Trading full time for a year any tips?

[Westerner]

Take into account what Premium Charges will do to your overall P&L. Consider how that will change both your income and your psychological makeup.

If you are trading and consistently profitable you will run into them sooner or later.

[footysystems]

It's great being 55 paid all my stamp the world is my oyster

[PDC]

It's great being 55 paid all my stamp the world is my oyster

By stamp I am guessing you mean National Insurance Contributions.

If so, and if you have the option my advice to others would not be to be paying your NI contributions until you really need to. Once you have the correct number of qualifying years you still have to pay NI if say in regular employment but you don't get anything more for it, you are chucking money away. You want to try and optimise it so you pay just enough years but not a year more.

So at 55 you could end up paying 20+ years of NI for no benefit at all to yourself.

Though if you are able to pay self employed contributions you need to factor that into your calculations as those rates are a lot lower than paying voluntary contributions later.

But you need to consider the opportunity cost of that money you pay now, could it be better utilised else where.

And of course if you don't make it to State Pension age you will have paid a lot of money for nothing.

Something else I would add is pay into a SIPP even if you aren't earning/paying tax as you can pay in £2,880 each year as a non earner from the day you are born and the government will top it up with another £720 of tax relief (free money). You can have contributions up to 100% of your gross income up to £40,000 each year.

[footysystems]

Yes worked and paid my NI since I was 16. Job done along with a good pension from work. It's a case now when I retire and pressure off. Trading ft you I would be bored stiff

[ShaunWhite]

How about a little trading ambition here eh, I'm sincerely hoping that a poxy £120/wk pension from the govt will be pocket change by the time I'm entitled to it. A good run of six figure years and no income tax?...the govt won't even know where to send my pension because I'll be so far away. And to avoid the Care Home costs I'm dying in a hail of gunfire in a Colombian bar, too high and happy to know it's even happened.

[Realrocknrolla]

How about a little trading ambition here eh, I'm sincerely hoping that a poxy £120/wk pension from the govt will be pocket change by the time I'm entitled to it. A good run of six figure years and no income tax?...the govt won't even know where to send my pension because I'll be so far away. And to avoid the Care Home costs I'm dying in a hail of gunfire in a Colombian bar, too high and happy to know it's even happened.

Hell Yeah I am there with you!

Or Bolivia

[prestburydreams]

happy xmas have u gone bust last post the start of dec