Issue #032: Age:25, Salary: £40k, But wants more!

^{Read Time: 4.2 mins}

Age:25 - Salary: £40k - But wants more!

Last week I decided to turn the turntables (or something along those lines).

I want us to become more of a community, a place where we learn from each other.

So to do that I asked you a bunch of questions about money that I could share with the rest of the community.

That way, we can learn from each others experiences, not just from the shit I have in my brain

And you guys did not fail to deliver!

So without further delay, here is the first response you sent in, with some of my thoughts below:

AGE 25 - Salary £40,300 - Location: Outer London

1. What financial advise would you give to a younger version of yourself? 

   Start investing / savings earlier. Set up an emergency fund first then regularly invest and save monthly, Sam date amount every month, consistently. 

2. What is your biggest financial success and mistake that someone else can learn from? 

   Success: I would say my career/salary. Happy with my career development and route to salary growth. 

   Mistake: My mistake would be jumping on the hype of investing. I gave it a go twice and thought it would be a way to earn extra money. Ended up losing £9k which sucked but I learnt from it and it didn’t affect my financial health long term just short term. I was young and naive, about 22 years old.

3. How much of your salary do you save? 

   £440 in S&S ISA and everything else in savings after bills and spending money. 

4. How would you describe the way money makes you feel? 

   Always wanting more. 

5. What else would you like to share?

   I always feel like I need to be making more money, always thinking of ways to increase my bank account. I’ve done everything from:

   • signing up to Surveys

   • transferred current account to get the bonus cash sign up

   • buying and selling watches( long and only got like £15 profit)

   • trading (didn’t go well)

   • upselling furniture (in progress)

   • match betting

   • private jobs (good earner as a electrician trade)

   • even buying tobacco in duty free and selling for a profit

   Basically feeling I’m not doing enough and constantly being greedy, waiting for next pay day to invest my money and watch my savings grow. The constant wanting more is great cause it gives me motivation to earn more but it can get tiring as I feel it’s never enough. 

   I am looking to buy my first home with my partner. I have £16,000 in a LISA , £8,000 in S&S ISA and £1,000 in a savings account ( emergency fund) I need to increase my emergency fund as my monthly bills will go up when I get a mortgage. ATM I have very little outgoing , £345 (including £200 rent to mum and dad). I do find myself enjoying life a little too much, not really sticking to a budget but still end up saving each month. 

   I really enjoy watching money content from yourself and other influencers online, as I always want to learn more about money. Unfortunately I didn’t learn it in school and my parents aren’t money savvy, even tho they work extremely hard and have sacrificed a lot for me. 

My Thoughts

You’re doing bloody well, earning over the average UK salary by your mid 20’s is pretty impressive. You have great savings as well, a lot higher than the countries average so take some time to be content with your position.

A few things I’d keep an eye on:

Your Savings Rate: You say that you save £440 in to a S&S ISA monthly which is about than 18% of your take home pay. Whilst this is really strong, you also are in a position where your NEEDS are super low at just £345 per month. If you are serious about getting onto the property ladder, I would look to try and increase the amount you save when your pay check comes in each month, before you go out and spend the rest. One way you could do this is try to take a look at what your life would cost once you are paying a mortgage, and set your spending up as if that is already happening. It will allow you to start saving a lot more towards that first home but more importantly means that you won’t be shocked by the new lifestyle you have to live when the time comes around!

Your want for more: This is completely natural, and you are clearly a driven person with the amount of things you’ve tried. My advice would be simple, find something that you are passionate about and that you can stick to for a really long time. Whilst the little gigs are fun (bank switching, match betting), they are never going to earn you serious cash. The key to a successful side hustle/business is the ability to keep going when the going gets tough!

If you want to be in next week’s issue (or just want a private answer)

Just HIT REPLY to this email to send me your answers:

1. How old are you, what do you do, and how much do you make?

2. Do you think you are paid fairly for the work you do?

3. Where do you live and how much do you think you need to earn to live there?

4. What financial advise would you give to a younger version of yourself?

5. What is your biggest financial success and mistake that someone else can learn from?

6. How much of your salary do you save?

7. How would you describe the way money makes you feel?

8. What else would you like to share?

Remember, just HIT REPLY, and I can’t wait for us to help each other get better with money!

P.s. I will always keep these answer completely anonymous!

Whenever you're ready, there are ways I can help you.

1. ​Hit reply to this email: I respond to every single question I get from these newsletters, so please don’t be shy!

2. The Budgeting Template PRO: Most of you have probably tried the lite version, but the PRO is what I use in my day to day life. (use the code ‘letstalkmoney’ for 30% off)

3. Want a list of my favourite investing platforms? you can check them out here

^{DISCLAIMER: None of the above is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly education and should not be taken as investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and always do your own research.}