Sum of money - Things you wish your younger self did?

[UnknownThrow]

Hi all, throwaway but would really appreciate some different views on this as most people around me just say ‘put it in premium bonds’.

I’ve recently sold my fun car with the intention of buying something else. But it’s made me realise, combined with my S&S ISA I have a sum of money I could really do something useful with, that could benefit the rest of my life - I just don’t know what that could be. Or, am I just being naive?

I’ve got a lifetime of work ahead of me regardless to recoup if things go wrong, and this is separate from my main account, and 6 month emergency fund. So surely now is the time to be brave - Speculate to accumulate etc.

So - if you were:

Late 20’s, live with partner (although this money is ‘mine’, our finances are separate aside from household bits) both earn roughly £40k each (and no real desire to aggressively progress our careers as it makes us angry and stressed-out with one another), no debt aside from a 50% LTV mortgage (no real desire to pay this off as it’s so cheap), work in Civil Service defined benefit pension so no ‘pot’ that I need to add to.

£70-80k not doing a great deal. Gained from a car sale, a voluntary redundancy payout and my general frugality over 10-years or so.

Obviously I could just max out my ISA S&S allowance, but at the end of the day I’m still going to turning up to work for the next 30-40 years and it’s not going to change my life in any meaningful way? I.e. potentially working less by adding a supplementary revenue stream?

Not really interested in moving to a larger house for the sake of it as it’s just not needed. Unless it was somewhere rural with land and I could build some Shepard’s huts, achieving that secondary revenue stream?

(Should be able to support a potential child / partner one day from earnings until she would return to work).

So, what do you really wish you could have done in your 20’s / 30’s that would really be paying off now?

Thanks all, any and all input appreciated.

Edited by UnknownThrow on Sunday 21st March 14:39

Edited by UnknownThrow on Sunday 21st March 15:49

[bitchstewie]

Look at investments and play around with a compound interest calculator.

I keep it simple and use a S&S ISA.

[UnknownThrow]

bhstewie said:

Look at investments and play around with a compound interest calculator.

I keep it simple and use a S&S ISA.

Hi mate - Thanks for the response, that’s what I currently do. But ultimately it’s an average of a few k / year, which I appreciate does compound but it’s not going to be life altering. Is now not the time to be a bit bolder while I can afford to be, no dependants etc etc.

[I 8 a 4RE]

Use this period of your life for building lifelong memories for you and your GF / future wife.
Certain holidays will be impossible with (young) kids.

[UnknownThrow]

I 8 a 4RE said:

Use this period of your life for building lifelong memories for you and your GF / future wife.
Certain holidays will be impossible with (young) kids.

Such a good suggestion thank you. Something we’ve never really done which makes it even more relevant. If it was up to me we’d both leave our jobs and travel for 6-12 months before we’ve left it too late but she won’t risk leaving her job in the current climate which is fair enough. Perhaps we can scratch the itch by having some great holidays, use the money to afford to take unpaid time off we otherwise wouldn’t think about doing.

[Jawls]

I wish I’d got serious about S&S ISAs when I was in my twenties (in my thirties now). I’d be sticking as much as possible in in order to act as a bridge between early retirement and when I could take private pension.

With regards my DC pension, I wish I’d investigated which funds it was invested in earlier (again, wish I’d done this in my 20s). Not relevant to you as a DB scheme member though. In your case, I’d be modelling the impact of additional payments into your DB scheme, either in terms of being able to take earlier or getting a larger fraction of your career average earnings. No idea if that’s rational or not as will depend on the details of your DB scheme.

They’re the main ones for me. But also remembering that there’s no point Scrooge McDucking for its own sake and there’s no shame in making extravagant purchases of cars or holidays etc so long as it fits into your long term plan. Life is for living!

[Carbon Sasquatch]

If you're that frugal, then I'd be looking at very early retirement & starting a SIPP.

Use S&S ISA's to fund the early retirement years, until you can access the SIPP, then spend that for the 10 years until you get the DC pension.

[vulture1]

It's not all about making money. Get another fun car. The whole point of investing money to me is to have an even more crazy fun car.

[LeoSayer]

I wish I'd kept the flat I sold in 2001 - it's probably tripled in value since then.

Wish I'd sold my save-as-you-earns / options in banking shares in 2007 - expensive (on paper) lesson learned there. Don't keep your work and finances mixed.

Wish I'd splashed out on on a 993 RS in 2006 rather than a C2.

[BobToc]

bhstewie said:

Look at investments and play around with a compound interest calculator.

I keep it simple and use a S&S ISA.

I'm a broken record, but this.

To address OP's follow-on point - with a 5-7% real return over 40 years that 70k becomes £490k-£1.0m in today's money. We all have a different view of life altering, but that makes a difference.

Edited by BobToc on Sunday 21st March 16:24

Edited by BobToc on Sunday 21st March 16:25

[bitchstewie]

UnknownThrow said:

Hi mate - Thanks for the response, that’s what I currently do. But ultimately it’s an average of a few k / year, which I appreciate does compound but it’s not going to be life altering. Is now not the time to be a bit bolder while I can afford to be, no dependants etc etc.

Usually there's a risk/reward profile.

Random thought but quit your job and setup your own business - big risk but potentially big reward.

BTL - something others know far more about but it generates an income though you can't sell a bit of a bathroom if you fancy a holiday you didn't budget for.

The more you move up the reward part of the chart usually it involves taking on more risk.

You want to get rich but can you risk getting poor?

[5pen]

With the benefit of a Defined Benefit pension as very valuable annuity to come, I would try to strike a balance of investing for your future (children, houses, early retirement, whatever) using an investment ISA and trying to enjoy the money too.

I wish I had travelled a bit more when I was younger. If that appeals to you, I would definitely advise that you don't put this off indefinitely. Do your employers offer sabbatical leave at all? I took an unpaid 3 month break from work (albeit in my 40s) to do this and it was one of the best things I ever did. I met plenty of folk whilst travelling who agreed that they wished they'd done it sooner.

Good luck.

[VR99]

Late 30's for context.

Should of started pension sooner....didn't contribute at all when contracting in my early years..that's a pretty significant loss of time I'm the market and missed compounding etc
Once I was enrolled in a employee pension(DC), wish I paid more attention to the specific funds used..some are v poor performers..many have 'default' in the name usually. If there are other funds available it may pay off long-term to switch to higher risk early on e.g: more equities exposure as you have more time to absorb any big dips/cycles in the market..and take advantage of the lower prices in those dips too. I did this last year for one of my pensions and haven't looked back.

I did a fair bit of travelling in my 20's and 30's...wish I'd done more. I don't regret the money spent on holidays due to the memories but the same can't be said for the 'stuff' I spent my hard-earned on...cars, watches, clothes....I'd rather of splurged it on travelling.

For some balance..you only live once and time is our most precious commodity (IMO)...use it or lose it. Put some money aside, some in the S&SISA and some for fun/family whatever it maybe. ..

Edited by VR99 on Sunday 21st March 19:33

[stichill99]

I got interested in Porsches when a neighbour bought a new 911 in 1984. I loved the look of that car and it was so different from most others you saw day to day. 10 years later when I had some savings I thought about buying 2000 shares in Porsche which were around a £ each. Today they are a lot more!