Advice needed new job and existing debt and future invest path

bradqwer · 18 January 2019 at 10:02PM

Ok guys So have just accepted a contract to start a new role working for Plus net which is part of the British Telecom group I also am in the process of starting up a side hustle in eCommerce to supplement my income.

My salary is £18,500 with a take home pay from Plus Net is £1,330 working full time 2 PM till 10 PM whilst my side hustle which I hope one day will enable me to leave the working for someone else will generate £22,000 in first year sales with a NET of £13,500 (I took on the job to pay for the side hustle so I can bootstrap it)

On to my financial situation I have outgoings of £612 which breakdown into the following rent:215 food:250 Gas:50 Investments:50 and debts of £2,000 which im currently paying interest free with various agencies.

That leaves me with a surplus of £700+ a month however some will be taken out for that as I plan to buy a annual travel pass through our perk schemes.

I have never had a pension nor paid into one (38 years old) and will most likely contribute to the company pension on offer not sure what kind of product it is yet.

What would peoples advice be can I still pay of the debt at the current interest free or would u suggest just paying more and having a less nice lifestyle also what would people suggest in terms of pension and other investments I have a good tolerance risk level currently invested in a VG80 product drip feeding

eskbanker · 19 January 2019 at 1:56AM

38 years old is late to be starting to think about pensions but better late than never! Check out how much of a contribution you'd need to make to your employer scheme in order to benefit from their maximum contribution (aka free money).

Most on here would advocate building up an emergency fund in readily-accessible cash form before starting to consider investing, so I'd concentrate on that.

Seems sensible to consider whatever it takes to augment a salary not a million miles from the minimum wage, but worth completely ring-fencing all business activity away from your personal banking, i.e. use not just a different account but a different bank(ing group) too.

MaxiRobriguez · 19 January 2019 at 9:10AM

1) Revise your "side hustle" figures down most probably unless you tell us what it is you're doing. A year one margin of 60% seems steep, unless you're drug dealing.
2) Unless you're feed a family of 4 then £250 a month seems excessive on food.
3) If you're debt really is interest free then work out when it is no longer interest free in months and divide the £2,000 by that. Then pay that off your debts each month.
4) First few months use your excess cash, if you have any (see point 1), to build up an emergency fund if you don't have one. You'll probably want to get to £4k or so.
5) If your income estimates are correct and you've got your emergency fund sorted then buy a house.

justme111 · 19 January 2019 at 9:44AM

Too little information on your situation and goals.
The only thing to note is that if your expenses are £600/month they will be easily covered by state pension so why did you think about additional pension?

bradqwer · 19 January 2019 at 7:13PM

justme111 wrote: »

Too little information on your situation and goals.
The only thing to note is that if your expenses are £600/month they will be easily covered by state pension so why did you think about additional pension?

Its not an additional I don't have one at ALL

bradqwer · 19 January 2019 at 7:18PM

MaxiRobriguez wrote: »

1) Revise your "side hustle" figures down most probably unless you tell us what it is you're doing. A year one margin of 60% seems steep, unless you're drug dealing.
2) Unless you're feed a family of 4 then £250 a month seems excessive on food.
3) If you're debt really is interest free then work out when it is no longer interest free in months and divide the £2,000 by that. Then pay that off your debts each month.
4) First few months use your excess cash, if you have any (see point 1), to build up an emergency fund if you don't have one. You'll probably want to get to £4k or so.
5) If your income estimates are correct and you've got your emergency fund sorted then buy a house.

OK so my side hustle is to launch a men's grooming business dealing in beard oils and waxes I have done this on the back burner to supplement my universal credit for 3-4 months but never fully scaled it I would with net profit margins of around 48% once you take into account production and advertising. I am currently re branding to offer a more attractive product to my market these numbers are based on 3 units per day sold which I was doing last year with little to no proper marketing.

In regards food I eat alot as I gym 4 times a week

as for the house purchase my credit so so bad I think ill be renting forever

justme111 · 19 January 2019 at 8:42PM

bradqwer wrote: »

Its not an additional I don't have one at ALL

State pension. Have you heard about it ?

bradqwer · 19 January 2019 at 9:13PM

justme111 wrote: »

State pension. Have you heard about it ?

Yea obv sorry didnt mean to come across as a !!!! I aplogise im just assuming this would be a crap level of living in 30 years

justme111 · 19 January 2019 at 10:35PM

If state pension is increasing in line with inflation how could the level of life in 30 years be so much worse than now on it ? In any case if you think it will be worse than now you could figure out approximately what amount you will get and reduce it by whatever percentage you think it will be worse.
If your spending is £620/month it basically equals full state pension amount so it would cover all your needs so discounting it does not make sense.

dont_use_vistaprint · 19 January 2019 at 11:11PM

I would re-do your sales forecast, you are late to the game on beard oils and what if they go out of fashion again in 2-3 years ? Also if you haven't scaled before, can you ship 22K of product and do your day job , even with full drop ship and slick eCom its a lot of work just handling admin and service issues.

I would focus on getting some stability, 38 isn't young, but its not old either, you still have 30 years to sort yourself out - pension, emergency savings, 21st century skills and be wise with the business , careful, slow organic growth is best and be ready to adapt - your appetite to risk is likely why you are where you are now.

And what can you rent for 215? Even a room in a shared house in the north is nearly 400

enthusiasticsaver · 19 January 2019 at 11:40PM

I would focus on sorting your debt out and getting some emergency savings before investing further. Join your company pension scheme but maybe it is best to see how your side business performs before committing to any further investing.

Advice needed new job and existing debt and future invest path

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free