[Closed] Security vs Freedom

36? Blimey, that's not really too old to do anything! Not when you have no ties in the way you don't - if it's something you really want to do then I recommend going for it before you do get stuff tying you down. Sure pensions are important, but it seems you do have some, and it's way more important to actually live your life

36?

won't be a better time, go for it.

Mate if you think you are old at 36 you absolutely must do this !

I mean that I’m not taking the piss

I think I was a bit concerned after reading the pensions thread on here. 36 isn't that old, but I don't have any pension. Of course, you could drop dead beforehand. But then again, I want to try and enjoy my life, I find it hard to delay satisfaction, so to speak!

My dad is the opposite of me - never spent any money, would get back from work, turn on the telly - but the thing is, he was ok with that, whereas I'm not. He now has a good pension for his retirement. I've done far more interesting things in my life, though.

36? With no kids, no partner and no house?

and you even need to ask?

iI’d already be on the boat

Now be off with you! 🙂

36 isn't too old at all. Especially if you've no kids then go for it - you've only got yourself to look after. People do it all the time and manage. Things lead onto other things, opportunities will come knocking it is just you cannot see them right now, so a little faith is needed. I wish I could but with kids I'm too chicken!

The corporate world will always be there.

To use a well-worn cliche, life is NOT a rehearsal! If you don’t grab this opportunity now, when you have no significant ties or responsibilities, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.
Buy the boat, and enjoy traveling with it, then when you get tired of doing that you’ve still got the means to get away for holidays, to explore other parts of the country in your own little mobile floating home.
A close friend of mine owns a narrowboat, they live in Cambridgeshire but kept Tilley, their boat, moored up at Stourport-on-Severn, because her husband worked near Birmingham, so lived in the boat during the week.
They’re both retired now, and they’ve moved Tilley back to a mooring near their home, so they’ll be exploring the Broads and the waterways around Cambridgeshire.
It’s also a good investment in and of itself, you can always sell the boat if money gets a bit short in the future.

Do it!!! At 36 I'd  lost my soul and sanity to a corporate job, binned the job and thankfully kept the important bits ( wife and kids) regained sanity....now hoping to lose the weight!!!

Really go for it!! 9-5 world will always be accessible if that's what you want.

You don't have to make yourself insecure to do that stuff.  Freelance etc is fine as long as you are financially prepared.  My sister and her husband toured Europe as hippies for a while, but they kept their house and rented it, which meant they had a house and also good employment prospects to come back to.

Plan it, then do it.  Definitely.

Thanks Molgrips. My current plan is - take a holiday on a narrowboat, see how I take to it (used to do them as a kid and enjoyed); set-up my work situation so I'm at least on good freelance rates and working on a contract that lasts for 1-2 years. It's report-writing so I only need the laptop and phone/internet reception isn't necessary all the time. I don't fancy scrimping and saving on the whole.

I will also look into the pension options for freelancers, as I think like many on here, that is the way of work which suits me best.

Oh and I also thought I could chart my boating and river pub adventures in a book. now that Tim and Penelope have created more interest in the canals. I'm a published author, although that was a more academic history book.

If you want any practical advice then ask any questions you want

I lived on one for a while and still spend half my life on one.

Plenty of practical advice to be had if you want it

Personally I dont find it that interesting cruising the network being a 2 month jaunt in summer

Lock and swing bridges and the like are not much fun in winter and [ solo] its both very slowing going, potentially dangerous and cold. 2-3 MPH is about the moving speed you will attain and about 30 mins per lock onc eyou get good at them.[ check your insurance allows you to solo things]

3 do a decent wifi connection of 10 or 20 GB per month [ I forget which] for about tenner that is pretty robust reception wise.

The practical implications of a pension have changed over recent years. A final salary pension is increasingly rare and if you have one now (at 36), it's quite likely to have been changed by the time the take it. Any other pension is really just a savings scheme where, to avoid you becoming a burden on the benefit system when you're old, Government offer a tax deal. They allow you to pay tax when you take the pension rather than when you earn the money you put into it. Usually, your income is less in retirement and so you pay less tax. In return for the tax benefit, you have to lock the money away until some target age (currently 55, I think, but it'll change anyway).

So get the boat, go freelance, and if you have some spare income to save, save it. If you're paying a lot of tax, save in a Self Invested Pension Plan (SIPP).

I will also look into the pension options for freelancers, as I think like many on here, that is the way of work which suits me best.

There are loads of financial advisers and products out there catering for freelancers.  No different to the pension you get from any other employer.  I paid into one whilst I was contracting.  I can recommend a good IFA who understands contractors if you like. He'll also take you through the professional insurance, life cover etc etc that you should get.

wife/mortgage/kids/job will all remove the choice for you. Do it while you can. Better to regret the things that you have done rather than the things you haven't.

Do it, forgetting for a moment that you’re not old at all, ‘security’ a myth these days, no one is any more secure than how long they can get by with the money they have now.

Either you work for a small firm that can been knocked out by a stiff breeze it seems these days or you work for a big one and no one is safe from a 5% drop in PROFITS, might as well live on your wits, well all are really.

First thing - the big mistake with any job is you are not secure.

You may be more secure than your unemployed neighbour, but you are not secure.

Once you realise that you change your life accordingly and going out onto new ventures is less forbidding.

The best security is when you have control of the circumstances. You don't have that with a job.

Regret things that you do, not things you don't do.

If you do it and don't like it, do something else.  Don't be lying on your deathbed still thinking "I wonder what would've happened if...?"

There are loads of financial advisers and products out there catering for freelancers

You sound very much like my nephew !

He has just finished at Cambridge doing his Masters & PhD ( American History )  at the age of 27 ..and has just taken a job ( training ) as a Barrister in London..

As others have said ..dont have any regrets ..with the qualifications you have I don't think future employment is going to be too much of an issue ..and what a fantastic way to spend the next couple of years ..

Enjoy !

As someone once told me... "you're a long time dead"

Pension is just tax efficient savings. One advantage of freelancing is you can arrange your affairs to pay less tax and thus save outside of a formal pension.

TBH you need some form of long term savings plan especially if you think you’ll work outside of  PAYE and thus have no state pension either.

EDIT: not sure I agree with post above about the boat being a good investment. I would check that thoroughly as boats amortise to zero eventually as maintainence exceeds fair value. Also boats are generally hard to sell and with 5-10% sales fee on top

Aside from that just get on and do it, as others have said there probably isn’t a better time. I never did my ski season as a student/gap year and suddenly I had a “proper” job and three kids. Opportunity gone and having the time in later life isn’t the same as my knees are shot

Go do it.

If I was in your shoes I'd have the same concerns but my shoes are 8 yrs older and have 2 kids and 2 mortgages.

Plenty of days I wish I had your shoes.

If it's freelance report writing with only a laptop and internet needed, why the hell stop in the UK?

Get a camper and go european. Brexit might have an impact, but it's going to be a good few years before it bites hard.........

Thinking about doing it means you want to do it.

Do it !!!

You can actually live v frugally on the canals.  If you keep moving, i think 14 days max in 1 place, you do not pay any mooring fees.  Also, logistics of food shopping would be my biggest challenge, and carrying it back.  1 see quite a few live aboards on narrowboats on the canal as i ride about and they always seem q happy, and snug.  Good luck, q tempting actually.

Hey! I'm 43 and about to up sticks to Canada. No such thing as too old.

Regarding Greybeard’s post the point is whether you’d get the same returns yourself or if the IFA route will give you a higher rate less fees. Also pensions have to be administered and there are quite a lot of costs so people can’t simply charge zero / minimal fees

I am an investment manager fwiw

OP also I would suggest renting a boat to start with, say for a year. Will give you a better idea if the life is for you and you’ll get to know what to look for in a boat of you want to buy. I’d also say a holiday in June might not prepare you for liveabord in Jan and Feb

IMHO freelancing is going to be the way forward, look at GIG economy it’s taking over in many areas and as pisted before there in zero security in a “full time job” tbh. There are a billion Indians and a billion Chineese out to improve their lives by doing whatever we do

<span style="color: #444444; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #eeeeee;">Oh and I also thought I could chart my boating and river pub adventures in a book. now that Tim and Penelope have created more interest in the canals. I’m a published author, although that was a more academic history book.</span>

...  with your history experience and canal adventures you have the potential (depending on your writing style) to make something quite interesting - documenting not just the modern day adventure but the history of how these places got there.  at the risk of starting a tax avoidance debate ... If you did that would that make boat related costs tax deductable?

Theres plenty of YouTube channels around people living off grid.  Food for thought - and if your video, presenting and marketing skills are up to it possibly a source of income.

Do it. I would personally go for a van as I would be more interested in traveling round Europe, but that's me. Your living costs will be a lot lower so it may cost less than you think and any earnings will probably be below tax threshold so  it will be "easier" to earn £100 say.

Tbh if you feel you need to earn more money to "make up" for lost earnings in the future your best bet will probably be to carry on the travel and work abroad in some way! Do it while you can. Long time dead. Life not a rehearsal etc

If you keep moving, i think 14 days max in 1 place, you do not pay any mooring fees.

Also, logistics of food shopping would be my biggest challenge, and carrying it back.

Many canal parts are next to railway lines so you can often be - or intentionally moor near- close to a station.

You can moor outside STW towers as well if you want.

<i>I’d say go for it!  No guarantee this opportunity and your circumstances will be this compatible again.  </i>

<span style="color: #444444; font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: #eeeeee;">there in zero security in a “full time job” tbh. There are a billion Indians and a billion Chineese out to improve their lives by doing whatever we do</span>

Imagine if there was some way of changing that situation...?