/r/FIREUK

Photograph via snooOG

This is a subreddit to discuss all things relating to gaining financial independence and retiring early (FIRE) with a focus on the UK.

This is a UK version of the original

r/FinancialIndependence This is a place for people from the UK who want to chase being financially independent and retiring early (FIRE)

Please read the RULES and FAQ from r/FinancialIndependence before posting.

Update-February 2020. These rules are a bit out of date as the other sub has changed theirs but so long as you know the spirit of them you should be ok. I am going to make it clear though that we do not allow witch hunting or personal attacks on any members of any kind on this sub. If you have an issue with a member of this sub in any capacity eg, you think they are giving intentionally bad advice, scamming people or just generally being rude, please put it through mod mail and not on the open forum. Thanks.

Financial Independence (FI) is closely related to the concept of Early Retirement/Retiring Early (RE) - quitting your job/career and pursuing other activities with your time.

At its core, FI/RE is about maximizing your savings rate (through less spending and/or higher income) to achieve FI and have the freedom to RE as fast as possible. The purpose of this subreddit is to discuss FI/RE strategies, techniques, and lifestyles no matter if you're retired or not, or how old you are.

Please read the FAQ and Rules above, then feel free to share your journey or ask for advice!

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5

MIL inherited - needs uk brokerage advice

Mother in law recently inherited somewhere in the region of £250k cash. She currently lives a baristaFIRE lifestyle due to being a few years away from accessing pension pot (she’s 54). Mortgage free, all kids have grown up and flown the nest, so all of her (and husbands) very modest income is focussed on paying the standard bills plus the occasional low cost holiday or date nights. They have no other savings of note, and have not managed to be financially savvy at all throughout their lives. As I said she has recently inherited circa 250k and has reached out to me to ask what to do. Naturally very risk adverse, and not at all business savvy so any sort of active investment is out of the question. I’ve explained the best thing to do is to set up a brokerage account and purchase some sort of index/tracker, but I thought I’d tap into the collective wisdom to see who knows of any UK brokerage app/acct that would suit a relatively financially illiterate boomer - that I could help set up with her over FaceTime as I live some hours away.

Thanks in advance!

3 Comments
2024/05/18
10:54 UTC

0

Where to invest(long term)

Hello;

I can invest 500 per month for a 10-15 years, what is the best option

  1. Bitcoin
  2. Gold
  3. S&P Global
  4. Anything else

Thanks

8 Comments
2024/05/18
09:42 UTC

28

I don’t want to leave an inheritance- I plan to ‘die with zero’

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/inheritance-uk-average-no-savings-will-2ttr72rcj

TLDR: Work out based on life expectancy how much you’ll need to live the life you want plus any gifts you want to give to family. A sensible article which still somewhat demonises FIRE. Closest I’ve seen the mainstream media come to endorsing being sensible with money.

“”

Inheritance is a hot topic. Many parents and grandparents feel that leaving something for their family and friends is essential — others are striving for the opposite. Instead of living sensibly and bequeathing as much as possible to younger generations, followers of more hedonistic movements are pledging to spend it all and die with as close to nothing in the bank as possible. James Beckett read about the concept four years ago in Bill Perkins’s book Die with Zero, in which the millionaire hedge fund manager and poker player from New Jersey says that instead of prioritising saving, people should live as full a life as they can while they are young.

“It sounded financially irresponsible at first, but once you get to the end of the book you realise that the way everyone is living their lives is ludicrous,” said Beckett, 33, who lives in York. “I don’t expect to die literally with my last penny. It’s more about rallying against this idea that you need to save and invest your whole life and not spend any money.”

Change of plan Beckett used to live a frugal life. He saved half of his salary each month, invested his full £20,000 Isa allowance through the investment firm Vanguard, and saved regular amounts into a pension. By the time he was 29 he had more than £190,000 saved and was on track to be able to retire in his early forties.

After reading Perkins’s book he has completely changed his plan. “I’m not throwing everything I’ve learnt about saving and investing out the window, but I don’t want to be saving 80 per cent of my income at the detriment of enjoying myself,” Beckett said. “I want to experience life while I can. My girlfriend and I want to travel, do things with friends and make the most of life while we are still young and healthy.”

Life should not be about accumulating wealth, Perkins writes, it should be about investing in memorable experiences — some of which you probably shouldn’t put off until old age. It’s certainly easier to travel the world in your thirties than in your seventies, for instance. He suggests that instead of spending your working life saving as much as possible and waiting until retirement to enjoy the fruits of your labour, it makes more sense to enjoy yourself while you are young while still saving, then hit the brakes on saving when your earnings have peaked, which is generally in your late forties or early fifties.

Die with Zero is not about being selfish with your cash, Perkins insists. He advocates giving to loved ones and charitable causes but doing it while you are alive and you can see your money being put to good use.

If you are going to make this work, you need to start planning sooner rather than later. “Implementing this philosophy is challenging and poses a risk of financial insecurity if not meticulously planned,” said Megan Rimmer from the wealth manager Quilter Cheviot.

What you need to know Planning to die with nothing in your bank account isn’t easy. The idea is that you save and invest as much as you can (while enjoying life) until your net worth peaks. This is likely to be well before you retire, possibly in your late forties or early fifties. At this point you stop saving and start spending. So dying with zero relies on knowing two key things that are nigh on impossible to be sure of: when your earnings are at their peak and when you will die.

People aged 47 had the highest average wage in the UK in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, this earnings peak is being hit increasingly later in life — in 2018, 40-year-olds had the highest average wage — so you may want to add a few years to 47 if you think you are not quite there yet.

Then there is the death question. A 40-year-old man today can expect to live until 84, according to the ONS life expectancy calculator, and has a one in four chance of reaching 94. A 40-year-old woman has a typical life expectancy of 87, with a one in four chance of living to 96.

Perkins suggests drawing a timeline of your life from now until death, splitting it into “time buckets” of five to ten years. List all the experiences you want to have (think: running a marathon, hiking the Himalayas or dining at a Michelin-starred restaurant) and drop them into the relevant time bucket. While you are doing all this, don’t think about money, Perkins says. “Money at this point is just a distraction from the overall goal, which is to envision what you want your life to be like.”

How much will you need? Once you have settled on your priorities you can start to think about how you will fund the goals in your time buckets. Don’t forget to factor inflation into your plans — this pushes up the cost of living, and so affects the amount you will need to save. After coming up with your wish list, Perkins says, you need to calculate your “survival threshold” — the amount you will need to have as a bare minimum once you stop saving and start spending. You should multiply your annual expenses by the number of years longer you expect to live, then multiply that by 0.7. So, if you are 40, expect to live to 90 and plan to spend £40,000 a year, your survival threshold is 0.7 x 40,000 x 50, which equals £1.4 million.

When planning how to meet your spending goals, remember that your spending habits will change at different life stages. And remember to account for inflation.

Spend it now, feel the benefit Beckett said he is saving less of his money for a rainy retirement day and focusing more on the here and now. Last year he and his girlfriend, Amy, 30, upgraded their seats to business class on a flight to Mexico. Because he was spending more on the things he wanted to do he saved £11,000 into his Isa that year — half the amount he used to put aside.

“Nowadays I save closer to 30 per cent of my income, rather than 50 per cent as before, but it varies — it’s not a hard and fast rule I hold myself too. That’s part of the die with zero philosophy, invest in life experiences where it makes sense. A set amount might prevent me doing that.” He is keen to give away some of his wealth rather than passing it on when he dies. Gifts made in your lifetime are not subject to inheritance tax as long as you live for seven years after the gift was made. This includes money, jewellery and property. You can give away up to £3,000 each year tax-free, and can give £5,000 to a child who is getting married or starting a civil partnership, £2,500 to a grandchild or great-grandchild, and £1,000 to any other person. As well as this, with the small gift allowance you can give £250 per person to as many people as you want, as long as you haven’t used another allowance on those people.

Beckett has opened a stocks and shares Junior Isa for his niece, and plans to do the same for his children, if he has them. You can pay £9,000 a year into a Junior Isa and £2,880 into a Junior self-invested personal pension (Sipp) each tax year. The Junior Isa cannot be accessed until the child is 18 and a Junior Sipp is locked up until 55; that will go up to 57 by 2028.

“Giving money away is something I really want to do,” he said. “Why would you want to give the biggest gift you’ll ever give to someone when you’re dead and not even get the satisfaction of seeing them prosper with it?”

The savings plan Taking professional advice could be a good starting point if you are unsure where to start with your budgeting and planning. Make use of your Isa allowances, because anything you save in an Isa is tax-free for life, and consider investing in the stock market, where returns are generally higher than on cash savings.

If one of your goals is to hike along the Inca Trail and see Machu Picchu in Peru, you will need to save about £2,720 for a package holiday for two, so put aside £110 a month in the Plum Cash Isa for the next 24 months where it will earn 5.17 per cent interest.

Increase the amount you save whenever you get a pay rise, and take advantage of your workplace pension scheme. Not only do you get tax relief on your contributions, your employer will pay into your pension, helping to boost your pot. Bear in mind that you will not be able to access your pot until you are 55 (rising to 57 from 2028).

Think about when you want to stop working, and how much money you will then need for day-to-day living. A single person needs a post-tax income of about £31,300 a year for a moderate standard of living in retirement, according to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, and a couple need £43,100 a year between them. The new full state pension pays about £11,500 a year, but you will not get this until you are at least 67. To qualify for the full amount you need 35 years of national insurance contributions — you can find out if you are on track using the government’s state pension forecast.

Your health is an important consideration and another big unknown. It costs an average of £949 a week to stay in a residential care home, and £1,267 a week to stay in a nursing home, according to the healthcare analyst LaingBuisson. If you have run your assets down to zero in line with Perkins’s plan, the state will pick up the bill for the care you need, but you may want to set aside money to give yourself more choice.

“”

62 Comments
2024/05/18
07:12 UTC

2

Hargreaves Lansdown + Vanguard Stocks & Shares ISA

Hello everyone

I have just hit a £100k investment portfolio and looking to ensure I am well diversified across:

  1. Global index funds and ETFs to reduce performance risks while minimising fees
  2. Brokers/Accounts to maximise my FSCS cover (up to £85k per account I have)

Currently, I invest in my Stocks and Shares ISA with Hargreaves Lansdown into Global ETFs (mainly using Invesco FTSE All-World and Vanguard FTSE All-World). I also have my SIPP and my sons Junior S&S ISA with HL. Now that we are allowed to open and pay into more than 1 stocks and shares ISA in any given tax year, I am considering opening an account directly with Vanguard and starting paying into the FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund where the charge is 0.24% a year instead of my HL S&S ISA.

My questions are:

  1. Do you think this is worth opening a Vanguard account to split where my money is held and my investments? My understanding is that on HL I only need to pay the management fee + the HL annual charge which is capped at £45... so in terms of charges I am only really paying an extra £45 a year having multiple accounts and funds? If i have misunderstood this please let me know.

  2. Is spreading my investments like this (for example across Invesco + Vanguard on HL for my ETF's and then directly with Vanguard for my Index Fund) mean I am reducing risk and increasing coverage for FSCS as I am covered up to £85k in multiple accounts rather than just 1? Or have I misunderstood this?

Really appreciate the advice/support!

13 Comments
2024/05/18
02:15 UTC

0

Saving into SIPP?

M25, currently saving £450 a month into Lifetime ISA & S&S ISA. Would it be worth saving into my SIPP also? It currently just sits there with no contributions and has a past workplace pension in it.

2 Comments
2024/05/17
21:30 UTC

2

Invest a large amount in one year

Anyone done this ie 6 figures into the stock market in a 1 year period? Risky? Due to potential large drop in the market? Or risky part investing and potentially missing out on gains?

Investment timeline 30+ years

9 Comments
2024/05/17
20:02 UTC

1

Selling investments for flat deposit - Brokerage vs ISA?

So I'm soon to exchange contracts for a flat purchase, and need to raise ~£37k to do so. I have this in a brokerage account, and also in an ISA.

My general approach with any of this is to sell the brokerage account so as to let the ISA money grow free of tax, good times. But with the amount I need to see, I'm seeing that my CGT due would be almost £7k, which is.. Less fun.

It's got me thinking, should I be considering liquidating some of my ISA here? Yes I "lose" some of my allowance, but what is that for except to help me avoid paying tax, such as in this situation? Not sure if I'm being logical here. My thought would be to sell from the brokerage up to £3k gain to get my CGT allowance, then the rest from the ISA.

In addition, I'm pretty close to retirement, just a couple of years left. Once I retire, I'll be a basic rate tax payer, so I'll only pay 10% on gains, rather than 20%, and that's preferable as I'll pull from my brokerage accounts early on in the retirement to get my funds.

So am I missing some thought processes here, or is selling from my ISA reasonable for this?

3 Comments
2024/05/17
19:44 UTC

3

Standard life pension choices?

Hi, boring question sorry. Anyone’s workplace pension with standard life? And if so, what fund are you invested in? - I’m relatively new to fire and over the last 6 years the growth on my pension pot has been about £11k (fluctuating between 9-12k) which seems pretty poor on £40k of deposits. Currently in Sustainable Multi Asset Universal SLP (a lifestyle profile) but I have at least 25 years to FIRE so plenty of time.

I want to switch to a global tracker, but the options seem quite limited, so I’m eyeing up the HSBC islamic global equity fund. Any thing better out there?

Thanks in advance.

11 Comments
2024/05/17
18:54 UTC

0

Aviva Pension Help

I have recently started taking my Pension a little bit more seriously and paying into it, I am currently 27 and pay 5% of my salary which my company match, I also put around 8% into a stocks and shares ISA.

I have a question regarding Aviva Pesion, I have already changed from the deafault as I wanted to invest heavily in the US market. I have invested in the below.

Av MyM Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-UK Index 90% (0.29% charge)

Av MyM BlackRock Emerging Markets Equity (Aquila C) 5% (0.55% charge)

Av MyM BlackRock UK Equity Index Tracker 5% (0.37% charge).

Am I silly having 3 different funds that I am being charged for on all 3? I did have the below previously but I currently invest in the vanguard global all cap so changed my pension funds to the below.

Av MyM BlackRock World ex UK Equity Index Tracker 90% (0.29%)

Av MyM BlackRock UK Equity Index Tracker 5% (0.29%)

Av MyM BlackRock Emerging Markets Equity (Aquila C) 5% (0.55%)

Am I being counter productive going for the ETF's with hire charges?

2 Comments
2024/05/17
15:51 UTC

0

Best cheap LCOL cities to FIRE in/have a home base in the UK?

What are some of your favourite cheap places in the UK to live? Do houses in good areas even exist anymore for £150k? Help speed up FIRE for me by recommending a cheap city to reside in (open to anywhere).

Thanks.

18 Comments
2024/05/17
15:51 UTC

3

Middle East Expats who will eventually move back to the UK, what is your strategy?

As the title says, for those who have moved to the Middle East for that FIRE acceleration and tax free income. What is your investment strategy while abroad? Being unable to invest in ISAs do you just invest in GIAs? Save the cash to put into ISAs when you move back to the UK? Interested to hear your thoughts?

5 Comments
2024/05/17
15:32 UTC

0

Feedback on £100k+

Hi.

I have around £50k in a SIPP and £30k in Stocks ISA. They are both all in Invesco EQQQ. I also have around £10k in my business account making 4.33% cash. I need to keep a decent amount of cash to pay quarterly VAT. I am a software contractor via a limited company making £10k-12k gross monthly depending on my day rate. I paid off my student loan and have no debt other than monthly credit card I clear in full each month. I don't own a property.

My fixed expenses are around £3.5k in London (after tax income £6.5k-£7.5k). This includes paying for my ex and 1.5 year old. I have a £230 monthly car lease that expires in a little over a year.

My main goal this year is to get as close to maxing my £60k pension while balancing my kid's quality of life. The £3.5k monthly is already quite optimised. The only way I can reduce it is when my car lease expires.

Once I get around £200k-250k in my SIPP (3-4 years?) I will switch to ISA and regular savings and buy a simple house/apartment in cash for around £200k. I prefer not to get a mortgage although I am ironically paying my ex's until our kid can go to school.

Should I be doing anything differently?

12 Comments
2024/05/17
15:19 UTC

14

At a crossroads - what would you do?

Here is the conundrum, 52, mortgage paid off (950k house in London which I don't want / can't downsize)

Current role is likely under threat, not confirmed. Getting a similar role is looking tough and I don't know if I can face it.

  • 4% SWR is 36k
  • 5% SWR is 45k

The lowest I can get my expenses down to is ~52k

Original plan was to work 2 or 3 more years which would get me to 1.2m give or take.

All the options I can see suck or have major issues, working part time, lowering salary expectations, retiring on less

Any pearls of wisdom?

PS I know I am lucky, yes I work in IT, yes it's a spreadsheet, yes it's 100% equities

https://i.imgur.com/EhV83RH.png

36 Comments
2024/05/17
14:40 UTC

0

Maintenance Loan for Investing

I completed my first university degree in 2021 which was covered by tuition + maintenance loan from SFE.

I am due to start a new job and will be earning enough to put away £1500 every month. I have also been given an unconditional offer to study Osteopathy part-time over 4 years. I will be taking out a loan for tuition fees and am also tempted to use a maintenance loan for investing more in my Vanguard stocks and down payment for my first home.

My first student loan is Plan 2 and the one I will be taking out will be Plan 5 (7.8% interest on both).

Is it worth taking out a maintenance loan or will interest accumulate dramatically over 10 years?

11 Comments
2024/05/17
13:25 UTC

0

Please assess my chances

I’ve just learnt about this and find it a super goal to try to achieve. Please assess my chances.

Age: 40 (hubby 45 and 2 primary school age kids)

Debts: 1 flat : joint mortgage of £400k 1 BTL: mortgage of £180k No car as we live in london

My pensions: £480k Hubby pensions: £110k

ISAs: total £400k

Annual gross base income: Mine £130k + rental £30k Hubby: £100k

Net after tax and pensions probably £120k total

Spanner in the works: want to put both kids through private secondary school in London 😓 (£50k annually poor two kids?)

Can we still do this? We have term life insurance policies so the only reason I’m saving is to afford the private school in case one person is made redundant etc.

Can we still FIRE or do I have a chance of FIRE only if I don’t send kids to private secondary school?

16 Comments
2024/05/17
13:09 UTC

0

Pension investment options and fees

I understand the general consensus is to SIPP in to a Global Equity index fund like VWRP which I am looking into but I just wanted to understand if my current fees are norm or excessive if someonone can assist with comparisons...

Currently in SW Workplace pension has 0.19% admin charge and fund charge of 10%.

Also I am unsure what SW PLC PP ONE REINSURED represents, the fund has 31% in this, the rest is split as follows:

25% UK Equity

21% US Equity

20% Europe

2% APAC

7 Comments
2024/05/17
10:52 UTC

24

100K hit this morning, feedback appreciated on a rebalance!

I posted recently about my potential rebalance and was shred to pieces so I'm going to elaborate on a few more details, most of the criticism was fair and I'm trying to alter my approach but I felt a few were not fair however I didn't provide enough details so here goes. 33 years old martial arts fighter and coach hoping work reduced hours by the time I am 45+

I started in around 2017, Contributions were:

2018 ISA 20,000
2019 ISA 20,000
2020 ISA 9,100
2021 ISA 13,200
2022 ISA 5,500
2023 ISA 600
2024 ISA 2000
Total £68,400

Value Today £101,000

Portfolio is now 100k as of this morning, the reason for the small drop off between 2021 and 2023 without going in too to much details was just pure depression. I am self employed so I essentially just stopped earning as much during those years and this year I've decided to book my ideas up

I basically did no tinkering from 2017 to 2021

Fundsmith

SMT

7IAM Adventurous Fund

Baillie Gifford American

Vanguard Life Strat 100%

I foolishly tinkered in 2022, trying to switch from funds to etfs and IT's as I am with Hargreaves Lansdown

I kept Fundsmith SMT and sold the rest, I sold Baillie Gifford at a massive profit but then bought the equivalent in the IT USA version (bad move in hindsight) but my thinking was I liked the fund (which I still do) but I wanted the IT for less fees. I used some of the profits from the fund sale to buy EWI. Same situations as BGUSA just terrible timing and they are my only two red on the portfolio but the fund would of gone massively anyway so it doesn't really matter tbh.

I put the rest in ETFs

Mainly VUSA (NO VUAG), VWRP, EQSG, SSIT, HRI,

Then I bought some thematic ETFs, which are doing okay but, I've made my portfolio so complicated right now with a lot of overlap and what not.

So I'm looking to really try and condense my portfolio and also rebalance because SMT and Fundsmith are so high now as I have literally not touched them for years.

I'm toying with going back to the original funds I had for simplicity but I really want to employ a core satellite approach, and have written a short reason why as one of the posters previously stated to look at my portfolio and ask justify to my self why

70% Core
40% S+P VUAG
10% S+P Quality Factor UBC99 - Quality Factor compares well in terms of low correlation with small cap (as can be seen on MSCI website on risk/return/key exposures)
10% S+P Small Cap ETF - As mentioned above
10% Wisdom Tree USA Quality Div Growth - Quality Factor DGRG

or essentially the same thinking as above but global

70% Core
40% SWDA
10% iShares Core World - Quality Factor
10% World Small Cap ETF
10% Wisdom Tree World Quality Div Growth -GGRG

Core would be something like (not thought about it too deeply yet but generally jist)

10% Tech

10% Healthcare

10% Consumer Staples

but I'm more interested in getting my Core down and being on the right track and to avoid disaster!

Any advice, am I at least on the right idea in terms of thinking or am I totally out of my depth here. Really open to criticism but also keen to hear if what I've said is just totally whacky and not at all in line with smart investing because the way I was shred to pieces has really made me think I have no clue what I'm doing yet I see the results and so the cognitive dissonance is running strong, perhaps was I lucky to get to this point?

Kind Regards!

22 Comments
2024/05/17
10:02 UTC

4

Is it worth adding extra to a DB scheme?

Hi;

I was wondering if its worth adding more into a DB scheme vs any other alternative (SIPP). I started paying into a pension late as I started work work late (uni, research, travelling the world etc) but now Im somewhere pretty awesome for contributions. I’m wondering is it worth making up the lost years by chucking extra in here or just trust the markets and invest. I have options, ı can buy lump sum DB, or just increase my monthly contributions. Any thoughts?

10 Comments
2024/05/17
09:38 UTC

7

Another well balanced FIRE article from the mail

Just kidding, again choosing to focus and assume we're all enduring ultra frugality rather than sound financial planning principles to ensure we have options rather than working till our 70s.

I'll get back to my catfood sandwiches and water....

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/article-13420619/Im-starting-new-anti-FIRE-movement-called-CHILL-says-ANDREW-OXLADE.html

6 Comments
2024/05/17
06:35 UTC

0

Do I have too many funds?

S&S ISA: £4k LISA: £5k Crypto: £1k Pension: £11k Regular Savings: £1k

Salary: £40k

Hi everyone,

Recently joined this thread and really appreciating all the great advice and insight.

I’ve (30M) been investing sporadically for the past few years into S&S ISA and LISA but never really educated myself on the best strategy and came across FIRE only recently and have started to develop more of a plan. I didn’t have a great upbringing, lived on my own since I was 16 and developed a lot of debt and poor spending habits, which I am now completely free of and in the positive with savings/investments.

Because of my inconsistent investing I’ve ended up investing in a number of funds (all of which, thankfully, have shown returns) without really knowing what they are, but now reading up on these threads I feel like I should consolidate them all into one or two funds (probably Vanguard Global All Cap).

S&S ISA: £4k Jupiter Asian Income Rathbone Global Opportunities Vanguard FTSE 100 Index Vanguard US Equity Index

LISA: £5k Vanguard US 500 Stock Index

Is this too many funds? Does it make sense to consolidate into less?

Also, I’m curious about people’s strategies when it comes to allocating their investments. Should I max out my LISA first with that 25% gov’t bonus then put into my S&S ISA?

Apologies for the long thread and probably stupid questions. I’m fairly new to the game and would appreciate any advice you have to offer!

RECAP:

  • Have invested in 5 funds over S&S ISA + LISA, is this too many?
  • Should I max out LISA first then S&S ISA?
14 Comments
2024/05/17
06:01 UTC

0

Ready to Ditch Corporate Life for Early Retirement

Hey guys n gals,

After years of grinding away in the corporate world, I've finally reached my breaking point. The constant cycle of working to make shareholders wealthy while sacrificing my own time and happiness has become unbearable. That's why I'm here – I'm ready to start planning for an early retirement and reclaim control over my life.

However, before I dive headfirst into this journey, I have a few questions for the seasoned members of this community. First off, I currently have some debt that I'm slowly working through. How do you suggest I approach this while still striving for early retirement?

Moreover, I'm curious about how the community calculates the amount needed to live on in order to achieve early retirement. I want to ensure that I'm setting realistic financial goals for myself.

As a complete newbie to the FIRE movement, I'm eager to learn about the initial steps I should take and the milestones I should be aiming for along the way. What are some practical strategies for someone just starting out on this path?

Any advice, tips, or insights you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

5 Comments
2024/05/17
03:45 UTC

61

Finally my portfolio and pension has grown more than my annual living expenses - I’m high fiveing inside!

I know it’s been a good year for stock market growth so I’m not declaring victory yet but in the last year my portfolio and pension has grown by £19k more than my annual living expenses. I’ve had a few milestones on the FIRE road but this is by far the best. It now feels like this will really happen. People that have RE, what was your trigger to take the scary step of actually stopping work?

20 Comments
2024/05/16
19:32 UTC

5

SIPP Advice Needed...

Very new to FIREUK and hoping for some advice regarding SIPP. I'm 43 and have been working as an electrical engineer for my employer for 14 years. Currently earning around £120K and put away (between myself and my employer) £34K per year into my workplace pension (pot is now around £300K). I've been offered a job contracting which will increase my earnings to £138K (and offer a better work/lift balance). If I take it, I'm planning on setting up a SIPP and contributing £40K per year. My questions about this are: I'm happy with the fund I'm in at the moment with my employer ( a product offered by HSBC, invested mainly in American tech), so is it straightforward to setup a SIPP and have someone else manage my fund but request the same HSBC fund? Or, am I completely clueless and should I be doing something different with a SIPP pot?

19 Comments
2024/05/16
19:12 UTC

0

5 years immigrant in the UK, now millionaire, AMA!

42 Comments
2024/05/16
16:14 UTC

3

What do you include In your net-worth calculations?

Just a passing question more than anything else.

Ive never included my car in my networth calculation, as I view it as a liability rather than an asset. I’ve never included watches or any artwork.

I’m interested to know what people in this sub include when working out their networth.

54 Comments
2024/05/16
16:09 UTC

42

The inheritance taboo

Hello. I notice that few posts in this group address the question of how to factor in inheritance to one's FIRE plans. I expect that we all find it unpleasant to think about, and embarrassing to talk about, but it seems to be the elephant in the room for financial planning.

Of course, inheritance isn't guaranteed. You could fall out with your parents, or they could have expensive end of life care needs that greatly reduce the size of their estate, or they could be scammed, or if divorced and remarried they leave it all to the new spouse, etc.

However, on average most people will inherit a fair whack, particularly if their parents owned a home. These can be life changing sums of money.

How do you all factor this in to your FIRE plans, please? Seems overly conservative to assume the worst and discount inheritance altogether. And it's not like stock market returns or pension rules offer greater certainty, and probably less than inheritance.

Thanks for your thoughts.

103 Comments
2024/05/16
15:28 UTC

82

What are your thoughts on the "new anti-FIRE movement called CHILL"?

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/article-13420619/Im-starting-new-anti-FIRE-movement-called-CHILL-says-ANDREW-OXLADE.html

A summary:

• The "retire early" movement has gained popularity, with searches for "retire early" increasing threefold over the past decade.

• The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement advocates extreme frugality and aggressive investing to achieve financial independence.

• However, this approach can lead to obsessive saving and a distorted view of one's finances, known as "financial dysmorphia".

• Research shows that many people are not confident in their ability to save enough for retirement, with only 51% of British workers believing they have saved enough.

• The solution is not just about saving more, but also about finding ways to extend working life and maintain engagement, social connections, and a sense of purpose.

• The author proposes the CHILL (Career Happiness Inspires Longer Lives) movement as an antidote to FIRE, focusing on career happiness and longer lives rather than early retirement.

• Education and financial advice are key to addressing the mental health crisis driven by financial dysmorphia.

132 Comments
2024/05/16
14:54 UTC

3

32YO - need to get investing more consistently

Hey guys!

32yo and finally turning a corner to be able to invest a fair amount of money.

I am also contributing to pension which I am happy with, at a lower risk profile.

I’m not overly fussed about being too cautious and am pretty interested in taking a little more risk with my investments.

In terms of accessibility, won’t need the money for at least 10-15 years.

Have a lump sum available alongside consistent deposits, so looking for as much gains as possible.

Have been researching global equity funds for a higher risk play, but open to thoughts on how to maximise this opportunity.

What are my options…?

Thank you in advance!

14 Comments
2024/05/16
09:55 UTC

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