Is working hard in your 20s worth it?

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DP and I are in careers that are super super demanding. We never get to switch off fully. We are paid very well however - around £200k and £100k respectively. If we do these jobs for around 5-6 years then we will have enough money to buy somewhere modest with no or a small mortgage. We can then think about having a family and less stressful roles.

Is it worth sacrificing your 20s/working hard for the financial security? We are both from working class backgrounds and have worked very very hard to get here.

Yes, I did. Bought a house and saved so I was secure before starting a family. It's worth it, you don't know what will happen in the future, I'm now a single parent with a disabled child I'll never be able to earn similar.

Yes I would as long as you don't make yourselves ill doing it and you enjoy it.

Yes but you should be able to buy something really good after 5 or 6 years on those salaries

It depends on your priorities. If buying a house and working are important to the exclusion of everything else, then do what works for you. You won't get your 20s back but you'll have a house and earn well.

Yes it is, I paid my mortgage off at 34, and an investment property off at about 42.

I could retire at 48/50 if I want to. Definitely front load if you can. Build a lucrative career if you can.

I m also now a seperated parent, so you can't predict the future, financial security will always be a benefit.

Yes. You won't be able to work as hard later.

I didn't have any where near that wage - but worked hard as industry demanded and saved hard. Meant we had good deposit for housing buying which got us on the ladder post first two kids.

I did when kids were young have a wobble perhaps I should have traveled/holidayed more - but I got what I wanted regarding kids though money was extremely tight those early years without that step up we'd be in way worse position even now.

Yes, definitely. But don't be afraid to borrow now and pay a mortgage rather than rent. DH and I began with a one bedroom starter home and worked up. For one house we had a top-up mortgage of less than £4k! But it was worth it. We paid off the mortgages in our 50s.
And make sure you take your annual leave and really unwind. In fact, try to find a little quiet time every day.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this. I didn't. I admire people who did go down this route. I wouldn't trade my experiences though.

I'm now a single mum, starting my career. Financially I'm not in the same league as my friends who are surgeons, lawyers etc. However, my DC will see me studying and working hard. I hope that she develops a good work ethic. It's a journey we can go on together. I'm saving for my first home as I want my DC to have her own room for her 8th birthday, its my biggest motivation.

My twenties were incredible, I travelled the world, tried so many different jobs and industries, focused on hobbies that I would have had to sacrifice with a very demanding job, such as music, sport etc. I've also volunteered, served in the military, lived abroad, been humbled, made mistakes, studied a range of things, psychology economics, philosophy, pharmacy, TEFL, IT networking and cyber security, politics....I'm also a qualified personal trainer.

Its just a different path. As long as you are happy, then go for it.

It depends on what you want from life.

If you want kids then I think it's really worth working now to be financially secure. Having kids when you have money and don't need to work all hours is a completely different (and significantly better) experience than having kids and struggling or having kids and working the crazy hours.

Yes. I look back and realise I could have progressed in my career much earlier than I did (late 30s+) if I had worked harder and smarter when I was younger. I was too
busy enjoying myself. I also didn’t buy my own home until my mid-30s. You’ve got more time and energy now than you will probably have ever in your life.

What careers are you in earning 200k/100k in your 20’s?

Definitely, get it piled into your pension before having children comprimises your financial situation. I didn't, I just could comprehend spending less on socialising. Mid 40s now and worried about retirement.

Having a cushion from an early age means having a much easier life later when you are too old or knackered to want to have to slog your guts out earning to live.

im sure loads of people had great fun in their 20’s and wouldn’t change a thing but I also think they would have appreciated being in their 40’s 50’s with a mortgage free home and money in the bank to enjoy themselves and not be worrying about retirement because they know they will have money to enjoy their old age.

being poor when you are older and no longer have the energy to work extra hours (or work at all due to illness) but being in the position of being forced to extend their working life because they can’t live of a basic pension and pay the bills or having to live frugally because they don’t have a nest egg and can no longer earn sucks!

I have people in my life who earned very well and retired very early (not even yet at retirement age) and will never have to worry about money and own property outright and also I have other people who had to work to their 70’s until they literally couldn’t anymore and even doing that are now worried about finding money to cover anything above the absolute basics in life (even those are sometimes a struggle) and I know others who are struggling in jobs when all they want is to desperately retire but they don’t have the cushion so they work while their body is telling them it’s too much and they ignore it hoping that they will be ok by retirement age.

I know absolutely wholeheartedly which of their lives I would want!

all that being said though, there is a difference between burning out at 29 because you are working 100 hour weeks and won’t rest and using the time in your life where you have the most energy to be productive but still having a holiday once a year and still having the odd night out etc

Was for us

Big house, child at private school, very comfortable now in our 40s

Well, I don't know about now.
However, 25 years ago in my country it would get you nowhere in time, so I just had to "marry well".
No work, no kids, no regrets. Life is short.
😊

Can you have fun and work? Bear in mind life is not predictable. One of my best friends died from cancer at 24. Another at 40. Realising life is about nothing at all helps.

Depends on the money. If it’s high stress, contracting, comes with no pension (or other benefits) or job security then you’re better off accepting slightly lower to join a big company and work your way up. I was a high earner in my 20s but found that those of us who had secure jobs back then have done a lot better overall than those of us who were contracting.

Yes. I worked very hard in my twenties and got myself into a professional position where I could work part time and be flexible for my children but still earn very well.

Yes definitely work long hard hours before you have DC if you want them because once you have them you feel much more tired.

It wouldn't be my choice for my life and if my son chose it I'd be worried he'd regret it later in life. I had some truly amazing experiences in my twenties that wouldn't have been possible alongside an intense/high paying job. And I still came met a partner, marry and have a child by 32. We'll be mortgage free before retirement without sacrificing more amazing experience in the meantime. Even if the worst happens and I end up a single parent on one income, I won't wish I'd sacrificed my 20s to have more in the banks

But it's a great idea if you have considered all the pros and cons and it's what you want to do.

Depends on the life you want. I wouldn't. My 20's were spent on holidays, concerts and just having a great time. We did get onto the property ladder at 24 and dh was 31. We worked hard consistently but just normal working hours. At 38 I was mortgage free. As a couple we've never earned more than 120k combined.

Yes. That's what your 20s and 30s are for. Work hard, get ahead with your career and have a good time before you have a family.

It's not the path I chose and admittedly I was financially insecure throughout my twenties although I had a lot of time for leisure and doing what I want. But I got a lucky break by learning about investing and taking a high risk attitude, which paid off in my 30s. I'm now sitting on far more in assets than my peers who took the sensible, hard work route. Large house in central London, 2 dc in private school, can do all school runs and pickups and attend every school event, no mortgage, and healthy retirement savings for me and DH, and enough money to help dcs with uni, housing, weddings etc.