retirement
my least bad and least good financial decisions
WSA adsense code -->This is part of the m-network’s day of posts on our best and worst financial decisions. Both my best and worst decisions are related to pensions.
best decision
I started pension (retirement) fund contributions as soon as I started work and I’ve consistently invested them in index funds.
Why is this my best decision?
- Starting earlier is always better than starting later.
- The company I work for contributes double whatever I contribute up to a certain limit.
- Index funds match my keep it simple and average philosophy.
- I now stand a fighting chance of not being desitute in my old age.
- I’ve never had the money, so I don’t miss it.
worst decision
I invested my non-work related pension (retirement) funds in the Virgin Money Stakeholder Pension.
Why is this my worst decision?
- They charge a 1% fee, whilst the best provider of index funds in a pension following the same index charges 0.3%
- I don’t have enough money invested to transfer out of this fund
- I didn’t shop around before investing, I was sold on the advertising
- Its difficult to get a valuation from Virgin, for some reason their system won’t let me register for online access.
I know this isn’t a really bad decision. That’s because most of my financial errors, haven’t been decisions but simply forgetting things, like:
- how close I am to my overdraft limit
- when the due date is on the credit card
- getting work expenses reimbursed
- cancelling subscriptions I no longer need
Really, I’m lazy and I procrastinate. I’m not a great decider - most of my decisions are in the ok to good range, but my non-decisions are pretty terrible.
Check out the rest of the m-networks best and worst decisions:
- 6 financial decisions - don’t learn the hard way @ gather little by little
- my best and worst financial decisions @ moolanomy
- best and worst financial decisions: from the trenches @ i’ve paid for this twice already
- my best and worst financial decisions: they might surprise you @ being frugal
- my best and worst financial decisions @ christian finance
- my best and worst financial decisions @ the dough roller
- one good financial decision and a whole lotta bad ones @ debt-free revolution
- my financial decisions, the good and the bad @ single guy money
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Discussion
50 comments for “my least bad and least good financial decisions”
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Great post! I sure wish we had started investing in retirement a lot sooner. It’s great that you’ve been investing since you started working!
Good honest post. I like your assessment. Everyone can learn from both.
The power of compound interest - I’ve learned the importance of starting as early as possible too.
“Index funds match my keep it simple and average philosophy.”
You have one thing right - index funds are simple. However, they are NOT average. They are much better than average. And if you use a low-cost company, like Vanguard, they’re even better.
Great job on your best choice. I started young also, but it was more like you worst decision - I invested in a fund with a lot of fees. I learned from it though and quickly transferred my money out of there!
And if that is your worst money decision, I think you’re doing all right!
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one whose made this particular mistake. Ah well, onwards and upwards.
My best decision has been to invest in my pension (in my case 401K) as well. However, unlike you I started quite late (since I spent a lot of time in school being totally ignorant of personal finance basics). I try to make up being very aggressive in my contributions. Well, better late than never I guess!
Thanks for putting up this article and it is really nice to hear that nothing works without planning properly and investing in a retirement scheme is an excellent decision.
Sounds like you’ve made some good financial decisions. I only wish I had starting putting aside money for retirement earlier. I would be much better off at this point.
I don’t think you should beat yourself up about that 1% fee to Virgin, people have done far worse. But if it is a problem, you can transfer to another provider?
Yes, one should start investing from early stage. This would help in many ways. A good post on start investing!!
Great post, something we all struggle with.
Hi There. I just came across the M-Network blogs, and I am overwhelmed with the great amount of information everywhere!! Thanks for that!
I can across this post, and your best decision was starting a pension fund right away. I’ve been in school forever, and I just started finally working 2 months ago. (I’m 30). My job has a great retirement plan that I can’t be a part of until 2011…and I know NOTHING about that kind of stuff. I mean, I’ve only been actually getting a pay check for a few months!! We’re (my husband and I) are beginning to pay debt acquired during my schooling, but I’d also like to put money away for retirement. Do you have any advise about where I can get good, simple information on where to start.
I’ve got the debt plan under control, and it wont take us too long to pay it off…so, I don’t want to wait on starting a retirement fund. I’d like to focus on paying off our debt AND starting a retirement fund at the same time. But I don’t know where to start…any ideas?
Thanks!
I too have a virgin stakeholder scene but have been thinking of starting another one. Which company is it that you mention is the best index tracker and only has a 0.3% fee? Thanks
Any help with the 0.3% pension? Would be much appreciated. Can’t find anything like that online
If we all budgeted right from the get-go, and invested money wisely, things would be so much different. Great thoughts, I love to read things on this topic!
Very well wrote. I may use something from your article. not like many others wrote just to be.
Thanks for sharing your true story, It must be help some one, then they will not make the worst decision.
Quiet informative. You have a great blog with good posts.I enjoy reading your articles.
This is a fantastic, It is glad to see this blog, nice informative blog, Thanks for share this article.
Thanks for the great info, keep up the excellent work. I will be sure to pass it on. Get a free forex account here today Practice Forex Account. Thanks
Credit cards and some personal loans are really the only basis of compounded interest in use today. I’ve been in the industry for 10 years and have never heard of a compounded interest savings plan.
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great story to share,
at least more people more aware about it
thanks for the advice my Guru.
do your best, good luck
thanks,
enjoy your article so much
amazing information to read
thanks
Start early and invest in yourself too. Take the time to learn some smart money management and simple investing techniques. With those you can build a nice nestegg.
Ed
http://freegreenbeans.com
I need to get some help getting a checking account. I am reported 2 times on check systems. Does anyone know of a credit union or bank that will approve me for at least a savings account.
My worst was a chinese oil refinery. Didn’t understand all the complexities of China and it sunk big time.
before deciding to get a loan. One must know what is the best type of loan that suits for their needs. It would be best to talk to lenders who are specializing loans for people with bad credit.
I love your honesty but remember to try and not beat yourself up too bad. Money and the pursuit of it is the bain of the western culture. We can be the worst parents, ex-criminals and lousy people but if we had lots of money in the bank we never seem to be without friends. I say no matter how many financial mistakes you make try to be the best person you can. The world has too many crappy people with money already.
They aleways get you on those management charges. They once tried to charge me 5% to join!
The biggest money mistakes are often the mistakes we make ourselves. If you ask anyone the biggest money mistake there is they will likely mention one that they made.In the end the biggest mistakes can be put into categories. If you are able to avoid these categories of mistakes you will be better off than many consumers.
nice post..honestly i like it..i am not taking any financial decision but when sometime i take this am shared it with my big brother and he will also helps me
Some things in here I have not thought about before.Thanks for making such a cool post which is really very well written.will be referring a lot of friends about this.Keep bloggin
it is really nice to hear that nothing works without planning properly and investing in a retirement scheme is an excellent decision.
Really impressed! Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. It contains truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more! buy facebook fans
Thanks for nice info ! it is really impressive
thank you for this great info sharing guys!
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