Jan 2016 (age 33)
£20k in pension
£90k in instant access bank account
£0 in ISA/GIA
Feb 2016
I get massive help from parents (£250k) to buy a house - worst financial decision I have ever made.
Home purchase £680k with £390k mortgage + £60k on stamp duty and renovation
£20k in pension
£10k in savings
July 2017 for the first time thinking about investing and pension. Didn't have much cash at this point though. Real investing started during COVID - Jan 2020 I open my ISA and GIA for first time.
May 2026 (age 43)
£460k in pension
£275k in ISA
£610k in GIA
Home probably worth £850k - As I said terrible financial decision
£205k in gilts - Need this for home renovations (another bad financial decision)
£25k in instant access account
£530k mortgage
I really regret not investing earlier. For the first 9 years of my working life I just kept my money in my instant access account and made no contribution to pension (and a mix up at work meant I was receiving my employer contributions as salary rather than pension). Missed out on a decade of amazing stock market gains.
I think I am going to max my pension contributions for the next 2 years and then roll it back.
Salary wise I was earning £80-90k including bonus up until August 2022. It jumped to £150-160k including bonus, which is what I am earning now.
Retirement by 50 possible?