Reply to: Financial Freedom

[Fred Bloggs]

As of 25th January my mortgage will be paid off and I'll have no debt whatsoever. I'm trying to put as much as I can in my SIPP but the drawback to my plans is kids of 17 and 15 who I'll have to fund through university. I have been saving up awhile towards that eventuality though to help. I'm 52 this year, I need to get myself a really well paid job someplace for about 5 or 6 years to try to get enough cash put aside to semi retire/retire at around 60. If things pick up towards 3rd quarter this year when my current local gig finishes I think I'll have to seriously think about working away again for a few years to get hold of the big rates while I can.

[ChimpMaster]

tulip.
my thinking worked yesterday, maybe not today.

Likewise, I had some in high interest accounts at one point yielding 6% - now just 2%. So you can't live off interest income - not that you ever really could because in time the value of your savings would deflate.

Property still yields a good return, even moreso now that interest rates are dire. Just got to watch out for that almightly collapse in prices - but if you're a long termer then just ensure a good yield and don't worry too much about annual fluctuations. You could probably pick up a reasonable BTL next year and yield 7% or thereabouts quite easily.

Having a family increases your financial needs, especially as the kids get older. Family also makes it harder to move to one of those wonderful places mentioned in a previous post above.

Tax is the biggest killer to any motivated person in this country.

But otherwise I think I'm almost there, almost in Financial Freedom.

[expat]

Given the amount of grumbling about the UK on this site, AND the fact that as contractors you guys must enjoy change, have you considered 'retiring' away from the UK? And I don't mean the eurozone.

There are plenty of wonderful cheap places in the world to live. New Zealand for one. Costa Rica is another, and it has the MAJOR bonus of not charging you any tax on income earnt outside the country.

If you're thinking of retiring to NZ, don't make the mistake of waiting until you're anyting like retiral age before looking at it. There is an age limit for entry.

I would tend, out of caution, to shy away from anywhere that is likely to be high on Americans' lists of where to retire; not because I don't like them but because I'd be likely to have my experience, or costs, swamped by their presence, as I believe has happened in Panama with property prices. Anyway, I am not generally interested in going to live somewhere I'd just feel alien and have no life, just in order to keep expenses down.

[EternalOptimist]

I wasn't that far off being able to live off the interest until GB started giving free money to the banks. After tomorrow, I'll be lucky to find an account paying 3% gross. Maybe I should start heavily borrowing, spending it and defaulting like everyone else

sh1t.
my thinking worked yesterday, maybe not today.


Must start lateral thinking.
Must start lateral thinking.
Must start lateral thinking.
Must start lateral thinking.
Must start lateral thinking.
Must start lateral thinking.

[Stan.goodvibes]

Given the amount of grumbling about the UK on this site, AND the fact that as contractors you guys must enjoy change, have you considered 'retiring' away from the UK? And I don't mean the eurozone.

There are plenty of wonderful cheap places in the world to live. New Zealand for one. Costa Rica is another, and it has the MAJOR bonus of not charging you any tax on income earnt outside the country.

Put your investments into a bank in a country that pays high interest rates. in NZ for example, your money is safer than in the UK (no nationalised banks here), AND you can get 7-10% on average.

So, if you have say 350k sterling, thats 1 million $NZ. Every year you'd get around 70-80k NZ$, which is enough to live on here quite comfortably, and there are loads of places in the world where the sun shines (Thailand, South America etc) where that is a fortune (tax-free).

[DimPrawn]

I wasn't that far off being able to live off the interest until GB started giving free money to the banks. After tomorrow, I'll be lucky to find an account paying 3% gross. Maybe I should start heavily borrowing, spending it and defaulting like everyone else

That's what the New Lie want you to do.

Best thing to do now is to buy a small business with your capital, at a huge discount. Plan b.

http://www.businessesforsale.com/telegraph/

[Bagpuss]

I wasn't that far off being able to live off the interest until GB started giving free money to the banks. After tomorrow, I'll be lucky to find an account paying 3% gross. Maybe I should start heavily borrowing, spending it and defaulting like everyone else

[Jog On]

my spreadie tells me I need £300k in the bank, in order to maintain my current standard of living.

I am over half way there

That's the kind of answer I'm looking for.

[Chugnut]

my spreadie tells me I need £300k in the bank, in order to maintain my current standard of living.

I am over half way there

With more than one bank I hope EO.

[EternalOptimist]

Following on from the debt threads I thought I'd start one about financial freedom as my spreadsheets are focused more on financial freedom with oustanding personal debt as a short term obstacle and number 1 priority.

Who here is actively in or looking into getting into a position where you live off funds generated from investments so you don't actually have to get up in the morning and trade time for money?

If so what's your plan and how far along are you?

I find the whole getting out of debt thing a lot easier with a positive focus (financial freedom) as opposed to a negative focus (bad debts).

my spreadie tells me I need £300k in the bank, in order to maintain my current standard of living.

I am over half way there

[expat]

My wife and I invested £1500 in a management buy out of the biochem company she just left, it just paid us a £420 dividend in the first year!!

Why didn't we pile more in.

Reminds me of Sept 2001. I was in France: on 12th Sept, shares in Air France were half the price they had been days before. I thought, no way will the French govt let Air France go down the tubes, so I bought a few. Why didn't I buy a lot?

[gingerjedi]

My wife and I invested £1500 in a management buy out of the biochem company she just left, it just paid us a £420 dividend in the first year!!

Why didn't we pile more in.

[Jog On]

Apologies for asking such a silly question

[AlfredJPruffock]

Let the state support you by being an asylum seeker or similar.

Financial freedom and you don't trade time for money.

HTH

True - you should add to that to avoid any from of Pension Schemes as the state will then have to bail you out - plus you probably will never see any of your pension fund due to mismanagement/ stock market collapse or death before retirement age.

[Andy2]

Oh, that and lumping the rest of my spare cash into LOIL.L

Use LOIL as a short term play only , since it has high contango charges.

Even if the oil prices remain the same in the next 6 months you will find that LOIL will be in loss.