I went through a financially brutal divorce in my 50’s - had to pay alimony, put a kid through college, and pay off all debts from a family business. At the end, all retirement and savings were cleaned out by age 58. Just as you say in your video - you can, and I did - put my head down, get to work, and claw my way back. Not completely, and I’ve ended up working longer than I planned - but, I now have a pretty secure retirement and I interspersed travel so that I didn’t just feel that I was working just to get to an age where my best years were behind me. It IS possible if you put your mind to it and get creative.

hi I retired 3 years ago(55) with a decent DB pension, I paid of my mortgage @48 (house now worth £400k) and saved £550K in stocks and shares ISA. It can be done if you are on a fairly decent wage, as long as you don't want the flashiest car and buy new tech every update. Before retiring I had visited 68 countries and have a passion for ancient ruins/cities. Over the last 3 years I have visited 2 new countries (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and revisited a couple of others.

If you send your life comparing yourself to everyone you will never be happy! Create a budget, work out what you need in retirement and work towards the goal that achieves it. Easy to say and takes discipline to do....

😂Fame at last ! I am the Dave you referred to at the start of the video. No offence was taken Neal and I’m not in any way disparaged… keep your excellent videos coming…. Love you guys.

My friend earns £60,000 per year and she has zero savings / investments. I told her to sell her Mercedes and buy something less expensive and invest the difference into a pension. The government pension is £900 per month. I asked if she could live on £900 to which she replied my rent is £1,400 per month! Her attitude is live for today, tomorrow is not guaranteed! I explained that there is a 95% chance that she will reach retirement so she should sort out her private pension.

We retired early leaving Australia earlier this year. Net worth is only one part of the equation. What matters is how much of your net worth you can get to become income producing. In my opinion on the numbers I've been crunching for years the only realistic option for many to retire is to cash in their house and other assets, live in lower cost of living countries and invest the money they have in things that will give them a better return than in their home western country.

37 years here, immigrant, came to the UK with £2k savings in 2008 worked ever since. Now have a 300k house with 50k remaining mortgage, pensions, ISAs and all. Always had more than just 1 job. The cost is no life, just grind and save.

Growing up in an ex-mining community I learnt the value of money the hard way. No silver spoon and the only thing I will ever inherit is debt. My wife does not work through choice, so we have the one income. In my early 30’s I decided that when ever I received a pay rise then I’d take half as pay and put the other half into my pension. E.g. if I got 4% one year then I’d increase my pension contribution by 2%. Now at 55 I have enough in my pension that, if I was to retire today and use the 4% rule, my net pension would be equal to my current net pay. The only thing stopping me is that I want to keep myself busy, so I’ve moved to a much less stressful job working for a charity.

Love both types of video Neil. This one is really clear and helpful. Very much looking forward to more and seeing the cameos. Making me smile just thinking of them, remembering previous ones. Thank you both so much

Nice job Neil. Kudos to you and Sarah for doing your part to try and counter the insidious dark side of social media . I like both types of videos. Keep up the good work. There is an audience for the information you provide -both travel and financial. Keep marking the trail for.those that need it!

Retire where your money works hardest. Earn in developed country, early retire in developing one... 2k a month makes for a comfortable life in SE Asia, backed up by an emergency fund of course 😊

Great content - thanks!

Thanks Neil, I like this content too 👍

I liked this video format Neil as straight forward and easy to understand and follow. Looking forward to the future videos too :)

My wife and I are 54 & 55 respectively and live in the Midwest of the US. We’re so glad to see your podcast back up and going…your informative data and accent can’t be matched! Like you said in your first podcast back from your absence…we don’t need a bunch of rehearsed and planned out choreography…just pass along your feedback straight from the camera and ad lib at leisure! We’ll keep watching as long as you’re loading video! I retired at 50 and my wife will retire at 57. We’ve always worked since our early teens and had a focused approach on always saving roughly half our income…we never veered from that approach…most assuredly quite tough those first three years, but got easier and easier as the years passed. We’ve never had a new car, new home and mostly acquired clothing and goods at second hand stores or garage sales. Now we have enough to never work again and both have guaranteed US government pensions to supplement our investments, IRAs and other passive income streams. If the young folks could just get it straight early on in their lives to set as much money back as they possibly can during their 35 working years, you’ll have yourself setup for the remaining 30-50 years…it’s not rocket science…just a little well planned discipline.

Im 23 now. Have 125k saved up rn. I love simple and try not to spend my money on garbage. My goal is to have 1 million by 40 and then retire. I can then take out about 50k a year to live of and still keep my Wealth (depending on how the stockmarket moves ofcourse).

Good content. Good to have some facts to think about

I love watching your content as it makes us feel secure with our finances at retirement. We made few blunders but we can live with it. We now focus on enjoying our travels and our well being. We have more time to guide our son, whenever we’re called for. To anyone who wants to retire early, focus on knowing how your retirement will be like and work towards it. Make sure you also live now and treat yourself from time to time but don’t overdo it. Do not spend more than you earn and make sure saving is a habit.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Showing HOW to achieve the lifestyle of travel in early retirement gives your channel more than just a pretty documentary.

Many thanks for the video. I'm 53 and very excited to watch you .Good luck and keep going. Give as all ideas from your experience. ❤

Just came across the channel. I am looking forward to looking through all the videos. Well done to both of you for being so courageous in going after your dream.

Very nice!!! I like either format. However seeing the numbers is very helpful. Have a great day 🙂

Work overseas with high exchange rate of your country and retire to the country with low cost of living

Very interesting. Cheers.

Subbed. Thanks.

Very interesting thank you

Hi Neil Genuinely appreciate this type of video and thought. I’m 58 and in that troubled zone of should I retire, how much is enough etc. Have spread sheets galore, understand my costs, budgets etc so what’s the problem right? Well, I watch/listen to very good folk like yourself and understand better ‘Mean’ & ‘Median’ NET worth and … think I’m doing ok as the mortgage has just been paid off compared to the UK £250k . However, NET worth inc your home value to me, is really only applicable if you intend to downsize. Many don’t if you like/cherish the family home. So it’s then all about pure Pension and Savings values and income from those (plus’s investments if you are lucky enough to have them!) against your plans in retirement ’v’ cost of living. I think many in the audience would appreciate thought/guidance outside of home value as this is the real day to day future living cost. Thanks for what you do to help folks like me standing on the edge so to speak 😂 👍🏻

These types of videos are great, I’m 54 now & brought up from a single parent benefit assisted (& part time hard working mum). She struggled to make ends meet, we mainly lived off the cheap factory rejected food back then. Mum had no financial sense, other than wanting to own her own home (3 bed terraced) & only bought what she could pay for (no credit). But this basic approach instilled itself within me. I want my money to work for me & my family. Not to line other people’s (& tax man’s) pockets. I want good financial freedom possibilities in my 50’s. I have 2 kids (19/21), both working & fortunately they have the same financial approach. No matter what they earn, they will have bright financial futures with this attitude. Will probably appreciate luxuries much more as a result. Keep up the good (basic simple approach work). You have a new follower ❤

My wife is 33 and i'm 35. We have a net value of about £135k. We drive a modest car, own a house with a mortgage way below what we can afford. We invest 30% of our net monthly pay and use 15% to save for travels. Good decisions on a financial level forms the foundation of wealth in experiences.

you're good bro.. 💯

Me and my girlfriend saved up £100k deposit by the time I was 26 and she was 24. All while having a slightly higher than minimal wage job. It can be done but you just need to make sacrifices and think about what matters the most.

Damn! This short video has instantly made me feel better about our situation. I really like the median picture, it might even stop me from worrying so much! 😅 Seventeen paydays to go and hopefully be able to spend winter in Thailand and summer, ha ha in the UK. Yes, I do realise it's an expensive way to go about it but there are reasons to keep a base in the UK. It might work out but, if we don't try it you'll never know. 🤔🤭 Oh yes I have subscribed for more whiteboard adventures. 😅😅

I love your vids on finance! I’m single and in my early 50’s and constantly worrying about retirement. Am looking at moving abroad to a cheaper country.

Spot on - like the white board content. Think I'm in a good position for next year at 59 to stop working or some part time work, thanks Nick

Enjoyed listening & watching your video. Thank you. Hey, what's that halo above your head? LOL.

Really enjoyed this video. What sticks out to me as a personal finance person is that till 60 we live in the anxiety that we won't have enough, and after our 70s worry that we won't spend it all. No wonder consumption smoothening is such a big topic in Economics! :)

This is very true and relevant, haha. Before I reached the $100k threshold, 37, I realised how difficult things were. It didn't take me long to reach my goal of having over $2.8 million in my retirement fund alone at the age of 56. The fact that it was so much simpler from there may be due to the fact that my CFP is trustworthy.

Good video, very true about having a balance between comparing both up and down the socioecononic ladder. 2goroam travels is nice to see a walkabout in a destination (including some mundanity!) 2goroam should be presented in the best way to explain the point of the video. Whiteboard is fine, doesn't need to be flash. It just needs a clear aim, background, key message, demonstration, conclusion, next steps

I'm 55 and do the can I , can't I retire thing. Thanks for the video, I now feel so much secure about my isa pension pot

Love you're videos , I'm not been nosey but I am working towards FIRE also and I would love to know how much you guys got to,to make it happen it's OK everyone saying how much the average is but until you know someone in same boat has done it , I would feel less nervous about pushing the button.

Bravo!

The big unknown is your own heath and payment of social care late in life. You can lose all your savings paying for decent health care late in life, albeit I guess you cannot spend it on anything else. Unfortunately the health Car Insurance market collapsed some ten years ago, meanwhile I am not seeing any (UK) government being able to solve a 'fair' social care solution.

Just because you have reached the Median level for your age doesn't mean you're on track for retirement. 125K saved in your 60's isn't going to last long enough for many peoples 15-30 year retirement.

I like your new board-based video, thanks

The UK is tough. I left and have done much better. Net worth 2.5 million pound. I can retire now with 7000 K pension after tax. Work hard, make investing a priority and watch the conspicuous consumption. I’m 55 with a income of about 230000 pound a year.

Good content, Neil. I like the whiteboard to illustrate. To be clear, these numbers are savings or net worth? Cheers!

So nice to have you back! To answer your question, I guess I prefer having you discuss while out walking about. In regard to net worth, it would be helpful to know what figures are included: ie is social security included along with your savings, investments, pension and home equity? Perhaps real estate (equity) is bringing these figures up?

I prefer median statistics to averages. It gives you a better snapshot of real living conditions -- median home price; median salary; median taxes; median mortgage; median savings for retirement. . .

Loving this Neil, English/Aussie girl here, way older than you 2, but right up my alley.

Most peoples net worth is in property

Completely agree with the doom scrolling. Im 38, so ive grown up through some of my teenage years and then twenties, but i worry for the next generations even more.

Great video, nice to see some real world figures. I am in my early 50s and am tentatively planning to leave my career in about 10 years, but I will still be doing a part-time job (has many benefits besides just extra financial 'pocket money'), but it is surprising the relatively low figures, if you are on the median track, or there about, in reality it is going to be very difficult to not work to generate some income, while in your 60's and 70's

Above on all the figures. Single and retired last month @56. 🤞 inflation and the government don’t ruin my retirement….😡

Just a quick question if you can clarify that is all the figures you show in your video are they incomes before tax or after tax? Thank you.

Boss this video mate! Im in my early 30s and have quite a bit more than the mean 60k stated here! Im not saying this to gloat but just due to my below the poverty line up bringing I am very happy about it. Im constantly thinking about what I will be able to leave for my daughters and any grandchildren.

It would be interesting to see what happens if you remove the extremes at both ends e.g. exclude the top and bottom 5%

Hi guys, great video. Any plans to do an annual budget update video, ie where you take into account the recent inflation spikes and cost of living increases, and the impact on your world travel plans? I believe in the past your budget was something like £35k per year sterling (or was that US$?). Has that increased for this year? Cheers Ian

I am 37 and I feel behind even though I paid off my mortgage with equity worth 130K, ISA is about 60K, SIPP is 26K and a defined benefit pension worth 11K a year at current contribution.

Incredible video! Really enjoyed, thank you.

Are those figures Net worth including home mortgage/equity? Its very true about when you start thinking about retirement and pensions. For me it was my 55th birthday on the day. Before that it wasn't even a thought.

I wonder what makes these stats up… just savings, investments and DC pensions? Folk in their 50s now possibly have a DB pension from an early job (as do state employees)… at 25x yearly payout, this should also be treated as net worth. Those with full state pension credits have an effective extra worth of £300k for that too.

nice

I'm a 22 year old Thai researching about investing and I was kinda surprised when you mentioned my country's currency, considering how weak it is 😂

Turn 40 this year and just started to think about it.... Have 50k in a workplace pension, 20k in an ISA and just started Stocks and Share ISA yesterday. Lucky enough to have found a job where my tax is paid for me which may last the next 5 years (hopefully longer). Going to use this opportunity to try to have 100k in ISA and mortgage paid off before this job comes to an end. My missus is looking at holidays....

I was always told your retirement pot should be what you need to live the life you want x 20. However that assumes your retirement pot stops compounding, which it doesn’t. Reckon 10 x Living Cost is a more realistic number.

It is going to be difficult for retirees and pensioners where inflated cost of gas, electricity, food etc is out of control through no fault of theirs but due to bad government policy, unless they can return to work. Mass emigration of retirees from broken western countries to lower cost of living countries looks very likely.

We are 37 and 35. Normal wages (€ 7000 a month). One child. House worth 550K - loan 160K= 390K plus pension/investment portfolio of 112K. So I guess that we are OK ;) we prefer to travel and have nice experiences rather than fancy car/materialism

I started feeling like I was lagging behind in my retirement savings in my 40's, but I am retiring early into Southeast Asia for the arbitrage of location. There is hope for people that are way behind in the way of youtube channels, Amazon, Etsy, and other ways to make money by royalties. $300,000 at 4% rule is $12,000 per year, or $1,000 per month. (barely doable except in a few countries, but definitely not in America). I started a side hustle making coloring books to sell on Amazon KDP last fall, and I sell on average about 5 books per day. That's a royalty of $3.13 per book. I keep increasing the amount per day by making more books. In less than a year into it, I should be at 11 books per day, or $1047 per month in royalties. $300k can take 15-20 years to save in a 401k or Roth account, and I did it myself in that time frame, but I also built a side hustle that pays the same as an account that took 15-20 years to build. I built the hustle in 9 months.

Thanks are these numbers inc assets less debt or pure savings in bank

Comparing my net worth to others my same age is meaningless because we all have different wants, needs, and income levels while working.

I am glad that I am on track for US mean, would like to retire before 2030, how do you invest your retirement fund when you have at least 2 year of spending money not in the market?

My wife and I are fortunate to have a defined benefit pension scheme which will collectively pay us approx £23K p.a. at 55 (we're both currently 53). How should we calculate our savings worth? Is it too simplistic to multiply £23K by say, 40yrs (taking it up to our 95th birthdays) I.e. £920K? Thank you!!

Does these figures include a house? If you rent you have a living cost. If you have a house with no mortgage, you have a valuable asset and don't have rent to pay when you are retired or you can sell the house have more savings.

Great video. I must say you shouldn't really take comfort in sitting in the median, those numbers are hardly enough to live comfortably on.

In my 30’s. Net worth of 30k. But I don’t own a house and as soon as I buy one that’s going to go drastically negative!

Geo-arbitrage is everything in retirement. Even if you have plenty of money, don’t you want that hard earned money to go further? A developing country has so much to offer.

Recently tuned 40, c£300k in workplace pension savings plus c£250k in equity with my property , as a higher rate tax payer utilising Tax Relief is the biggest incentive I have to help me build wealth

Couple wanting an idea if they can retire at 57? (aged 54 and 56) ALready Debt free 2 properties (no Mortgages) £400k value for both 1 Property income circa 4k/year 2 Premium bonds full at 56 with potential £4k/year interest predicted 2 Dc pension ( circa 3.5k/ year till state) 2 DB pensions (totalling circa 34k /year as a couple for life) 1 sipp (circa £24k pot) 1 voluntary retirement lump sum (potential) £33k 2 DB pension lump sums ( totalling circa £90k) 2 full State pensions at 67 (totalling circa 30k+ / yr) Potential large inheritances to follow Could we retire now? earlier than planned? Work in the NHS and feel its time to leave.

I'm very well prepared. Been planning for 40 yrs and have invested properly. Retiring in 3 yrd.

Hi, are these numbers total wealth? Eg equity they have in their house etc…

I went through a horrific divorce at 27 and lost all my wealth. I’m now 38 and own 5 properties… 3 of which paid outright…. I just can’t bring myself to spend money and reinvest the lot. It’s good but it’s also trauma ha

To the chap who said not many would have a pension pot of £500k. Depends on who you know & who is prepared to open up their finances to you. You would be surprised. A lady in my social group, we were talking about pensions disclosed she had £1.4 million pot. Me, im quite poor in comparison with £500k pot .... 😂 We were both 67 btw.

How do I get a copy of the Aussie data?

I still feel like I'm behind.. hard to get that feeling out of your head. I'm 35 soon with around 410k net worth around 200k in isa & Pension and 200k in Property 3 rentals with 130k still on mortgages

Hi Neil! Thanks for posting this. Puts everything into perspective! I earn 25k at 27yo and thought I was desperately behind. With a smudge over 15k in savings for a deposit and about the same again in a workplace pension pot it turns out I am doing rather well. All very encouraging!

Great vid. :) Is, say, £100k in a pension pot considered £100k net worth, despite you not having yet paid tax on it?

Would you prefer to put in £4000py into a Lifetime ISA for retirement (get the 25% bonus and interest) or to take a risk and invest £300pm into Stocks over a period of 20 years?

You're an angel 😇

For US viewers, also keep in mind that if you start a 529 for your child as soon as they are born, you can convert a portion to a ROTH IRA (up to that year's contribution limit and a maximum lifetime contribution) of the account has been open for 15 years. I contributed $7900 a year to my child's 529 so we will be able to supercharge her retirememt plan and prep her for university. Proper preparation prevents piss poor prognosis.

Spend your savings especially if your in receipt of a works pension and state pension and own your own home. If you don't spend it and leave it too late the care homes will have your aching bones and your hard earned dosh, about £2,500 a week and counting as we speak.. It's often best to have sweet FA when you reach your seventies/eighties, then the care home can only take your pensions !

Hi I watch all the videos of everyone talking about enough money to retire on but no one every says how much roughly will be enough. It would be so good if you could give some rough figures we are wanting to retire but not knowing if we will have enough cheers Andy

What are we talking about here……money saved in the bank plus the value of stock portfolios….or are we including house equity & pension pot value in these figures?

I'm 37. I only have just over £10 in savings, however I work for my council and am investing in their private pension scheme, do have a grand in cash for emergencies. I really wish I learned about finances in my 20s because I could have easily had triple this by now.

I don’t know about everyone else but the median net worth figures are what scares me, or rather should scare observers. If you’ve got those median numbers saved you’re either not retiring until your 70’s or you’re retiring in poverty.

I’m 45 and only started saving and investing 5 years ago, my parents saved nil and their thoughts on investing was gambling. I have 27k in a SIPP and 8k in S&S isa and worried I’m too late to all of this 😮

I have an Investment portfolio that's worth $1million, I don't think that'll be enough for retirement. I need an average risk investment strategy in stocks that'll give me more yield.

I guess I'm doing well I'm in my late 30s and my mean is in the 60s.

Money is irrelevant unless you have your health as you found out whilst you were travelling in Malaysia. Focus on staying in good health . Obesity is a killer .

omg people live on peanuts , disturbing. I decided long ago that if you really work you dont have time to make money 😅 so i changed track and started ‘working’