Looking to start my FIRE journey but not sure where to start. Can anyone point me towards any good reading material / video courses or anything that can provide some structure for my journey.

I would like to have a good idea of my current financial situation and have my money going into the right places by the end of the year.

For Context Most of my money is in regular savings accounts which isn’t ideal and I have started paying into a S&S ISA over the last few months with the aim to hit the full 20K allowance each year. I have been considering putting money into a SIPP via salary sacrifice as I am in the higher tax band, but without knowing how to best manage my savings/investments I am struggling to work out how much I want to contribute.

Any advice would also be greatly appreciated.

Looking for a new provider so wanted some recommendations and general indication as to who people are with.

Do people prefer the low cost newer firms or older style brokers for safety and customer service?

View Poll

Good day all, I was wondering if there is a preferred SIPP provider amongst the members of this fine forum?

I have around 100K in few pension schemes I would like to move and self manage.

Hi, so a first time poster (and user of Reddit) but woken up to finance and retirement probably way too late in reality. I am super motivated at 49 to reach the finish line work wise and genuinely enjoy life and explore.

A recent conversation with my financial advisor and some plugging of numbers makes 58 look like the viable age to retire with an initial £50k per year then stepping down beyond age 75.

However I am keen to know more about 1) How to improve on that further and 2) how to potentially invest intelligently to generate an income stream or drawdown into retirement for additional comfort and safety.

I guess the key numbers as they stand look broadly like this:

Main Income: £120k +20%

Spouse income: £14k in a part-time basis.

Mortgage: £330k 22yr term, £2k p/m on a 2yr fix at 4.89% looking to overpay or refix in Jan 2026 and reterm to a shorter period with a view to be mortgage free 5yrs sooner.

Property equity is about £470k

Pension is about £315k currently plus two final salary schemes which combined provide about £4.5k per annum.

Paying combined about £1800 per month into pension(s).

S&S ISA: 1yr old (Yes, I know...) and about £7k currently paying in £100 per month

Savings: £48k

PCP x 2 about £650 p/m for remaining 2yrs

CC debt of £7k overpaying every month and on balance transfer rates.

Thanks in advance for any useful thoughts on where you would focus and why etc!

Had been lurking here for many years, first time posting.

43M, 293k in S&S ISA, 58k in LISA , 132k in a work place pension (with about 5.6k / year employer contribution).

In the past, with modest salary sacrifice I managed to stay below or just above the 40% income tax threshold, and had maxed out ISA allowances whilst getting about 9% annualised growth. I preferred ISA for its flexibility / liquidity.

I will see a bigger increase in gross salary next year, so I am thinking to increase salary sacrifice into work pension. But I will also see a bigger increase in expenditure commitments, so probably will have nothing left to put in to the ISAs anymore.

What is your ideal allocations between ISA and pension/LISA?

Like many of you I’ve been using firecalc.com as a nice tool to understand where I am with regards to FIRE and critically to account for the variability in investment returns. I find it’s approach quite good and easy to understand, and while it purely uses past performance it does so using a whole load of data and takes multiple periods to determine your overall success rate if you retired in any one of the years in it’s database.

Does anyone else use this? And what’s your success rate? Both if you’re already retired and if you’re planning on retiring? And where are you comfortable? Would you play with your numbers (e.g. savings rate, retirement age) to try and increase your rate? What’s good enough? Would you pull the trigger if FIRECalc indicate a rate of 75%, 98% or nothing less than 100?

https://preview.redd.it/w4gjmkdejv0e1.png?width=2554&format=png&auto=webp&s=56d0b8e8dd08f0f1e7313f993b2dabe9586777ea

've been meaning to put a dashboard together for a while but that post just before lunch inspired me to use my hour to put one together and post here for the first time.

44M and in January this year decided to sort out my finances, they were not organised at all, for example I had I had 110k in a savings account getting 1.5%. In doing that, I discovered FIRE in March which really inspired me to sort out my finances and set goals and as you can see set forecasts.

A bit of a difference to the earlier post when it comes to financial independence, I don't include my home equity or pension in that. Home for obvious reasons, pension because the plan is for that to look after me from 58 to the end. So financial independence for me is what's going to get me from retirement, to 58. I also don't include cash in there, as that's effectively my emergency fund that I will need all the way through. My target is the money I'd need to retire if I did it next year, so every year my funds will increase, my target will decrease (as I get nearer 58) and at some point they'll meet. 51 my forecasts tell me.

So hello everyone, I've been lurking & watching since March, thanks for all the great advice you've been putting out.

I'm currently pivoting careers into Finance, coming from a background of 20 years plus in Sales, Marketing, and Business Management. I've been considering this career move for well over a year now, spoken to careers advisors, experts, people working in the industry and I'm set and excited to keep going.

I've decided not to join any large academies as they all seem to come with quite a few stipulations as to what I can and can't do outside of work, so I'm looking to connect and engage with others who might be in UK Finance.

I'm new to the subreddit, any guidance or pointers would be great. I'm keen to connect with people who are experienced in Finance, or any type of recommendation.

If I'm in the right or wrong subreddit, I'd love to hear your feedback 🙏

Hi

I’m self employed and I’m making roughly £200k profit after tax.

I have no investments apart from my business (asset worth roughly 500k).

I need to speak to my accountant regarding setting up a pension, is there a certain type of pension I should opt for? How much should I put in annually?

I was also looking into ETFs?

Would it be a good idea to have both money invested into an index fund and a pension?

Sorry about so many questions, I’m not clued up with investing/savings. Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

As the title says im a first time poster and ive read many posts detailing where they are and how they got there which has helped me have an understanding of roughly where i see myself.

I’d like to think ive done well for myself despite never really being a big earner but managed my costs well enough and put enough money into my pension and ISA as long term builders of wealth. However i’ve managed to get a new job which is coming with a fairly decent payrise and wanted to make of note of where im at so i can look back in the years to come and do some comparisons and note progress.

I’m a 39m in the UK who has been with the same company for 19 years now. Started at the bottom and moved around a bit till i found a role i felt best suited me. Annual payrises and a few jumps up the ladder got me to where i am now at 35k a year which i believe is roughly the average uk salary atm. I’m in a long term relationship and recently got engaged. We tend to keep our finances separate due to my own insecurities about money (rubbish parents tainted view on relationships and money). I wont disclose any of my partners finances as that is their business and doesnt factor into my update. The new role ive been offered is at 52k which is roughly a 50% payrise and will put me at the highest ive ever been paid and also skirting with the higher tax bracket if there were no pension sacrifice going on.

Current Financial Position:

Own home valued at 230k (current mortgage of 40k at 1.7% for another year)

DC pension - 190k

S&S ISA - 74k (split across a few Global ETFs and some gold as a hedge)

GIA’s - roughly 20k across various stocks (not the best stock picker so ive stopped adding more to this and waiting on some recoveries to try get out and into the ISA)

Liquid Savings - 25k (was less but person who owed me money paid me back so this is in the pot atm)

Roughly 540k in assets with 40k in liabilities

Monthly income & bills/savings

Take home 2200 after salary sacrifice - 850 paid into DC pension. 13% me 16% Work match

Partner pays 400 towards bills

Mortgage 630

gas/electric 230

Food 300

Water 50

Phone 45

Council tax 174

TV/Broadband 95

Various insurances 75

ISA topup 150

Monthly Saver 300 into 8% regular saver

Work Share Option Scheme - 300

This leaves me with roughly 350 for socialising and generic costs outside of the above which is fine for me.

Future

No real set plans for retirement as i know i need at least another 15 years work to qualify for full state pension so working till 54 at the very least but if i can get myself debt free and get enough in the ISA / Pension to stop a bit earlier then that would be great.

Hope is to keep up with the above plan but expand payments into a SIPP alongside ISA and Pension and try pay off mortgage early with spare cash if the rates are still high next year when i need to remortgage.

Looking for any advice on if im overloaded in any areas or missing any key things from my future savings plan.

With all the posts that appear to seek advice when in frankly excellent positions, to the 95% of people in this sub that are lurking and feeling down every time they see a not so humble brag, this might make you feel better!

I'm terrible with finances, but I'm trying to get better. I could blame issues with my mental health and subsequently a complete disregard for the future, but that's still on me and a selfish mindset for years. I've offset the guilt by spending a lot on my son (this has at least included experiences rather than just material items), but I've gone a bit overboard during this time.

My situation:

37, Single dad, Income - £50k Savings - Ah.. No. Current account - Just hit my overdraft, -£100 Other assets - Crypto untouched for years, now worth about £17k.

Pension - NHS DB, been in for 12 years. Previous pension now in a Vanguard SIPP worth £15k

Outgoings - Way too much, not budgeted yet, but as a very rough estimate, should be left with approx £400 a month if I stop splurging/being wasteful.

Mortgage - £87k left to pay at 2.74% fixed for next 8 years, house currently worth approx £220k, 20 years left to go.

Debt - £6k on credit card at 0% for another 18 months.

What do I do from here? How can I maximise the potential for FIRE moving forward? Is it even possible?

I've just opened a Vanguard S&S ISA and have invested a grand total of £100, but it's a start!

I understand I’m in a VERY privileged position. I’m posting this for advice not the get hate. The majority of this is from a relative who passed away.

I’m on around £33k a year, live in London, try save as much as I can but with rent (£840 + bills) and living costs being so high, it’s only £50-100 a month, I put this into an easy access savings account which totals £1.8k which I’ve saved over the last 2 years.

I have £40k in an ISA offering 4.8%AER (about to come down to 4.15% I think). I have a further £20k in a 2 year fixed bond until mid 2026. I have just been gifted a further £30k and I am unsure what to do with it as I have maxed out my ISA allowance this financial year.

What’s best for the 30k and where’s best for my savings and bond when it expires. Put the 30k into another fixed rate bond?

Further down the line some of this will be put into a house deposit so ideally need a healthy amount available in 4 years time or so.

Any help is much appreciated.

Dual citizen US/UK considering a move to the UK. Not new, but newly discovered. Last week, at 42 years old, I discovered that I am actually a dual citizen. I'm now in early planning stages of considering a move to the UK. It's a long story, you can see a few posts about it in my history.

I recently crossed the threshold of $1 million. I'm not ready to FIRE yet so I'll be working and focused on investment growth. Due to recent events, I'm not super confident in the future US stock market. I'd like to diversify a bit. I'm going to keep my US tax advantaged accounts, but I'd like to move my non-tax advantaged money out of the US. I have no idea where to even begin or what to buy. What financial institution would you suggest? I'm a VTSAX and chill kind of investor so any suggestions for a total market equivalent would be useful as well.

Thanks for your help

42M and have SIPP of £475,000. It’s 100% invested in equities (VWRP). Currently a higher rate tax payer with assumed retirement age of 57 (assuming can draw down SIPP at that point). At what point does it stop being tax efficient to contribute any further funds to SIPP?

By my rough calculations I will have exceeded the tax free lump sum limit as well as the lifetime allowance (if ever reinstated at similar levels adjusted for inflation) based on the currently SIPP with no further contributions. So is now the time to stop contributing?

PS: No employer match available

I’m a pessimistic sort, and yet FIRE is starting to feel almost within reach. Please can someone check my numbers and bring me crashing back down to earth?

Age - 42

Salary - £98k and typically 10% bonus. Am not remotely qualified for my job, could go belly up at any moment, somewhat burnt out, and I’d struggle to get another job earning even one third of the current salary.

3 children (all primary school), earning spouse, own £850k house outright (moving isn’t on agenda)

Aim - retire in 2 or 3 years from now (assuming job hasn’t already evaporated by then). Annual spend in retirement £25k a year should be OK.

Assets: DC pensions £575k S&S ISA £195k S&S LISA £50k GIA £60k Premium Bonds £50k

Am currently adding £4.2k a month into pension (includes 11% employer contribution), and try to max it out to £60k using annual bonus.

Wondering about reducing pension contributions to the minimum where I still get the max employer contribution (ie ~£18k a year total going into pension), and trying to build up cash savings for a couple of years to better support a bridge between retiring at 44/45 and accessing pension at 57/58.

Am I really on track? It’s the unfamiliar feeling of hope that I’m struggling with here…

Thought I’d seek opinions on my current set up…

39, partner and no kids Salary £82k (partner £125k)

Savings: £50k in Vanguard S&S ISA (global all cap) £250/month, £15k in cash ISA (emergency fund)

S&S LISA (Dodl): £29k - HSBC All World - £333/month

DB pension (civil service) c.£15k per annum from 65 linked to inflation DC pension £42k - both employer (matched 6% contributions) plus £400/month to Vanguard SIPP (global all cap).

House worth ~£400k, mortgage balance £150k with 15 years left, fixed at 3.6% until late 2027 - we overpay £800/month in total on top of £1250 payment.

Plan is retire mid 50s, use up ISA savings, add in LISA at 60, DB pension at 65 and DC after that (and state pension at 68).

Any holes or flaws? Focus for the next few years is boosting my DC pension as I only started this a couple of years ago after 10+ years in the DB scheme.

Hi. One of the things I've seen semi-regularly on this sub is "maxing out one's pension". I've seen 2 interpretations of this statement.

1: Reach the maximum matched amount one's employer will give. For example, if your employer will match your pension up to 10%, you contribute 10% so you get the 10% match/free money from your employers.

2: Contribute up to the annual tax-free allowance (which I believe is 60k).

Which one is it? To my untrained eyes, 1 is a lot more feasible (because the contribution amount is a lot lower) while 2 seems challenging for most people (especially when one factors in other potential contributions, like ISAs, adding another 20k to the allowance) but more in-line with the philosophy of this subreddit.

Neither the flowchart or the starting reads provides any elaboration (none that I can find, at least) so here I am.

£500k in the pension at age 40. Next goal is £1m.

400k home equity. But only £5k in my ISA. About £30k in shares.

I need to build that ISA pot over the next 10-12 years if I want to retire early. Pension gets almost £50k a year of contributions so it'll continue to grow nicely.

If you're in the accumulation phase, shouldn't a market drop be more exciting than a bull run (SRR and all that)? Why do those of us in the accumulation phase still celebrate when stocks go up?

Hi everyone

I am 23 and a recent uni graduate (so have almost 30k in debt for tuition fees, but never took out a maintenance loan and had a scholarship which helps I guess).

I am originally from an EU country and back there have roughly €30,000 saved up and 'invested' in different government bonds (none of them surpassing 4% interest rate, credited every 3 months). I have kept the money there as the conversion rates from € to £ are not very positive and feel it would take me some time to 'recover' the money I lost in the transaction.

Here in the UK I did a placement year during my degree & have always worked part-time alongside uni, so managed to save up roughly £6,000 which have been sitting up in a saving's account at 4% interest rate (credited monthly) but with the positive that I get to move that money at any point should an emergency or need arise.

Since graduation I have been working an arguably low-paying job (£24,000) considering I have a good First Class law degree from a good uni and have a lot of part-time and legal work experience, but the job market is very saturated so I had to take this job to cover my rent and expenses whilst finding something better.

On a monthly basis, from the roughly £1900 I make (with NI deducted, I haven't yet met the Income Tax threshold for this year and have opted out of the pension scheme at my company), £512 go towards rent, £155 for Council Tax and roughly £350-400 for bills, groceries, hobbies etc.

I always transfer at least £150 upon getting paid to my savings account and have different 'saving pots' for things like Christmas presents, travelling plans with my partner and family, etc.

I was wondering where to start when it comes to investments that are a bit riskier than government bonds but not to the point where I may lose all I have invested and potentially more.

My bank has a few investment portfolio options with different levels of risk which they recommend for at least 5 years, but I wanted to first get some guidance here. Should I divide sums of £ into different portfolios with different risk levels? Should I look into different investment options?

What do you feel is a good amount to invest monthly considering my current income and what should I be aiming for ideally?

I do not feel particularly comfortable yet with investing in options such as Bitcoin, having studied about its regulation and blockchain at university and seen that they have some interesting prospects but still lack some safety on the investor/'consumer' side, but I am willing to educate myself on the subject and consider different options.

I want to ensure I am smart with my money, savings and investment and get to my late 20s in a somewhat comfortable position to get a house, hopefully a family and be on track to retire in my 50s.

Any tips or guidance on any of the above would be very appreciated and I am very thankful in advance!

EDIT: Probably should be more “opinion” than PSA

If you are under 40 I would say that there is a zero percent chance you are able to withdraw that without paying heaps more tax in the future. I would take a serious (c.60%) haircut before banking it to your net worth.

Quick question,

Individual stocks that pay dividends are what motivated me to invest initially so I’d like to keep some in my ISA

I know I likely won’t beat the index by stock picking but what’s an acceptable percentage to have fun with, at the moment I have 80% in VHYL and 20% in 16 individual long term dividend payers.

I also have my workplace pension with NEST in the “high risk fund” if you can call it that lol.

I am also 21 years old

Hello,

What app does everyone use for tracking their net worth? I’ve given a few a go but some of them are quite clunky so just wondering what everyone else uses.

Thanks in advance.

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Hi all

Was hoping to get some feedback on what you would invest in, for my SIPP.

I have recently sold a large holding in fundsmith equity which was expensive to hold. Im thinking ETF only going forward.

What do you think of this split

SWDA (world) 70%

EMIM (emerging) 15%

VAGP (bonds) 15%

Does that makes sense ?

I was thinking

Hi all, first post here.

I am 19 in my first year of a degree apprenticeship as a QS earning 22.5k. I of course, like everyone else want to retire as early as possible. I’ve entered into my company’s retirement scheme and have no uni debts etc I’m saving a good amount of money monthly (between 500-850) but I am aware this will never be enough to buy a house and be financially free ( I live in London so even worse) What can I do / invest in to make more money?!

Hi guys, don’t take this the wrong way but I have just woken up in a panic and realised, omg I can’t keep doing this until I’m 90. So my current situation im 24 I have 11k in a saver account and I can realistically add 1000 a month to that. Now my dad is on my case because he knows and I know that Is wasted money sitting in a awful saver account. I’m going to dream big I want to be a millionaire by let’s say 22:43 TONIGHT that would be nice guys. But when I’m shot back to reality where do I start? How do I start? Could you offer some help to start? Thank you guys.