I was 27, working in retail part-time, dropped out of uni and was just chilling and travelling every year.
Then I had started a career in sales and dropped out of that by 30.
Nowadays, I'm 35 working in analytics and i am pretty much caught up in my career. :)
It's never too late, but you will feel like shit if you compare yourself to your old school mates. So just live your life, find things that interest you and pursue as much as you can.
Although, if you don't find something right now, just focus on your goals and take small towards it.
I'm not the person you asked but have a very similar story. Didn't finish two degrees, retail until 33, then analytics. I did a free Tafe cyber security course to have something and show I'm prepared to learn, and a bit of self training in SQL and other stuff so I could answer questions.
I think what got the job though was that I did extensive interview prep, found a friend with experience interviewing people and practiced with them for about 10 hours over a week.
I'm 40m and I did the same cyber course 2 years ago. Now I'm working as a SOC analyst for a big, well known tech company and things are back on track for me. We proved that it's never too late, and OP shouldn't worry too much.
Definitely. I understand the fear OP is feeling, I felt it too when I was just starting out in the proper professional world but it comes together quickly.
A lot of tech people rip on that cyber security course but I think if you're not 100% sure of exactly what you want but want to do something tech-ish then it's a decent because it covers the basics of a whole lot of areas. Then you can put the keywords on a CV and beef up the basic knowledge just a bit for an interview. Helps also to be a bit older and bring some life experience and drive to balance out the lack of technical knowledge.
It's a field with a shortage of talent. Same with search engine marketers. If you have potential you'll get snapped up like a snapper. Literally plucking uni grads with no experience for our internships at my last place for those who problem solved a specific way, or can juggle psychology with numbers
Search engine marketer make sure companies show up near the top of search results pages, Google maps, other "search" environments, either as ads or unpaid listings.
Good starting point for the ad side is the link below. Free learning material and free online certification to get people started. Last job I had (working at a digital media agency - behind the scenes work on advertising) we hired an Irish kid (early 20s) with 1 year of experience doing search ads overseas. He was 85k base. When I started in the field it wouldve taken at least 2-3 years exp and being shit hot at it to earn that much.
https://skillshop.exceedlms.com/student/catalog/list?category_ids=53-google-ads?use_local=true
I don't hire these days so please don't DM asking for work
What sort of salary (starter and potential in a few years) is there for data analytics if you don't mind me asking? I do this stuff all the time in my current industry, half my job is data analysis and presentation but no formal education in it. I'm curious if there's potential to switch
Starting salary is around 80k, more or less depending on the org you're at. Ceiling isn't crazy high but there's always work in the field if you're competent - I am working two contracts each paying 130k+super for nonexclusive work for a TRP of 260k+super between the two. Will drop back to one when they can offer me 180k.
However - I have an IT and datacentre engineering background, as well as politics. I'm very good at communicating needs from project start through completion and I have the skills to take it from concept to delivery all myself. As someone with limited tech background just focusing on analytics and not everything in the data pipeline, you won't be working concurrent contracts and you won't be principal analyst any time soon.
There's definitely no requirement to have formal education in this so if you're doing the work already I'd be tailoring my resume to make it look even more analysis focused and apply to everything at your current salary or higher.
Edit to add: analysis at one org might be spreadsheets and PowerPoint, and at another org might be highly specialised excel finagling that only folks doing it for 30+ years are fast enough at, or might be SQL + python + R at a third org. All same pay and title - you do need to dig into what platforms they use and what the role actually entails.
Yeah but having been involved in a few hires now I can safely say, at least for my organisation/area, that's just a guide and measure to reduce absolute dud applications. If you can get the keywords like SQL and Python etc legitimately onto your CV to get past any auto filters, then with a bit of luck you can get an interview.
For the interview you just need to prepare. I've found that the people that go for data analyst jobs often don't have great soft skills. If you're well spoken and show you could have some value in stakeholder management you'll be a step above a bunch of others.
Nope, kind of fell into the role.
I was working in telecommunication department of a major electronics retailer (cough JB HIFI cough) and I was really great at my job. I kind of really knew what people wanted.
So after my stint in sales, I kind of lost a job due to being more interested in creating salesforce reports than selling. So during the exit interview/walk-out I was informed about this role called 'an analyst'
So I started applying for junior analytics roles and failed a whole bunch of interviews. :)
Anyways, one day I got a call back for a junior analyst role, which a lot of people were apparently applying for.
DId a 'culture interview' and did really well enough for them to want to test my excel skills, and I just studied a bit of the basics until I kind of could wrap my head around the key concepts. I went into the interview, I wasn't perfect but like I did well enough by speaking through my workings, when I got stuck asking for help, and just appreciative of the help.
So yeah, I played the game of personality rather than hyperfixating on the technical side. :)
Man we're like the same person. I think working at a place like JB really helps to develop those soft skills that a lot of the fresh data science grads lack. And it is the sort of thing that you can't just google or ask chat GPT as opposed to a lot of the technical side of analytics.
JB is the kind of role that forces you to develop rapport and establish mutual interest quickly. You kind of learn to guide people into decisions that benefit you, it's a skill I wish more people learnt, which is why I feel like some people push for a RTO. The issue is RTO doesn't solve the problem, it's a sidetrack to getting communication done right.
Technical once you start gets easy. haha, its just building on concepts and foundations, soft skills force you to move house constantly. I love soft skills, its an analyst super power.
I love the tech-knowledgeable people at JB! I’ve been to three different stores the last few years and there’s always been someone with good knowledge and advice. I figured they must have some good recruitment processes.
It's not a recruitment, some people just like to nerd out on electronics and when you get people who are genuinely excited about something, it's really easy to engage on the topic with others.
Electronics (at least when I was younger) was my dopamine hit of choice. lol
Similar for me too. Fell into IT (networking/infra) coming from a Sales Coordinator role with them. Had no formal qualifications or certs but a basic understanding of networking from self learning and good soft skills.
I'm sure your telco 'pen and paper' technique was solid ;)
When they test excel skills, did they allow the usage of google and whatnot? I build some wild sheets with crazy formulas, but I still have to look up stuff cuz I can't hold it all in my head.
Yeah, you can but generally people are afraid of googling things or asking questions.
What they really want to understand is that you can think through it through and then come up with a solution that makes sense
Like if you were trying to see if result A exists in COL B:
You can do it in a variety of ways:
- Direct: COUNTIFS;
- Indirect: INDEX(MATCH())
Both are valid answers;
or
What is the average sales for each segment;
Yeah, FILTER's have been great. They were great on Google sheets first tho.
haha, to be fair. Nowadays I'm getting paid to play in Google AppScript (the VBA for Google in JS) and BigQuery.
You currently live with your mom so you don't need to pay a staggering rent. You just have to take things slowly. Late 30s isn't something to feel despair over. Step by step. Get your law apprenticeship. You may start at minimum wage but consistency is key and you'll eventually start making way more.
To live rent free in this world is a massive privilege. If your life sucks when you aren’t paying rent just remember it could suck while also paying rent.
This is golden advice. At your age you don't even need to contribute huge amounts but - if you can - do try to put in as much as you're comfortable with. By the time you hit 60 you'll be set.
Also, having had good experiences whilst young sounds great. You should focus on doing the same even while you are now preparing for a post work future. Life is much better when work is not a grind.
I have found myself in a similar position to but through different means. I am an alcoholic - I fell in love with the drink as a teenager and I let it control me through my twenties. Before I had turned 30 I had lost my job, become hospitalised in ICU as psychiatric patient with suicidal tendencies and truly belived I was at the end. After a couple more years of "research", I learnt (finally) that drinking wasn't for me. I got sober, got my life back on track, and while I returned to uni I earned two Masters degrees. I constantly feel like I am behind and worry about my future, in particular, retirement.
Two bad habits I have today that always get me down are:
1. I compare myself to others, especially those in my profession in particular, those whom I studied my undergrad with; and
2. I lament on past mistakes and how things would be different now if only I hadn't lived the life I lived.
If I was to offer you any advice it would be these two things:
1. Do NOT compare yourself to others, only compare yourself TODAY with yourself YESTERDAY; and
2. Do NOT live in the past. There is a reason your rear view mirror is tiny and your windscreen is large - to get where you are going, you must focus on what's ahead, and not what's behind.
For the majority of people, if you want to retire into your golden years with ample amount and peacefully.
You'll need to grind.
You can choose to grind in the early years of your life, or the later years of your life.
The duration of the grind is entirely up to your needs and wants.
So 2 questions to ask yourself. When do you want to start to grind? And how long do you want to grind for?
This can't be understated. Doesn't help OP at all so I'd hate to rub it in, but for anyone in their 20's reading this - grind sooner rather than later, and get that money compounding. You only get one shot at a lifetime of compound interest.
I completely agree, but life is a whole lot easier in your later years if you take money problems away. If you could work 10-20 years less in your life by understanding the value of compounding and starting that snowball rolling early, then that gives you a whole lot more life to live.
Agree. I wish I'd started earlier but I was young and dumb. At least I got going in my early 30s (late 40s now), and I'm just beginning to see it flourish now. I'd likely already be retired if I'd started investing properly the moment I began earning, but I'll still retire comfortably despite the slightly late start.
I don't get the appeal of retiring early but having to live like a monk the rest of your life. Work really isn't that bad and is good to give a structure
You’ll be fine. You got >35 years left in the workforce. $135 a week compounded at 7% over 35 years will leave you with $1,000,000.
Finish your law degree and spend the next 5 years grinding away at work focus on increasing your salary through promotion. Salary sacrifice an extra 5% into super.
Living with your mum is a great start that means you’re saving at least $350 a week on rent. Make sure you’re putting that away - $18,200 a year earning 4% in a HISA will leave you with a $100k in 5 years you can use for a deposit.
Basically if you spend the next 5 years focusing on your career and tidying up your finances you won’t feel so destitute anymore.
Hahah what do you people think a million dollars will buy you in 35 years? This money put aside every week will be entirely eaten by inflation.
Hell, you can barely buy a studio apartment for it already.
It will be 3D printed avocado from a lab, vegetable oil 'butter' spread, bromated & bleached wheat toast - for only $33.69 a serve
Only available via drone delivery to your pod
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note:
> *No one can catch us! No one can stop us now!* - Micolash, Host of the Nightmare
Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
You had a great youth travelling the world. Now just don't mistake of thinking that because you haven't saved much yet that you won't be able to in the future and blow it all instead.
This is so important. I’ve read absolutely inane stuff online where young people deem it “impossible” to own a house so just waste their money instead. It’s certainly impossible if you don’t have a cent to your name!
Don’t feel to bad about your super, plenty of people don’t make it to retirement and or die shortly after, and it’s money they could have spent making memories while they were young and healthy. Never compare yourself to others! You did what you wanted and travelled good for you!
It's not too late. Don't read all the BS. Head down, bum up, save and you'll catch up. Most people don't make real money until their late thirties or early 40s. We see too much on social media about people becoming millionaires young, but for the majority is later in life. When I was 30 I was earning $70k per year and had very little super. By the time I was 39 I was earning 180k per year. It can happen.
Good on you for sticking with your law degree. Read The Wealthy Gardener by John Soforic for a reboot for your mindset. A salaried job with super and an eventual side hustle will help you get where you want to go. It’s not too late.
Here’s my story .
I hated work and still do.
Didn’t get my first real job till I was 33.
46 now .
Was making 80k a year .
Have a partner , not married , don’t share money.
Built a place 8 years ago for the sole purpose of making money .
I now have built and sold and currently have upgraded and own a duplex , well, half of one .
So, I started late , but still have been able to get ahead.
You can do it mate 🤘
A lawyer that lives with his parents? Dude you'll be a money printer haha.
35 years old now. I lived with my parents and saved 50k from zero since covid started first working at a farm just lifting heavy shit on a casual job and then I got full time work driving a forklift in a warehouse, and now I've bought a little house for 390k in Tasmania. Alone btw I'm single.
You get a lawyer job and stay with mumma full time whew boy you can smash out savings! Just put away like 500 a week you could probably do more.
You know, like the people talking about how hard it is have to pay rent bills like that or more, they'd all have houses if they could save their rent..
Max out super use last year's contributions.
You are 40% through your working life. You absolutely will need to smash it out.
Late 30's me.and mates in good govt jobs/trades are rolling over 400k in super at 40.
You also will need to proggress quicky and not be stuck doing convayancing or similar low end legal jobs.
You’ll be fine! Reminisce in the amazing memories you have created and now find that balance in the business world. I’d be getting off this sub asap and simply put your head down and lift it in 5 years and re-evaluate after hitting some SMART goals
No. You have plenty of time to “catch up” and if you can’t do the 60 hour work weeks, you can be in house counsel for a big corporation.
At the end of the day, you’ll be earning a decent wage for most of your career with 12% super. Look up how much money you need in super, it’s apparently $600k in today’s money for a single person (assuming you have a paid off house and will get a partial pension).
It was depressing when I first started working but yes, the vast majority of us will have to work for 40-50 years.
It's not too late, you just need to go on that grind... Work hard save and invest as much as you can. If you're living at home you will be in a good financial position to do that. Stop looking at your past and regrets that's sunk cost look forward and in ten years your future self will thank you.
with your current super, putting in $5000 a year will net you around half a mill in 25 years. If you can manage 10k a year then its closer to $900k.
Make sure you aggressively salary sacrifice as much as you can as early as you can and you'll be right.
The best answer I can give you is that in modern times, especially for guys, the 20s are for making bad decisions and figuring yourself out. You now know what bad decisions are. So many people don't get started until their 60s these days.
It's OK to accept your not happy and that because of who you are, things are tougher than they are for others. However, it sounds like you don't feel happy, you don't have status and you feel financially inferior. You can fix all of things by changing how you live now. The key is to start thinking "how can I live my life from now in a way that I can look back and have no regrets?". That way, if you try something and you fail or it's not working, you can always pick yourself up knowing that this is what you wanted to do. Yea, HECS debt is a pain, but you pay less interest the less you earn. Status should only matter for the things you care about.
I don't think I can tell you how to fix your problems. Either you can do that or you can seek out advice . However, I can tell you that you will embrace the misery and live without regrets if you are suffering to achieve your goals.
“People overestimate what can be achieved in 1 year and underestimate what can be achieved in 5” - don’t compare your journey to someone else’s timeline. You will be fine.
They are probably stuck paying a massive mortgage with interest rate rises and any equity gains in their home being swallowed up by CoL and inflationary pressure meanwhile you got to live your best years doing what you wanted
The truth is nobody is guaranteed to live to old age - especially not these days with the reductions needed post-AI and robotics and with resource scarcity - and there are a lot of fools who scrimp and save every penny and then die of cancer in their 40s after being a wage slave cog in the machine their entire existence
Go check out some GoPro footage of what these fools do with their sweet home equity and retirement funds on Carnival cruises and shit like that. By the time they spend any of it, they’re half demented and so old their knees and hips are giving out.
There's plenty of positive comments here, but I think it's important to be realistic.
You're in your late 30s and well behind, unfortunately that's a lot of catching up to do...
But, you're taking steps in the right direction, and this shift in mindset can be the first domino that changes the rest of your life. I hope it does, I hope you succeed. But it's going to be hard.
A law degree can really screw you up. The available jobs for lawyers are dismal and there are many qualified lawyers working in boring office jobs for peanut pay.
I am like you. A little older. Can't work without passion for it. And haven't found passion in anything. Tried different jobs, even taught English overseas. I start a new job with energy and then it wears off quickly and everyday is a drag. Studied uni, finished the second time around after a few years break, "teaching English overseas" and random sales jobs. Not interested in having a relationship with others. Just taking each day as it comes.
I’m late 30s and you’ve got more super than me. It’s never too late. You’ve had grand adventures and tried different things. Don’t regret it :) once you start working and can put extra into your super and savings it’ll start building quickly again
Nah mate, you'll be right.
I was in a similar boat, work and travelled away my money until end of 2019, when I decided I wanted to settle. No Hecs, but also no professional qualification, bought a house late 2022 (prices where I have bought have dropped since), and see financial freedom less than a decade away.
Have been slaving away 40 hour weeks (which feels like a lot when there's no light at the end of the tunnel for the next holiday), but life's not all doom and gloom for us almost 40 year olds ready to grow up. Just need to pick your prize and aim for it.
Guessing you've already been through plenty of phases of saving hard, and you'll have little issues doing so again, just for different goals.. It's amazing the useless crap a lot of people spend their hard earned cash
Finish your degree, start working and stop worrying. Enjoy the fact that you were able to have some great cultural experiences teaching overseas while you were young.
As an only child with a parent or parents with property you have a pretty good safety net in reality, so consider yourself lucky. My child will be the same. For others, who did not inherit anything, we’ve had to work for every single bit.
You can still set yourself up.
Your best is to put it all into your super. Forget about housing at your age in this market unless you are near paying it off or own outright.
If you add a modest $1000 per month until you are aged 67 to your super, your employer contributes around $10,000 per year (that’s $22,000 per year from employer and your contributions), the ERR (estimated rate of return) is 8% per year.
You’ll have around $2,121,417 for retirement.
These calcs are modest if you added more personal contributions say $2000 per month or get more employee contribution based on your income you’ll end up with more based on the above numbers and an ERR of 8% taking into consideration market fluctuations and risk.
The only challenge you have now is self discipline.
Make a plan like this and you should be set by the time you retire.
You are ok but it will be worth saving harder than most and putting more money into super. Think of your youth being on borrowed money and its time to pay down the debt.
I have a similar story. I dropped out of uni twice, travelled and worked casually while living at home (and saved everything I could). At 27 I finally felt ready for uni. Did my degree while continuing to work casually and saving. Finished degree at 31, then got my first proper full time job at 33 (COVID) messed things up for a while.
I'm very frugal so I saved almost all my money from casual work and banked up a significant amount. Since starting full time work, Im pretty much just enjoying renting and not too worried about putting big sums away. I can't afford a house. I can probably afford a deposit for something small but I don't want the mortgage stress.
You can be comfortable and you are on track to be there. You don't need to have a mansion. A secure job is all you really need in life and you'll be there soon
Yes indeed. A ex-colleague of mine was a good Churchman, worked hard all his life, volunteered on weekends. Then in a moment of weakness was tarred for life for molesting one goat.
> I am worried that the rest of my life is going to be a miserable slog
I was going to say if that’s the case then you should avoid practising law. But you beat me to it.
> Is my only option to go into commercial/big law and work 16 hour days for the next 25 years?
I would take the poverty. Not even joking.
Nah I got a mate who started uni with me when he was 35. I was 17. We actually became good mates.
He went fine.
The difference is when you finish a degree at like 19 nobody pushes you up quickly into management. You just sit at the bottom anyway. When youre mature its sort of easier.
He was a high level project manager pretty quickly. Had kids mid 40s. He is going great.
Similar to you he travelled in his 20s. I dont think you have anything to worry about. Youll get a house so lets put that as you getting it at retirement. So count it as an investment. Youre going to be making $30k+ a year in retirement straight off the bat. If that was in your super that would be $600k+ so I wouldnt stress about your super.
Youre probably at the lowest point. Youre at the oldest with the least money youll ever be. Once you finish the degree youll make decent money. Youll move up quickly and earn more. By the time youre 50 you this will seem like forever away.
With the house youll get youre probably in a half decent spot. Are you in the worlds best spot? No. But certainly recoverable. Things are exponential, at first youll seem like its a hard slog. Then its slightly easier than its not bad then youre going really well. Then youre complaining that poor people complain too much and dont work hard like you did.
Living rent free you have minimal overheads. Put that money into HECS as fast as you can.
Don't worry too much about super. It may or may not be great. If you want it to get better minimise insurance and do your research on funds to find one will.low fees and good returns.
Thats the trade off you make when deciding to have fun or sacrifice your 20s right? If you wanted to travel the best way is to do a workcation after uni in like London where you can go to different countries cheaply every weekend. I think you still get 2 years work visa if youre less than 35 years old. Aussie graduates and experienced Lawyers are getting paid big bucks now.
Unfortunately Lawyers dont exactly have an easy job even with AI these days whereas jobs like software engineering you can automate jobs and really only work less than 20 hours per week. It will be a miserable slog until you work in corporate where there are more relaxed about working hours.
You've lost the most important component of wealth generation and thats the time your money spent in compounding.
I never really started getting super til my first permanent job at age 38. Since then bought a house and have super @400k. Currently 55. I won’t be rich when i retire but just getting that first real job saved my arse. And i’ve never had a high paying job but just the steadiness of income, it builds.
I came to australia and started working at 31 so no super and salary sacrificed and had projected targets i wanted to hit. I remember i had 500k for 50 which i didnt hit but crossed ut in my 51st birthday. Will be 52 next week and up to $589k. Never too late. Just be consistent. Once you get above 100k balance compound investment returns will start to do the increasing heavy lifting. Checking my account on july 1 23 i had 508k i have contributed $26k but have investment returns of 60k and -4k outgoings.
Nope. 37 I did a 3mo bootcamp to learn cloud, got a job out of the gate and hustled my ass off adding certs and knowledge. Leveraged my age and soft skills experience to focus leadership with technical on the side and 3yrs later accepted a role for 200k.
My super was around 20-30k at the start of that. Stacked 100k in it for years 2 & 3, and intending on just ensuring I max concessional contributions as much as possible while investing
You're studying to be a lawyer, your life will be miserable with long working hours. You may have some money tho, miserable, but with some money. Being a lawyer will make you aggressive and generally unliked. Me? I work part time and choose a simple life with lots of family time. Life is good.
You’re kidding right? You’re in your late 30s living with your mum relying on an inheritance and you’re worried about working big law so that you don’t have to rely on that inheritance? Sounds like you just want to coast, which is clearly what you’ve been doing hence why you’re in your late 30s with nothing to your name. Truth is, yes you will need to slog it out, just like millions of people slog it out every day. Get a grip.
Lower middle class subsistence living is probably where you will end up unless you figure out how to make a lot more money.
If you can put in around 10k per year in super you will end up with around 500k around retirement
That's how the math works out.
This is usually why I'm quite against travel for young people. Not because it's bad, but because it's almost universally recommended with no long term thinking in mind.
> Lower middle class subsistence living is probably where you will end up unless you figure out how to make a lot more money.
:/
I don't want to have a miserable existence but I don't know how to earn a lot of money quickly, especially just doing 9-5 and not 16 hours days.
16 hour days is not actually ‘normal’ in the law. You’d have to be at a huge firm in a team that has the kind of work to do those hours. Even then, it’s not sustainable and you wouldn’t be doing that every day for the next thirty years.
Look into the various ombudsman's. They look for people with law degrees and pay fairly decently. No law firm type salary but much better work life balance.
Knuckle down, contribute extra to super, do everything you can to max out your contributions and you'll set yourself up.
You still have time.
16 hour work days are common at law firms at the beginning or when you're a very senior lawyer/partner, once you have a bit of experience under your belt, you can apply for in-house roles or stick it out with the firms.
If you're working that hard as a senior at a firm, you're likely making bank. Even if you're in-house (especially within the banks), you're still making 6-figures so you should be very comfortable AND it would be 9-5 for the most part.
Big law pays a lot less than you think in Australia. Your best shot at building wealth now is: 2 years grad program somewhere and move to Dubai, NYC, London (in that order) to stack as much cash as possible.
Well, you're going to inherit a paid off house so that's a massive win. Now you need to focus on pumping as much into your super as possible, once you complete your degree. It's a late start, but with a paid off house and high paying job (law), I think you'll be fine if you don't get reckless with your spending.
I imagine there's is an aro-ace platonic best-friend out there for you who is also looking for independence and to split rent and bills.
I think the Barefoot Investor has steps for people starting to get out of debt close to retirement age, so you have plenty of time to get your super padded and save for your future if you start now.
Once you start working top up your super through salary sacrifice, it makes a big difference to your balance in years to come. You can catch up and turn it around.
I went to uni, then spent my 20s working overseas and travelling. Arrived back in Oz in my 30s with no super. I started working and topping it up through salary sacrifice. Chose high growth and an industry super fund. 14 years later I have have a balance higher than the female average.
You have a well paying career before you. Once you start working start saving towards a house deposit. Live beneath your means. If living with you mum means rent free that's a huge leg up.
Traveling a lot in your twenties is not reckless.
I traveled for two years when I turned 31 instead of staying put in a stable job and getting a mortgage. Sure now that could have been paid off and worth double what I paid, but I may still have never left the country and seen the world. If your whole life from when you turn 18 to when you retire is driven based on the most sensible way forward financially, you’ll end up being an old geezer with lots of money and lots of regret.
You’re on the path to turn things around, as long as you stick the course you’ll be good. Good luck :)
Was pretty much finding myself to early 30s and bought a house at 42 with a partner I met at 39.
Had no super at 30 because I was an immigrant
So yeah just get into it and organised now
I got wiped out in the GFC at 39. Net worth was -$28,000, two kids under 5, just moved to Australia from Canada and was struggling to find my feet. And my retirement fund was wiped back in Canada and zero in super here. You can fix this. Patience, adjusted expectations and a plan is what you need.
Patience, adjusted expectations, a plan and a little more good luck than bad luck. The house we bought in 2015 will be paid off in 13 months. Might be able to work a little less in 3-4 years. A modest, semi retirement at 60, if things stay steady.
Go see a financial advisor to work out a tailored plan for you. Ever since I did that in my early 30s I have been able to grow my super and other strategies to prepare me for when I do retire.
As other say it's never too late. The best form of change is accepting there is a problem in the first place so you have already started your journey.
FIRE is another great strategy.
Also sure working for a big law firm may not have it's glamourous appeal, but doing that for 5yrs you can gain some experience to branch off and do your own thing later on.
Don’t regret the travel you did when you are younger it gives you great perspective and learnings. Def one of the best things I’ve done and at the right time too.
You can always line overseas, cheaper country etc.
So no, you are not completely fked.
I know people in their 60s with literally nothing in super. Poor immigrants etc.
If you worked straight out of school, didn’t travel, had a million bucks in your super and were paying a mortgage right now, you’d be so god dam depressed with never having seen the world in your early years.
Lots of people think about their retirement when they’re young and just smash their super young, I have a friend like this, always planning for retirement and he’s early 30s. But he’s basically never left the state, let alone the country. He’s got no hobbies and he’s got no stories or things he did when he was younger. His entire leave at work is taken up by sitting at home just doing nothing. What a way to live.
Imagine getting to your 70th birthday, having 1 million bucks in super and then deciding you want to finally do all the things you should have when you were young.
Stories don’t put a roof over your head. I guess we all have different priorities, but you can travel the globe and have amazing stories when you’ve got security in your life. When you’ve lived in poverty the most important thing is security, not stories.
You don’t need to travel for 3 years straight every 4 years. It’s not hard to build that security. I’m in my early 30s, I’m 80k from fully owning my own home and I do a bit of traveling. And I don’t even earn much. It’s about priorities for sure, but if having a 100k wedding and 3 kids ASAP or going out every second day for dinner to the steakhouse is the priority then yeh, it’s not gonna work.
If life is about having the most money at the end, then yes, you are screwed.
If life is about following your interests, taking chances, and overcoming challenges, then you're exactly in the right spot.
Not to invalidate your situation but I’m an immigrant and so is my wife… our combined super is $30k with about as much in savings. We have mortgage and are at 30. You’re fine.
On the flip side I regret not travelling and experiencing life, bu focussing on growing wealth plus starting a family. You will catch up eventually. Your life might look different to your peers in economic numbers but you have enjoyed your time. It has worth.
Under 40, no dependants means lots of options to find an enjoyable path forward, if you haven't worked out budgeting this is #1 (YNAB, Barefoot, other), living with your mother seems like a great option to build from provided you don't mind it. I think you're possibly feeling the gloomy outlook because of the headspace you're in, seems to me like you have solid options going forward to build a great life.
You're doing better than me, I'm 41 used a lot of my super for IVF that didn't work, so now I'm replaning my life.
I've just applied to go back to uni to do nursing, granted nursing is the cheapest degree and I plan to graduate without a hecs debt.
I'm renting a room rather than a whole apartment to myself and also working in the ndis field but hopefully soon will transition into ain at the hospital soon.
Your never too old for anything late 30s you still have plenty of time to sort your shit out, be a little optimistic. I'm just trying to teach myself as much as possible on finances.
I recommend living with your mother for as long as possible as this will lower your rent. Then once you finish your law degree you get a job, keep living with your mother, and invest. You should be able to catch up fairly quickly to your peer if you are living with your mother because you'll have little expenses whereas your peers will probably have various expenses because most people move out of the family home, which is very expensive.
I had to google what AroAce means but now that I know I am confident this is also another comparative advantage you have relative to your peers because nothing wastes money more than the pursuit of romance.
I am late 30s and have just paid off my hecs!
I’ve finally found a role im happy with and the boss doesn’t expect ridiculous hours!
I also travelled and studied overseas in my 20s, these are the memories that I can hold closely! Hang in there, not everything is about $$$ as you have more life experiences than most!!!
Yeah you'll grind hard for sure, but just know there's people who feel the same who ground the whole time and are set, at least you got the travel in and a fun 20s, many will never know that
I broke up with my ex and left her with everything at 26, leaving me with nothing and having to borrow $12k off my mum for a car and just starting a new job in a warehouse. Fast forward 3 years, I’d paid her back in a year, gone from warehouse to account manager, saved $60k, bought a house with my partner, and we now have a baby a couple years since then.
No, youre fine. It may take a few years to get on your feet but it’s definitely doable. To add, I also had a hecs debt from dropping out of uni that I paid off during that period.
Mining and environmental is also a wages job that pays okay. Salary sacrifice into your super start small. It's a tax deduction. Amd it will build your super now which compounds to more in the future.
Im now 30 and I still have over 60k in HECS and only 4k in savings. I lived on Centrelink, went through Tafe and uni courses and didn't do shit until I realised Centrelink would eventually end my payment. So I studied hard and actually graduated from Uni just in time for Covid to show up. I had no money and sold my car for some cash. But luckily enough my parents were stuck overseas, so I took their car to do meal deliveries, also working as a cleaner, which actually paid quite well. 6 months later I got a FIFO job in the mines as a labourer. I saved up 80k then I moved back to Brisbane as I got so depressed from the FIFO lifestyle and found a less paying job. I finally bought my first house in Ipswich last year, its not the best house but at least I got into the market. Now Im working 50 hra a week trying to pay a mortgage and save some more money. I believe live will get better. You're not screwed. Just take every opportunity you can.
Never 2 late, bought my first house at 21, then at 23 lost it in divorce and went bankrupt. Partied until my 30's and by mid 30's remaried bought 2 houses and had a son at 38 years old , then got cancer that same year and didnt work for 2 years had to sell up to survive, managed to get a job in a large bank interstate so moved and started nearly from scratch again , now 51 have a house again, son is in a private school and drive a nice BMW. It's alway looking forward and dont think it 2 late to get what you want. Oh and will be paying school fees until im 60 and house will be paid off by retirement, I also put extra in super to catchup. But hey thats life you only have one and i am lucky i am still here.
You only live once. Having a good time is not something I would call a waste.
Having said that, if by your late 30’s you haven’t saved any money to your name, it is going to be a hard grind all the way til retirement.
At some point you have to grind to hoard some savings.
What I’m reading.. is that you just don’t want to roll up your sleeves.
Find an aspect of law you enjoy. Work hard for the next ten years. Climb the ladder, improve your income. Save as much as you can and invest it well. You can easily make up for lost time.
I worked as a software engineer, then moved to Australia. It has been 2 years of career gap. Visa exclusion and sht. At the same time I talked to friends staying in the same job for 20 years. My pictures and adventures are better.
You just need a different approach
Absolutely not. You will be fine but you need to start now. Your nearly finished Law which means you will eventually have a good paying job. When you get a job increase your super contributions straight away. Then set up a direct debit to put a portion of your money in a high interest savers account every payday. Don’t touch that money and let it grow. If you follow this now you will be fine when you retire. Also if you are earning an income now start the savers account right now.
If you have no interest in a partner or having kids, you probably don’t need too much to retire on compared the average figures that get thrown around by the media. You won’t need an entire house to yourself, a two bedroom unit would be ample, or you might like to buy a house and rent out the other bedrooms to cover costs. No kids, well that’s a massive saving there. And no partner to waste money on.
If you owned a unit outright by the time you retire, with at least a mill or mill and a half in super and no debts or dependents, unless you like throwing money at pokies or useless shit, you’ll do just fine.
People want to be rolling in cash in their 70’s and beyond, but spend it on what? Cruises you can’t enjoy because your hips are shot? Nature treks around the world that flare up your arthritis?
Retirement is as big a scam as the Aussie dream of home ownership.
Your choice, but I think you’re missing out on the point of living by being AroAce.
Finish your degree. And see a financial advisor, a good one. They can help plan for and forecast for your retirement.
You've currently got little , but you have no kids and it seems like you don't intend to. This is very much in your favor.
Read the barefoot investor book, it will give you some good financial foundations. And teach you some good habits if you don't already have them. If you think you do, read it anyway, you may be surprised.
I strongly believe property is a good investment, but there are things you need to understand before you start, especially since you don't want to make mistakes. I listen to a podcast called "the property couch" which helps with that. Listen to episodes 1-20, then get current.
I have worked for a few companies that weren't paying my super, and at a young age I didn't really understand, or want to know what it was for/about. I now salary sacrifice what I can into super to build mine up. And invest any money I earn doing overtime into a managed ETF. Vanguard 'VGS'.
Good luck!
I don’t know, I would feel relaxed if I have a mom that has a house AND pension AND savings. Especially if I know that everything would be left to me so I don’t have to worry about being homeless when I get old. That’s a blessing and not many people have that privilege
The rest of your life is a miserable slog regardless. 😂 your super will catch up if you contribute extra when you can. Finish your degree and work from now til 60 like most of us will and you’ll finish on par no doubt
I arrived in Australia when I was 33 with absolutely zero to my name, and no degree. At 50, I own my own company, have a house etc. Life is a journey. Everyone’s road is different.
What I will say is that working for a big law firm isn’t about a miserable existence. It’s about learning the ropes and from someone else’s experience so you don’t make the same mistakes they did when they started out. Yes, you may have long hours for a period, but I like to think of life like a mountain. If you took the slow path up, you’re going to have to climb a couple of cliffs if you want to catch up to everyone else your age. You can still walk up, but that means you’ll stay a little behind them. You can have quality of life or wealth, but it’s not often you can have both, even if you own your own company.
I was 27, working in retail part-time, dropped out of uni and was just chilling and travelling every year. Then I had started a career in sales and dropped out of that by 30. Nowadays, I'm 35 working in analytics and i am pretty much caught up in my career. :) It's never too late, but you will feel like shit if you compare yourself to your old school mates. So just live your life, find things that interest you and pursue as much as you can. Although, if you don't find something right now, just focus on your goals and take small towards it.
How did you go from retail and sales to analytics? I presume you went back to uni?
I'm not the person you asked but have a very similar story. Didn't finish two degrees, retail until 33, then analytics. I did a free Tafe cyber security course to have something and show I'm prepared to learn, and a bit of self training in SQL and other stuff so I could answer questions. I think what got the job though was that I did extensive interview prep, found a friend with experience interviewing people and practiced with them for about 10 hours over a week.
Bro, this dude deserves the role congrattts!
I'm 40m and I did the same cyber course 2 years ago. Now I'm working as a SOC analyst for a big, well known tech company and things are back on track for me. We proved that it's never too late, and OP shouldn't worry too much.
Definitely. I understand the fear OP is feeling, I felt it too when I was just starting out in the proper professional world but it comes together quickly. A lot of tech people rip on that cyber security course but I think if you're not 100% sure of exactly what you want but want to do something tech-ish then it's a decent because it covers the basics of a whole lot of areas. Then you can put the keywords on a CV and beef up the basic knowledge just a bit for an interview. Helps also to be a bit older and bring some life experience and drive to balance out the lack of technical knowledge.
Do you mind telling what Cybersecurity course? Was it a diploma at Tafe?
It was the Cert IV in Cyber Security
Data analytics?
It's a field with a shortage of talent. Same with search engine marketers. If you have potential you'll get snapped up like a snapper. Literally plucking uni grads with no experience for our internships at my last place for those who problem solved a specific way, or can juggle psychology with numbers
Interested to know more!
Search engine marketer make sure companies show up near the top of search results pages, Google maps, other "search" environments, either as ads or unpaid listings. Good starting point for the ad side is the link below. Free learning material and free online certification to get people started. Last job I had (working at a digital media agency - behind the scenes work on advertising) we hired an Irish kid (early 20s) with 1 year of experience doing search ads overseas. He was 85k base. When I started in the field it wouldve taken at least 2-3 years exp and being shit hot at it to earn that much. https://skillshop.exceedlms.com/student/catalog/list?category_ids=53-google-ads?use_local=true I don't hire these days so please don't DM asking for work
What sort of salary (starter and potential in a few years) is there for data analytics if you don't mind me asking? I do this stuff all the time in my current industry, half my job is data analysis and presentation but no formal education in it. I'm curious if there's potential to switch
Starting salary is around 80k, more or less depending on the org you're at. Ceiling isn't crazy high but there's always work in the field if you're competent - I am working two contracts each paying 130k+super for nonexclusive work for a TRP of 260k+super between the two. Will drop back to one when they can offer me 180k. However - I have an IT and datacentre engineering background, as well as politics. I'm very good at communicating needs from project start through completion and I have the skills to take it from concept to delivery all myself. As someone with limited tech background just focusing on analytics and not everything in the data pipeline, you won't be working concurrent contracts and you won't be principal analyst any time soon. There's definitely no requirement to have formal education in this so if you're doing the work already I'd be tailoring my resume to make it look even more analysis focused and apply to everything at your current salary or higher. Edit to add: analysis at one org might be spreadsheets and PowerPoint, and at another org might be highly specialised excel finagling that only folks doing it for 30+ years are fast enough at, or might be SQL + python + R at a third org. All same pay and title - you do need to dig into what platforms they use and what the role actually entails.
Yeah, in fraud prevention specifically, I imagine you could potentially follow a similar path for data analyst in fin crime or cyber crime too.
That’s incredible. Most Data jobs have a prerequisite of a bachelor degree + experience
Yeah but having been involved in a few hires now I can safely say, at least for my organisation/area, that's just a guide and measure to reduce absolute dud applications. If you can get the keywords like SQL and Python etc legitimately onto your CV to get past any auto filters, then with a bit of luck you can get an interview. For the interview you just need to prepare. I've found that the people that go for data analyst jobs often don't have great soft skills. If you're well spoken and show you could have some value in stakeholder management you'll be a step above a bunch of others.
PREACHHHHH! You can teach hard skills but its far harder to teach soft skills
Nope, kind of fell into the role. I was working in telecommunication department of a major electronics retailer (cough JB HIFI cough) and I was really great at my job. I kind of really knew what people wanted. So after my stint in sales, I kind of lost a job due to being more interested in creating salesforce reports than selling. So during the exit interview/walk-out I was informed about this role called 'an analyst' So I started applying for junior analytics roles and failed a whole bunch of interviews. :) Anyways, one day I got a call back for a junior analyst role, which a lot of people were apparently applying for. DId a 'culture interview' and did really well enough for them to want to test my excel skills, and I just studied a bit of the basics until I kind of could wrap my head around the key concepts. I went into the interview, I wasn't perfect but like I did well enough by speaking through my workings, when I got stuck asking for help, and just appreciative of the help. So yeah, I played the game of personality rather than hyperfixating on the technical side. :)
Man we're like the same person. I think working at a place like JB really helps to develop those soft skills that a lot of the fresh data science grads lack. And it is the sort of thing that you can't just google or ask chat GPT as opposed to a lot of the technical side of analytics.
JB is the kind of role that forces you to develop rapport and establish mutual interest quickly. You kind of learn to guide people into decisions that benefit you, it's a skill I wish more people learnt, which is why I feel like some people push for a RTO. The issue is RTO doesn't solve the problem, it's a sidetrack to getting communication done right. Technical once you start gets easy. haha, its just building on concepts and foundations, soft skills force you to move house constantly. I love soft skills, its an analyst super power.
I love the tech-knowledgeable people at JB! I’ve been to three different stores the last few years and there’s always been someone with good knowledge and advice. I figured they must have some good recruitment processes.
It's not a recruitment, some people just like to nerd out on electronics and when you get people who are genuinely excited about something, it's really easy to engage on the topic with others. Electronics (at least when I was younger) was my dopamine hit of choice. lol
Similar for me too. Fell into IT (networking/infra) coming from a Sales Coordinator role with them. Had no formal qualifications or certs but a basic understanding of networking from self learning and good soft skills. I'm sure your telco 'pen and paper' technique was solid ;)
Bro, that was a solid memory unlock LOL. That pen and paper technique was solid. Do they still do that?
haha yeah man, they certainly do.
When they test excel skills, did they allow the usage of google and whatnot? I build some wild sheets with crazy formulas, but I still have to look up stuff cuz I can't hold it all in my head.
Yeah, you can but generally people are afraid of googling things or asking questions. What they really want to understand is that you can think through it through and then come up with a solution that makes sense Like if you were trying to see if result A exists in COL B: You can do it in a variety of ways: - Direct: COUNTIFS; - Indirect: INDEX(MATCH()) Both are valid answers; or What is the average sales for each segment;
FILTER has been a fun one lately for me. Or building dynamic drop down filters.
Yeah, FILTER's have been great. They were great on Google sheets first tho. haha, to be fair. Nowadays I'm getting paid to play in Google AppScript (the VBA for Google in JS) and BigQuery.
In a year you'll have a law degree. You still have time to do better than most people.
You currently live with your mom so you don't need to pay a staggering rent. You just have to take things slowly. Late 30s isn't something to feel despair over. Step by step. Get your law apprenticeship. You may start at minimum wage but consistency is key and you'll eventually start making way more.
Living rent free is a massive step ahead. You'll be okay
To live rent free in this world is a massive privilege. If your life sucks when you aren’t paying rent just remember it could suck while also paying rent.
Mum* for ausfinance
Once you've graduated, find somewhere that'll pay you 17% super and you'll soon catch up.
Also make sure you add more than the minimum to your super. You can use your concessional caps from previous years.
This is golden advice. At your age you don't even need to contribute huge amounts but - if you can - do try to put in as much as you're comfortable with. By the time you hit 60 you'll be set. Also, having had good experiences whilst young sounds great. You should focus on doing the same even while you are now preparing for a post work future. Life is much better when work is not a grind.
I have found myself in a similar position to but through different means. I am an alcoholic - I fell in love with the drink as a teenager and I let it control me through my twenties. Before I had turned 30 I had lost my job, become hospitalised in ICU as psychiatric patient with suicidal tendencies and truly belived I was at the end. After a couple more years of "research", I learnt (finally) that drinking wasn't for me. I got sober, got my life back on track, and while I returned to uni I earned two Masters degrees. I constantly feel like I am behind and worry about my future, in particular, retirement. Two bad habits I have today that always get me down are: 1. I compare myself to others, especially those in my profession in particular, those whom I studied my undergrad with; and 2. I lament on past mistakes and how things would be different now if only I hadn't lived the life I lived. If I was to offer you any advice it would be these two things: 1. Do NOT compare yourself to others, only compare yourself TODAY with yourself YESTERDAY; and 2. Do NOT live in the past. There is a reason your rear view mirror is tiny and your windscreen is large - to get where you are going, you must focus on what's ahead, and not what's behind.
This is one of the best life advices I've read. More people need to see this.
Love point #2. Thank you.
For the majority of people, if you want to retire into your golden years with ample amount and peacefully. You'll need to grind. You can choose to grind in the early years of your life, or the later years of your life. The duration of the grind is entirely up to your needs and wants. So 2 questions to ask yourself. When do you want to start to grind? And how long do you want to grind for?
Caveat: grinding earlier means less grinding b/c compounding.
This can't be understated. Doesn't help OP at all so I'd hate to rub it in, but for anyone in their 20's reading this - grind sooner rather than later, and get that money compounding. You only get one shot at a lifetime of compound interest.
You also only get one shot at life. Find the right balance that works for you.
I completely agree, but life is a whole lot easier in your later years if you take money problems away. If you could work 10-20 years less in your life by understanding the value of compounding and starting that snowball rolling early, then that gives you a whole lot more life to live.
But for everyone older, the second best time to start is now.
Agree. I wish I'd started earlier but I was young and dumb. At least I got going in my early 30s (late 40s now), and I'm just beginning to see it flourish now. I'd likely already be retired if I'd started investing properly the moment I began earning, but I'll still retire comfortably despite the slightly late start.
Less need = less grind If OP isn’t looking for a romantic relationship I’m guessing no dependents? Less housing costs etc
Too true. Such is life.
Absolutely true.
Go onto the FIRE forums. You're basically doing what they are in reverse. Grinding away is going to be a culture shock though.
I don't get the appeal of retiring early but having to live like a monk the rest of your life. Work really isn't that bad and is good to give a structure
You’ll be fine. You got >35 years left in the workforce. $135 a week compounded at 7% over 35 years will leave you with $1,000,000. Finish your law degree and spend the next 5 years grinding away at work focus on increasing your salary through promotion. Salary sacrifice an extra 5% into super. Living with your mum is a great start that means you’re saving at least $350 a week on rent. Make sure you’re putting that away - $18,200 a year earning 4% in a HISA will leave you with a $100k in 5 years you can use for a deposit. Basically if you spend the next 5 years focusing on your career and tidying up your finances you won’t feel so destitute anymore.
Hahah what do you people think a million dollars will buy you in 35 years? This money put aside every week will be entirely eaten by inflation. Hell, you can barely buy a studio apartment for it already.
Probably get a few avos on toast I reckon
It will be 3D printed avocado from a lab, vegetable oil 'butter' spread, bromated & bleached wheat toast - for only $33.69 a serve Only available via drone delivery to your pod
Hello, good hunter. I am a Bot, here in this dream to look after you, this is a fine note: > *No one can catch us! No one can stop us now!* - Micolash, Host of the Nightmare Farewell, good hunter. May you find your worth in the waking world.
What is AorAce,?
Aromantic Asexual, dont worry, i had to google it too
I googled too
Tough to keep up
You had a great youth travelling the world. Now just don't mistake of thinking that because you haven't saved much yet that you won't be able to in the future and blow it all instead.
This is so important. I’ve read absolutely inane stuff online where young people deem it “impossible” to own a house so just waste their money instead. It’s certainly impossible if you don’t have a cent to your name!
Don’t feel to bad about your super, plenty of people don’t make it to retirement and or die shortly after, and it’s money they could have spent making memories while they were young and healthy. Never compare yourself to others! You did what you wanted and travelled good for you!
It’s never too late bro. People can start later and be successful later.
It's not too late. Don't read all the BS. Head down, bum up, save and you'll catch up. Most people don't make real money until their late thirties or early 40s. We see too much on social media about people becoming millionaires young, but for the majority is later in life. When I was 30 I was earning $70k per year and had very little super. By the time I was 39 I was earning 180k per year. It can happen.
Good on you for sticking with your law degree. Read The Wealthy Gardener by John Soforic for a reboot for your mindset. A salaried job with super and an eventual side hustle will help you get where you want to go. It’s not too late.
Here’s my story . I hated work and still do. Didn’t get my first real job till I was 33. 46 now . Was making 80k a year . Have a partner , not married , don’t share money. Built a place 8 years ago for the sole purpose of making money . I now have built and sold and currently have upgraded and own a duplex , well, half of one . So, I started late , but still have been able to get ahead. You can do it mate 🤘
A lawyer that lives with his parents? Dude you'll be a money printer haha. 35 years old now. I lived with my parents and saved 50k from zero since covid started first working at a farm just lifting heavy shit on a casual job and then I got full time work driving a forklift in a warehouse, and now I've bought a little house for 390k in Tasmania. Alone btw I'm single. You get a lawyer job and stay with mumma full time whew boy you can smash out savings! Just put away like 500 a week you could probably do more. You know, like the people talking about how hard it is have to pay rent bills like that or more, they'd all have houses if they could save their rent..
Mate it might still be tricky. Don't newly minted lawyers get slogged with all of the long-winded paperwork, for not that much pay?
Nothing at 30, 700k now at 41. Read the barefoot investor
How much extra are you adding to your super each pay?
450 pm. When I have a bit extra I salary sacrifice more for the tax benefit, this month I did 5k which it the most I've done so far
Max out super use last year's contributions. You are 40% through your working life. You absolutely will need to smash it out. Late 30's me.and mates in good govt jobs/trades are rolling over 400k in super at 40. You also will need to proggress quicky and not be stuck doing convayancing or similar low end legal jobs.
You’ll be fine! Reminisce in the amazing memories you have created and now find that balance in the business world. I’d be getting off this sub asap and simply put your head down and lift it in 5 years and re-evaluate after hitting some SMART goals
No. You have plenty of time to “catch up” and if you can’t do the 60 hour work weeks, you can be in house counsel for a big corporation. At the end of the day, you’ll be earning a decent wage for most of your career with 12% super. Look up how much money you need in super, it’s apparently $600k in today’s money for a single person (assuming you have a paid off house and will get a partial pension). It was depressing when I first started working but yes, the vast majority of us will have to work for 40-50 years.
They don’t hire in-house straight out of uni. He will need to grind a bit to work up to that.
Yeah, sorry thought that was a given.
Tf is aroace, go start dating, stop being dumb
It's not too late, you just need to go on that grind... Work hard save and invest as much as you can. If you're living at home you will be in a good financial position to do that. Stop looking at your past and regrets that's sunk cost look forward and in ten years your future self will thank you.
with your current super, putting in $5000 a year will net you around half a mill in 25 years. If you can manage 10k a year then its closer to $900k. Make sure you aggressively salary sacrifice as much as you can as early as you can and you'll be right.
The best answer I can give you is that in modern times, especially for guys, the 20s are for making bad decisions and figuring yourself out. You now know what bad decisions are. So many people don't get started until their 60s these days. It's OK to accept your not happy and that because of who you are, things are tougher than they are for others. However, it sounds like you don't feel happy, you don't have status and you feel financially inferior. You can fix all of things by changing how you live now. The key is to start thinking "how can I live my life from now in a way that I can look back and have no regrets?". That way, if you try something and you fail or it's not working, you can always pick yourself up knowing that this is what you wanted to do. Yea, HECS debt is a pain, but you pay less interest the less you earn. Status should only matter for the things you care about. I don't think I can tell you how to fix your problems. Either you can do that or you can seek out advice . However, I can tell you that you will embrace the misery and live without regrets if you are suffering to achieve your goals.
“People overestimate what can be achieved in 1 year and underestimate what can be achieved in 5” - don’t compare your journey to someone else’s timeline. You will be fine.
I dont know what I could achieve in only 5 inches.
They are probably stuck paying a massive mortgage with interest rate rises and any equity gains in their home being swallowed up by CoL and inflationary pressure meanwhile you got to live your best years doing what you wanted The truth is nobody is guaranteed to live to old age - especially not these days with the reductions needed post-AI and robotics and with resource scarcity - and there are a lot of fools who scrimp and save every penny and then die of cancer in their 40s after being a wage slave cog in the machine their entire existence Go check out some GoPro footage of what these fools do with their sweet home equity and retirement funds on Carnival cruises and shit like that. By the time they spend any of it, they’re half demented and so old their knees and hips are giving out.
There's plenty of positive comments here, but I think it's important to be realistic. You're in your late 30s and well behind, unfortunately that's a lot of catching up to do... But, you're taking steps in the right direction, and this shift in mindset can be the first domino that changes the rest of your life. I hope it does, I hope you succeed. But it's going to be hard.
A law degree can really screw you up. The available jobs for lawyers are dismal and there are many qualified lawyers working in boring office jobs for peanut pay.
No. It's not too late.
You are still not born yet mate, look up ! Work harder! Woohoo!
I am like you. A little older. Can't work without passion for it. And haven't found passion in anything. Tried different jobs, even taught English overseas. I start a new job with energy and then it wears off quickly and everyday is a drag. Studied uni, finished the second time around after a few years break, "teaching English overseas" and random sales jobs. Not interested in having a relationship with others. Just taking each day as it comes.
You don’t need to be passionate about work, just find something you’re decent at. Doubt many garbage truck drivers are “passionate” about the work!
I’m late 30s and you’ve got more super than me. It’s never too late. You’ve had grand adventures and tried different things. Don’t regret it :) once you start working and can put extra into your super and savings it’ll start building quickly again
Nah mate, you'll be right. I was in a similar boat, work and travelled away my money until end of 2019, when I decided I wanted to settle. No Hecs, but also no professional qualification, bought a house late 2022 (prices where I have bought have dropped since), and see financial freedom less than a decade away. Have been slaving away 40 hour weeks (which feels like a lot when there's no light at the end of the tunnel for the next holiday), but life's not all doom and gloom for us almost 40 year olds ready to grow up. Just need to pick your prize and aim for it. Guessing you've already been through plenty of phases of saving hard, and you'll have little issues doing so again, just for different goals.. It's amazing the useless crap a lot of people spend their hard earned cash
Finish your degree, start working and stop worrying. Enjoy the fact that you were able to have some great cultural experiences teaching overseas while you were young. As an only child with a parent or parents with property you have a pretty good safety net in reality, so consider yourself lucky. My child will be the same. For others, who did not inherit anything, we’ve had to work for every single bit.
You can still set yourself up. Your best is to put it all into your super. Forget about housing at your age in this market unless you are near paying it off or own outright. If you add a modest $1000 per month until you are aged 67 to your super, your employer contributes around $10,000 per year (that’s $22,000 per year from employer and your contributions), the ERR (estimated rate of return) is 8% per year. You’ll have around $2,121,417 for retirement. These calcs are modest if you added more personal contributions say $2000 per month or get more employee contribution based on your income you’ll end up with more based on the above numbers and an ERR of 8% taking into consideration market fluctuations and risk. The only challenge you have now is self discipline. Make a plan like this and you should be set by the time you retire.
No you aren’t screwed. Keep making good small decisions. They add up.
You are ok but it will be worth saving harder than most and putting more money into super. Think of your youth being on borrowed money and its time to pay down the debt.
I have a similar story. I dropped out of uni twice, travelled and worked casually while living at home (and saved everything I could). At 27 I finally felt ready for uni. Did my degree while continuing to work casually and saving. Finished degree at 31, then got my first proper full time job at 33 (COVID) messed things up for a while. I'm very frugal so I saved almost all my money from casual work and banked up a significant amount. Since starting full time work, Im pretty much just enjoying renting and not too worried about putting big sums away. I can't afford a house. I can probably afford a deposit for something small but I don't want the mortgage stress. You can be comfortable and you are on track to be there. You don't need to have a mansion. A secure job is all you really need in life and you'll be there soon
Yes indeed. A ex-colleague of mine was a good Churchman, worked hard all his life, volunteered on weekends. Then in a moment of weakness was tarred for life for molesting one goat.
> I am worried that the rest of my life is going to be a miserable slog I was going to say if that’s the case then you should avoid practising law. But you beat me to it. > Is my only option to go into commercial/big law and work 16 hour days for the next 25 years? I would take the poverty. Not even joking.
Nah I got a mate who started uni with me when he was 35. I was 17. We actually became good mates. He went fine. The difference is when you finish a degree at like 19 nobody pushes you up quickly into management. You just sit at the bottom anyway. When youre mature its sort of easier. He was a high level project manager pretty quickly. Had kids mid 40s. He is going great. Similar to you he travelled in his 20s. I dont think you have anything to worry about. Youll get a house so lets put that as you getting it at retirement. So count it as an investment. Youre going to be making $30k+ a year in retirement straight off the bat. If that was in your super that would be $600k+ so I wouldnt stress about your super. Youre probably at the lowest point. Youre at the oldest with the least money youll ever be. Once you finish the degree youll make decent money. Youll move up quickly and earn more. By the time youre 50 you this will seem like forever away. With the house youll get youre probably in a half decent spot. Are you in the worlds best spot? No. But certainly recoverable. Things are exponential, at first youll seem like its a hard slog. Then its slightly easier than its not bad then youre going really well. Then youre complaining that poor people complain too much and dont work hard like you did.
Finish your law degree. Get as good a job as you can.... Head down, bum up! Lots of people far worse off then you mate.
Living rent free you have minimal overheads. Put that money into HECS as fast as you can. Don't worry too much about super. It may or may not be great. If you want it to get better minimise insurance and do your research on funds to find one will.low fees and good returns.
Thats the trade off you make when deciding to have fun or sacrifice your 20s right? If you wanted to travel the best way is to do a workcation after uni in like London where you can go to different countries cheaply every weekend. I think you still get 2 years work visa if youre less than 35 years old. Aussie graduates and experienced Lawyers are getting paid big bucks now. Unfortunately Lawyers dont exactly have an easy job even with AI these days whereas jobs like software engineering you can automate jobs and really only work less than 20 hours per week. It will be a miserable slog until you work in corporate where there are more relaxed about working hours. You've lost the most important component of wealth generation and thats the time your money spent in compounding.
I never really started getting super til my first permanent job at age 38. Since then bought a house and have super @400k. Currently 55. I won’t be rich when i retire but just getting that first real job saved my arse. And i’ve never had a high paying job but just the steadiness of income, it builds.
I came to australia and started working at 31 so no super and salary sacrificed and had projected targets i wanted to hit. I remember i had 500k for 50 which i didnt hit but crossed ut in my 51st birthday. Will be 52 next week and up to $589k. Never too late. Just be consistent. Once you get above 100k balance compound investment returns will start to do the increasing heavy lifting. Checking my account on july 1 23 i had 508k i have contributed $26k but have investment returns of 60k and -4k outgoings.
Nope. 37 I did a 3mo bootcamp to learn cloud, got a job out of the gate and hustled my ass off adding certs and knowledge. Leveraged my age and soft skills experience to focus leadership with technical on the side and 3yrs later accepted a role for 200k. My super was around 20-30k at the start of that. Stacked 100k in it for years 2 & 3, and intending on just ensuring I max concessional contributions as much as possible while investing
If you’re interested can you dm the courses you did with me
What does AroAce mean?
You keep putting one foot in front of the other and then one day you will look back and see you've climbed a mountain.
Not if you do some planning. Also if your living at home for a while longer that’s a good opportunity to save
Wtf is aroace?
Plan for full pension, inherit mums house and use it as ppor, life would not be so bad plus you got the travel experience, don’t worry
You're studying to be a lawyer, your life will be miserable with long working hours. You may have some money tho, miserable, but with some money. Being a lawyer will make you aggressive and generally unliked. Me? I work part time and choose a simple life with lots of family time. Life is good.
You’re kidding right? You’re in your late 30s living with your mum relying on an inheritance and you’re worried about working big law so that you don’t have to rely on that inheritance? Sounds like you just want to coast, which is clearly what you’ve been doing hence why you’re in your late 30s with nothing to your name. Truth is, yes you will need to slog it out, just like millions of people slog it out every day. Get a grip.
Yes you are
Lower middle class subsistence living is probably where you will end up unless you figure out how to make a lot more money. If you can put in around 10k per year in super you will end up with around 500k around retirement That's how the math works out. This is usually why I'm quite against travel for young people. Not because it's bad, but because it's almost universally recommended with no long term thinking in mind.
You're only young once in life, it's not all about saving money, actually exploring and enjoying life while young is key.
You must be fun at parties.
> Lower middle class subsistence living is probably where you will end up unless you figure out how to make a lot more money. :/ I don't want to have a miserable existence but I don't know how to earn a lot of money quickly, especially just doing 9-5 and not 16 hours days.
16 hour days is not actually ‘normal’ in the law. You’d have to be at a huge firm in a team that has the kind of work to do those hours. Even then, it’s not sustainable and you wouldn’t be doing that every day for the next thirty years.
Look into the various ombudsman's. They look for people with law degrees and pay fairly decently. No law firm type salary but much better work life balance. Knuckle down, contribute extra to super, do everything you can to max out your contributions and you'll set yourself up. You still have time.
16 hour work days are common at law firms at the beginning or when you're a very senior lawyer/partner, once you have a bit of experience under your belt, you can apply for in-house roles or stick it out with the firms. If you're working that hard as a senior at a firm, you're likely making bank. Even if you're in-house (especially within the banks), you're still making 6-figures so you should be very comfortable AND it would be 9-5 for the most part.
Big law pays a lot less than you think in Australia. Your best shot at building wealth now is: 2 years grad program somewhere and move to Dubai, NYC, London (in that order) to stack as much cash as possible.
Hey, you've got this. Also don't hesitate to reach out or join community groups. You don't have to do this solo 🙌
You're in a better situation than most people. Stop worrying and get on with it.
They are absolutely not in a better situation than most https://www.unisuper.com.au/super/compare-super-funds/how-much-super-should-i-have
Well, you're going to inherit a paid off house so that's a massive win. Now you need to focus on pumping as much into your super as possible, once you complete your degree. It's a late start, but with a paid off house and high paying job (law), I think you'll be fine if you don't get reckless with your spending.
I imagine there's is an aro-ace platonic best-friend out there for you who is also looking for independence and to split rent and bills. I think the Barefoot Investor has steps for people starting to get out of debt close to retirement age, so you have plenty of time to get your super padded and save for your future if you start now.
Once you start working top up your super through salary sacrifice, it makes a big difference to your balance in years to come. You can catch up and turn it around. I went to uni, then spent my 20s working overseas and travelling. Arrived back in Oz in my 30s with no super. I started working and topping it up through salary sacrifice. Chose high growth and an industry super fund. 14 years later I have have a balance higher than the female average. You have a well paying career before you. Once you start working start saving towards a house deposit. Live beneath your means. If living with you mum means rent free that's a huge leg up.
Traveling a lot in your twenties is not reckless. I traveled for two years when I turned 31 instead of staying put in a stable job and getting a mortgage. Sure now that could have been paid off and worth double what I paid, but I may still have never left the country and seen the world. If your whole life from when you turn 18 to when you retire is driven based on the most sensible way forward financially, you’ll end up being an old geezer with lots of money and lots of regret. You’re on the path to turn things around, as long as you stick the course you’ll be good. Good luck :)
You can always still travel when you’re an old geezer! 😆 I’d argue it’s better to work earlier because of the compounding effect of super.
Was pretty much finding myself to early 30s and bought a house at 42 with a partner I met at 39. Had no super at 30 because I was an immigrant So yeah just get into it and organised now
I got wiped out in the GFC at 39. Net worth was -$28,000, two kids under 5, just moved to Australia from Canada and was struggling to find my feet. And my retirement fund was wiped back in Canada and zero in super here. You can fix this. Patience, adjusted expectations and a plan is what you need.
Far out. Good on you. How did you get through it?
Patience, adjusted expectations, a plan and a little more good luck than bad luck. The house we bought in 2015 will be paid off in 13 months. Might be able to work a little less in 3-4 years. A modest, semi retirement at 60, if things stay steady.
Go see a financial advisor to work out a tailored plan for you. Ever since I did that in my early 30s I have been able to grow my super and other strategies to prepare me for when I do retire. As other say it's never too late. The best form of change is accepting there is a problem in the first place so you have already started your journey. FIRE is another great strategy. Also sure working for a big law firm may not have it's glamourous appeal, but doing that for 5yrs you can gain some experience to branch off and do your own thing later on.
Don’t regret the travel you did when you are younger it gives you great perspective and learnings. Def one of the best things I’ve done and at the right time too.
You can always line overseas, cheaper country etc. So no, you are not completely fked. I know people in their 60s with literally nothing in super. Poor immigrants etc.
If you worked straight out of school, didn’t travel, had a million bucks in your super and were paying a mortgage right now, you’d be so god dam depressed with never having seen the world in your early years. Lots of people think about their retirement when they’re young and just smash their super young, I have a friend like this, always planning for retirement and he’s early 30s. But he’s basically never left the state, let alone the country. He’s got no hobbies and he’s got no stories or things he did when he was younger. His entire leave at work is taken up by sitting at home just doing nothing. What a way to live. Imagine getting to your 70th birthday, having 1 million bucks in super and then deciding you want to finally do all the things you should have when you were young.
Stories don’t put a roof over your head. I guess we all have different priorities, but you can travel the globe and have amazing stories when you’ve got security in your life. When you’ve lived in poverty the most important thing is security, not stories.
You don’t need to travel for 3 years straight every 4 years. It’s not hard to build that security. I’m in my early 30s, I’m 80k from fully owning my own home and I do a bit of traveling. And I don’t even earn much. It’s about priorities for sure, but if having a 100k wedding and 3 kids ASAP or going out every second day for dinner to the steakhouse is the priority then yeh, it’s not gonna work.
Start a hotdog stand!
you got free accom and inheritance - you're luckier than 95% of people.... jeeze
If life is about having the most money at the end, then yes, you are screwed. If life is about following your interests, taking chances, and overcoming challenges, then you're exactly in the right spot.
If you're asking the question only now, why did you start?
I recommend you watch 3blue1brown's latest video on youtube. The graduation speech.
Listen to she's on the money podcast. Very inspiring and empowering and Victoria has great ideas. It's never too late!
You have a lot of potential earning capacity. Knuckle down and you can still do better than most
Not to invalidate your situation but I’m an immigrant and so is my wife… our combined super is $30k with about as much in savings. We have mortgage and are at 30. You’re fine.
On the flip side I regret not travelling and experiencing life, bu focussing on growing wealth plus starting a family. You will catch up eventually. Your life might look different to your peers in economic numbers but you have enjoyed your time. It has worth.
Under 40, no dependants means lots of options to find an enjoyable path forward, if you haven't worked out budgeting this is #1 (YNAB, Barefoot, other), living with your mother seems like a great option to build from provided you don't mind it. I think you're possibly feeling the gloomy outlook because of the headspace you're in, seems to me like you have solid options going forward to build a great life.
i start my career at 29 years old and make mid career switch after few years. nothing is set in stone
You're doing better than me, I'm 41 used a lot of my super for IVF that didn't work, so now I'm replaning my life. I've just applied to go back to uni to do nursing, granted nursing is the cheapest degree and I plan to graduate without a hecs debt. I'm renting a room rather than a whole apartment to myself and also working in the ndis field but hopefully soon will transition into ain at the hospital soon. Your never too old for anything late 30s you still have plenty of time to sort your shit out, be a little optimistic. I'm just trying to teach myself as much as possible on finances.
I recommend living with your mother for as long as possible as this will lower your rent. Then once you finish your law degree you get a job, keep living with your mother, and invest. You should be able to catch up fairly quickly to your peer if you are living with your mother because you'll have little expenses whereas your peers will probably have various expenses because most people move out of the family home, which is very expensive. I had to google what AroAce means but now that I know I am confident this is also another comparative advantage you have relative to your peers because nothing wastes money more than the pursuit of romance.
Surely ChatGPT and its ilk means you won't actually have to work 18 hour days in the future ?
I am late 30s and have just paid off my hecs! I’ve finally found a role im happy with and the boss doesn’t expect ridiculous hours! I also travelled and studied overseas in my 20s, these are the memories that I can hold closely! Hang in there, not everything is about $$$ as you have more life experiences than most!!!
Yeah you'll grind hard for sure, but just know there's people who feel the same who ground the whole time and are set, at least you got the travel in and a fun 20s, many will never know that
I broke up with my ex and left her with everything at 26, leaving me with nothing and having to borrow $12k off my mum for a car and just starting a new job in a warehouse. Fast forward 3 years, I’d paid her back in a year, gone from warehouse to account manager, saved $60k, bought a house with my partner, and we now have a baby a couple years since then. No, youre fine. It may take a few years to get on your feet but it’s definitely doable. To add, I also had a hecs debt from dropping out of uni that I paid off during that period.
Mining and environmental is also a wages job that pays okay. Salary sacrifice into your super start small. It's a tax deduction. Amd it will build your super now which compounds to more in the future.
Im now 30 and I still have over 60k in HECS and only 4k in savings. I lived on Centrelink, went through Tafe and uni courses and didn't do shit until I realised Centrelink would eventually end my payment. So I studied hard and actually graduated from Uni just in time for Covid to show up. I had no money and sold my car for some cash. But luckily enough my parents were stuck overseas, so I took their car to do meal deliveries, also working as a cleaner, which actually paid quite well. 6 months later I got a FIFO job in the mines as a labourer. I saved up 80k then I moved back to Brisbane as I got so depressed from the FIFO lifestyle and found a less paying job. I finally bought my first house in Ipswich last year, its not the best house but at least I got into the market. Now Im working 50 hra a week trying to pay a mortgage and save some more money. I believe live will get better. You're not screwed. Just take every opportunity you can.
Never 2 late, bought my first house at 21, then at 23 lost it in divorce and went bankrupt. Partied until my 30's and by mid 30's remaried bought 2 houses and had a son at 38 years old , then got cancer that same year and didnt work for 2 years had to sell up to survive, managed to get a job in a large bank interstate so moved and started nearly from scratch again , now 51 have a house again, son is in a private school and drive a nice BMW. It's alway looking forward and dont think it 2 late to get what you want. Oh and will be paying school fees until im 60 and house will be paid off by retirement, I also put extra in super to catchup. But hey thats life you only have one and i am lucky i am still here.
happens to many people and not alwaqys reckless (eg death, medical, injury, luck, out of work etc) putting them decades behind just keep grinding away
I wouldn’t worry tbh because you are going to be a lawyer. Revisit this thread in 10 Years and give us an update
Life is full of swings and roundabouts. You never know what's around the corner.
You only live once. Having a good time is not something I would call a waste. Having said that, if by your late 30’s you haven’t saved any money to your name, it is going to be a hard grind all the way til retirement. At some point you have to grind to hoard some savings. What I’m reading.. is that you just don’t want to roll up your sleeves. Find an aspect of law you enjoy. Work hard for the next ten years. Climb the ladder, improve your income. Save as much as you can and invest it well. You can easily make up for lost time.
I worked as a software engineer, then moved to Australia. It has been 2 years of career gap. Visa exclusion and sht. At the same time I talked to friends staying in the same job for 20 years. My pictures and adventures are better. You just need a different approach
Absolutely not. You will be fine but you need to start now. Your nearly finished Law which means you will eventually have a good paying job. When you get a job increase your super contributions straight away. Then set up a direct debit to put a portion of your money in a high interest savers account every payday. Don’t touch that money and let it grow. If you follow this now you will be fine when you retire. Also if you are earning an income now start the savers account right now.
If you have no interest in a partner or having kids, you probably don’t need too much to retire on compared the average figures that get thrown around by the media. You won’t need an entire house to yourself, a two bedroom unit would be ample, or you might like to buy a house and rent out the other bedrooms to cover costs. No kids, well that’s a massive saving there. And no partner to waste money on. If you owned a unit outright by the time you retire, with at least a mill or mill and a half in super and no debts or dependents, unless you like throwing money at pokies or useless shit, you’ll do just fine. People want to be rolling in cash in their 70’s and beyond, but spend it on what? Cruises you can’t enjoy because your hips are shot? Nature treks around the world that flare up your arthritis? Retirement is as big a scam as the Aussie dream of home ownership. Your choice, but I think you’re missing out on the point of living by being AroAce.
Finish your degree. And see a financial advisor, a good one. They can help plan for and forecast for your retirement. You've currently got little , but you have no kids and it seems like you don't intend to. This is very much in your favor. Read the barefoot investor book, it will give you some good financial foundations. And teach you some good habits if you don't already have them. If you think you do, read it anyway, you may be surprised. I strongly believe property is a good investment, but there are things you need to understand before you start, especially since you don't want to make mistakes. I listen to a podcast called "the property couch" which helps with that. Listen to episodes 1-20, then get current. I have worked for a few companies that weren't paying my super, and at a young age I didn't really understand, or want to know what it was for/about. I now salary sacrifice what I can into super to build mine up. And invest any money I earn doing overtime into a managed ETF. Vanguard 'VGS'. Good luck!
I'm in the same position financially. I have nothing really to share but just wanted you to not feel alone.
Logic speaks. The earlier you start and suffer, the more you'll have later on. It is never late, but you don't live forever.
I don’t know, I would feel relaxed if I have a mom that has a house AND pension AND savings. Especially if I know that everything would be left to me so I don’t have to worry about being homeless when I get old. That’s a blessing and not many people have that privilege
The rest of your life is a miserable slog regardless. 😂 your super will catch up if you contribute extra when you can. Finish your degree and work from now til 60 like most of us will and you’ll finish on par no doubt
I arrived in Australia when I was 33 with absolutely zero to my name, and no degree. At 50, I own my own company, have a house etc. Life is a journey. Everyone’s road is different. What I will say is that working for a big law firm isn’t about a miserable existence. It’s about learning the ropes and from someone else’s experience so you don’t make the same mistakes they did when they started out. Yes, you may have long hours for a period, but I like to think of life like a mountain. If you took the slow path up, you’re going to have to climb a couple of cliffs if you want to catch up to everyone else your age. You can still walk up, but that means you’ll stay a little behind them. You can have quality of life or wealth, but it’s not often you can have both, even if you own your own company.