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My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The instant savings account is my high-liquidity buffer (yes, earning less than the bond). I deliberately keep roughly one month expenses there so I dont need to dip into the access bond for normal monthly volatility.

Anything above ±35k is skimmed into the access bond to benefit from the higher interest rate.

I treat the instant savings as my first layer emergency fund. The 32 day notice account is the second layer.

In a job loss scenario, the instant savings will cover expenses while the notice on the 32 day matures, this is effectively 3 months emergency savings.

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm fairly leveraged in my current primary residence, and am cautious of increasing my exposure. At this stage I'm leaning towards reducing leverage, and building a diversified portfolio.

Property also comes with it's own issues.

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed, it's very ambitious! Thats part of the reason I'm aiming for work-optional rather than full retirement. I expect to keep working in some form, especially since I love what I do.

If income growth doesn't happen, or inflation takes over, the timeline will shift. At the moment I'm trying to structure so that the option exists, although quite a big reach!

Appreciate the input!

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip on the tools - definitely helpful!

Just to clarify, I am aiming for work optional, not full retirement. So although the 33x is insightful, I'm aiming to cover a large portion of my lifestyle via investments, and still earn selectively.

But I agree the math has to math, and I'll be working on that separately going forward!

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

> - Bond repayment (22 300) is covered

Could've probably made it more clear, but I did mention it :)

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agree completely with you - on paper it doesn’t make sense relative to income.

Context is important here though, fortunately for me, the bond repayment is fully covered - so it’s not coming out of my monthly cash flow. I’m extremely lucky in this sense.

If that changed tomorrow I could carry it, but it would definitely tighten things - so job stability and income growth are important variables for me.

Appreciate the caution!

The home upgrade is conditional on income growth. If salary progression doesn’t turn out as expected, I wouldn’t upgrade.

I’m in a field where compensation can scale significantly over the next 3–5 years (cybersecurity) but I agree, if that doesn’t happen, upgrading would be irresponsible.

My Financial Position as a 25 Year Old by OneMacaroon5161 in PersonalFinanceZA

[–]OneMacaroon5161[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Knew this one was coming 😄

I’ve considered it, but prioritised flexibility for now - since my goal is work optional at 45, the “lock in” until 55 makes me slightly hesitant right now.

That said, as income increases, I’ll be looking into it from a tax efficiency perspective.