Because they didn't invest, left everything in cash. So the value has been heavily eroded and it's not generating enough income to provide a comfortable retirement. I'm helping where I can and a part is now invested, but on the whole they'll be scraping through until state pension age.
Have I saved enough money...
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See this a lot.
People paying off their mortgage vs investing.
People not trusting banks etc and just holding literal cash.
I mean for years my pension was in its default fund. A terrible fund.
There's not the education or the will to learn for the average person to max out their life long earnings. And it's very very expensive.
Think how much time you put in working for that cash. Yet can't spend a few hours learning how to make better decisions. It can literally cost 100s of k across a life
I may have to look at Europe. Before I was looking (not properly) at jobs in NZ and almost all had "must be legally permitted to work here"
May message you over the weekend of that's OK on some details.I am paying as I go but private pilots licence is around 10k all in. If I go commercial it will be 50k-60k all in but that will be dual licence as I have a European Passport.
38 now but I should be done by 40 which will give me 25 years career if I want it.
I have done 5 hours so far and doing take offs and taxing by myself. Still a way to go however. 45 is the min hours to pass but most take 50-60. Then after that it is the grind for commercial which is 200ish hours plus theory.
At the moment I am doing 1 lesson a week but after Christmas will be doing 2-3.
I was constantly in a battle to save and pay off my mortgage ASAP. We had a kid at 21 so have been grafting since an early age. Only now I realise how pointless paying my mortgage off is and why do we even need a big house when the kids are gone so have taken equity out to follow a dream job.
I have no incentive to retire early but to find a job that gives me great satisfaction but also pays well. Doing my HGV license after getting made redundant in 2021 kind of opened my eyes. I literally wasted 15 years of my life grifting up the corporate ladder only worrying about that pay rise to only get there and find out my day to day work life was terrible.
I could take 2 years off as well with no work. 1000 a month for mortgage and living expenses.
That would eat up half the pot.
Obviously I don't want to do that. But more ice thought about it since this thread. If you can live 2 years without working any only use half your savings. Probably OK?
Especially when you don't have kids.
Even if you pop off early, at least if you have kids you can kind of get around the mental "I wasted my life" as they will inherit any cash.
When you don't it's literally a waste.
That is typically the case for places that have a points-based visa system. Get your points, get your visa, get a job.
Non-points systems that just have visa sponsorship are a lot easier (i.e. Hong Kong). Time between getting a call from an old colleague about a role there, and landing in HK, was about six weeks, all done and dusted.
Nothing wrong with the Med .. even if Easyjet flights back to blighty aren't as cheap as they used to be.
transient meeting on group adventure holidays don't make those enjoyable for me - you don't have shared memories to subsequently reminisce over.
WFH doesn't help build networks.
must be groups of people in your area who do outdoor stuff walking/climbing/cycling they're not all heavy-drinkers, who you can build relationships with for weekend warrior missions,
transient meeting on group adventure holidays don't make those enjoyable for me - you don't have shared memories to subsequently reminisce over.
WFH doesn't help build networks.
Soldato
It’s all relative at the end of the day…
How much of that 50k is actually in cash?
How risky are the assets that you have it stored as?
How liquid are the asset?
In regards of your life itself;
How long will that 50k last if you had no income?
How’s the relationship between you and your partner?
How’s your partners income and job security?
Personally I like to have a year in cash, and the rest in the market and non liquid assets.. the market could take 2 years or more to recover.
Next year I have to pay for a new kitchen and possibly a different car, that will make a massive hit on my cash savings, but I should have to sell any shares, the real question is do I build up my cash savings again after, if it means putting less or nothing into the market. I’m certainly not lowering my pension contributions for it.
How much of that 50k is actually in cash?
How risky are the assets that you have it stored as?
How liquid are the asset?
In regards of your life itself;
How long will that 50k last if you had no income?
How’s the relationship between you and your partner?
How’s your partners income and job security?
Personally I like to have a year in cash, and the rest in the market and non liquid assets.. the market could take 2 years or more to recover.
Next year I have to pay for a new kitchen and possibly a different car, that will make a massive hit on my cash savings, but I should have to sell any shares, the real question is do I build up my cash savings again after, if it means putting less or nothing into the market. I’m certainly not lowering my pension contributions for it.
I think you're contradicting yourself a bit here. Your savings would clearly allow you to retire early. If 50k is 4 years living expenses for you, that would easily be 6 or more after being invested for a decade or so. Save the same again, do it all via a pension scheme with tax relief and keep it all invested and you might be retiring 10 years earlier and with a lot more than 1k a month, especially if you keep not growing into your pay rises.
I know you've posted a lot about your reluctance to pay more into your pension. Sure, there are other things to think about - if spending this money or other extra cash earlier would truly make you happier in some way then OK. The problem with spending it now to increase free time is you never get the benefit of having it grow, so it's worth much more later in terms of the amount of free time it can buy.
Soldato
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A bit of a segue but.....I am losing my job in Jan 2026 and am sorely tempted to get a HGV licence to be a lorry driver..... only need work for 10 years (it's not something I think a 20 year old should go into hoping for a 40 year career.)
it's one of those chicken and egg problems tho from what research I have done. Most people want experienced drivers but if you can't get a job you can't get experience.
I have the money to pay for the licence but no point spending it if I can't get a job at the end of it.
Man of Honour
- Joined
- 21 Nov 2004
- Posts
- 46,033
I’m all for having an emergency pot and am aiming for between 50-100k, partly why I’ve taken on a bigger job for a few years. Nothing in particular I want to buy with it. Mortgage will be paid off many times over with trust funds eventually. Having seen an old school friend go through chemo recently, perhaps it’s encouraged me to save less and just buy what I want, as long as I’m not overly dipping into my savings. I think I’ve only had one month net negative out of twelve. Tbh if I lost my job I have enough savings for at least a year if I scaled things back.
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Its 4 years living expenses on a shoe string.
I would basically be existing.
If I retired I'd have so much time and nothing to fill it with with. So that isn't really in my plan (early retirement). Certainly not at the expense of living for now.
They are high risk investments.
But I could turn it into cash tomorrow
For me having 50k in cash is too much of a waste. But I could probably move some to safer investments.
50k would last me 4 years on a shoe string.
Relationship is stable.
Job safety? I've learnt this is never stable.
When I think it could last 4 years or does make it sound a lot actually
Having thought on this, I think i will start moving some of this to safer investments. Especially if I do decide 50 is enough.
Thought about it a bit over the weekend and I'm swinging more to "yes it is"
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You have guaranteed trust funds?
I would absolutely not be saving this much if I had guaranteed trust funds.
But absolutely agree seeing people go through horrible medical situations really changes a person's perspective
OK, but you ignored that investment growth and pension relief would likely mean a lot more than 1k a month.
There's nothing wrong with not wanting to retire early, but I think you probably could with a decent income if you tried to and while maintaining your current lifestyle.
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Caporegime
You will get a job no problem. Yodel are struggling because all their HGV drivers have jumped ship to other companies due to better pay as just one example. You will not get a high paying job initially but it is a job market and will continue to be so because of the way the job is.
The job is fantastic and every day is a different day but the hours can be rubbish and the pay for responsibility doesn't add up. I did a 10 hour day up to stoke yesterday which is a 3 hour drive and the other side of the country. Last Tuesday I did a 15 hour day and I only went up to Grimsby/Hull but on the way home some bint pulled out of a T junction on the A15 and smashed into another car leaving the road closed for 2 hours. I only work 3 and half days a week though so averaged out I do about 40-45 hours a week but if you wanted to work Mon-Fri expect 50-60 hours a week.
Agreed about doing it for ten years. It is not something I would give as career advice not because I hate the job but mainly due to the rubbish that comes along with it. I had a really good day a few weeks back and could almost taste the dinner on my table but I get to my final collection and the miserable guy in dispatch tells me it will not be ready till 4pm but I arrived at 12 noon! 4 hours to burn. I am learning to fly so I use those 4 hours to study and revise but if like me you like to crack on it can get a little frustrating.
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I doubt I'll fully stop saving. And definitely not into my pension. But I will cut back my isa/cash saving I think
I do contribute 8 pc (me) + 4pc (employer) and that will continue.
But anything could happen in next 20+ years.
As others have said. It's a balance of live now vs for save for later.