At what age do you plan to retire?

[GreenerGrass]

I'd second that. I kind of had a road to Damascus conversion when I read it. It has its flaws, but it's a great read.

Yes, certainly his first two books. A lot of the material is rehashed in later ones, but its still a good kick up the backside if you're just about to sign up for a new "doodad" on finance.

This isn't bad either, although they are trying to flog their own newsletters:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Safe-Strateg.../dp/0071421475

[daviejones]

Davie,

it's not cynical, it's realist

that's how projects are

Milan.

All projects, or just the ones youhave been involved with?

[brownie74]

Don't get me wrong, I've still got some way to go myself... but I'm 34 so 6 years will do it for me. I can't rely on a pension, and I refuse to just keep cash in the bank to spend when I retire (i.e. the thinking of I need £500k which will last me 20 years at £2k a month) - that kind of planning is flawed for numerous reasons and very selfish ... I WILL leave a good inheritance for my family.

jesus! i'm 33 and i didnt save a penny until i was 30. i burned it all on drugs and booze. i'm glad - i had a ball.

[milanbenes]

i think most of the time the PM is stuck between a rock and a hard place

but having said that I guess this mainly applies to PM's in consulting companies

Milan.

[brownie74]

Bollox are you - in permie world maybe....

Oh yeah and... your should be you're

are you serious? i look around the teams i work in and i'm usually one of the oldest these days at 33. i sit in on interviews and most of the candidates are under 35. i have worked with maybe 3 or 4 programmers over 40 in the last 5 years. they are dying out. you can't possibly do this sh*t for 30 years. my brain is frazzled after 13 years of stress

[Shimano105]

Plans are doomed to failure.

People worry too much about the future - it's largely out of your hands. Think short to medium term and assume that you'll always have to do some sort of work.

There is no magic formula, just hard work and luck.

You may be lucky to live long but have no money, you may die young and never spend it.

Don't worry, everything will sort itself out in the end.

hth.

[King Cnvt]

Please, do the government a favour, and die young and wealthy. It's only fair.

[ThomasSoerensen]

You may be lucky to live long but have no money

hth.

That is a situation that will not happen. Nature will see to that. No money = no food = no live long (3 months if you are fat to begin with).

[LGDT]

There's no easy/quick way out I'm afraid... I tried that and lost something like £100k.

Some of the guys here have it right (LGDT , Luke for example). It's a long term thing - invest 7k in your ISA every year, build up a portfolio of high yielding (safe) shares, put some in long term property (OK maybe not just yet now though), try to start a side business etc. There are so many different ways of achieving cash flow, but it'll take time.

If you've got real patience then property is one of the best investments, if you put down a reasonable deposit and let the rental income pay the mortgage off. Lump sum some when you can. Of course beware of the current market conditions and DYOR etc etc.

Imagine 10 to 15 years from now, you have 70k in ISAs, share dividends, 2 or 3 properties paid off in full bringing in rental income.

Sounds about right. For my part I've remained fully invested in the stock market for 20 years. Myself and partner have never missed a months' contributions. And remember before these NL barstewards came in you could put £6k in a general PEP and £3k in a single company PEP as well as £5k over each 3 years in a Tessa - rather than the measly £7k you're allowed now. Like TazMan I've made mistakes. I put £12k into an internet start-up 2 years ago and lost every penny. I've also followed trends like the dotcom boom and had my fingers burned. The secret - if there is one - that I've learned is to get rich slowly by reducing debt and investing regularly.

My main concentration now is on funds that have a high dividend yield. These tend to also contain companies that offer steady capital growth. If property floats your boat then that's another way. Personally I've always been a bit put off by the illiquidity of property but I accept I've missed out on some spectacular growth had I decided to dabble. Each to his own I guess.

[beaker]

Sounds about right. For my part I've remained fully invested in the stock market for 20 years. Myself and partner have never missed a months' contributions. And remember before these NL barstewards came in you could put £6k in a general PEP and £3k in a single company PEP as well as £5k over each 3 years in a Tessa - rather than the measly £7k you're allowed now. Like TazMan I've made mistakes. I put £12k into an internet start-up 2 years ago and lost every penny. I've also followed trends like the dotcom boom and had my fingers burned. The secret - if there is one - that I've learned is to get rich slowly by reducing debt and investing regularly.

My main concentration now is on funds that have a high dividend yield. These tend to also contain companies that offer steady capital growth. If property floats your boat then that's another way. Personally I've always been a bit put off by the illiquidity of property but I accept I've missed out on some spectacular growth had I decided to dabble. Each to his own I guess.

I'm not that enthusiastic about property, partly because of the way people who invest in btl property carry on. Plus having to deal with tennants etc and the illiquidy of the asset. I'd rather have a holiday property somewhere that I can rent out and stay in occasionally.

I've been regularly buying good value blue chip shares with a some margin - so that the dividends pay the loan interest. So this is not actually generating any income but it magnifying capital growth and I can always wind down the loans later and just take the dividends. Their yield is only about 4% pa though so I'll need to get the pot to £500,000 to generate an income to cover my living expenses, which is admittedly a long way off.