Have I saved enough money...

[413x]

I'll preface this with.. Excluding pension.

Today my isa hit a threshold that I didn't think I'd reach for a while.
Its that number I've had in my head... When I hit this I can probably stop saving as much.
I'll put an absolute number on it as it is probably relevant. 50k
Its a years salary.
I'm a natural saver and find it difficult to even think about "stopping" or cutting back.

This is going to sound like nothing to some and a lot to others

This last 18 months has been a bit of a game changer for me. Seeing people pass away and having an illness my self that scared me to death. And that I've not made most of time.

I'm sat here thinking.. Do I need to save anymore? My parents are wealthy but miserable. I don't want to make same mistakes.


Do other people even ask themselves this? As I seem to encounter 2 sets of people. Those who always save.. Always wanting a bigger bank balance.
Vs those who absolutely don't or can't and live life with no safety net.

As I'm never having kids dying with money is an absolute waste. Which I suppose is a background motivator for many.

As spending goes.. I don't spend much really. Especially not on what the typical person does. I have no desire for a new car. Or a big house. Or many of the other typical things. They literally don't interest me anymore.

I max out my holiday allowance and go on nice ones I enjoy.. But I'd love more time. And that's where the spare goes.

I'm never gonna save 1mln. But also.. What will 100k get me 50k won't? Nothing important?

Obviously this money isn't "throw in your job and live the dream"..but more and more I getting tempted with "what's next" I think it's contracting.

Modest savings don't really allow you to retire early. You need mega money for that. And tbh, sitting around at home being old sounds like torture.

Not sure what reaction this thread is going to get if I'm honest. Ideally some views from people who have gone against the norm!

 

[413x]

Work less.

Contracting.

To be honest this is the aim. I've even had a few calls and chats within the last month with recruiters, people I know who do it. Trying to see if the reality is what I hope.

But at same time my conservative side

But I don't see another alternative. I do know a friend who works at a company with unlimited leave. Obviously it's not unlimited. But he does have far far more time off than me

 

[413x]

Just on the holiday point, if you're company allows it, don't be afraid to take unpaid leave.

I started doing it during covid when we were absolutely flat out with work (business decided to furlough a few staff but we honestly were busier than we'd ever been due to the nature of what we sold) and took an additional 10 days unpaid leave and it was great.

I've done it every year since then. You can never have enough time to do the things you enjoy.

They do not. I would absolutely take it of i could.
This is another option. Find a company to work for where you can.

 

[413x]

Apologies for asking, but how old are you?

39

 

[413x]

I'll condense a reply to some of the more impactful posts.

After getting pushed out of my job 6 months ago and not being able to find a new one, my advice is don't put yourself on the job market if you don't have to (contracting market is just as bad). When you next end up on the market if you choose to move into contracting that's cool ofc. You can always go perm again if you want.

Obvs no point talking about years of early retirement, but a consequence of planning for that is it's kinda like a massive emergency fund. I think the usual advice about "a few months to 1 year of living expenses" worth of emergency fund just doesn't cut it in today's job market.

I assume this is just another angle at your usual "what am I doing with my life" line of thinking which you've asked several different ways, but ultimately you either want to make a major change or not, only you can decide.

Saving is often talked about in the context of goals - what do you want to save for? That's a homework question I'll leave you to ponder.

Kind of this. I'm kind of in the trap with dog and partner in that I don't think I can do the emigration thing. Or it's just my own mind pretending I'm trapped to make life easy.
I think I'm facing it more but I'm dragging it out over time. You know.. It's easier to carry on vs make a big change. Probably in conflict over this.

Have you read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel?

One of his pearls of wisdom is that you don’t need to save for a specific goal (like a car or a house) but saving for saving’s sake gives you flexibility and security when life throws you a curve-ball.

I would say having a year’s salary in the bank gives you a decent amount of freedom, but as you said, it’s not FIRE money.

I think you can stop saving towards your ‘safety net’ but now maybe start saving towards a specific goal or goals.

You’re already doing some cool holidays but is there a trip you want to do that’s another level up in terms of cost? Start planning that and put what you were saving into the ‘super holiday fund’.

This is my position in my head. I feel no pressure over redundancy (as an example) now. As I know I have a long notice period, good savings and ability (if I want) to take a risk. What that risk is.. And making a decision on it.. Is the question I need to answer.

This. 413x, you're so close, so close that the answer is in even in your post.

I agree with this. I've put off big changes. But I also want it. To not just go with the flow. But I'm not bold enough to do it.

What are you saving for? My wife recently passed away in her early 50's.
You might live to 100, you might die tomorrow.
Live now.

Dad died at 58. Didn’t get to spend a penny of his pensions. Since then. I contribute the minimum to mine that my employer will match.

I am saving for a house extension. But apart from that. I am the sort who would just keep 6 months net salary as a buffer and spend the rest. I don’t have any interest in accumulating vast wealth or having loads of money in retirement. Who cares about having loads of money when you’re old. You won’t be able to enjoy it much anyway because you’re old.

So buy the nice car, go on the fancy holiday. **** it.

So Sorry to hear this both. It's my partners mum's passing that's really hit me. She was young ish and they let time slip and basically burnt time. It's the first loss that's really made me question everything.



I kind of expected more matter of fact replies.. Yes that's enough of a buffer. No it's not. Rather than this deeper narrative!

 

[413x]

Just stop working so hard, cut down your days or something. Spend the days walking the hills. All the 'live for now' comments are fine and all that but most people don't die that young so having savings for a decent retirement is still a good choice..

This was part of the reason I got my hiking + camping set up.
I absolutely need to cut my hours/change jobs.
Right now I finish after dark. Which basically wipes out 5 days a week.

Probably easiest short term win is to move from. 9-5, 5 days a week to something else.
More holiday
Part time
Condensed hours.

All Will take a job change. And it does seem hard to find decent part time. Hence the temptation of contract.

 

[413x]

To me, that's a huge amount. If I had that amount of money stashed away, I'd be using a big chunk of it to have double glazing fitted to my house so that I could actually turn the thermostat up above 17°C in the winter. At the moment, if I put it any higher, the windows are so leaky that it would need to be running continually just trying to hold the house at 18°C and costing a fortune. 17° is the highest I can keep it without bankrupting us. We just wrap up with many layers in the winter.


If this is a buffer you're happy with, keep it at this level and spend anything extra on yourself. Have a good time, enjoy yourself because you've earned the right to do so.

I feel like it is a good buffer.
50k covers everything I can think of right now. New car + new boiler + job loss + expensive vet bill still would be OK.
Ah yeah I know the feeling. Windows here are dire. If this was a long term house I would be investing into it.

To be honest my mind is even fighting itself if I like this living in one place "standard template" for living life.


If I could choose a realistic setup. I'd buy a van, work 6 months Of the year, and travel around for the rest. This pulls me back to contracting. I obviously know this isn't possible. But even random 3 months off periods between jobs would work as if I got a job I could be back home quickly.

This level of chaos and unpredictability appeals a lot.

 

[413x]

You've got nothing to do as you're not having any kids.

So spend your money, it makes no difference if you end up skint as no one is relying on you for anything.

I gave to a straight reply, you've ignored it and looked at the deeper ones. :S

Ah but it does.
If you have no one relying on you, you also have no one to rely on.
As much as I'd love to truely blow it all. I know realistically I will need to pay out for care probably at some point.

I feel spending it all is a bit to "YOLO".
I mean I've saved up to be independent.

 

[413x]

Contracting is not as it once was. It's okay if you live in an area with lots of contract work. I was a freelancer/contractor for many years and spent a lot of timing having to work away. With IR35, it would make it very difficult to do that now especially in the public sector where you might not be able to claim any expenses at all, such as overnight stay costs. If you fear being out of work also, I might be suitable. If you hit the market at the wrong time then you can be out of work for months. And if inside IR35, which is not easy to escape now, you will pay more tax than an employee if they were earning the same amount due to having to pay the employer's NI and umbrella co fee's, apprenticeship scheme contributions.

I think the best days of contracting are over unless you have very niche skills that there's good demand for.
I hated being an employee personally so it suited me well. I also like change so was always quite excited when a contract came to an end unlike the 'permie-contractors' as I called them, which are contractors who have a permanent employee mindset. They would start panicking, stressing etc.

Of course there are still plenty of good things about contracting/freelancing also and I would still do that myself rather than being an employee, if I decide I've had enough of early retirement although that'd be difficult to do for a while as I have to help elderly parents.

Another thing to mention about contracting is the additional risks. I know a few who lost £10k+ some years ago when the agency they were working through went bust.

Yeah I've been reading up /talking in person and tbh the sensible thing for me is to not do it.

My skills aren't niche enough. The pay isn't good enough (most seem to say X2 your current salary is worth it) in most people's eyes to lose
-security
-pension contribution
-healthcare
-extra unpaid work (tax returns, constant job hunting, and etc)

I've also heard direct and indirect same. It's not what it once was. And also that perm to contract is not as hard as contract to perm.

This is kind of what I mean about part of me (the risk adverse side) holding me back.

Anything inside ir35 is not great. And outside ir35 is rarer and rarer.

 

[413x]

Money doesn't make you happy but the lack of it certainly helps to make you miserable, stressed and poorer because you can't make smart financial decisions and your money doesn't work for you. There is always a balance to be had but the best advice I can give is to enjoy your life as you go through it. Don't think "when i'm 50, when I retire etc". By that time you will be so set in your ways that things won't change and you will have wasted your best years.

Being happy doesn't mean ******* money away because that doesn't make you happy. Happiness to me is doing more of what I want. Currently I have young children so they give me a lot of my happiness but outside of that its my hobbies.

People put too much stock in "I could die tomorrow" when thats unlikely and its far more likely that you will live to your mid-late 70s or older and if you have no money you will probably have a miserable last 20 years of life.

Don't work too much and enjoy the things in life you enjoy.

Yeah very much this.
My salary increased rapidly over 3-4 years. So much so I can remember saving hard for house. Being. Super stingy with money etc.
And then all of a sudden.. Money wasn't the issue. It felt like that happened somewhere in the upper 30k mark.

 

[413x]

Use an online calc it isn't that much better

Most of the roles I've been looking at are 75 in 85 out (If I remember). And I assumed that was assuming equivalent days of work to perm.

So to get more days (ie 25 days holiday to 3 months) would be a pay cut.

I am happy with that. But it's not a clear cut.. This will be awesome.. Choice.

 

[413x]

I'll spell it out. You need a purpose that transcends yourself, your individual experiences and material possessions. Hiking and holidays ain't gonna cut it my brother. You know this because you've run that experiment and you are still left with a hole in your soul that you can't stand.

You need children. You don't want them (yet) but you sure as hell need them. Almost everyone does. It's not your fault that it's difficult to come to terms with this, you have been programmed to think that they're optional, when they really aren't for the vast, vast majority. What will be your fault, is if you continue to ignore the blaring "meaning" alarm bells that your soul is sounding, continue to attempt to fill the hole inside you with frankly hollow items, only to end up feeling the same a couple more decades down the line. Older, lonelier, with less energy and less options. Yes, you may not believe yourself to be "fit" for it as you are, and this will mean you will have to change. This is the entire point. Think about the kind of person you will have to become to be a good parent. Truly, the greatest value in life is not in what you possess, it is in what you become.

For me this is very much not the case.
My difficulties in life are being tied down by the normal life things

As much as love my dog.. He is a bind.

Its as close a simulation for kids as you can get. I would do anything for him. I have 15k saved up just incase his medical. Issues require that cash to help him.
But. I know he's a bind. It's harder to go on holiday, to leave the normal day to day life.
Imagine if I had kids, and they had the same. Issues. That's even more of a bind.

Also. From my family experience kids do not make things better. I've seen my family torn apart by inheritance fighting. My uncle talk about my grandad in same room dementia in a quite frankly disgusting way.

Its a gamble that I don't think I'd like the outcome of. I would also make a terrible parent. I'm disorganised, I have mental health (depression/anxiety type symptoms) that would make kids even harder. I'd also end up passing this onto them.

I don't want to bring kids into this world. But I absolutely don't want to bring kids into this world, be a bad parent and end up basically failing at such an important task.

I am happiest when I'm outdoors exploring/experiencing things. This is obviously incompatible with kids for a long time. If ever.


All Signs point to this being bad.
It would be irresponsible at best for me to think kids could fix this issue.

 

[413x]

Have you tried writing a list of what you want? Do you know?

Do you know why you like travel so much? I mean, really know? Is it having the free time, seeing new places, or being on your own (sorry, but it's a valid question)? Or something else?

Could you take an extended sabbatical and see how time on your hands suits you?

Best wishes- I really do hope you can resolve this one, as this seems to be a fairly regular topic of yours.

I love to explore.
New places. New things. New sights and sounds. And physical achievement.

I know when I'm at my happiest is when I'm on my kayak, on sea. It's sensory overload.
Seeing a sunset over the hills.

I love my mountain biking. It's fast paced, pure and risky. If I do a bigger drop than before.. I feel. I achieved.

Day to day life, work. Is so mundane. Thinking, planning, solutionising. You can't think like that on bike on a new trail. If you do, you crash. I don't get the reward of achieving via work.

I miss very much walking my dog out in this environment. He's now ill and can't do this and it's really impacted me and him. It was something we did every week at least. I still struggle with the change.

All these things are instinct, in the moment, in nature, exploring new places.
My brain natural loves to plan, hypothesise, worry. But it does me no good. When I'm doing the above things.. All that goes. Start to worry about x, y, z..you Crash on a mountain bike!

I had my best holiday ever this year in Greenland. Absolutely no phone signal for 6 days. On day 1 it was a bit "oh man, people are probably worrying if I'm OK.. How. Do. I get signal".
But once I accepted I couldnt each day was like living in the moment. Planned for the day, no further. Saw wildlife I've never seen before. A place that felt alien it was unbelievable.



In day to day life this doesn't really happen. Ie work, home, tv for evening. Going out to places for a meal, a pub. This is all labeled by my brain as "mundane" and memories of it fade. Same as how computer games no longer give me joy.



I do feel I know what I love. I don't really know how to do more of it, enough of it. I'm also aware can't just "go live in the wilderness" as it would quickly become unpleasant!
I take a loooong time to come to decision. Especially important ones like the stuff in this thread!

 

[413x]

@Rotty are you going to delete everyone elses post who has suggested he seeks psych support? :S

Its fine.
I actually am having counselling for some specific issues around anxiety/depression.

Usually, I can keep these things controlled. Ie by going outdoors, making most of Weekends. But my dogs health and my assignment that "I am responsible for him" has been quite challenging this year.

This is probably my biggest tangible "kids Aren't for me" thing.

 

[413x]

Dogs have the social intelligence of a toddler. As a side, I do find it odd how some people refer to their pets as their children and themselves as a parent. I appreciate you might not do that.

I treat him like a child in that I am responsible, I'd do anything for him, and I love him differently to a partner/friend. It is unconditional.

I don't do anything weird. I wouldn't call him my child. But emotively.. He probably is.
losing him would probably ruin me for some time. It's why I didn't want a dog. Because I was worried it would be difficult.


He was a big help when I was ill. And we've spent a lot of time on adventures in past on hikes in the hills.
Now he's ill, and we can't do that.


I would do anything for him. No matter the cost. Although I know he's not a child. I also have never had a bond like this ever.

 

[413x]

Also.
Wtf.
I thought this thread would be a.

No 50k is not enough.. What are you thinking.
Or
50k.is plenty.. I would be comfortable not. Saving anymore.

 

[413x]

But why does he need them? It's quite possible that it would add to the problems he already has, considering how difficult it is, and from what I've read it's basically a no-go with his current partner, who also has health problems.



The analogy of eating right and exercising is nice and all, but they'd only really be affecting themselves if they ended up with body dysmorphia or an eating disorder. It's a bit different than bringing a child into the world and then finding out that it's exacerbating the problems you had or you've just stayed the same and have even less energy for life and it's no longer just you that you have to be able to take care of.



He's shared a lot about his and his partner's health challenges here. If there's even a suspicion that something like depression is involved, it needs to be addressed before considering having a child. While I generally support taking risks, having children as a way to potentially solve personal issues isn't one of them.

You sum it up well.

With my issues and her issues, if either of us wanted kids I think both of us would have to be with someone different. Which makes me think it's a good thing both of us don't want kids.

There are so so many reasons we shouldnt.

I look at parents who I think are good Parents.
They are organised, efficient, like routine, mentally robust.
This is literally opposite of me and my partner. Probably both have Adhd.
I mean we even have a cleaner as we can't keep up with stuff.
Kids will make this worse. When you struggle with routine... You probably shouldn't be talking in kids.

 

[413x]

Does 50 exclude dog money?

How much is in your pension?

50k excludes dog money.
My pension is behind my ideal. But I believe on track for an OK target.
Its about at 90-100k but most of that is in last. 7 years. (due to salary increase).
I the very recent past I've moved it from the criminally bad default funds into something better. Which will also (hopefully) help long term.

Also plan to equity release eventually as well.

To be clear.. I would not stop investing into my pension!

 

[413x]

This is the issue IMHO. You are with the wrong person, to be blunt.


Nawh, no more complicated than everything else in life and you can always chuck money at it (like cleaners)

It is possible. We have absolutely moved in different directions.
By far biggest part of that is health stuff. I know my partner would love to do more stuff with me. (not biking). But her health prevents it.

So as she goes more indoors (by force) and I find those things harder to enjoy so there is a hobbies wedge.

We have talked a lot. About important stuff. And we both put effort into the relationship. Which is obviously mega important.
But it isn't easy. Physical hurdles. Mental hurdles (on both sides).

But if you leave someone due to what is basically medical at root.. You probably shouldn't be in a relationship at all right?

 

[413x]

are you montage free? if not way do you have any savings at all.

my dad ones told me is you own 20k on your mortgage and you have 10k in savings... you should only own 10k on your mortgage.
apart from a small amount for emergency's if you have car finance or a mortgage you should be paying the max you can on them before hitting a penalty charge

No this is bad advice.
The return on savings is higher at the moment than my mortgage. So it makes no sense to pay off mortgage.

A lot of people make this mistake.