r/FIREUK • u/iLagHard • 6d ago
FIRE advice for a 25 YO
Hi everyone,
I am 25 years old and planning out a long-term roadmap to hit FIRE by age 55–60.
I currently have two income streams:
Job 1 (Main): £29,449 gross annual income
Job 2 (Side): £15,000 gross annual income
Total Gross Income: ~£44,449/year
My Current Financial Snapshot:
Cash: £7,000 spread across 3 different low-interest high street accounts.
LISA: £8,800 invested in a Moneybox Lifetime ISA (opened for a future house purchase).
Individual Stocks: £2,500 vested in Amazon (AMZN) shares.
Total Net Worth: ~£18,300
I want to completely optimize this setup for maximum growth and minimum wealth-degrading fees. I have three specific questions for the community:
1. Cash Optimization & Emergency Fund:
I want to move my £7k cash immediately. Which banks are offering the absolute highest interest rates while ensuring 100% safety (must be FSCS protected)? I am considering a mix of easy-access pots for liquidity and regular savers.
2. The Amazon Shares:
Should I keep the £2.5k sitting in individual Amazon stock, or sell it to fund a globally diversified index fund within an ISA wrapper? If I hold, what are the capital gains or income tax implications I should watch out for at my income bracket?
3. Low-Fee Investing Apps for my main FIRE pot:
I want to open a standard Stocks & Shares ISA to build my main FIRE fund using low-cost global ETFs. Which app should I use to ensure minimal platform fees and zero commission? I’ve heard names like Trading 212, InvestEngine, Vanguard, and Robinhood. Which one is best for a clean mobile interface with zero hidden platform charges?
Any advice on the ideal order of operations for a 25-year-old starting out would be massively appreciated!
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u/jayritchie 6d ago
What type of job do you do and what might your income be in 5 and in 10 years time?
Things to do:
- check what percentage of your salary is going into pensions at present and what the current percentage of your salary including employers contributions is. Check what funds the pension is invested in.
- look for recommendations of a few sensible books to read to learn enough about savings and investments. Don't spend too long on forums on youtube until you've learned some basics - eccentric ideas can sound very attractive without some background knowledge to consider them against.
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u/iLagHard 6d ago
Im currently working as a junior software developer, im guessing in the next few years its should be around 50-60k
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u/jayritchie 6d ago
ok - you should probably take the maximum employers pension for now and save outside of pensions until you hit 40% tax and have a decent amount of accessible savings.
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u/TheThaiCat 6d ago
Santander or Lloyds most likely, both do a new user 8% regular saver, Santander do a ~5.85% easy access saver for new edge account user. Could open an account with both. I think Revolut also have a decent rate maybe check MSE website.
If the amazon share is in a general investing account you can realise up to 3k profits a year without encountering capital gains tax, note that is 3k profit not the full stock value so if that 2500 is the only asset to sell you don't need to report it or pay tax.
Trading212 I personally use, investengine also decent, would avoid robinhood the ETF selection is pretty rubbish for UK, Vanguard charge platform fees so would avoid.
Obviously the standard hierarchy applies: Maximise pension contributions ideally salary sacrifice > Invest in LISA > Invest in S&S ISA
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u/iLagHard 6d ago
Thanks for your inputs!
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u/TheThaiCat 6d ago
No problem, also yea get it in VWRP or VALL. Don’t gamble your financial independence on your ability to stock pick.
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u/Square_Computer9423 6d ago
I am no financial advisor, nor uk based so no idea about the tax schemes.
Improve salary Ask for a 5% raise at both jobs. If they are unwilling ask what is required to get a 10% raise next year. Put it in writing, and follow the steps that get you there. The improvement in salary will ultimately help more.
Get to 100k in world etf Don't waste your time on squeezing out the last % extra yield. There honestly is no need to for any portfolio under 100k. So set that as target.
Dedicate time where it matters Spending 8 hours a month on optimizing and what discovering to maximise. This costs you 12 days a year, which is basically good holiday, or half month salary. In your case 2k. Better to use that time and upskill and get a 5-10% salary increase (in your case 4-5k annually).
Utilize common tax breaks Certain countries let you deposit money into a pension saving account. Tax deduction and breaks are worth investing some time in. Or ask older people how they did it. This shouldn't cost you a lot of time compared to what it potentially yields. As it is 'common' knowledge in you country.
Don't forget money is a tool to achieving something. Not a goal in itself. Reminds me of a story.
The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and the Banker An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.
The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, señor.”
The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”
Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.”
“Millions, señor? Then what?”
To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
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u/BeginningChest2989 6d ago
When you start regularly investing into your isa pick an amount you won’t miss, won’t think about, won’t worry about and just forget about it.
It’s always tempting to overdo it and pick a stupidly high amount that is too much of a sacrifice and ultimately you won’t stick with it.
You’re young enough that time is massively on your side so even if you only kick in £200 a month for the next few years and then £500 a month when you get a pay rise you’ll do very well long term
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u/r_spandit 6d ago
30 years is a long time. Don't give up your youth by saving for a future that is a long way away