays as a normal way of living.

At age 35 I had about £30K of unsecured debt and a mortgage (albeit relatively small but certainly not completed). Alternative property? - in my dreams! I wasn't unhappy but I realised I had to do something about my debt - so I was way behind you on that score. I set myself a target to be in the black within 10 years. Luckily my income improved (as yours will) and I got there. It then took several more years just to get to where you are.

If saving £5K per year means having no life then try saving £4K per year - or £3K - and see how you get on. Don't make yourself a slave to saving and please don't worry - it's not too late.

If I'm honest it sounds more like you need something to give you a lift and that money isn't really the issue. Is there anything that you really enjoy doing, or something that you think you might like to try? It's about finding a way to bring joy into your life - not money.

You shouldn't hold up other people's artificial smiley facebook facades or imaginary media ideals as beacons of happiness or evidence of the wonderful time they pretend to be having.

Have you opened up to anyone about the way you feel? And, please don't speak of throwing yourself in front of a train (however metaphorical you may have meant it) because a relative of mine did just that. It is a terrible thing for others to have to deal with - not least the train driver.

No life isnt over for you.

Sure, you are little behind. But others your age might have 0 savings and 30K in debt. So it could be worse.

One thing is certain, unless you pul the plug out and do something, you wont retire early and wont own your own home.

So stop whinging and get saving. Slim down your outgoings and out half the money saved into your pension and the other half in growing your 5K.