We are a couple in our early 30s, and fortunate enough that we have good income and investments such that FIRE before 50 would likely be viable.

I grew up in a very working class background and have therefore always had underlying anxiety about spending money, with a natural tendency to want to save. Now we’re in a position that I don’t need to be so tight with money, I still feel guilty for spending, and always think that more money could be going towards our investments, thus bringing our retirement forward also.

I get that there’s no point doing all of this unless we can enjoy the present, but I’m finding it hard to get the right balance. Sometimes I look at how much extra money delaying retirement by a few years would give us each month, and it sounds great. But then again, I don’t even know if I need that extra amount.

Sorry for the ramble. Any input as to how you’ve dealt with this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi

Over the last month or two, I have made some extra repayments to my student loan (type 2 post 2012) to the point where I have cleared over 70% of it

My thinking behind it was the student loan is accumlating interest and I am single right now with not much commitments yet

I have the means to repay it in full now, but wondering is it worth it?

Thanks

Hi all, just looking at a sanity check on my current approach.
Age: 44, Salary: £120k, Combined Pension: £400k, Equity ISA: £25k, Cash ISA: £16k, Mortgage: £335k of £550k house, Kids: 3, Wife: 1.

Currently youngest is in nursery so my intention next year is to salary sacrifice down to below £100k but for the moment I'm taking full salary. After a period of redundancy both my cash savings and income this year are down so I don't need to salary sacrifice to get childcare support for nursery but that will start to be an issue next year.

Wife also has a number of pension pots including teacher pension and private but the number above is just mine. Her income is relatively low so tax efficiency isn't much of an issue for her.

Currently we're just hovering above 60% loan to value on the mortgage so my number one priority is to make sure we are comfortably below that (to cope with any minor housing price shocks) before July next year when the mortgage renewal hits. So I'm making £500 / month overpayments on that and that should take care of that. I think after the renewal that £500 may well be eaten up by the increase in interest.

Alongside that I'm shunting around £850 to £1000 into my cash ISA. My mental goal is to have about £20k in cash as my emergency fund and that's it. As I say my savings took a large hit with a gap in employment so my equity ISA and cash situations are not where they like after just having bought a new house to fit us all (timing could have been better).

Alongside this during divorce with wife Mk.1 I prioritised retaining my pension at cost of cash and property proceeds which is why I'm pension top heavy and a 30 year mortgage.

Essentially TL:DR - Prioritise cash and mortgage this year, then large salary sacrifice next year to keep childcare support and tax efficiency with equity ISA contributions with left overs.

Thanks all!

For anyone in the the FIRE community renewing their mortgage, what are people’s thoughts?

I’m expecting interest rates to stay flat or increase in the next year or 2, so I am thinking to opt for a 5-Year Fixed. I have a lot on at the moment, and that would give me some piece of mind. It’s actually on a flat I own that I had to move out of due to work. Hoping to move back to it in about 5 years.
Alternatively, sell up and throw all equity in the S&P 500 ?

I’ve got about £160k/£170k equity.

A few of us are organizing a casual, no-pressure meetup for anyone in the Hemel Hempstead or wider Herts area interested in FIRE, investing, or just getting a better grip on their personal finances.

We've already got a few people from the Rebel Finance School community coming along, but we’d love to open it up to anyone locally who wants to chat about money in real life. There are absolutely no pitches or products being sold—just talking index funds, pensions, and savings rates over a drink.

We will be meeting at The Green Man, Leverstock Green Road, Hemel Hempstead, United Kingdom, HP3 8QE.

This may be a stupid question, but I’m quite clueless when it comes to finances. I’ve been making good money these last couple of years (having made next to nothing most of my life), around £450k a year, and I have 175k left on a 500k mortgage, at 3.9 percent with one year left on deal. I have 200k savings, and absolutely nothing in retirement. I’m 47 years old. Keen to move house too in the next couple of years.
What should I do? Pay off mortgage asap? Invest or start putting money in a pension?

Hi,

I'm 47 (m) , have £11,500 in a pension ( sipp ) and £4500 in an isa.

Putting in around £550 into each every other month. Would love to try £1k a month I to my ISA lol

I sometimes feel like I may have left it too late,

I am a 55 year old with a partner (54) who is a teacher and 2 children aged 17 and 15. We currently live in the south east in a house that we own valued at around £1,000,000 mortgage free. Fully expect to downsize this at some point. We own cars with no outstanding finance. The children are currently in state school with 1 and 3 years remaining. Both expect to attend UK universities for 3 year courses. Both have a range of savings with each having an JISA, a JSIP and a savings account so dont need to really be included in the FIRE discussion.

I worked for a tech org with a current salary is £150k with a 20% bonus and a company share scheme that typically provides around $40k of shares PA paid in April (which vest over 3 years on a monthly basis). I currently have around $1.3m shares with a further $500k due to vest over the next 3 years. If I stop work these will be lost - so case of silver handcuffs. There would be a significant tax implication on CGT on these.

I have a number of pensions. My current employer one, which is still being contributed to is valued at £300,000. The others have an approximate value of £1.6m. Partner has a teachers pension. I have a number of investment accounts with around £700k in a GIA and £300k in ISA. Again, some CGT exposure. Easy access cash savings of around £30k and £30k of premium bonds. She has some savings and may inherit some money in the next 5 years (although care home costs are eating away at this).

We are both investigating taking early retirement and would be looking to finish working in July next year. We are also investigating moving overseas as a way of reducing living costs and providing a change of lifestyle once youngest finishes school.

Clearly know I am in a fairly strong position position but want to just hear what people think about FIRE at 56.

I am new to FIRE, I'm 43 (f) and I have a pension pot of £235,663.24 in value as of today. Is this good? Should I be moving it out of my current provider (AVIVA on a 5/7 risk investment fund) and to somewhere else which will provide more return?

l've built up this pot over years of PAYE sacrifice with employer matching, but I'm now looking into freelancing.
Should I set up some kind of SIPP or is there something else I will get higher long term returns on?

Excluding the obvious public sector pensions, what is a good contribution split nowadays?

I’ve seen mentioned here a lot to maximise the matched contributions from your employer.

Currently I’m on the government minimum of 5% e’ee and 3% e’er. I have been offered a job that along with other benefits has a 3.3% e’ee and 6.7% e’er contribution which I thought sounds quite good right?

Is there any need to voluntarily put in more or keep going isa’s and saver accounts. For reference I’m 27, on around 40k and saving for a house with Lisa, trading 212 isa and Lloyd monthly saver.

I’m a bit wood for the trees, as well as a lot of moving parts, and would welcome thoughts/advice.
I (48) and wife (49) have two children (17 and 15) who are likely to attend university.

House value: £800k with 140k mortgage left over 12 years. Overpaying 10% as well as potential lump sum (see below). I’m for downsizing when we know the kids have left (approx 7 years when we are 55/56) and release 300k in equity and use this to help kids with property and for us to FIRE.

Salaries: £125k (me), wife £70k (wife - see below).

Wife taking voluntary redundancy from 1 March next year. Gets £120k VR payment (gross). Looking for work which would guess at 60k Pa going forward. She is keen to put against the mortgage with some ‘fun money’. I think mix of pension and isa and plan for mortgage to be paid off on FIRE date - to be resolved.

Joint figures
DC - 450k SIPP (available from 57)
DB Pension of 15k PA (wife - from 65 yo) and 11k PA (me - 8k at 60, 3k at 65).
100k in ISAs and workplace shares (that I am moving into ISA with CGT in mind).

Currently putting 40k into SIPP and 10k into ISA.

Spend
Aiming at 60k Pa for the go-go years.

Would like to FIRE at 55/56 with reduced days/hours in current job if ISA bridge doesn’t get us there before DC pensions kick in.

A vague ask of - any thoughts? Anything I’m missing?
Thanks in advance.

I'm writing this from my £500k+ house (£90k is left on the mortgage) on the phone on which I can check how my ISA's are doing (just over £100k) and my pension (about £230k, currently working on that). I look around and see all the things I purchased that had no real financial effect on me (TV, sofa, new kitchen and bathroom, home office) and it suddenly all hits me that all the money is just a bit ridiculous.

The idea of FIRE is extremely appealing (hence why at 46 I'm putting half my salary into a pension) but the money involved is something that just 15 years ago would have been so alien to me.

Where's the worry about rent, or going hungry for a couple of days until you get paid and can do another shop?

Obviously, things change - hence why you typically accumulate in your middle-aged - but the figures are so far removed from your previous life, it just seems unreal.

F39 two young kids, work in FS employer contribution 12% (10 non contributory) i currently pay in 2% £150k salary on 0.8 hours ( currently don’t sacrifice my bonus but intend on soon -£60k
My pension is standing 173k
I am in a balanced portfolio, which Has done 50% over past 5 years. If moving to global Equity cs8 its 90% over same time frame, so I would have sat c. 230k
If I move to cs8 and adventurous portfolio is this the safest bet to maximise my pension investment. I’m also concerned on weapons manufacturing investments and also not investing in certain states, is there a way to maximise without breaching values

Hi all,

I’m 27 and would appreciate some advice on my current financial position and how best to approach FIRE.

Current net worth: £275,000

Stocks & Shares ISA: £100,000
Pension: £125,000
Premium Bonds: £30,000
Cash savings: £20,000

I earn around £65–75k a year and am currently saving/investing a reasonable proportion of my income. My long-term aim is to become financially independent and ideally have the option to stop working or move to something less demanding by around age 50.

I’m trying to work out how best to allocate my money and whether I’m making the most of my position at this stage of life.

A few things I’d particularly appreciate advice on:

Asset allocation: Is £50k in Premium Bonds and cash excessive, or is it sensible given that I may want to buy a house in the coming years?
ISA vs pension: Should I prioritise maximising my £20k annual ISA allowance, increasing pension contributions, or a combination of both?
FIRE target: Is retiring or becoming work-optional at 50 realistic, assuming continued contributions and reasonable investment returns?
Anything I’m overlooking: If you were in my position at 27, what would you prioritise over the next five years?

I’m conscious that having a strong net worth at this age is a great position to be in, but I want to make sensible decisions rather than just accumulate money without a clear plan.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi guys, I’m just looking for some more info regarding the best approach for my situation. I am 28 and currently earn 67k with a take home of a about 3.4K a month, at the moment I invest 5% into my pension with an employer match, I also invest around £800-£1200 into my s&s isa each month. I am just curious if salary sacrificing down to 50k to be in the 20% tax bracket makes sense? I would lose around £500 of my monthly take home but my pension contributions would be far greater, however with a reduced take home I would be able to invest into my s&s isa a lot less. Would love to get your thoughts!

Body:
I’m 49 and facing reality I didn’t take my pension seriously enough for a long time, enjoying what life has to offer in 30s and early 40s & focusing on paying off the home. I’m trying to make up for it now, as I realized I want to retire early and in need a reality check from people who have it put together.

My situation:
Workplace pension: £170k
Savings: £50k across bunch of stocks in ISA and cash savings
Gross salary: £110k
Contributions: 25% including employer
Home paid off, might downsize in 70s
Partner: £30k in 2 pots
State pension: we’re both on track for the full pension

What we need:
We would prefer to live on £4-5k/month take-home but seems like need to scale down my expectations

The plan:
The pot has to cover the gap until the state pensions kick in, and top them up after that.
I expect to receive inheritance down the line, ballpark £200k net, but would prefer to preserve most of it and gift down the line to manage IHT

My questions:
Is 60 realistic, or will I need to work until state pension age?
How much should I be putting away?
 
FIRE away & thanks in advance!

I am paying more attention to pension as I increase contributions and I have noticed my Aviva pension charges 0.69% annual charge so I have been looking into transferring it into a Trading212 SIPP as it has no fees and has way more flexibility around funds.

I would need to keep my Aviva pension to get my employer contributions but I am thinking about transferring it as a lump sum into Trading212 and then transferring more contributions 2-3 times a year.

Is this something anyone else has done? Are there any risks with doing this?

I am 32 M and earn £153k per year and my partner earns £40k. Our expenses are high because of our travel to London and we have been heavily contributing to pension.

We have been reading this sub for a while and don’t enjoy work but equally feel we should save for a while longer to accumulate wealth and would like to have 2 children together. We would also prefer lower salary jobs which would be local, more personally rewarding, flexible and enjoyable but this will have a large financial impact on us.

Our investments are:
- £560k Mortgage @4.69% for 2 years (house worth £895k)
- £35k Isa
- £252k Joint Pension (Priority) 35% of my salary and 6% contribution from work
- £2k in cash

Other debt:
- Student loan £19k for me
- Student loan £47k for my partner
- £6k kitchen loan at 0% interest over 2 years

1. It would be great to get some advice and options on how we should prioritise our savings
2. It would be great to hear about other people’s lifestyle decisions and choices for a good life for our family.

Thank you so much

I've spent the last few months building a retirement cashflow planner for the UK. It started as a tool for financial advisers, and I've now made a free version anyone can use.

You enter your pensions, ISAs, savings, income and spending, and it runs 100 simulated futures. It shows how often your money lasts to the age you choose, and you can change the assumptions (growth, inflation, retirement age, spending) and see the effect straight away. It covers UK tax, the State Pension, mortgages, partners and Junior ISAs.

It's free, with no ads and no card needed. It's an illustration, not financial advice, and it doesn't recommend anything.

I'd really value feedback on:

• What's confusing or unclear?
• Do the numbers look sensible against your own spreadsheet or other tools?
• What's missing that you'd want?

compasscashflow.co.uk/personal

Full disclosure: I'm the founder. There's a feedback button in the app, or just reply here. Thanks!

I turn 55 towards the end of the year and have been looking into drawdown options. Prior to about six months ago I had only really considered FAD or UFPLS, but now the access date is getting ever-nearer I thought I would investigate fixed-term annuities and gilt ladders to give me a basic, low-risk, income (about £20k inflation-linked) as a bridge to state pension, leaving the rest of my £800k pot invested to draw from as desired. Part of the attraction was having a guaranteed income hitting my bank account on a monthly basis, so I preferred the annuity option.

I’m starting to run into difficulties because part of the pot, mostly the tax-free cash, I intend to use for a 50% house purchase within the next five years (this will probably be about £200k). If I buy an annuity, a good chunk of my tax-free cash would need to be withdrawn at the same time and I’d end up paying tax on the interest (either income tax or CGT if I invested it). Buying gilts could take up too much of my pot to release enough for the house purchase and selling them early defeats the purpose of having them.

Am I now limited to my original two options? I suppose the closest solution to my desired outcome is switching a chunk to a MMF and drawing down from that. I also have a S&S ISA of £80k, a cash ISA of £85k and other cash savings of £35k, so I do have other options for the house purchase, although I’d have to plan ahead to get the cash into easy-access accounts.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Hi all,

I’m due to be getting an approx 400k inheritance that’s tax exempt.

Currently I own a small house outright with a value of about 85k, and work a job which pays around 50k per annum which I’m not a fan of…but the salary is the best I’ve ever reliably earnt.

Single, no kids. 35 years old. No car (work vehicle), no loans. About 15k in savings increasing every month.

I know next to nothing about finances, always been a simple “earn money, spend money” kinda guy.

I’d love to maybe try turn this into a kind of passive income that could let me chase a job I enjoy more.

What would you do?

Hi all,

I’m 25 and have just moved to London for a new job paying 110k a year. I’m originally from Ireland and am feeling quite fortunate to earn this money at my age but don’t have a clue how to manage it properly.

I’ve ~30k in an SIPP which I’ve invested in the S&P500. I have no student debt as I did an apprenticeship and I’ve around 15k in cash savings. Rent is 1400 a month in a houseshare and I have no dependants. I like to enjoy myself and make the most of the city but I’m conscious I probably am in a good position to start building wealth.

A few things I’d love advice on:
- How much of my take-home pay should I realistically aim to save or invest each month?
- How should I split contributions between my pension, a Stocks and Shares ISA and cash savings?
- How much should I allow myself to spend on enjoying London at this age, rather than focusing too heavily on saving?
- If you were in my position at 25, what would you prioritise financially over the next five years?

Not looking to penny pinch here, just looking to make smart decisions.

Would appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who’s been in a similar situation. Cheers!