Question for the guys in their 40s/50s...

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HavocXphere

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I could use a bit of wisdom here from the [-]old[/-] experienced guys...what would you do in this situation:

Late 20s & single with a respectable chunk of cash each month not needed to cover bills/basic needs/minor luxuries. Would you use the spare cashflow for:
1) More travel
2) More savings
3) More education
4) Other (no jokes & derails pls :o)

For simplicities sake lets assume "a bit of each" isn't an option. Which would you go for & why? Relevant personal experience / hindsight?
 
What I did was in late 20 and in similar financial position:
(Priority high to low)
Education
Paid bond
Renovated home
Saved

Edit
In hindsight , I would have
1. borrowed more cash and bought more Shares ( phuthuma nathi, mtn bee , sasol etc)
2. Education
 
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If you are degree'd and already have a decent job and already contribute to your retirement and have very little or no debt, then I would say travel! Go see places and enjoy your life to the fullest.
 
Mine, in hindsight, would be to travel. I've done quite a bit already, but should have done more when I was younger and didn't have responsibilities like home mortgage, children.
But, at the same time, don't spend too much on this, rather do it cheaply and enjoy the countries and experience. Do this for about 1-2 years, at least twice a year if you have the leave.
If you can afford it, leave your job and rather travel for 2 years.
If you cannot afford to leave your job, then do it at least once a year for 3-4 years.
Thereafter, sink your money into shares and property. Property is nice if you can find a smallish place and rent it out. Someone else is then paying off your (eventual asset)
I've sold 2 places that if I had the spare cash at the time would rather have kept them. They would be MORE than paying themselves off by now and actually be giving me an income.
 
MickeyD said:
If you are degree'd and already have a decent job and already contribute to your retirement and have very little or no debt, then I would say travel! Go see places and enjoy your life to the fullest.
Click to expand...

This ^^^

Go to china and see why we will never compete with them .
Travel opens the mind .
Do things on your bucket list ,like learn to fly a helicopter climb mount everest .
Do the things you cannot do when you are old .
 
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Travel - see the world. This is life experience.

I can honestly say that I had a similar deal when I was younger - and chose to travel. I must have done 20 countries by now.

Would I change anything - no.
 
Im not 40 yet but if you start saving for retirement early you dont need to invest big ammounts so save a bit and still have fun. But the key is to put away something every month and then buy property instead of renting and dont spend money on things you really dont need or want just because you can or you want to impress your friends.
 
If you can save and invest 25% of your gross income then you should be fine for retirement. Go onto the 10x website etc and use their calculator. The great thing about contributing to an RA is you'll save some cash on tax. I put R13k into RAs every month and save about R3k monthly on tax. People have a very small understanding of just how much money you need when you retire and very often come up short.

I've become quite paranoid about making sure I have enough for retirement, especially since I only started contributing 2 years ago so already lost out on a huge amount of compounding interest. I would definitely say do the calculations and contribute towards retirement and then if you are comfortably paying your bond and other expenses use the excess to travel. I have a passion for travelling and like others say, it broadens your horizons.
 
Not nearly 40, but I can already see that I am being overly cautious, despite having 2 properties, investments, insurance, savings, pension, etc I am still not spending money to enjoy life.

I am trying to change that, wanted to go to Germany in July, but work commitments forced me 2 stay. I have only ever been to Mozambique twice. I would really like to start living my life, seeing places, meeting strange new people etc.

As long as you are doing what is needed for housing and savings (incl retirement), I would say travel and live your life while you still can.
 
1. retirement fund first. "Future you" will thank you.
2. Education
3. enjoy life. You don't need lots of money to do that. Put family first and enjoy the small things that matter
4. travel
 
I thought more about this on my way into the office ....

If you decide to travel - there are some must do things IMHO

Visit the East, China, Malaysia, Thailand. Its quite a difference to the western countries. Try to get out of the city. No doubt you will be offered cheap gem stones (glass), and all sorts of great deals in these countries. The flora is just very different as are the smells and people. The food is fantastic.

Europe is easy - one Schengen visa gets you into alot of countries - Holland, go to Friesland, and do the coffee shops of Amsterdam. Germany - climb on the ICE and see the country, Austria do the same on the CAT. Austria, sneak across to the Czech Republic - good looking girls, good food, great beer.
Italy - Venice Milan (lake Como) and Genoa. Then head to the other coast - Numana and Ancona - big yachting industry there.Italy, my best friend was Uno Moretti.
France / Switzerland - Mont Blanc - very pretty. Switzerland, do a road trip from Geneva to Urich via Interlaken. See if you can find the point where French becomes German.

Do South Amreica - but the south part - start in the Argentine - BA - and do Uruguay same time. Best beef in the world. Peru, great hiking destination - into Brazil. Brazil is a bit like SA.Check out the Amazon - the sheer size of it is a mind fusk.

USA - Always a good place to travel because of the size. Must do NY, Washington DC, (Licoln Memorial, Vietnam memorial and the like), and while you are in the area, Niagra falls, across into Canada at the Great Lakes. Suggest the salmon in Hamilton, Burlington or Toronto.
The Arch at St Louis - gateway to the South, Florida - just like a big KZN. Reno, and Salt lake city - beats Vegas.
California LA - home of the stars - have to the Sanat Monica Pier, Venice beach and for a laugh, Muscle beach.
Cross over at San Ysidro to go to Tijuana - cheap booze, cheap drugs, cheap woman .... great experience.

No - you want my advice - travel. Its something nobody can take away from you, and builds chracter.
 
Education. Get as many degrees as you can while you are still young... I am in my mid-50's and started studying toward a degree last year. I regret wasting my youth getting drunk and partying. After that concentrate on retirement and family.
 
I am 45 and started travelling at 28 and it is the best decision that I have ever made.

Go see the world, it really enrich your life.

My goal is to go overseas every year, it is a great motivator to earn more money.

Edit: I finished my degrees at 23 so I had no need to study any further.
 
HavocXphere said:
I could use a bit of wisdom here from the [-]old[/-] experienced guys...what would you do in this situation:

Late 20s & single with a respectable chunk of cash each month not needed to cover bills/basic needs/minor luxuries. Would you use the spare cashflow for:
1) More travel
2) More savings
3) More education
4) Other (no jokes & derails pls :o)

For simplicities sake lets assume "a bit of each" isn't an option. Which would you go for & why? Relevant personal experience / hindsight?
Click to expand...

All depends vastly on what you are already putting money into.

Personally at 33 now I wish I had simply invested more money when I was 20-25 instead of spending it all on toys and gadgets and motorcycles.

The bit I did invest has already put me in a good position for retirement, I just wish I had put away more.
 
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