In our How I Manage My Money series we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.
This week we speak to Samuel Davis, 38, who lives in Hackney, London, with his partner, Aisha, 35, and their daughter, Nia, six. Samuel is the founder and chief executive of gardening and landscaping business, London Gardeners. Samuel, who would like to retire by the age of 60, feels he is behind when it comes to his pension pot, but is hoping to make up for lost time and now adds £300 a month to one. His two-bedroom flat in London costs £1,850 per month to rent and he cannot wait to buy his own house with a garden one day.
Monthly budget
My monthly income: I earn about £4,800 a month after deductions. Most comes from my work as a director of London Gardeners. I divide my time between business strategy and being out in the field. I have no rental or passive income currently, but am considering longer term ventures.
My monthly outgoings: Rent, £1,850; council tax, £140; groceries, £600; gas, electric and water, £230; broadband and mobile, £95; public transport and car hire when needed, £180; subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify, £35; home contents and life insurance, £80; money into savings, £400; money into investments, £250; money into pension, £300; family day trips and eating out, £200; clothes, presents and hobbies, £200.
I grew up in London in a low-income household and was taught by my parents about the importance of hard work. I chose not to go to university as I knew it wasn’t for me.
I started my career as a garden assistant at my local borough council, taking home just under £900 a month. Later on, I found work at local plant nurseries and landscaping companies, gaining responsibility on a trial basis and eventually overseeing projects. I was in my mid-twenties and making around £22,000 a year while saving aggressively in order to start my own business.
I launched my business, London Gardeners, in 2016. We’re a team of 12 providing gardening and landscaping services.
It was a very steep learning curve. I knew horticulture, but I had to learn on the fly about finance, marketing, human resources and logistics. One of our biggest challenges is seasonality — we’re in great shape in the spring and summer, but it’s a struggle during the winter months and requires some serious saving.
Starting my own business has taught me about the importance of cash flow, having a diversified income and long-term planning. I take home about £4,800 a month from the business.
Aisha and I are renting a two-bedroom flat in Hackney for £1,850 per month. In the last three years the rent has risen by around 12 per cent. I really want to buy a small house in east or north London with a garden, but we’d need about £550,000 to get what we want.
Read Next: How likely is it that pension contributions will be taxed in future?
We try to be as eco-friendly as possible at home. We compost, grow our own herbs and vegetables, don’t buy fast fashion and use renewable electricity providers. Buying more environmentally friendly appliances and products can cost more in terms of up front expenditure but ultimately tends to save us money in the long run.
I put £400 a month into a high-yield savings account and £250 into a mix of ETFs using a stocks and shares Isa each month. I have about £18,000 saved and £12,000 in investments at the moment.
Pensions are very important to me. I add £300 per month to a private pension and have a small employer’s pension. My overall pension pot is currently valued at around £38,000. I’m a little behind but am determined to grow it organically.
Ideally, I would like to be retired or semi-retired by 60, but I am realistic. I would still want to remain active in the business in some advisory capacity. I do not think I could survive solely on the state pension in later life.
Financial security and freedom is more important to me than money. Money is a tool which enables me to take care of my family, do what I want and establish a long legacy. My ideal salary would be about £80,000 a year. This would give me enough to reinvest larger sums back into the business and never have to work over Christmas or Easter.
Professionally, I would love to expand London Gardeners to be a front-runner in environmentally friendly landscaping in the region. Personally, I want to buy a house for my family, travel more, particularly to Africa and Europe, and set up my daughter so she can do things I couldn’t do when I was a kid.
Want to take part in How I Manage My Money? Email money@inews.co.uk
Comments
Post a Comment