Any advice for someone who’s been “adulting?”

[londonba]

I recently got a new job and earn £40k per year. I’m hoping now to be able to finally save and buy a house at some point…

Any advice on navigating the next chapter of my life would be appreciated. I’ve basically been living like a student since I graduated. This is a huge pay rise for me as I’ve been broke for a while. I anticipate getting promoted in the next 2-3 years, this will get me to around £50-£55k. (I’m trying to work my career backwards and do things that will tick off what I need to progress.)

Outside of work I don’t have much of a life. I’m 26 and rent - my bills are around £1800 per month. I live alone, don’t have family to live with and am single. I could cut back to some extent, but for the most part my previous salary just about covered my bills in my area so not much left over for fun. Trying to resist the urge to buy myself treats etc and be responsible instead.

I earn that and I only take home 2.2k a month. Pension plus student loan repayments take up a chunk but perhaps you’re better off?

Personally I do think life is for living and I’d invest a bit into making sure you have a life outside work so take up a hobby/ find a class you enjoy. I’d also budget for treats as well as savings. As your income grows over the next few years you will be able to increase the proportion going to your savings. Just don’t fall into the trap of spending all you earn every
month.

Ah my monthly salary will likely be similar - I’ll find out on Friday which is payday. I’m considering opting out of my pension for a bit but unsure how risky that decision is. My hobbies are basic, visit new places and travel around the UK but not as much as I’d like! I might take up gym. I have friends I spent time with but find it difficult to meet new potential dates.

My advice is absolutely do not opt out of your pension, unless you absolutely need the money to feed yourself. That money will grow and grow over time - the earlier you pay it in, the more those ££ will grow.

Hard to respond to be honest because your post is really vague. By being over 18 you are by definition "adulting" - to be honest, I hate that term and I don't even know what it's meant to mean. You're not a child, so you're "adulting" whatever your life looks like.

I think you need to work out what specifically you want advice on - if it's getting/ affording a mortgage or budgeting for example - then post in the relevant board and ask a specific question.

Just asking for advice on living life is impossible to answer because you have to work it out.

Boring but I’d do the following-
— don’t opt out of pension
-decide how much extra you want to spend each month, if anything. Depends how you felt on your previous salary- if you were ok, maybe stick to that.

-Set up a direct debit that moves the extra straight out of your current account and into a savings account (check MSE for the best rates). If you can save £400/month for 5 years at 5%, you’ll have £27k.

Do not opt out of your pension. Top it up if you can whilst you have extra disposable income.

Open a LISA account to save for your house deposit. Every year you save £4k, the government will top it up with another £1k. It's free money.

I get it. You’ve been broke so didn’t have choices, you might now have a bit of spare money (well done!) so the question is what do you do with it. Keep living very frugally and save towards property and/or pension? Or spend a bit more on day to day?

I think first see how much you have left after essential bills. Then you’ll have a better idea. As a pp says it might not be that much left over (sorry).

If you are young, saving now can really rack up over the years, especially with interest rates having gone up. ISAs are a good idea if you want something tax free but more flexible than pension. You can look at calculators online which show you what savings can add up to eg foregoing a coffee a day = X a year (plus interest if you put it in a savings account).

Exercise yy but you don’t need to join a gym, that really does chew up money, running and youtube videos at home does the job. Save the money for social life!

Would you consider a flat share or house share? It would save money and be more sociable although obviously you’d have to put up with other people’s habits!

Save for a house and out as much into your pension as you possibly can - way more than you can imagine you need at 26.

*put

In your position I’d carry on living like a student and save as hard as I could to buy a house. I wouldn’t opt out of pension but I wouldn’t increase contributions until I owned a home.

I would probably treat myself to some new work clothes if I needed, to be a bit smarter for my new role.

This is brilliant, thank you so much!