New to investing, need advice

1. I started reading this thread a few weeks ago in a Spanish beach-bar. It brought back some memories when I fancied myself as a bit of an investor and had an account with a stockbroker. Needless to say, my business acumen was the equivalent of a tea-shop owner trying to compete with the McDonalds empire. I reckon I would have been better off betting in the bookies. But, lamb to the slaughter, I was a magnificent example and lost quite a bit mostly because I could never figure out when to "cash out."

2. Where I worked back then, an investment club started and was run by a guy who was clearly wasted as an ordinary employee. He had a stockbroker account too, but was making money almost on a weekly basis. He invited me and a few others to invest £100.00 each (minimum) per week with him. He knew something of private investing and invested each Monday or Tuesday and cashed-in on the following Thursday. I should point out he knew the local GAA scene better than most and part of our gamble was with a bookmaker on specific GAA matches. I should point out that whenever a weekly loss occurred we each added the amount lost against the next week's membership. All the members made quite a few bob down the line and had some fun in the process.

The company shed staff and we all headed in separate ways and our investment club ceased. It was good over the few years it lasted. But, there is one thing I learned and that was there is no point in entering an arena of which you knew nothing about. So therefore, tread carefully no matter how secure you appear to be. Everybody has a poor day.
 

You know I'm with you on this but most other posters disagree. I was listening to the debacle with the Indo pensions yesterday. Good pensions of 30K now going to pay out 10K and thinking thank goodness we have property giving us rents that will eventually be a an extra income and how glad that we did diversify somewhat. Also can sell and pay for college or whatever if we need to. I like the fact we have control over the properties (or will have very soon relatively speaking) and the banks can't do anything to us now. We don't have to rely on where our pension pots are invested and whatever disaster befalls them at a point in time when one is too old to make up for such things. And yes of course property markets do crash too but you factor that in when you buy. Just make sure the rent covers the mortgage and that you don't buy too high.
 
I'm 31 ...
I want to maximise my moneys potential so I can hopefully retire well before i'm 65, preferably in my 50s or sooner. Thats the goal.
I don't like to rain on your parade pj but let's do a few back of the postage stamp actuarials. Long term bond rates are around 1% I think. Ok other real assets are expected to deliver a premium over this but even so once you knock out charges and inflation it is not too far off the wall to ignore that old magic bullet compound interest entirely (look it is only a postage stamp). So your 20% savings will buy you c. 4 years salary at age 50.

Other than that you have everything spot on, especially about minimising charges though I wonder why you contradict that by saying you are going to seek financial advice. I'm not knocking FA but I don't think you need it. Do not expect an advisor to point you in the direction of which fund will outperform.
 
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The easiest way by far to retire early is to retire in a cheaper country I'm a big fan of "The 4-Hour Workweek"
 
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pj you have performed on yourself what is called by the advice industry, somewhat pompously, a FactFind. But you left out one key ingredient, possibly coz it's not relevant in your case. It is also left out of conventional FFs because of its obvious sensitivity. And that is your expectation of an inheritance.

Let's say your pension target is centred on about 40 years from now. It is only realism that if you have well off parents that the potential of inheritance looms large. No-one likes to plan on the ol' man popping off to that great golf course in the sky, but it is a very real possibility. We have all heard of the generation wealth gap, the older generation with their DB schemes (INM excluded of course) and their houses bought for tuppence halpenny. In fact it seems to me that the only way the younger generation can expect the sort of comfortable retirement their folks have is that they inherit what is left when they dearly depart.

Sorry to pour such a grim practicality on the matter
 
In fact it seems to me that the only way the younger generation can expect the sort of comfortable retirement their folks have is that they inherit what is left when they dearly depart.

The younger generation could just live within their means and save / invest their money like the older generation did. Not all of the older generation have DB pensions. My parents certainly don't. Their comfortable retirement is a result of hard work and saving. There's no reason that can't be replicated by the younger generations.
 

I'd like to agree with that, but its not a given. Just this week Amazon launched their "cashier free" store, which by one estimate could cost 3.5 million job losses in the US alone. The robots are coming, the Chinese are coming...they're coming from every angle. So "Hard work" may not necessarily be an option for all in the near future.
As for Saving - near zero interest rates and deflation (aka "negative inflation") greatly erode the benefit.
No, its not so easy for young people to get a foot on the ladder and start accumulating.
 

Job losses through automation and the migration of jobs to cheaper economies is not something new (e.g. coal mines closing in the west, car manufacturing jobs being lost to robots). Every generation has challenges yet employment has always grown. Hard work is always an option. Yes, interest rates are low but would you prefer the ~15% mortgage interest rates of the early 80s?
 

Yes the Chinese are coming. And a billion Chinese people are going to want all the middle class goods and services that we enjoy. Limitless opportunity for a well educated workforce.
 
Possibility ?

Do you know something we don't ?
Sorry to disappoint but no I am not aware of any breakthroughs in the search for the Elixir of Life.

But seriously though, whilst inheritance may be a very real possibility for some it is extremely difficult to build in to one's financial planning. It's bad enough having to plan for your own longevity without throwing in the complication of the longevity of the Ol' Man. Of course, insurance companies are meant to remove these uncertainties but longevity insurance has become prohibitively expensive given the extremely low interest rates.
 
Yes the Chinese are coming. And a billion Chinese people are going to want all the middle class goods and services that we enjoy. Limitless opportunity for a well educated workforce.
Not sure about that , a good portion of Chinese have it better than Europeans, in terms of standard of living and "middle class goods and services that we enjoy". And they have a much more modern society and infrastructure than we. Point was, though, I don't think that being able to get a worthwhile job is a foregone conclusion - regardless education and diligence!
 
And I would like to follow up on that, and state that the NEED or indeed MERITS of having a worthwhile job, working hard, and saving is also not a foregone conclusion. Those are old solutions to old problems, and to say that "every generation has its challenges, which can all be solved with the previous generations solutions" may not really be the best way forward for everyone.

I still say, move to a cheaper country is the best way to retire earlier .