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by tikkabhuna 538 days ago
I'm in the UK and since buying a house, I really feel no need to keep going higher. Property pricing in the UK is extremely damaging.

If I found a job at a higher level that I thought I'd really enjoy and that I'd be good at, I'll be interested, but otherwise I'm content.
3 comments
mk89 538 days ago
Well, you could think about making more money for retirement. Not saying you need to get crazy about it, though.

I am not sure how the hell we will be able to manage that (retirement) with the lifestyle we got today. Not that I am rich, far from it, but I am not sure I want to ask my kids for help... and that seems more and more the direction we're moving in.

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tikkabhuna 538 days ago
You're right. My post was mainly focusing on expenses and living standards. I'm already contributing above average to my pension and I'm hoping that any above inflation payrises I do get go towards retiring early.
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scarface_74 538 days ago
> I am not sure how the hell we will be able to manage that (retirement) with the lifestyle we got today

Then don’t. I’m 50 and my wife (48) spent the last four years “decontenting” our lives. I started working remotely in 2020 and we sold our big house in the burbs (for twice what we had it built for in 2016) after our youngest graduated and downsized to a condo in state tax free Florida. We are now down to one car and our fixed expenses are a nothing burger.

She also “retired” at 44 and spends time on her passion projects. We travel a lot and have done the digital nomad thing for a year flying one way trips across the country. In other words, when I do retire, we will already have cleared most of our bucket list.

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jokab 538 days ago
..not sure I want to ask my kids for help...

I shiver at the thought.

Culturally, as a Filipino kid, everyone knows that kids are indebted to the parents for them being born. Wtf.

I do help my parents because I love them, they dont ask but they don't need to.

But I will not ask help from my kids, they dont owe me anything.

We live in the UK now, but my wife and I will just have to retire to the Philippines where everything is a whole lot cheaper.

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scarface_74 538 days ago
I’m kind of in the same boat, I did my first and hopefully only stint at BigTech between 46-49. During that time my youngest (step)son graduated and moved out on his own, we paid off some debt, downsized to a smaller condo , sold our big house in the burbs and started traveling a lot after I started working remotely.

Yes I am a “staff” engineer at a smaller company now - equivalent in pay to around what I was making as an l5 (mid level) at BigTech. But with a lot less stress. I have no need to make more money except for inflation adjustments

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RadiozRadioz 538 days ago
In the UK, home ownership is the great differentiator. In my experience, it is much more extreme than in other places.
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