I'm a male in my late 20s living in Europe, where I am pursuing a PhD degree. I've had a company job for a couple of years after I graduated with an engineering degree. Choosing to do a PhD was not a good financial decision but it allowed me to have a meaningful and intellectually challenging occupation.
My current retirement status is 19.050€ in a savings account that pays 3.75% per year (before tax). I started saving money for ER around mid-2012, and this is the amount I managed to accumulate since then. As any European that's worth his salt, my debt is 0€.
My goal is to reach 250.000€ in savings asap. I figure that I can live with 10.000€/year in retirement, especially after my partner also reaches the same FI point. I want to use this forum to track my progress, remain motivated, and improve myself in areas in which I'm not good. I hope I can also contribute to the community somehow.
Current problems/open questions:
- I don't know how to invest my money. I've been studying the basics online but I still don't have a clear investment strategy or know how to take the first step. If I had to do it now I would invest mostly in dividend paying stocks because of regular income through the payment of the dividends. I am quite convinced of one thing: I don't want to invest in real estate.
- Should I stay in academia or leave to industry after I graduate?
- What will I do after I reach FI and don't need to work for money anymore? I want to reach FI in order to free myself from the need to work but I don't really know what I want to do. Right now I think that I will stick to whatever I am doing at that moment until I get bored or too stressed out with the job. I would like to find meaning in my life outside my job or my career (some hobby or occupation that I enjoy).