I’m turning 25 in less than two months and have recently started reconsidering some of my current saving/investment decisions, particularly with the goal of becoming financially independent (FI) in the future.

A bit of background:

1. Income

I recently started a new job which brings my salary up to around £30k. This is outside London and is pretty good for the area I live in.

I take home roughly £2k/month after tax, NI, student loan and pension contributions.

2. Outgoings

I currently live at home, so my expenses are very low:

• £100/month rent
• ~£200/month food
• ~£50/month transport

I currently use buses, but I’m hoping to get a car once I pass my test, so I expect my monthly expenses to increase fairly significantly once that happens.

3. Current savings/investments

• ~£32k LISA
• ~£2k S&S ISA
• ~£5k current/emergency fund

I know I’m in an extremely fortunate position with being able to live at home and having such low housing costs, so over the past few years I’ve been able to focus heavily on saving. I have been at uni for both an Undergrad and Masters (both living out and Masters paid out-of-pocket), hence why savings are certainly lower than they could be.

Most of my savings have gone into my LISA during this time, which is now maxed out for the current tax year.

Going forward, I’m thinking of putting most of my additional savings into my S&S ISA, as I recognise that £2k is relatively low compared with my LISA and want to start heavily focusing on retirement/ FI.

The bit I’m unsure about:

For the past few years I’ve been investing through Halifax. With the recent changes to the Halifax brand, Lloyds have notified me that my investments will be moved over and, as I understand it, may initially be held in cash before I have to reinvest through their portfolio.

Because of this, I’m wondering whether now might be a good opportunity to move my S&S ISA to a completely different platform.

I’ve seen Vanguard mentioned a lot on here and am wondering whether moving there would make sense. On the other hand, Lloyds have said I wouldn’t have to pay fees until I’m 27, which is obviously quite a big draw given my age.

So I’m a bit stuck between taking advantage of the fee-free period with Lloyds or using this as an opportunity to move elsewhere.

What would you do in my position?

• Is Vanguard a good option for someone in my position, or are there better alternatives?
• Would you stay with Lloyds until 27 to take advantage of the lack of fees?
• Am I overlooking anything else I should be considering at 24/25?

I’m mainly looking for perspectives from people who have been in a similar position, particularly those who have had their Halifax investments moved over to Lloyds.

I’m not sure if I need a financial sanity check, general  reassurance or a life coach, but am I’m currently contemplating FIRE.  Current family situation: I (M53) am married (F49) with two kids (M9, M12) at good state schools (ie no private fees to pay).

I’m currently contracting (pharma industry, inside IR35 ; approx. £1100/day) but am not enjoying work any more.  The drive has gone and it feels very contractual, getting money for the hours I work with few other benefits. Wife works in NHS but future employment is uncertain.

Financial position as follows:

• SIPP:  £675k
• Direct benefit pension paying at £12k/yr at 67
• Full state pension at 67
• S&S ISA £244k
• GIA £232k
• Single company stocks £125k
• Cash (high interest, short notice) £114k
• Second property valued approx. £260k ; currently rented out to sister in law with minimal returns
• Total net worth of above: £1.64 Mn, plus DB and state pensions

Joint investments with wife:

• main property valued approx. £1Mn, remaining mortgage £44k, intend to leave this to children
• GIA £115k
• JISAs for kids: currently at £9k each
• …also, wife has own ISA and NHS pension

My key question is both can I and should I FIRE? Our outgoings are currently relatively modest (£60k per year net) so financially I think we could make it work. But then again, M9 will be at school and home for another 9 years so it’s not as if I can jet off round the world if I retire tomorrow.  Also, how much should I set aside for children’s Uni fees, first home deposit etc? What happens if my wife has to give up work within the next few years?

Options as I see them:

• Retire now, living off the £1.64 Mn, spending more time with the family and building up hobbies
• Reduce work to 4 days a week, tapering further to 3 in a couple of years, then retire once I’ve hit a target (~ £2 Mn?)
• Continue working, building up children’s Uni funds and continuing to build considerable pension, ISA and GIA pots, with greater safety nets in case of market crashes, wife stopping work, children being more expensive that anticipated etc

Hi, I want to be a teacher because I think the job looks well not fun but fulfilling and actually doing something good for the world. The pension scheme is DB and generous-ish at 1/57th of average career salary a year. I am still in school at the moment not uni. I would be happy to move anywhere in the UK so Scotland, rural areas, the northeast to minimise living costs and preserve purchasing power.

My strategy is to max out Stocks and Shares LISA £333,33 monthly (£4k annually). And invest that into vanguard FTSE all world tracker accumulation fund, whilst getting the £1000 pound government bonus a year. And putting the rest of my savings into Stocks and Shares ISA Vanguard FTSE all-world. And than shift more of the portion into bond ETFs as I get older and closer to my FIRE number.

I would prefer to buy a small small flat or tiny house in nowhereville for cash rather than getting a fixed-rate mortgage. I understand LISA doesn't allow you to buy a house without a mortgage so it needs to come out of my ISA pot. I already have 1.4K in my Junior ISA right now, which is a cash ISA earning 3% interest, which I will switch to a S&S JISA now, and add any birthday money or miscellaneous money in there, which should amount to a few hundred pounds a year.

For lifestyle, I don't drink alcohol ever, nor do I eat meat or smoke. I think I should buy all food in bulk and then store it appropriately so it doesn't spoil? I think grains, rice pasta, flour, oats, vegetable oil should be bought in bulk. I don't really have ltos of friends, just like 2. and they are low maintenance friendships. I also don't wear makeup, and I'm vegan so I don't really want deliveroo or fancy groceries.

Thanks for reading!

We earn a combined £180k salary (£120 and £60k) and have just over £1m on paper, and I genuinely can’t tell if we’re doing well or just look good on paper. My partner and I have never had our finances looked at by anyone outside our own spreadsheet, be honest, I can take it.
Us: 36, baby coming soon, based in the UK, own a second property abroad. Plan to retire at 55yo if things go well.
Cash isas & savings - £56k
Investments- £80k (£8k bonds, £16k company shares, rest invested in global index (vanguard emerging markets, sp500, FTSE all world) , 2k in gold etf.
Pension: £220k mine (20% monthly contribution) and 170k partner (15% contribution)
Properties: £110k second property overseas (no mortgage)and £800k (our home £410k mortgage left)

- should we overpay our mortgage as it’s quite big?
- are we holding too much cash?
- with our salaries, should we contributing more towards our pension?

Tell us what you’d actually change